Category: Holga

Holga Show at the Photomedia Center

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Photomedia Center - 2006 Holga Show

Just over a month ago I submit a selection of my photography to an open call for Holga photos at the Photomedia Center. I’d actually figured I had little chance of getting in because there are so many people shooting with holgas these days and the competition was fierce. It means a lot to me to have my efforts pay off and be lucky enough to have one photo included in the final selection of the show. Please check it out, because I think they did a fantastic job of bringing together an excellent selection of work.

Over fifty international artists were selected from an open call for work by the Photomedia Center. Sixty works, all taken with a Holga camera, are represented in this exclusive online exhibit, sponsored in connection with Light Leaks Magazine. In the hands of skilled image-makers, this plastic toy marvel has produced some unexpectedly beautiful results.

A direct link to the show can be found here.

Practice wildfire devotion

Fire sky
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Never before in the history of the English language have the words “wildfire” and “devotion” appeared side by side. And yet here they are now, together at last, conspiring to convey a subtly spectacular meaning to you. It’s time, my dear Leo, for you to practice wildfire devotion: to be both earthy and vehement, to blend incendiary style with deeply rooted commitment, to be as flamingly relentless as a wildfire in your staunch devotion to your future’s most potent dream.
(From Free Will Astrology)

Squiggle

Squiggle
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
~ Max Planck, Nobel Prize-winning physicist

Three bare trees

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Three bare trees
I’m starting to consider writing on my other blog again. I miss the outlet it provided for expressing myself verbally, and it was a way for me to practice my writing skills on a regular basis. I don’t feel the same about writing on my photography blog. I’m sure I will eventually figure out the best way to get what I need from blogging without having to put intimate details of my private life online.

One of my photos was recently accepted into an online Holga show, and I will post a link when things go live. Last week I submit something to a toy camera magazine I really like, and I hope to hear good things about that submission too.
*Fingers crossed*

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Let the sun shine

Before deciding upon a photo to post on my blog, I did a quick search through my flickr photo stream for anything tagged with snow. I was amazed to discover that I only have ONE photo of snow in my whole archive on Flickr. Apparently, after moving away from Toronto I lost all interest in pictures of the white stuff. I’ll try to remedy this over the next few days while Vancouver is blanketed in an endless sea of white/brown/black snow.

This morning I left my house and walked out into a magical wintery landscape covered in clean white snow. There was hardly a soul around, unusual even for the ungodly hour I make my way to work, and it made for a surprisingly quiet walk to catch the bus. The air was cold and crisp, and every snow covered inch of my street glowed and sparkled under the mixed light of street lamps and the slow breaking light of dawn.

The view from here

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The view from here

You are made whole again in silence.
Solitude shatters the illusion that you
and I are separate.
~ Nana Veary

There is a great difference between loneliness and solitude. In loneliness we feel cut off from other people, from the whole of creation, and from our inner wisdom. With solitude we have the opportunity to reach beneath conventional reality to a deeper truth, that of the interconnectedness of all beings, of all life.

Our education has taught us to actively seek out information. We’re taught that growing and learning is a process of acquisition and expansion. We have not been taught to simply be or to sit still and listen. Silence can feel so frightening we rush to fill it up rather than sitting and listening to it. We all need periods of reflection, time to integrate and absorb. Otherwise we become like a filled glass to which water is still being added. The glass overflows, unable to hold any more.

Let’s begin now to stop and empty our mind of chatter. Sit quietly and observe the breath. Don’t allow thoughts to disturb you. Just watch them come and go. With practice the thoughts will slow down, become further and further apart. Maybe then the still, small voice of the spirit will be heard. It is always present. We must learn to listen.

Taken from, “Open Mind: Women’s Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful”

I read this passage shortly before going to work this morning, and immediately thought of posting it here for Neil.

Waiting for the bus

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Waiting for the bloody bus to come

In the mornings when it’s not raining, I love to watch all the overhead avian activity, as the sun comes up and I wait for the bus. None of the birds I see are very exotic but I take pleasure in witnessing how they make a start to the day just as their human counterparts do the same.

Often there is a large flock of pigeons gathered together along the telephone wires near where I stand, and I watch as they jossle for position or preen their feathers, letting loose ones fall to the road below. Sometimes there are tiny sparrows sharing the wires, and if I listen carefully I can hear their shrill cries above the noise of cars zooming by. There are also gulls flying overhead, on their way to somewhere, and many crows returning to their daytime territory after a night in Burnaby.

The birds have shown me that humans aren’t the only ones with a busy morning commute. And I wonder if they sometimes feel as we do, like staying in bed just a little longer and hit the snooze button.

Autumn red above my head

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Autumn red above my head

Two things I have enjoyed very much lately, and think everyone else should check out:
1) Watching every episode of the wonderful shortlived series Firefly. Bloody hell it was a good show!
2) Eating a delicious Japanese-style hotdog from the “Japadog” vendor at Burrard and Haro Street. It comes loaded with things like terriyaki sauce, shredded daikon, dried seaweed, Japanese mayo, and other things I can’t remember.
Two thumbs way up to both of these things.

Dear internet:

Due to a staggering amount of emotional events over the past few weeks, I’ve decided to take a little break from my internet obligations for awhile. I think I may be back in a few days, so until then please enjoy this photo from sunnier times.

Siamese kitten

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Siamese kitten
I took this photo at the end of August when I was visiting the Sunshine Coast with Gail. I can’t remember the kitten’s name, but she was a sweet one. I sometimes miss the feline company, the furry cuddles and happy purrs, but there are always cats I can visit for that. 😉

Five great things from today:
1) A long overdue talk with a friend about our friendship
2) Conversation over homemade hot chocolate and apple crisp
3) Remembering how to reach out
4) Accepting that today was just not going to be the productive day I wanted it to be
5) Giving myself something creative to look forward to