Spinner 360

While I was in NYC, I really wanted to make a special trip to the lomography store and buy something really amazing to bring home. I decided to buy a 360 spinner. Frustratingly, the store did not have any 35mm color film so I ended up buying black and white. Don't get me wrong, I love black and white film, but I think some of these photos would've been really amazing in color. I hand processed this film in the darkroom and my favorite photography friend Robert scanned the negatives in so that I could share them here.

Retro Vacation Photos {Sydney Harbor}

Sydney, Australia was one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. It was clean and new and modern. I loved the Opera House, it was incredible to go inside such a famous structure.

This post pretty much wraps up my Retro Vacation Photo Series. What a fun summer! I am so glad I was able to take some time to dig through my old photos, scan them all in, and remember these amazing trips. 

Remember, its not a good vacation until you feed something out of the palm of your hand.

Retro Vacation Photos {Australia}

As much as I loved New Zealand, Sweden, England, Norway/Denmark, and Italy; Australia was the country with the most adventure.

The tour was so organized, we got to do more than just annoying little scheduled shopping trips, we actually had thrilling things to experience. I have so many memories from this trip. I can practically describe it using all five senses. I can remember distinctly how the giant biscuits with fresh whipped cream and jelly we had for a snack one day tasted, to the fresh-grilled fish we had for lunch. We actually tried vegimite on toast. blech. Our tour bus was constantly filled with the sounds of Australian music like 'Down Under' or movies like Whale Rider.

We got to try throwing a boomerang, cracking a whip, we rode in off-rode jeeps through the bush, we got to snuggle koala bears, and feed wild wallabies right out of the palm of our hand.

We got up close and personal with a sand monitor on Fraiser Island (while we talked about wild dingos and snatched babies) and we swam in the beautiful white-sand lake.

We took a long boat ride to the tip of the Great Barrier Reef and snorkled and scuba dived with the tropical fish. 

We went on a tree top hike through a rain forest and some people even climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Not me. I was too chicken.

When I wasn't singing along to the music or watching the movies on the bus, I was reading Bill Bryson's Down Under. It was an incredible companion to the trip. I learned so many fun facts about Australia while I was actually there. I must add that Bill Bryson is an incredible writer. He is so funny and informed. Loved the book so much.

Retro Vacation Photos {New Zealand}

New Zealand was one of my favorite places. It was definitely one of the most exotic destinations I have ever experienced.

I did a lot of detailed journaling on this trip in my trip notebook.

Frustratingly, even though it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, since we went in May (early winter/late fall for the southern hemisphere), it was cloudy and foggy much of the time, and I just didn't get as many great photos of the natural landscape as I would've liked.

And when I did hand my camera off to someone to try to get a good one of me...they often didn't know how to use it. This was one of the first trips where nearly everyone had a digital camera. When I went to Italy just a few years prior, everyone was using film. But on this trip, everyone had pretty much switched to digital cameras....

Hi mom. I'm in New Zealand!! (huge thanks to whoever took this picture. good job.)

Kind of reminded me of Missouri.

The day we went to see the geysers in Rotorua it was so rainy and foggy!

We got to visit the Waitomo glow worm caves. It was incredible. I knew that I wouldn't be able to adjust my camera to the right settings in our little moving canoe, so I just made the executive decision to enjoy the cave as it was from my own eyes and not spend the whole time fiddling with aperture and shutter speed.

I found these little postcards and things from my scrapbook from the trip. They are too precious not to share.

Rugby players...in the airport...SO HOT! New Zealand had the most gorgeous men.

The carvings and art of the Maori are just incredible.

Retro Vacation Photos {Los Angeles}

The very last voyage I took with the University was a two week trip to Australia and New Zealand. Since we had a long layover in Los Angeles, we were able to have a full day excursion around the area. It was pretty cool to see the farmer's market and the famous Hollywood Boulevard.We also stopped by the Venice Beach and one girl jumped in with all of her clothes on. Her Nokia brick cell phone was in her pocket at the time...oops.

It was just a little bit too foggy to see the Hollywood sign. BUMMER!

To see more photos from this series, click here.