Aaron Outward

To The End and Back - Officially Released

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:30:00 +0000

It was a long road to get here but I am happy to announce that my book is officially available for download.

The book has been released in a pdf format download so that is compatible with all e-readers and/or tablets.

To find out more about the book and download your own copy head on over to the page To The End and Back

Or click here

I hope you all enjoy it and I am looking forward to hearing all your thoughts

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Coming Soon: To the End and Back

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Since my diagnosis I have been on a search for greater purpose and a way to give back. It isn't something that I forced but rather just kept myself open to any potential oppurtunities as I focused on recovery. A big part of my recovery was my writing, and so I decided to write a book. I mentioned it in passing here on the blog but I am happy to announce today that the book is complete and will soon be available for download.

I have realized that this book was my oppurtunity to give back and make a difference. Not only by sharing what I feel is a very powerful and inspirational message but also through giving back to the cancer community. I plan to offer this as a "Pay What you Want" download platform which each person will have the oppurtunity to donate any amount they want for the book, which I will in turn donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Not-So-Final Reflections from a Cancer Survivor

My story is about so much more than the leukemia. Being diagnosed with B-Cell
Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at 28 years old was a slap in the face. Plain and simple. I felt like I’d been robbed. I was angry. Confused. Terrified. I didn’t know it then, but I was one of the lucky ones.

Throughout my battle with leukemia, I learned deeply impactful life lessons only a cancer survivor can. This got me thinking: why should cancer patients be the only ones privy to these lessons? No matter our journey or stage in life, we should all be given the opportunity to learn from tragedy.

My story is about more than the leukemia. It’s about surviving – no, thriving – in the face of tragedy.

On February 4th, 2010, I was diagnosed with B-Cell PhiladelphiavPositive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. and began the fight of my life.

To the End and Back: Lessons Learned Through Tragedy is an intensely honest, matter-of-fact documentation of Aaron’s battle and lessons learned. His insights are sure to evoke reflection of the deepest kind and, most importantly, inspire action.

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ISPC - Help Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I have been a little lacking on the blog lately, life has just been super hectic lately and this unfortunately was one of the things that needed to take a back seat. As many of you know I always set a goal of entering two photographic competitions a year.

When choosing competitions I always like to stretch myself and enter competitions that I really don't expect to win. I do this so that I am always humbling myself and pushing to continually improve my skills to hopefully one day win.

This January I spent the month preparing my submission for a competition that I have never entered before. The International Street Photography Competition. There are two different parts to the competition. The first and bigger part is a juried competition based on a series of images. The second is a public vote on a single imgae where they will have one winner per country.

This is where I could use each of your help and support. The image at the top of this post is the image I entered into the public vote for the best image from Canada. If you like the photo, I would love if you could vote for my photo.

You can go vote for my Photo Here

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2012 Year In Review - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I have procrastinated on this post long enough. I could say that I wanted to wait so this didn't fall into the abyss of the million other year in review posts on the internet which, although this is the case, would be a white lie.   Each year instead of setting resolutions I have lately been setting personal goals for myself, so I thought I would include how I fared at these as we move through this review So without further adiea here it goes...

On the Personal Front

My first goal for 2012 is actually a goal that I don't have much control over but it is still a good goal to list; Stay Cancer Free.   Well 2012 saw me successfully make it to my 2 year anniversary of my Bone Marrow Transplant. With all the hazards along the journey I am very thankful to still be still breathing. And thankfully with each passing transplant anniversary the chance of relapse drops.

Last January was a pretty tough month to start the year. Although our trip to Aruba was amazing it had reminded me that I was still recovering. In addition, I was undergoing quite an aggressive taper on my steroids which is always very tough to go through. No to worry I made it through the valley without any real harm and it inspired me to set my next goal for the year;

Recover enough to return to work.

This is was a 50/50 goal for me. Obviously I couldn't control the physical recovery of my new immune system adapting to my body, but I could control my physical strength. So I started working on energy levels and strength to be able to make it through an entire day.

I used photography walks in the early months to begin getting out and building up some strength.

As time progessed I started climbing the stairs along the escarpment with my camera to start building my strength even more. I would do this a few days a week and then go to the pool a couple other times to swim lengths.

As the nice weather came I hit the path along the beach for some rollerblading. My first time out I went a little farther than I should have and when I turned around realized I didn't have much energy left (especially since a gale force head wind had whipped up). I ended up having to stop and take a break at a bench every 200-400m but I eventually made it home. From here forward my rollerblading adventures were much better and successful.

