Early morning coincidence - archival

I’m up very early on a Sunday morning.  I had some things bumbling to the surface of my sleep and decided to get up.  I’m on my iPad and reviewing some notes on my video [project] workflow.  Any part of any good workflow (or in my professional world - data management lifecycle) is archival.  When we are finished with something, we should archive it, not just get rid of it or “bin it” as the say in England, but remove it from your main workspace, declutter it, saving something valuable in a safe place.

We started watching a movie last night and I wanted to check out some details on IMDB so I opened the app and the splash page / open banner on IMDB is a trailer for a new Netflix movie called Archive 81.  I watched the trailer - looks good and scary.

Good morning.  Now back to what I was working on.

(Quick follow on.  Like many coincidences, the rabbit hole can keep going.  I noticed an actor in the IMDB listing for The Greatest Showman (the movie we were watching last night) and he looked like an actor I saw in the trailer for Archive 81.  But I was wrong, the supporting actor in the the trailer was Martin Donavan.  And he also was in Tenet.  And guess what, as we were browsing some TV last night, we watched a small scene from Tenet and talked a little about it.  A little six degrees of Kevin Bacon this morning, bacon…)

Movie Reviews January 2021

Death to 2020

Very well done with a superb cast balancing a satirical look at the year while not making light of the seriousness of racial injustice, a corrupt president and a deadly global pandemic.  Some classic bits, personalities and blunt WTF.  7/10

Office Party

Really really crazy comedy mashup that has a faint whiff of Christmas. Great cast in top form and some new quirks to keep an eye on (Uber driver). Crossed many lines of family fun, dealt out a surprising stab of violence, made it all awkwardly funny and kept going. 7/10

Midnight sky

Good tech and good acting talent but very slow and very disappointing. Decent action scenes but very thin and flawed plot. Hopeless in giving us any real hope. Very sad and not very good at all. 5/10 

Palm Springs

Loved it. And loved watching it with the love of my life. So much fun but but with threads of valuable reminders and lessons. Pretty raw dark comedy at times that may not sit well with some viewers but it was a great cocktail for me. 7/10

Tenet

As expected...
My head hurts.

Yes, very complex plot that I lost on a few occasions, but managed to enjoy the ride without full comprehension. Can’t imagine how some of the scenes were filmed even with fx. Thinking backwards, what feeling do you want when you exit the cinema? Then build a plot to fulfil that feeling. It had a lot for a four course meal of so many proven film components but constructed in a unique way. I’m not certain how many viewings it would take to piece every scene together - the editors must still be having flashbacks. To be completed. Or started later. Branagh was terrifying. Didn’t connect other actors to their other major roles. Superb cast. I did watch key scenes the second night after watching quite a few explanatory YouTube videos and it helped with some of the plot elements. Some people have perhaps questioned my comments and a rating of 8 - how good can it be if I don’t understand it. Well, I think I understand enough to enjoy the ride. The fx were mind boggling, acting was strong, locations exotic and the action top drawer. So there’s a lot to like. And I always enjoy the experience of leaving the cinema and having lots to talk about. 8/10

First Man

A little different to my expectations - quite slow at times with a good deal of somber reflection, tense interactions and tough emotion from a man that didn’t appear to say a lot.  Interesting to learn more about the legendary man.  Flight sequences were incredibly intense.  I think it was my brother who perhaps commented that it did a great job of showing what space flight was perhaps like and the dangers at every turn of a dial.  Well done and a dramatic ride. 7/10

Soul

The Pixar animation was superb, and the jazz, and the humour - lots to enjoy.  The stuff about souls, I’m not so sure - see post about Soul and the WHY.  6/10

The Children Act

The look was perfect. The drama on a knife edge. The acting superb. The story was important at times but it seemed to get lost in stupid stuff. What happened? The last third was horrible. Where did it all go wrong? So, so disappointed. 6/10

The Dig

There was a beautiful feeling throughout this lovely film.  There was drama and tension, but it was smoothed out by heartfelt characters and super acting.  There was a coincidental cross-over I enjoyed with a Bill Bryson book I’ve been reading with chapters explaining the challenges of the archeology of the human race.  It’s too easy to picture the fiction of TombRaider and Indiana Jones and miss how special and important it is to find and connect with our past.  A simple main plot set in unique times that had layers of rich sub plots.  7/10

Soul and the WHY

Deep thoughts after watching a new Pixar movie called Soul.

