Thursday, March 10, 2011

WAW #2 - 10 minutes from home

Our Weekly Assignment this week was to walk, bike or drive 10 minutes from our home and take a photo (or two)... not 9 minutes, not 11 minutes, but 10 minutes.
I live in a gorgeous neighborhood and therefore the majority of the pictures that I take are within 10 minutes of my house. Jeffrey & I are always out on photo adventures snapping shots in our 'hood. So, last Sunday, when we decided to ride our bikes over to the east side to meet up with some friends for brunch, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to complete our assignment. On bikes we would be further from home than by foot, so we would be out of our comfort zone, and it would make things a bit more challenging.
Well, if it was a challenge we wanted... it was a challenge we got!! When the alarm on my phone went, we were on possibly the ugliest corner in all of Vancouver. And no, it wasn't Main & Hastings... there are tons of interesting things to take photos of there! This corner was nothing but boring, ugly condos and construction on the outside of VCC... not even any interesting urban decay, or nature, or graffiti... just blahs-ville!
So, this is what I ended up with...




All photos for Weekly Assignment Wednesdays are taken with my EOS digital Canon Rebel XS (to help me become a better photographer and be versatile in my medium)

Monday, March 7, 2011

What the...?

Every time I see this, I wonder what the story is. It also reminds me of the scene in the movie Big Fish (which I love). Apparently I am not the only to wonder, and even all-knowing Wiki has no one clear answer. I think I'll choose to believe in the less sinister and more whimsical theories.


Taken with my Pentax K1000 - January 2011

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Man vs Nature

Why do I love film cameras? Other than the 11 reasons listed here in this post? Because I get shots like these. And I have no justifiable reason as to why these photos turned out the way they did (with that eerie shadow and almost saturated colour look) because I did nothing different than any other photo that I have taken. The only rational explanation is quite simply... film is cool.

I stopped to photograph this wall because I love how it didn't stop the tree from growing the way that it wanted to... the tree simply found a way around the barrier. This wall is the exterior of the Dr. Sun Sat Yen Chinese Garden, and it is almost as if the garden is saying "Screw you people! You can't fence me in!"
All photos taken with my Pentax K1000



Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Weekly Assignment Wednesdays - Still Life

My colleague and good friend Michelle recently received a new d-SLR as a gift. In order to learn more and become a better photographer, she has taken on the challenge of a new photography assignment every Wednesday. She has invited a few of us along for the ride - invitations to the flickr group are still open if any of you are interested. 
So every Wednesday (or as I finish my assignment) I will post my best attempts at getting better at digital photography. (Though it should be noted that I miss my film already)


Weekly assignment #1 - Still life
Much harder than it seems and motivation in and of itself to invest in a swivel flash that gives a more flattering and natural light. I am not 100% happy with all of these as I think the lighting is a bit cold... I have heard that a swivel flash can help to fix this. Though I think I am also just so used to film with it's natural warm glow.

Next week's assignment "10 minutes from home"!
All photos taken with my digital Canon Rebel XS.







Monday, February 28, 2011

Vancouver Public Library

I don't know anyone who has ever visited the Vancouver Public Library and not left in awe. The architecture is unique and impressive, yet not overly "in your face". When you stand in the atrium you can't help but look up and around. The design draws you in and makes you feel so small and yet so safe at the same time. I can't walk through there with a camera in my hand and not take at least one picture.
If you you haven't been... go, it is worth the trip.
All photos taken with my Pentax K1000, but on various photo adventures.






Friday, February 25, 2011

11 Reasons to shoot film

I recently came across this article on the website I Still Shoot Film (which by the way, has some incredible examples of why film is still awesome). I thought I would re-post it here since I think it completely summarizes my love for film. Thank you "I Still Shoot Film" for posting this.
P.S. #4 and #6 are my favourites


11 REASONS TO SHOOT FILM

1. Film is cool. Seriously. The scientific process of capturing an image on film, developing and then printing it on paper is one of the most awesome thing you can ever see. It’s like magic.

2. Film produces a tangible result. In the modern world, technology has allowed us to do everything digitally… in fact I haven’t seen what my resume actually looks like on printed paper in over 5 years. With digital photographs, you never have one tangible original, from which you can make infinite copies…

3. Photographic paper prints have a longer archival life. Say what you want, but even my most expensive fancy-pants digital prints still get yellowing on the corners after several years… which is why many professional labs still use cibachrome printing even for digital.

4. Film cameras are badass. They are not the light-weight, silent wimpy cameras of today. You can use a quality film camera to take great photographs or defend your life if necessary.

5. Most Photoshop effects applied to digital photos are designed to mimic effects achieved through film. Why not just do it that way in the first place?

6. Using film means that when you take a photograph, a chemical reaction absorbs the moment on a light-sensitized surface. That is somehow more powerful than a computer chip’s interpretation of an image.

7. Learning how to shoot film helps you understand light and shadow, which can also improve your digital photos.

8. Limited exposures means you have to actually think about your shot. Need I say more?

9. Unless you have a $30,000 digital camera, shooting film will always give you a higher resolution if scanned correctly. A 35mm negative has the equivalent of approximately 25.1 megapixels, so imagine a 6x9 negative. We’re talking murals in crisp detail.

10. Black and white. Yes. Removing color from a digital photograph is not the same as shooting in black and white film and it never, ever will be. Ever. The art of black and white film alone is reason enough to keep manufacturing film forever.

11. The darkroom is zen. It has soothing red lights, relaxing running water and the soft click of your timer. Take a deep breath and smell the stop bath. Yum.

Me with my Olympus Pen F - Taken by my fiancĂ©e on his Pentax K1000

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pink Shirt Day

Today is Pink Shirt Day... a day to support anti-bullying campaigns, to spread the word that we want a world free of hatred and discrimination. In honour of Pink Shirt day and my devout belief that we will see the disappearance of homophobia within our lifetime, here is my pink.





Love is louder