That is the sentiment that I share with my boys, in regards to the age old question, 'Is Santa real?' My oldest son who is nine, has been questioning Santa's existence for a few years now, and though I don't want to really tell him the truth, I don't want to outright lie to him either. He'll ask me, 'do you believe in Santa?' I can honestly reply, 'yes'. I then continue, I believe in what he represents, which is the magic of giving, and the overall warm feeling of the Christmas season. And let's face it, the month of December usually starts out with that euphoric feeling that comes with the holidays. That initial excitement of putting the tree up, seeing the neighbourhoods all aglow with lights, the smell of holiday baking fills the air and the anticipation of planning the perfect gift for the ones you love. Granted as the month goes on, the patience wears a little thin, the Christmas joy you had a couple weeks prior that had you smiling at strangers has now been replaced by giving people your best stink eye as they take the parking spot that you swear you spotted first, the first, and second batch of baking has long been consumed and your version of the perfect gift now is defined by a bulk pack of tube socks for everyone on your list. I mean, everyone wears socks right?
I hang on tight to the faith that once the last thing on our to-do list has been marked off, we'll all return back to that euphoric feeling that kicked off at the beginning of the month. So because of that, yes, I do believe in Santa. This is a big statement from a woman who doesn't even have any recollection of believing in Santa as a girl. I am the youngest of four kids and the only girl, so I'm sure by the time I came along, my brothers were bored with the whole charade of Santa. Before I even really had a chance to think through the issue, my brother who is three years older than me basically said, 'look, there's no Santa – mom and dad give us the stuff.' My brother was always pretty streetwise and I think he just wanted me to be up to speed on the whole thing. Probably didn't want me to embarrass myself, we were a fairly savvy group of kids and nobody needed a little sister who was the equivalent of Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. I know there was a guy dressed up as Santa at Woodward’s but I was a pretty shy kid so it wasn't like I was going to get anywhere close to him to further inspect the possibility of if he was genuine. I did however, let my Mom go in line to 'represent' me and get me the Santa button and candy cane. Besides, I thought the entire setup was a bit shifty. I was a shy kid, and a suspicious one too.
Despite those early memories of being told, 'forget it kid, it's a sham', I still believe. I believe that, we do become kinder to one another, and we, for a moment at least, really reflect on what's important in our life. That we do stop and wonder how other people will manage and also how we can help those who may struggle more than ourselves. So that is what Santa is to me, hope dressed up in a red suit. I do believe and I do receive, and what I most like to get is the feeling that indeed we can extend that kindness to the rest of the year. The best thing about the gift of kindness is that it fits everyone and it's something we all need. It is also the best gift for the recipient to return, without the hassle of standing in long customer service lines in January! You've got to believe to receive, sort of the same idea as, 'if you build it, they will come'. That is what Santa is to me. Merry Christmas everyone!
Secret Agent Mel – Writer and Santa believer
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
One of the Boys
Nope, this isn't some big statement where I now announce that I want to become the man that I always felt that I was, but merely an ode to boys, and the role that they've played in my life.
Don't get me wrong, I am a girl, I have all the bits and pieces to prove it, but I've always felt more comfortable around males.
For me it goes back to my childhood, I am the youngest in my family and the only girl, and with 3 older brothers. Let me tell you, that dynamic became the building blocks to who I would become. I mean, no matter what your situation, to some extent you adapt to your environment, must go back to caveman days I'm thinking.
So I learnt very early on, not only how to survive amongst this tribe, but also how their brains worked, or often, didn't work.
In general, guys call it like they see it and for the most part, I love that. There is no time wasted in guessing, 'what do they really think?' If they think you look stupid in something, they'll tell you - and usually without any of that ol' female softening of the blow. I mean I've never been a girly-girl, I was always happiest wearing jeans and a t.shirt, but there were those occasions when my mum would ask/force me to wear a dress. Already feeling completely out of sync with the whole look, I'd make an appearance in the living room, wearing some lame dress, and my brother's reaction would be....'haaaa, Mel's wearing a dress,you look hilarious!'