I don’t think there is such a thing.

But if we’re looking for something more than the physical, maybe that’s what it could represent.

I often talk about my professional world as WHY, WHAT and HOW.

WHAT is happening? WHAT is it?  That’s quite clear to see, most of the time.  There’s a lot, but you can observe WHAT.

HOW it is? HOW things work?  That may take more education, research and understanding, but you can figure out HOW.

But WHY - that is the question.  The WHATs and HOWs are objective, but the WHY is subjective.  Now we’re getting into meaning and questions of existentialism.  Who has the creds to answer that question?  Perhaps a priest, a yogi, a philosopher or someone that just saw a thought-provoking movie.

I think it’s yours to make it yours.  You get to choose the WHY.  No one is going to say you’re wrong.  It can be for good or could contain very little and it can come in many shapes and sizes.  I hope we all can construct, visualize, believe or simply feel comfort in knowing the WHY in their life.  

Oh, and the Pixar animation was superb, and the jazz, and the humour - lots to enjoy.  The stuff about souls, I’m not so sure, but that’s just my view of this crazy thing we call life.  

2020, Best of... (Photos)

In previous years, by best photographs of the year have centred on the quality of the image and in some cases the moments they captured.  This year, I've created 20 categories for the collection for 20 photographs taken in 2020.  Most of the categories represent common types of photography, but I've added a few to the mix that allow for some tailoring to my joys of photography, people and places.

There's a hint at an order of the photos, but the first one is the the photo I submitted to Flickr as my best of 2020.  The full resolution images are published on Flickr.  My photographs on this web site are protected by Creative Common licensing and cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission.

#1 Cityscape.

“Layers of sunset and light as the city moves on”.  Hard to not include the CN tower in our local cityscape but this one shows the evolved TO skyline.  Taken from Riverdale East it includes the traffic on Bayview Ave - surprisingly quite heavy in these pandemic times.  Dusk creates the purple and orange hues which contrasts with the darker foreground.  It’s almost like two worlds - the distant promise of a beautiful future and the dark messiness of today.  Secondary category is sunset.

#2 Landscape

“Waimea Canyon State Park.  So many tempting views along the long drive up and along the canyon rim. The parking lot had a little line up, but we got a spot and took in the stunning canyon views from the small lookout area. Along with deep valleys, strata of rock formations, streams and lush forest, there was a magical waterfall in the distance.”

Unspoiled, magical.   You can’t imagine a place like this - with a friggin’ waterfall. This was our first to the Hawaiian Islands - we were so lucky to get this trip in before the pandemic truly hit North America.  There is just so much variety in Hawaii and we loved exploring the islands and appreciating the natural unspoiled landscapes.  Secondary category is place.

#3 iPhone

“Hockley Valley morning serenity”.  This proves the best camera is the one that you have with you.  Beautiful golf course and a magnificent morning with my son - just take a look around.  Secondary categories are reflection, landscape, place and sunrise.

#4 Artistic

“Come this way Elora...”.   This was on my detour home from dropping my daughter off in Waterloo and is an early shot with my new camera.  This shot was with a super wide angle and I like the composition and the blend of natural and manufactured landscapes.  I wouldn’t include this as a true landscape because of the unnatural stairs and railing features.

#5 Sunset / Sunrise

“Wailua sunrise.  We were up early to catch the sunrise from the hotel beach. Although there was quite a lot of cloud cover, the sunrise was dramatic with the rocky and treed shore.”  Always worth getting up in the dark to witness a sunrise, and if you’re in one of the most beautiful places in the world, there’s no excuse - and the two people framed by the tree I’m sure would agree.  Secondary category is landscape.

#6 Event / Story

“Happiest of memories”.  This is a special story about my wife’s solo trip to the 2010 Olympic Games and her return for the 10th anniversary - this time with me.  Although our visit was planned for the exact anniversary date, we weren’t certain they’d relight the cauldron on that particular day.  We struck gold and it was so special to see her pure joy reliving a very special place and time.  

#7 Pandemic

“Dreams in pandemic times”.  This shot taken early in April as the reality of the pandemic was sinking in and wearing a mask still seemed quite an extreme health measure.  I had a few extra N95 masks in the basement from past handyman projects and ventured out into the new world.  The original published description is “Waking up from dreams where I was chatting with old friends and ultimate players - unsettling to think my dreams are more normal than my waking hours #pandemic #lockdown #art #history”.   And the hat!  I can’t remember why I thought the Banksy flower thrower hat was appropriate at the time (6 weeks before the mass protests from George Floyd’s death) - in retrospect, it was perhaps foreshadowing of the stressful year and my chill.    Secondary categories are story, humour and selfie.