I got the news in May that I would be returning to work. Thankfully all the hard work paid off at the beginning of the year building up my strength and I was physically ready to return to work.

Before returning to work though Amy and I had a vacation planned to Nashville for the Country Music Festival. The trip was an extremely fun time despite some health setbacks I had while awhile.

Little did I know that as I was preparing to return to work my GVHD wanted to make it a little tougher and did a pretty aggressive flare up. This caused me to be unable to talk without going through extreme pain (not ideal for your first week back to work :) ) In addition, I wasn't able to eat solid food for a month while I waited for the flare-up in my mouth to settle down.

Thankfully it settled down in time for my 30th birthday which saw a return to golfing. Also, I had my first Coors Light since 2009!

August was also a first since 2009 with Amy and I returning to New Brunswick. It was such a fun filled trip that we didn't want to end.

We finished the year off celebrating our anniversary in Bahamas. This was a 50 percent awesome trip and 50 percent nightmare trip but I won't get into the details on it. The glass half full side was a least we got lots of rest :)

There was a personal goal that I didn't get through to 100% completion this year;

Complete my book

I have mentioned my book in passing once or twice here on the blog but over the past year and a half I have been working on a book. In 2012 I had wanted to finish my book. The book is completely written and been through its editing twice by my editor, the amazing Stephanie Contardo. In addition, the final design of the book's cover is finished. Now I just have to do some final tweaks (footnoting) and then publish it.
2013 I will be finalizing and publishing this book so stay tuned!! I will be doing a post dedicated to the book soon.

Well the length of this post is dragging on so I have decided to break the post up into two parts.

All the best,
Aaron

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valentines Giveaway - Deadline Approaching

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

This is just a quick reminder that this is the final weekend for entering the Valentine's Day contest for a free Portrait session for you or someone of your choosing

Entry into the contest is very simple:

1.) Send me an quick email (aaronofford@gmail.com) telling me why you or someone of your choosing deserves this photo session

2.) Go and "Like" Aaron Offord Photography

The winner of the contest can plan to do the photo session anytime during 2013.

The deadline for the contest is by End of Day Sunday February 10, 2013

Looking forward to all the entries!

All the Best,

Aaron

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A Valentine's Day Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:30:00 +0000

With Valentine's Day around the corner I thought it would be fun to do a small give-away:

A free Portrait session for you or someone of your choosing

Entry into the contest is very simple:

1.) Send me an quick email (aaronofford@gmail.com) telling me why you or someone of your choosing deserves this photo session

2.) Go and "Like" Aaron Offord Photography

The winner of the contest can plan to do the photo session anytime during 2013.

The deadline for the contest is by End of Day Sunday February 10, 2013

Looking forward to all the entries!

All the Best,

Aaron

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A quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,I want to apologize on my extended silence around here. I have been working on an extended year in review post for 2012.

There has been a blogger interface issue that won't let me upload photos so this post will be a little delayed.

In the meantime I have been working pretty hard on re-doing my photography page.

Aaron Offord Photography

So please everyone go take a few moments to check it out and like the page! I intend to run some fun activities and giveaways this year as I am really planning to get back into my photography year.

Also, if you know anyone interested in getting some photos done this year please forward this to them as well (all your help is greatly appreciated).

Stay tuned to for a great offer I will be announcing very soon!

Also hopefully the issues will get fixed and I will have th post up soon.

Aaron

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Stepping into the Past: Exploring Ottawa Street

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

One of my favourite places to explore in the entire city is Ottawa Street. The main reason is it is still retaining its original identity. Everytime I head to this area I always feel like I have entered a time machine and entered the past. I thought today I would share a few of the photos that I have shot along my adventures in this wonderful neighbourhood.

I really enjoy my flaneuring in this area. There is just so character around this neighbourhood. Like this old movie theatre, although it is closed I always hope a developer will come in and restore this great landmark.

Sometimes on my walk I just find something that just catches my eye no matter how trivial it may seem.

Or the juxtaposition with new and old.

As I walked by all these great shop windows I just couldn't help playing with some reflections.

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Five Street Photography Clichés

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

A couple months ago my photography friend and fellow Hamiltonian friend asked me to contribute to an article on his blog, Modes of Flight. I have followed Allan’s blog religiously for quite some time now and have absolutely loved the series he created called the Flaneur’s Guide to Street Photography.

To be honest when his guide first came out I set a personal goal to try and improve my street photographer enough that Allan might ask me for input into the post, so I couldn’t be more happy with being asked to contribute for this post.

