The Noise in Wonderland: January 2016

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/30/16 .

Book Review: JASPER JONES

In 2016 I really want to get back into reading. I've always been a bookworm, and when I get really into a book I can fly through them like there's no tomorrow. So far my resolution is fairly on track because I've already finished one book for this year. You've probably heard of this one before because it's always had a good hype around it, I know I had certainly heard of it before picking it up - it's called Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.

I think I flew through this book like I've never flown through one before, I really did love it and can now totally understand why there has been such a buzz around this one and why it's managed to rack in it's fair share of awards.

The general gist of the book is there is a boy name Jasper Jones, he's the kid who has been given the 'bad boy' image in this small Australian town. No one really knows a whole lot about him, but he's been given a bad reputation all the same.

The other main character in the book, and the one who narrates the story for you, is Charlie. He's a good kid and really the stark opposite of what this Jasper Jones boy is meant to be like.

One night Jasper Jones randomly appears at Charlie's bedroom window and asks him for help, even though the two have never talked before. Jasper takes Charlie to show him something he has discovered (I won't reveal want that is because I don't want to give any spoilers here), and from there the story ravels through the mystery as these two boys try and solve it.

It is honestly a bloody great summer read, and I just know it will get you hooked once you start reading.

So if you're looking for something to accompany you on those long, lazy days to the beach, considering picking up this gem.

Book Review: JASPER JONES

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/28/16 .

The Cirque Cafe Has Rolled Into Town

The most read post on my blog to date is my piece on Dumpling Story. It's funny because that was such a quick post. I'd just been to this place which had just opened and loved it and really wanted to get my experience out there as quick as possible, so I don't think it's the best thing I've ever written, but it seems you guys loved it. So I want to deliver some more posts about places around Newcastle. I use to work as the Freelance Blog and Social Media Representative for Urban Walkabout, Newcastle. Each week I would go out to businesses in Newcastle, meet the owners and have a chat about their place of work and the awesome city of Newcastle. I wanted to share these blogs with you to give you more insight into the awesome places you can check out here in Newcastle. Also, as a side note, all the photos included with these posts are ones I did take myself while working for Urban Walkabout.

WHO: Cirque Café WHERE: 8 Bolton St, Newcastle NSW 2300

WHEN: Open now

The Essence: Pop into the Bolton street venue to enjoy the hustle and bustle of Newcastle while witnessing the performance of food creation.

The Facts: Cirque Café is the latest Modern Australia Cuisine establishment to grace Newcastle’s streets.
The name itself shows you’re in experienced hands, with owner and head chef, Keith Murray, taking inspiration from his 18 years in the business.
“When you work in kitchens for a long time, chefs are like it’s a circus basically. From what I remember when I was younger, people in the kitchen would always sing the circus song theme,” says Keith.
While behind the scenes things may get a bit crazy, customers will experience nothing but organised service. The classic dinner menu of the previously Hatted restaurant may no longer be around, but the quality food (whether it’s a light Fluffy Buttermilk Scone, or a hearty Big Breakfast) – made with a focus on locally sourced produce - makes Cirque a popular high-end café with locals.
Every visit can bring something new, with a constantly changing menu. “I change the menu quite a bit. It evolves around what customers want. I’ll take dishes off and put dishes on; you might come in one day and have something and come in the next day and it’s changed; hopefully its for the better,” explains Keith.
With an open kitchen as a focal point of the cafe, Keith invites you to “come to the circus and watch the show”

The Find: Try the gnocchi, the head chef’s favourite dish. “It’s simple but complicated.”

Originally appeared on Urban Walkabout

The Cirque Cafe Has Rolled Into Town

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/26/16 .

My Favourite Fashion Brands

All About Eve

I wish I could buy every crop top this brand puts out. With a mix of surf and grunge styles, I've always been a shorts and tee girl at heart, so this brand just speaks to me. Particularly as we're in the summer season, I wouldn't mind getting to stock my wardrobe with their stuff.

American Apparel

I'm sure 9/10 girls were obsessed at some point with their high-waisted disco pants. American Apparel is a bit more on the expensive side, but their items are great quality and you know they're going to last.

