Project #5 - The Sports Shot

Being a canadian girl, it's probably no surprise that I chose a hockey game as my source for this latest project.  Ta Da! I give you the body-chek shot. I was amused to have caught the poor guy mid-air before he hit the ice, hahaha. But hey, what can I say, this hockey team knows how to play their game! (They won 6-0!!!!) 

Funny enough, my adventure in getting this photo was accompanied by a reporter from the local paper who graciously agreed to let me tag along with him while he covered the game.  The best part was the surreal moment watching the puck sail right over the glass, bounce off the bleachers and head straight for me! I moved out of the way just in time and it bounced once more off the boards next to me and landed at my feet.  Too bad I hadn't been looking through the lens at the time, that would have made a SWEET action shot! Don't you think? The inevitable coma would have been totally worth it, hehe =)
Here are a few more shots from the game, which was their last game of the season before the playoffs.....

The overhead shot,  which was from an awesome vantage point from up in the annoucers booth.

Now I must confess, I had a fairly typical canadian childhood, growing up with a brother and father who played hockey, as well as cousins, uncles and alot of my friends. I spent ALOT of time in the arenas and I actually really hated it, It bored me to death and to be honest, with the exception of  the Olympics Gold Medal hockey game last year (which I watched holding my breath along with everyone else)  I actually avoid watching hockey because it puts me to sleep! Seriously. If I get insomnia, which I occasionally do, I just find a hockey game on tv and I'm out like a light! hahaha. 

BUT

Taking photos of a live hockey game seems to have changed all that for me. It's so much more interesting when you're trying to catch the live action in a photo! I might actually start to like this game yet, hahaha. Yup, I guess I''m just a typical Canadian girl after all.   And proud of it.

Shoot for the Stars ...

That's what I tell people when they ask me about my goals. I've always been a daydreamer ( just ask my 3rd grade teacher, poor patient woman!) and I can be somewhat impatient ( just ask my mom!).because  sometimes I dream and I get ideas in my head and I want everything to happen RIGHT NOW. And that`s just not the way life is supposed to work. It`s great to have dreams, and it's fantastic to have a plan to follow them and goals lined up. But sometimes when things don't work out on our timeline we get frustrated, disappointed, anxious. We are so focused on achieving that end result our way and on our time, that we miss the bigger picture, and we miss out on other opportunites that are right there in front of us. Things that make our journey towards our goal that much more rewarding and enjoyable!  A few years ago I began what I call my annual Goals list (I blogged a bit about it around New Years) and I began making up lists of goals I wanted to accomplish each year. Some of those goals were based on priorites and immediate needs ( atttaining a family friendly job, a reliable vehicle etc) while others were "bucket list" items, things I had dreamt about doing for years and still hadn't accomplished yet. It felt so amazing to cross those things off my list! What made it possible though, was that I was realistic about it. I didn't try to squeeze everything into one insanely crazy year, hahaha. I knew if I wanted to cross things off my list I had to write them down, work hard, and then watch for opportunites to come along and just start taking them!  And you know what - I had to start adding things to my list just so I could cross them off right away! hahaha. For instance, I have always wanted to shoot a gun ( not at anything other than a target, just thought I would clarify, haha) .And I finally had my chance!  It hadn't made it from my bucket list to my goal list so I had to add it just to cross it off right away!

My children are my top priority, they always will be. It makes me so happy to have been able to put them in music lessons this year!  My oldest is learning guitar and my little man is learning the drums. And the best part is, I didnt even have to sell a kidney on the black market to be able to afford it! hahaha. Whew! One more thing I can cross off the list!  I can sell the kidney to pay for their braces or college tuition, hahaha.

But another experience I was so thankful to have last year, is being in Vancouver for the 2010 winter Olympics. It was so much fun, aad something I didn't even have on my goals list, because it was one of those `bucket list` items that seemed like less of a priority, so it hadn't made it to the goals list. But when the opportunity presented itself, I took it!  It made the year that much more memorable and special to me.

Here`s another opportunity that spontaneously presented itsself, rock climbing! There`s quite a story behind this li'l adventure, but Ill have to get into that another time, hahaha. But you get the idea. Don`t get TOO focused that you`ll miss out on all the other dreams that present themselves to you in ways you don't always expect!

One goal that was on my list last year was to invest in people.  I wasn`t entirely sure just how I was going to go about doing that. I just knew that I was surrounded by so many wonderfully talented friends and family members and I wanted to find ways to showcase their talents and abilities any way I could. Help them realize their dreams. So when I got a chance to see my lovely friend Nicola Linde (who is a ridiculously talented singer-songwriter) perform with her band in Victoria, BC, opening for Doug & the Slugs, I was on the ferry before you could even say  `Who and the WHAT?!` hahaha 

Her show was fiantastic! We spent the whole next day after her show doing a photo shoot. I swear that was the MOST fun I have ever had doing a photo shoot.  I had such a blast being able to use my camera to promote someones else`s talents, and dreams!  I couldn't have imagined  for a better opportunity to cross that goal off my list.  ( although that goal goes back on my list every year now - there's always opportunities to invest in people!)

