15.2.11

Day 65

I just want you to know how much I appreciate you all, dear readers, and how dedicated I am to bringing you images for your viewing pleasure.  This photo is an excellent example of that.

This is one of four entrances to the world under the Pont Alexandre III, beside which (squeezed into the tiny space between the bridge and river bank) runs a very busy little street with a disconcertingly blind corner.  The bad news was this- in order to use my 150mm lens I would need to cross the street.

Across that murky and near unnavigable abyss laughably called a street there was my mecca- the teensiest of sidewalks unceremoniously crushed between river and road, from which I could perfectly fit the entire image in my viewfinder.

It meant, however, risking life and limb to bolt across aforementioned narrow (cobblestone!) street, dodging an onslaught of tiny French cars that careened around the blind corner with, seemingly, the sole intent of running me down, and finally hurdling over a chain fence on the opposite side.  In!  Heels!


Why, you may ask, would I risk earning the hatred of so many French drivers when I easily could have popped the 50mm lens onto my Hasseblad and called it a day?

Dear reader, we've had some time to get to know one another, and you may have noticed that I very much dislike converging vertical perspective.  I tend to be a purist about the lines in a composition; parallel lines should stay parallel, especially when photographing architecture.

As a matter of fact, in one of my classes in art school we met with a photographer who specialized in shooting architecture and who had a solo show at a gallery downtown.  While the other students were asking him things like "where do you get your inspiration" and "what made you want to be a photographer" I asked "how do you keep your lines parallel?"  He looked at me like I had asked him for a kidney.  His answer?  "They just are."  Evidently long acquired technical skills were not something he wanted to give away to a fledgling photographer.

Anyhow, I am more forthcoming (ie. less business savvy) so I will tell you that in order to correct converging lines, you generally need to have some distance between your lens and the subject.  This can be a pretty tall order in old cities, since the streets are so narrow.  This is also why, when I stumble upon such a rare pocket of perfectly photograph-able space, I find myself darting across dangerous streets to take advantage of it.  And all to share it with my dear, faithful reader.

So you see, I love you.

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

9.2.11

Day 63

Paris, je t'aime.  And reader, je t'aime, too!  You may have been wondering if I was abducted by aliens, but fear not!  I am still here, just busier than usual.  Why? you might ask, How could you leave us languishing without a single photo to warm our cold winter hearts?  Well, my darlings, I would never leave to you languish without an excellent reason.  And the reason is this- we're moving to Vancouver!

The dear husband and I first have to sell our current house, and that means finishing the bazillion projects that we've been avoiding forever.  BUT, with any luck, we'll be in Vancouver to see the cherry blossoms.  Just to be on the safe side, would you mind crossing your fingers for our house to sell?  I think the universe would be compelled to align if there was a collective finger-crossing.

This will probably mean that the blog posts are going to be a little erratic over the next few weeks as we scramble to renovate bathrooms and basements, but it also means that within a few short months you'll be getting daily photos of Canada's beautiful west coast (and trust me- it's totally worth the wait).

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

P.S. Don't worry, there will always be photos of Paris here for you, too.

| |

14.01.11

Day 62

I thought I'd leave you with a little something to dream about over the weekend.  Doesn't this make you want to catch the next flight to Paris?  If it's worked its magic and you do, there are a few things you should know that this photo won't tell you.

1.  This is the coldest I have ever been while taking a photo (and I'm Canadian).  My hands were rendered useless by the wind and I had to focus and shoot with the sides of my palms.  Try it- it's hard!  It didn't help that I had lost my gloves while in London the week before and was too stubborn to replace them.  Evidently, (in my addled brain at least), it's better to lose appendages than more clothes.  Although, in my defence, I had lost 3 gloves and 1 toque with just a few weeks and didn't feel like buying a new pair until Steve could attach them to string for me.  

Moral: There's a reason the French women wear so much fur, faux or otherwise.  Play along.

