Brighton Beach as the Sun Sets, Brighton, England, United Kingdom

We had a social on the beach as the sun was setting. Love the colors.

Burnt Brighton West Pier at Sunset, Brighton, United Kingdom

Goodness it has been a while! Sorry. So many changes! I am now living in the UK, doing a graduate program at the University of Sussex. I will try to update more and put up more pictures of my surroundings. The city of Brighton is a lovely place. The weather is finally cooling down, but ever since I got here it has been really warm and sunny. Love the view from my flat (this picture was taken from my room).

[23/365] Brighton Train Station, Brighton, United Kingdom

Sometimes I ask myself why I do this - I've had many hobbies and collections in my lifetime, but committment hasn't been my strongest point. I started this photo diary on April 12, 2009, and amazingly, I am still going - nearly a photo a day - a few misses here and there. I'm actually proud of myself for still keeping up with this. I think its the love of art and beautiful things. Photography is an art form that captures a moment in reality. I make an effort to get out there and see new sights in the world - I think it is the best form of memory I can find.

What started my love of cameras and photography? Maybe my parents instilled this in me - I was photographed many, many, many times since birth - I have albums upon albums at home of each year of my childhood. I got my own film camera sometime in high school and my freshman year in college brought me my greatest gift of all - my first digital camera. Several digital cameras later and I'm still at it. :)

Keeping a daily photo blog keeps me interested in new developments in the photography world and challenges me to find new camera accessories and new destinations - it has certainly been an expensive hobby, but thank goodness for my full time job. It's been fun and I hope to be doing it for a while to come. I'm trying to expand my horizons and dive into fashion photography and portraits. Hopefully you have enjoyed following me on my journey... I like to think this is my own personal mission, and even though having a ton of readers isn't my main goal, it sure helps motivate me to continue. Thank you for reading!

With that said, this is a photo from last summer. I went to visit my friend, Kristin Espanola, in Brighton, UK and I took this photo of the trains as I was leaving to go back to London. I can't say it enough, the rail system in Europe is amazing!

Arcade/Casino on the Brighton Pier, Brighton, United Kingdom

It was a very hot day when we visited the Brighton Pier, and as we came upon this domed amusement arcade, we went in for refuge from the heat. It was odd because there were arcade games for all ages, but along the side, there were slot machines with age restrictions. Through the arcade and out the back doors were fairground rides and even a haunted house ride. Along the pier, you could see families lying out on the beach and playing in the water. It seemed as if everyone in Brighton was out and enjoying the sunny day!

The Seagull & the Remains of the West Pier, Brighton, United Kingdom

As Kristin and I walked along the beach, she mentioned to me the history of the West Pier (seen behind the seagull). After a series of unfortunate events, the pier is in its present condition, the framework for what was once a pier with a concert hall on it extending to land. It was built in 1866, but by 1975, it was officially closed for renovation. In 2002, the weather caused part of it to collapse and this damage was further exacerbated by a fire in 2003, followed by yet another fire just 2 months later that completely destructed the concert hall. In 2004, strong winds completely collapsed the middle of the pier and in 2005, the white hut collapsed. Fast forward to 2009, and this is what it currently looks like. Talk about a string of bad luck...

[day 2] Brighton Gardens, Brighton, United Kingdom

I haven't had time to update - finally doing it now!

On my second day in the UK, I took a train in the morning to visit Kristin and to visit the beach city of Brighton! I haven't seen her in a long time so it was great catching up. It was a sunny day and great weather (although it did get a bit too hot at a point), and I enjoyed it very much. The gardens have flowers throughout in a mixture of pastel colors and I couldn't stop admiring their color combinations. The area had architecture similar to the one in this picture, as well as the Royal Pavilion right around the corner. It was unexpected design, but fit in nicely with the garden.

After walking around this area, we walked to the beach and the pier. The pier was full of rides and ice cream and little shops, and there was even an arcade that not only had games for kids, but gambling for adults. I'm not sure why they'd put both in the same location where kids could easily confuse them. Anyway, we then walked around some more and then headed to Kristin's flat. It was a cute little place and there, we watched some TV and napped since the weather outside was so hot.

Left her place, walked around some more, headed back to the train station and I was on my way back to London!

Nightlife in the city of London - thanks to some connections (or maybe Wendy paying for everything haha) we got in VIP status to Vendome, an exclusive club in London. It was a lot of fun! They played lots of the usuals you'd hear in clubs in the US, and of course, they had to play some Michael Jackson!