Author: Andrea Mai

  • THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

    I really liked the results of my last set of photographs I posted, so I decided to go back to Yorkville to create more. I love the way the cityscapes merge with the window displays along Bloor Street. There is something magical about it. Like being transported to a hyper-reality.

    I studied art throughout high school at an arts school. Most of my reference points for art are from the mid-century modern period. I am very much inspired by the early works of David Hockney’s poolside painting and painters like Elizabeth Peyton. I like the colours in my photographs to look like that of a painting or illustration.

    #Yorkville #windowdisplays #DavidsShoes #Dolce&Gabana #BloorStreet #hyperreality #Toronto #shoes #architecture #cityscapes #fashion #ManulifeCentre

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  • CATCHING THE LIGHT IN YORKVILLE

    There’s something really beautiful that happens at around 4pm along Bloor Street. This is when the sunlight is hitting the shop windows, casting a reflection of the city. The city starts to merge with the shop window displays. This latest set of photos captures what I am talking about.

    My first job after university was working at Holt Renfrew as an assistant to the visual display department. I learned so much from this experience and it has given me a real appreciation for beautiful window designs.

    #windows #HoltRenfrew #displaydesign #light #Yorkville #Toronto #Louis Vuitton #Gucci #style #fashion

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  • A LITTLE BIT OF PARIS IN TORONTO

    I met with my friend Victoria to do some head shot photos and and grab a coffee to catch up on what’s going on in life and business. We ended up in a beautiful little Parisian-style cafe just off of Spadina. We had croissants because we are both croissant obsessives (frankly when left to my own devices, I can consume a half-dozen of them by myself!). They serve a variety of teas and I had the mint-liquorice tea, which was very delicious.

    #Paris #cafe #Toronto #coffee #tea #croissant #portrait #autumn

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  • SELFIE-LOVE

    Sometimes the hardest person to love is yourself. You know about every flaw you have, every mistake you’ve ever made. You can hide from the world, but you can’t hide from yourself.

    To know yourself is to love yourself. To see yourself for who you are and to accept it, to even see your own beauty. This is true love. Most of us search to be loved by another because we need someone to assure us that we are lovable. But the truth is, who we are truly seeking to be loved  by is one’s self.

    What I love about photography is that it is not just about capturing what something looks like. It is capturing the energy, the soul. It is capturing what radiates from within. Which is why I find it so exciting to photograph portraits. I get to capture a rare glimpse of the beauty that one might not see within themselves. It is like getting to hold up a mirror to someone and showing them how beautiful they are.

    Here is a series of self-portraits of myself I did on a lazy Sunday morning.

    #selfies 3portrait #selflove #fan #light

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  • BEAUTY IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

    A few weeks ago, I was shooting portrait photos at Brookfield Place in the financial district of Toronto. There was a courtyard at the side of the building that I had never been to before. I noticed a little entrance way that is tucked behind an elevated platform of trees and plants. I walked up the steps and found a circular man made pond filled with lotus leaves and a single pink lotus flower. I was stunned that such a beautiful place was hidden amongst the city! You never know what you will find when you go explore…

    #lotus #BrookfieldPlace #flower #leaves #nature #water

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  • MAGIC IN MISSISSAUGA

    Yesterday I was at Square One in Mississauga with my friend, and noticed the new installation of a huge chandelier in the centre court. We just thought it was the most magical looking thing. I thought that it had a very Cinderella feeling to it. I did a quick portrait of Becca with it in the background.

    The plaque for the chandelier says that it is also made with LED, so I’m guessing it must light up in the evening. I would be looking forward to seeing that!

    #Lambent :SquareOne #Cinderella #magical #chandelier #light #interiordesign

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  • GOOD BYE, SUMMER

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  • #CAMPAIGNFORWOOL AT HOLT RENFREW TORONTO

    My first entrepreneurial venture was in the yarn trade. I imported alpaca yarns from Peru. I still love textiles made from natural fibres and I think it’s important for consumers to understand its true beauty. Line Knitwear and Holt Renfrew in Toronto teamed up to spread the awareness with its #CampaignForWool event where models demonstrated the fibre arts. A model was spinning magenta pink roving into yarn, while another was knitting while lounging on a giant knit chair. Wool fibres are warner than synthetics because they insulate heat while, as well as being breathable. They wash well and last a long time, making it worthwhile investment pieces.

    By the way, I still sell my collection of luxury knitting yarns, Fable Handknit. Check them out here.

    #HoltRenfrew #Line_TheLabel #WoolMark #WoolWeek #CampaignForWool

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  • TO BECOME MORE CREATIVE, GO WITH THE FLOW

    The key to unlocking creativity and intuition is trust.

