RSS Feed

2012

  1. Walking Home: Month Eight

    February 23, 2012 by Gail

    obedience training next to the dog park

    obedience training next to the dog park

    I’ve managed somehow to keep up this walking home business for nearly three quarters of a year now and I’m very pleased with myself for sticking to it, especially through the heat waves and the winter. I think it’s very easy to embark on a new health kick, only to lose interest or consistency/commitment. It’s been said before that for long-term change to take place, it has to become part of the routine, it has to become habitual. Otherwise it’s a phase that passes and then you find yourself back at square one.

    Now that walking home has become a way of life, I’m ready for the next challenge… I need to do some strength training, but I hate the gym. I won’t last. My gym rat days were over a long time ago and I don’t want to go back, even though I’d love to have back the body I got as a result of strict training. Being married to a triathlete and personal trainer had its benefits.

    I’m not into group exercise, either. I like team sports, but straight exercise I’d rather do on my own. So the appealing choices left are: join a recreational league (playing –volleyball?–), or maybe something like boxing. There’s a boxing gym just up the street from me. I’ll have to investigate this further. In the meantime I’d better hit the sack as I’ve got a patient to drive rather early.

    The pictures below are from King Street West, between Niagara Street and Atlantic Avenue.

    Share this:

  2. Boys Without Girls

    February 22, 2012 by Gail

    My friend Jan of Red Gecko Productions just released this parody music video of the Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls” by local comedy troupe Plum Thunder, and it is funny! I don’t know why, but the scene with the slide is so pathetic I had to watch it a few times :D It’s probably funnier if you live in Toronto because there are lots of reference jokes, but I’m sure you’ll get most of them whether you live here or not.

    Check out http://www.plumthunder.ca and http://www.red-gecko-productions.com

    STARRING
    Bryan Paccagnella
    Troy Martin
    Cara Stephenson

    SHOT & EDITED BY
    Jan Keck

    MUSIC BY
    Bryan Paccagnella

    SOUND RECORDING BY
    Ugo Troccoli

    PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
    Natalia Kantor

    SET PHOTOGRAPHY
    Quirien Wijnberg

    PRODUCED BY
    Red Gecko Productions

    Share this:

  3. A Newfound Respect For Lacrosse

    February 21, 2012 by Gail

    I uploaded a short clip I shot on Saturday with my phone, but it’s only 45 seconds of play that took place mostly at the other end of the field. To show you more of the game I’ve embedded Saturday’s highlights reel from NLL (National Lacrosse League) below so you can see the speed.

    I’d never seen lacrosse before, and it wasn’t one of the sports I’d learned how to referee in my Grade 12 PhysEd class (we focused on the major ones), which meant I had to figure out the rules of play by watching it. I could’ve read up on the rules beforehand and used it as reference, but instead I went to the game at the Air Canada Centre with a fellow photographer, Pete, who also had never seen a lacrosse match, and we compared it to the sports we knew.

    As far as similarities, at first lacrosse seemed the closest to hockey — there was even a penalty box — but with a 30-second clock, to me that was more like basketball (which has a 24-second clock). It reminded me a lot of playing floor hockey (I only played floor because my skating wasn’t good enough for ice hockey).

    I had to look up the rules today, because even watching an entire match required a fair amount of guesswork as to how to play it properly.

    http://www.willowdalesportsclub.com/lacrossebasicrules.html

    One thing I noticed immediately about watching lacrosse is the sheer speed of the game. Compared to all other sports I’ve seen live, whether team or individual sports including tennis, basketball, hockey, rugby, cricket, baseball, gridiron, soccer, and whatever else, lacrosse has the least stoppage of play. The field may not be as big as a soccer pitch, but the players are running constantly, the plays are long, and the whistle is not blown nearly as often. There was some frustrated pushing but no out-and-out brawls, and it doesn’t appear that fighting is encouraged (unlike hockey).

    I was pretty fascinated by the way the players wield their lacrosse sticks, using a twisting motion to keep the ball from dropping or bouncing out. They catch and run with the balls in the basket at the end of the stick, and the passing techniques are impressive. Even as a viewer, it takes some adjustment to track a higher field of play compared to hockey, where the puck is sliding around the ice and the sticks are kept to ice level and players are looking down a lot. In lacrosse, the sticks are high, the ball is thrown and tossed high, and the players have their heads up all the time.

    Pete was impressed, too. In the first half of the game he compared the playing style to that of a three-dimensional hockey game where the object of play (a ball, in this case) has another dimension to travel through rather than just at a single, low level.

    I doubt lacrosse will ever break through commercially as a Major League, but if you appreciate athleticism in all its forms, you will enjoy watching what these players do.

