February 28, 2010 by Gail
[April 2008]
With the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics finally over and ending on a note of utter jubilation (a record 14 gold medals, the last one earned this afternoon in a thrilling hockey finale), the country can return to wearing other colours beside red and white. After some major partying tonight, that is. And the hangover tomorrow.
Posted in Culture + Society | 1 Comment
February 26, 2010 by Gail
I very nearly lost a bet tonight, while the country held its breath for the entire third period of the mens hockey game when Team Canada dodged a bullet from Team Slovakia. At no time was I absolutely, 100% sure Canada would win, but I was fully prepared to live up to my promise of buying a Slovak hockey jersey and wearing it if Canada lost its game tonight. I would’ve even worn it in the office, where I’d never live down the scorn. As of Friday afternoon, I heard people in the office were on the phones booking flights to Vancouver and tickets from the internet for the gold medal game on Sunday — that’s how confident everyone was that Canada would win tonight.
I think in sport anything can happen and once in a while national pride from even a small country like Slovakia can surprise people. And it did!
I sent the message to Radovan several days ago after Slovakia beat Sweden, with every intention of ponying up the cash for a Slovak jersey if they beat the odds. If they did, Radovan probably wouldn’t be sipping the icewine I brought over from Toronto last June like he is in this picture, he’d be slugging it back like it was beer. In fact, making a trip back to Bratislava (which was part of my high-stakes bet) would probably land me in a big party in the streets.
No matter which country won, I’d be the least disappointed (non-Slovak) since I’m a Canadian who likes Slovakia and would love it if either team beat the USA. Ha!
As it stands, Slovakia made a valiant effort while Canada scared the living daylights out of everyone from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland by nearly blowing a 3-goal lead. As an ode to gutsy Slovakia, I dug back through my archives from last year and proffer a few more trip photos from Bratislava. I had a great 37th birthday there!
More Bratislava photos can be found here (the album is very far from complete!).
Video from today: a photo slideshow of Slovakia from YouTube
Posted in Blah Blah Blah, Europe, Music, Videoclips | 2 Comments
February 26, 2010 by Gail
Posted in Art, Out + About | No Comments
February 25, 2010 by Gail
It was a full evening of art at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Thursday night after work. I didn’t really have a clue what I was attending, since all I got was a text message from Natalia a few days ago which consisted of a jumble of words: “free tickets art exhibit Thursday” and that’s all it took for me to say yes.
The official website: http://www.torontoartexpo.com/
I’m still working through the photos, but here are the 30-second videoclips I shot of the Korean Salmunori dance and drum group Jeng Yi and the whirling dervishes from Turkey at the opening night of the Toronto Art Expo:
I spent most of the evening staked out in the front row so I could shoot the whirling dervishes up close. I only brought my 50mm f/1.8 lens with me, not the zoom, because I didn’t have a press pass and usually art events discourage photography. I didn’t want to attract attention to myself.
I also grabbed some brochures about Turkey from their table near the entrance. What helps me to plan trips is to use the tourist brochures as a guide for distances and timing between cities. There are lots of maps for orientation and the descriptions about each city are useful, too. And, of course, it’s all free!
Posted in Art, Culture + Society, Out + About, Travel, Videoclips | No Comments
February 25, 2010 by Gail
… of being a wedding photographer is eating excellent food. (Photo above was taken at Auberge du Pommier, one of the best restaurants in Toronto.) I mean, I already take plenty of photos of my food in ordinary situations but the food at weddings is especially photogenic. And perhaps superlatively tasty because I’m working hard and my appetite is on overdrive. One of the great pleasures in life is food, and I relish the way art, science, culture, and history form a bond in this essential part of life.
Posted in Food + Drink, Image Legacy, Working Life | 1 Comment
February 24, 2010 by Gail
So nice to come home before dark. Kinda made up for the fact it was dark when I went to work at 5:30am. Normally it’s the other way around. Back to opposite wacky hours tomorrow.
