Just in time - my movie reviews on the day of the Oscars

I've really enjoyed the diversity of this year's Oscar best picture nominees.  I've been lucky to have seen all of the 10 films, including 4 in the last week.  I rated most of these films highly because of the depth of character complexity - sometimes relating to real people, other times - beautiful creations that are three dimensional.  Most are wonderful cinematic productions and a feast for the eyes that create a rich visual background for super storytelling. But, I'm sorry, Oppenheimer should not win.  No one would be unhappy if The Holdovers won and some may dare to say Poor Things is worthy of the top prize.

Best to worst:

1. Poor Things
2. The Holdovers
3. Anatomy of a Fall
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Past Lives
6. Maestro
7. American Fiction
8. Oppenheimer
9. Barbie
10. The Zone of Interest

Poor Things

Loved it.  Like what - the chaos of Moulin Rouge + the artistry of Wes Anderson + the poetry of a Woody Allen character?  Stunning visuals.  Superb performances - Emma Stone is my pick for Oscar’s best actress.  Loved the dance scene, and the scene on deck of the ship, and Paris, and the end.  Beautiful adaptation of the book that I assume was a master class in imagination - my pick for Oscar's adapted screenplay.  As it says “a fantastical tale” but one with lots of lessons for humans wandering this crazy blue orb.  Mark Ruffalo is my pick for Oscar’s best supporting actor.  9/10.  

The Holdovers

Wonderful in every way.  Superb acting for multi-dimensional complex characters.   Lessons and love.  Characters and comedy.  Da’vine Joy Randolph is my pick for Oscar’s best supporting actress.   The only big movie of the year I watched twice.  9/10 

Anatomy of a Fall

I was glued from the opening scene with the beautiful border collie played by Messi. A terrific story and my pick for Oscar's best original screenplay (just pipping The Holdovers).  Perfect pacing throughout and felt the language switching added to the tension.  Magnificent performance by Sandra Hüller and 15 year-old Milo Machado-Graner.  Stunning location shots and cinematography.  So many elements contributed to a highly-entertaining movie.  8/10

Killers of the Flower Moon

Superb movie making, cinematography, sound, costume, soundtrack and directing.  Martin Scorsese is my pick for Oscar’s best director.  A very powerful story.  I loved DeNiro’s jail cell words about people will forget.  It was long but massive actors can keep your attention.   DiCaprio was superb - completely convincing portrayal of a tragic? slow-minded fool.  I sadly didn’t know it was based on a true story.   Superb cast with a few interesting cast members from the music world that I missed: Jason Isbell as Bill Smith, Peter Yorn as Acie Kirby and Jack White.  8/10

Past Lives

Cinematic visions galore.  Loved the tone and mood.  A simple, familiar story made more acute by the cultural (and language) differences.  Carefully acted on a delicate edge of sensitivity.  More artistic than I expected - in a wonderful welcome way.  8/10

Maestro

The scene in the cathedral was one of my favourites of the year - breathtaking. Cooper completely transformed for this role and gave us a beautiful memory of a music lover - Bradley Cooper is my pick for Oscar’s best actor.  Mulligan’s performance was also superb - perhaps creating the best duo performance of the Oscar year.  The revelation of complex characters always creates a great movie for me.  7/10

American Fiction

I came out thinking it was a decent movie but not Oscar worthy.  Then my wife explained what the movie was really about.  It was meta.  Then it became brilliant.  But I missed it.  I was the internal audience.  7/10

Oppenheimer

Torn on this one. Acting was superb - Downey Jr. was dazzling.  Cinematography was great.  But it was massively complex with so many characters.  Important from a historical point of view. 7/10   

Barbie

Fun, but way too silly to have any chance of making a serious point.  Musical bits were cringe worthy.  I’m man enough to admit I had to look up the meaning of patriarchy.  Loved McKinnon’s whackiness.  BUT, it's my pick for Oscar's best song.  6/10. 

The Zone of Interest

A strange film and hard-going - I don’t really understand why it’s nominated.  I did appreciate the cinematography, its premise and some shocking scenes.  Just hours before watching it, I'd seen Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall - I didn't know she was also in this film -I recognized her quite quickly.  The cut to a scene from today was perhaps its most concrete element and made the point. 5/10

I’m way behind in posting movie reviews, but here are a few that have been nominated for awards in 2023

 In order of my favourites…

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Incredible filmmaking.  A true hero’s journey.  Very bizarre at times.  Crazy crazy scenes.  SFX and fight scenes WOW.  So much to absorb, ingest and enjoy.   You could consider it massively complex but the messages it delivers is simply spot on.  A multi-course journey for your eyes and ears.  I get quantum and multiverse theory, but I didn’t buy into the rocks. I’m buzzing.  Perhaps Tarantino-like but with magnificent Asian taste.  Bonkers.  Every feeling all at once.  Nothing matters and everything matters.  Life paradox.  9/10.

