Even More Earth Day Photos

More Earth Day Photos

Earth Day 2006

Earth Day always represents Spring Cleaning to me and this crew did an amazing job in our Old East Village neighbourhood. These folks worked for hours and spread out all over to make everything look neat and tidy. We started off at Flavour's Diner for some made-from-scratch-muffins, coffee, juice and bagels and then marched over to the parking lot across from the Aolian Hall to gather tools, garbage bags and official shirts. After that I walked about 16 kilometers back and forth trying to capture these energetic people in action.

Studio Update

If you recognize these people don't tell their dad cuz it 'aint' his birthday yet! I finally did my first shoot in the mini studio and we had a lot of fun. I had great people to work with but the space is really small to work in. I've decided to bring the studio out in to the main area and turn the back office back into "The Back Office"

I spent Monday setting up the new studio and I will do post some pictures when I get back on Friday.

Happy Easter to all my friends

Happy Easter! We saw this guy on our way to the border. It was cool to see a biker with bunny ears celebrating easter. We went to my Sister's place and visited with my dad. It had been a long time and he was looking a lot healthier than he was during my last visit there.

Lydia and Woody

Jenny and I visited a wonderful lady named Lydia and her Seeing-Eye dog Woody. They make quite a pair and we had fun visiting.

Woody and I went for a walk and he actually smiled when I took his picture. I had fun watching Lydia's cable TV and eating cookies and milk. She told lots of interesting stories.

Toronto

I had a great morning once I got off the bus. When I was planning my trip on GreyHound.CA the schedule planned a stop at the Royal York Hotel but when we got close the driver was about to refuse to stop. She mentioned a $300 fine if she stopped there because of rush-hour laws. So why the hell is it listed as a stop on the schedule???? Anyway we made arrangements for the tour bus to stop there and pick me up so I was a bit pushy to get her to stop. Lucky for me a few other passengers wanted off there too. She finally stopped as my cell was ringing to tell me the Tour bus was delayed till 10:30. Now I was stuck at 7:30 am again with the "Nothing is Open" syndrome. I decided to go shoot my favourite building again and then check out the Saint Lawrence Market.

Turns out the Market didn't open until 10 either.

Studio Update

I finished my background system Sunday Night (Early Monday morning) and set up the lights and work staion. I threw some frames up which will contain my four favourite photographs taken in the new studio.

I had set a deadline to have the studio in working condition for Monday and that included my workstation so I could be ready for the web editing session with Susan Robson.

We ended up having a really creative time and redesigned her banner. Have a look at the website. It's www.susanrobson.com

Everything is Closed On Sunday Morning

I kept walking and thinking about where to have brekky and enjoying the light. Here are some pix I took along the way

I have a lot of happy memories travelling down Highway 4. Even if I was pressed for time I'd go through downtown to get north of the city.

I love apartment buildings especially with balconies. I was raised on a balcony.

I used to have quite a collection of parking meter shots.


This guy was up early. It would suck to have to work this early.



This poor guy has rips in his jeans. I wonder if he feels a breeze or the termites in the plywood.

....As I continued to walk I began to realize nothing was open, even with the time change. My energy was running low and the herring were swimming around in my stomach fluid. Plus I remembered I had a gig at the Wolf in the afternoon so I decided to crash for a few hours.

Spring Adventure

After the party I walked to the TD Bank in Wortley Village to get money for a cab. While on the way I met a new friend and had a good chat. I hung around in the warm ATM booth while Fritz did laps in the parking lot for a while. I decided it was a nice night and it was just too soon to go home so I walked towards downtown. The sun started to rise and I saw a beautiful view of the city through the trees and an inviting looking park down a very steep hill. I started to climb down but my knees weren't cooperating and I had to climb back up. While walking in the fresh spring air I decided to save up for a new backpack and canoe this summer and do a LOT of camping.

The sun was really starting to rise and felt good on my face. I pulled out the camera again to catch some of the nice early morning light on stuff.


I decided to walk down Dundas to the Studio instead of home and reward myself with a nice breakfast with the money I saved on cab fare.

The Cast Party

After striking the set and loading the truck we all went to the cast party. There were all kinds of food and goodies all over the place and I was even able to go home and get my 6 American Beers thanks to John Brain who dropped by the Wolf for a coffee and then drove me there.

Anthony gave us all a Kinder Egg, Sukie gave us yummy liquor chocolates and Jeff brought smoked herring which I can still taste in the back of my throat!

I met a lot of interesting people there and stayed until the very end.

I snapped a few photos during the night with the lens I bought on ebay with the scratch on the rear element. I really liked the soft focus effect it gave so I'm going to keep it.

Missing My Friends

I'm missing the folks from The Cherry Orchard. Whenever I work on a long running event at the Wolf I get attached to the folks in the show. It reminds me of my film days and what I'd go through after the shooting is finished. This group of folks was extra special and I really got in to the production. So many different personalities and huge talent yet they all shared a bond. I always thought that the actors made money and was very surprised to find out that they often don't. They are a lot like most photogaphers I know, (including myself), doing what they Love even if there's no or little pay sometimes. It's increadibly hard to make a living doing what you are passionate about. Everyone worked so hard night after night and never complained. Thenk God once in a while in both fields you get a break and a degree of success and then you have to ride the wave and go with the momentum.