2.  I was on a narrow bridge downstream from Notre Dame for this shot.  There were a few other people on the street at the same time, including a couple parked and making out.  We're talking passenger-straddling-the-driver-stopped-in-the-middle-of-the-lane-diverting-traffic kinda making out.  No one blinked.

Moral:  This is normal, and since French people are generally pretty hot, be prepared to want to make out.  A lot.  There is a reason France has the highest birth rate in the European Union.  

3.  French women deserve to have skinny thighs.  Walking in heels on icy cobblestone streets was one of the hardest (also scariest) things I've every done.  It worked muscles I didn't know existed.

Moral:  It might be scary, but if you refer back to point 2, it's definitely worth it.

If you jet off to Paris tonight (or anywhere for that matter) promise to tell me about it when you get back!

Have a great weekend :)  

Love,

Hearts & Photos

| |

13.01.11

Day 61

Guess what came today!!!  There was a bit of drama when Canada Post lost all my film and my stomach tried to wrap itself around my spleen, but all's well that ends well and it's here!

I had totally forgotten about these images of the Parliament building in Victoria that I shot with my Leica but I love them!  The Parliament is lit up so beautifully at night- people from all over the world stop to photograph it.

If you're reeeeeally nice I'll even give you a couple tips that'll help you with night shots like this....  Oh you guys are too sweet- here we go!
     a) Use a tripod or at least find a bench or something to rest your camera on.  You'll won't start to worry that you have the early stages of Parkinson's and will probably use a lot fewer curse words.
     b) Take the shots at dusk- don't wait until it's too dark.  That way you get the detail in the architecture AND the lights.  Win-win!  If left until it's super dark out, the lights will be the only thing that shows up in your shot, which (if we're being honest) looks a lot more DisneyChristmas than historic landmark.  

I'd been feeling a little ambivalent towards my Leica lately, and had been thinking about trading it in for a Hasselblad XPan (which is an amazing camera) with a 30mm lens (honest to god, this lens has, like, zero distortion, which is unbelievable for such a wide-angle lens!!!) but now I think I'm just going to need both.  I better start saving!

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

10.11.10

Day 55

Bonjour mes amis!  I've made a decision about camera equipment: I'm just going to start working out.  It's too hard to leave anything behind.  It's only natural that as soon as I leave a camera behind, that's the one I'll want. 

Have a great day :)

Love,

Hearts & Photos

| |

21.10.10

Day 53

Last night I took a walk downtown and mysteriously ended up near my favourite camera shop (my subconscious is sneaky).  Luckily for my wallet, the store was closed but my walk wasn't in vain.  There's an old brick building just down the street whose windows I've wanted to photograph for ages but each time I try there's a car in the way.

Last night the street was gloriously empty and I got this shot (and a few more just for good measure).  And wouldn't you know, just as I finished a car pulled in.

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

22.09.10

Day 49

Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project in Seattle.  uh-maz-ing.

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

25.08.10

Day 35

The two days we spent shooting these images was so much fun.  I decided that we should get up bright and early so we could use the window sill of a restaurant downtown to frame our shots.  I'm not sure they would have appreciated this during the lunch hour rush.

See?  Neat window, huh?

Laelia was doing surprisingly well considering this was the earliest she had been awake in about 3 years.

If you look closely, you can see that she's actually sleepwalking.

I had to stand in the street to get these shots and Laelia usually warned me about oncoming traffic.  I'm assuming the times she forgot was retribution for making her get out of bed so early.

A police car was doing laps around the block while we were shooting to make sure we weren't the world's worst cat-burglars.

But it was worth it for the amazing light!

This little lady decided to join in the fun.  We didn't mind.

I'm really excited to start shooting more portraits!  I'll be on the west coast at the beginning of September, so all you vancouver/ vancouver-island-ites should give me a call!  Have a great day  :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

16.08.10

Day 31

And the winner is (drumroll please!)..... AMY!  Congratulations Amy!!!

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

9.08.10

Day 30

Vancouver is calling my name.  I'm pretty sure I could just hop a train and head west, right?

