Day 189 - Lightbulb

Day 189 - "Fade" Jakwob feat. Maiday

I was unsure if I was looking forward to my guitar lesson or not tonight. I possess an abysmal desire to learn how to play the guitar but I have been frustrated by my aching hand. My hand was so incredibly strained from trying to depress the strings after my last lesson that I couldn't even push open a door with that hand. As I am fairly new to being a guitarist, I am unfamiliar with guitar maintenance and tuning. I decided to bring my guitar in for a check up. Turns out that I was struggling with reason, there were many adjustments that needed to be done to my wooden friend. A little guitar lingo; my guitar needed to have the truss rod tightened, new strings (light gauge) and also the bridge was lifting so it needed to be re-glued and clamped. These few improvements to my guitar did wonders for my performance at tonight's lesson! I now have increased confidence in my new skill and I couldn't put my guitar down because I was having so much fun.

I have applied this struggle-adjustment-improvement lesson to my life and realized that at times I tend to make my days unnecessarily difficult. I am exceedingly tolerable and I try to endure more than my little heart and body can handle. I am in a soul searching stage of trying to figure out how to express what I am feeling inside to those around me. I hide a lot and I wear an impenetrable mask. I figure most people do this for the same reason as I do - to be a peacekeeper and to try to keep life simple. I learned the hard way that it is not healthy to keep everything bottled up.

My dear friend Cortney had known me for almost two years before she first saw me cry for the first time early last year...and wow did I cry that day. I cried all day in fact. I had repressed my deepest fears and emotions from her (and the world) until I couldn't hold it in any longer. I had broken down and oddly enough Cortney was smiling.  She was overjoyed to see me untie my mask. I tried very hard to keep my mask off but slowly I had started to put on another mask. It wasn't until the day that I had started my blog when I started to slowly untie my mask again.

Tomorrow I shall continuing strumming the newer strings of people that I have in my life and continue working on untying this mask...to the Gorilla House!

Little hiccup aaaand smile! <3

xox

Day 190 - Señorita

Day 190 - "Obsesion" Aventura

I have been happily spoiled by all of the amazing photo shoots and photo opportunities that I have been presented with recently! Photographing singers and musicians has proven to be the most rewarding shoots because I have been receiving private musical shows.

Today I had the pleasure of photographing hip hop emcee Rebecca Dawn. Half way through our shoot she busted out in an on-the-spot rap song. It was so impressive to hear her mind and lips work so smoothly and simultaneously. There are many words I can use to describe this fascinating woman and atop my list are; strong, incredible, talented, bubbly, pleasant, sweetheart, passionate, energetic...oh the list goes on! I will concentrate on the word talented in this post. Besides the fact that she can sing and rap, this Canadian can also project her musical talents in Spanish.  My favourite song by Rebecca would have to be "Tanguera" which is on her website.

I am a sucker for anything to do with Spanish. It's such a beautiful language and she melts my heart when I hear her singing Spanish lyrics! Rebecca has a freestyle show coming up in the beginning of April and I already have this night saved to see her kick some hip hop butt. Como me gusta musica española!

xox

Day 191 - The Wonder Emporium

Day 191 - "Hold Yuh" Major Lazer & La Roux

Tonight was one of those nights where no words can accurately portray the picture of the events. After meeting the guys from the band Violence, they suggested a few local shows and venues for me to check out to potentially photograph. I managed to convince Amanda and Helen to join the adventure and off we went to The Wonder Emporium.

The Emporium is an indoor skateboarding park and they were hosting five bands for $5. I was told the bands would be AMAZING...at the end of the night amazing wouldn't be my first adjective of choice! We only stayed for one band and they sounded like monkeys bashing instruments. The "lead singer" tossed himself into the crowd but landed on the ground and ended up with a gash on his forehead. He climbed back on stage, blood running down his face and continued to shout his lyrics.

Unfortunately I had missed this action as I was photographing the skateboarders in park. I was enthralled by sitting at the bottom of the skateboard ramp and capturing close up photos of the skaters. There were some very talented skaters but even the most experienced skaters loose their balance. I was quickly reminded why I don't take pleasure in watching this sport. I was also very lucky that I didn't end up getting hurt in my photographing process as they were flipping their boards right in front my face! The positions photographers put themselves in to capture a fascinating photo will make an audience cringe (but regardless they always enjoy the photos).

Extreme sports photography very well could be an up and coming series of photos after reviewing the wicked angles that I was able to capture tonight. Although the next time I photograph skateboarders I will probably head over to Millennium the outdoor skatepark, primarily to avoid the dangerous bands at The Wonder Emporium.

xox

Day 192 - A Violent Opportunity

Day 192 - "Heart Skipped a Beat" The XX

The more I share myself with the world, the more the world gives back to me. I have so many friends looking out for opportunities that would interest me. I am unbelievably grateful for my friends who have such caring hearts.

Recently Renee saw a posting on Facebook from a local Calgary band in need of a photographer and she instantly sent me a message with the details. A few days later I found myself hanging out with the band Violence and sharing laughs while snapping away!

One of my secret thrills is taking photos of people who haven't had too many professional shoots done in their lives. It's a great challenge for me to figure out how to help them relax and have fun while having their photo taken. Violence was looking for a band photo to accompany the article that is being written about them (link to this article is still to come...). We snapped a few photos of them hanging out and we managed to acquire a couple good photos for the article. Once we were "done" shooting I asked them if they wouldn't mind playing a couple instrumental songs for me so I could get a taste of their music. The moment they picked up their guitars I grabbed my camera and started shooting again. THESE were the photos I was hoping to capture. Photos of the guys in their true element, they were so relaxed.

