Back from NYC

It's been a while since I have updated my dear old blog. After the end of semester crunch, I took the very next train to New York City and had the best possible vacation I could ask for. The city was fantastic and beautiful, with everyone in good holiday spirits. Can't blame them. It was Christmas time and spending money can be fun after all. I tried to avoid the retail crowds while still enjoying everything the City and it's surroundings had to offer.

Here is a taste, always more to come.

December 21, 2010-- Coney Island in the winter. 

Mr. Bridge

Nov. 13, 2010 - Belleville, Ontario

More from my story about Mr. Alan Bridge.

Alan Bridge pauses to determine what the object is that he is holding while searching for something lost in the piles of objects that clutter his house on Moira Street West, Belleville, Ontario. Bridge has been collecting and accumulating objects for sale since his wife passed away in 1989.  Although he admits it was a misguided business attempt, Bridge resists throwing anything out and still hopes, at the age of 84, that by Spring time he will have his yard sale again.

Stuff

Nov. 2010 - Belleville, Ont.

Story in progress, things around Alan Bridge's house.

Belleville vs Sarnia

Bjorn Krupp and Brett Mackie of the Belleville Bulls and Tyler Peters of Sarnia Sting struggle over the puck on Saturday, November 13, 2010. Belleville lost to Sarnia in a home game with a score of 3-2.

Bulls  right wing player, Luke Judson, falls on his back as Sarnia Sting player, Daniel Broussard moved the puck while Brandon Hope guards the net. The Bulls lost to Sting in a home game with a score of 3-2 on Saturday, Novermber 13, 2010.

Then & Now

Rideau Canal Locks, Ottawa

"Interprovincial Bridge showing Post Office & Locks [on the Rideau Canal]." 1901. From National Library and Archives collection.

OTTAWA, Ont. (28/10/10)-- Rideau Canal Locks with bridge to Quebec over the Ottawa River. The locks are opened more often this time of year, as the boats are taken off the water and the canal water levels are adjusted to accomodate winter skating.

The Weather

TORONTO, Ont. (09/10/10)-- Steve Polanski, from Toronto, comes to the Beaches to fly his kite anytime there is a good wind. Today, he says, is an unexpectedly wonderful day. "Here we are in October, and I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts." Polanski calls the Beaches his playground, where he has been flying his kite for about 18 years.

OTTAWA, Ont. (10/10/10)-- Dan [no last name], from Ottawa, stretches after a swim in the Ottawa River, at Britannia Beach, on Sunday, October 10, 2010. The water is very cold, he says, but once you get used to it then it's fine. Dan swims at the beach from mid May to mid October, and the water usually gets really cold around mid September, when tempratures drop to zero over night.

OTTAWA, Ont. (28/10/10)-- Despite the cold and strong wind, Robert Page went out to do his work out on Major's Hill Park, on Thursday, October 28, 2010.

Great Glebe Pumpkin Patch

OTTAWA, Ont. (30/10/10)-- Emily Abbott gets her face painted at the Great Glebe Pumpkin Patch, a Halloween party in the Glebe community center on Saturday, October 30, 2010. Photo by Hadas Parush/Metroland Media-Ottawa Region.

OTTAWA, Ont. (30/10/10)-- Lev Zucharov-Gluck, 4, takes part in the cookie decoration table, just one of the many activities for kids during the Great Glebe Pumpkin Patch. Photo by Hadas Parush/Metroland Media-Ottawa

OTTAWA, Ont. (30/10/10)-- Ronan Chassin waits to get her face painted during the Great Glebe Pumpkin Patch. Photo by Hadas Parush/Metroland Media-Ottawa

Mayor Elect

OTTAWA, Ont. (28/10/10)-- Mayor Elect, Jim Watson, speaks during the one-year anniversary celebration of the Royalton Retirement Residence in Kanata on Thursday, October 28, 2010. This was his first publc appearance as Mayor Elect of the City of Ottawa. Photo by Hadas Parush/Metroland Media-Ottawa Region.

Ottawa Elections

OTTAWA, Ont. (25/10/10)-- Doug Thompson hugs his step daughter, Angela, in his home after being assured by the radio announcement of his reelection to council with over 60 percent of votes in the City of Ottawa elections on Monday, October 25, 2010. Photo by Hadas Parush/Metroland Media - Ottawa Region.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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.

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. 

Orchards

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

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

Demo Derby Close Up

A possible future story, but for now just some images from a few hours I spent following this driver around in the Kingston Fall Fair Demolition Derby.

KINGSTON, Ont. (19/09/10)-- Josh Lambert, of Tamworth, Ontario, gets help from his friends fixing up his car in between rounds in the Kingston Fall Fair Demolition Derby on Sunday. Lambert has been competing as a Demo Derby driver for about 9 years since he was 15 years old. He and his friends got into demo derby driving since a young age out of the boredom of living in a small town, and because "where else can you legally run into someone?" says Lambert jokingly.

Feature Hunting

The first assignment - to find a Feature photo - made for a very fun shooting weekend in and around Belleville, and definitely a good way to start what is already shaping up to be an intensive and busy semester!

Port Hope, Ontario - September 17, 2010
Port Hope Fair

Sherry Spragge, professional truck driver, ran the Candy World vendor at the fair.

Justin Holdaway, flag boy for the tractor pull contest at the Port Hope Fair.

Loyalist College, Belleville - September 18, 2010

Loyalist vs. Fleming Rugby

Bay Bridge, Belleville - September 18, 2010

Zwicks Park East, Belleville - September 19, 2010

Early Morning

Kingston Fall Fair - September 19, 2010

The Kingston Fall Fair Demolition Derby

Jeff Ackerman got his car on fire during his third ever demo derby and his first year competing

Car on fire = excitement and jubilation