    If you unlock your intuition, you will unlock endless creativity. What it takes to do that is trust, trust in the process and trust in yourself.

    This is like the story of Peter Pan teaching the children to fly. He told them that they just needed to believe and that they could fly just like him. To believe in anything requires trust. Trust in your own judgement about yourself and others. When you start trusting, magical things start to happen.

    Trust in one’s self is probably one of the biggest life lessons, possibly even larger than self-acceptance. It’s not easy to trust yourself because we live in a society that values logical information more than intuitive. Instead of looking within for answers, we look for external validation, confirmation from physical or scientific evidence that proves something to be true.

    The process of learning and practicing Numerology really taught me to trust in the process and to not judge the information. One thing that gets in the way of intuition is not trusting it because we judge it. Releasing judgement frees up your energy to simply go with the flow.

    I would do readings for complete strangers and start to notice the kind of information that would come up in a reading. No two readings I do are ever the same, even if they are the same numbers. I would unconsciously emphasize certain messages to individuals, not really knowing why. But it would always turn out to be the message that they most needed to hear at the time . I would also use particular phrases or words that are not part of my regular vocabulary and it would hit home with the person I was reading,

    Numerology is a gateway for intuitive information to come through because it has a structure that you can trust in and allow for other unforeseen elements to play out.

    When I was younger, I would be attached to the results of my creations, trying to control everything. Becoming upset if things didn’t go my way. It caused a lot of frustration within me and discouraged me from pursuing creative interests.

    There was some time when I worked as a freelance designer creating design pro types. When I started I felt confident and creative, but as I worked harder to create, the harder it became until,I had to give up because I felt stuck.

    I found that after developing my Numerology practice, I was becoming not only more intuitive, but creative.

    I had always been interested in creating video, but I found the pursuit to be intimidating. I was very self-conscious about how I might appear and sound like on camera. I started taking steps towards video, doing voice-over narration so that I wouldn’t have to appear on camera. Eventually I started appearing on camera. Practicing and getting familiar with the process.

    I would start making all kinds of videos and noticed that something magical unfolded. I would start filming things that I simply felt drawn to. Not having a reason to film it other than I felt drawn to it. I would film all this footage, not knowing what I might do with it.

    Days later I would be thinking about what I might do with it. What kind of story I could tell with it. Then it would hit me like a lightning strike. The concept would come to me, I’d get on the computer and start editing. The words to narrate would start coming out unscripted. But it would all make sense and the footage would start to fall into place, even the shots that I thought would be useless would have it’s place.

    Working from a place of intuition takes trust in your own abilities and to trust in the process. There is a sense of detachment where you are not afraid of its results. You have to put away your fears and the ego that might discourage you. You simply embrace the moment, going with what comes to yo, capturing it in whatever medium you work in. Whether it is writing down the words that come to you, or recording a melody that is playing in your head. You simply must catch it when it arrives and not worry what will become of it.

    Doing this will lead you to unlock your limitless potential. To feel freedom and a sense of endless possibility. You do not need to practice on the technical aspect of your skill, but to practice the discipline that it requires to listen to your inner voice, to not place judgement and to follow your curiosities, trusting in what presents itself to you.

  • REVIEW OF CANON EOS M3

    REVIEW OF CANON EOS M3

    I recently bought a new camera and it has opened up some new creative avenues. I was mainly buying this camera to upgrade my video quality. But because of the photography capacities, I am hooked on taking photos!

    The EOS M3 is a mirrorless camera. I had considered buying a DSLR such as the mini Canon 100D, but there are several features about this camera that really stood out to me. First, the EOS M3 has a 24 mp sensor, compared to its previous versions that were 18 mp. This means I am getting image quality that is comparable to a DSLR. I also like the tilting screen that can be flipped up fully for easy selfie photos.

    The other obvious feature that appealed to me is the weight of the camera. The camera body is lightweight compared to a DSLR, and I wanted something that would be travel-friendly and something that I could just carry in my purse. The camera comes with a zoom lens that is 18-50 mm. I have also ordered the 22mm pancake lens, which will make this camera even more lightweight.

    This camera has a port for an external microphone, which gives you more options if you are planning to use this camera for video making. I found that with an adapter, the Rode SmartLav mic can b used with this camera. I think this is a great option because this mic was originally designed for using with a smartphone, so this gives me even more options to work with in terms of mic use.

    The only thing about this camera is that it’s not available in North America. I bought this camera from an Ebay seller from Taiwan. A bit of a hassle to source a seller, but I feel that it was worth it because I really enjoy using this camera, and that means I will actually get a lot of use out of it.