A fact that frankly, I already knew.
My poor mum, she was so happy to have a girl after having 3 sons, someone she could dress up all pretty, and she gets a girl who was much happier in jeans and climbing trees! Thinking of it, she did collect dolls for awhile when I was a kid - maybe she was compensating for my lack of doll-like qualities?
The thing that I do admire about boy's frankness is how they deal with their other male friends. Only guys can greet each other by saying things like, 'you f**ker, where have you been?' and really mean that as a sentimental statement of 'I've missed you.' Love that!
Men are great at the whole, 'cut to the chase' thing.
So living with, and having the opportunity to observe these creatures up close for years, I've come to understand how to converse with them on a level that often has them forgetting that I actually am a female!
Even my play habits were shaped by having brothers. I hung out mostly with the youngest of my brothers, who was 3 years older than me. My mum always said, it was like having 2 separate families, because of the age difference - my other brothers are 7 and 9 years older than me, so it's not exactly like they were going to hang out with me as a kid. I'm sure most of the time, David, the youngest of my brothers didn't want to hang out with me either.
Personality wise, David and I are about as opposite as 2 people can get - he fears nothing - and I'd fear and analyze almost everything! I had to adapt to him as much as I could though, otherwise I would've been without a playmate. So I climbed trees and roofs!, rode mini bikes, built go-carts, set-up bike ramps so he could pretend that he was Evil Knievel, jumped from stairs(complete with sound effects)in Six Million Dollar Man fashion, assembled model cars and many other boy activities. On occasion, I did stuff with my middle brother as well, most likely when none of his friends were able to hang out. From him I learnt how to play crib and black jack and how to properly shuffle a deck of cards. I remember at one point he was taking Tae Kwan Do and when he came home from class one night, he said to me, 'Mel, stand right there'....then he proceeded to practice kicks, using my head as a height marker - oh, brother/sister bonding, there's nothing quite like it! I also was allowed to play soccer with my brothers, well kinda play....actually, it was more of a 'Mel, you stand in goal while we kick balls at you.' At least they wanted to play with me, right? We played basketball almost daily at times, 21 being the game of choice, quite funny really, considering we're a miniature sized family! This was the only time that any exception was made to the fact that I was a girl - though not much of an exception! I was allowed to take my free throws from the front of the flowerbed as opposed to from the back, where they'd free throw from - big woop! That gave me about a 16" advantage, but no matter where I got a rebound from, that's where I had to shoot from!! Sometimes, it'd hit the rim and rebound 40 feet away!! Too bad for you, you're playing with the boys now! Good lesson to learn really, no exceptions meant that I worked harder.
I mean, you take what you can get. It's not like any of them were going to volunteer to play Barbies with me. It even affected my alone Barbie time, while other girls were dressing their Barbie's in wedding dresses and princess get-ups, my Barbies were in riding gear and behind the wheel of this awesome pick-up truck/horse trailer combo that I had - now that was sweet. No pink Corvette and no lazy Barbie! Even my Barbie was a tomboy! She had a cool ride and did stuff. She wasn't sitting around the pool with Ken and his molded hair, no siree, my Barbie was attached to the washing line with clothes pegs, right beside my brother's G.I. Joe and his real hair/beard as I reeled them back and forth across the entire backyard!
My TV time was filled with Spiderman, Batman, The Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Fantastic Four and other equally cool shows.
The result of all of this boy-ness was that I've always had males as friends, even when I was a little girl. I can remember in elementary school I'd go to my friend Steven's house and we'd sit in his room looking at Mad magazines and then head to the alley to kick a soccer ball back and forth. Being able to get along with boys so well did pose one problem though - I think sometimes they forgot that I was a girl! Sheesh, I had a crush on Steven for years - not that he'd ever clue into that fact, to him, I was just one of the boys.
I actually feel very grateful to have had this insider's view to men. It has always served me well in my relationships, it has made me more understanding and able to view things from both sides. I've been very lucky to have many close friendships with men and they have trusted me with their thoughts and feelings in a way that women often aren't privy to.