Boohoo

Quality fashion items at a cheap price, you just can't go wrong. They add items everyday, so I love heading back there, browsing and adding things to my cart, and then sadly closing down the page knowing I can't have it all, as you do.

Beginning Boutique

Cute florals and patterns, with a little bit of hippy, is how I would describe the clothes Beginning Boutique put out, and I love them! Whether you're looking for something to dress up in for a night out, or something to wander around in on a summer day, they've got something for both. They also have some great accessories to add on as well.

Billabong

I've always loved surf brands. Like I said before, I've always been a shorts and tee girl, and surf brands always deliver great pieces. I also always love the swimmers this brand puts out, particularly when the summer season roles in. A bit of a tip, jump on those swimmers when they go on sale during the winter season to save yourself some dollars.

Cotton On

Another place that offers good quality, on trend pieces for a price that won't clear out your bank account. They also tend to do some great sales. Their gym and underwear sections are also on point.

Dr. Martens

I've had an obsession with their boots since they came out. I've also recently fallen in love with their sandals. It's just something about their chunky look, throwing them on will instantly grunge up any outfit perfectly.

If you're a fan of any of these brands as well, and are feeling the itch to get your shop on, but you’re a bit worried about seeing those dollars flow out of your bank account, never fear.

All of these brands can be found on Fashion Lane. Fashion Lane is basically your one-stop shop for finding all the sales happening online now. Everyday they bring together discounts from over 100 brands, so you never miss out. They also have a Price Alert feature which will let you know when that dress you've had your eye on for weeks finally drops in price, which is both perfect, and dangerous, for the shopaholics of the world. If a brand you love isn't on there yet it just might be soon, because Fashion Lane are constantly adding new brands to their page. So keep your eye out.

This post was sponsored by Fashion Lane, however all opinions are completely my own.

My Favourite Fashion Brands

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/23/16 .

Tips For Living Alone

It's been almost a year since I moved out of home, and for the last six months of that I've been going this journey of independence on my own. So in honour of this I thought I'd share a few tips I have on deciding to go it alone.

Whether you’re moving out of home for the first time or just looking for a new place to house yourself, one option you might consider is living alone. Living by your lonesome is what dreams are made of for those with outgoing (weird) personalities or tendencies, or those who are generally irritated by other human beings. If you’re considering venturing into the world alone, or you already have, then here are a few tips you might want to jot down.

Know your neighbours

Getting to know the people who live around you can be beneficial for a few reasons. Firstly, it gives you someone to chat to if you’re ever feeling bored or alone. Secondly, it’ll also make you feel that little bit safer. Most people hate the idea of living alone because they feel like the second the lights go off someone is going to rob them. Knowing you have someone next door who you can run to, or who will at least hear you scream and come to your rescue, can help put your mind at ease. They’re also the perfect tool for getting rid of those terrifying spiders.

Get weird

What’s the point in living alone if you don’t embrace the fact you can do anything you want? Crack out the weird dance moves or have full-blown conversations with yourself. You can fulfil all your inner weird kid desires now, because there’s no one to catch you out.

Pretend your parents are coming to visit

When you live by yourself it’s easy to get lazy and let your house turn into something resembling a disaster zone. After all, there’s no one to see it or get annoyed by it. Even if it’s just once a week, trick your brain into thinking your parents are coming to visit, and you’ll be surprised how well you manage to keep your place looking schmick. If you can’t trick yourself, actually inviting them should do the trick.

Make plans

It can be easy to spend weeks just chilling inside on the couch watching Netflix. It’s fun, requires little to no effort on your part, and there are no annoying housemates you ever need to escape from. While some may strongly disagree, as fulfilling as it seems, this is no way to live - you need to get out and be social. So call up friends and family and make plans to get out for the day. If the thought of the outdoors hurts your soul that much, you can at least invite someone over to share that couch with you.

Save that money

Living alone can be a little more expensive than living with others in a few different ways. Your rent will normally be a bit higher, and if it’s not, it could mean the place for rent isn’t truly worthy of human habitation. Your bills may also be a little higher. True, there’s only one person using all the water and electricity instead of four, but because you no longer get to split the costs down the middle, you’ll find you have to fork out a tad more. To that end, make sure you save enough money over the weeks and months to cover these costs. Even more importantly, before you make the move, make sure this living situation is one you’ll actually be able to afford - otherwise it just takes all the fun out of it.
Originally published on Hijacked

Tips For Living Alone

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/21/16 .

