The Brachay boyz

Tonight, at the end of an hour playing in the park

Playing around with my new camera

Et oui...I got a new camera! :-)

I was just playing around with it this evening and had my most photogenic subject lazing around next to me.

I also took this shot while Colin was driving at 70 mph on I-90. Considering, it turned out better than expected!

Backyard progress

While Colin & I were in Montreal, there was a pause in the backyard project, but we're back in action, with the fence currently being installed (not shown on the pictures below). Here are some recent shots:

Snoozing

A glimpse of the Brachay boyz taking a delicious snooze...

Digi 1 final series

In our Digital Photography 1, we had to put together a 5-image series and write an artist statement. Here's mine...

Title: Mortal abstraction, 2010


Artist statement:

On a sunny summer morning in 2008, I was driving on a highway in Seattle and for no apparent reason the car in front of me veered to the side, hit the guardrail and flipped. I barely escaped the crash, stopped and ran out to find the driver pinned in a bloody mess, his convulsing body gasping for air. I felt enormous pain and helplessness, as I saw the man agonizing and dying. As the medics drove him away, they mentioned that he’d been under the influence of drugs. In an instant, my empathy morphed into anger about the carelessness with which he had treated his life and for endangering mine. This series explores the sunny morning Seattle urbanscape the driver could have been seeing in the moments prior to the crash.

Montreal visit

Colin and I had a great time visiting la famille in Montreal! Of course, the main reason for the visit was Misho's big 3-0, which she celebrated in style :-). Another highlight was meeting my most adorable little niece, India! Some pictures here (the best ones of India were taken by Misho!!)

Done!

Classes are finished, assignments turned in, final deliverables mounted and presented. Overall, I've learned so much in the last few months - it's been an amazing and eye-opening experience. I've also met with people who lead very different lives than me and it's refreshing to break away from the circles I've been in for the last 10 years. I can't wait to start my next class. I keep wavering on what to take on next - continue with B&W film, take up color film, pinhole photography, digital 2, Photoshop, etc. I'll have to choose soon, classes start in third week of June.

I realized that prior to these two courses, the last time I took any art-related course was in 1991 (mandatory highschool art class). That was also the last time I did anything artistically creative. It's a side of me I haven't explored and developed...and it shows. No wonder yesterday my instructor congratulated me on "the insightful comments during class", but politely omitted to comment on my artistic achievements :-). Anyway, it's a challenge I want to take on for my personal growth, more than anything else, and for learning to appreciate other people's art even more.

Now, I'm off to Montreal and can't wait to see everyone, meet India, and celebrate Misho's big 3-0!

M

Tiger's first encounter with a cat

Self-portrait

For a self-portrait assignment...

All my deliverables and final projects are due next week for both, my film and my digital class. I'm in big-time catch-up mode...

Paso Robles, CA

We spent a fantastic 5-day weekend with friends around Paso Robles, California. We visited about 10 wineries, tried lots of great wine, relaxed and enjoyed wonderful meals together. There's really little that beats spending fun time with friends. Here are just a few shots.

Tiger roaming in the vineyards of L'Aventure:

The gang getting ready for an ATV adventure:

Justin...my purpose for the trip! We caught them right as the tasting room was closing down:

Enjoying a Salade Nicoise (made by C & me) and chilled rose on the edge of the Pacific:

The dunes by the beach: