PEGcity

Lost Summer

2009-09-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to have eluded the city of Winnipeg this year. I'm pretty sure the little sun with the tiny cloud in the corner on the weather channel means that they have NO clue what's coming. It's been mostly rain. It's like we've swaped weather patterns with Vancouver.
BUT on one of the nicer weekends we had, I convinced my better half to take a sail with me :)

wake up sleepy :)

then some coffee....and some breakfast on the peir in Gimli

Captain Drew

makes for a good day ♥

summer time... FINALLY!

2009-06-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

what better way to spend the first beautiful saturday of the year than outside at the forks with sunshine and pretty ladies! got a nasty sunburn to proove it!

self portraits... of the UNDERWATER variety

2009-05-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

I recently started swimming again, and for practice this morning, I borrowed my mom's point and shoot, which is good under water up to 3 meters... I gotta get me one of those. That was a good time :)

ah... young love

2009-05-17T17:58:00.001-07:00

le book... well, my small piece of it :)

2009-05-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

a lazy day...

2009-05-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Amid Valhalla & CODA

2009-05-10T12:55:00.001-07:00

awaiting a storm....

2009-05-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

mother nature is such a horrible tease.

more photoshop playing.

2009-05-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

my poor camera has been suffering some serious neglect as of late... between business plans, moving, spring cleaning, trying to find a job and getting back in the pool (in other words, my life has litterally been flipped upside down in the last month and a half), i've kind of lost sight of my priorities. to try to get my spirits back up, i've been going through some old favorites and playing around with them. being a touch on the emotional side as of late has actually helped create some pretty neat results.

until next time folks :)

Getting the hang of Photoshop

2009-04-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Slow and steady... once you figure out what everything does and why, it's not so bad... although it's not something i would have wanted to figure out on my own.

cheers :)

Aerocar Model Four @ the Pyramid

2009-04-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

barefoot meets PEGcity

2009-04-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

I got together with a friend and fellow photog today to take some pics of her and her boys. Seeing as she's also a photog, she doesn't have all that many pics of her and her boys together. Adele (proud parent and founder of Barefoot Photography), let me come play and practice on her and her little one's. Mayhap there will one day be a colaboration!

Until next time!!

*rock on*

Oh Lightroom... How I love thee!

2009-03-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

So, in lightroom we were supposed to be learning how to "touch up" photo's, soften skin, brighten up eyes, that sort of thing... Myself on the other hand took it to the next level. I've been having way to much fun changing hair colors, and eye colors hahaha... Looks kinda cool. Makes me miss my purple hair!

I have a feeling I'm going to be spending far to much time over spring break playing around with this!
Cheers folks!

More Munchkin

2009-03-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Amid Valhalla

2009-03-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

VIA Rail

2009-03-14T16:59:00.001-07:00

Some Portraits

2009-03-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Inspiration.... ?

2009-03-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

So, in the last few weeks, we've been talking a whole bunch about our portfolio and how we're going to go about doing it and what we want to have in it and all that jazz... I was kind of at a loss. I've been learning so much through out this course, but it almost feels like I've lost my way a little bit. I need to find it. And QUICK!... so on a whim tonight I decided that I would go through all the various and assorted prints that I've accumulated through out the year and wallpaper my bedroom with them, hoping to re-spark some creativity as it's been lacking lately. This was the result...

I'm hoping it will set my imagination rolling, especially since it's starting to get nice (ish) outside again. I actually noticed for the first time in a while, as I was on the bus today that the light is looking far friendlier then it has in a while. A good sign. We'll see what happens next.

Rock on folks!

More HDR!

2009-02-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

So, the more I practice, the better I seem to get... Wierd eh? Anyhow, I've been playing around with this whole HDR thing, and it's yielded some pretty cool results. I've determined that fishtanks look so cool when turned HDR.

Anyhow, I'm going to ask everyone once again to mind the photomatix mark all over them. One day I'll be able to afford the software!
Until Next Time!

MOVIE EXTRAVAGANZA

2009-02-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

So, on top of loads of assignments, getting a snack stand set up, and trying to figure out what I'm going to do about my poor leaky house over shoot week, we had to spend some precious daylight time at the school watching movies. I chose to watch "Born into Brothels", "Manufactured Landscapes" and "I am Cuba"

Born Into Brothels was a fantastic documentary. It's amazing how nieve most of us are to what goes on in other countrys. It was very disturbing and yet heartwarming at the same time. It was nice to watch the follow up at the end of the movie as well so you know what happened to the children that were part of the photography program. It is the type of movie that makes you wish you could help every kid that's born into that type of situation.

