I love New York

At one point in my life I helped to teach a creative photography course at a wonderful alternative high school here in Toronto.  When I was asked to go on a field trip with the students to New York City all expenses paid, I agreed immediately.  Yes we travelled on a bus, and yes we stayed at a YMCA downtown…but I thought it would be a great photographic opportunity..and of course I would be able to enjoy the wonderful experience of travelling with a bunch of teenagers.  The other three teachers were great so I knew it would be fun.  The students climbed onto the bus a’squealing and a’laughing.  I knew it was going to be fun.  The bus driver was extremely weird but as long as we could roll our eyes without him seeing us it was all good. 

Ten hours later we arrived in the Big Apple, checked into the luxurious downtown YMCA and headed to our rooms..or cells or whatever they were called.  I called them cells but at least I had my own hole in the wall.  The bathroom was another story…we shared.  How thoughtful of us but there was no choice.  If I had to go, I would make the trek (and it was a trek) to the can.

However…New York City is a wonderful place to be!! We were with the students 75% of the time visiting museums, going to poetry readings, and cheap restaurants in Chinatown.  Also “enjoyed” the karaoke..sort of and wow, what fun it was to figure out the restaurant bill for 40 people.  But we could be on our own and I took advantage of that by walking and photographing all over the place.  I went to Central Park and took a photo of this statue which I intend to use when I make my next lampshade (www.gingerartlamps.com).

 

More pictures and stories to be posted soon…

Dog vs Pond

My dog Colby, like most dogs, loves balls…especially soccer balls.  If we’re in a park and she sees a ball left by an absent minded kid I let her take it home.  All’s fair in love and dog collectibles.  At one point there were almost fifteen balls in our back garden.

One day she decided to play soccer against the pond.  After scoring one goal she prepares for the second one and makes sure she is properly lined up.

Colby has to be wiley – the pond is one tough customer.  She moves in and with a flick of her nose, she scores her second goal.  The pond is not surprised.

And finally an attempt to set a Dog vs Pond record.

No problem – she shoots, she scores!!!

The Dog has won.  But has she?  Colby has three goals but who has the balls?

Some Crazy Lamps

These are wacky versions of my lampshades…I like them and I’ve actually inspired myself!

 

 

 

Yoga in the City

This summer a friend asked if I would photograph her in yoga poses for her new website (http://web.me.com/kmmfarrell/Yoga/Home.html). Her idea was to be photographed in urban locations which would show the disparity of city bustle and the peaceful meditative state that yoga brings. Kerry is a wonderful athlete and during our photo shoot I have to admit I was totally in awe!  We did some pictures on Cherry Street and then headed to an interesting little section under the Gardiner!  For my blog I decided to experiment with my few Photoshop skills and came up with these…

     

Kerry was so focussed while she did this pose she didn’t hear the truck driver acknowledge her with a few friendly and admiring honks of the horn!

Summer, Labour Day et al

This past weekend was Labour Day and as usual I greeted it with trepidation.  Could summer really have flown by so quickly…as usual? I’ll tell you what I didn’t do…I didn’t go to the cottage or sit on the dock overlooking a beautiful lake.  There was no Cape Cod trip this summer…we haven’t had one for quite a few years but hopefully next summer will bring us to the ocean and a cottage hidden in the woods.  I did get together with friends, went to a Kentucky Derby party in Montreal with my daughter and granddaughter. Hubby and I sat on our front porch nearly every evening with the usual cocktail, saying “hello” to passing neighbours, ordering the dog not to bark every time another dog walked by.  I allowed myself the luxury of hiring a wonderful gardener who transformed the messy back garden into something quite beautiful.  Too bad there were so many bugs back there and too bad Colby, our German Shepherd loved to romp around the freshly tidied plants and flowers because that was a tad irritating.. I spent lots of time with my granddaughter who is delightful!  I worked very diligently on making new lampshades (www.gingerartlamps.com) for the upcoming Cabbagetown Arts & Crafts Fair, I started horseback riding for the first time since my hip surgery last summer and that was definitely a good thing.  And there are lots of things that I did but can’t remember!  So I guess it was a good summer and even though it’s still officially not over Labour Day means that the leaves will be turning colours soon, and kids will be thinking of Halloween. As for me I know it’s over when sis-in-law and I discuss what we will be cooking for the High Holidays and I go through my wardrobe and try to decide what I will wear to Synagogue. I took lots of pictures and very recently treated myself to a new camera.  I upgraded to the Canon T2i which I’ve only had for less than 2 weeks.  I think I love it so far, but haven’t even looked at the manual yet to see what it can really do. Following are some recent pictorial highlights…. Last week before David went on holiday he came over for breakfast and a visit with my granddaughter.  David is an avid newspaper reader and it looks like Evie might be too.

David loves to read and catch up on the news and while he weas doing that she looked for articles about anything that concerned babies.. When suddenly she spotted an article about pureed prunes and went into a frenzy of excitement!

 

She shared the article with Uncle David who thought that she should have the experience of eating a page or two!

But I didn’t think it was a great idea – for one thing the article she was starting to taste was about Rob Ford and Don Cherry and I really didn’t approve so I said “no” and she wasn’t happy!

So back to square one and life returned to normal!