If you are interested in seeing the post in its entireity and seeing the thoughts of a couple other great photographers you can see Allan's full post HERE

I thought today I would share my contribution with the post to everyone:

When I first sat down to craft my top 5 list of clichés found in street
photography I thought it was going to be a very quick exercise. I figured I would list 5 common photographs I usually see on groups on the internet and be done. Before I could even start crafting a list I needed to understand the definition of cliché. Wikipedia defines it as:

“an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel”

I quickly realized that a quick list of 5 types of photographs wouldn’t suffice as in a couple months it could be obsolete. For instance, if you were to ask me a year ago I might have said black and white photographs but now street photography on the whole seems to be moving more towards colour street photographs.

Since particular cliché photo types in street photography can change as the popularity of shooting styles changes with time, I thought it would be better to do a list on more generalized street photography clichés.

1.) Being invisible

When shooting street photography we should not try to hide as there is nothing to be ashamed of. We shouldn’t feel the need to be sneaking around hiding our camera or shooting from the hip. There is a big difference between trying not to influence a scene we are photographing and trying not to “get caught”. When we are trying not to “get caught” in our street photography people will assume we are doing something sneaky, creepy, or nasty; this includes those people we show our images too. By not having this mentality when shooting it will change the way we act with our camera, showing a sense of confidence that we do belong in that reality, documenting it.

I still try to take photos that capture a scene without my influence on it so the viewer can feel as if they too are silently witnessing the events as they happened. Since I feel the photos I take should not be about me, I try not to stand out while shooting street photography either, but rather attempting to just blend in with the scene around me.

2. Photography take balls

Probably one of the worst understood quotes in street photography is by Robert Capa. “If your photos aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”

Street photography should not be a competition about who has the biggest balls to get closest to a stranger. Not only is it disrespectful for you subject the resulting photographs are often devoid of an true story or real emotion. The photographer has chosen in these instances that make the photography about themselves and the reaction they are getting rather than telling a proper story.

What Robert Capa really meant is we should be aiming to take photos that are close enough to make the viewer feel like they were really there without disturbing the scene or distorting the reality. The moment the photographer gets to close, vital information is lost from the frame and the viewer loses the feeling of being there.

3. Shooting for others sakes

The Internet has had been a huge positive for street photography by allowing photographers from all over the world to easily connect. Unfortunately, it has been the root cause of a majore street photography cliché. People have been obsessed with trying to get their photos accepted into street photography groups; especially the curated ones. It seems like getting a photo accepted into these groups is a form of validation for the photography. The problem is by focusing on trying to get our photos into particular groups they end up conforming to a set of well-known predetermined rules or styles that are continuously reiterated by the judges/curators.

It's like entering your dog in a dog show or your best tomatoes in a horticulture show. It has to conform to an arbitrary and artificial set of rules to which all entrants agree. The end result is a “copied” style rather than one that is focused on the photographers own originality and style.

4. Making photos that don’t say or mean anything

Unfortunately with the internet there is another negative aspect; an overload of images. When you go through street photography groups on flickr, 500px, or your favourite photo sharing website there is an overload of poorly composed, mundane and boring shots of random people on the street that is devoid of a story or emotional connection for the viewer. This type of cliché presents us with opportunities to make pictures while not actually saying, or meaning, anything.

5. Don’t shoot clichés

The biggest cliché of all in street photography is the notion that we should avoid shooting clichés. In some respects creating a well-executed cliché is one of the hardest things to do. The goal should always be to create the photograph in a manner that elevates it above all the other attempts at the same cliché so that it is not seen as just another cliché.

I don’t think there is any clichés we should avoid while out shooting street photography; if something sparks our interest, we should shoot it. The key though is to keep high standards in our editing process so that the photos we share have that thing that elevates them above the masses of other photographs trying to achieve the same cliché.

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Another Night Time Camera Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

It isn't always the easiest to get out on weekends for my shutter therapy. Sometimes we are booked solid and there is no time and others I am just tired from a busy week and feel like just being lazy and resting; although this is not the best reason to not get out. I decided to use another weeknight to do some exploring with the camera. Photography at night requires a much different mindset as I have mentioned before. I have been trying very hard to switch my brain to see in night time mode. No longer do I want my night pictures to look like daylight but rather I want to show what I see. If day time photography is all about the light, night is all about the absense of light! Now if I just took pictures of absent light you would just see a black screen which wouldn't be the best and so the hunt at night is searching out interesting scenes with a light source. The other challenge, especially this time of year is it is cold at night. This means people aren't out and about, making street photography all but impossible. This hasn't bother me as much with me new Flaneur attitude, where I explore and take photos of all the different subjects regardless of what they are that interest me. And so I hope you enjoy the photos from my last Night Time Adventure As I said, where there is light there is not always people. The lighting and lines drew me right into this and tried to make a frame I was happy with.

