Week 12 – Waiting. From the 52 weeks self portrait series.

Because I’ve been feeling down this evening I decided to dig up and read the inspiring words in last month’s newsletter from Another Girl at Play. You should read it too.

For further cheering up good measures, here a list of good things from the weekend:
1. Friday night hanging out with Mandy to see Dusk Dances in Stanley Park.
2. Some much needed time alone at home on Saturday morning.
3. Surviving the yogathon despite my worries I wouldn’t be able to endure the sun and heat. (Phew!)
4. Buying a new carry-on sized suitcase in preparation for an upcoming trip.
5. Hanging out at Jericho beach reading my book and playing badminton.

I decided to enter a photo contest being run by a new data storage company called PutPlace. They are looking for photos of people making the kind of face one makes when suddenly confronted with a major loss of data. I know I would be absolutely horrified (as evidenced by my photo) and also devastated if I lost any of my best photographs and didn’t have a backup… I suppose I would actually look a lot less campy and over-the-top if it actually happened.

The contest closes on July 31st, and the winner gets a one year subscription for 100 GB of data storage at PutPlace.com and a $200 USD Amazon gift certificate.

The full details on how to enter

You may have noticed the title of this blog recently changed to something new: Canvas to the Imagination. The words are from a quote by Henry David Thoreau, “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” They were suggested by Ariane, and I felt immediately it was the best title for my blog. I’ve always wanted something better than “the art of Rachael Ashe.” Thank you so much Ariane, because it makes my blog a much more special place for me than it has been for awhile.

The new template design and upgraded WordPress is all thanks to Boris. Now I just need to get in there and do some tweaking.

Week 6 of my 52 weeks series of self portraits is from last week, and I have yet to take one for week seven. I’m saving it as a weekend project. The shot had me wondering about the symbolism of doors and so I took a look in the Encyclopedia of Symbols and found this definition:

Doors – Or “portal”, “gate”. Like the BRIDGE, It is a symbol of transition from one place to another, such as from this life to the next, from the profane to the holy. The idea of a gate of heaven or a sun gate marking the transition to otherworldly, divine regions is common. According to the ideas of many peoples, the underworld or realm of the dead lies on the other side of large gates. A closed door often signifies a hidden mystery yet also prohibition and futility; an open door represents a challenge to pass through it or signifies an open secret.

Taken in Week 5 of the 52 weeks self portrait series I’ve been doing. I am amazed I already have five of these under my belt and the end of May is this week. The year is just flying by…

Last week I decided to re-shoot the Madhatter self portrait I did a few months ago. I was never quite happy with the first one, though I do like it in it’s own way, because it wasn’t what I was picturing in my head. But the camera I was using at the time didn’t have a remote, and it was a bit tricky to line up the shot, balance a pile of hats on my head AND fire the camera.

For the second version I was shooting with a rebel XT using the remote, and it made things much easier. This time I could get the spacing in the shot I was hoping for and include more hats. I like the way the bottom hat cuts off my eyes in a weird way and makes the shot just a bit creepy.

Thanks to Hop Studios for their collective loan of awesome hats to include in the shot. 🙂