The beauty of this kind of photography is, we can all make up our own story based on what we see and how we see it. The first batch of photos come courtesy of my jaunt over to Victoria. My first victim/subject was 'the writer' guy on the ferry. This man appealed to me on many levels, first off, he appeared to be lost in his thoughts, something that I can relate to. I'm assuming he's sorting out plot lines for a screen play, or rethinking the last line of poetry he just jotted down or perhaps working out the melody to his next song. OK maybe he's just making sure the seagull on the railing doesn't use him for target practice, or he's trying to come up with the answer for 5 across....7 letter word for 'stalker', so far he has m-e-l-a-n.....hmmm, that's a tough one! I'm going to go with one of my scenarios though. Add to that story the great hat, jacket, bag and a fab beard to boot, what more could you ask for?!
The next three shots come from day two in Victoria, when we were just wandering around town. I had to capture the dude putting up posters as it was a nice flashback for me. I remember way back in the day, going around with musician friends of mine and doing the same thing....aaah, the beauty of free advertising. And for those of you wondering, 'where's Waldo?' (or Wally to my UK readers), wonder no longer my friends. I spotted him in Victoria riding his skateboard. How can you not love a man in a striped sweater?? Impossible I say!!
The next grouping of photos were taken this past Saturday. I had a few hours to kill so I decided to take the boys to Garry Point Park for a wander. Of course, I was packing heat, aka my camera, as this has become a favourite spot of mine for photography. One of my favourite pieces of public art is here, 'Wind Waves', by Mexican sculptor, Yvonne Domenge, so it was in it's direction that we first headed. We were lucky enough to find a bride and groom having their photos taken when we arrived, and I'm sure the photos will be spectacular, great contrast with the white dress, black suit and red sculpture. I'm thinking they had better be spectacular, considering they had 3 photographers!! The whole scene was a little comical at times though as I watched from afar, one of the photographer's very animated moves to show the bride how he'd like her to pose. All very amusing to see a man pretending to be donning a gown and doing several twirls and faux swooshes with his gown's voluminous skirt. They were there at least an hour trying to create the perfect shot, sometimes on the ground, all positioned at different angles and distances, it was all very paparazzi! One thing did strike me odd though, you have three obviously, professional photographers all doing their best to get the perfect shot, and yet not one of them thinks to move the sweater that the bride rested on the inside of the sculpture. Sheesh my fashion stylist eye spotted it from a hundred yards away!! It eventually got moved but still, I'm sure that beige cardy is going to show up in more than a few shots - hopefully editing is included in their fee!! As you can see from the shots, the poor groom wasn't always needed, no wonder the guy looked bored.
This park is known for it's kite flying and why wouldn't it be, tons of wide open space and the wind coming off the water makes for perfect conditions. In this group of photos you can see how the wind power is used differently by three men. The first man goes for the traditional kite and a pretty cool design too. Next we have the man with his set of wheels, you can tell how strong the winds get, as this man was clocking a pretty good speed, I'm thinking you'd get some pretty big biceps with this as your pastime. Lastly we have the man who is...well, I'm not sure what he was trying to do. It actually seemed like he didn't know either. Ok, so he kept get ready for take-off, but I'm not sure where he thought the wind would take him. It's not like he had wheels attached, or was hooked up to a boat. Was he planning on just trying to take flight? Would flying from the stump to the ground be that exhilarating of a rush?? I did make me wonder...'is this how Da Vinci looked to others when he was working on some of his inventions?' Maybe this guy had bigger plans and I just wasn't able to see it yet. One thing I did notice though....'note to self' - when attempting to take flight from a stump, wear pants that are 6" too long for you. This way, when that harness hikes up your pants, you can avoid looking like you're wearing floods when you do become successful in your attempts and the paparazzi from the wedding party rush over to capture it! 
Last grouping is 1,2,3. One lone girl enjoying the beach - I just loved the happy face bucket! Two friends enjoying their fish n' chips on the rock. And lastly three beautiful 'Red Hat Society' ladies sharing good times. This organization was founded in 1998, a year after the founder Sue Ellen Cooper gave her friend a red fedora for her 55th birthday along with a copy of a poem, 'The Warning', by Jenny Joseph. I conclude this blog posting with a copy of that poem.
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
~Jenny Joseph, 1961
