Sunday, October 31, 2010

Camera, lights, sports action!


BELLEVILLE, Ont. (02/10/10)-- Loyalist's Nancy Castillo tries to stop Alora Griffiths from the Humber team. Loyalist lost to Humber in a home game with a score of 10-0 on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010.



BELLEVILLE, Ont. (03/10/10)-- Goal tender, Lisa Hill, is prepared to block the ball while team member tackles another player from La Cite. Loyalist lost the game in a score of 3-0 on Sunday, October 3, 2010.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Breaking News

Belleville, Ontario
Monday, October 18, 2010
Former airbase commander, Russell Williams, pleads guilty to all charges.
This was a regular scene all week on Pinnacle street.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (18/10/10)-- Reporters, photographers, and videographers stand outside the Belleville courthouse during Russell Williams' court hearing where he pleaded guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of sexual assault and forcible confinement and a string of 82 break-ins.


BELLEVILLE, Ont. (18/10/10)-- Andrew Lloyd answers questions about the court hearing in which Russell Williams pleaded guilty to all charges including the first degree murder of Lloyd's sister, Jessica. Photo by Hadas Parush.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (18/10/10)-- Belleville chief of police, Cory McMullan, steps out of the courthouse on Pinnacle Street, Belleville, while the Russell Williams court hearing takes a break after Williams pleaded guilty on all counts on Monday, October 18, 2010. Photo by Hadas Parush.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (18/10/10)-- A lady walking by on Pinnacle Street, Belleville, stops to take a picture of the overwhelming number of media representatives outside the Belleville courthouse on Monday, October 18, 2010, during Russell Williams hearing where he pleaded guilty on all charges. Photo by Hadas Parush.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

An Update, or In Search for Enlightened Words

October 16, 2010-- Belleville, Ontario


In order to "give a meaning" to the world, one has to feel oneself involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. 
-- Henri Cartier-Bresson.  

I have great assignments. The particular one I wish to address here is exactly what I am doing right now: a blog entry, for my web design and portfolio class.
I am required to make an entry that somehow defines me as a photographer or journalist.

While I would love to make some inspiring and enlightened statements about what makes me "tick" as a photojournalist,  I'm not sure I am quite there yet. This is but one of many many blog entries of my continual growth as a photojournalist.

I came a long way from my first post on this blog. My purpose in creating it was so that I would continue to shoot on a regular basis with the need to update my blog serving as a continuous drive to keep shooting and bettering myself every time.
Im happy to say that I think I have been pretty successful in fulfilling that goal. I managed to remind myself why I do what I do, and it made me re-fall in love with my greatest passion. And, somewhere along the way, I gained greater confidence as well as a sense of professionalism as a photographer and photojournalist.

So, having somewhat recovered from the initial rush of back-to-school, here is some self-reflection.

We are social creatures, but I think we build so many walls around us that we tend stop ourselves from engaging, when we could potentially be discovering entire worlds we never dared to learn about. Photography serves as my connection to these worlds; to people and their stories.

If there is one thing that truly drives me as a photojournalist, it is the potential of opportunity behind every moment. "Tick."

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sense of Belonging

Sense of Belonging is the first project we had this semester for Documentary Photography class. The assignment was to find and photograph 5 people who belong to one group in some way.
I did mine on men with long hair.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (06/10/10)-- After 18 years working in the fire deprtment in Toronto, Glenn Mifsud decided to follow his own story and create his own, different narrative. He built a bed and breakfast in Prince Edward County and it became a still point yoga retreat. Two years ago Glenn opened up the Tenth Ox yoga studio on Front Street, Belleville, and has now been teaching yoga for 18 years. 

He has had his hair long before he served in the fire department and let it grow again after he left it. 
"Then, as a sign of freedom, I didnt shave or cut my hair when I was building the bed and breakfast, as kind of symbolic of a new beginning. It was just the way we expressed our freedom, although I could argue it's another form of conformity with the 60's. That's the way it was when I was a child."


BELLEVILLE, Ont. (05/10/10)-- Peter Paylor is a wood carver and sells his pieces in the Belleville Farmers' Market. 

"I had long hair since I was a teenager in the 70's. I stopped when I got married. I don't pay much attention to my hair so if someone is not there to tell me to cut it then I don't. It just feels more natural to me, it just feels like me."
"January 2, 2009, was the last time I got a haircut, and I remember that because that was the day before my father's funeral and I got my hair cut for the funeral. I just remember they were closed January 1st." 
"One of my professors from university always used to say he was 19 years old when his identity was formed and the person that was inside him is still 19. So I think it has something to do with that. I had long hair as a teenager, the last time I had identified myself for myself as opposed to identifying myself for the world and letting a job, family, and my responsibilities identify me."

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sia

Sept. 27, 2010-- Belleville, Ontario

Sia is a jewelry maker and artist, and sells her work in the Belleville Farmers' Market. She makes her jewelry out of material she finds and reuses, such as old tires and wires. Sia has always recycled and always made things for herself. She let go of her house and her car and hopes to find a house which she would share with a group of friends who share her philosophy of communal living.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Drag

Sept. 26, 2010-- Ottawa
Jade London, Drag Show performer


Zelda Marshall, The Lookout Bar Drag Show, back stage.

This October will be Zelda Marshall's ninth anniversary of her first debut as a drag queen. Besides getting in touch with her feminine side, Zelda always had an interest in theatre and dance, so drag offered her a synthesis of all her interests. She enjoys performing in drag shows and gets to learn a lot about female fashion and beauty where she finds drag queens are able to make themselves just as beautiful as other girls with simple cosmetic skills. This shows, Zelda says, what a false and superficial nature of beauty the cosmetic industry is trying to sell us. 

Monday, October 4, 2010

Orchards

It's good to get away from assignments once in a while.

Sept. 23, 2010-- Carrying Place, Ontario
Campbell's Orchards