Ha, I'm not sure if I give off some kind of dude vibe, but they seem to know that they can open up to me.
I am a girl, make no mistake about it - I'm scared of spiders, I love chocolate, and although I'm still not a girly-girl, I do love clothes - but my fashion choices always lean more towards menswear inspired/fitted cuts. Clothes with a sexy edge I can do, but I can't pull off the super girly look - no bows, or ruffles or pink - no pink!
Not knocking those who love that, I just happen to know it's not for me. If I saw myself in a pink flouncy number even I'd say, 'Mel, you look hilarious!'
So this is my ode to boys. Your influence has greatly contributed to the person that I am today, quirky as heck, goofy as can be, straight forward, and with a very low tolerance for head games and BS. I thank each and everyone of you that have shared your friendship with me, I really do feel in many ways, like one of the boys. Now I need to figure out women - I think that's going to be much tougher for me, but I'm starting to learn. I can tell you this one difference right now, though your male friends may dig it, women are not impressed that men can burp the entire alphabet. A tough lesson for my brother to learn back in the day - I mean, sure if you could burp all the letters with the same burp strength that might be impressive, but if your letters start to weaken mid-alphabet....meh. Not to worry boys, I still think you're f**king great! See, I am one of the boys!!
Friday, October 22, 2010
More Strangers
OK, well here's another batch of my photographs of strangers. From my previous 'stranger' posts you should all know by now that this is a hobby of mine.
Just to make it clear though, when I take these photos, it's strictly to capture a moment in time, a little slice of life that may otherwise go undocumented. There is never any ill intent or malicious thought to them, I'm not looking to shoot people at their worse. And although in this group there is one of a child, I don't photograph children very often, only because I don't want to creep out the parents and for the fact that the parents are usually already documenting what I see. I couldn't resist with the little girl at the beach though, I love how the colours looked and how she seemed to discovering the wonders of the beach for the first time. Also bear in mind, I have a pretty decent zoom lens so it's not like I'm in people's faces, they usually don't even know that their photo has been taken. Though this batch also includes a few exceptions to that too, as I believe that I was spotted taking the photo in 2 from this grouping. First one being the guy on the balcony talking on the phone, it appears that he's looking right at me, might be kind of hard to see in this posting though.
I actually took that photo while sat in the passenger seat of a car that was stopped at a red light, so I didn't have much time to capture it, as is the case with many of my stranger photos. None the less, it looks like I may've been spotted. Second one being rather obvious from the photo, is the man with the tie on that reads, 'I'm Perfect'. I was standing alone waiting for the kids to get onto the roller coaster at the PNE when I spotted Mr.Perfect, it just struck me so funny that someone would wear that tie, I really admired his chutzpah. By the time he was close enough for me to read what his tie said, it was pretty close to impossible to pretend that I was capturing something else, so I just took my shot. Luckily for me, he didn't seem to mind, he just smiled at me as I lowered my camera. I'm sure when you're perfect you get that kind of thing happening to you all the time.
So hopefully that'll clear up any concerns in regards to my love of photographing strangers. My oldest son, who is very sensitive (just like me) started to seem bothered when I would take such photos. He said to me, 'I don't understand why you like to take photo's of people that you don't know'. He said it in a suspicious and protective way, like he thought I was maybe in some way making fun of them.
Now he, and anyone else who knows me should know better, that simply is not me.
So I assured him that in no way was I taking these photos to be mean, further adding that I'm sure if the strangers that I have photographed saw the photos, I would like to think that they'd like to have a copy for themselves.
Many of the photos are taken of people on their own, so if I didn't capture these moments, they wouldn't be documented. Even if they did have a friend with them, they still wouldn't capture the honesty that my photos reveal, simply because it's not quite the same to say to a friend, 'hey go take a photo of me quietly reading on my own', sure you'd still have a nice photo, but what you'd be capturing would be a set up moment. I love to capture the moment as it is naturally occurring.