Manufactured Landscapes was very eye opening to the damage we've caused our planet over the years. I actually ended up going to the library and taking out Edward Burtynsky's book with the same title as the film. He has such a beautiful way of capturing even the most disturbing scenes and getting you to really LOOK at it. I must admit, I was never all that interested to get into photo documentary, but his work has made me want to dabble a little deeper into it, with the hope of opening peoples eyes to something that may normally go unnoticed by the general population.

I AM CUBA was depressing (and confusing). I wish that I had not ended my movie week with this movie. The way that it was filmed seems to give the entire movie alot of deep feeling. All in B&W I found it still very easy to know when they were trying to portray a feeling of joy or utter dispair, although the feeling of dispair was far more dominante. It was a very well done film, but I think I would need to watch it again to get the whole meaning of it, as I don't do well with subtitled movies.

I will post some of the shooting I've been doing over shoot week soon!
ROCK ON FOLKS

First Attempt at HDR

2009-02-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

So, this was my first attempt at making an HDR. There were a series of shots that I took at Winnipeg Beach in the fall, and since I was not aware of how easy HDR's were, but tried to shoot for a couple anyhow, they just kind of sat dormant on my computer. It is by no means fantastic, because I don't think I shot for it properly, but now I know how to do it as opposed to making well educated guesses!

It'll get better, and I'll keep you posted!
Rock On!

ps~ pardon the Photomatix water mark, I can't afford the softwear yet, so I'm just using their trial version

Hey! YOU! SIT STILL!

2009-02-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Cass is a beautiful goof ball of a girl in my class. It's not hard to make her look good, which was a bonus for me, cause it was next to impossible to get her to sit still!

Pretty ok for the first High Key portrait attempt!
Thanks for the fun afternoon Cass, we should do it again!

Cheers folks!

The Low-Down

2009-01-27T18:42:00.001-08:00

Another shoot with my baby sis. Aim was to master Low Key portraits. I think I did a pretty good job considering we have only put our pinky toe into the ocean of lighting that's out there. Some of the shots are the same as in the "Metal Munshkin" album, because they were from the same shoot, Just modified to be really low key. I think I need to find me some studio lighting. It's fun.

Rock On!!

Old... but beautiful!

2009-01-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

I found this little beauty on an antique camera hunt we had in our creative imaging class. It's a Sawyers Mark IV, circa 1958-59. It's a "mini" TLR camera, that takes 127 film, which sadly isn't made anymore. You can still find some on ebay, but who knows how old it is or weather or not it's still good. I think I would have walked out of there with it had it not been $300 and not really usable anymore. It was still fun to play with for the few minutes I was allowed to!

Cheers Folks!

me? poetic?

2009-01-11T18:07:00.000-08:00

Parabol

so familiar and overwhelmingly warm

this one, this form I hold now

embracing you,

this reality here this one,

this form I hold now,

so wide eyed and hopeful

wide eyed and hopefully wild

we barely remember what came

before this precious moment,

choosing to be here right now

hold on, stay inside...

this body holding me
reminding me that I am not alone

this body makes me feel eternal
all this pain is an illusion

~TOOL

Baby-Bot-Benefit

2009-01-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine, Troy, also the drummer for the Civil Disobedients, is going through a really rough time right now. His son is in the hospital and may need a heart transplant. My boy, and a bunch of friends of ours that are very involved with the local music scene have banned together to create a fundraiser to help raise some money for his family.
It's all happening on the 16th of January at the Pyramid Cabaret. If anyone is interested in coming out to support a good cause, let me know because I have tickets! I'm posting a link to the facebook event page! Check it out! Show some support for our killer local music scene!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=43136912918&ref=mf

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday!
ROCK ON!