Elvis

Really, really well done.  Modernized, fast paced version of the King’s rise to fame under the guided hand of a snowman.   It definitely reminded me of the style of Moulin Rouge and only now found it out it was the same director Baz Luhrmann.  8/10

Top Gun: Maverick

Even on a small Air Canada screen, the action was still magnificent.  Except for the expected melodrama and close to “jump the shark” story manoeuvres, the rest was perfect.  I’m man enough to say I bought in and my emotions were along for the warp speed ride.  I had heard about the accuracy (or lack of) the flight sequences so I’ll have to now do a little more research (lots of real pilot comments that suggest a lot of it was possible, if not realistic). Regardless, very impressive production, great cast, cool music and all around great fun.  8/10

The Fabelmans

I loved the story and Michelle Williams’ portrayal was mesmerizing.  But it was the filmmaking of the filmmaking that I really enjoyed.  Capturing the joy of film within a film.  Solid old-time movie with strong modern, complex themes of family and a personal journey.  7/10

Original notes that are a little cryptic now:

New release

Storytelling within moviemaking

Moviemaking = storytelling

Colour, framing, moments, editing

Very meta

Banshees of Inisherin

I liked it but for the wrong reasons.  Superb acting, magnificent cinematography.  Humour was a cruel joke.  I thought it may have been making sense but quickly turned horribly tragic.  The complete opposite of Everything Everywhere All at Once but Jenny the donkey was an adorable touch. 7/10

Turning Red 

Loved the Toronto connection and found the Chinese heritage interesting.  Fun, cute and superb rich animation.  Very cool to find out a friend taught the director Domee Shi at Sheridan College. 7/10

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Superb cast, production design and sets.  Craig was incredible again, Norton was a superb baddy addition, and Monae was delightful.  Lots of fun all around and a satisfying mystery.  7/10

The Batman

Very long very slow.  Cool style was just enough for 6/10. 

2022, Best of... (Music)

20 tracks that caught my attention and were in regular rotation in 2022.

Saw two of them live in 2022 and another three I've seen live in the past.

15 with male singers and 8 with female singers.

10 British acts, 6 American acts, and 4 Canadian acts.

Mostly beats and pop with a little alternative, hip hop and one country track.

Note that there are a few cheats (released earlier, but found in 2022) and alternate video versions to my official list on Apple Music.

On YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr6cXkv59iLKpaYJFpliys7YzEWi2VqFx

On Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/2022-best-of/pl.u-V9Dgkbkf7WLRZ

OpenAI

First test of chat.openai.com.  

PS: Explain why soccer is better than American football

There are many reasons why some people might prefer soccer to American football, and these reasons are largely a matter of personal preference. Here are a few potential arguments for why soccer might be considered "better" than American football:

Continuous play: One of the main differences between soccer and American football is that soccer is played continuously, with only a few breaks for substitutions and injuries. This can make the game feel more fast-paced and exciting to some people.

Fewer stoppages: Because there are fewer breaks in the action, soccer games tend to be shorter than American football games. This can make it easier for fans to follow the game, as they don't have to wait as long for the action to resume.

Simplicity: Some people might prefer soccer because it is a relatively simple game, with only a few basic rules to understand. American football, on the other hand, can be more complex and difficult to follow for those who are not familiar with the sport.

Worldwide popularity: Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with a global following that dwarfs that of American football. This means that there are more opportunities to watch and play the sport, and that the best players in the world are typically more well-known and celebrated than their American football counterparts.

Again, these are just a few potential reasons why someone might prefer soccer to American football, and there are many other factors that could sway someone's opinion in either direction. Ultimately, the choice between these two sports is a matter of personal preference.

SUPERB.

The English patient without the plums

 

Fall colours are trying hard to say things are fine

But my poor toes remain a pain of mine

Herding cats and Tetris priorities at work

Air Canada lounge access doesn’t feel much of a perk

Unfinished thoughts and loose ends plague my sleep

Overthinking everything, can’t stop going deep

Canine concerns stress us more than him

It doesn’t help when the mornings are so dim

Gaps feel longer between highlights

But less arguments and fights

Too much of many media joys

Equals no good reason for new toys

Getting words out on the page

Triggered by turning a new age

A quicker way to post

I've got quite quite a backlog of movie reviews and other random ramblings I want to get onto this blog, but I find the blogger.com interface slows down my workflow. So lookie here - this post was created by simply sending an email to a special blogger account. It says I can add images easily too - how's this quickie?

