Our Christmas

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a good photographer. In the last few years I've worked especially hard towards this goal, but the more I learn, the more I see the flaws in what I take and the more images I take in pursuit of the skill, the harder it is to keep up with editing, sharing and printing (so many images, so few prints, but that's a goal for 2016!). Taking good photos at Christmas time is especially hard, there is so much else going on, but I really tried this year to capture some of the moments to remember, and that make Christmas special for us, whilst being mindful not to experience everything from behind the lens. These are the results, imperfect certainly, but I know that in ten years time, when Florence is older than India is now and our Christmases will look very different, these photos and the memories they bring back will be a treasure.

This is a mixed bunch taken almost exclusively in challenging (ugly) lighting, frequently flawed and quickly edited. There is plenty of what we did missing from this collection; me cutting out 100 cardboard Christmas trees for Florence's class party craft; Georgia and Savannah joyfully spending a whole evening popping and bagging popcorn for their class party; trips to the post office and to the Danish butcher in Hang Hau for the turkey; mince pie baking and baking; fancy shopping trips with lunch dates for me and the big girls and the traditional 'Christmas Eve Eve' outing for Keith and the girls to the movies while I stay home wrapping. What you can see is; India performing in her school play; the crazies that go into making our annual Christmas card; Florence starring as Sheep no. 4 in the Year 1 Nativity; baking the Christmas cake using the recipe that Mum has used all my life and that she sent to me 15 years ago when I was pregnant with India; Florence having the time of her life at the party in Daddy's office and then making her first ever visit to Santa (setting the bar high with what was most definitely the real Santa in Pacific Place); Disneyland; ice skating; one handmade gift; the joy of a spontaneous Christmas Eve kitchen parade with the Christingle candles we received from the beautiful outdoor service at St. John's Cathedral; traditional Christmas Eve bedtime stories that the big girls still want to hear and the fun of Christmas morning with new toys for all.

My one regret? That I didn't ask Santa for matching Christmas pyjamas to spare you the sight of me in my old nightie on Christmas morning!

Wish You Were Here 2015

Ansel Adams famously said that "twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop". In 2015, I submitted a photo every week to the Wish You Were Here project. Each one has a place in my heart, but some are certainly better than others. Looking back, I tried to pick the ones I considered to be most significant to me, the ones I love the most and am most proud of. Choosing just twelve proved to be an impossible task, but in keeping with my aims for the project when founded it; to photograph both my family and the places we travel to, I did manage to choose twelve each of my people and favourite places. You can see my full collection of 2015 images here.

People

Places

Our Hong Kong Hiking Diaries

Hiking is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of Hong Kong, but since we moved here we have discovered that Hong Kong is covered by an amazing trail of hiking paths. A back garden for the city's apartment dwelling residents. We have also discovered that hiking is an activity that is fun for the whole family. Second only to trips to Disneyland and a whole lot cheaper!

Last Sunday we decided to explore a different part of the island and try a new hike. We started off with lunch in Shek O and then had a quick wander through the streets of the old village. Popular with photographers of every variety! After that we drove five minutes along the road to Big Wave Bay, got lucky with a parking space and then set off through the village to find the start of the Hong Kong Trail. It starts with a steep climb up above the village and through the jungle canopy. It takes about half an hour if you have five year old legs. Teenagers who are used to climbing up and down five flights of stairs every day at school can do it a lot faster! If you turn left at the top of the climb, you will join the beautiful Dragon's Back Trail. If you turn right, as we did, you leave the Hong Kong Trail and carry on back towards Big Wave Bay. After about fifteen minutes of level hiking, turn right at the clearing which contains a very welcome bench. Have a quick break, pose for a photo and then head off down the stone steps to be rewarded with amazing views and a finish at one of Hong Kong's most beautiful beaches and best surf spot.

This was the perfect Sunday afternoon family hike. Challenging without being exhausting.

Thailand

I didn't stray too far from my sun lounger to take most of these photos. For all the travelling our family does it's certainly not always vacation and not always relaxing. We planned this holiday, however with the intention of doing very little except enjoying the pool, the beach and a good book and that is exactly what we all did. Our villa was perfect and the beach was deserted except for the day that the local fishermen came out to fish for krill. We made one quick visit to a nearby sea turtle sanctuary, but spent the rest of the time making the most of the opportunity to spend time together as a family in the surf, the sand and the pool with it's built in island, or stage, depending on where the girls' imaginations took them. I am sure this visit to Phang Nga will be remembered as one of our favourite ever family trips.

Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival

Discovering, and adopting new celebrations and festivals is one of the best things about living overseas. And the longer we live in a country, the more someone else's Holiday becomes less of a novelty and more a part of our own family's tradition and culture. I still remember buying a few burgers fourteen years ago to grill on the BBQ so we could celebrate 4th July, after we had been living in the USA for just a month. It felt strange then, but now we miss celebrating it if we don't happen to be in the USA for Independence Day. Our British family now hosts a Thanksgiving meal wherever we are and I am sure we will always continue to mark Epiphany with a French Galette des Rois.

The Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival is sure to become one of those celebrations we adopt from our time in Hong Kong. This fun festival is traditionally a thanksgiving for the harvest and takes place on the night of the full moon between September and October. In the weeks leading up to the festival the local shops are filled with lanterns of all shapes and sizes and Mooncakes (which we are not so keen on) are the traditional food.

Last year, we had only been in Hong Kong for a few weeks and were still getting our bearings, but we did manage to attend a lovely, simple celebration hosted by Florence's Waldorf pre-school at Clearwater Bay Beach. It was our first time on that beach, now so close to home, where we have since spent so much time and which has been the subject of so many of my photographs over the past year.

This year, the festival fell later in the month and coincided with the super moon, although the eclipse wasn't visible from our part of the word. We had the confidence to brave the crowds this time and visit the lantern displays in Victoria Park. We got there at 6:30 just as the lights were switched on which was definitely a good move as the park was not too crowded and we could get close to all the displays. For me it felt like a cross between visiting the Battle of Flowers floats in Jersey and going to see the Christmas lights in America (two more fondly held traditions). Back home Georgia & Savannah finished off our celebration with some glow stick fun. Quite a contrast to the handmade paper lanterns from last year, but every experience a memory to treasure.

A New Home

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The Growing Berries have a new home and so, finally, does our blog.

This time last year we were settling into our new home in Hong Kong, excited to be discovering a new place but heartbroken to leave our friends and all that was familiar and loved in Paris. What felt like such a hard move to make as we were doing it has turned out to be an experience that has broadened our outlook on the world, given us even more opportunities to travel and found us even more friends.

Although I haven't been writing, I have continued to photograph furiously. Photographing our every day whilst taking more workshops than I care to admit. My first photography class, which I took three years ago so that I could make better photos for my blog, opened a Pandora's box which may never shut!

There are so many more photos in my Lightroom catalog than the weekly image I have been sharing for my Wish You Were Here collaboration. It's time to start sharing those stories old and new.