    Share this:

  4. That’s Enough Vertigo For One Day

    February 20, 2012 by Gail

    Scarborough Bluffs

    Scarborough Bluffs - the view from the top

    Scarborough Bluffs

    Scarborough Bluffs - the view from below

    Although the prospect of spending a long weekend in Toronto instead of being At Large did vex me for a while, I finally conceded that I had a lot of things to do and a three-day weekend was the best time to do it. The Disappearing Long Weekend is one of the unfortunate conditions of freelancing that I deal with in my own way, namely by squandering all that theoretical work time, eg., by going to an NBA game, an NLL game, brunches, dinners, and shooting outside.

    This is how I know I’d make a terrible academic: don’t make me sit through a class, I need to be out in the field!

    This morning I got up before dawn and about an hour after the sun rose, took my camera to the Scarborough Bluffs, where I tried to go last weekend except the weather did not cooperate. This morning it most certainly did.

    People, I haven’t been to the Scarborough Bluffs since I arrived in Toronto in 2006. At least I went twice that first year, but I didn’t even own a DSLR back then, that’s how long it’s been. But I don’t want to be one of those Torontonians who can’t be bothered to venture to the opposite side of Yonge Street unless it’s for a good reason — I’ll go anywhere, anytime. This time nature called, and if there’s one thing I miss about BC, it’s nature. So I answered the call, even if it came from the other end of the Gardiner Expressway.

    Scarborough Bluffs

    The distinct advantage of going to the Bluffs on a holiday Monday morning is that I had the place practically all to myself. It was peaceful and calm.

    Scarborough Bluffs

    Peaceful and calm enough that the wildlife didn’t get scared away.

    Can you ID this critter? It was rustling around in the pampas grass for ages while I stood and waited for it to appear. By all the crashing around I thought it was a deer, so imagine my surprise when this little thing emerged like a drunken sailor who just peed in the bushes. When I first caught a fleeting glimpse in the grass I thought “muskrat?” but then I saw its rather small head and thought “marmot?”. But then I looked up marmot and it hardly resembled a marmot. My friend Kevin says it’s a mink and I’m inclined to agree. I did a rather extreme digital crop to show him/her better.

    zoomed in to try and ID this animal...

    After about an hour of shooting at lake level, I decided to venture back up to street level to see if I could find the entrance to reach the top of the bluffs. It didn’t take long before I found an opening to Bluffers Park at Chine Road and I walked to a vantage point at the western end of the bluffs. There I had a long conversation with a guy about camera equipment while he played fetch with his dog. (My main tip for hobbyists is to always buy equipment used. There is really no need to buy anything new unless money is burning a hole in your pocket.)

    Scarborough Bluffs

    I knew there would be more scenic spots along the bluffs and continued along the fence until I found an opening with the most warning signs to keep away from the edge. Because that’s how you know you’re in the best spot — it’s the most dangerous!

    Honestly, that edge gave me serious vertigo. I could even hear the cliff eroding; there were rocks falling every couple of minutes. I imagined the chunk of earth beneath me give way, and the thought of it made my palms clammy.

    Scarborough Bluffs

    The signs are necessary, it’s a long way down to the bottom…

    Scarborough Bluffs

    This was the closest I got to the edge — there was no way I was hanging over it to look down, it reminded me too much of when I was in San Francisco in 2008, shooting at the Marin Headlands with Kevin. He was looking through the viewfinder of a Hawkeye Brownie, then suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream that nearly sent both of us off the edge. Turns out he was so intent on peering through the viewfinder (with Brownies you have to look straight down into the camera) that he didn’t realize how close he was to the edge. When he finally looked up, he was practically there and freaked right out. I would’ve, too, but he nearly gave me a heart attack! Here we are nearly four years later and I can still remember that scream. Have camera need railing, I say.

    The best I could do this morning was to lean up against that last tree to take these pictures, hoping the tree wouldn’t pick that moment to fall into Lake Ontario.

    Scarborough Bluffs

    While I was taking photos a woman walking her dog informed me that two people fell off the bluffs last year, and a dog went over, too. That’s enough to make shivers go up your spine, even if you don’t get vertigo.

    At any rate, that’s enough vertigo for me for one day. Scratch that, it’s enough vertigo for another YEAR. Let’s have some pictures after all that mind-over-matter.

    full-screen slideshow
    thumbnails
    – or a smaller slideshow below:

    (more…)

    Share this:

  5. New York On My Mind

    February 19, 2012 by Gail

    Fire Island, NY

    Fire Island, NY

    Something I’ve had to get used to (rather reluctantly, I might add) in the past few years since wedding photography became a part of my life has been long(er)-range planning. I’m spontaneous by nature, I don’t like to plan that far ahead, but it’s been a necessity as weddings are booked quite far in advance and my calendar is set six months to a year ahead.

    I took the photo above during my first trip to Fire Island, New York, in September 2009 with my friend Eric and his family and I was delighted to be invited back the following year. I was booked to shoot a wedding last September at the same time that they were vacationing on Fire Island in 2011, and although I was also on a beach (albeit a freshwater one) it was definitely not the same. Mind you, I was working which had everything to do with it, but there’s no comparison to being oceanside.