The Queen and The Monarchy

First, I was greatly saddened eleven days ago when I heard her majesty Queen Elizabeth II had died.  I had a fondness for her and saw her as a symbol of my great homeland.  

I saw her in person just once when I was a boy in England.  I recall the public event at Coventry’s railway station but don’t remember what she looked like on that day.  My mother recalls she wore a green outfit and her complexion and smile were beautiful.

Clearly, Britain has an ancient history filled with horrid times - but it is also my home and I am proud to call myself an Englishman. A lot of that history was tied to past kings and queens, but I believe our Queen was different, modern and kind.  I truly believe that she embraced her role and did serve our nation with exceptional fortitude.  I thank her for all she has done for Britain in her 70 years reign as Queen.  

There is no doubt that the pomp and ceremony is rare in today’s common world.  But I like it.  It connects me to history.   

And for now, as it has been for my entire life, I am a royalist. I respect the monarchy, King Charles III and will gladly sing God Save the King when the England football take the field in Qatar and when other less important national moments occur.  I have been impressed by what I’ve heard from the King in recent days - a stately grace with which he immediately steps into his new role, but with a modern, perhaps more relaxed nature - I guess he’s had a lot of time to prepare himself for this time.  I feel he’ll be a good King and appears that he is already being warmly accepted, and maybe over time, even loved by Britons and the royalist public of the Commonwealth.

Only one of my work colleagues initially mentioned the Queen’s death and offered his condolences.  He admits he wasn’t certain of my standing, but he took a chance and I thanked him for his words and recognizing the magnitude of the Queen’s death.  For similar reasons I have not brought up the Queen’s death in my work meetings.   I did not want to hear any negative comments or possibly, cruel jokes at this sad time.  A few days after her death a second colleague offered his kind condolences and another person in the meeting with a little less ceremony suggested that her long life should be celebrated - I have to agree.

Although I have very faint memories of my grandmother, the feeling I have for the late Queen is almost like losing a dear grandmother.  Her monarchy could be seen as the imagined matriarchy of our family.  England represents family to me and I will miss The Queen.  

Today, on the day of her funeral, I signed the book of condolence at Toronto’s City Hall.  I wrote - You will be missed dearly by the people of Britain, Canada and The Commonwealth. On behalf of my English family, thank you, you are what makes England beautiful.  

I'm a wide angle kind of guy

I gravitate to taking photos with a focal length (cropped sensor) from super wide (10mm) to 18mm.  I know because I checked (in Lightroom) and I wanted it to be wide.     

The world is a big place and I like to take it all in (portraits of people and isolated action may be an exception).  

The new lens I have me eye on is the latest Fujinon 18mm f1.4. The focal range should optically reduce the shallow depth of field effects of such a wide aperture and closing down a few stops to its ideal sweet spot may strike a magical balance of speed (light) and a pleasing depth of field.   What does it say about my view of the world where I’m drawn to a wide field of view but also have a feeling that a more focused subject may be valuable?

I often feel I’m somewhat of a polymath and feel torn trying to decide my favourite style of photography or even giving preference to a specific domain where I feel I contribute the most.   

I wrote these words:

Drawn to the world that is wide

Less corner places to hide

more to see in the city frame

Even glimpses of an old flame

big-time performance stages

tempting blank white pages

All that it could contain

Way beyond memory lane

A soft focal point of thought

Specialization of some sort

Something new emerges over there

Even more tempting things to share

Pivot to the next wide urban shot

Seems this story repeats quite a lot

Landscapes require more depth of field

Fuzzy Patterns becoming less congealed 

To form a representation of life

A Polymath understanding its strife

And then put them in a video:

Photographer’s frivolous fillings

My new camera bag is arriving tomorrow.  I’m excited.  I like organizing stuff and I have a lot of camera gear.  I’m constantly having to move bits and pieces from one bag to another and often discover I’ve forgotten something when I’m “on location”.  On the weekend trip shoot at the Beaches I forgot my audio adaptor for my action camera.  I once had everything organized, ready to go for a week away and I forgot my entire camera bag - well that’s another problem.

I like to research purchases and I spent way too much time shopping for a new camera bag.  I won’t list all the options here and I’m not going to talk about the bag I’ve decided on just yet.  But I thought I should organize my thoughts first it terms of what will go in the bag.  Yes, it should be quite a bit bigger than my current bag, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to fit everything in it.  And if I did, it would be very heavy and impractical for my local photo excursions.