OK, so I've already describe a few of this latest batch, onto the rest.
The couple on the bench, happened to be sitting on the same bench where I captured my 'On Golden Pond' man...see my February 5, 2010 post for that photo. This couple looked so happy, they were laughing and looked like they were in the midst of a great catch up. They just warmed my heart so much.
The other three beach shots were taken on pretty cold days, it's a rare occasion to find me on a beach in the summer, but any other season, I just love it.
The lone gentlemen was a lovely sight, I'm sure this is a walk he probably does daily. What a great way to clear your mind. The two girls in the tent, was taken on the same (freezing) day and I loved their enthusiasm despite the cold, they were going to enjoy the view from their little shelter. These shots were taken at Centennial Beach in Tsawassen, a fantastic place with so many beautiful rocks, I'm pretty sure I have at least 5 pounds of them at my house. I kept saying to the kids, 'OK, last one, don't bring anymore home'....then I'd spot another one that I couldn't resist. Not to worry though, there must be millions there, still lots for everyone. The lady with yellow boots was spotted at Stanley Park, and I just loved how her boots gave a great shot of colour to her outfit.
Still at Stanley Park, we have the lady peacefully reading against the tree, despite the fact that the park was fairly busy, she still found her own little escape.
Which brings me to the photo of the man facing the water, also enjoying an escape.
The same escape that I was enjoying when I took his photo, because what you don't get from this photo, is the fact that only about 100 yards from where he is standing, thousands of people are filing past en route to the roller coaster or maybe to grab some mini doughnuts, yup, this one was taken at the PNE too! I can only handle heat and crowds for so long before I need a break from it to recharge my batteries and this little tucked away oasis was just what I needed.
The last photo in this batch was taken in Steveson. The man riding the bike reminded of the character, Holling from Northern Exposure - one of my favourite shows.
I thought, you never know, maybe Holling was heading back to his birthplace in the Yukon or biking back up to Alaska to see his love Shelly? Either way, it was nice to see him.
Just to make it clear though, when I take these photos, it's strictly to capture a moment in time, a little slice of life that may otherwise go undocumented. There is never any ill intent or malicious thought to them, I'm not looking to shoot people at their worse. And although in this group there is one of a child, I don't photograph children very often, only because I don't want to creep out the parents and for the fact that the parents are usually already documenting what I see. I couldn't resist with the little girl at the beach though, I love how the colours looked and how she seemed to discovering the wonders of the beach for the first time. Also bear in mind, I have a pretty decent zoom lens so it's not like I'm in people's faces, they usually don't even know that their photo has been taken. Though this batch also includes a few exceptions to that too, as I believe that I was spotted taking the photo in 2 from this grouping. First one being the guy on the balcony talking on the phone, it appears that he's looking right at me, might be kind of hard to see in this posting though.
I actually took that photo while sat in the passenger seat of a car that was stopped at a red light, so I didn't have much time to capture it, as is the case with many of my stranger photos. None the less, it looks like I may've been spotted. Second one being rather obvious from the photo, is the man with the tie on that reads, 'I'm Perfect'. I was standing alone waiting for the kids to get onto the roller coaster at the PNE when I spotted Mr.Perfect, it just struck me so funny that someone would wear that tie, I really admired his chutzpah. By the time he was close enough for me to read what his tie said, it was pretty close to impossible to pretend that I was capturing something else, so I just took my shot. Luckily for me, he didn't seem to mind, he just smiled at me as I lowered my camera. I'm sure when you're perfect you get that kind of thing happening to you all the time.
So hopefully that'll clear up any concerns in regards to my love of photographing strangers. My oldest son, who is very sensitive (just like me) started to seem bothered when I would take such photos. He said to me, 'I don't understand why you like to take photo's of people that you don't know'. He said it in a suspicious and protective way, like he thought I was maybe in some way making fun of them.
Now he, and anyone else who knows me should know better, that simply is not me.