There are still SO many other dreams I have, that will slowly go from my Bucket List to my annual Goals List. Things like travelling, learning to surf (which I`ve been dying to learn since I was about 14 or 15) learning a second and third language, fluently. ( French and Italian ànd possibly Russian too! )

But this year I am finally taking a photography course through the New York Institute of Photography, which I've been promising myself I would take for YEARS now. I finally made it a priority and made myself enroll! yay!  And I finally picked up my guitar and am  teaching myself how to play.  With a bit of help from my son , hahaha. (and chords for songs that Nicola emails me, thanks girl!) I will continue running, with the goal of one day running a charity marathon ( which I'm sure will be the first of  many to follow)   Really, who wouldn't be motivated to run with this view to welcome you?   ( see photo below)

I am having a tattoo designed ( it will be my second)  of shooting stars, a beautiful reminder of always dreaming big, always aiming high, shooting for the stars and never giving up!

I have a favorite quote that is hanging on the wall of my house, just inside my front door, and I think ìt`s the perfect way to end this post.

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.

 So love the people who treat you right,

 Forgive and forget the ones who don`t,

and beleive everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it

If it changes your life, let it.

 Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

 - Author Unknown

Project #4 - Broken Glass

 I arrived at Project #4 quite by accident today, as a matter of fact. My original intent for Project #4 was actually stained glass. I took a friend of mine (and her two little sidekicks, haha) along for the ride,  After having no luck with the stained glass (every church we came across was locked up and empty. And it's a Sunday today, so what's up with that? haha) we decided to head into town to do a bit of shopping, That's when I came across this BEAUTIFUL glass mosaic bowl.
I love mosaics. They are so artistic, so creative and resourceful.  Who knew broken glass could be made into something so eye-catching and beautiful?  It sparkles from every angle.  The thing is, all those bits of glass have to be broken in order to create this masterpeice of art.
Life isn't perfect,  Our lives (and our hearts) can sometimes feel like they've been broken apart and we don't know how or why certain situations turned out the way they did, like tiny pieces of shattered glass, instead of in one peice like we think it should be. But you know what? YOU are a masterpeice in the making,  You may not see how all the pieces fit together just yet. But one day you will be able to look back and see the masterpeice that those broken peices created. Each piece exactly where it should be, made perfect by a creator, the Master Artist, if you will, But these things take time, they don't all get carelessly thrown together at once. It takes patience and time to put each peice exactly where it needs to be.  But when it's finished, that glass shines brighter than before, each broken piece reflecting more light, adding more depth, more dimension and beauty.
So no matter how undone, how broken your life may feel at times, remind yourself that you are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be right now! You can shine in the midst of your brokeness and pain, knowing that one day, these broken times will shine bright as a single pieces of a  much larger masterpeice of your life. My favorite quote from Marilyn Monroe is this "... And sometimes good things fall apart, so that greater things can fall together"  Maybe she had things figured out a little more than people gave her credit for.

Some of the other mosiac peices that caught my eye today . . .

We had originally driven around looking for stained glass windows today but the locked church doors were

as close as we got!  hee hee

And no, I can't take a normal picture ever, even when I'm supposed to be driving!  =)

The kids started to fall asleep .  .  awww =)

 Wakey, wakey, Sunshine!

We had to wait for my friend to change her son's diaper, so me and the missy here waited in style. She looks pretty sharp wearing my sunglasses hey? haha. (and you gotta love the zebra print chair!)

AND NOW FOR THE INCREDIBLY GRAPHIC VIOLENCE SCENE......

(viewer discretion is advised )

Yes this REALLY IS what I think of valentines day, hahaha!  And yes I AM attemptng to strangle an innocent stuffed Love Monkey plush toy.  Ahem. Back to the rest of my photo adventure....

After a long day of hunting for stained glasss windows, driving, shopping and photo taking, and about 641 bathroom breaks ( hee hee)  we finally made it back to my friend's house for pizza. 

 This pic here was taken by her 4 year old daughter ( well I cropped it a bit, haha) Not bad hey? A budding future photographer one day? My eventual successor perhaps?   I guess we"ll just have to wait and see!