Function Basics: The Exposure Triangle

It's time to bring it all together.

I've previously talked about aperture, ISO and shutter speed in seperate posts. However, these three features are far from seperate, in fact they are all connected and dependent one on another. Knowing how to use them individually is the first step to being able to take great photos. The next is being able to use all these three functions so that they compliment each other.

Together they are known as the 'Exposure Triangle', because in aligning all these features correctly you are ensuring the image is not underexposed or overexposed.

So how do they all work together?

Lets say you're out shooting during the day, meaning there's lots of light around. Say in this scenario you're using a big aperture, meaning not much light is being let in, what should you do here? Well to fix this the sensor in your camera just needs more time to collect light. To enable it to do this the shutter needs to stay open for longer, so you need to choose a longer or slower shutter speed.

What about if you're shooting with a smaller aperture in this type of environment? Obviously in this case you'll be allowing a lot of light in, which is the opposite of the situation above. So you need to respond in the opposite way as well by setting a shorter or faster shutter speed, to help ensure you don't overexpose your image.

So if you were to increase your shutter speed from 1/125th of a second to 1/250th of a second, you're basically cutting the amount of light your letting in, in half. To then compensate for this you have two possible options, and which you choose may depend on what type of situation you're shooting. You could increase your aperture by one stop or choose a faster ISO (remember though the higher your ISO, the more grain or noise you start to introduce into your photo).

If you're just starting out a great way to practice is in Aperture Priority Mode. In this mode you only have to figure out what aperture is correct for your situation, and the camera does the rest of the work. It can also be good to have a go shooting in the other available modes (such as shutter priority) so you can really start to practice and learn how each element of the triangle affects another.

Function Basics: The Exposure Triangle

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/19/16 .

January Mixtape

My first mixtape post for the new year! For some reason this month I've been loving more chill, indie, remix tracks (probably those summer vibes rubbing off on me). I even love running and working out to them because it makes me feel relaxed and calm which seems to help keep me going longer. I also tend to wander off into daydreams and it's only when that true burn starts to set in that I'm dragged back to reality.

TRACK LIST

Florence & The Machine - Shake It Out

Justin Bieber - Sorry (Deep House Remix)

Kyo - Stay (ft Maty Noyes)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Won't Back Down (Bohm Remix)

Ben Phipps - Fireproof (ft Dustin Paul)

Jack Garratt - Worry

Sigla - Sweet Lovin'

Taylor Buono - Sorry (EZY Lima Remix)

Adele - Hello (Laibert Remix)

January Mixtape

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/14/16 .

Beginner's Equipment/Current Equipment/Wishlist

Welcome back to another photography-related post!

I've been doing a lot of talking about photography functions and settings you can use to get great shots, and I've decided it's time to turn our attention to something else, the equipment! The stuff that is actually going to allow you to go out, play around and practice with what I've written about so far. I decided to make this a bit of a combined post. First I'm going to start off by talking about what equipment I brought the first time I ever delved into the world of photography, because I think it was a perfect choice for someone just starting out. Then I want to chat about the bits and pieces I have now, and then finish off with what equipment is currently on my wishlist and why.

BEGINNERS

Twin Lens Kit

This is what I brought myself the first time I ever brought some good camera equipment, and I still think it's the perfect option for beginners. I'm sure different types of middle-range camera bodies would come in similar kits, but for reference, I picked up the Canon EOS 700D DSLR. This also came with two lens, a 18-55mm and a 55- 250mm. This kit gives you everything you need to really start practicing and learning photography and still take some awesome photos. Something to remember when you go into the store, you will also need to buy an SD card and some clear lens protectors (these are vital to protecting your expensive lenses, it's better to scratch the protector than the lens). You could however pick up some of these on eBay if you want, but if you're going to go out shooting straight away, though it's more expensive, I'd recommend picking up at least one while you're there so you're lens has some protection against the elements. Usually when you're going in and buying all of this at once, the people in the store will do you a deal. For example, my total for all of this came to $999 (which is the advertised price for the just the twin lens kit in some places!)

