May, 2010
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Cat In Camouflage
May 22, 2010 by Gail
Posted in cameraphone, Critters + Creatures, Xena & Beano | 3 Comments
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Up In The Air
May 21, 2010 by Gail
[over the Pyrenees, Barcelona to London]I have many aerial photos. I’ve got more than a hundred tagged as aerials in Flickr, but I upload only a small fraction of what I actually shoot, and I’m not a completely disciplined tagger, either. I’ve shot aerials from a range of aircraft, from helicopters to biplanes to WWII cargo planes to airliners.
I find the view from the sky as intriguing as the view from the ground, if not a little more so because I spend less time up there than down here. And coming from a previous life that revolved very much around aviation and getting up in the sky at every opportunity, I am offering another point of view. To go along with the view.
[Winnipeg to Vancouver]
[over the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest in Iceland]
[over the Hudson River, upstate New York]
[eastern shores of Lake Michigan]
This last pic above is Detroit. If you’ve flown over it, you’d probably guess it from the aerial. And if you’ve flown over it, you’ve probably been to the airport, which is pretty nice as airports go, and from this one I saw a spectacular sunset a couple of years ago. I’ve been to more airports than I’ve kept track of, but one trip I counted 11 — just in that one trip. It was only six years ago, but it feels like forever. I’ve been in many airports since, but I still like Detroit’s.
I’ve got airports on the brain because I just saw “Up In The Air” (2009). The opening aerials to the film are very interesting, showing the variety of settlement and farming patterns on the ground from a bird’s eye view. (And as I am writing this, there is news of an Air India crash. So I’m a little conflicted about continuing on my topic… I need to acknowledge that flying is not without its risks.)
I’ve also got Detroit on the brain, because I had planned to visit this weekend. There is a segment of the film which takes place in Detroit and is related to why I wanted to go in the first place. Moreover, this afternoon I received an email from another traveller in our original Detroit-bound group. She said:
…just a side note: I talked to 3 people who’ve been to Detroit before and all of them said that Detroit is a pretty boring city to go and pretty much reminds [x] of Buffalo. And 2 out of 3 advised to go to Cleveland instead.
I tried to tone down my response because initially I was more than a little ticked off, but she was just passing along information that was given to her — she’d never been. I have visited, but this was more than 16 years ago and much has happened to the local economy since then. Regardless, I still wanted to go, for my own reasons.
And this perhaps is why I get ticked off when I hear people pass off subjective statements about places (well, anything that is subjective) masked as “advice” — it is really NOT advice, it is opinion but without information!
“That movie is crap.”
“That restaurant is a waste of money.”
“It’s too dangerous to go there.”It is very irresponsible for people to pass along an opinion without at least some clarification:
Why didn’t they like it?
What did they do?
What were they looking for?
Were their expectations out of line with reality?
Did they do any research?I remember a few years ago when I told people I was going to Iceland, no-one could think of a single reason to go. “Iceland? What for?” I’m thankful I didn’t listen to anyone but myself. After all, who knows what I want to do better than me? (I often wonder about people who can’t seem to make a decision without consulting everyone around them.) I was pretty fascinated by Iceland, but it seemed at the time no-one knew anything about the country. Now that one of its volcanoes has wreaked havoc on air travel and closed down airports in Europe, suddenly people know at least ONE thing about Iceland: it has volcanoes!
The reason why I’m jumping to the defense of Detroit is because it is precisely the place that SHOULD be visited. For one thing, they certainly could use the tourist money. Everything I’ve heard from people in Toronto (who aren’t photographers) has been negative except one friend whose father is an architect and talks up the unique features of Detroit’s buildings. Otherwise all everyone seems to talk about is Detroit’s crime rate and the depressed economy. I simply cannot believe Detroit has nothing to offer, because media tends to dwell on BAD NEWS. I’m not denying the facts or reports, I’m saying there is more to Detroit than what you see on the news or read in newspapers.
It’s not that I’m looking to move to Detroit, anyway, I just want to visit and take photos and meet the locals. Anywhere that produces a sound like Motown is someplace I want to visit. Detroit has a long history of producing groundbreaking modern music, from rock and roll to techno to rap. And you know what? Their hockey team does pretty well…
While I’m on the subject, The Jackson Five were from Gary, Indiana, Madonna’s from Bay City, Michigan, The Black Keys are from Akron, Ohio — these are all considered “unexciting” places. I’ve made the observation long ago (and felt it somewhat proven by Iceland), that the more isolated a place, the starker and bleaker the winters get, the more creative people become. When there is “nothing” to do, that is when you start creating, because it is borne out of a human need to stamp out boredom and connect with other people.
I have one basic tenet, one guiding principle that is the foundation of how I travel: if people live there, it is worth visiting. I am not an academic, but I take an academic approach to most things: few things are categorically ‘good’ or ‘bad’, just ‘different’. It’s like people: not everyone gives a great first impression, with some people you have to get to know them first. It’s why I moved to Glasgow after living in Edinburgh, even though all the tourists go to Edinburgh instead of Glasgow. I believe Detroit’s one of those cities: it’s maybe gruff and scruffy, bruised and battered, knocked down… but far from out.
Posted in Culture + Society, Rants, Travel, USA | 2 Comments
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A Taste Of Summer
May 21, 2010 by Gail
I headed to Dundas Square after work Thursday to see if I could catch the tail end of the media shoot for Relay For Life which included The Brides’ Project, but they wrapped up earlier than expected. It was 28C and the square was filled with people enjoying the sunshine and heat, so I got out the point-and-shoot camera and took some photos, naturally. It was the kind of day where the ice cream melted faster than the time it took to eat it — lean forward or get dripped on!
