A View from Civilization

Click image for larger view...
...just finished watching the climatic end of Battlestar Galatica. I've watched this from it's beginning in my dorm in the 1980's with a packed crowd of RMC cadets (mostly Engineers and artsie types) hanging on every word. I've watched it with grown kids in my home in the 2000's. I've watched as 'Everything that has happened will happen again." :-)

On a walk-about downtown, I slipped across the bridge to the Museum of Civilization. Saw this panorama while looking across the river and thought of the cycle of things; how power & pride revolve around fall & ruin and sweep back into building & growth. Not a desperately sad thought if you realize we always find a way to pick up and carry on. Quite an amazing thing... this cycle we as individuals follow, as families, as nations.

It struck me that our nation's captial buildings are framed on one side by buildings filled with a history of civilization and on the other a bridge between two cultural nations. One side of this bridge is rooted in a city forest of buildings, the other extends to trees and nature. Kinda artsy but in context of this theme of cycles it resonated.

Here's a few others in a slideshow. Hope you enjoy.

Blacksheep Inn, 12 March 2009

Another great experience at the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield Quebec.

Fairly often, a group of our friends get together at local events to enjoy various Canadian Blues talent. One of our favs is Steven Fearing who appeared last Thursday at the Blacksheep Inn.



Accompanying him this time was fellow maritimer Catherine MacLennan. A great evening!


For more pictures of these two, jump to the slides.

Woman have shoe stores...

Ya I know, it does sound sexually biased but I speak from experience. Some woman can spend hours going in and out of shops looking for the perfect shoe or dress or whatever. That just doesn't happen for me. In fact, large sections of my brain go inert when dragged along on such an adventure.

But then there's equipment crack!

No surprise that men have stuff too. This is usually related to either high-tech gear that makes noise and pictures (stereos, HD screens, etc.) or more noise and gears (power tools, cars, etc.). Some guys (like myself) are slaves to camera sh%@. It's like crack. Don't do well without a hit every week or so. Can't really afford to indulge but love to dream.


Yesterday was my day to go walkabout and chill. Like a free-electron following a random path, there's always a capture potential out there. In fact, there's such a highly positive-charged gravity well located inside places like The Camera Trading Company (368 Bank St, Ottawa, Ontario). There's an event boundary close to the front door. Once past that, there's no escape... nothing comes back out.

Inside is a dazzling assortment of camera gear that baffoozel's the camera geek mind. Just look at this stuff!




There to help you in your journey of equipment addiction is Tom Steiner. He's an enthusiastic curator of this museum-like collection. There's a story and education behind every piece. He explained the history and practice of each piece I showed interest in and some I didn't. One in particular was an old large-format camera he had in the window. With painting your own emulsion onto the glass plate you could achieve an equivalent ISO of 3 to 5! Can't imagine the exposure levels you'd need to get a decent picture.

It was hard to leave but what an enjoyable hour.

Feeling moody lately. I'm hungry for new work and to work in a new way. Really want to expand. Then I came across this recently released short film by Zack Arias on transforming yourself and your art.

Check it out here.

It's absolutely brilliant. A must see for all those pro photogs and wannaBe's. Even if you're not in the business, it's applicable to all those who go thru funk-times and feel the cycle of things daunting. He nails so many feelings and comes up with advice that's fairly universal.

I'm actually in a very good place... great family, interesting work, nice home, 25-year-old Chevette that's still running smooth, and the chance to photograph for people. Why is it we want more when we have so much? Hmmm.