That was my lil' "photo adventure" day in trying to find project #4 for you. It didn't turn out the way I'd expected, but I think it worked out pretty well =)

Mosaics and (stuffed) Monkeys,

-J

Project #3 - Mist & Ice

It's amazing how mist can change the look of the same scene, within minutes of the last frame you shoot. I wanted to get a good shot of the mist over the lake as I was driving home on my lunch break, and I actually stopped to get this one with my cellphone, I was worried that if I had waited to run home to grab my camera that the scene would have changed before I got back to the lake, I was right!
After I took this photo, I jumped back into the car and tore home, grabbed my camera and literally RAN to the end of my street ( only a block) to the lake to take the photo, only to find that I had left the memory card in my laptop. DOH! So back I ran to the house - who says art can't be good exercise?! Once I had my wits about me again ( ok well, maybe just my memory card ) I took the rest of the photos.
Mist and fog is SUCH a fun element to play with in photos becuase it changes the scene so dramatically from one second to the next, These photos were taken in 5 minute intervals and the scenes look radically different. I have more requests for different fog/mist projects , so I am really looking forward to those also! Here are more of the photos as the sun burned away the remainder of the morning fog.

I thought I would point out that this is not a 'still shot" of moving water - the lake here is COMPLETELY FROZEN. I just thought it looked really awesome that it literally froze in mid-wave.

From foggy days and frozen waves,

-J

Project #2 - Winter Rose

I figured I better post this before I fall asleep on my computer and forget (again!) hahaha. I had a request to take a picture of snow on some bushes or leaves or something. I was almost prepared to go hike up a mountain to get to where the snow hadn't melted yet, But then last week, we had a wonderful dump of snow! yay! So when I got home for my lunch break, I rushed outside to take this pic of snow on the rosebush, before it all melted again! Good thing I did, cause it rained and rained and all the snow is gone now.
Keep all the requests and suggestions coming. And if I have to climb a mountain for you, I'll do it! All the bears are still sleeping right now anyways, hehe =)

Snowflakes and winter roses,
-J

Project #1 (of 52)

STUDIO SHOT - Since I started out as a hobby photographer almost 9 years ago now, studio work has always intimidated me. Partly because I could never afford all the big "fancy" studio lights and equipment other Pro photographers use. But also partly because being a self-taught student of this art, it has taken painstaking hours of trial and error to get the right setup for whatever final image I'm trying to achieve. I determined that this year I would begin my first project of Project 52 with my long-time challenge with studio lighting. So here it is! A friend of mine offered to be the victim... uh, I mean model (heehee) and I even tried my hand at makeup artistry! Yep, her makeup was done by little ol' me!

I figured hey, I dabble in a bit of acryclic and oil painting for fun, so painting on a face couldn't be too hard could it? It was actually alot harder than that! I have always held a strong respect for makeup artists, especially after watchign them work on some of the shoots I've been on,, but I now have an even bigger appreciation for all the hard work they do! Whew! I was actually quite pleased with the way it turned out, I may even consider trying that look out on myself the next time I have a big night out planned, haha .

All in all, it was a total blast. Here are a few more pics, some "behind the scenes' footage for ya. Nobody was around to snap a pic of any of my crazy acrobatic perches atop the ladder I used to get a few shots haha. Yes I go all out to shoot my subjects. I've even been known to hang off the side of a tower of hay bales to get my shot! haha.

So there ya have it, project #1 of 52! Since it wasnt posted until the beginning of week 2 (oops) I will post project #2 pretty quick here also. But for now, you got to see the final image as well as a few pics of my lil' adventure I had in getting the pic!

To see more of the pics from this shoot, visit my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Janice-Evelyn-Photographer/19822367477

Have a great week and lots of lil" adventures!

-J

Starting New & Project 52

Happy new year everyone!!!!!
New Years is one of my FAVORITE holidays because it means the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another, No matter how 2010 was for you (mine had equal parts of the good, the bad and the ugly, hehehe) this is when you say goodbye to all the hurts and frustrations of the past year and leave them right there in the past where they belong. A new year is a new beginning. That means new adventures, new people to meet, and new challenges to take on and projects to accomplish!

Which leads me to my inspired project for this coming year. I'm calling it PROJECT 52. Each week I will tackle a new photographic challenge, and then post the finished image on my blog with a short desription of my adventures in tackling that week's challenge.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! This is where YOU (yes, you!) come in. I want to hear project challenge suggestions from all of YOU. Just post a comment below my blog here, or on my facebook page, with ideas you have on what you"d like to see me take on as a challenge. Waterfalls? A particular sports action shot? A close-up of a bumblebee? (That last one was actually kinda scary, I dont like being up close and personal with bees, hehehe)
So go ahead and dream up some fun project ideas you'd like to see, and I'll do the same, and we'll see just what kinda of crazy adventures this new project takes me on!
Happy Dreaming,
-J