lovely little inspiration: audrey lin of brunch at audrey’s on blogging, writing, & photography
Happy, Happy Monday, All!
This morn I have a wonderful little interview with Ms. Audrey for you…
I stumbled upon Brunch at Audrey’s by complete chance just several months ago, and am so very glad I did. From the moment I landed on her homepage, I knew that her personal lifestyle blog would be an absolute favorite read of mine. And I was totally right.
Audrey is a remarkably talented writer and photographer, and it is such an honor to feature her here on Lace & Lilacs today. Audrey – thank you so, so much for answering the questions below. Everyone else – I hope you enjoy this post.
1) When and why did you begin blogging? Was there something or someone in particular that inspired you?
2) So, Audrey, you were born in Los Angeles, raised in Beijing, and are Taiwanese by blood. Now you’re attending college in the states! How have your experiences in these different places effected your outlook on the world?
3) Do you have a favorite post on your blog? If so, what is it?
Ah this is so hard to choose! My blog is a personal lifestyle blog, which means that most (if not all) posts come hand in hand with memories. I’m not sure whether my answer will be for your question, what my favorite blog post is, or unintentionally steer toward the unasked question of what my favorite blog-documented memory is.
With that being said, my “favorite post” is So College. It doesn’t show the greatest sample of photography like this one might, but the thoughts behind it mean a lot to me. The event at hand is a sleepover, but the musings are about the feeling of permanence, or the lack thereof, and coming to terms with it in college. I also personally love the candid polaroids. They aren’t the most aesthetically creative snapshots, but they feel very in-the-moment, and that’s what I love capturing with my blog.
4) You have such a way with words, Audrey! Is there anything in particular that inspires your writing (for example, a time of day, a specific place, etc)?
Inspiration is perishable, but the good news is that it isn’t a scarce resource (x), and my favorite place to draw it from is my everyday life. My life is pretty average, but it’s the little things that count, right? I bring my camera around wherever I can, I sift through the photos I take, and I base my writing off of that. This is why I love personal lifestyle blogging so much. Everyone’s life is different, everyone’s stories are different, so everyone has something different to tell. And at the same time, there’s something that connects us all.
Sometimes I’m stuck for inspiration and my own personal life isn’t enough to feed off of, so I try to find it in just about anything else. Sometimes I’m in the mood for reading other blog posts, or for reading novels, or for watching vlogs, or for chatting with friends, or for good food, or for a shower, or for a break.
When I’m on a roll, I let myself keep rolling, because inspiration is fleeting. That’s why you might find me online at odd hours of the day, or night.
Oh and I’m also a fan of epic movie soundtracks. You get the awesome music without the distraction of lyrics.
5) Your photography is lovely, too! How did you become interested in taking photographs, and is there a particular subject that you most love shooting?
The last few months before the end of high school, my friends and I decided that it was about time for us to take advantage of our city, to do all those tourist-y things we laughed at tourists for doing, to do all those local things we took for granted, because it’d be the last time in a long time we’d all be together to do it. Our great adventure, our last hurrah.
And the way we decided to go about it was through photography. At this point, I myself hadn’t gotten into photography yet, but most of my friends had been doing photography and graphic design for quite some time now, and through this project it started rubbing off on me.
Little signs of life are what I’m most interested in, even if it’s just a dirty mug. I love catching people unawares (#candid ftw), even if it’s just a hand. In fact, sometimes I find faceless portraits even more interesting than ones with faces. I’m not so hot at posed portraits, but that’s something I’m definitely interested in working on. In the meantime, inanimate objects are pretty good at ignoring me when I’m there, so I like taking advantage of that by getting up close and personal with a low aperture.
I also enjoy food photography, but I’m not sure if I’m enjoying the food part more or the photography part 😉
6) What blogs do you derive the most inspiration from?
The Fresh Exchange manages to find inspiration in every little thing—clothes are more than just clothes, interior is more than just interior, places are more than just places, business is more than just business. They find inspiration from life itself, which is very much what I aspire to do.
I also read The College Prepster quite religiously because it’s like catching up with an old friend, and also because I find it the most relatable as a young lady and student in college. Other relatable personal lifestyle blogs I love are Ice Pandora and Sailboat.
Jennypurr never fails to bring fresh content and offer different things to think about. The Nectar Collective is also a great source; I even based my 2015 blogging goals off of a worksheet they created!
When I want to escape my reality, I find inspiration over at Paris in Four Months and The Londoner. Everyone needs a bit of Paris and London!
7) What advice would you give to someone just beginning their a) photography and b) blogging journeys?
Disclaimer: Will not work for all. I’m not particularly comfortable with giving advice because people get the idea that it’s a one size fits all but it’s not, so my advice is actually something I’d like to pass on from someone else: with anything you do, first figure out WHY, because purpose fuels you in a way that passion can’t (x). My addition to that is to also know that you’re not bound to it; it’s okay for your “why” to change. I had a little trouble with that myself—over-commitment issues pft, or more like over-compensation (x). Now that we got that out of the way, what I find works for me is to:
a) Just keep snapping. Every snap is one step closer to The Picture. Don’t hesitate, just snap. You have nothing to lose except the moments you’re missing. Unless you’re running on film of course. In that case, definitely do not take this piece of advice.
b) Cherish this period. Everyone’s waiting to make it big, but cherish this small moment. Be fearless. When you first start, there’s no one on the other end, or at least there are less people now than there’ll be later. Don’t take this the wrong way, but… whatever you do, it’s not a big deal. So experiment. Make mistakes. Do it now, figure it out later. When you’re a big badass blogger you’ll wish you had that freedom. Or that’s what I presume anyway. Still working on that… ;P
Also realize that you’re not alone. Want your voice heard? Write a guest post over at someone who has already established an audience. Curious readers wanting more may come over to check you out. Content for them, audience for you. Win-win. And most importantly, you’re building a community.
Thanks again, Audrey! I can’t wait to see the lovely posts you’ll be sharing over these next few months.
xoxo,
Abby
Ohhh now I have to go check out her blog!!! It sounds absolutely lovely 😀
Oh, you must, Anne! Audrey’s blog is just wonderful.
Hope you’re having a fab evening! xoxo
I’m so glad that we found each other in the blogosphere! I’ve enjoyed your blog (and podcast and magazine and all your projects!!) so much, but more significantly I’m so glad to have found a friend in you! Thank you so much for having me over here, and I can’t wait to dish out some more posts either ;P -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
I’m so, so happy that I stumbled upon your blog, Audrey! You’re so sweet <3
Hope you're having a wonderful day!
xxx
So lovely to read this post about Audrey! I can’t believe how much she has travelled, and I agree her photography is great!
Love Audrey’s blog and Audrey is so lovely too!
Xx
Thanks for the sweet comment, Lucy-Claire! Audrey’s blog is INCREDIBLE and Audrey is one of the nicest people, like… ever 🙂
xx <3
Wonderful interview, I particularly loved this gem: “Cherish this small moment. Be fearless.” So wise!
Thanks for the comment, Laura; I’m so glad you enjoyed the interview! ‘Wise’ definitely describes Audrey. 🙂
Hope you’re having a lovely day!
xx