Archive for ◊ June, 2008 ◊

30 Jun 2008 Perfection And Sunday Mornings Don’t Mix
 |  Category: Photography  | Leave a Comment

umbrella twirling

Yesterday’s lesson in umbrella-twirling motion blur:

I asked the lovely Erin to pose with her umbrella and twirl it so I could get the motion blur. I was trying to get the shutter speed down low enough for the blur and aperture high enough to expose her face properly, but I hadn’t manually set my ISO (it maxes out at 3200) which resulted in a whitewash… until Aubrey mentioned it. Also, I hadn’t stopped down far enough. So there you go, that’s why I like to shoot with other people — especially on a Sunday morning, when I’m operating on 54% brain power.

The other thing I would’ve done is moved her forward a bit to have only the brick wall in the background. If I were truly a perfectionist I would have directed her properly to lock the focus or used a tripod. I would also clone out that piece of wood in the corner. Thank goodness I’m not a perfectionist (when photowalking), I’d be terribly annoying and nobody would want to go shooting with me.

29 Jun 2008 PhotoSmorgasbord
 |  Category: Photography  | One Comment

reflection of pride

Another post on the fly…

My 2GB memory card saw some major action today: cows, pigs, turkeys, snails, ponds, flowers, a cemetery, scantily clad bodies, a helicopter, wings, crowd, a pug-beagle dog, transvestites, and all manner of things in between. Between last night and today (shooting from 9am to about 7pm), I took about half the number of photos I average in a month!

Picture above: the TD float guys putting on sunscreen before their turn in the annual Pride Parade. Reflection in Aubrey‘s sunglasses has a bit of my arm and Jose as well.

I got a little sunburnt today.

29 Jun 2008 Wedding Season
 |  Category: Photography  | Leave a Comment

Front Street @ Church

I shot an engagement session on Saturday night, and while I was waiting for my couple to arrive, I observed another photo shoot going on right in front of me — a wedding that probably took place at St. James’ Cathedral.

Wedding season is in full summer swing!

The engagement session went really well, I think. I got to practice my directing skills, photography skills, and creativity with people I’d never met before, and the couple were playful and loving in front of the camera. All in all, everyone went home happy at 2am…

… and in a few hours I’m going to wake up early and shoot some more! (I don’t get out of bed this early on a weekend for anything but my biggest hobbies.) This time with a photographer I’d met while taking photos at the International Day of Dance.

28 Jun 2008 Cheerio, Ruth!
 |  Category: House of Fielding, Travel, cameraphone  | One Comment

Cheerio, Ruth!

It’s probably a good day to leave Toronto — all this humidity turned into summer downpour!

I saw Ruth, from Ireland, off at the train station this morning. I hosted Ruth for two days, and she’s making her way west to Vancouver and all around the U.S. by rail. She’s a lovely girl, I hope to see her in Ireland sometime! She’s also a fan of rail travel, and has inspired me to dig through my archives of Cuba and resurrect the videoclips of my journey on the Hershey Train from Matanzas to Havana — which I have never posted. If you’re a rail traveller, too, watch this space.

27 Jun 2008 Football At The Farm
 |  Category: Culture + Society, Europe  | One Comment

football at the farm

Now that Germany’s in the final on Sunday against Spain, I can only imagine the mania that’s been building since I left on Monday.

Last Friday, the night before the wedding, there was a barbecue for all the guests who’d arrived at the farm in Wolterdingen. Of course, someone found a way to get a TV signal and beam the Croatia/Turkey match onto a wall. [View Larger]

I’m sure if there were German astronauts in space this weekend, they’d figure out a way to watch the game!

27 Jun 2008 Cubana At The Batcave
 |  Category: Friends  | Leave a Comment

Natalia

A bunch of people are flying to Cuba so we had a bit of a Cuban-themed evening at the Batcave for them to get a taste of the country beforehand. We watched “Buena Vista Social Club”, drank sangria that I’d been marinating in the afternoon, and ate tapas that Maria whipped up in her kitchen. I don’t have any photos of the food or drink, but I did take some post-sangria shots of Jan (below) and Natalia (above). The one of Jan was a white balance accident (I forgot to change the setting), but I like how it looks.

Jan

26 Jun 2008 Norway’s Incredible Sky
 |  Category: Europe  | 6 Comments

Norway's incredible sky

I am slowly, ever so slowly, sorting through my photos of this most recent trip. I also have photos to sort through from Chicago (June 6-8), and NY/NJ/PA (May 29 – Jun 2). Also, for those with the password, my upcoming trip details can be found in the Where page. If I didn’t have this website, I’d be asking myself, “Where did June go??” But I do know, because it’s all here!

Here’s how the Norway album is looking thus far:

[thumbnails] [slideshow] or click through the Pictobrowser below

25 Jun 2008 Matt’s World Dance (2008)
 |  Category: Travel, Videoclips  | One Comment


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands. About Matt.

24 Jun 2008 The Hay Hotel
 |  Category: Europe, Travel  | 4 Comments

heuhotel ("Hay Hotel")

I had some interesting accommodation on this trip, including a little cabin in Norway and sleeping on a bed of hay in a stable in Germany (“heuhotel”). I’m still picking out bits of hay from my stuff!

All up, it was:

  • 3 nights on 2 couches (Oslo, Hamburg)
  • 2 mattresses on 2 floors (Oslo)
  • 3 bunk beds (Norway: Harmar, Akkerhaugen, Flam)
  • 2 nights on hay in a sleeping bag (German farm near Wolterdingen)
  • 1 night in a leather airline seat (Air Transat, Toronto-Hamburg)
24 Jun 2008 George Carlin On Death
 |  Category: Videoclips  | 3 Comments

RIP George Carlin
May 12, 1967 – June 22, 2008