Disposable (Waterproof) Camera Fun!

Roadtrip | Alice Springs, NT to Darwin, NT | 27 June ― 7 July 2011

Florence Falls & Buley Rock Pools, Litchfield Nat'l Park | Bitter Springs & Roper River, Mataranka

We began our journey in Australia's "Red Centre," driving up north to the country's tropical "Top End." In 11 action-packed days, we saw and experienced mind-blowing natural wonders. John (the funny, easy-going British bloke), Ben (the Israeli giant), Cecile and Julie (the friendly French girls) and I had an unforgettable time on the road together. Kudos to Gumtree and hostel bulletin boards for helping us find travel mates in each other, bahaha.

Long story short, my Sony digicam effed up and stopped working sometime throughout the roadtrip. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because luckily, John had a spare camera I could use. And guess what?! It was an underwater camera! And it was soooo much fun to use! Why? Because I had forgotten what it felt like to take pictures like back in the day.. that feeling of hoping for the best with each click.. because you don't have the luxury of deleting the photo and taking another one.

These 8 are my favourite photos of the set of 27. WYSIWYG! I haven't cropped any of these photos, nor have I messed around with them in Photoshop. I absolutely love how they turned out! They have an old-school quality to them.. vivid colours.. a grainy-ish texture.. love! Look at how that kid jumping into the water almost appears 3D, awesome! And look closely at the photo in the bottom right-hand corner. If you can spot the croc, you win a prize. The disposable camera is not dead, folks!

Food-y Australian Tea Towels

Love the aesthetic of these Aussie tea towels! I spotted them at the Info Centre in Tennant Creek, a small town we passed by while roadtrippin' the Outback. The tinge of brown that both tea towels have reminds me an art technique back from when I was a young one. We'd let (Tetley?) tea bags soak in big buckets of warm water, then crumple up sheets of white paper in the water. After the paper was laid out to dry, you'd end up with imperfect, ol' school-lookin' brown sheets of paper. Perfect for a variety of school projects! Anyone wanna make me Drover's Damper?

[DAY 233] SHELLEY IN OZ

On 20 June 2011, Dennis, Jonas and I were in a terrible car accident while driving through the Aussie Outback. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. Can't really describe how I felt during the split-seconds that it happened... all I know is I'm thankful to be here today. At 110 km/hr, the little Ford Falcon flipped over twice before crashing into a ditch on the left hand side of the road. It's true, people, seatbelts save lives. So buckle up and drive responsibly, please. Cherish each and every day and realize that truly, money can't ever buy happiness.