So I assured him that in no way was I taking these photos to be mean, further adding that I'm sure if the strangers that I have photographed saw the photos, I would like to think that they'd like to have a copy for themselves.
Many of the photos are taken of people on their own, so if I didn't capture these moments, they wouldn't be documented. Even if they did have a friend with them, they still wouldn't capture the honesty that my photos reveal, simply because it's not quite the same to say to a friend, 'hey go take a photo of me quietly reading on my own', sure you'd still have a nice photo, but what you'd be capturing would be a set up moment. I love to capture the moment as it is naturally occurring.
OK, so I've already describe a few of this latest batch, onto the rest.
The couple on the bench, happened to be sitting on the same bench where I captured my 'On Golden Pond' man...see my February 5, 2010 post for that photo. This couple looked so happy, they were laughing and looked like they were in the midst of a great catch up. They just warmed my heart so much.
The other three beach shots were taken on pretty cold days, it's a rare occasion to find me on a beach in the summer, but any other season, I just love it.
The lone gentlemen was a lovely sight, I'm sure this is a walk he probably does daily. What a great way to clear your mind. The two girls in the tent, was taken on the same (freezing) day and I loved their enthusiasm despite the cold, they were going to enjoy the view from their little shelter. These shots were taken at Centennial Beach in Tsawassen, a fantastic place with so many beautiful rocks, I'm pretty sure I have at least 5 pounds of them at my house. I kept saying to the kids, 'OK, last one, don't bring anymore home'....then I'd spot another one that I couldn't resist. Not to worry though, there must be millions there, still lots for everyone. The lady with yellow boots was spotted at Stanley Park, and I just loved how her boots gave a great shot of colour to her outfit.
Still at Stanley Park, we have the lady peacefully reading against the tree, despite the fact that the park was fairly busy, she still found her own little escape.
Which brings me to the photo of the man facing the water, also enjoying an escape.
The same escape that I was enjoying when I took his photo, because what you don't get from this photo, is the fact that only about 100 yards from where he is standing, thousands of people are filing past en route to the roller coaster or maybe to grab some mini doughnuts, yup, this one was taken at the PNE too! I can only handle heat and crowds for so long before I need a break from it to recharge my batteries and this little tucked away oasis was just what I needed.
The last photo in this batch was taken in Steveson. The man riding the bike reminded of the character, Holling from Northern Exposure - one of my favourite shows.
I thought, you never know, maybe Holling was heading back to his birthplace in the Yukon or biking back up to Alaska to see his love Shelly? Either way, it was nice to see him.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Knock, Knock.....who's there??
That's what I wonder whenever I see an interesting door. I mean, let's face it, it's one of the most used parts of a building, OK maybe with the odd exception of someone sneaking in via a window, but other than that everyone who has entered that particular building has got in the same way. I always found this especially interesting when visiting various castles and cathedrals throughout the UK, when you're in a building that may be 500 years old, it's hard not to be intrigued at the thought of all of those who have entered the door before you. This is just a small selection of some of the many door photos that I've taken, here we cover 3 countries and several different types of buildings. In a way, I think we take a door for granted, the assumption may be that it is only a thing of necessity, but I think they hold great value. Think of how many people you've welcomed through your door, how many times it may have been slammed in anger, but mostly how many times, you've felt that great sense of comfort as you've walked through it and knew you were home....home sweet home. I leave you with this quote from Helen Keller - “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
Monday, August 16, 2010
Strange Situations
Here we are with another installment of photos that I've taken of random strangers.
Well the first shot isn't a stranger at all, but yours truly, though agreed, I may indeed be stranger than the strangers. Taken by my son Gavyn, I had no idea he was taking my photograph because as you can see, I'm busy doing my own thing. Looks like we might have another secret agent on our hands?!
Again for me though, this type of photography has become something that I really love. Those little vignettes of life, scattered all around us, unfolding at a moments notice. Often they may go unnoticed, but for me when I not only get to witness, but also capture these moments, well, it brings me a lot of joy. A little visual documentation of some of life's simple pleasures.