Anyhow, the last day!  Ok, I'll admit it: I have been putting this post off for a little while.  I'm not so fond of "finishing" projects.  I'll get to the very end and lose all interest.  But, just for you, here is the last picture in the photo a day project.  Using very complex and scientific formulas (ie. draw the name out of a hat), tomorrow I will choose the winner!

Have a great night and good luck :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

5.08.10

Day 29

Run today!  Hooray!

Only two days left in the contest.  Leave a comment or follow me to win free stuff!

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

28.07.10

Day 25

I love this name- Seabloom.  It sounds so pretty.  And it makes me want to go to the ocean.  Big surprise there, huh?

Only 5 days left in the contest!  Comment or follow to win free stuff!

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

20.07.10

Day 21

When I first moved to this lovely city, it was actually to study to become an architect.  It didn't take long for me to lose my heart to photography.  Or to Steve.  But even now, years later, I still love photographing buildings.

And Steve.  In front of buildings.

And I have some good news for you- I sent my film in to be processed yesterday!  Hooray!  A few more days of anticipation, and 156 lovely negatives will be in my hot little hands.  It actually seems like it's going to be a great week- Steve's back from Houston, and the Calgary Folk Fest starts Thursday.  So exciting!!!

Anything you're looking forward to this week?

Have a great day :)

Love,

Hearts & Photos

| |

6.07.10

Day 11  

Listening to Phoenix and dreaming about Paris :)

but sitting in Calgary.  Although, when I look at buildings like this, I can pretend it's Paris.  Anyone know the French translation for "Grain Exchange"?

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

3.07.10

Day 9

This is one of my friends' favourite sheesha lounges.  It's pretty lucky that it's still around.  A couple of years ago, the city passed a bylaw that banned smoking in public places.  Great if you don't want to get second-hand smokers' hack every time you go to the bar, not so great if your business is smoking.  The city gave the sheesha lounges and cigar clubs one year to close up shop.

But then, somewhere along the line, they decided that it was stupid to put a high-tax-paying store out of business, and the people going there probably weren't going to complain about second-hand smoke, so they let them stay.

Lucky for me.  I really like those tables.

Have a great (long!) weekend :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

1.07.10

Day 8

I went to the Camera Store yesterday afternoon.  It was pretty exciting.  Buying film is always exciting.  There are so many choices!  I can get Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, or Polaroid; black & white or colour; vivid or neutral; any ISO from 50 (!!) to 3200 (!!!!1!!); high contrast, vivid, neutral aghhh!

I ended up with 9 rolls/packs (I think)- 2 packs of black & white Fuji instant film; 1 pack of Fuji instant colour (which was $33 for a ten pack- ouch!); 1 roll of 35mm Ilford SPX 200 and 2 rolls of it in 120; 1 roll of 35mm XP2 400 and 2 rolls of 120.  Oh yeah.  And a 35mm roll of Ilford Delta 3200.  So excited!!!  (I also ordered a few packs of sepia and black & white polaroid from the Impossible Project.  Yay!!)

Ok, so maybe it was more than 9.  Stop judging me!

Alright, remember yesterday when I was telling you that I love downtown so much?  Well, like my parents used to say, I'll always love you, but sometimes I don't like you very much.  This picture was a pretty good example of one of those times.

I was walking along, saw something that I wanted to photograph, stopped, set up, metered, was about to take the picture when a group of German tourists walked in front of me.  No big deal.  Just wait for them to pass and try again.  Just as the last one passes, some douche-bags with blackberries, suits, and too much gel in their hair step in front of the camera.  Fine.  It's downtown.  People tend not to pay attention to other people.  Maybe they just didn't see my gigantic camera.  A few random shoppers pass through the viewfinder, but I look down the street after them- the coast is clear!  As soon as these women are gone I can get the shot!

Then this guy walks out of the pub door on the right, stands right in the shot, and stares at me.  Whatever.  I take the shot and walk away.  And you know what?  I kinda like it :)

Happy Canada Day!