We always need to remember to look around when we are out. Potential photographs are everywhere, even when we look up!

There is a source of steam that I have come across many times that I have stood around trying out how to make a photo I liked. I have always hoped it would get low enough to shoot photos of people passing through it but it always rises too fast that those photos never work out. On this night I tried a different approach with the steam.

And finally after an hour in the cold walking around by myself I found some people! I immediately moved around taking a few photos before they were gone again I was all by myself again.

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The Little Grape that Could

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Let me first say that today marks an incredible milestone. This is officially the 300 post I have published on this blog. Now this post number is a little understated as you will remember in my first year I jumped around platforms quite a bit.

On October 31, 2010 I relaunched this blog as it exists today and have now reached this wonderful milestone. In order to achieve this milestone I have actually had to do a post every 2.5 days (and here I thought I had not been the most consistent poster!)

The content around here has seen many facelifts as the things in my life that have been the source of my inspiration have been in constant flux.

Inspiration is a bit of a funny thing. We are often looking for some magical source of inspiration that comes from afar much like is often seen in our Hollywood screenplays. Unfortunately this can often leave us frustrated and lost when we can't seem to find the sources of inspiration we are looking for.

We are often looking in the wrong places. For the most part our greatest inspirations come all facets of our day to day lives.

So to mark this milestone I wanted to let you all know about a super simple way to give back to those people that inspire you in your everyday life. Without any further adieu....

The Littie Grape That Could

This is a wine you can find at the lcbo that has such an amazing premise. It gives all the profits to charity! After you drink your wine you log onto their website and choose which charity you would like your proceeds to go to.

But it doesn't stop there! Every bottle is dedicated to someone that has inspired someone. The idea is whenever you open your bottle of wine you say a quick toast to this person (if you are interested you can go to the website to see the story behind the person).

What makes this even better is everyone has the ability nominate somone that has inspired them to be on a set of 500 bottles!

The website is:
http://thelittlegrapethatcould.com/

This is the perfect holiday oppurtunity to give back. You can go small and just get a bottle of wine for any dinner parties you have and it will not only give you a great dinner conversation but also allow you to give to charity.

And for those that have someone that has truly inspired you why not take this oppurtunity to nominate them for a series of bottles. It is such a simple way to tell the person who has inspired you just how much!

So get out there drink some wine, give to charity, and nominate someone to be on a set of bottles!!

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A Downtown Photographic Event

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Earlier in the year I was in an artistic "crisis".

Each time I went out with my camera I found myself less than inspried and not coming home with any images that I really connected to. I was wanting something more from my photography but I didn't know what. I was chatting with my photography friend Deb from New Zealand and she sent me a quote about the photographic process of Saul Leiter. He was:

"a firm belief in art as an activity rather than a product..."

"what was to go on the film was not a picture but an event. The photographer no longer approached his endeavor with an image or subject in his mind, he entered the urban environment with camera in hand to interact with society. The photograph would be the result of this encounter".

This quote opened my eyes. I decided to stop trying to force the creation of a series or project and just go out having fun again with my camera again.

Since I got my Epson R-d1 I had been mostly shooting black and white. I had just mostly been in black and white moods. But colour is my true passion. There is just something so challenging yet rewarding about finding a great colour image. I headed into downtown Hamilton for today's photowalk and decided to embrace my inner flaneur and like Leiter embrace the event of photographing. I decided to start with my traditional photo.

I came across an empty parking lot that just spoke to me. I loved the isolation of the empty parking lot combined the no parking signs.

There was something missing in the picture though. The LHS was too empty and the frame was unbalanced (the squirrel wasn't big enough). As I was trying to figure out how to best re-frame the image to get a more balanced composition luck was on my side and solved the problem for me.

Instead of my normal path downtown I let my inner curiosity take me down random streets to see what I would come across. As I was walking I saw these two ladies in beautiful brightly coloured clothing. As I was approaching I kept trying to figure how to best get into a position to get a photo of them. I hadn't completely my strategy when I came up near them when another strike of serendipity struck! They asked me to take their picture. It was perfect, I got to use a thinner DOF and arrange them with a better background than I originally would have gotten.

Next I decided to try my hand at the candid thin depth of field shot on a moving subject.

I started to work my way back to the car along my normal path when I decided to leave the normal route to explore an area I was always curious about.