#8 Family

We had quite a few social distancing visits with my sister-in-law and family this pandemic year.  This shot was also an early test with my new flash and I’m very pleased with the wide coverage and red eye reduction setting.  Earlier in the day while walking my dog I spotted a B&W concert photo and immediately thought of my brother-in-law's appreciation of classic rock - when I got it home and flipped it over it was a numbered print from a Led Zeppelin concert in the early 70's.  I knew he'd love it.  Secondary categories are pandemic and story.

#9 Humour

“Cozy heated front porch”.  These are two of my oldest friends from university years and they have always been fun to be around, very witty and punny.  They jumped on the front porch heater thing and invited us for a socially distancing visit - they live just 3 blocks away.  I can’t remember her punch line but the photo captures the joy of her delivery.  Secondary categories are pandemic and friends.

#10 Friends

This was the only time I saw these two dear friends in 2020.  We met up in Waterloo and took casual walk around their local park.  I had some new camera gear with me and I snapped a few shots along the way.  I’ve known them many years and there’s just a level of familiarity and comfort some of us are lucky to have around old friends.  And I think you can see in their eyes the reciprocal feelings.  Secondary categories are pandemic and portrait.

#11 Portrait

"My eldest".  Seeing new things in my son’s mature eyes.  I took this shot from my front porch as we were of course distancing for this and most of our visits this year.  At first pass, the shot didn’t immediately stand out, but once I cropped in by about 200% and saw his eyes and the neutral and relaxed closed mouth (vs the typical big smile) I was transfixed.  It’s one of those moments when you’ve known someone their whole life and then you see something new with so much complexity - beauty of the human expression.  Although it wasn’t set up from a true portrait shot, I’ve chosen this as my best portrait photo within by best of 2020.

#12 Reflection

“The dangerous frozen fingers photo on the chairlift shot.  Approx. -17c with windchill.”  Extremely cold and rather risky but worth the shot in my mind.  I like the symmetry of the trees lining the chair lift path up the hill.  The reflective convex googles work well and hep capture enough width to include me, ours skis and the surroundings.  My wife’s eye’s help bring a human element into focus.  The glimpse of the snowflakes and frost on the balaclava complete the winter sports scene.  I photograph a lot of reflections.

#13 Night

“Yes we're still enjoying the cabana - blankets for a beautiful peaceful night”.  We got a lot of use from our back yard cabana for 3 seasons this year.  In a year of limited travel it became our urban oasis.  It was the scene of many celebrations, video creations and our place to enjoy the nature of the city,  I even liked the Cabana prep morning routine.  This was the only photo of in this collection where I used a tripod.  The exposure is 20s and helped create the creamy sky.  

#14 Animal

“Feathered friend company very early on a Sunday morning”.  I enjoyed the peacefulness of early mornings on my front porch this summer.  On this morning it was just me and this beautiful bird perched on the power line crossing the street - it was clearly looking for its breakfast.  I managed to take a few other shots but missed him in flight - I’ve seen him or a few others like him in the neighbourhood this past year - quite the site seeing their wingspan as he flies down the centre of the street.  

#15 Stranger

“I spotted a tent in the park and wondered who was camped out. I noticed Gordon relaxing in his chair with binoculars at his face. Gordon is homeless but not any trouble to the park staff so he's happy to enjoy his place in the city. He was keeping an eye on another homeless person who was a perhaps a little less resourceful than Gordon - a caring man but very independent and worldly. Then he told me about the UFO he'd spotted the night before and then the other UFO sightings he'd experienced, including his first sighting in the Himalayas. He was quite knowledgeable and can easily differentiate between potential space stations (from the previous night) to shape shifters. I shared my UFO story from a drunken post-pub night in the English countryside. Gordon will be moving to a shelter when the weather gets cold. Be safe mate."  Although I completed my 100 Stranger project a long time ago and continue to enjoy the challenge and the photographic results.

#16 Photojournalism

“Mask off for a message.”  Not the biggest news story of the year, but Shelters YES Criminals NO was local news worth photographing.  I have to admit I did not interview this woman but I’m including it because I like how I’ve captured her raw emotion - right or wrong.

