March 28, 2006
Wolverhampton, England

My friend has a little cocker spaniel puppy named Holly who is go-go-go all the time. What do you do with a dog who never sits still?? (Why, go crazy, of course! Hugh would have a heart attack if he saw Holly, he thinks small children are too hyper.)

* By the way, if you think the voice coming from the television sounds familiar, it’s Jane Fonda being interviewed.

A digital pic I took tonight, while I wait to develop the roll of film I shot today. The photojunkie button courtesy of Photojunkie (aka Rannie Turingan) — he handed some out at the Green Room gathering a couple of weeks ago and it happened to match what I was wearing today. See more of them here.

I went to Rannie’s opening at Le Petit Déjeuner this evening, but discovered enroute that I left the memory card in my card reader which of course is sitting beside my computer!! Argh!! What saved me was that I’d brought along the Pentax SLR and just purchased film for it by the metro station. THIS is why I lug TWO cameras around at once. If something happens to one, I always have a backup. The main disadvantage is that the Pentax is heavy, and if I bring the 70-200mm zoom the shoulder bag isn’t enough, I have to resort to a backpack. Needless to say, I don’t normally take the zoom along unless I plan to use it.

I nearly finished a roll of film, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get it developed and see what turns out. I shot off at least five pictures between the King Street subway and Le Petit Déjeuner (east of George Street); the brilliant spring sunlight and historic brick buildings along King ground me to a halt at least every half block towards the bistro/pub.

Le Petit Déjeuner was packed to the gills downstairs, but Rannie’s photos were displayed on both floors. I spotted Allen, and he sent me upstairs to show me which one was his favourite — a fantastic Holga streetcar shot. It isn’t in Rannie’s Flickr photostream, but if you happen to be in Toronto, pop into Le Petit Déjeuner (191 King Street East) and have a look at it before the show closes on June 6. My favourites in the exhibit are the ones he shot with a Lubitel 2, one of them shown here.

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when allowed, they were a family by Professional Recreationalist

I spotted these hilarious dance pics with Spiderman and J. Jonah Jameson in Scaled Down (one of the photo pools I started), and stumbled upon this beauty in Professional Recreationalist’s Faux set. The perspective is what adds to the intrigue, I think — social commentary duly noted.

I should’ve posted this earlier, because the opening is today!

So without further ado:

TORONTO SQUARED
Photography by RANNIE TURINGAN
Le Petit Déjeuner
191 King Street East.
April 29th - June 6th

OPENING Saturday April 29, 2006
4:30 - 7:30PM

Part of the CONTACT Photography Festival

See also Toronto Photobloggers

A crappy but rare picture of Hugh taken in 2001 with David’s first digicam, not long after he moved to the house on Froude Avenue.

Take a look at this picture and see if you notice the difference.

Click on the picture to see the answer in the comments.

I’m quite fond of this picture, but I don’t think many people have seen it. I took it last June on a photowalk around Jericho Beach in Vancouver for the Intertidal Arts Project, created to make “ocean floor art” to be washed away after the lowest tide of the year at 1:30pm.

Apparently there were a bunch of us there, but we were all spread out along the beach and didn’t run into each other. Except I did find Cliff, and Rachael magically emerged from the ocean, sans cell phone (retrieved later by another beachcomber!).

It was a gorgeous day at the beach. We even got caught by the tide!

March 24, 2006
Hamburg, Germany

The port of Hamburg has the largest storage facilities of any port in the world, I learned on this boat trip around the harbour. I wish I’d had a wide-angle lens to try and capture the immensity, but maybe you can get an idea of it here. The tour guide only spoke in German, so Berit had to translate for me while I gazed in wonder at the dimensions of the concrete walls.

I was so pleased to be on the water again, even if it was in an industrial setting. In Vancouver I became accustomed to seeing massive cargo ships in English Bay from my apartment, departing cruise ships clearing the Lions Gate Bridge and heading out to Howe Sound, taking the Aquabus to Granville Island, and a BC Ferry every week to the office. Viewing the Pacific Ocean is part of everyday life in Vancouver, and only once you leave do you perceive the differences in ambience: the squawk of seagulls, water slapping against the dock, the tinge of saltwater and seaweed in the air, the hypnotic lull of lapping waves and marinas filled with bobbing boats — they all contribute to a feeling of tranquility. (Maybe I was a mariner in a former life?)

I uploaded this ages ago to Youtube, but they mangled the audio/video track syncing. Here’s the unmangled version on Blip.tv:

Watch the video

March 18, 2006
Hamburg, Germany

Vinny’s little sister Justine (2) has a bit of a cold but sings a little “Beautiful” (James Blunt) and the Fish Song. My favourite part is when she sings “I don’t know VAT to doooooo…..” in her adorable German accent (then stops to grin).

I had to jump through a long series of hoops to import our car into Canada. I took the photo on the left earlier today in the Canadian Tire parking lot before they drilled holes into the front of the car to install the front license plate. In Ontario (and most Canadian provinces?) plates are required both front and back.

The car seriously needed a wash!

David bought this car brand-new in 2001 and of course chose an aviation reference for his plate. If he’d been born a few generations earlier, no doubt he would’ve been a barnstormer.

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