As I continued exploring down the alley I was rewarded two more great shots that became my favourite of the day. The second one really reminded of something from Robert Frank's "The Americans".

Thanks for visiting today!Aaron

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Rubbing It In

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I thought today it might be fun to rub something in to everyone.

See while you are all reading this Amy and I are lying on a beach in the Bahamas soaking up the sun and celebrating our 1 year anniversary.

And so I thought I would share some beach images from our Aruba trip just to make everyone nice and jealous.

Thanks for visiting today,Aaron

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The Beach and the Blustery Day

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Our true strength comes from getting through the hard times. I have often in the past written about this concept in the past in how it relates to the difficult times we inevitably face in our lives.

Lets face it, the easy times are well....easy. They are the points in our lives that makes everything worthwhile. The hard times are what prepare to reap those wonderful easier times. It is where all our growth and development come from because they take hard work and perserverance.

I have been doing a lot thinking lately on how this can relate to photography. It is easy to practice photography when everything is going well, but what about those times when you don't feel inspired.

When inspiration feels lacking it is often times hard to have the urge to get out and practice with the camera. But this is exactly what we should be doing during these times. I have been trying lately to force myself out with the camera even on those days when I am feeling less than inspired. I find it is good for two reasons.

First, practice makes perfect. Just like in music you won't get better without practicing. Second, I find the subsequent times out after "forcing" myself out I am always much more inspired and have a much better time shooting.

Today's photowalk was one of those practice days. It was an extremely blustery day in the beach area with "gale" force winds coming off the lake. I wasn't feeling completely inspired but knew I figured getting out for some fresh air and some practice wouldn't hurt.

As I got ready Dora was having a nap on one of her beds. She looked so warm and comfortable, which was the complete opposite of what I was heading into so I snapped a few pictures.

I do love the windy days here. I find the lake looks more like an ocean than the lake. (Although the windy days are much more enjoyable on warmer sunny days :) )

The wind won over and "blew" me off path. It seemed like a perfect time to explore some of the different streets in the beach community and get some protection from the wind.

As I turned for home I came across a flock of hundreds of birds hanging out in the trees and along the power lines. I decided to stand around for a little while and see if I could create a photo that I would like.

Thanks for visiting today :)
Aaron

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Skipping the Subway

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

In order to continue keeping the camera in my weekly life and achieve my Like-A-Leica weekly requirements I have found compromises to help keep me shooting.

While I was off recovering from my leukemia one of my fruitful times shooting street photography came while I was at my appointments/checkups at PMH. Unfortunately now while at my appointments I bring my laptop now so that I can continue to get work done while at the hospital.

Lately, I have found a compromise on these trips into Toronto so that I can get my work done but also get some time with my beloved camera. It is quite simple really, after my appointments are done I just skip the subway.

Instead of being lazy and taking the subway from PMH down to Union station, I now just walk. This gives me time to get some fresh air, get exercise, and play with my camera. Here are some of the latest images from my last skipped subway.

Since my camera and lens are still new to me, on each outting I still play around and experiment a bit to get an idea of how the camera performs. I decided to start my walk with some typical cliche bokeh shots

After I was done with the cliche shots I decided to play with some reflections in a window. For the past couple months I have been really drawn to making reflection shots. They have some wonderful layers and a great surrealistic quality to them (although I haven't made one that I absolutely love yet!)

As I made my way south in the city I approached Nathan Phillips Square. For some reason this has always been an area where I have been super comfortable working a scene.

By this I mean taking multiple photos from different perspectives until I get the shot I want instead of the one shot and move on technique I have used most often. Working the scene is something I need to do much more, as it usually results in the best images. Plus it is what the greats all do!

We all know that greatness comes from practice and hard work not luck, and photography is no different.

It all started with a lone figure as I approached the square

As I moved into the square I decided to start practicing adding a few more elements into the frame.

And by taking a few steps back and adding some foreground elements I was able to completely change the image

After playing around in Nathan Phillips Square for a bit I had to really get moving in order to catch my Go-Train home. The rest of my walk was quite brisk but I couldn't help but to stop shoot a cliche style shot.

Thankfully I managed to get in lots of great practice, and still made my train home.

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Snowy Saskatoon

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I alluded a couple posts ago that I haven't been entirely successful in my Like-A-Leica Year photographic challenge. For the most part I have been very successful of working my photography into my weekly lifestyle.

Two weeks ago I travelled to Saskatoon for work. I had it all planned out; when I wasn't in the plant I would be out exploring the city with my camera. I had all three of my batteries pre-charged and had my extra SD cards.