People are always aware of wanting to freeze life's big moments in time, a wedding of course, as one always hopes it will be a once in a lifetime event. And who hasn't turned into a full fledged paparazzi member once they have kids....especially with the first born and their first few years, we can't get enough of recording each milestone that they reach. All absolutely valid reasons to become a little camera crazy!!
Granted these are big moments that you want to capture with photographs that usually speak loud and clear to what the image is trying to convey.
For me, a large appeal of photographing strangers, aside from being at the right place and the right time, I love not knowing the whole story behind the image.
To some degree, the image will tell part of that tale, but there are also so many variables that it keeps it interesting for me. I guess, that's why I'm a writer as well. I like to imagine the story behind the image. To me, capturing these simple little moments are just as important and I think more often than not, they give you a better visual record of that person's life. Ever since I was a kid, this type of photograph has intrigued me. It was always cool to see a perfectly lit, staged promo shot of someone famous, but I found I was even more drawn to the casual image that showed a glimpse into what this person may really be like. Here are my thoughts on these images that I have taken.
This photo was taken in Tofino last fall, and I swear I've never seen two people so excited to see the water as these two women. It was pure joy to witness their excitement as they raced towards the waves. Maybe they came here as kids, and hadn't returned in years, or perhaps best friends reunited again after years apart. No way of knowing for sure, but the joy that they shared in that moment, was without question.
This next image was taken in Vancouver during the Olympic Games. I took my older son down for the day to take in some of the atmosphere, and with hopes of taking some good photos while we were there. As luck would have it, weather wise, we picked the worst day. At a time when we'd been having almost summer-like weather, we go on the one day that it rained. No, I can't really say rained....it poured!!
So much so that my winter jacket was soaked right through. It was so grey and dull that you couldn't even see the mountains. I said to Gavyn, 'OK, so this will be a challenge for me to get good shots, but we are going to have a great time today'. It was so much fun, Vancouver normally offers such spectacular scenic views, so this time I enjoyed finding something other than the natural scenery to photograph. When you're not distracted by it's obvious beauty, you may also find yourself dazzled by it's simple beauty. Interesting shop displays, public art, people and just objects in general. I loved how this guy was going to wave his flag, despite the weather. He rode back and forth several times along Coal Harbour, and it seems each time he did, I'd have my back to him shooting something else. Finally, on his last lap before disappearing into the sunset?, I quickly turned and got this shot!
I found this scene very amusing. Many times over the years, I've seen various tour buses pull into Stanley Park near the totem poles and let it's occupants out for a photo op. Never though, have I seen so many get into pose or shoot mode so quickly!!
It was so cute, bus doors open....oodles of people appear and within about 2 minutes, half go and pose, while the other half stand back to capture!! Nobody seemingly, not sure of their position, it looked as if each one knew exactly where they were going. Almost like a graceful choreographed dance!
Off to Bear Creek Park now and I see this very familiar scene. I wanted to capture this image because I've always admired the sense of community. I love how all of these men have gathered at one table, to play games, get caught up with friends or just shoot the breeze. I like how some are doing their own separate things, but yet everyone still looks welcomed as part of a group. I thought it was a sweet scene, especially as you'll notice the one man has his arm around another.
The whole scene to me is very inclusive, which is lovely.
Still at Bear Creek Park, I spot this lone man on a bench, again for me, I'm always amazed at how relaxed people can be reading in public. I've tried this on more than one occasion, mostly when I've travelled on my own. I get too distracted by my surroundings and find myself daydreaming more than reading....I tend to have to read a paragraph over several times before I really take it in. I think I'll stick to reading in bed, as peaceful as park reading looks, I fear it would take me a year of daily visits to finish a book!
