Alyssa Bistonath Photography: Of Life After 24,

My friend Mike and his dog Gambit come over for lunch every Thursday to talk hopes, dreams, fears and the like. I enjoy the steady progress updates, encouragement, advice and ridiculous puppy faces.  You’ll be seeing Mike a lot on this blog since I tend to pull my camera out during our time together.

I live by a fire station - I often wake in the night to the distinct wailing of sirens. In fact I just heard them a moment ago. My heart is heavy as I think about Haiti and the destruction there. I look through a photo essay posted on Lens, and watch World Vision Canada president Dave Toycen on Larry King. The chaotic sirens outside my window somehow seem fitting. I wonder about my colleagues on the ground in Port-au-Prince and pray that they can find moments of peace and solace so that they can organize aid and tell the stories that need to be told.

Inspiration. I’ve been discussing it with close friends over coffee for the past few days. As a photographer I am inspired by the stories of the people I’m lucky enough to meet. I tell their stories with the hope that they’ll create a movement, a change. My question is - what inspires you to be actively make the lives of others better? What are the sirens that haven’t just become part of your everyday?

It’s been exactly a month since I posted my last blog. A very intentional break. I like the silence, taking some time to appreciate being a little older, letting the excitement about the coming year seep in and most importantly reflecting on priority. For me it is a priority to truly see things as they are and shouting out how they could be with a little love and care. To see the vulnerability and humanity in everyone. Not surprisingly I can’t do this until I acknowledge these things in myself. I’m constantly struck by how much we all need the same things regardless of our position in life - community, security, hope. With that in mind - let’s hear for the new year! Together, I think it’s going to be a good one.

To kick things off here is a black and white from Paris. My friend and I found this truck randomly. It was early in the morning and there wasn’t anyone around to ask what the story was. In any case - it was a stark contrast to the neat and upscale area around us.

Once a friend of mine told me that when she was finished a year long internship she was advised to write down the names of the people she had met. Her list was long and when read reflected a wealth of experiences good and bad. This past year I have travelled over 4 continents. I’ve met and photographed hundreds of people. I wish I could show you all of their faces and sit and talk about what each of them taught me, how they showed me extravagant love. That not being possible here is an offering of some of my favourite photos that I’ve taken this year.

Also in honour of the coming year a spiffy new Alyssa Bistonath Photography page on Facebook! Check it out here.

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.