I arrived in Saskatoon Sunday morning and after arriving at the hotel I promptly unpacked my camera and cold weather gear and hit the streets. This is where all my great plans and pre-conceived notions fell apart.

Let me first say Saskatoon is COLD in the fall!! It didn't stop me from getting out on the Sunday, but it did stop every other person in the city from hitting the streets :)

I ended up walking around the city for 1.5 hours and only took a few frames. I just didn't find anything that really spoke to me and made me want to take a photo.

Unfortunately that was the end of my Saskatoon camera adventures for the week and I didn't achieve my photo total for the week. Thankfully I did at least get out with my camera and got a couple shots I liked.

Hopefully my February trip to Laval will yield better results!

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Learning to See at Night

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I have been noticing a trend in photography as the years have been going by. With each new breed of camera that is introduced the low light capabilities are being pushed farther and farther. The worst part is the images that are taken with these cameras can look like they were taken in daylight instead of their true darkness.

I myself can admit to getting wrapped up into this constant need for better and better low light performance and wanting the images to almost look like daylight. I have been smartening up in my "old" age and have begun a complete personal paradigm shift; the images should represent what I see.

Take the image that I started at the beginning of the post with. This was taken on our beach path one night. It was literally pitch black on the path and I was being led by the light in the distance. So why would I want to create an image that wasn't representative of what I actually saw?

I no longer crave for this crazy low light performance in my camera that is able to suck in levels of light my eyes can't even see. This is one of the main reason I changed to my present camera. The iso only goes to 1600 instead of the 256000 of some of the cameras today, it creates limitations in my photography similar to if I was using film.

I mentioned in my last post that it has been more difficult to get my "quota" of weekly images due to it being pitch dark by the time I get home. I decided 2 weeks ago to not let this hinder me and I went out with my camera embracing the darkness. It was actually quite a rewarding experience because the limitations of my camera forced me to search out patches of light to photograph.

Here are some of my favourites from a walk around the beach community.

Hope you enjoyed my night-time walk

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Avoiding the End of Year Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Have you ever felt like guy in this photo? I find its a great image for representing the feeling being overloaded. I am sure with the close of the year coming and the Christmas holidays around the corner most people are starting to feel like this guy.

For me I have been trying to find the balance in all the aspects of my life so I don't feel like this gentlemen. Not too long ago I told everyone about my personal challenge of shooting my camera consistently on a weekly basis by taking a minimum of 100 photos a week (equivalent of 3 rolls of film) that I named "Like-A-Leica" (hence the title of post). And not the machine gun style shooting 100 images where you can fire them off in a matter of minutes but well thought out images.

Well wouldn't you know pretty much as soon as I announced my intentions I was challenged to achieve it. It seemed to rain nearly every weekend in October which doesn't make it any easier for my get out shooting. And weeknights are tough because I am usually tired and it is pitch dark by the time dinner is done each night.

Not to be a whiner though I have been managing to achieve my challenge for the most part. If you remember part of the challenge was to share some of my favourite images from each week.

So today I thought I would share my favourites from 3 weeks ago. Lately, I have been less and less worried about making specific types of images and more approaching my photography from Flaneur's perspective shooting whatever catches my eye and moves me to push the trigger.

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Learning to Light

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Practicing is not enough. You have to have instruction in order to always be learning new concepts to improve on. This is not for only photography and is relevant to all aspects of your life. Sure you require thousands of hours of practice to become a master, but you need to ensure you are practicing the correct things to reinforce proper habits and techniques. If you remember earlier this year I made the decision to take my photography more seriously and take private lessons. Looking back this is one of the best decisions I have made as I can see a marked improvement in my images in just this short time. Unfortunately, with my return to work in June life was just too hectic to even get out with the camera let alone continue my lessons. As the summer came to a close though, my passion for my craft reignited and I have been shooting like crazy. One of the other good things of selling off all my gear for the camera is allowed me to have a bit of money to put back into lessons. As so I have started those again. The latest lesson was learning how to properly use light in order to add another dimension to my photographs. The first assignment was to light inanimate objects to learn to see the lighting properly. The past week has been really rainy here keeping me from the outdoors so I grabbed some fruit and headed downstairs to work on my assignment. Here are some of the images. Of course I wouldn't be able to do anything without the constant vigilance of our curious companion. She always needs to know what is going on.

And back to the assignment

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Don't Believe the Myth - The Camera Does Matter

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

We often hear the saying that the camera doesn't matter. I don't entirely agree with this.

