Taken with the Holga CFN, using cross-processed Fujichrome T64.
On Friday I went to Radha Yoga and Eatery with friends, and the salad I had there was so good I was inspired to replicate it for thanksgiving dinner. It consists of mixed greens, goat feta, small chunks of apple, toasted walnuts, and a homemade lemon and sesame dressing*. It just might become my new favorite thing to make.
[*The dressing recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.]
Taken with the Pop 9, nine lens lomo camera.
The relaxing I wanted to do this weekend, mentioned in the previous blog entry, is really coming along nicely…
I took myself out for a “me lunch date” this afternoon and wandered around fourth avenue going into shops I hadn’t previously visited. I skimmed quite a few clothing stores and spent a surprising amount of time in the Kitchen Corner Superstore (1955 West 4th Avenue). I’ve walked past countless time without ever going in, until today. It reminded me of the “Ikea experience” with it’s shelves and aisles chock-a-block full of household items, some useful and some not, all filling me with the desire to buy more, more, MORE!!!! I managed to stick to surveying the shopping landscape and walked out of there only with what I needed.
I think there must be the same amount of stuff packed into this place as Ikea, but with much less square footage. Don’t miss the basement if you go. I felt like I was the last person on earth down there, just me all that wicker.
I started writing an entry about wanting to show my work in a gallery, and how I’ve come to realize I better stop just thinking about it and make it a reality before another year comes and goes… Instead I will leave you with a link to a terrific blog Miranda recently pointed me to, called Millionaire Artist, and the entry on “Why is art so expensive?”
I’m happy it’s Friday and the long weekend is ahead. I plan to relax for most of it, then eat my weight in turkey and stuffing on thanksgiving day. 😉
My Elements series of self-portraits was started on a whim last summer when I decided to experiment with motion blur by swirling sari fabric in front of the camera. The resulting effect created by the blurring and colouration of the photos made me think of fire, and eventually I decided to build the series around it interpreting the four elements. Second in the series was Floating, where I attempted to simulate the look of swimming underwater through a combination of lighting and the use of fabric.
The above photo is from a shoot I did this past weekend to interpret the element of Earth. Althought I’m quite happy with this photo it doesn’t fit well with the rest in the series. It is a little too different in it’s literal use of the earth, and lacks the two elements common to the other two: motion and fabric. At this point I’m not sure if I will reshoot this idea another way, or just try to create a similar effect through further manipulation in photoshop.
Holga 120 CFN, cross-processed fujichrome T64. From the same roll as the previous two blog posts.
Taken at the Plaza of Nations a few weekends ago when Kirsti and I went to check out the Portobello West fashion and art market. I really enjoyed wandering through the stalls in the open air space of the Plaza of Nations, as there was a lot of great merchandise by the local creative people, ranging from clothing to pottery, to hangable art. The market is on-going and happens on the last Sunday of every month in the same location. The next one is October 29th, from 11 to 5pm.
Holga 120 CFN, cross-processed Fujichrome T64.
Last friday as I was walking past I fell in love with this shadow on the sidewalk cast by someone’s house numbers. This week as the autumn chill sets in, it feels less appropriate to wear flip flops and more like socks with long boots type weather. I sense soggy footwear and damp pant cuffs in my near future… 😉
Taken with a Holga camera, using cross-processed fujichrome T64 film.
After putting up with poor quality scans of my photos for far too long I bought myself a wonderful new film scanner on the weekend. Wow, what a difference it makes in the level of detail with my holga shots, as evidenced by the above photo. The odd colouration is a result of shooting tungsten film in daylight conditions.
An accidental double-exposure, taken with my diana clone camera. The shutter tends to stick sometimes just after I’ve switched between aperature settings.
It was a very “arty” weekend for me, checking out some of the work on display for Main Street’s studio tour, called The Drift. As always, I was inspired by a visit to Arleigh Wood’s place, and I really liked the work of Carly Louth on display at Soma.
[Please excuse me while I play around with the template a bit. I’m so tired of the old one, it makes me want to poke my eyes out when I see it…)
Five lovely moments from the last two days…
1) Lunch dates two days in a row
2) Walking outside in the sunshine
3) Droping off a freshly shot roll of holga film at the lab
4) Browsing through a clothing store but not needing to buy anything
5) Setting time aside to create the above collage in photoshop
After working intensely for the last week and a half to organize a conference, today I’ve been granted a paid day off as a show of appreciation by my supervisor. It was a stressful job, and a lot of work in a short amount of time, so I’m very glad to have the break.
A friend sent me a link to Angry Alien Productions, a website featuring animated bunnies re-enacting famous movies in thirty seconds, more or less. (Just in case you need an internet break at work today…)