#17 Street

“Waikiki sunset and surfer pose”.  Among the hundreds of tourists crowding Waikiki beach for the sunset there were a lot of surfers (I’m assuming many of which were locals) that were making sure they got every minute of their surf time and some began to come ashore as the sun set.  It was hard to miss this young lady coming out of the waves with her massive white surf board.  I’m actually borrowed her pose from her friend that was taking her photo at the same time - but to me it feels like a local enjoying her beautiful world.  Clearly not on the street, but a candid snap worth sharing.  Secondary category is sunset.

#18 Selfie

“A simple delivery puts in wide angle smile on my face.  My K&F Nikon (lens) to Fuji X (body) adapter arrived this morning.  Pleased with a quick test of my Bower 8mm fisheye with my XT-1 (all manual baby).”  Along with the wonders of camera and lens technology that this photo focuses on, it also includes the sub-plot of 2020 clearly being the year of home delivery.  Let’s hope we can once again enjoy some shopping in-person in 2021.  Secondary categories and technology and photojournalism.

#19 Place

“Hanalei Bay pier, waterfalls, mountains, surf and surfer thoughts”.  One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen; those magical and can’t-quite-get-there distant waterfalls; and the people on the beach are just at ease in this paradise. Secondary category is landscape.

#20 Decisive Moment

“Lie back and enjoy a moment in the late afternoon”.  This was taken with a new fast telephoto lens and helped me capture this moment from afar as the lady enjoys a cigarette and awaits the sunset. I feel this fits this classic category due to its dreamlike possibilities.  The narrow f2.8 depth-of-field works wonders with foreground and background layers of grass and leaves the subject and her bike nice and sharp. Secondary category is street.

Looking at the collection now, there are many overlaps subject in style, categories and even places:  

• 6 photos included friends and family
• 3 included me
• 5 included strangers and candids

• 4 were taken in the Hawaiian Islands (we were so lucky to take this magical trip just a few weeks before the pandemic lockdowns happened)
• 4 were taken from my front porch
• 8 were taken in the neighbourhood

• 5 included visual clues of the pandemic
• 9 could be considered landscapes
• 14 included people

• They all tell a story

2020, Best of... (Music)

An annual tradition, shared various ways, not all were released in 2020, but its stuff I discovered in the past year that kept rattling around my ears and playlists.  The YouTube playlist has some great finds of the video versions, including some live ones as a preference over the official or missing ones.  There's a pretty broad variety in this year's list again - I hope  there’s something for everyone.  Enjoy. For those of you on Apple Music, the playlist is there too.

The order goes like this - starts with some straight-up Canadian rock and transitions with the biggest Canadian music headliner followed by the kid down the street to bring in some electronic sounds, with dashes into pop, hooks, riffs, melodies, stand-up-and-listen voices and closing out musical commentary on the big stories of of the year: BLM, the environment, the US presidency and the pandemic.

1. Years in the making - Arkells - great distanced vid and solid catch hooks
2. Get Precious - Yukon Blonde - hooks with blues and funk feel
3. I like the Way You Talk About the Future - Sam Roberts Band - beats and Montrealer mood
4. Blinding Lights - The Weeknd - you may be sick of it, but solid 80’s redux was fun for me
5. I’ll Come Back to You - Powfu, Sarcastic Sounds & Rxseboy - neighbourhood beat producer meets the big time 
6. Time (You and I) - Khruangbin - I listened to their Thai Funk groove a lot this year
7. Got to Keep On - The Chemical Brothers - Soul train vid turns weird but beats keep going
8. Don’t Call Me Up - Mabel - first track that dropped onto the radar in 2020 triggered by a “what’s this?” performance on a 2019 award show
9. A Love Like That - Katie Melua - new soothing sounds from an old favourite
10. Little Something - Melody Gardot & Sting - exotic duet from two of my favourite voices
11. On Sunset - Paul Weller - a very late entry but immediate big smash in my books
12. Caution - The Killers - pop/rock at its finest with Flowers’ fantastic delivery
13. I Do - John Legend - got to get movin’ and swoon to these silky R&B lines
14. The 1 - Taylor Swift - her many, many beautiful melodies took up a lot of this year’s playlist rotation 
15. July - Noah Cyrus and Leon Bridges - sweet, sweet sounds with cross-over potential
16. I Can’t Breathe - H.E.R - powerful stuff from a magical musician
17. Oh, What a World 2.0 (Earth Day Edition) - Kacey Musgraves - remix from the voice of an angel
18. Living In a Ghost Town - The Rolling Stones - guitar licks and tight message, give me more lads
19. Lookin’ for a Leader - 2020 - Neil Young - politics too - singing what many were thinking
20. (E) Zen - X Ambassadors, K. Flay & Grandson - Big expletives sum up a downer of a year

Apple Music: PJMixer 2020, Best of...

