As Paula said, we are still sifting through images. I'm looking through some of Paula's tonight and this one caught my eye. The attention to detail at this wedding hit you as soon as you entered the camp. The signs were but one thing that me go awww. It truly was a labour of love. As sappy as that may sound, it really was. Sigh.

Congratulations Jenn and April! Donna and I shot an amazing wedding this past weekend. The wedding was held at a camp in the woods, where the brides and family wound their way through the trees and the guests watched from rough hewn pews long smoothed from years of outdoor worship. The setting reminded me of the experience of summer camp, specifically of the special bonds and unique relationships that take root in these spaces and times. Family, Love, and Community were so present at their wedding, in their lives, in their families, and in their friends. We are currently working through the images and we hope to have small set of cohesive and finished images within the next week.

I have been thinking a lot about leadership. The death of Jack Layton got my thinking about big leadership, and my role in some local organizations got me thinking about little leadership. Purposefulness, openness, and action-ness were some things I thought of while deconstructing effective leadership and then I thought about photography. I like to have objectives with my work, mostly what are my responses/comments on what and how I'm shooting/seeing/feeling, and what has informed on my responses/comments. I like to be open with respect to my approach and my equipment, trying to learn my image for what has worked and what has missed the marked, all without judging myself or the work. And I like to have action plans to keep me moving forward. Leading your own work brings that felt depth to your images as well as the authenticity of ownership that comes through unity of thought, process, and final work.

I have always wanted to photograph in a large-scale backcountry burn and this summer my father took me through the double track roads of the Adanac Mine roads outside of Blairmore, AB. There is something so stark about the bare trunks stripped of their finery standing straight, an exposed mass of silver. I'd like to return to this area again, to walk through with a packed lunch and an open day, to really feel and photograph this space. There is such a sense of renewal, hope, and openness in these burns.

I have some tomatoes roasting in the oven, and I am keen on eating all of them myself. Someone asked me at work what I was going to do with all the tomatoes I poached from my mother's yard. I think they were hinting they wanted some. I told them I was going to gorge myself with them, and then maybe after that, make a sauce. My garden was a bit of a bust this year. I worked a little too much at the beginning, and coming home tired and wanting to read or do other stuff cut into some serious taking care of the garden. Sometimes my garden takes care of itself. This year, this wasn't the case.

Paula, my book will be called, walking with Paula. We could start a series.

D

Wandering

I am mostly a solitary shooter. I prefer to wander through an area, taking the time to feel the landscape, and I find it easier to focus on those feelings when I am on my own. I do, however, love walking and shooting with Donna! Maybe I should turn this into a book - Walking with Donna.

So, Paula and I did a scout of a location of a wedding we're doing soon. It is going to be something! Natural light...Hello! Sneak peak right here. I'm hoping this chair makes it's way into the woods and along a path, and maybe on a dock overlooking a pond.

I'm thinking polaroid, and overexposed wedding dresses.

Thanks, Paula, for setting up the blog! I'm in!

Tonight I thought I would post a photo of Jack Layton (our rabbit), but I've yet to get a decent shot of him. He will make an appearance on the blog soon.

The real Jack Layton will be sadly missed.

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." Hear Hear!

I'll be back again this week with a few links.

D

Home - Garden

I remember when we moved into the home where my parents live. It was in one of those early subdivisions with plenty of space and variety between the houses. Varsity Village was the theme and all the street names were taken from post-secondary institutions, the irony being that the houses on the US Ivy League streets, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, were much smaller than the likes of Trent, McMaster, and Laurentian. We had a large dirt lot, when we first arrived, and before the sod went in my father edged out a large garden and seeded two compost piles that have been making soil for 31 years. There is talk of moving so I thought I'd make a few images before that soil moves on to someone or something else.

Special Places

My family has a cabin in the backcountry of BC, a simple structure beyond the reaches of electricity. While it is a wonderful place to be, it has never been a particularly moving place to shoot. Perhaps it is the familiarity or because I spent so much pre-photography time at the cabin, regardless, I've just never felt moved during my photography while at the cabin. I was there this summer with a different camera and it felt much better to shoot. I thought about shooting the small rituals of cabin life and in this process it was much easier to form a connection between the felt and the photo.