This last image was taken a couple of weeks ago, on top of Burnaby Mountain. It was one of those nights that we'd been having where the sun glowed an incredible vivid red, a beautiful, albeit unfortunate result of the forest fires in various parts of the province. Again it was just a sense of community that struck me. These men were all happily hanging out together staring with amazement, like everyone else on the mountain, and this spectacular glowing red ball. A simple gathering to share in this natural delight. Each time the kids and I passed them, they would all smile and nod at us, as if to acknowledge that yes, we are all part of this together. I've been up the mountain many times over the years, and usually people come and go, doing there own thing, but this glowing red sun had this odd force to it. It was obvious that we were all up here for the same thing, everyone chatted with each other and marvelled in awe and the sight before our eyes. Incredibly peaceful to watch that sun go down.
But as my stories often seem to go....my peace went away about fifteen minutes after the sun when down....I had asked the kids to take their ice-cream wrappers to the garbage that was located about 10 feet behind us. As I chat away to my mum, we hear this loud sound...the *ping* of heavy metal being hit!! Before I can even turn my head I hear Owen screaming and then as I turn, I see the metal post, that moments ago was in the ground, is now lying on the ground!! As he runs to me crying, I'm trying to piece together what has just happened....I thought he must have run into it on the return...10 foot trip!!
Turns out, he grabbed onto it to spin around as he passed it and it came off it's support peg....as he quickly tried to put it back in before we could see, he clunked himself in the head with it!!! The serenity I had felt from the gorgeous sunset now seeming like a distant memory and I'm snapped right back to my regular crazy life!!
Ha, speaking of snapped.....yes, before we left, I also took a picture of Owen standing next to the offending post!! Sometimes being a hard head can be good, so I wanted the visual evidence!
Well the first shot isn't a stranger at all, but yours truly, though agreed, I may indeed be stranger than the strangers. Taken by my son Gavyn, I had no idea he was taking my photograph because as you can see, I'm busy doing my own thing. Looks like we might have another secret agent on our hands?!
Again for me though, this type of photography has become something that I really love. Those little vignettes of life, scattered all around us, unfolding at a moments notice. Often they may go unnoticed, but for me when I not only get to witness, but also capture these moments, well, it brings me a lot of joy. A little visual documentation of some of life's simple pleasures.
People are always aware of wanting to freeze life's big moments in time, a wedding of course, as one always hopes it will be a once in a lifetime event. And who hasn't turned into a full fledged paparazzi member once they have kids....especially with the first born and their first few years, we can't get enough of recording each milestone that they reach. All absolutely valid reasons to become a little camera crazy!!
Granted these are big moments that you want to capture with photographs that usually speak loud and clear to what the image is trying to convey.
For me, a large appeal of photographing strangers, aside from being at the right place and the right time, I love not knowing the whole story behind the image.
To some degree, the image will tell part of that tale, but there are also so many variables that it keeps it interesting for me. I guess, that's why I'm a writer as well. I like to imagine the story behind the image. To me, capturing these simple little moments are just as important and I think more often than not, they give you a better visual record of that person's life. Ever since I was a kid, this type of photograph has intrigued me. It was always cool to see a perfectly lit, staged promo shot of someone famous, but I found I was even more drawn to the casual image that showed a glimpse into what this person may really be like. Here are my thoughts on these images that I have taken.
This photo was taken in Tofino last fall, and I swear I've never seen two people so excited to see the water as these two women. It was pure joy to witness their excitement as they raced towards the waves. Maybe they came here as kids, and hadn't returned in years, or perhaps best friends reunited again after years apart. No way of knowing for sure, but the joy that they shared in that moment, was without question.
This next image was taken in Vancouver during the Olympic Games. I took my older son down for the day to take in some of the atmosphere, and with hopes of taking some good photos while we were there. As luck would have it, weather wise, we picked the worst day. At a time when we'd been having almost summer-like weather, we go on the one day that it rained. No, I can't really say rained....it poured!!