YouTube Playlist: 2020, Best of...

Movie Reviews - December 2020

Da 5 Bloods

Bloody...

Quite a ride of emotion and action.  I enjoyed this new Spike Lee movie and it didn’t disappoint with its expected social, racial and political statements.  It had the creative mix of past/present, violence, drama and touches of comedy.  The MAGA hat threw me but I suspect irony.   Rich locations, strong acting and a well paced plot, but there was still something a little off.  Maybe the switches created some inconsistency and I was a little uncertain with the writing at times.  It almost felt I was missing some clever subtext.   Now I’ve written my thoughts I’ll take a look at the reviews and see what I may have missed.  7/10.   

The Gentlemen

That’s entertainment.   Last song.  Fitting.  Dialogue was tops.  Job for the precinct like.  Top drawer acting - biting language - unusually gentle touch with menacing violence.  Lots of horrible people to like.  Even the costume design was glorious.  Story moves were orchestrated beautifully but who cares - pure Brit gangster stylin’ hits all the buttons.  A little too loose with the plot doesn’t put it on the top shelf but a highly entertaining 7/10.   

Ocean’s 8

I was not paying full attention as I chose it as a fun kitchen backgrounder.  So I may need to fill in the gaps with a repeat viewing, but I liked it.  Great cast, Oceans intrigue, provocative plot, sexy situations and all around innocent naughty fun.   7/10.  

Greyhound

A simple (“inspired by actual events”) WWII naval battle superbly led by Hanks and a great sense of pace, war history and personal drama.  A high degree of realism brought to life by some fabulous CGI and real warships.  Hanks’ screenplay didn’t shy away from keeping the dialog accurate (as far as I could tell) and kept it to the hard driving sea battle.  No fuss, some mess and an important retelling of wartime sacrifice, allied cooperation and high stakes military operations.  8/10

Becoming

Actually a little lost for words.  It was what you would expect and very well done.  I liked seeing behind the scenes of her life as First Lady and she truly does seem very down to earth and approachable.  Barack made a few appearances, but took a back seat to her show.  You can’t help wonder what the movie of the Trumps will be like in 5 years.  7/10

The Ritual

A friend recommended it and I thought it sounded familiar.  Watched the trailer.  Yep, seen it.   I can’t find a review but giving it a 6/10 seems right.

Darkest Hour

I’m not blind to the dark past of the British Empire and I’m very well aware that Churchill was far from a perfect man.  But I felt very proud to be a fellow Englishman and witness an incredibly important part of our history.  Of course there were liberties taken in the screenplay but it just made for a little more colourful storytelling (especially that wonderful scene on the underground).   I did miss a few lines his the characterization of Churchill’s mumbles but thought Oldman was superb (Gary - you come a long way from Sid and Nancy).  Well done indeed chaps.  I could not help but think of a certain US president while watching Churchill’s portrayal.   A tag line of the film perhaps sums up a potential comparison - It takes the power of leadership to unite a nation.  I’d add that a united nation is critical in dark times facing a common threat.  In today’s world - are we clearly agreed on the real threats to our country, to our city, to our world?  And Lily James was adorable as usual.  8/10

Uncorked

We used the wine theme to enjoy a few glasses of wine while watching the movie, maybe a few too many glasses.  I liked the first half of the movie and thought the sommelier bits were accurate to what I’d before in the documentary Somm. But I think it lost momentum and I lost the plot a little with the middle and the ending was disappointing.  6/10

Crazy Rich Asians

Loved it.   Lots of great movie elements that come together beautifully - stunning scenery, cityscapes, interiors, costume design, even the music was fabulous.  A lot of character complexity enriched a unsurprising plot line.  Lots of humour, romance and fun with serious international societal commentary.  7/10

Color Out of Space

Wow, quite the ride.  Combination of The Thing, Poltergeist and The Shining.

