Life Under the Big Top

Because I feel as though work has become a bit of a circus, although I certainly do not feel like the ringmaster, more like the clown that shovels up the elephant poo.

WasteLand

A short hike from my house is this... field... where the city dumps a lot of its stuff. Local people walk their dogs through there, teenagers spraypaint everything they can, and most stuff sits there broken, rotting, and forgotten. It's quite a large field, filled with city waste. Not a garbage dump, it's things like old rotten power poles, concrete barriers and culverts, plastic culverts. I don't know what the city plans on doing with anything in there, including the land itself. Right now though, it sits as a wasteland.

Dreaming of Far Off Places

I love water globes. I'm not sure why. This one is especially sentimental to me though, as we picked it up on our Honeymoon in Niagra Falls.

'Cause we got a little Convoy, Rockin through the night!

So, my dad is a truck driver. Has been one all of my life. Has been one most of HIS life. My older brother graduated high school and followed in Dad's footsteps. So I've always had an affinity for the big rigs. Country music seems to run through my veins (along with a lot of other genres, lol). Paul Brandt, well, he's where it's at for me with country music. And him re-doing the song Convoy, made my day (mind you this was years ago- I'm not just learning of this song now).

A few years back I used to perform as a drag king. For those of you who don't know, a drag king is similar to a drag queen, but where queen's are female impersonators, kings are (you guessed it) male impersonators. I enjoyed the ability to play with gender roles and gender presentations. One song that I ALWAYS wanted to use in a performance, but never got the chance, was Convoy. Only I didn't want to do it true to the lyrics. Oh no, I'm not so boring as that. I wanted to portray a bunch of boys playing in a sandbox with their toy trucks. Because that's much how I feel about the big rigs out there. I still feel like the 6 year old boy in absolute awe of his dad's big rig truck. I remember when I was 18 spending a summer afternoon bonding with my dad helping him polish up the rims and fuel tanks on his trailer (for a dad who didn't want to admit his youngest daughter was a tomboy- this was progress for us).

And so, since I never got to use this song as part of a drag king performance, I used it as inspiration for this photo. Here I am, playing with my nephew's cars and trucks, setting up my convoy to drive through town.

"Breaker 1-9, this here's the Rubber Duck!"

Zero Force

Today's pic is a bit more journal, a bit less artistic.

First off, I'm in love with Romeo Dallaire. Years ago I read his first book, Shake Hands with the Devil, about the Rwandan genocide of 1994, and from there my love grew. He's a man worthy of respect. One of the few Canadians I actually view as a personal hero.

I've heard his speak a few times as well. Shortly after reading Shake Hands with the Devil, I learned he was coming to Red Deer (where I was living at the time) to do a talk. I HAD to be there. I was doing a large research paper on the Rwandan genocide for my International Relations course at the time, and it all just seemed to fit. And yet- he didn't speak about Rwanda. Well, he did, but only as a small example. Mostly he spoke about child soldiers. And he did so in such a way that it literally blew my mind. He approached the issue in a way I'd never heard of before. A few years later, I heard him speak again, and while the speech was different, the heart of it was the same. Child soldiers is one of the biggest problems facing our world.

I've recently read the book They Fight like Soldiers, They Die like Children by Romeo Dallaire. At the end of the book, he calls the readers to action to help stop the use of children as tools of war. He wrote about the Child Soldiers Initiative which he founded, and from there, my research into this movement grew.

So, being me, I joined. And I urge all of you to check it out and join too. They send you nifty fake dog tags! I got mine in the mail a few days ago, and had to post them up.

Sharing a little love

Not much to say about this one. It's a pretty standard pic... but I like the idea. Sharing a little love. I tried playing around with the colours and such on it, but I think I like it best in it's natural state.

A clean sweep

I think I might play around with the editing on this one a bit more, but tonight I'm a little too tired for more than just making it black and white. And yes- those are Superman pyjama's I'm wearing :)

May I offer you a hand?

Day 8. I bought a new 50mm lens this past weekend and decided to play with it a bit today. That and I've been obsessing about my hands today. Not sure why, just wanted to photograph them. So here it is.

But I wanted to go to Tashi Station to pick up some Power Converters!

Just a little Jedi training on a Sunday afternoon. Because I'm cool like that ;) This pic was a LOT of fun to take, and thanks to my hubby for letting me borrow one of his light sabers :)

Because of the grey dismal-ness of the sky (that's not photography over-exposure, that's cloudy Victoria skies), it was really tough to get the glowing light saber to show up properly. I like how it's reflecting off my face a bit in this shot.

Rebel Rebel

"Got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl."

Inspiration

I have found the most amazing photo collection pretty much ever. THIS SITE has the most amazing photos I've seen in a long, long time, and in such numbers it's overwhelming to browse through them all. This is the type of photography I'd like to (one day) be able to do, but I find it daunting to find sites to take such photos. More research is needed to find things like that where I can take my camera and play.

To the creator of the site- thank you. You've inspired me, you've brought some beauty back to life from the abandoned ruins you photograph.

Searching for a new perspective

It's been a rough few weeks. Work has been getting me pretty down. So I figured I needed a new perspective in life.

May I offer you a drink?

My plan for today's picture was totally shot out the window by bad weather and bad lighting. Funny, sunshine goes DOWN in the evening. Heh heh, yeah....

So, when my husband filled up the candy jar with Reese's Pieces, and I literally started drinking from the candy jar, and he simply rolled his eyes at me, it kinda evolved from there. Yes, this shot was totally posed, but I was (and still am) "drinking" my Reece's Pieces.

Tasty.

Happy Birthday Mr. Poe

I thought of gothing myself up for today's picture and doing something truly macabre in honour of Edgar Allan Poe's 202nd birthday, but really, I think reading some of his works is the best way to honour him. Immortality is his through this simple act of reading.