I do agree with the concept that a camera does not make you a better photographer and that a great photographer can turn out remarkable images with very basic equipment. We only have to look at Magnum photographers who used simple point and shoot cameras to make some of the most powerful images the world has seen, and in the process winning multiple awards.

But if a camera isn't important why are we all so drawn to discussions of gear.

I myself am no saint, I frequent many blogs that are completely gear focused and I have owned more cameras than I care to count.
I did not go through all these cameras because I am some crazy person that has some dillusional idea that I needed a camera to make me better. In fact I have some photo series that have spanned multiple cameras that you would not be able to tell which photo came from which camera,

I have used all these cameras because I have been on a mission to find the tool that I love the best.
Although I don't feel that a camera will make better photos. I do think it will make you a better photographer having the right camera.

Like any tool it should be something that makes practicing your craft easier to do. It should be an enabler of greatness.

The camera should inspire.

It should inspire you to always grab for your camera, even if to only take photos of your cat.

Many street photographers are ashamed of the sound of their shutter. They want it to be as quiet as possible so people don't notice it going off.

But when you are inspired by your camera, you love your shutter sound. You long to hear its magical click where you know that moment is frozen forever.

Above all you should miss your camera. When you have been away from it you should feel a deep longing within to be reunited if only to hear that magical click once again.

A photographer only gets better by practicing. And taking photos is an enormous part of this practice,

So will a camera make better photos?

One hindered percent no,

But a camera that inspires you to always use will make you a better photographer.

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Golden Hour Exploration

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I have a very prescribed method of testing out a new camera and have been doing it for everyone of the cameras I have owned. It lets me know within a few minutes whether the camera will suit my style The first thing I do is shoot photos of Dora. There are a number of reasons for this. First, she is extremely curious and wants to know what is in the new box that has just entered her house. Second, the lighting inside is lower so it pushes the cameras high ISO settings to let me know its performance. And finally Dora likes to move quickly and not pose for long so it allows me to see how responsive the camera is. I planned to go out for a walk along the beach to do some photography with the Golden Light of the setting sun. But first I needed to do my Dora test. Being that this is a manual focus camera I had to work a little harder to get the shots as Dora liked to move just as I got her in focus but with a little patience and practice I got faster and grabbed a fantastic shot.

Next it was off to the beach to do some exploring. The light of the setting sun was magnificent on this particular evening and as I came across a tree in the light I had to stop and make a few frames.

The fantastic light was reserved only for the trees though.

I am less and less concerned about making street photographs now when I go out. Instead I take a Flaneur's approach and photograph whatever speaks to me most.

Lately I have been trying out a bunch of different shots using my reflection in the shot as well

As the sun set and the light was beginning to disapear, it was time to start heading home.

As I walked it was the perfect time to test out the low light performance of the camera. I was not let down. I was able to take this shot holding the camera at a speed of 1/8s. In fact, I had another one that I shot at 1/4s that was just a sharp. Even with all the in body stabilization of my OM-D I was not able to go this slow.

Needless to say I had a great walk and am enjoying my new toy thoroughly

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Like a Leica

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I know what you are thinking not another person doing another camera porn blogpost dedicated to the Red Dot god named "Leica".

In fact I don’t even own a Leica!!

So why the title? Well it is a play on words you see but let me digress for a few moments

In my short photographic life I have owned a lot of cameras, and I mean a lot of cameras….the list goes

Nikon d5000, Nikon d90, Nikon d300, Nikon d5000, Canon 5d, Ricoh GRD III, Leica M8, Nikon FM, Minolta xd-7, Olympus EP-3, Pentax k5, Leica d-lux 5, Fujifilm x-pro 1, Olympus OM-d

Have no fear, I am not some crazy gear addicted person who spends all their waking hours on forums looking at MTF charts and dreaming about the next greatest camera or lens and how it will make me a better photographer, even though it may look this way.

Most people think you should get one camera and one lens and stick to it….I believe this to a degree with one caveat…

First you need to know what the correct camera and lens is for you.

I believe in expermintation…I think you should try them all out! Find out what is important to you and what compromises you are willing to make.

Because lets face it there is no perfect camera and you do need to make compromises.

I won’t go into a full list of what is important to me in a camera but after all my experimenting I can decisively say I know exactly what is important to me in a camera.

On another note I have regretted selling my Leica M8 almost everyday since I sold it. Not because it was a Leica but because the experience it gave me when using it.

You see I enjoy thinking when I photograph. I want to be inspired to think and make my own decisions on exposure and focusing not be reliant on a computer. Sure you can do this on any camera but it is just to easy to get lazy!