Didn’t know what cosmic horror was before.  Fantastic fright.  Perfect crazy creepy cocktail.  And believe it or not, some humour. Really well done, sure a few odd plot bits, but I haven’t enjoyed a scare like that since cabin in the woods.  Cage was perfectly cast, horrific scenes created by top notch fx- beauty cosmic goodies at times, perfect setting and sets. 8/10

The Truth

I liked it - in a French kind of way.  Not easy to understand - like my wife.  Complex characters wrapped around a multi-layered family dynamic.  Splashes of tension throughout had a bit of a chilling effect and took away from the warmth of the setting.  Enjoyable, but it wasn’t truly satisfying.  6/10

Hampstead

Far from perfect, but highly watchable.  6/10

The Old Guard (spoiler)

Really really top drawer stuff.  Superb action as you’d expect but a simple story with massive dose of oh shit, that’s really bad.  Spoiler:  Fab ending.  8/10.  

Their Finest

A little unbalanced and tried to be too clever at times, but I warmed up to it and the colourful characters.  Off tilt humour at times, nostalgic score and songs, superb set and costume design and hearty script made for an entertaining time.  7/10.  

The Social Dilemma 

A little meta...Netflix movie 

How to have a conversation without one of the big platforms?

Delete news apps - really?

Who to trust?

Sharing something personal - yes.

Sharing something 2nd hand - no = Instagram?

YouTube victim

Is a valid defense a strong offense?  Create and share more of you own content. 7/10

Enola Holmes

Very entertaining made so by the marvellous Billy Bobby Brown.  A few very violent fights scenes and more than enough horrible English people.   But Brown made the magic happen, especially with her asides.   Funny and fun.  8/10.  

The Trial of the Chicago 7

So many interesting and important parts to this well-made historical drama.  What would we do without movies like this?  Do we expect everyone to read their history books - are stories like this taught in regular US history courses.  And what if you happened to be a descendant of judge Hoffman?  Superb cast, troubling dangers, but the value of a democracy remains intact.  For now and hopefully for a long future for the free world.  Frightening demonstration of political power, a warning around the perils of true justice and the power to make things right.  8/10

The Big Lebowski

Believe it or not but it’s taken me this long to it.  I had started it a couple of times over the years but it never gripped me.  I caught a scene from later in the move earlier this week and liked the quirk and the dude.  So I hit record and watched it from the start, but weirdly still took two nights.  Anyhoo, I can now see why so many like it and more than anything the motto The Stranger leaves us with at the end.  Many solid performances and a fun ride of a plot that the Coen brothers are famous for.  I think it will be one of the movies that when you’re channel surfing and you come across it again, you can’t help but pause and chill out for a while. 7/10

On the Rocks

There was lots to like, enough to rewatch bits with my wife the next night - the Monet, Manzanillo, the music of Phoenix and a quintessential extravagant Murray performance.  Reminded me to watch A Very Murray Christmas.  7/10

The Outpost

Head spinning chaos of battle in hellish conditions in a war of confusion.  Through the realism of the fire fights and the commitment to duty the sense of comradarie rose to the top via gritty and action soaked dramatic acting.  Hard to imagine it’s reality as the settings and circumstances are chasms beyond my world.  7/10. 

Hope Springs

Star cast got things going but it meandered without any real substance.  Some humour and heartfelt marital challenges, but there could have been a lot more.  6/10.

Why Do We Take Pictures

That sounds quite presumptuous, rather grandiose and perhaps provocative.  Well, that 's intentional.  

I’d like to try and explain (or begin to explain) an idea my wife and I have been talking about for quite some time now.  Yes, I could have called this post Why do I take pictures - but I do feel that there’s some commonality between many of us, if not all of us.

It is a grand topic and idea that I will not be able to complete here this morning, but a start it is.  

In addition to the main question, I might as well add - why do I have to share this very idea ?  Am trying to provoke an argument, well not really, do I really know why you take a picture, maybe not, is this just click bait, maybe.

As many of you know I take a lot of pictures and more recently, shoot a lot of video.  I love learning technology, researching new equipment, watching videos on the finer details of photo editing and sharing the finished product with friends, family and everyone.  I enjoy looking at my photos quite often and that may be enough of a reason to take pictures, but choosing what to share with others, how frequently and how much and how it’s communicated are questions that occupy my thoughts on a regular basis.  

But I’ve got a little ahead of the idea.  Or is it a catch 22.

Never in the history of the world, have so many pictures been taken by so many people.

