cars, yes, cars.

These two photos are from the summer. The first was shot through the windshield of a car on a rainy day. I played around with the second image in photoshop. I tried to make it look like a car advertisement, but you can see Gili in the driver's seat, checking her email. If you can figure out the locations of these two images you might get a prize...or something.
Happy New Year!!!

High Park

 

 I went for a stroll in High Park yesterday. I spent about a half hour shooting, before my fingers and toes started getting really cold. Last year I didn't go out to shoot much during winter, mostly because of the weather, but also because I had this conception that there is not much to shoot this time of year. Nature is in regress, so there are no vibrant, blooming flowers to speak of, no foliage, and I suppose that the monotony of the snow didn't inspire me much. So, this year I hope to overcome that feeling, and keep shooting throughout winter. This is not my new-year's resolution, so please don't hold me to that. Thank You.

For those who are wondering, I shot these images using manual focus, which allowed me to get this soft, dreamy feel. At least that is what I was aiming for.

Mask Making

One of the activities I documented at the Tim Hortons' Foundation Camp was mask making, which both kids and adults thoroughly enjoyed. I made the top collage first, as an attempt to hint at the activity without actually showing what it is. I want to use the image of the girl in the top right corner as an ad for 'Movember', but looks like I missed this year's deadline.

Leaf & Flower

More Snow and Some Lunch

Here are a few more images from my weekend with the Samba Kidz at the Tim Hortons Foundation camp:

The animals at the farm didn't seem to mind the cold too much

  

   The grounds of the camp were covered with snow for only a few hours

 

 

 

 

We had burgers and broccoli salad for lunch. Pretty...pretty...pretty good!

Snow Storm!!!

I spent the weekend at the Tim's Hortons' Foundation Camp (http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/difference/childrens_about.html). They invited the kids and parents who are involved with Samba Kidz (www.drumartz.com) to spend a free weekend at their St. George, Ontario location, about an hour and a half west of Toronto. Everyone had an amazing time, even though the weather was hovering around zero and the camp site was blanketed with the first snow storm of the season. I tagged along to document the weekend and to have unlimited access to Tim Hortons' Coffee. While everyone was petting bunnies inside the barn, I braved the elements and went out to shoot in the snow. Here are a few of the images.

More images to follow, maybe...

It's Gili's Turn!

This is Gili. She is the best, but she doesn't like to cooperate with my attempts to photograph her too often, so when she does, it's a special occasion of sorts. We are getting married in about two months. She inspires me to be better at different things, such as making salad dressing, cleaning the laundry room, and breathing through my nose. If that isn't love, then I don't know what is.

Kensington Market In Three Colours

I took these images a while ago, but thought it might be interesting to present them in this fashion.

Birds On A wire

I was turning onto the street leading to my house when I saw these pigeons having a siesta on the electricity lines, so I ran home and grabbed my camera. The birds were gracious enough to hold their pose and wait for me.
On an unrelated note, after taking these shots, I ran into our ninety-two-year-old Italian neighbour, who asked me to help him change a light-bulb in his garage.  In return, he gave me a huge head of lettuce from his garden, which he takes care of with tremendous care. It tasted great in my salad. Thank you.

Autumn - Part 2

This is another experiment with super-imposed images. I'm not sure I like it that much, but it took up a lot of my time, so I'm posting it anyways.

Autumn - Part 1

This composite image was inspired by an amazing photoshop training video by Jullieanne Kost. She has some amazing work on her website, which you can find here: http:www.jkost.net.

Back Alley Graffiti

There is a back Alley just South of Queen St. that starts at Peter St. (If I remember correctly) and stretches all the way to west of Bathurst St. You can see the most amazing graffiti art if you walk along that alley. I went down there a while ago to photograph some of the art. I encourage you to check it out for yourself.

Four Coloured Leaf

Well, this is not an original idea. I found a video on youtube which explains how to do it in photoshop. It will look really pretty on your living room wall, though.

Composite

I posted these two images already, but I've been playing around in photoshop and combined them with different backgrounds, which adds a different sort of feel, I think. I hope to post more of these experiments in the future.

Halloween Lights

I walked around the neighbourhood on Saturday evening and shot some front porches' Halloween lights, using a 4 second exposure. These are some of the results I got.

Cedarvale Park

 There is a beautiful park about five minutes walk from my home. I used to jog through it quite often a few years ago, but I haven't been there for a while. So this week I decided to take my camera and go for a stroll. I really liked the long exposure (2 seconds) images I got at Allan Gardens last week, so I kept experimenting with the same technique. some of the results are quite abstract and paining-like, I think. I love the idea of an image with different shades of one dominant colour. You can check out the park's website right here:www.cedarvalepark.com

Edwards Gardens

These images are from two weeks ago. Gili and I went to Edwards Gardens (http://www.edwardsgardens.org), which is one of the most beautiful parks in Toronto, and where many couples choose to take their wedding photos. I tried to avoid the obvious park like shots in favour of looking upwards and capturing something a little more abstract.

Allan Gardens

I went to Allan Gardens (http://www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca/tours/allangardens.htm) on Saturday. It is a botanical garden in downtown Toronto. Since there wasn't enough light and I didn't have a tripod, I decided to experiment with long exposure shots. I got some interesting results.

Trees Are People Too

 Gili and I drove to Whitmore's Farm on Saturday to spend time with some friends, ride in a tractor, watch pumpkins flying out of a cannon, and have a jolly good time. On the way back we stopped on the side of the road, because there was an empty field with only two trees  that were standing close together, and another dying one:

We also stopped by Edward Gardens a few hours later, which is beautiful at this time a year! More on that adventure in the next post.