What a great ending to my day, as it had been a stressful day with packing and moving. This photo shoot was another reminder to myself that I love love love taking portrait photos. Also that I love meeting new, amazing people. One can never have too many friends! I am looking forward to photographing Violence at their next show. More photos of locals bands shall be coming soon.

xox

Day 193 - In with the New

(Twas my little art studio)

Day 193 - "Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion" Oliver Tank

I think of change as a positive part of my life. Change seems to creep up on me more often than it does for others but I am not complaining! My younger sister Danielle loves to hear about the new and exciting changes in my life. I agree that I do tend to keep my days quite exciting. But this week I am exhausted from the quick changes in my living situation.

I have lived in Calgary for five years this July and I have lived in six different places since being here. You would think that I have become an expert at moving yet I still use re-useable shopping bags and garbage bags to pack my belongings once I have run out of boxes. A person tends to forget how many belongings they collect over the years as these belongings are typically shoved into the back of closets and under the bed. I underestimated the amount of goods that I have collected. Does anyone need:
life jackets, a dingy, school binders, hats, shoes, heels, tennis rackets, crutches, kitchenware, a t.v., canned tuna...oh the list goes on! Spring cleaning has begun early this year and I am quite enjoying the cleansing side of this move.

I typically listen to the words carried upon the winds of change as I had described in Inevitably Destined...and I wonder if the wind is trying to tell me that my Calgary days have ended. I will admit that the course of my events in the past couples months have me confused. One day I am positive I should stay here and the next day I am unsure if my heart still lies within this cowboy city.

My plans for the next couple days are very exciting. As always I am looking forward to sitting down and recounting my adventures...nevertheless, first things first - time to finish this move. Anyone need school binders??

(All clean and now time to set up the new studio...)

xox

Day 194 - Craze-iness

(Self portrait of planking)

Day 194 - "Thirteen Thirtyfive" Dillon

There are a variety of crazes that pop up every month and I applaud the creators of these trends for being so innovative. Although I applaud these artists, I don't necessarily agree with their trendy ideas.  The most recent crazes that I have come across are quite bizarre. A couple examples are:

Bagel head -  which is a temporary (6 to 24 hour) swelling distortion of the forehead created by a saline drip and often shaped to resemble a bagel or doughnut...this is quite popular in Japan!

 

(Yuck!)

 

The Harlen Shake - a flash mob trend to the song created by a DJ called Baauer. Personally I do not find this very entertaining!

Dyeing pets to look like exotic animals - this craze began in China a few years ago, an easy way to have a pet tiger!

 (Cute!)

 

The most interesting craze that has caught my photographic eye is planking. Planking is a game where the participant lies face down in unusual locations, keeping the hands along the body and the feet outstretched. When this plank-like position is achieved, a photo is taken and then posted to the Internet. People have been photographed planking in difficult positions and exotic locations. It’s also known as the lying down game. I challenged myself to this craze and I started to photograph my friends in the planking position. To my surprise a lot of people were very excited to help me with this odd portrait series. I had started taking this photos a few years ago but had lost track of this series (I tend to lose track of my hobbies and interests because there are so many to remember!). Alas! I started up the series once again. Perhaps as I begin to snap planking photos it will inspire a personal photographic trend within me. 

xox

Day 195 - Inevitably Destined

(Grad photo from Dental Assisting...I never was a fan of "school pictures")

Day 195 - "Medicine" Daughter

I believe the path of our life is a combination of personal decision making along with fate. Recently I had the conversation about the role that fate plays in our lives to bring us to where we are right now. I enjoy thinking back to the points in my life where fate had presented it's opportunities to me. Ultimately it comes down to making the decision of whether or not the presented fate is what your heart desires. There are always many people you can credit for each step that you have taken on your path. Thinking about all of the people and events involved is similar to creating a family tree. As each person is introduced into your journey, a new generation and a new life is born.

When I graduated from high school I wasn't sure what I wanted to study so I decided to take a basic business course at the local college. My mom didn't want me to be working while going to school because she really wanted me to focus on my studies. She and my dad gave me $1000 to budget and use towards entertainment for the school year. This $1000 is how I ended up where I am right now.

I took that money and went to the snowboard shop NBS on Main Street and bought myself a complete set up in snowboard gear. I started making monthly trips out to the mountains with the guys who were going snowboarding. As a result of these expensive trips, I had to get a waitressing job. On a couple snowboarding trip we crashed at a friend's place in Banff and I was convinced that Banff was the place to be.

A girl friend from Moose Jaw and I ran away to Banff and we lived the snowboarding life for a year.

(Bear tracking in Banff, I was the tracker!)

While there I met an Englishman and then moved to England for two years. I lived the life of a backpacking traveller for those years, travelling across western Europe in both summer and winter. I managed to save enough money for a couple trips to South Africa before moving back to Canada. All of this travelling and living penny to penny encouraged me to explore further education.

I decided to resume my studies and completed the dental assisting course in Regina. After I graduated I was visiting another friend in Banff. She asked me what I was going to do next with my life...I had no answer for her but she had an answer for me. Her sister in Calgary worked in a dental office and they were hiring.

Two weeks later I moved to Calgary. It seemed to be for no apparent reason other than a job...but to me it was fate. Again I was listening to what the world had to offer to me, just as I have done every year since I graduated. I told myself that I would only stay for one year because I wanted to start travelling again.

Five years later here I am! My life in Calgary has been a crazy roller coaster with many smiles and  occasional tears but mostly amazing adventures along with incredible people. Every day I continue to listen to the words of fate and trust the instinct of my heart. Recently my life has been drastically changing and it seems this way ever since I started listening more intently to fate's guidance and taking a chance...

(A top the Calgary Tower)

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." Plato

What excitement will tomorrow bring??

xox

P.S. Thank you mom&dad for helping me in more ways that the monetary gift to get me to where I am! Love you!