First item on the agenda: I got my Mini Moo Cards today! FINALLY! I decided to order only two photos for the batch this time instead of fiddling around with the 20 or so last time. There were so many different photos to choose from that I was showing the whole collection every time and people couldn’t decide which one to take. The choices are now narrowed down to two: wedding glasses with (Fancy and Rod’s) rings in them, or a spouting geyser in Iceland. There’s a lot more information in the back, though: my Toronto and Vancouver phone numbers, one email address, two website addresses.

I took a photo of them on my computer in low light and high ISO to test the noise on the D300. It looks pretty noisy here in a larger size, but according to the EXIF data it’s at ISO4000, f/2.8, 1/320s. Not bad. I tested the noise reduction utility in Capture NX on this photo and it works quite well at <15%, better than using Adobe Camera RAW.

In other banal news, it’s SNOWING. Here’s what the tree in the front yard looks like now versus six days ago:

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After pulling an all-nighter last night to try and get ahead on these aforementioned projects, I had to set the alarms this morning to run errands today. It was a four-alarm morning! The downtown Ministry of Transportation office was only open until 1:00 and the veterinarian was only open until 1:30, and both are closed tomorrow. I got lucky with parking in this abysmal weather and managed to get to both a few minutes before they shut their doors, then headed over to The Brides’ Project to get more product shooting in before they closed up for the day.

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse here, with driving rain and pane-rattling wind. Someone left his car lights on by The Brides’ Project and I offered to pull out the jumper cables, yikes. I must’ve been feeling especially charitable, because the cables are buried deep underneath the spare tire at the back of the car, which is stored below all the photography-related stuff there: tripod, monopod, TWO ladders, plus a crate of equipment, eg. big flashlights, car parts, maps, and various sundry items. (When my battery got drained on the grounds of The Ex two weeks ago I thought of getting out the jumper cables, but I was in a deserted area after midnight and didn’t think it was safe to try to flag down anyone. I’d rather call CAA!)

I got some silly shots at The Brides’ Project with the staff, but I know I’ll be tempted to edit those and end up getting distracted with something time-consuming like creating triptychs so I’m just going to stick to one simple image for tonight! Back to work.. and stop myself from looking longingly at the chocolate…

I mentioned on October 22 a Halloween charity fundraiser on a boat in the Toronto Harbour, and I’ve put some photos together from the event. I would’ve had a more elaborate costume if I hadn’t wasted the afternoon in the Canadian Tire parking lot trying to fix the tail light on Saturday, but I was short on time as it were and decided to just wear the aviator goggles, helmet, and scarf with a leather jacket and head out to the boat before it lifted anchor without me!

The crew of the Obsession III: Captain Bill and Company, bearers of charming Newfoundland accents. I’m not kidding about the accents — I enjoyed listening to Captain Bill and discussed with him the logistics of a road trip around Newfoundland. [View On Black]

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Want to do something different this year for Halloween and support a cancer charity at the same time? How about celebrating Halloween on a boat in Toronto Harbour this Saturday! Reposted from the website, here’s the message from Helen Sweet, founder:

Come and celebrate with us! It’s a costume party and fundraiser for VSO to help fight global poverty (the group I’m going overseas with) and also for Camp Quality. Food, fun, etc. is all included, Cash Bar. Tickets must be prepaid, and you are welcome to invite any and all your friends! It’s a typical Brides’ Project thing… everyone welcome, relaxed, fun, and friendly.

Please drop me a line for tickets… tickets@thebridesproject.com

I’m attending to shoot the event. Will I dress up? Come and find out! Let me know if you want to join us and I’ll add you to the list at the door.

Today I pulled my wedding dress out of its storage container, hung it up, and took a few photos of it before I sent it on its way.

There’s a lot of emphasis on the wedding dress as a symbol of marriage, because for the groom a tuxedo can be worn for other occasions. A wedding dress simply can’t be mistaken for anything else, especially if it has a train. Anyone can spot a wedding a mile away once that dress comes into view.

When I was at The Brides’ Project over the weekend, they told me as with all private donations I could write a letter to accompany the dress, which would only be opened once the new owner claimed it. Every dress has a story, and mine is no exception. But mine is such a big story that I don’t know if I could tell it in a letter format. After all, I’ve been writing in this website for years and I don’t think I’ve finished telling our story.

I was thinking I could write an open letter here and just put the URL in the letter with the dress. Maybe other brides-to-be will see it, and think about what it means to walk down that aisle. I don’t believe you have to get married to make the commitment to love and care for someone the rest of your lives, but if you choose to get married the highest level of commitment will be expected of you, and only you will know if you can live up to it.

