Archive for October, 2009
The Right Questions
This month has been such a rad roller coaster of asking questions (deep and superficial, work and personal). A friend was asking me this week about the merits of doing an unpaid internship and I told them that the sure benefit of such a time suck is that you learn what questions to ask and in return you improve exponentially. I’m learning that maturing (professionally/ personally) is consistently learning what questions to ask and seeking the answers relentlessly.
After a insane week (my brain literally hurts) I’m having a very purposefully lazy weekend. It feels luxurious to be able to sit around and experiment with post processing techniques. To have questions and research the answers. The above is a photo of Antje (who is really awesome by the way) that I took in the summer. It has taken me a few attempts to figure out what I wanted to do with the vibrant colours. In the end I was glad that I waited until I had the answers.
I’ve been testing some new colour and black and white conversion techniques.
Where the Sun Touches Down
This was a great day. I recruited Lisa, John and Emily for a photo shoot. The aim was to capture a shot for the Walrus’ Torontohenge contest (which incidentally I ended up winning!) Fun times friends! To see the winning shot click here.
almost, almost
I had planned to shoot Torontohenge today, but the rain-clouds were not cooperating. I’m hoping to try again tomorrow. Instead Johnnie and I did some colour testing which I’m going to use for creative later in the week. Here is a sample. I love this shot of Emily. I took it during the summer at her cottage. You know the moment, standing on the ladder at the end of the dock just willing yourself to take that plunge. It’s always miserable at first, but once you’re in you get used to the cold water. In the end you’re refreshed and don’t even remember why you hesitated.
I See What You See
I showed this photo to Emily and asked her if she thought she looked like a superhero. She replied, “Yeah, I look noble or something. I see what you see.” Photographers love hearing that. Friends do too.
Rains
I took these photos in Mali last month on the day that the sudden flooding in West Africa started (remember when those dams broke in Burkina Faso?) 7 people died in northern Mali alone. I had this post prepared last week, but I’ve been so sick that I couldn’t bring myself to write the words. I felt a flu coming on in Montreal last weekend, but it took getting caught in the rain with Emily last Tuesday to solidify the deal. (While riding your bike up the hill from Parkdale isn’t fun on a sunny day, it was hellish in the cold, wet, dark.) I’ve been feverishly (literally) thinking about the rain. Thinking about what I saw in Mali, thinking about how it has recently devastated so many countries in every corner of the world. The thought that’s on my mind… how can something that is so life giving also be so cruel?
The In between.
While this year has already been utterly amazing (and unbelievable!) there is something about this time of year that gets everything going again. All of my plans, restless ideas and hopes start bubbling to the surface. Recently I’ve been squeezing in a shoot whenever I can in order to keep my thoughts organized. It constantly surprises me how energizing I find a creative to be. Usually I dread winter as some sort of creative in between, but I’m feeling (recklessly) optimistic this time around. (Thanks to Curt, Dar, Marco and Emily for taking the time to be in some crazy shoots this past week. I’d be lost without you guys!)
Feel free to click on the smaller photos to see them bigger.