So much so that my winter jacket was soaked right through. It was so grey and dull that you couldn't even see the mountains. I said to Gavyn, 'OK, so this will be a challenge for me to get good shots, but we are going to have a great time today'. It was so much fun, Vancouver normally offers such spectacular scenic views, so this time I enjoyed finding something other than the natural scenery to photograph. When you're not distracted by it's obvious beauty, you may also find yourself dazzled by it's simple beauty. Interesting shop displays, public art, people and just objects in general. I loved how this guy was going to wave his flag, despite the weather. He rode back and forth several times along Coal Harbour, and it seems each time he did, I'd have my back to him shooting something else. Finally, on his last lap before disappearing into the sunset?, I quickly turned and got this shot!
I found this scene very amusing. Many times over the years, I've seen various tour buses pull into Stanley Park near the totem poles and let it's occupants out for a photo op. Never though, have I seen so many get into pose or shoot mode so quickly!!
It was so cute, bus doors open....oodles of people appear and within about 2 minutes, half go and pose, while the other half stand back to capture!! Nobody seemingly, not sure of their position, it looked as if each one knew exactly where they were going. Almost like a graceful choreographed dance!
Off to Bear Creek Park now and I see this very familiar scene. I wanted to capture this image because I've always admired the sense of community. I love how all of these men have gathered at one table, to play games, get caught up with friends or just shoot the breeze. I like how some are doing their own separate things, but yet everyone still looks welcomed as part of a group. I thought it was a sweet scene, especially as you'll notice the one man has his arm around another.
The whole scene to me is very inclusive, which is lovely.
Still at Bear Creek Park, I spot this lone man on a bench, again for me, I'm always amazed at how relaxed people can be reading in public. I've tried this on more than one occasion, mostly when I've travelled on my own. I get too distracted by my surroundings and find myself daydreaming more than reading....I tend to have to read a paragraph over several times before I really take it in. I think I'll stick to reading in bed, as peaceful as park reading looks, I fear it would take me a year of daily visits to finish a book!
This last image was taken a couple of weeks ago, on top of Burnaby Mountain. It was one of those nights that we'd been having where the sun glowed an incredible vivid red, a beautiful, albeit unfortunate result of the forest fires in various parts of the province. Again it was just a sense of community that struck me. These men were all happily hanging out together staring with amazement, like everyone else on the mountain, and this spectacular glowing red ball. A simple gathering to share in this natural delight. Each time the kids and I passed them, they would all smile and nod at us, as if to acknowledge that yes, we are all part of this together. I've been up the mountain many times over the years, and usually people come and go, doing there own thing, but this glowing red sun had this odd force to it. It was obvious that we were all up here for the same thing, everyone chatted with each other and marvelled in awe and the sight before our eyes. Incredibly peaceful to watch that sun go down.
But as my stories often seem to go....my peace went away about fifteen minutes after the sun when down....I had asked the kids to take their ice-cream wrappers to the garbage that was located about 10 feet behind us. As I chat away to my mum, we hear this loud sound...the *ping* of heavy metal being hit!! Before I can even turn my head I hear Owen screaming and then as I turn, I see the metal post, that moments ago was in the ground, is now lying on the ground!! As he runs to me crying, I'm trying to piece together what has just happened....I thought he must have run into it on the return...10 foot trip!!
Turns out, he grabbed onto it to spin around as he passed it and it came off it's support peg....as he quickly tried to put it back in before we could see, he clunked himself in the head with it!!! The serenity I had felt from the gorgeous sunset now seeming like a distant memory and I'm snapped right back to my regular crazy life!!
Ha, speaking of snapped.....yes, before we left, I also took a picture of Owen standing next to the offending post!! Sometimes being a hard head can be good, so I wanted the visual evidence!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Interesting Combo?
I guess some people don't like chips with their fish....or alternatively, maybe some women don't like flowers with their gifts and would prefer some halibut??
Personally, I like chips, but not fish. So that would mean, if you're getting me a gift, I'd also prefer flowers. Which also would mean, if you're shopping for me, you might want to shop at your local 'Gift and Chips and Flowers' shop.
And to further help you....gift, CD's and books are always great. Chips, small order, dash of salt, hold the vinegar. Flowers, peonies and tulips are 2 of my faves. Hope that helps....OK, what are you waiting for....go on.....buy me my pressies!!!
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