My favorite place in Schaumburg, IL

All images © 2012 Christine Han Photography

No trip to my homeland of suburban Chicago is complete without a visit to Spring Valley, where I've been going since I was an itty bitty kid. It's beautiful in summer, fall, winter, and spring...so basically all the time. My first black and white darkroom prints in high school were of this place.  Since then I keep coming back for more, and though the place is tiny, I never tire of bringing my camera along on a walk. I think this is where I fell in love with tall grass; it must have imprinted early in my little kindergarten brain.

Cherry-picking

Last weekend, we picked sour cherries at Mackey's Orchard in Belvidere, New Jersey. Did you know you can pit cherries easily with a paper clip? Just bend it open and use it like a hook to scoop out the pit.  Thanks for the tip, Marina!

All images © 2012 Christine Han Photography

We went camping Memorial Day weekend

...and of course I captured it all on Instagram! I realize the point of camping is to get away and unplug, but I couldn't help it. I was secretly grateful I had cell phone service in some spots so I could snap and share. Here's the re-cap, all shot on my iPhone 4 and shared on Instagram. Follow me @christineshoots

We camped at Moffitt Beach Campground on Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondacks. It was mighty fine.

All images © 2012 Christine Han

Completely obsessed and addicted to...

...Instagram. I take photos with my iPhone all the time but didn't share them much. Until now.  I discovered it a month or two ago and just cannot stop. It is my social media match. Unlike blogging, or facebook, or twitter, I have to hold myself back from posting too much and it doesn't feel like a chore at all. I have a problem. I'm on it so much that I can't even jog for more than 5 minutes without stopping to take a picture and then upload it. That's what happened with these swans at Prospect Park today:

I almost can't live properly because I'm constantly taking pics to post on Instagram. If it's pretty, I want you to see it. Like this hat shop T and I came across on our walk this past Sunday.

Or the old-timey dining room at Mohonk Mountain House:

Or this beautiful moment:

Which happened on this beach in Malibu, CA:

It's like show and tell. Like, I picked up this pie plate at the thrift store and I want to show it to you:

All images © 2012 Christine Han

So, basically, I'm addicted and I post at least one photo everyday. Today I posted four. And I look at hundreds of other people's Instagram photos. It's so easy, so immediate. I can also see what my friends are up to in a way I never did before because they too are constantly snapping and uploading. Yes, you could do this with fb or twitter too, but it never worked that well for me. Maybe Instagram's singular devotion to images makes it simpler to use. Maybe it's because I'm a photographer who is better at pics than words.  In any case, if you're on it, let me know. I'd love to see what you're up to.

Follow me @christineshoots for a steady stream of pretty pictures, all taken on my iPhone, which goes with me everywhere. It's my new way of "blogging."