Graffiti, as a form of art and self-expression, definitely has a place in the city. Toronto is made up of many different subcultures that interact with each other to create the overall identity and essence of the city. The graffiti, as well as the artists that creates them, represents one of those subcultures. Without them to give life to the bare walls in the city, this place just wouldn't be the same.
Like in any artistic profession, it is difficult for photographers to keep the creative juices flowing all the time. An interesting advice I recently read on Dan Bailey's blog on stretching a photographer's creative boundary is to shoot with a different device. In his blog, Dan refers to Lisa Bettany, a professional photographer who is currently on a trip around the world with only her iPhone.
I have been following Lisa's trip from her initial take-off and have been quite impressed by her photographs. Her journey is also a good validation of the growing iphoneography trend. I can't say I'm comfortable with going on a trip of that magnitude without my DSLR - you never know when something incredible will show up and I just can't live with the thought of not having my fast, sharp, not to mention incredibly expensive, photographic machine by my side to capture that rare moment of greatness. Nevertheless, I really appreciate what Lisa is doing and her sense of risk and adventure.
Dan's blog did get me thinking about how much creativity I can get out of my own phone. In a previous post, I shared some photos I'd captured on my Android device. Dan's advice got me looking through the photo album on my own phone, and thinking about how those photos may have inspired my own creativity:
1. Finding interesting views in ordinary places: the airport in Barcelona (above), the grocery store in Paris (below)
My backyard in France (above); walking by everyday structures in Toronto (below)
2. Capturing photos in intimate spaces: Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece (above)
3. Appreciating the art of food. A chocolatier in London England (above); Fire and Ice restaurant in Boston, USA (below)
Cupcakes! (above); Delicious ice cream at Dutch Dreams parlour in Toronto (below)
4. Seeing the night in a new light: Aras, France (above); Toronto harbour front (below)
I just love the light in the last photo. This shot has actually inspired me to hang indoor lights, like the ones hanging on the trees, over my bed. So my big questions for you are:
1) Do you think your phone will ever replace your camera?
2) What are some ways your phone can push your photographic creativity?
When I was 19, my parents took me to Grand Canyon West in Arizona USA. The Grand Canyon truly is an incredible display of the forces of nature. When I left, I left with a craving to come back one day and hike the canyon, all the way along the Colorado River.
But when I got home, I liked none of the images I took. Despite heavily editing the photos to bring out the contrast and colors, I was still unhappy with the shots and decided not to publish photos of the trip on the blog. Gradually, I forgot about them until earlier this year, when I was going through my old shots to update my travel photography portfolio.
I was still primarily focused on fashion and portrait photography when I visited the Grand Canyon, and I like to think that my photography has improved in these last few years. But these outtakes are a good reminder for me to keep learning, keep reading, and keep shooting.
Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it.- Albert Einstein.
Now that I've finally made my peace with these photographs, I'm ready to share a few of them, at last:
A viewpoint: Eagle Point - see the head and wings of the eagle??
The Colorado River, disappearing into around the bend. 
I'm curious to see what other people's take is on this. Have you ever gone on a amazing trip and only wish you had nicer photos to show for it? If that ever happens, do you hide your shots, or do you show them anyways?
There is something about unpleasant weather that makes me want to go far away from the city and civilization. I can't really explain why, but I fundamentally enjoy going where nobody else wants to go, when nobody wants to go. It might be due to my belief that the more I suffer, the more interesting my encounters will be. It could also just be my way of putting life in perspective by reminding myself that I could be in much worse conditions.
This winter, when the freezing rain and snow storms arrived, my insatiable need to get out of the city awoke like clockwork. Although my schedule and the harsh weather made it difficult to go far, I managed to sneak away to one of my favourite rural community in Ontario - St. Jacobs.
Located an hour outside of Toronto and a half hour from Niagara Falls, St. Jacobs is famous for its Mennonite heritage. Today, about 4,000 Old Order Mennonites still farm in its surrounding countryside. My favourite place in St. Jacobs is its year round farmer's market, where a large number of these Mennonites visit, both as vendors and as customers.
Prior to my visit, I did a fair amount of research on photographing Mennonites since I knew that some of them, such as Amish Mennonites, strongly oppose being photographed. My researched revealed that while most of them will refuse to "pose" for a photo or agree to their photograph being taken when asked, many are fine with candid photos and comfortable with being around cameras. I've seen a lot of published photographs of Mennonites from St. Jacobs market so I knew I wouldn't seriously offend anyone with my camera, but I still did my best at shooting discretely.
One of the reasons I love to visit this market is its delicious food - I can spend hours just sampling the various home-made jams and the wide selection of sausages. But my favourite part of visting the market is for its delicious apple fritter that tastes like sugar heaven.
While St. Jacobs is nothing as extreme as Alaska or Antarctica, it's still shocking to think that just 1 hour outside of Toronto is a town where people live completely off the land and stores have parking stalls for horse carriages.
Apple Fritters!
This winter, when the freezing rain and snow storms arrived, my insatiable need to get out of the city awoke like clockwork. Although my schedule and the harsh weather made it difficult to go far, I managed to sneak away to one of my favourite rural community in Ontario - St. Jacobs.
Located an hour outside of Toronto and a half hour from Niagara Falls, St. Jacobs is famous for its Mennonite heritage. Today, about 4,000 Old Order Mennonites still farm in its surrounding countryside. My favourite place in St. Jacobs is its year round farmer's market, where a large number of these Mennonites visit, both as vendors and as customers.
Prior to my visit, I did a fair amount of research on photographing Mennonites since I knew that some of them, such as Amish Mennonites, strongly oppose being photographed. My researched revealed that while most of them will refuse to "pose" for a photo or agree to their photograph being taken when asked, many are fine with candid photos and comfortable with being around cameras. I've seen a lot of published photographs of Mennonites from St. Jacobs market so I knew I wouldn't seriously offend anyone with my camera, but I still did my best at shooting discretely.
One of the reasons I love to visit this market is its delicious food - I can spend hours just sampling the various home-made jams and the wide selection of sausages. But my favourite part of visting the market is for its delicious apple fritter that tastes like sugar heaven.
While St. Jacobs is nothing as extreme as Alaska or Antarctica, it's still shocking to think that just 1 hour outside of Toronto is a town where people live completely off the land and stores have parking stalls for horse carriages.
Apple Fritters!