    All that to say, I couldn’t help but think of New York as I was uploading more pics of that first trip to Fire Island. Or maybe I was uploading more pics of Fire Island because I was thinking of New York, since I will be shooting a wedding there (in Queens) this summer.

    I’m probably going to melt shooting a summer wedding in New York, but it’s going to fun nonetheless!

    Share this:

  6. Toronto Rock vs. Philadelphia Wings

    February 18, 2012 by Gail

    NLL @ Air Canada Centre: Toronto Rock vs Philadelphia Wings

    NLL (National Lacrosse League) @ Air Canada Centre

    I know what you’re thinking: Air Canada Centre two nights in a row? What can I say, I like sports. Besides, this was my first lacrosse match.

    NLL @ Air Canada Centre: Toronto Rock vs Philadelphia Wings

    Another slideshow placeholder for now while the photos get processed… I shot all the photos with someone else’s camera, a Nikon D7000 with a kit lens, to test the body. (More on this later.) I’d fully intended on shooting with his 18-200mm lens to get closer to the action, but we had to leave it with Air Canada Centre’s Guest Services because apparently they have a 75mm limit on zooms. Last night the security guard didn’t even look at my lens, I only showed him the back of the camera when I opened the top of my camera bag. Not so lucky today, the security guy checked the lens more thoroughly. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

    full-screen slideshow
    thumbnails

    (more…)

    Share this:

  7. Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Bobcats

    February 17, 2012 by Gail

    NBA @ Air Canada Centre: Toronto Raptors vs Charlotte Bobcats

    NBA game @ Air Canada Centre

    Just a slideshow placeholder for now while I get the photos uploaded…

    full-screen Flickr slideshow
    thumbnails

    (more…)

    Share this:

  8. Brie + Lavi

    February 16, 2012 by Gail

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi were married at a restaurant in Toronto in front of a roomful of friends and family on December 28, 2011, and there was much rejoicing :)

    There were many things that I loved about this wedding. I loved that they made it about them and chose the details that made them happy. I converted all the uploads to black and white which means it won’t show all the details, like Brie’s red dress and the rainbow cake, but maybe I’ll add a couple of colour versions at the end.

    Brie before the ceremony:

    Brie + Lavi

    Some of my favourite photos of the whole wedding are of Brie and her mom. They’re obviously very close, and they were dancing up a storm before the ceremony. It was cute!

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi's wedding

    The ceremony was a mix of their own vows plus Jewish wedding rituals:

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Some of the best moments were the speeches:

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    And of course the dancing:

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    Brie + Lavi

    And before I finish with the slideshow, here’s some colour — first up, Brie’s dress and unique manicure (skull and crossbones):

    GEF_8734

    They made the wedding cake themselves, which looked like other wedding cakes on the outside but had a vibrant rainbow colour on the inside:

    GEF_9092

    GEF_8892

    The photos are best viewed as a full-screen slideshow, or thumbnails, or in the smaller slideshow below:

    (more…)

    Share this:

  9. Castel Sant’Angelo

    February 16, 2012 by Gail

    it was all a dream

    Another scene from Rome finally migrating, more than two years later, from my external drive to the internet where it belongs. (Rome was part of my birthday trip in 2009, where I spent my actual birthday in Bratislava, Vienna, Rome, and The Vatican.)

    Photography is a fantastic time machine that takes an feeling/moment/experience in the past and brings it forward to now. I still remember the time I spent at Castel Sant’Angelo.

    Share this:

  10. Spicy Ramen @ Kenzo

    February 15, 2012 by Gail

    Netsu Ramen (heat level 2 out of 3)

    Netsu Ramen (heat level 2 out of 3)

    Another day, another food photo, but more importantly, spicy food. This winter has been unseasonably mild, but spicy soups still hit the spot in February. I guarantee you will warm up after a bowl of spicy ramen!

    This is the first ramen noodle house I’ve been to in Toronto, and I wasn’t sure about the heat level. (I used to frequent Kintaro Ramen on Denman in Vancouver. Loved that place!) With a choice of mild, medium, and hot (or 1-3 on the menu), I chose medium and I’m glad I did, because anything hotter and my head would be on fire. It was already on fire with medium heat, but at least I could feel my tongue afterwards.

    http://www.kenzoramen.ca

    There are three locations, but we went to the one at 138 Dundas West, near the coach terminal.

    Before heading to Kenzo, a bunch of us met up at the World’s Biggest Bookstore, where I shot some photos of the side of the building while waiting for the others.

    World's Biggest Book Store

    World's Biggest Book Store

    World's Biggest Book Store

    On the way to the bookstore I took this shot north of Queen and the courthouse, making a mental note to do a shoot here when it’s quieter, like on a weekend, and I can bring some lighting and my DSLR. I’ll also need a second person to watch for traffic!

    parking garage off Bay Street

    parking garage off Bay Street

    Share this: