At The Zoo...

This must be a stellar year for me and the United Photographers Of Montreal! Two outings in a row! I really hope this streak keeps up!

The next outing we went to was to the Eco Museum in Ste. Anne De Bellvieu.
Until that day I didn't even know we had an Eco Museum in Montreal. But, after that outing I was very glad we did. It was such a pleasnt surprise!
The place was bigger than I thought it would be, considering the area it was situated in. It wasn't too far from the highway and was practically surrounded by trees and all manner of foliage.
It looked like it could have been taken out of any adventure book you might have read as a child.
It was such a beautiful place!
We got to see it on a very sunny and chilly Saturday morning. Once through the main building we pushed through the back doors and the first creature we saw were a group of Snowy Owls. They were of a good size and so amazing to look at. As we wandered around the place we came upon a long man made bridge that traversed a body of water that could have been out of a Louisianna Bayou, green moss skimming across the surface and all.
There were a set of very playfull Sea Otters, a rather pungent porcupine, White Tailed Deers, at least three Black Bears, and so many opportunities for nature photography that my cup runeth over.
I particularly loved this aspect of the day. I shot so many images that I had to change cards!I was both surprised and dissapoint to find that the lake where the water fowls were to be was under construction. But,from what I hear it should be finished by next summer.
A real surprise was the basement of the main building. there they housed the anphibians, turtles, and snakes. I got a great shot of a turtle with his nose just barely poking out of the water's surface. I shot it without a tripod so, I was klucky it came out the way it did.

My other picture, albeit, a bit more shaky, was an abstract of the turtle's body, toes on their tips torso reaching up towards...what? Food, another turtle, maybe just to get some air...

I really enjoyed this place. The price wasn't too high to get in, from what I remembered, so it's a perfect place for families. It's somewhere I would definitely return to and highly reccommend to others.
Keep the activities coming UPM!

Abandoned

One weekend in October I got to do something I've always wanted to do.
I got to shoot inside an abandoned building.

It had been about a year since I took part in any activities with my photography group, The United Photographers Of Montreal. For one reason or another I found myself constantly waylaid by all kinds of outings or work related activities that kept me out of their reach and off of their radar. But when the outing to shoot in an abandoned factory came up I quickly checked my schedule and made a note to be there- come Hell or High water!
The factory in question was the abandoned sugar factory in St. Henri. It was a bit hard to get to but, oh, so, worth the trek.
First, we had to walk under an underpass, dotted with various size mud puddles, then, reaching our destination, scamper down a slightly steep hill before we entered the crag-like opening of the factory.
Victory!
It was as I had dreamed.
There was this great, and vast opening before you as you ventured inside. Watching your footsteps you could either take the tiny stone steps to your right or you could walk out onto the landing,the edge of which revealed the gaping maw of the center of the building.
I was in Hog heaven!
Sadly, I could stay as long as I wanted to. I had to meet a friend later that evening. But, I did make the most of my day while I was there.

The one thing noticed about the building was that it wasn't as lonely as I thought it would be.
The amount of people lurking in the shadows or galivanting in plain sight was astonishing to me! Here I thought I was doing something clandestine, something beneath the scope of the law when all the while the place was hopping like a club at two a.m.!
Among the other things I noticed was the artwork. Because, let's face it, that's what it was. Great murals lamenting the recent or not so recent passing of a loved one, friend or family, lavish stokes of bravado splashed all across the various walls of the buildings interior.

There was also refuse, debris left from someone's other life. saw this sad, dilapidated stuffed tiger drowning in a pool of fetid water.

At first, I thought it out of place in a setting like this but then I looked around me and saw all the stories of people's lives displayed all around me and I thought better if it- it probably fit in there more than I did.
The place was huge!You could probably walk through the whole place and still forget that there's a roof!
The roof was a real treat. Up there you could get a really good view of the overpass, and at the right time of day the lighting must be breathtaking.
I know that I couldn't stay there long that day but I was extremely happy to have gotten the chance to see the place and photograph it. I hope to go back real soon(I wonder what it looks like in the snow?)but not alone- it might have been crowded that day but, it may not be all time! I'm not crazy!

Workshop 2011

Back in October I hosted another workshop for the McGill Mini Courses.This time around my class containedcthree amazing students. Ateeya, Deveney, and Sarah. It was such a pleasure to have them in my group. They were so open and interested in the things that I said. I loved that they asked all mannor of questions of me, all of which I tried my very best to answer.
I hope they have a great holiday and continue shooting!

As always I took my class to Mount Royal Park- but this time we made a tiny detour and ventured into the Mount Royal Cemetery. As some of my group had never been in there before I was more than happy to give them the ten cent tour.
Inside, we passed by some of the oldest tombstones in the cemetery. Some so old that the names engraved upon them were barely ledgible, and others still had stones that were hardly able to stand upright any more. Of course there were the angles, some on high, some down below, some with all of their parts and, some missing quite a few. The cherubs, too, were on display, stioically watching guard over thier sole charge.
It all made for a very picturesque tableau.
We ended our workshop in front of the large chalet that over looked the city. If I am not mistaken, I walked down the other side of the mountain with Deveney (if this is wrong, I give you my humble appologies..). The view from, what I think is trhe steeper side of the mountain does have it's beauties. Like the Stream of water that poured out of a pipe in the side of a hill that I had never seen before.

As you walked down the wooden staircase you couldn't help but follow the path of the softly trickling water as it pooled into a tiny basin at the foot of the hill.
A truly beautiful sight, to be sure!
It is a wonderful thing not to be too complacent about your surrundings. Always leave room to be surprised from time to time.
My next workshop begins in March.
Happy shooting everyone!

A Drumming Beat

As with all surprises we did not not see this coming.
Breaking through the foliage at the rear end of Mount Royal Park we came upon a sight that both shocked and excited us: there before us lay an expansive spread of bodies writhing to the rhythm of the Tam Tams.

Even before we caught sight of the drums and the mass of gyrating bodies we could hear them. With each step drawing us closer and closer to the primal beat we could feel the pounding of the drums within our chest. We could feel the call of the music like a spell that put us under.

The main attraction was the the giant grouping of drummers in the far upper corner of the square. They huddled together as if to keep warm despite the blazing heat of the day.

Around the drummers you could find a variety of people with varying body shapes. Some came together, some came alone, some even brought their kids.

It didn't matter what level of dance ability you had, no one took any notice. They were all too busy with their own movements to pay attention to your frantic flailings. Here, you were free to stomp, and wave, and swing your body in any direction with nary a scant look of disgust or distaste from either your neighbor or your friend.
No one cared.
It was freedom at it's most liberating.
I am ashamed to say that I have lived in this city for a very long time and have never been to the Tam Tams before this summer. Despite the frequent invitations extended to me by my friends over the years, it took the surprise siting this May to finally show me what I was missing! And to be able to introducing one of my students to the event, especially one so relatively new to our city, was a real treat for me as well!

Before it was over, though, I had to be brave and tear myself away from the spectacle of music and crowd and end my workshop for another season. As I walked away I could feel the thrumming beats of the drums pulsing against my back like a melodic reminder for me to return.
It was a vow I fervently intended to keep.

Oasis In The City

I recently hosted my final photography workshop for this season. And, once again, I took my class to Mount Royal Park. This time my class consisted of two students of which one got sick the day before the work shop and had to back out. My main student was a guy named Hannes, who was from Germany and had only been in Montreal about two months.

Weather wise we had a great day: the sky may have been overcast at the beginning but the sun came out later completely making up for the flatness of the sky. In our tour of Mount Royal we headed up to the Chalet at the top of the mountain and shot a few pictures of the fantastic view and then ventured down a path, up til now, I have never taken before, but was so glad that I did!
We explored this, at first, steep trail that led deeper into the trees of the mountain, then took a left on another path that opened up to a scene that, I can only say, transferred me to a whole other place. Looking at the scene i could not believe that I was still in Montreal.
It was like something out of a Louisiana Bayou.

It was such a beautiful place that it very literally took my breath away. We hung around here for a little while, shooting like mad scientists on the verge of a great discovery with every new shot. But, all too soon, we had to leave this place as our time together was coming to a close.
But, the day was not through with us, yet. It had another surprise in store for us.
Til next time...

What is Ghoul For You...

Ghoulish tho it may be, I love cemeteries. Always have, always will.
My love for them started at an early age when I would hear whispers of this mythical place being bandied about at family gathering, but in such delicate and hushed tones that you would have thought that the very mentioning of the name out loud would bring the wrath of the great God's themselves.
What was in this place? Why did people go there? Why did we put our people there? More importantly, why did we leave them there?
As I got older some of these questions got answered, and some just gave me new questions.
You never forget your first funeral. Mine was, of course, for some woman I didn't even know, being as young as I was. It was back in Jamaica, in the country, not far from my Grandmother's house. I remember the rain, the somber mood of everybody here, and in particular, I remember the absence of beauty.
Why did we put our loved ones in such an ugly place, and leave them there no less?! If we really cared about them shouldn't we put them somewhere more aesthetically pleasing to the eye?! I'm sure that if they had the strength they would crawl up out of their graves and walk themselves to a more pleasing plot, never bothering to give us a final look on their way there.
After seeing this muddy well of a hole I wouldn't blame them.
It was only later on in life that I fond out that cemeteries can be some of the most beautiful places to visit imaginable. My first foray into the world of the dead aside, I've learned that burying people can be very expensive but when they can afford it people tend to take great and loving care of their dearly departed. They display such emblems at their grave sites as large angels, tiny cherubs, scrolls, Jesus Christ, in his many manifestations, and crosses a plenty.

Recently, I got the opportunity to pay a return visit to the Mount Royal/Cote Des Neiges Cemetery by way of an outing with my photo group, The United Photographer's of Montreal. As was usual for me I was running late, so I had to wander around by myself and hopefully meet up with my group later on that day.
Five minutes in and I was immediately immersed in my comfort zone. Lost amongst the marble and stone I was helpless to find my way out of the mazes of ancient Mausoleums and garish shrines. Everywhere I looked, either up or down, I was spotted by some monument to a loved one or other that was eying me with as equal an intensity as I them.

I wondered if it was my imagination that I thought they looked angry with me.
Did they not want me there? Did they think me an intrusion into their final peaceful lives? Were they wondering if, even now, could they not avoid the bothersome noises of the living?
While in the midst of my shooting a grand ode to someone's father, as my own response to these questions, I quietly said an apology and gently tiptoed my way to the next grave.
But, not before I got the shot, of course.
I was deeply in my element. I ventured farther in the cemetery, or as far as my almost spent battery would allow, shooting many of the same scenes over and over again from just about every angle. But for an almost empty second battery I never got bored and I never had a reason to stop.
I also never did get to meet up with my group.

United We Stand

Earlier this year I joined a photography group called The United Photographer's Of Montreal. I came across them on the meetup.com website and haven't regretted it since. One of the things that drew me to them was that they were very active. From the very beginning they have always had an activity on their calendar for the members to take part in. Such as a photography workshop for beginners which, as my own skills with my camera were somewhat waning at the time, I was only too happy to join. We've also been to the Botanical Gardens for the Butterfly exhibit, and Jean Talon Market, an outing I am sad to say that I didn't get to take part in because of scheduling differences.
Photography groups are a great way to meet new people and to keep in touch with your craft, I would highly recommend them to anyone. But, if you should want to join a photography group or club there are a few things that I would suggest that you do first.
Number one: Research
Find a group that you like and is well suited to you. If you're not interested in going out on a lot of outings but would rather sit around and discuss the topic of photography then find a group that is less excursion orientated. But, if you do want to take part in outings where you can practice your photography skills then, that is the group you should be looking for.
Number Two: Look for variety
If you don't see any diversity in the types of discussions or the kinds of outings that the group displays on their sites then maybe that is not the group for you. Having said that, if the monotony of the group does not sway you from joining them then by all means write to the head of the group and ask them if they have any new topics or excursions on their upcoming schedule.
Number Three: Check the usual and unusual hideouts
When looking for a group check out your local camera shop. They may have some fliers laying on the counters for some local clubs. Listen to word of mouth. And if that doesn't work then give Meetup.com or other websites like it a try. You could also search Kajiji, or Craig's list for a local group, even to go so far as to post an ad yourself stating that you are looking to join a local photo group.
If all else fails, take the initiative and start a group or club of your own.
If you are having trouble getting in touch with your inner photographer, or just reaching the depths of your creativity, then taking part in a photo group or club could be just what you need to get you shooting again.

Workshop III

It's workshop time!
Something you need to know about me is that I really love this time of year. This will be my third go at this and, will you believe, I still get nervous? I know, I should be an old hand at this by now but, I'm sorry to say, I'm still a slave to my fears.

Once again, the meeting place of choice was the spot in front of Beaver Lake and the replica Swiss Chalet on Mount Royal Park. Also, again, the first part of the workshop was dedicated to theory, and the last part to going out and doing some actual shooting to practice some of what they learned.
This year my audience wasn't as big as my last group but, they were just as amazing.

Connor and Genevieve were so open and so creative, that during my workshop they were the ones, who suggested we venture into uncharted workshop territory of the Cote Des Neiges Cemetery to spend the last half of our workshop.
Who was I to argue?
We had a really good time, despite the weather. Beautiful a day as it was, the sun shining very brightly above us, the clouds carelessly roving across the sky, it darn near froze our fingers off.
Ahh, the perils of creating art...
In the end we took shelter in the cafe in the Chalet. With hot drinks in our system and the blood rushing back into our fingers we laughed and rejoiced at the day we had.

Sign here, please...

Adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter stands a very historic building in New Orleans, one, important to the history of Louisianna. It's called The Cabildo, and it's where the actual purchase agreement of the state of Louisianna was signed.
Sadly, I don't have a full shot of this building.
But I do have a partial one.

The area in front of this important edifice, whose architecture proudly displays it's Spanish heritage, contains a myriad of street life congregating in one state of rest or another: from stoic clowns leaning on the iron gate of the park, to exuberant musicians joyfully playing the tools of their trade, from exhausted tourists, jumbled sweatily together upon a wooden bench, to easily approachable, cart wielding, hot dog vendors.
All of which belies the weight of the course altering history that took place inside at one time.
Despite all of the activity it's still a great place to take a few shots, providing you don't mind a lot of strangers constantly wandering in and out of your shot.
Originally, I shot this scene in color but, I found that it took on a whole new feel in black and white. A cross between old and new, now and then, like one period of time overlapping another.
To be honest, I think it looks better this way..two periods of time duking it out in one photo.
Yet, even now, I'm not sure who's winning, ..

One of the few places I visited on my first day in New Orleans was the St.Louis Cathedral in the middle of Jackson Square in the French Quarter. This church is a very important in terms of U.S. religious history: The site it sits on has never been without a church since 1817, making it is the oldest religious site in the United states.

It's a very beautiful cathedral, moderately ornate on the outside and exquisitely grandiose on the inside. I had the great fortune of attending a very moving Christmas Mass there and, I have to say that, the entire place reminded me so closely of the interior of Mary Queen of the World Cathedral here, in Montreal. It had soaringly, high ceilings, dark wooden pews, a sculpted pulpit, and a choir loft at the back of the church, a feature I didn't see until I was walking out of the church long after the mass was over.

They sounded amazing, that choir did. Like actual angels from on high.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the interior of St. Louis because I had forgotten my camera back at my hotel. But, this turned out to be a good thing, as this gave me the only opportunity to actually see and regard my surroundings as a true tourist. Not taking any pictures, just walking around and looking... at everything around me and taking it all in.
It was a very beautiful night, complete with fog cover and, a full moon.
Just the right touch to end my magical evening.

Pennies From Heaven

Every time I stay at a hotel I rush to see what the bathroom looks like, and
the Westin on Canal place in New Orleans was no different.
First up, it was small. Which didn't bother me.
I had just enough room in there to do what I needed to do, toilet, bath/shower, and space for towels.

It was more than enough to keep me satisfied.
Yet, despite the tiny space it somehow felt quite roomy.

Besides, I did have an outer area with a large mirror and sink that gave me ample room to move around in.
Cudos to the architect who designed this place. They definitely earned their money!
I really liked my temporary bathroom! I was very comfortable being in there, which is very important to me when reserving a hotel. But, out of everything in there the shower was the nicest treat: it had dual shower heads.

That's right, you heard me: dual shower heads.
And, God did they feel goooood...!
It was like bathing beneath some tropical waterfall, the cascading droplets falling all over you, caressing you from top to bottom. With each flow the water wrapped itself around you like the safest of all security blankets.
Some nights I didn't even want to get out of the shower...

Free Bird

Okay, this is getting out of hand..
For the umpteenth time, I'm so sorry for the long wait between post. I just got so busy with other things over the last few months.
Such as, my personal feat of miraculous proportions that I committed last December.
Well, miraculous, to me, anyway.
Last December I did something that I've always wanted to do but never got around to doing, either for one unimportant reason or another:
I took a vacation for ten days- alone.
Yeah, I know, like I said, this isn't a big deal to any of you but, to me it was a huge deal. Throughout my life I have ever only traveled with either family or friends. For whatever reason I thought it an overwhelming task to do such a thing alone. Definitely too big to tackle for one little old person, like myself..
Truth be known, I was basically scared to death that I would end up in some God forsaken place, like that river in Deliverance, hurriedly floating down it to my own squealing doom.
But, I should have had more confidence in myself (my constant Achilles heel). I did alright. I ended up exactly where I wanted to go (barring the frantic episode in Toronto's Pierson airport where I waited for almost twenty minutes in the WRONG area, almost missing my flight. If I can help it I will NEVER connect from there again..)

After months of research, my destination was New Orleans, Louisiana. The Big Easy, the birthplace of Jazz and last residence of VooDoo. The home of Jambalaya and Gumbo, Po-boy sandwiches and heavily powdered Beignets.
The city that Drew helped rebuild. The very soul of the Who Dat Nation.

The trip was a panacea for me. I needed that trip like people need air to breath and food to eat. It saved me on so many levels. It was just the medicine I needed to help me tap into that creative part of me that needed finding, that center that had been lost for longer than I cared to recognize or wanted to acknowledge.
There is something to be said about traveling by oneself. The peace that you achieve or come in contact with is like no other that you have ever experienced. It is akin to being truly in touch with oneself. To focus on that very part of you that you've been sadly neglecting.
Alright, enough pontificating..
Photographically, I made a serious misjudgement when packing my photo gear for New Orleans. Whereas I though that I was carrying too much equipment- the previous weeks I had ordered a set of Polarizing filters, macro filters, and UV and Fluorescent filters on Amazon for both my 17-85mm and my 50mm lenses- it turns out that I wasn't carrying enough gear at all. Mainly, flash cards.

With me were one 8gig card, and...one two gig card...come to think of it.. that wasn't bloody nearly enough!!! What the Hell was I thinking...?!!
Needless to say, this left me in quite the bind when I finally got down there. In the end I ended up buying two 4gig cards, two 16gig cards, and one 32gig card- almost all of them, barring the 32gig card, filled to capacity. It's cost me a small fortune to get these images off of my flash cards and onto some other peripheral. The two 16gig cards, alone, were put on five DVDs and cost me almost 60$. I dread to think what the 32gig card will cost me. In my Hasty comfort I forgot to take into account the fact that I was shooting in both Raw and jpeg, a combination which takes up quite a bit of space on one card.

As always, my first pictures of any vacation are of the clouds outside of my airplane seat window.
I am always fascinated by how they look each time that I travel. They never look the same way twice...
Normally, I shoot the same way everyone else shoots with their camera: by looking through the viewfinder. But, as the seats of an airplane are unusually confining, this time I tried shooting without looking through my view finder, to try to 'see' what I could see, so to speak.
I love shooting like this. It's like shooting with an invisible friend who is showing you their point of view, what they see through your camera. And, sadly, more often than naught, their point of view is somewhat more interesting than your own...(trust me, this is not something I want getting out...)
My next images are of my hotel room. I stayed at the Westin on Canal Place about a block from the French Quarter. It was such a beautiful place to stay. They have something called a 'heavenly' bed, and never has a bed been so rightly monikered. It was the most comfortable bed I'd ever slept on. It was like sleeping on, well... clouds.
The view from my 26th floor room was quite amazing. I had two very large windows that, each, gave me an individually grand view of the city.

On the right hand side I had an expansive view of New Orleans and the French Quarter, including, right in the middle, St. Louis Cathedral, the sight of which has never been without a church since 1817. You can see Decatur Street, one of the main arteries of the quarter branching into a 'v' and continuing to veer off on it's own well past the Jax Brewery and on past Cafe Du Monde.
Out the other window I had the most amazing view of the Mississippi River, and how extremely busy it was. Not a day went by when I didn't see something traversing that brackish waterway. It carried all manner if vessels: cruise ships, oil tankers, barges, tugboats, ferry's...you name it, it was carried by the water of 'Ole Mis'.
On the banks of the Mississippi sits the Natchez, an original paddle wheel steam boat. It takes tourists on tours up and down the Mississippi throughout the day.

For now, this is just the beginning of the images I took in New Orleans. Trust me, I went on a shooting spree the likes of which any self respecting serial sniper would be dead jealous of- no pun intended.
We shall continue this later, I promise.