When I use the zoom on the Canon A520 the photos look terrible (as above), but when I try and shoot discreetly I like to keep my distance so I can’t avoid using the zoom. I took a step back and zoomed in to take some shots when a pigeon unceremoniously took a MAJOR dump from an overhang 20 feet above my head, narrowly missing me by a couple of feet. It was close enough that I got a tiny bit of pigeon splash on my toes and sandals. That would have been one disgusting ride home on the TTC if I hadn’t stepped back. There was a man standing next to me as the pigeon launched its load. He looked at the mess on the ground and we both laughed as he congratulated me on my (our) supreme luck.
Posted in Out + About, Videoclips | No Comments
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Entertainment District With The Canon A520
May 20, 2010 by Gail
Wednesday night was another screening of a series of short films — the tickets were courtesy of my friend Neesa who keeps winning NFB tickets but never seems to be available for the dates. NFB is located in my former neighbourhood, the Entertainment District, which is rather colourful on the weekends but fairly manageable for a walkabout on weeknights. I enjoyed the selection of (international) short films and will try and make it out to see some films during the World Wide Short Film Festival, June 1-6.
For more info, check out the World Wide Short Film Festival website:
http://www.shorterisbetter.com
(you’ll be forwarded here: http://www.worldwideshortfilmfest.com/)It’s funny because as I was adding the links I noticed that their last tweet on their Twitter feed — fed into the home page — is to me…
This is what I captured after the screenings and before the sun disappeared below the horizon. (The Canon A520 is a 4MP budget camera that was released in 2005; you can buy it secondhand these days for around $10. This is not an ad for the camera but rather a statement on how it is possible to engage in the art form without spending a lot of money, commercial shooting aside.)
I especially like the streetcar blur in this pic:
These last two pictures appear the same at first glance, but notice how quickly the lights of the CN Tower change:
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has generously pledged me thus far for Relay For Life. It’s a great feeling to fundraise for a cause so near and dear to my heart, and I thank you for backing me!
Posted in Out + About, Toronto | No Comments
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Distillery District With The Canon A520
May 19, 2010 by Gail
I’ve been carrying around my point-and-shoot digicam the past week, and I’m only getting around now to posting the ones I took the past couple of days. I had an errand in the Distillery District before a client meeting, so I clicked away around there enroute to Pikto. (The Canon A520 is a 4MP budget camera that was released in 2005; you can buy it secondhand these days for around $10.)
If I’d had more time, I would’ve checked out some of the exhibits for the annual CONTACT Photography Festival.
Posted in Out + About, Toronto | No Comments
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Interview At The Brides’ Project
May 18, 2010 by Gail
Photographers generally don’t like being photographed, unless we do it ourselves. Here’s me looking a little slack-jawed at my mother’s wedding on May 9 in Vancouver, mercifully out-of-focus. Thanks, Allan. Here’s me in action, at the far right.
Fast forward exactly one week. Yikes, this is me on HD camera and totally unprepared for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UQp1ujHKyc
I volunteered at The Brides’ Project last Sunday and Helen gave me the heads up about a media interview but it totally went in one ear and out the other. I also had a short-notice brunch that morning, so my cleanup routine did forgo shampoo and my hair revolted as a consequence. Straight from brunch to volunteering, then interview. Ahhhh! But the subject material is very personal to me, so I’m putting aside the vanity (oh dear) in favour of meaning.
Oh, and I’m going to start my sponsorship campaign for Relay For Life now, because it’s only a few weeks away! Friday, June 11. Here’s my sponsorship page. My goal is currently $300 but if I get close to it before the day I’m bumping it up. I’m going to send an email around to give people a nudge, too!
Posted in Gail at Large, Other Photogs, Volunteering/Charity | 1 Comment
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Toronto Stock Exchange
May 18, 2010 by Gail
I feel like a jerk for taking his picture, but this is actually part of a project I’m working on.
Posted in Mobile Blogging | 2 Comments
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Would You Wear A Chicken Suit?
May 17, 2010 by Gail
Or maybe the question should be: “At what PRICE would you wear a chicken suit?”
He looks like a very unhappy chicken, if you ask me. I can only say that from his posture and gait, which doesn’t translate well into photos in this case, thanks to the suit, but he looks a little forlorn in the lower photo. Is he a university student? Someone who just lost his job? I’d love to know but I think he’d probably like to keep his dignity intact by keeping his identity under wraps.
Day 1: saw grey whale in front of Science World and a house being towed in Georgia Strait
Day 2: spotted man wearing chicken suit (East Cordova)By Day 3 in Vancouver, I was expecting to see more absurdity, but that didn’t happen until Day… oh, nevermind (inside joke).
Posted in Culture + Society, Vancouver | No Comments
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Hockey Nation
May 16, 2010 by Gail
It’s been years since I watched the NHL playoffs, but it’s pretty hard to avoid them while living in Canada. When I was in Vancouver the buses had “Go Canucks Go” alternating with route names, the scores are all over the broadcast media, and screens everywhere — airports, intersections, any large monitors — show stats and scores. I’ve turned into a lousy spectator, it seems. Unless I’m photographing an event live, I lose interest because the screens just don’t do it for me.
I shot this picture in the courtyard of my friend’s workplace in Vancouver. They play ball hockey to blow off steam. (A great idea, don’t you think? There was a ping pong table in the back part of my office and the guys had tournaments, but now the area is being used more regularly and they had to fold up the table and store it. ‘Tis a shame. In a company full of men, there is much steam to blow off.)
Posted in Blah Blah Blah | No Comments
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From Eastern Avenue
May 16, 2010 by Gail
The Gardiner Expressway is closed this weekend, wreaking traffic havoc in the south of the city. But I’ve been local long enough to figure out some alternative routes, thankfully.
Posted in Mobile Blogging | No Comments