That’s a fact.

A massive number of people hold a smartphone today this is is capable of taking good photographs, high quality video and a lot of it.  It’s rather naughty that Apple makes Live Photos and HDR default settings and it doesn’t take much to accidentally take a burst of 10 shots.  That is a big part of the problem I’m beginning to address in a roundabout way.  I don’t think the title of this post would make sense to someone 50 years ago, taking photographs with an old-fashioned film camera was done by regular people as a way to document their lives, showing a child growing up, commemorating important landmarks or recording a beautiful vacation experience.  Yes, professional photographers have always taken pictures for editorial reasons, art and advertising.  Some keen hobbyists and what are today called “enthusiasts” take pictures in hopes of creating art, or being an informal news source or making a few dollars on the side with product photography.  But what about the vast majority of empowered people snapping 100 photos a week. 

I’m talking about the 10 photos of your pet, another 6 of the sunset, 4 close-ups of your tastiest meal and 20 test selfie shots after your new haircut (or for that matter with your big bushy beard).  And that’s just one day!  The photos of our gatherings with family and friends have sadly declined drastically in these pandemic times and I hope that it won’t be very long until we enjoy those days again - and that will indeed be a great reason to take lots of pictures!  But today, even while we’re stuck at home and within a 5 mile radius of our homes, we’re still taking huge amounts of pictures that take time to organize and require huge amounts of computer storage to keep.  All of your friends and most of your family probably don’t want to see all those 100 photos and I’m sure you get a little tired continuously scrolling through them all to find that special shot.  I actually feel the problem may have gotten so bad that some people just don’t take any pictures at all.  I’d go as far as saying some people take less digital pictures today than they did when they had to take a roll into the drug store for processing.

We take pictures to make a memory of something.  We also take pictures for the very purpose of sharing that memory with someone else, someone that isn’t with us.

In the old days you may recall a few occasions where you sent a printed photograph to your best friend or you received a few photos in the mail from a distant relative or penpal.  But for the most part, photographs were shared in the home - pictures of loved ones still hang on many living room walls and I’m sure many people have at least one photo album or a shoebox of old photographs that they get out when a friend visits.  That’s very different to today’s world, where you can easily share 20 photos of a walk in a park on Facebook.  I do feel some of the social media sites are getting a little better at managing the flow of photo content with features like “stories”.   However many (older) people don’t know how to use these new features and don’t get me started about people that email a dozen jpeg files to 10 people.

In my work life, one thing I help customers with is the challenge of managing massive amounts of data and part of my messaging is you can’t manage data and reap its rewards without first understanding it.  I think I can use this in relation to the topic of managing personal photos.   To better manage the huge amount of photos we take, we need to understand what value they have for ourselves and for others. 

What if we thought of this in reverse?  In order to understand why we take pictures, think of the end result - what will you do with the picture.  Will the picture be valuable to tell a short timely story or be part of your life story, does it show the world in a unique way, does it capture something important for your family or is it a way to convey love or tell someone you’re thinking of them.   Even it’s just for you, that’s perfectly fine, take the picture, keep it and enjoy looking at it.  But if you feel it’s worth sharing, maybe explain its meaning more clearly and attach a story to a singular photo of the event.  I’ve begun to understand that a picture doesn’t have to be perfect to capture a memory, like this one I took I Sunday.  But if we clutter our social feeds and our disk drives with hundreds and thousands of pictures that are so similar that the story or beauty is lost, that’s a shame.

I’d like to share this picture.

Technically, it’s quite good, correctly exposed, nice contrast and the primary subject (my happy wife) is in perfect focus and the background has some nice bokeh.  It includes a reflection that I always like to incorporate in complex compositions and it captures what I like to do - take pictures and take pictures of my wife.  There are some more subtle parts of the picture that speak more to my personality like I’m wearing a new Adidas top I really like and I’m shooting with my new camera and a brand-new lens.  My wife is wearing her Bose noise cancelling headphones that she loves and wears much more often than she thought she would.  She’s smiling and happy because she’s on an online session with a friend or learning something that she’s passionate about.  She’s in our study - a part of our old house that she’s getting more use out of and enjoying standing at her Varidesk.  There’s a lot I see when I look at this picture and it tells a number of stories and it’s why I take pictures and why I’m sharing it with you.