Posted in Mobile Blogging | No Comments
February 23, 2010 by Gail
An interesting sculpture in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I wasn’t familiar with Chik-Fil-A, so I tried some at the CNN Headquarters:
Posted in USA | | 2 Comments
February 22, 2010 by Gail
It’s quite amazing, after yesterday’s gorgeous sunshine, to look out the office windows and see a complete whiteout this afternoon! It didn’t last long, but reports are for more of the white stuff this week.
And here I thought, at the end of February, that I could declare this snowless winter OVER… apparently Mother Nature isn’t finished with us yet!
Posted in Blah Blah Blah | 2 Comments
February 21, 2010 by Gail
I had a great Saturday, volunteering during the day and spending the evening at a friend’s house, eating excellent food and enjoying everyone’s company. A fun evening that didn’t end until 3am! So when I woke up this morning and looked up at a skylight filled with blue sky, I knew the best way to top off this weekend would be to shoot outside. It was just a matter of deciding where to shoot.
I really miss living by the ocean (Vancouver’s Olympic news footage backdropped by the ocean and mountains is making me verklempt!), but living by Lake Ontario brings similar feelings of tranquility, as mass bodies of water tend to do. I’ve lived inland before — Winnipeg, Banff, Canberra, Scranton, to name a few places — but I always found myself drawn to the water’s edge.
Last winter when I shot the Irish Famine Memorial it was cold and windy and probably 20 degrees lower. This afternoon it was mercifully sunny and without wind, but I was glad to have brought my glove-mittens, which I use to shoot because they keep my hands warm while leaving my fingers free to control the camera settings.
I started off in the park across the street from the main gate to the CNE, walking east along the municipal marina, by the ferry to City Centre Airport, continuing to the Irish Famine Memorial. There were plenty of joggers, but not many people strolling about. A few photographers, natch. The weather couldn’t be better!
Photos best viewed as a [slideshow], as [thumbnails], or in the Pictobrowser below:
Video for today: Roch Voisine performing “Helene” live in the ’80s. [official site] I had a crush on him growing up, along with thousands of other young Canadian girls. (See why.) Voisine is from New Brunswick, a bilingual singer-songwriter who is probably more famous in francophone Canada even though he has music in both English and French. I was listening to an interview with him on CBC earlier, and he’s currently doing a stint as an Olympic hockey sportscaster for a station in France! Apparently Voisine had his sights set on becoming a hockey player until an injury ended that dream. Even though he’s known as a musician, I suppose people in France consider him enough of an authority on hockey to be a commentator for them. There you go: diversify your skills and life will become much more interesting…
Posted in Music, The Great Outdoors, Toronto, Videoclips | 2 Comments
February 19, 2010 by Gail
self-portrait reflection on the floor of 191 Peachtree Tower, Atlanta
It’s a familiar scene at the House of Fielding: late at night, CBC Radio in the background, speed-reading through articles in my bloated RSS reader, mental notes for dozens of blog posts and unable to decide on one, at least 20 tabs open in three browsers vying for attention, and a Zip.ca movie that’s been waiting patiently for me to watch it since the beginning of the month.
(I have the cheapest subscription at Zip.ca: one movie per month, but with a max of two movies before I have to bump up the subscription. I thought it would be easy, but I’ve become such a computer nerd that I’ve found it much harder to break away from internet reading than I thought. In 2008 I realised that nearly all the films I watched were on planes, so this was my attempt at returning to regular movie-watching again. Except last year it once took five months before I watched the DVD that was mailed to me in the spring. It went from being a cheap DVD “rental” to something that would’ve been less costly had I ordered a copy to own. So far I’m doing marginally better in 2010 having watched two DVDs, but hey, it’s only February.)
You know what, though? It’s not such a bad place to be in, having too many hobbies. For everything I always consider the alternative, and the thought of having no hobbies at all makes me shudder. My work pays my bills and maintains my nerd cred, but my hobbies are what keep me sane, motivated, grounded, happy and inspired. Recently I’ve had discussions with people who admit that work accounts for much of their time, not because working longer hours makes them more money but because they’re bored, or can’t think of anything else to do. What?!?
I feel a rant coming on, so I’ll stop here as I’ve got volunteering in the morning… and for someone who routinely rolls into work at noon, having to be somewhere at 10am feels rather early.
Posted in Blah Blah Blah | 1 Comment
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