Blown-up family photos only work when they speak to your inner art critic, and cool and candid wins every time.

When the right photo comes along, you’ll want to monumentalize it on the wall right there alongside your Mapplethorpe plates. Bumblejax does a superb job of mounting your photo (from $70) on a variety of materials from acrylic to metal to lightweight foam. Simply upload your high res image and choose the material. Your photo will arrive ready to hang in a few days.

Blow it up big. The effect is larger than life. —Athena Tsavliris

www.bumblejax.com

You never love your city more than when you're returning to it. The most beautiful home-flights land at the crack of dawn, when the skyline rises to greet you, and blue mist bursts on the needle of the CN Tower. Ahhh. Toronto. You did miss it, after all.

It's a moment held delicately in this expired-Polaroid film snap, taken from Ward's Island and reprinted by Geoff and Anabela of the loverly local blog—and Etsy shop—Fieldguided. Get yours for $10 in 6'x8'' or 5'x7'' with a glossy or matte finish. Give it an old wooden frame, spray-painted white.

Hang with care. —SNP

http://fieldguided.blogspot.com/

There are photographers among us who would rather shoot with retro cameras than high-tech ones, and who like ther images wacky, experiemental and techinically flawed. For them, there is the Lomo.

Toronto’s first Lomography Gallery Store is dedicated to the irreverent, whimsical, colour-saturated Lomo experience. Dozens of analog cameras await, from supersamplers (multiple frames in one photograph) to the classic Holga. You’ll find all the accessories too, plus plenty of books for inspiration.

Lomography is about making mistakes, and framing them too.

Lomography Gallery Store, 536 Queen St. W., Toronto, www.lomography.ca

Who remembers holidaying with a hot pink Kodak-for-Fisher-Price camera?

Brooklyn-based photographer Mina Georgescu has turned her childhood hobby into a body of work that is truly magical.

Her Coney Island and Other Magical Places series conjures memories of eating candyfloss on a ferris wheel or building sandcastles under a steaming hot sun.

If only we could say the same for our weird and wonky holiday snaps.

www.minagraphy.com

It doesn’t take a lot to make us happy—white peonies, a French interiors magazine or freshly pressed sheets.

A website called kiss my spatula has the same affect. The photographs alone on this delightful food blog are enough to make you want to dive into your screen with a giant spoon.

Indeed, an abundance of delicious recipes await, from almond-plum galette to satsuma sorbet to freshly baked breads. Blogger Giao Trac even makes music suggestions to pair with each dish.

You know what else makes us happy? Warm baguettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

www.kissmyspatula.com

Ever wonder where your baby drifts off to when she falls asleep?

Mommy blogger Adele Enersen creates whimsical scenes around her napping daughter Mila, and photographs them for her imaginative blog Mila's Daydreams.

Sweet dreams indeed.

http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com

Chanelling Diane Arbus, we’ve been experimenting in some guerilla photography, scouring the urban 'scape for weird and wonderful things to snap.

The new Polaroid 300 ($90) is instant satisfaction in a cherry red casing. It uses classic polaroid instant film, features an automatic flash and has four scene settings for capturing shots in different light conditions. We chose red because it matched our shoes, but electric blue and black (pictured) are also available.

The next Arbus we’re not, but the results do look pretty on our fridge.

www.polaroid.com

You dream of owning a Degas but your budget won’t get you further than tickets to the ballet.

Put your small budget to big use at EYE BUY ART, a new online gallery showcasing emerging photographers from Canada, the UK and the US. You can search for art by size, artist, keyword or price and as little as $25 will get you started.

Toronto photographer Mark Kasumovic is featured, as is Robyn McCallum. Take a peek at the stunning aerial shots from Eamon Mac Mahon as well.

We’ve got our heart set on the confections of Amy Stevens – proof that we can have our cake, and eat it too.

www.eyebuyart.com

So your kid grows up to be the next Damien Hirst. You'll want to be able to point to the evidence that was there all along.

While you may be honing little Lilly's art portfolio and photo-documenting young Allistair's every quirk, you'll never have the time to put it all together in an interesting way.

Enter visual artist Scott Morgan, whose new Kid Grids are the ultimate in artsy anthropology.

He'll set up a mini-studio in your house, sequester your youngsters, and get them to be themselves with all the stuff they love, be it crafts, clothes, toys or, who knows? Sharks in formaldehyde? Here's hoping.

Shoots available in all major Canadian cities. Learn more at www.scottmorgankids.com

We’re midway through Contact and you’re still leafing through the catalogue of shutterbugs trying to map your picks. So why not join a guided tour?

Led by local art aficionado Betty Ann Jordan, this photo packed gander along Queen Street West beelines art lovers to the best shows in the ‘hood.

Highlights include Magnum in Motion at the Drake, First Nations artist Jeff Thomas at Steven Bulger plus star talents like Raymonde April, Robert Burley and Nan Goldin at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Don’t miss Anthony Koutras’ life-size images of Toronto bicycle lock posts installed along Queen Street.

Tours ($25) are scheduled for every Saturday in May and begin at the Drake. For more info visit www.artinsite.com