First and the simplest decision - the camera(s) - the Fuji XT-4 and the DJI Osmo Action

Lenses - how many?  The 50-150mm is the best lens I have and the biggest, it belongs in the bag, but it may be removed if I’m really aiming to travel light and/or when I know exactly what I’m going to be shooting.  The 18-55mm kit lens and the 10-20mm super wide are my urban and landscape go-to lenses.  The 35mm is superb and compact, but it’s usually on my older XT-1 for walking around the neighbourhood.  A maybe.  The 56mm is great but I don’t use it that often.  I purchased it more for portraits, but it would be interesting to see how I’d use it in the field.  A maybe.  The fisheye lens?  It’s a Nikon mount and I have the Nikon-Fuji adapter on it, so it’s not that small.  But it’s fun and would definitely be a nice option to have more readily available.  I’ll give it a spot in the new bag.

Accessories: I have three filters, two variable neutral density (ND) for video work (another thing I forgot on the weekend) and a soft glow that I keep forgetting about.  I have two Smallrig cages and a Smallrig grip that I’m not certain about.  The one cage for the XT-4 is quite large and specific for video work.  It’s maybe and it would be a good test of the size of the bag as it’s a weird shape.  The Smallrig grip is usually on the XT-4 so that stays and the other cage is for the action camera for vlogging which I hope to do more of - so, yes.  There is the 2x Fuji lens adapter  - small but not a biggy to leave behind.  There’s also the close-up tubes - mostly for home project - so I can leave them out.  The Rode microphone - yes, but the lavalier mic and extra long audio cable maybe not.    The DJI iPhone gimbal - hmm, I havent’ used it in a while, so probably not, especially since I added the DJI action camera to the kit.  Cleaners and the puffer go in.  Extra SD cards go in.  Let’s not forget the Peak Design camera strap (I often do).  The flash and and LED light panel I’ll leave out unless a portrait session is planned - which may be the case this weekend when I visit my parents to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.  

I’ll probably have the small gorilla pod strapped to the side and find room for the folding selfie stick for the action camera in side somewhere.  There are a also few action camera mounts and one for iPhone that always come in handy.

Now there are other important accessories in a smaller Peak Design gadget bag, so the question is - do I move the important bits (e.g. extra batteries) into the new bag and do I put the whole gadget bag in the newer bag.  We’ll see.

Don’t worry, I don’t think I want to do a What’s in my bag Vlog, but this kind of gave me a game plan for tomorrow.  Happy shooting folks.

Burnt Time

First, I have to thank Alex Kilbee for some “timely” advice about finding photographic inspiration from everyday things around the house.  A part of his recent video (https://youtu.be/UTeeptpaRNc) talks about combining two subjects for even greater affect.  We had guests for dinner last night and I was asked if I could make a fire.  This morning, there are a few logs remaining in the fireplace that didn’t completely burn.  The idea to contrast the logs with a very different object came to mind and a few neurons fired in the right order and I grabbed my stainless steel ESQ Movado timepiece from my bedroom.  I thought the colour tones would be similar but the hard, glossy, man-made textures would provide a strong contrast to the organic burnt bark and ash.

I have photographed some of my favourite things in the past.  The idea is for photographic appreciation of some of the wonderful things I own in a way that may help suppress the desire to always wish for more.

I bought this watch from a local jewelry store for my 50th birthday.  The design of the watch is a little unusual as it only has the numbers 1 thru 6 on its face.  So the way I see it and explain that detail to those interested, is that I no longer count the years after 50! 

So, what about the title?  One of my common sayings is Today is a New Day (https://youtu.be/S0Quv_jVkY0) - we can’t change the past, so there’s little value in worrying about it.  Sure, we can learn from the past, but I like to approach each day afresh.  So, in one way, we can consider the past burnt out.  That being said, I put a lot of effort into recording events with photography and film and really enjoy remembering past experiences.  

And lastly, today marks 10 years at work selling Voltage Data Privacy & Protection solutions.  The company has gone through 3 different acquisitions and mergers, but I’m happy to be part of the Voltage family and contributing to its global success.

The photo wasn’t difficult to capture, although I did change lenses three times before settling on my 18-55mm f2.8-4 with my Fuji XT-4.  I didn’t go to the trouble of adding any artificial light, but I wanted a sharp image without high ISO, so I used my tripod and shot it with a delayed shutter.  I did take another shot with a little wider aperture to have a fast shutter speed and freeze the small second had a little better, but it left parts of the face out of focus.  so this final shot is f7.1 with a shutter speed of 1.3sec.  It didn’t require a lot of editing and I kept with the Fuji Pro Neg Std film simulation of the jpeg rather than working with the raw version. 

I considered a tighter, portrait orientation, but I prefer this version with the separation of the other log in the background.  I think there’s a sense of time being on the edge, a few millimeters away from being lost to the past.

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