CURRENTLY

Canon EOS 700D DSLR

I still have the same camera I brought back when I grabbed a twin lens kit myself, a Canon EOS 700D DSLR. It's about a middle of the range, entry-level camera, and I think it's perfect for beginners or just anyone who wants a pretty good quality camera to take everyday photos. It has all the necessary features that as a beginner you need to learn to improve your photography, it has video recording, and a feature I love (being a short person trying to take photos of something above me), a flip out screen that you can choose to view your images through. One thing about it, and which is pushing me in the direction of upgrading, is that it isn't Full Frame, which basically means you can't capture as wide an image as other models.

Sigma AF 24 - 70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens

Basically I brought this one to replace the original Canon 18-55mm lens which came in the kit. I was using that Canon lens pretty much all the time, so I wanted to upgrade to something a little bit better. This Sigma lens is what I chose. The main reason is because, at the time, I was really getting into gig photography, and a lens like this is a great one to have for that sort of low-light environment thanks to its low aperture. There have since been some other lenses I've found and got my eye on (see below) but I don't plan on getting rid of this one any time soon. If you have the camera for general everyday use and are using it quite a bit, but would like to increase the quality of your everyday photos, I think this lens it perfect and would be all you need.

Canon EFS 55 - 250mm f/4 - 5.6 IS STM Telephoto Lens

This is one of the original lenses from the twin lens kit I brought. I've held on to this one basically so I have more shooting options. Being telephoto, it allows you to zoom in real close for some great macro photography. Alternating, if you're further away from the action you're trying to shot, this baby can help you out. I'll admit I rarely ever crack this one out of the bag, though there have been instances I didn't take it along with me and found myself wishing I did, so I figure it's worth holding on to. I aim to try and bring it along with me more this year whenever I go out and try and capture some images with it.

WISHLIST

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

This is new the expensive toy on my wishlist, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Obviously, because it's a higher model, it can produce better quality images. It is also Full Frame and it is more resistant to dust and water, which never hurts. This body paired with the right lens for the job can produce some outstanding images. Now I just need to save up around $3000.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens

This is one lens I want to get my hands on to improve my blog photography. The main reason it will do that is thanks to its low aperture capabilities. The photos on my blog tend to mainly be close up images of products and other items. While my current lens is capable of taken decent pictures, this baby, I feel, will take my pictures to that next level. Essentially the smaller aperture will mean a blurry background and sharper images that really pop. It is also a great one for taken some pretty awesome portrait photos.

(cheaper alternative - Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens)

Basically what you're looking at here is a cheaper version of the Sigma 50mm mentioned above offered by Canon. It's not everyday you find that Canon is the one handing out the cheaper alternative to what you're after and honestly not many people can tell a big a difference between the two. It seems the main point of difference, only noticeable when you really take a good look at comparison photos, is that the Sigma tends to create a slightly sharper image. For my personal situation, I think the decision on which to get will depend on what price I can manage to find either of these for, but really either of the two will do the job.

Canon EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8 Lens

This bad boy is one of the last things on my wishlist (mainly thanks to the $2600 price tag). This is the other lens I want to complete my gig photography kit. With a price tag like that you know it just has to be able to produce some stunning images. It is basically a very, very, very good version of the 55 - 250mm lens I mentioned earlier. Having this baby by my side while at gigs would allow me to get some real stunning close up images of the action. A girl can dream..

Amy Theodore

The Noise in Wonderland

Book Review: JASPER JONES

Book Review: JASPER JONES

Book Review: JASPER JONES

Book Review: JASPER JONES

The Cirque Cafe Has Rolled Into Town

The Cirque Cafe Has Rolled Into Town

My Favourite Fashion Brands

My Favourite Fashion Brands

Tips For Living Alone

Know your neighbours

Get weird

Pretend your parents are coming to visit

Make plans

Save that money

Tips For Living Alone

Function Basics: The Exposure Triangle

Function Basics: The Exposure Triangle

January Mixtape

January Mixtape

Beginner's Equipment/Current Equipment/Wishlist

Beginner's Equipment/Current Equipment/Wishlist

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