So I'll leave you with a quote from the Raven, because just as the raven is still sitting above his chamber door, so too does he still sit in our hearts and minds.

"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!"

PS- and it's also national popcorn day apparently...

I've got my EYE on you!

Today's photo, using vintage goggles I received as part of a birthday present from my husband :)

Dreaming in colour

Well, here it is. Photo #1 of 365. Lately I've been feeling like I've lost some of what makes (made?) me quirky and eclectic. My eccentricity seems to be missing. Maybe not to those around me, but it feels that way to me. So here I am, a blank slate, wondering what the next year will write on me, with my eyes the only colourful part of me left.

Kinda funny if any of you have seen my sleeve tattoo. I think I'm one of the brightest people out there now, lol.

It's only a day away

Tomorrow's the big day. I turn 29 tomorrow, and begin my 365 portrait project. I'm nervous about the project and have all of these doubts about myself. Will I be able to finish it? I mean- finding the time to take an artistic portrait EVERY DAY for a YEAR??? I have a dozen ideas or so already, but a dozen ideas to last all year??? This is going to be challenging!

Will it be interesting? Will others want to see what I've done? I know a few people have told me it's an interesting idea and they want to see what I come up with- but now there's that PRESSURE. Will I be able to live up to their expectations? Will I be able to live up to my OWN expectations?

I suppose tomorrow, we'll begin to find out.

KABOOM!

Science day. Actually it was Special Person day today for my niece. Her kindergarten class does it: every week a different student is the "special person," and they get their parents to do something special for the class. My brother in law is a chemistry science nerd, so Science day in the kindergarten class. I came along to take pictures. Best reason to take a day off of work yet- to blow up a garbage can! By the way- this particular explosion split the garbage can from top to bottom. This is by far my favourite picture of the event.

So, I've alluded to a photography project I have in mind for why I started this blog. Since the project will be an ongoing thing for the next year, I'll take this opportunity BEFORE I start to explain what I'm doing.

For one year, I'll be taking a self portrait a day, and uploading the pictures (maybe not getting them uploaded the day I take them... but I'll try). I plan on starting on my 29th birthday, and stopping the day before I turn 30. That's right, I'm going to document my last year in my 20's.

But it's not just documentation. I'll be exploring different aspects of my personality through photography, as well as exploring different photographic techniques. I'm a VERY amateur photographer. I got my camera for Christmas just over a year ago and fell in love with it, and have been teaching myself how to use it with the help of the "Canon Xsi for Dummies" manual. I highly recommend that book if you're a newbie like me- it dumbed it down enough that now I actually understand the basic jargon used!

So many people claim to be "lost" and need to "find themselves" when they embark on an adventure. I have NEVER felt that way. Yes, I'm going to be exploring more of myself, good and bad. But that doesn't mean I feel as though I don't know myself already and am lost. Will I learn new things about me? Most likely. Mostly, I'm just letting the project take me where it will.

"Let's go, following whatever way the wind blows

Flying with our hands out of the windows

We didn't even see the dust."

Marshmallow Gothic

I normally don't take pictures of people... There's something about a human subject that I haven't quite been able to get right in my growing photography skills. But this picture - well, it's one of my favourites, and one that everyone who sees it gets a good chuckle out of.

The subjects are my sister and her husband. The pitchfork is my parents' hay fork. The marshmallows are because we were using the pitchfork to roast marshmallows over a bonfire for an afternoon snack.

I've been told it wasn't easy to keep a straight face for this, but I greatly appreciate their efforts. A little colour editing, and I think it turned out well.

Favourite Photo of the week!

Since I decided to start this blog as a way to publish a photography project I have in mind for myself, I figured I would do a "test run" of publishing a picture by posting up my favourite photo of the week! I took this photo on Boxing Day at my parents' house. It's the first time I've had the camera in manual mode and had to sort out how to get proper exposure and the effect I wanted all on my own. It is one of a series I took of this train, but it is by far the one that I think turned out the best :) Long live learning new skills!

Ain't nothing but time, it's a verse with no rhyme...

So the world recently tossed out our calendars and bought new ones, ringing in the year 2011. It got me thinking... How many calendar systems are out there in the world? I know the Chinese have their own calendar and celebrate New Years at a different time, and there have been other calendars used throughout history by different cultures. The Mayans had their own system, the Romans had a different system which was changed by various emperors (ever wonder where July and August got their names?). All this leads me to believe that ultimately, how we track time is arbitrary. One can argue the rotation of the earth and it's course around the sun, but the specific point in that rotation that means NOW is a different day from THEN, or that it's a new year, well, that's an arbitrary system.

Now I'd like you to think about this- the world, as a whole, pretty much has agreed on the current western system, correct? As I mentioned, I recognize the Chinese calendar, but that is an internal system, mostly for cultural purposes. When dealing with "outsiders," the Chinese have accepted the "outside" calendar. Ask most people in China what year it is, and I'm certain they will tell you "2011."

So, if we as a globe can collectively agree on how we tell time, why can't we agree on other basic "rules." Such as killing is bad. Or that using children as soldiers in warfare is wrong. Or a whole slew of others that most people would say is "common sense."

Sadly, I have no answers (although, as a pair of my underpants says- "If everyone just agreed with me they'd all be right!"), and the point of this isn't to provide any. I'm merely asking questions, in the hopes that others will too.

Following wherever the wind blows...

I've started this blog for an upcoming photography project I have in mind... I know- it seems strange to start a word based internet site for a photo based project, but I'm hoping this blog will provide me with more than just a place to dump a photo onto the interweb. I'm not sure WHAT I'm hoping to get out of this blog, I'm simply allowing it to go wherever it takes me. Exploring bits of myself in different media- words and photography.