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This past weekend was one of my favourite times of the year, when it is time for the Folk Festival here in Vancouver. I always rent a super big lens for the festival (the Canon 70-200 2.8 for you camera geeks like me). This allows me to get really close up shots of the performers combined with getting a spot up close of course!
Folk fest is also a pretty social event for me and while many years I make sure I get up close for most shows, this year I decided that it was equally important to simply sit on a blanket with friends and enjoy the shows that way. Of course, I had to get up close and pull up my lens for a few shows and here are some shots from this years festival.
The performers in these photos include: Good for Grapes, Canailles, Geoff Berner and Serena Ryder.
Do you have a music festival each year where you are? Or an event that you can’t help but have your camera at the ready for?
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So, sometime last year I got a notice about a call for entries for the second volume of a fabulous local photography book called ‘This is East Van‘. Two of my friends and fellow photographers Caelie and Krisztina were in last years volume and in the final hour I pushed myself to put in an entry. Lo and behold one of them got into the book.
This past weekend the book was launched with a gorgeous gallery show and celebration. I wasn’t able to make the show but I went by the gallery today to check it out and get my copy of the book. The book is completely stunning and I’m oh so honoured to have an image in it.
What makes a wee bit more special to me is that it is a self-potrait, and more than that, a self-portrait of me holding hands on the sidewalk with a dear friend. It was a simple moment on a sunny day when we were wandering around East Van with our film cameras and I spontaneously put mine on the ground and grabbed her hand and took the photo. I developed it in the darkroom and made some prints, this image being a scan of one of those prints. That image actually means a lot to me and I love the simple story of friendship it tells the viewer.
Here are a few glimpses of the book and the gallery show:
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In my Nia Dance class, we often twirl so much that we get dizzy. I love the spinning, twirling but then it all catches up with me and I need to ground. So we jump up and down, feet flat on the ground until we return to a non-spinning state.
I’m feeling like that right now in general. I feel like life has been a whirlwind, twirling off on all sorts of awesome adventures and now that I’m home I’m craving for the world to stop spinning and to feel grounded.
Since the beginning of June I’ve been on all sorts of adventures that I want to share. The Your Story Retreat, the Vancouver stop of the Jumpstart Creativity Tour, this last weekend at the World Domination Summit and then zooming home to shoot the wedding of two dear friends (which was so darn dreamy). So I have lots to share and catch up on.
At the same time, there is lots of good ahead: Folk Fest (aka my 3 favourite days of the year), an island adventure, my bday, Illuminaries Festival and more. I feel really grateful that it seems like I will actually have the chance to settle into summer this year.
So for today, I thought I’d share some tales of these recent adventures…
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Just wanted to remind you in case you needed some light~playful~colourful~connected inspiration throughout these coming months…that the Chakra Photo Workshop is starting next Monday!
Though the topic is quite different than my other courses, the energy in the classes is the same: playful, exploratory, supportive and oh so rich in community energy.
We already have an incredible group who have joined in for the class, but there is still room for you if you’d like to join us! If you have any questions on whether this course would be right for you, don’t hesitate to ask.