zhangling❤photography

I've lamented in the past over how Ottawa doesn't have a real spring season and it jumps very suddenly from winter to summer, usually in May-June, right around the annual Tulip Festival. This year, however, we got some sort of pseudo-spring, with the frequent rainy days and fluctuating temperatures. The weather gods must be smirking down on me with their little practical joke but joke's on them because I was super motivated to come up with cute spring outfits! So here goes my very first Spring Fashion post, whoo-hoo! The theme for the outfits below are two colours that I've had a longstanding struggle to wear: pink and purple. I've mentioned in previous blog posts that growing up a tomboy meant rejecting a lot of pink and purple, that even to this day, I'm finding it a challenge to incorporate both colours into my wardrobe. A lot of historical attempts have always felt a little bit like playing dress up, as opposed to actually utilizing pieces that were a...

Due to unexpected delays, this post is actually more timely now than originally planned. On this date exactly one year ago, I had just finished my visit to my birth city and parental hometowns. The photos from my trip sat on my hard drive for a whole year until I started writing this post. Millennium Lucky Bell (千年吉祥钟) in Yellow Crane Tower Park (黄鹤楼公园) My initial reaction at first review of the photos was the familiar sigh and groan at the sheer volume. I try not to be too trigger-happy when shooting but it's easy to lose track in this digital era. I did a quick scan and filtered out the ones I liked most. However, on my second pass, I felt this sinking feeling in my chest. These were my first couple picks (that I still really like): Historic sites and an ancient village (古镇) But the sinking feeling was this weird sort of delayed shame. There were historic reenactors at one of the historic sites but all the photos I picked were of actual people going about their...

Even before the final post of the 2017 Fashion project, I knew I wouldn't actually be done with fashion photography. And while I'm enjoying the fashion challenge of my 2018 personal lookbook project, I do miss the fun dynamic of shooting with others. So I reached out to my fashionmister buddy to see if he'd be interested in more fashion shoots and building a lookbook. If you couldn't tell, he agreed! And with the perfect spring-like weather finally  pulling through this past weekend -- I love it when everything comes together :) I tried some more graphics-y styling on some of the photos, just playing around but I think I like the effect! Camel Coat from Zara Sunglasses from Gentle Monster Shoes from Steve Madden Watch from NY Incredibles Hope you enjoyed the photos! Thanks for reading :)

I'm going to come out and say it -- spring is my least favourite season (that's as harsh as it gets, I'm Canadian and we're nice, sorry :P) Knowing my trip to China was going to cut March into a month even shorter than February, I was in full-blown panic mode the second I hit publish on the February post. I really liked how last post's product and fashion shoots were related, so I kept going through my closet trying to find an item that would trigger the brain blast I needed to get the ball rolling. But for the first full 2 weeks of the month, I made absolutely zero progress - no ideas, no inspiration, nada. And suddenly I was a week out from my trip and guess what, I also didn't managed to pack anything  for my trip! I looked up weather in the cities in China that we would be visiting, and they would have actual spring weather, with sunny rays, some rain (understandable), and lots of flower blossoms! Nothing like the second winter we get in Ottawa (I swear we...

A couple weeks ago, when weather finally started taking a nicer turn, I wanted to wear one of my (many) new dresses.  The nicer weather did not go unnoticed by Nick either, and he suggested we visit the experimental farms by Dow's Lake after work for some photos.  Excitedly, I chose this vintage periwinkle blue number, but since I prefer not to be sleeveless at work, also layered a white blouse underneath. Didn't realize my accidental cosplay until I showed up to the office and the teasing began. Where's Toto? Me: Hm? Haha, he's saying you look like Dorothy! Me: !! I thought you look like Alice in Wonderland. Me: (finally taking a good, hard look in the mirror) Okay, if anything, I look like Belle from Beauty and the Beast! Ohh yeaaahhhh (cue more laughing and light teasing) Dress - Vintage find from Kingston VV Blouse - Vintage find from Ottawa VV Tote - Coach  Cherry keychain - Kate Spade Sandals - Vintage Aldo from Ottawa VV If I look the ...

Very excited for today's post for a number of different reasons: First off, this makes post #4 which means I'm already a third of the way through my 2017 fashion photography project! Each month has been so different, I honestly can't wait to see what the upcoming months will have in store. This month features our first look at my sole male model for this project, as well as some extra shots when I tried my hand at car photography. So without further blabbing from me, let's get to the good stuff :) Shirt from Massimo Dutti Pants from Banana Republic Q: Tell me a little bit about your style. A: I prefer a clean business casual look but with a modern touch (roll up pants with boat socks) Shoes from Steve Madden Q: What are some of your fashion inspirations?  A: I don’t think that there is a specific brand that I base my personal fashion on. However, I do shop a lot (online and in-store) and like to pick out my own pieces. If I ever do...