Three years down the road, I can honestly say I would probably pick the same dress if I could do it all over again. The shop owner told me flat out that it was all wrong for me, but I didn’t listen to her and tried it on, anyway. Once I saw myself in it I knew this would be my wedding dress, and once she saw I was right about the dress she stopped trying to talk me out of it. There are some things in life I am certain of, and choosing that dress was one of them.

The other was marrying David Fielding, in spite of everything that happened since. My only regret is not meeting him sooner, because then we would’ve had more time together. Maybe we would’ve even had a child together by now.

It’s taken three years, but I’m finally ready to let the dress go, to make someone else happy on her wedding day, and benefit a child or adult dealing with cancer. It’s taken me a while to find a sense of purpose again, and now the dress can begin its own new journey, too.

I spent Saturday afternoon at a house on Broadview Avenue here in Toronto, documenting the search for a wedding dress for a photography client and getting a firsthand look at how The Brides’ Project works.

It all started with an email from Haida last week, inviting me to accompany her on a bridal-themed weekend which included trying on wedding gowns and attending a bridal show. She sent along a link to The Brides’ Project and I was intrigued by the concept as this is something I’d never heard of before but wished was around when I was shopping for a wedding dress in ‘04/’05, even before cancer had touched my own life in such a personal way.

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Melissa, Kermit, and I lost track of the run route and ended up circling the entire perimeter of Stanley Park. We even double-backed a few times, so we did much more than 10k. Yay for us!

Just a quick post to say the longer version (with a video) is coming up, but here we wanted to thank all of our fantastic sponsors who helped us raise over $700 towards cancer research (final count to be announced), far exceeding my goal of $500. THANK YOU! The sponsor list will be posted later, too, with links for those who have websites.

This year the Terry Fox Run will take place on Sunday, September 14. I need sponsors!

Last year I did the Terry Fox Run with Arliin and her friend Esther, in High Park here in Toronto. This year I will be doing it in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

(Reposting from last year:)

Any Canadian over the age of probably six knows the Terry Fox story because the whole country participates in the annual runs, from coast to coast. The schools I attended had the entire student population do the run every September, as part of school.

Of course, even if I’d never heard of Terry Fox, I have my own personal reasons to support cancer research.

If you’d like to add your support, I’ve got online pledging set up through the Terry Fox website. The site accepts donations in any currency, and has a currency converter.

Yes, I’d like to support cancer research and Gail needs the exercise! Take me to the pledge page.

Where does the money go?
I want to find out more information.
I’d like to do the Terry Fox Run, too! Where else in Canada is it taking place?
I live outside of Canada, are there Terry Fox Runs worldwide? (From Flickr: there’s a Terry Fox Run in Hyde Park, London, every year.)

Please give generously! Thank you!

The death toll from the Sichuan Earthquake on May 12 has well exceeded 50,000 people, the population of many towns in Canada. To give you a sense of the enormity of this tragedy, it would be the equivalent of losing the entire population of North Vancouver and part of West Vancouver all at once, or almost half of Prince Edward Island.

BBC World News: China earthquake toll jumps again

Officials say more tents are needed to help the millions of homeless. The death toll from the massive earthquake in south-west China rose again, as an official said more than five million buildings had collapsed. The vice-governor of Sichuan province said 55,239 people were now known to have died in the 12 May quake.

Millions of people are homeless, and the American Red Cross states that this earthquake is the worst natural disaster in China in 30 years.

If you live in Canada, you can make an online donation for Sichuan Earthquake Relief through the Canadian Red Cross. You can pay with both credit card and Interac (with major banks).

https://www.paypaq.com/redcross/new/index.php

You can also make a donation over the phone: 1-800-418-1111

If you live in the U.S., you can find information at the American Red Cross website, including a direct link to donate online.

If you live elsewhere in the world and would like to make a donation to support relief efforts in China, you can donate directly to the Red Cross Society of China (English version).

I donated through the Canadian Red Cross, but there are also many other charitable groups working hard in China to bring aid to the people affected by this disaster. I encourage you to help in any way you can, if not through the Red Cross, through any effective emergency response organisation.

On Thursday night I went to a restaurant on the Danforth which was hosting a benefit for the Toronto Humane Society. I worked late, so I only caught the very end of it. I put in three bids at the silent auction, bought a batch of raffle tickets, the big hardcover book "Iconic America" (what a bargain!) — but they didn’t charge me for the CDs (still in the cellophane)! One of the big prizes was a VIA Rail trip for two to Montreal, but I saw the current bids and didn’t think I stood a chance with my highest bid. I was waiting around for the draw for the raffle baskets, but the karaoke was in full swing and I opted to head home rather than listen to any more Cher songs.

Then yesterday the restaurant called and said I won the bid for the Kiehl’s gift box and a basket! This afternoon I picked up the stuff and was able to make my own selection from the different themes (bath, kitchen, animals, etc.). In case you can’t tell from the picture, I picked the Bartender Basket!

Cocktails, anyone?