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

30.06.10

Day 7

Here's a big surprise- I like downtown.  A lot.  I'm a big fan of wandering through back alleys and checking out dirty little niches to photograph things that people try to overlook.  Sometimes this works in my favour (see above photo) and sometimes homeless guys use those niches as urinals.  While I'm standing in them.

This particular spot has become a favourite of mine.  It's beside a little cafe, this side of which, faces an alley.  As I mentioned above, some of Calgary's residents are not too particular about whether or not they have an audience when they need go.  In order to prevent their customers from relating their beef tartare to something decidedly less savoury, the cafe installed some heavy drapes.  (It's probably something a lot less exciting, like the drapes look nicer than a view of a dumpster, but just go with my story, k?)  They've yellowed and wrinkled, and most people walk by without a second glance.  I've done it dozens of times myself.

If you're lucky, though, you'll walk by just before sunset.  The alley is east-west, and just before the sun disappears behind a behemoth building downtown, it hits these heavy drapes and, for a few moments, you see the beauty in the texture of the fabric and the play of light and shadow.

It makes you feel like the world shifted just for you.  Like you were supposed to see this mundane little thing be elevated to something beautiful, and it makes you realize that everything has beauty- you just need to be open to it.

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

29.06.10

Day 6

Because I've been away so much this month (blame it on the wedding.  It's a living, breathing entity entirely it's own) and been a bit of a blogging dilettante, I've decided to extend the Polaroid contest so you guys actually get a month's worth of photos.  I promise not to let this take 6 months!

So, wedding and honeymoon recap.  Basically, it was awesome.  It's great to have married my best friend and I think he appreciates having graduating from "BOYfriend" to "MANfriend".  It makes him feel all grown up, but not too responsible.

We tried out "husband" and "wife" for a little while, but it just didn't sit right.  It felt sort of like we were playing house, but with a really high awkward factor.  Odd, no?  We've been together for four years, lived together for over two, and that never felt fake or forced, but calling him husband?  Whoa now!  Slow down!  I don't want that kind of commitment!  I can't be that old already!!

Luckily, the honeymoon was fantastic and made up for much of the weirdness (except when Steve had to ask for a skinnier pillow for his "wife").  Tofino is such an amazing place.  The people are super laid back, the landscape is beyond belief, and there are more VW vans per capita than any other town I've been too.  The trifecta.

So, back to the photos.  I was thinking, it might be kinda cool to give you guys a bit more detail about the pictures I'm posting here.  Nothing long, just a little background.

This polaroid is one of my favourites.  The building is the old CIBC on the corner of 12th Ave and 1st St SW.  I've walked past it about a million times (it's a block away from DeVille and if you know me, you know how much caffeine I need to function) but somehow never noticed it until a few weeks ago.  This pack of polaroid expired a year ago, hence the weird, horizontal blotchiness and at first I was kinda disappointed with it, but the longer I looked at it, the more that blotchiness fit with the image.

It's part of the reason I love to use film and crappy old cameras- it feels like they have their own personalities, and they are helping to decide how the image is going to turn out.  When I use digital, it feels like a dead hunk of plastic that I force to take a picture.  Film is a dialogue.

If your camera could talk, what would it say?

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

26.05.10

Day 4  and a contest

Dun da da da!  Exciting news!  I'm hosting a contest for all you polaroid lovers out there!!  At the end of June, I'll be giving one lucky person a print of their choice.

**Ooh!  A photo, you say?  Of my choice, you say?**

YES!  And it's easy to enter!  Just leave a comment with your name (and a way for me to contact you if you win!).  For multiple entries, follow my blog, or write your own blog entry mentioning the contest and put the link in the comment section of one of my posts.

At the end of June, I'll draw a name, and the winner can go through my online gallery and choose a photo that I'll mail to you.

Good luck!!

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |

23.05.10

Day 2

Happy weekend :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

| |