Sharing explanations of the US electoral college voting system

Although I’m a Canadian, I have a strong interest in the presidential race happening south of the border.  I suspect many other Canadians or other people around the world share this interest. It seems for me that every 2 years (votes for congress) and every four years I have decode the basics of the US government structure and it’s voting and electoral systems.

I started with Wednesday’s episode of the New York Times Daily podcast - The Shadow of the 2000 Election.  This episode explains the issues in Florida in 2000 with iffy voting systems, legal battles and the media’s impact and why GW Bush became president.  I’m afraid it paints a pretty dark picture of what could very likely happen next week.

I then listened to another Daily podcast from last week - A Peculiar Way to Pick a President.  This one explains the origins of the electoral college system and potential ways to make the US presidential election more fair with the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC).

And finally, I got most of my questions answers by a well-written and illustrated article in the Guardian - Electoral college explained: how Biden faces an uphill battle in the US election.

Memories of the Queen Mother Cafe

I don’t recall the first time I ever walked through the doors of this unique Queen Street West Cafe and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve returned, but the Queen Mother Cafe (208 Queen Street West) is one of my favourite local Toronto landmarks.  So many memories of enjoying a cozy lunch, raving about their Pad Thai, asking if they had that special pie, rendezvousing with friends and remarking on the interesting selection of wall art.  It’s the kind of place where we Torontonians like to talk about how great our city is.  It’s often times a stop when shopping on Queen Street and it used to be a regular lunch spot for my wife and I when I was working downtown.  

My wife just read a great article in the Toronto Star about their history and surviving through this year’s pandemic times.  A wonderful coincidence we found out through the article is that the restaurant opened 42 years ago today, which was the day after I arrived in Canada from England. 

I’ve always loved the way the cafe is situated on the street with the large welcoming windows.  I actually used it as my cover photo for my photography book Urban Colour and Contrast: Toronto.

The last time I was there was with my Australian cousin and her husband on a bitterly cold January lunchtime in 2019.  I think I’ve taken a few visitors and family members there over the years and as it turned out, my cousin said I’d taken her there during one of her previous visits years before.  No worries, we all enjoyed our lunch - again.

I recall that the cafe was always busy and we often worried we wouldn’t find a table.  I’m not certain of the magic, but we always did get a table and was always served by its friendly staff.

Hoping to visit again when we get past these pandemic times.

What’s the Point?

Why am I writing these blogs, making these videos and tweeting these tweets?

Because I think somewhere there’s someone who needs a new idea, appreciates the beauty of the everyday or learn how to tell their own story.

This is my story.  I’m choosing to tell it through photography and video and mixing the old tunes with the new for the soundtrack. 

My last vlog was a simple three mins of me talking about the beauty of one of the city’s urban ravines.  As I said in the video, I wasn’t pretending to deliver anything grand or philosophical, I was just happy, exploring the city, capturing that beauty with some wonderful cool technology and being honest, being myself.  There’s a hint in the video that I’d like to talk more about what I’m learning about videography, of which, there’s already a modest tech starter project in the works.  Although how-to is a massive market and I’m an avid follower of some real creators, I’d like to produce something more natural, more personal.  This is a record of my life and perhaps it can put a smile on someone’s face (MB’s comment) or inspire others to make something creative and share it as well - and then we can talk about, over a beer one day (reminder to talk to JWH).

Back-to-back visits to Elora

On the way back to Toronto after dropping my daughter off in Waterloo, I decided to take a detour to visit Elora Gorge and take some photos and video with my new camera.   

 

From by university years at UW, I recall a visit to a swimming spot where we could jump from the cliffs - it turns out my memory was of the quarry not the gorge.  But I still really enjoyed the short hike along the Grand River in the Elora Gorge Conservation Area and a quick visit of the lovely nearby small town.

I liked it so much, I saved the climb down to Irvine Creek for a return visit with my wife.  So just a week later, I returned to Elora with my wife for a casual and very tasty lunch at The Evelyn.  We then had a stroll around the small town and we did some shopping in a very quaint one-of-kind shop.  We then had a look at the dam and climbed down the stairs and rocks to Irvine Creek.  Before we headed home, we stopped to see the sunflower field at The Fieldstone Barn.

I thoroughly enjoyed my short visits to this beautiful and interesting little Ontario town.  

Links to videos in case you’re reading this on the mobile Blogger version:

Take a Detour Home (Elora Part I)

Lunch, Sunflowers & a Gorge (Elora Part II)

Full photo album on Flickr.