Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

For Valentines day this year my special someone took me on a seaplane tour around Vancouver.  After a long stint abroad it was a magical way to welcome me back home.  Vancouver is without a doubt one of the world's most spectacular places to live.  Even though I have lived in Vancouver for over 13 years the tour was a breathtaking way to reignite appreciation for my marvellous city.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Room of One’s Own


I have such a difficult time completing essay’s, or writing a full piece of prose. Perhaps the reason is that I simply adore fragments. Well, maybe not so much a holy love of fragments so much as an intrinsic ability to conjure thoughts that are only a snippet from the whole.  
My mum’s favorite writer is Virginia Woolf, who as many of you know, did not necessarily invent the concept of the “stream of consciousness”, but certainly set up it’s precedence in modern literature.  Woolf, being the queen of putting on paper every little thought that crossed her brilliant brain, has subconsciously been floating on my camera lens ever since I started shooting.  I take a picture, suddenly inspired by a feeling in one part of the world, or at a time in my life, only to link it up later with it’s sister photo; not intending to sew them together, but needle stitch and thread they link, congeal together like an Eliot poem. 
I love quotes for one simple reason, they are ripped from their context and hang perfectly saturated in their own new meaning.  
Perhaps this is the reason why I love taking pictures.  No need for a long narrative, context is a factor yes, but not a mandate. Photography offers me a way to funnel my thoughts, to collage them together without an immediate need to produce an explanation.   
 In an effort to encourage the joys of savouring the part and not the sum, I leave you with words sung by my new favourite singer Nathaniel Rateliff: "I wanna run around willing, I guess you get too Hard to remeber and can't put a finger on it."

Green Eyes get a glimpse of Denmark

Monday, February 14, 2011

Colourful Copenhagen


I found a special restaurant called The Laundromat in Copenhagen that not only made delicious food but also offered a great selection of books & a place to do laundry! What a perfect place to sit and learn to play Yatzi with a friend while waiting for your clothes to dry.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My newest Love

On a recent trip to Holland I met a lovely lady and her boyfriend, Dirik & Merel, who work for a Photographic magazine called GUP.  On an enlightening visit to one of Amsterdam's unique art galleries called FOAM; which specializes in Photography only (an obscure yet brilliant concept for the developing art world in Vancouver!) Merel gave me an issue of her magazine GUP.  The abbreviation stands for: Guide to Unique Photography; and what a guide it is!
It was a double issue and it had me hooked from the first flip. Not only is it a photo-lovers print Mecca, but it is practical too. I recently purchased the new Nikon D7000 with a mega lens and have been plagued with the problem of finding a compact and protective case for it.  The second page solved my issue in a minute. Subtlety placed on the upper right hand corner of the page was this genius invention by Think Tank called the "Sling-O-Matic"(www.thinktankphoto.com).
GUP has a fantastic inventory of global galleries and contemporary exhibitions.  It promotes amateur work and also well established photographers like Erwin Olaf and Albert Watson.

It is an international magazine so I am thrilled that when I get home I can search for it.  I praise this magazine for its ambition, beauty, and wit, but most of all for the inspiration it has stirred within me.  I recommend it to anyone who  wants an intellectual work out or simply a joyous voyage through an eclectic mix of fabulous photos.  They have a great website so check it out, and for those of you lucky enough to have an Ipad subscribe!

 www.gupmagazine.com

Curiosity Killed the Cat

A nosey Dutch girl in Scandinavia  

Monday, February 7, 2011

Custard

Bakery in Holland. Apples in apple pie from Baker's own orchard. Yum.