Revisiting “I Love Rust” with my Digital Infrared Camera

I love rust and I also love infrared images. They seem to be at opposite ends of the colour spectrum. Last summer I photographed old tractors languishing in the field at a stable where I ride.  This year I decided to take some of the same shots with my digital infrared camera.

And then I photographed other things because I love the way the world looks when it’s in infrared mode.

When I returned from the stable I was still feeling kind of excited…photographers love to feel excited so when I took the dogs for a walk the camera came along too.

The digital images need a bit of boosting which is fairly easy to do in Photoshop.

And that’s it until next time…probably next week.  Stayed tuned.

A Day in the Life (better known as TMI)

As photographers we are rarely photographed…we’re the ones  carrying the camera and documenting family birthday parties and special events but nobody ever thinks to invite me to “say cheese”.  So the other day I thought who better to do a short documentation of my typical day than me, myself and I.  Using my wonderful Fuji EXR550 (point and shoot) I began my day, camera in hand.

The prerequisite wake-up shower and the wearing of the 2000 lb. bathrobe helps me get started.  The warm shower erases lines on my face and lifting the robe and struggling to get it on is my exercise for the day.

However, the wonderful effects of the shower on my face only lasts a few minutes!  There is magic to be done each day before facing the world.

First the lotions on the face..this must be done or else the face will crack and look like the rest of me and  sunblock is the law we all must follow or we end up looking like the cheap fake crocodile belt that came with the expensive pants I just purchased.

So far almost an hour has gone by and I’m nowhere near finished.  The hair must not be allowed to dry by itself or else I will bear a close resemblance to a Barbie doll I once never had and didn’t want either.  So out comes an appliance that is a pain because the cord is all curled up and in straightening it out I knock over make-up brushes and other such things waiting in line to be used.

Now we’re getting closer to the home plate but still  I’m not quite finished – I still have a few contraptions to use on my eyes in order to be brave enough to open that door and face the dogs (they tend to be a tad critical especially before their breakfast).

Finally with toothbrush in hand I will clean their Royal Highnesses (I call them that because they are worth a small fortune….don’t ask – it’s a long and boring tale)

Finally!  And now for my favourite part of the day…..breafast.  Raisin toast, a latte and reading the paper.

I’m going out soon so I must print some pics of my granddaughter to proudly show to everyone in the world (but as usual I will forget and leave them at home).

And speaking of granddaughters this is a day that I am babysitting…well that is, myself and Bunny Bunny are sharing the duties.

We end the day at the local gelato shoppe – Hotel Gelato sounds a bit presumptuous but it’s a really friendly place with good lip smacking snacking stuff.

Uncle David drops by to see his favourite niece…

Well that’s it…part of a day in my life.  Some will say “who cares?” and others may say “I want to be her!” – I say maybe too much information but there aren’t too many pictures of me so this is my way of paying back.

Meet the Donkey Boys

I don’t know what their names are but I call them the Donkey Boys.  They are  cute but not very affectionate.  If patted, they usually walk away…sometimes they are mischievous and they work as a team looking for an opportunity to sneak into the barn for hay or carrots.  I’ve seen them kick up their heels but never in a joyous way like a dog or even a horse but maybe I’m wrong.  How do I know how donkeys experience happiness?  Sometimes they are in their own paddock but they often roam the grounds and they aren’t afraid of anything. As you can see they are treated like little kings and in this picture both are wearing little coats and doing their sneaking into the barn thing.  After riding or on a hot day we will sit outside drinking water and chatting while the donkey boys hang around. I like them because they’re cute looking and I admire them for holding onto their donkeyness with such conviction.

And that’s the kind of thing I write about when I don’t know what to write about!

Another New and Wonderful Experience

Tomorrow my daughter, granddaughter and myself are driving to Montreal.  One of my  friends has gone to Paris for a holiday and has offered her beautiful, downtown condo for a “restful” stay.  My daughter needs the break, I want to see friends and relatives and my granddaughter….well who knows what she would like.  Probably a warm bottle and a dry diaper. 

It’s been a very long time since we did road trips with our “kids” and I recall they could be challenging but not enough to bring us to our knees.

I wonder what this trip will be like…

or….

or…

Stay tuned!

There’s Always that Fine Line….

For the past 37 years I have been an avid photographer always trying to document my life as I see it.  When we started our family, as an aspiring photographer and documentarian I was in my glory.  We had two dogs, and two kids…the photographic possibilities were endless.

Back in those days I was a happy stay-at-home mum.  I had made the transfer from a very independent person to a 100% mother.  I liked playing with the kids..although I must admit I never liked actual board games (still don’t) and when they were infants I really loved walking them in the stroller with our  two dogs  by my side.  And of course my camera was always around my neck. 

One day my son David got  stuck behind the sofa and lamp table.  I was probably putting things away in the kitchen while he played in the living room and I heard a screech.  Like a speeding bullet I ran into the living room (which was two feet away at the most) and there he was crying his little heart out…scared and angry no doubt.  David never liked losing his freedom!  My heart racing I did the first thing that came to mind…I thought “where’s my camera?”, grabbed it and took this famous photograph (in my family anyway) and then rescued him.  Of course I felt guilty!  I probably gave him treats and lots of extra play time.

And by the way mother guilt never goes away!  As mothers we are doomed to endure it throughout our entire life.

Still it is one of my favourites…