Metal Munchkin

2008-12-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

So, on a whim today while I was at school playing in the studio, I decided that I would transform my baby sister a touch. It was really fun considering she is by NO means "metal". I had to teach her how to do the 'devil horns'. We had a good time and I think she enjoyed being a little out of her element.
Enjoy the shots!
More to come

CHEERS

ps~ on a side note, I would like to say congrats to my beautiful baby sis. She had an awesome day today. Came out with me to do a shoot, went out for dinner with her man to celebrate their 3rd anniversary, went to see a movie... then got engaged. Congrats kiddo, love you with all my heart! I think I know of a few wedding photographers if you are in need ;)

2008-12-08T17:31:00.001-08:00

Awesome local show, with some of my favorite local bands!
CODA (www.myspace.com/codatheband)
Amid Valhalla (www.myspace.com/vforvalhalla)
And I'm gettin back into the swing of things! :)

Cheers folks!

"I'm back in the saddle again!"

2008-11-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

So, after a minor absence from the local rock scene due to lack of inspiration and motivation, I've jumped back into it full force. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot Priestess when they passed through town last weekend, and there are a bunch of awesome local shows coming up right away!

What better way to get some of my creativity back then to remember why I got into this in the first place! I love photography and I love music.
Enjoy!

Nightscapes

2008-11-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

From Nightscapes

One of our more recent board assignments was to go out and take some nightscapes. This was the most fun, as well as the most rewarding shoot I've been on in a while. Seeing as we've been doing alot of technical work lately, my creativity level has dropped alot, so it was nice to do something creative and inspiring for a change.

From Nightscapes

Until next time :)
rock on!

Portraits, of the Film variety

2008-10-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, those other pictures of my baby sister were done with my digital, but for the assignment, we were supposed to shoot a roll of film on one subject, so that's what I did, and these are what I got. Can't wait to start showing some people up in the darkroom! Get some of these baby's printed off! Oh good times are a-coming!
Rock on Folks!

ps, did I mention that I LOVE shooting with film? Especailly B&W film... oh so awesome!

potato-LICIOUS

2008-10-25T11:01:00.001-07:00

I have made peace with my potato... just so you know.

portraits

2008-10-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, we studied portraits in our analogue class, and I decided to take some of my beautiful baby sister. The assignment was supposed to be in shot with film (and it was) but I decided to do some digital as well.
My baby sis is also a make-up artist, so it added a nice touch. Being on of my best friends, she's one of the easiest people for me to photograph because we have that comfort level and conection with each other.
Enjoy folks!
Until next time :)

Happy Thoughts

2008-10-13T22:36:00.001-07:00

Alright, so it's thanksgiving, and I decided that I would share what I'm thankfull for. You'll have to pardon the photo quality, because alot of it is just snapshots.
My family, my friends, my pets, people I care about, and generally refer to as my happy thoughts. They are all what I am thankful for. I love them all, and I wouldn't trade them for anything :)
Happy ThanksGiving everyone!!
Until next time

More Film Fun

2008-09-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

I miss shooting in film! I love the fact that waiting in line to get film processed is a little bit like christmas! The only problem is, that as soon as I'm done a roll, it has to go in NOW! Then, once I see my shots, I tear every aspect of them apart and can't wait to go try again! (only problem is, it gets a little expensive after a while, which is why I wanted a digital). It's nice to have a reason to go back to that medium of photography!
I can't wait until I get to developing and printing my own pics! Going to be awesome, but in the mean time, here's a taste of what I've been up to, using my dearest father's 1970's manual Nikon!

Rock On All!

Time Exposures

2008-09-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

So, I decided that one aspect of the photography world that I would love to get to know better is time exposures. Night time streets, skyscapes, lightning. I've tried this technique a few times but have not yet mastered it.
Here's a couple of websites to check out that elaborate on the technique a little bit more.
http://www.digitalshotsguide.com/lowlightlongexposurephotography/
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/tips/night.html
I've also found a few pictures that demonstrate time exposures at their finest:

http://www.fotosearch.com/bigcomp.asp?path=PDS/PDS066/AA005911.jpg
Copyrights asside, (use your imagination) this is a beautiful image. I love how the moving stars seem to give the tree a halo.

http://www.fotosearch.com/bigcomp.asp?path=PDS/PDS140/200481908-001.jpg
As soon as I can find a waterfall, I'm going to attempt this technique (oh flat flat Manitoba and it's lack of waterfalls). I love the softness and flow of the water and I can't wait to try to capture an image like this one.

http://www.robertchavez.com/chavez/light2/moon_fr.html
Of all the styles of time exposure photography, storm chasing and lightning pictures have always been up there on my favourites list. This is the style of time exposures that I have attempted the most, although my first few tries were unsucessful. I'm excited to learn more about it and give it another go, although it's going to have to wait until next summer.

