Muddy York

This past Sunday I was invited for a second time to photograph The Time Nomads as they enacted a winters day in 1833 at the Campbell house in Toronto. (Once upon a time called York). It is always a fascinating thing to witness as they do not act, or have rehearsed agendas. They simply 'live' and go about the day as if it were truly a day in 1833.

From a photographers stand point, the day was a challenge as it was overcast outside, and fairly dark inside. Without a flash and no artificial light but a few candles it made for not the best photo taking environment. Once back at home, I was as expected,  frustrated with the colour shots. I decided to play around a little, and in the end turned many of the pictures into sepia, and then added a blur to help diminish the blurs that had not been intended. I have shared the entire album with my facebook friends, and it has been received with great reviews. This is just a sampling of the shots, but I hope you enjoy!!

city of lights..

On a chilly, rainy evening not too long ago I took my tripod out to the balcony and practiced taking some shots of bokeh. I have to admit I was quite happy with the results, so have decided to share a couple with you. Not that you are supposed to be able to make out the actual buildings, but for reference sake these were taken just slightly north-east of Maple Leaf Gardens at Church and Alexander streets. The view is looking south towards the banking towers, or south looking down Mutual street....

Mellow Yellow

I seem to recall that the groundhog predicted an early Spring......I think I'm going to make groundhog stew tonight for dinner.

I managed to squeeze in a quick photo shoot at Allan Gardens the other day. Yes, it does tend to be my 'go-to' place, especially this time of year. But who can resist the warmth, the smell of moist soil, and fragrant flowers when outside it is still damp, cold, and downright ugly. (I dislike March, can you tell?)

The purpose of this shoot was to add a few more shots to my "Kaleidoscape" series, especially the ones using colour from flowers. These are some of the ones that turned out, and I am happy with. You definitely get a feeling of spring and warmth from them. Don't you?

I am also working away at putting a few portfolios together for a contest that a rather large and well known photography magazine is hosting, so stay tuned for info on that. It may be a long shot, but you just never know.

Kind of like not knowing when Spring will start...

Exhibition..

I am happy to report I have just completed the hanging for my exhibition at Olivia's at Fifty Three. This is the second time I have been asked to show my work at this fun little restaurant in Little Italy. This time I have featured three images from the 'Surface Deep' collection, and four images from the 'Kaleidoscape' collection. I took these photos in haste to remember the positioning of them, but have since decided I would like to share them with you....

The exhibition runs until the end of April, so if you are in the mood for some great wine, Italian food, and to take a look at my work, please go visit. The restaurant is at 53 Clinton Street, Toronto. Steps away from the TTC on College.

Come on Spring...

I am sure I am not the only one who has reached that point of winter where it can not end soon enough. I knew we would pay for the last couple of balmy winters that saw no snow and temps hovered around zero. What a long winter this has felt like....And I am sure I am not alone.

So this post is simple. And I think the picture says it all...

Come on Spring!!

(Picture was taken in the balmy indoors of Allan Gardens)

Snap!

Last week was a tough one. To make a long story short, I got accepted to show in my first ever juried exhibition called Scapes. I had made a blog entry about it earlier in the year, and had had high hopes about getting in. The problem as many of you already know is that my letter of acceptance got emailed to a wrong address and I never found out in time to get my work in the show. I was devastated and a little angry, but it was out of my hands, so I have chosen to move forward......

Tonight I will enter these four shots into a photo competition/auction/charity event called SNAP! I entered four last year as well, but did not make the cut. This event has alot of publicity and is held at the National Ballet School, and is a huge AIDS charity event. I may not make the cut again, but the submission fees will all go to a good cause so it is a win, win situation.

These photos are a first for me in that they have added effects done in post editing. They are all flower pictures taken the other day at Allan Gardens.

Wish me luck....

pedestrian..

I am usually a pedestrian, and actually take pride in the fact I love to walk all over this city. Granted, if I felt safer on these streets I would be a bicyclist as well. But I digress. Usually while walking through the city streets and parks it is the non human things that I notice. The textures, patterns, colours of common and often overlooked or unnoticed objects. Occasionally, as has been the case this past week, I happen to include pedestrians in my shots. I don't know what it is, but something about their pose, or their outfits, or the entire scene gives me the urge to capture the moment. I have two faux paintings in my apartment that are what I refer to as Motel Art. They are scenes of  busy streetscapes probably in Europe and they are full of pedestrians, but yet they almost seem blurred, and there are no fine details. I love them. And when I am out, and working on this new series I have these "paintings" in mind. I found these "painting" in a junk shop. Goes to show you can be inspired by another's trash.

The first image is a shot of my inspirational "paintings"...