Please keep in mind that the photo's that I have posted are copyrighted material. The artist for each photo can be found on the linked pages.

Happy learning all!
Until Next time!

Web Sites...

2008-09-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not online looking at photo's nearly as much as I should be, but one of my favorite sites to go by from time to time is http://rahim.net/ . His work with lighting is just amazing. Although, if you're not a fan of glamor, fetish or nudes, you may want to stay away.
Another reason I like his work so much is because he's a local artist.

For those of you that need something a little more reserved yet awe inspiring all the same, there's the good ol' National Geographic Photography site. You will find some of the most breath taking photo's out there. It's also a fairly easy site to navigate. http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography
until next time :)

First Roll in over a year...

2008-09-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

First roll of film that I've shot in over a year. I'm a little bit out of practice, although I'm excited to be shooting in film again. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. These are the best shots from the first roll of B & W. I actually forgot some times that I was shooting in Black and White so some of the pictures look a little bit on the busy side, but all in all I think it was mostly a sucess.
cheers :)

Lines??

2008-09-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Saturday afternoon wandering the West End area looking for things that make me thing of lines. (which ends up being mostly walls, and stairs, and fences... lots of fences). It was deffinatly a fun shoot to do seeing as there are a great many ways to protray lines. For anyone who's looking for a nice area to wander around in, the Wolsley area is a beautiful area to shoot in.
Until next time :)
Cheers

First School Shoot!

2008-09-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

First digital shoot for school. We were supposed to take between 30 and 40 shots, no deleting, no editing allowed. So in other words, far more difficult then I had imagined. Anyhow, these are them. The good, and the bad.
Excited to keep going!
Until next time :)
ROCK ON!

yet again...

2008-09-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

So, blog number 2 is going to be pretty much the same as blog number one. I appologize for repeating myself if it happens.

This would be Industry Studies Assignment 1. Create a blog. Done. Title? Done. Description, done. Links to all my fellow class mates? In progress but will be done as soon as I have the info needed.

Now, onto the good stuff. What first attracted me to photography. Well, there is a photo of a man I have added to my blog (the one on the right), and it would be he that opened my eyes to photography and taught me to see the world in a different way. My dad. I remember looking at album after album of his photos when I was younger. To this day I will still go back and look at pictures he's taken over the years. Maybe, once I'm finished this course, I will be able to teach him a thing or two.

So far, everything I have learned I learned from my father. In this course I hope to learn things that he wasn't able to teach me. Mostly darkroom techniques (although I'm pretty sure he know's a bit about that). I can't wait to get my hands dirty. To learn the mechanics behind what I've always loved (pictures, and how they work, digital and film, printing and editing). It boils down to the simple fact that I want to learn everything there is to know. I know it's alot, but I like dreaming big.

As for "a brush with greatness", I have had the opportunity to meet people that are known through out the music scene. Like the gentelman in the photo above and left. Gilby Clark of "Guns and Roses" (or Rock Star Supernova if you prefer) passed through town with his solo band and they played at a venue that I am frequently taking pictures at, so I was lucky enough to talk with him for a bit and shoot the show they played. I was able to do the same thing when GOB and Econoline Crush passed through. I hope some day to be good enough and known enough to get press passes for bigger venues.... Some day :)

Cheers to all.

Until next time

let the games begin

2008-09-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

So, here we all sit on day two, and we're supposed to go over what we love to take pictures of. I thought we did that yesterday.

Well, personally, I'm a rock star. I'm a metal head. Your overall music junkie. Since I seem to find myself attending local shows so often, and I'm head over heels in love with the local music scene, I will more often then not be taking pictures of what ever band happens to be playing, and I love every second of it. If i could make a career of that alone, I would die a happy girl.

My friends, my family, my man, my pets or who ever else happens to be around are also often found to be subject to my shutter-buggieness. Of that list, I think the animals appreciate it the most, and my family the least. I came to the conclusion this past summer that organizing a group family photo with a family the size of mine is not as easy as my dad always made it look.

Alright, so, cheers to everyone. Looking forward to a long, interesting, exciting year.

Rock on!