The only reason I sold it was because I was doing some portraiture work and wanted the convenience of autofocus for that work. But since I have gone back to work and my focus photographically has moved back to personal projects.

And so...

I have been really craving this experience again….

And so I sold off all my m4/3 gear and bought one camera and one lens. The focal length that best suits me after all my experimenting and a camera that inspires me to use it.

And so what camera did I get?

I am now the proud owner of the Epson R-d1.

Although, in a digital sense it is very old I love this camera quite a lot. It has actually been the perfect compromise for me. I intend to write more about his camera in the coming weeks.

The concept of my Like A Leica was born with the move to this camera. The play on words is because I love Leica's rangefinder experience and the R-D1 is just Like a Leica in that it is a true rangefinder.

I read a long time ago about the Leica Year from the Online Photographer and have always wanted to try it in a roundabout way...

The concept of this Leica Year is to buy a meterless film Leica, one lens and shoot one type of black and white film for a year. I have always wanted to try it and maybe oneday I will.
My concept of Like a Leica is designed after the Leica Year. After all the bouncing around between different cameras and lenses I have found a camera that I truly love to use and I know the focal length that suits me best.

It is time to return to an engaged form of photography that will inspire me to shoot often and improve photographically.

I will share my journey in this little experiment on the blog.

The project's goal is to go out shooting a minimum of 3 times a week. Each week I will post and share some of my favourite photos from each outing.

There is no script on what I intend to shoot.....

It will be a flanuer's guide to the world around me.

I hope you enjoy

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What LiveStrong Really Means

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The livestrong bracelet was originally created as a method of fundraising for cancer with the original goal of achieving 25 million. Since 2004 when this bracelet took off it has successfully sold over 80 million copies and inspired countless other charities and organizations to create their own bracelet.

I see many people wearing livestrong and I often wonder if they know what it really means. Are they wearing it for a fashion fad, or to make a statement or is it truly a declaration that they do livestrong.

Well I guess to determine that we would first have to understand what LiveStrong meant. I looked around on the internet and the best I could come up with I found at wikipedia and it said it is meant to encourage people to live life to the fullest.

Now how on earth can a bracelet encourage you to live your life to the fullest with just one word? Frankly, I don't think it can. Unless you have the consititution to be living your life to the fullest and this serves as just a reminder to you and everyone else you are doing that. But to expect a bracelet to change our entire vision and start making us live life differently is crazy.

I like to look at this as more. Livestrong to me is more than just living life to the fullest, it is about living your life with true strength. By wearing this bracelet you are making a declaration to everyone around you that you have true strength and have the fortitude to get through anything life throws your way.

I came across a quote the sums up a perfect definition of true strength

"Anyone can give up - it's the easiest thing in the world to do. BUT to hold it together, when everyone else would understand if you fell apart - that's True Strength." - Unknown

I think this is why so many cancer survivors wear this bracelet. It isn't just a reminder to them to live their life to the fullest. It is a reminder that when life threw them one of the biggest curveballs they could have expected, they hung in their and exhibited more true strength than could have been imagined. This bracelet is a declaration of their inner true strength and a reminder that they have the strength to handle whatever life throws at them.

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Street Photography for Beginners: The Social Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

We are all on our way to becoming the next masters of street photography, continually developing and practicing our foundations of street photography. But there is one more skill that is often overlooked. It is very common place for a street photographers to be out shooting and not say a single word the entire time they are out.

Our society has slowly moved to a place where people no longer smile or greet each other as they walk by on the street, everyone is preoccupied with their own situation. Now this shift in society behaviour can work towards a street photographer's benefit because it is much easier to take your photos unnoticed.

But if you are walking around quiet and sullenly taking your photos, it almost has a stalking appearance and that could put many people on guard while you are around. By smiling lots and saying hello to people as you walk around you become a lot less threatening. This will allow your subjects to relax while you are around with your camera, allowing you to get better photos.

One exercise I like to work on each day is everytime I am out taking photos I like to take the time to stop and talk to at least one stranger. By spending some time striking up conversations with strangers you will not only develop your social skills, but your confidence will improve dramatically.

This added confidence will allow you to continually be able to get closer to your subject so you can get the framing and composition you want. And you never know, while you are having your conversation you may just get the oppurtunity to take an excellent candid street portrait :)

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Exploring the Morning Light of James Street North

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

As many of you know when I returned to work earlier this year but photography took a bit of a backseat while I learned to rebalance everything in my life again.

My vacation to New Brunswick re-ignited my passion and drive for my photography.

Since then I have been trying very hard to get out each week to practice. The weekends are usually the time when I get out with my camera, but most often I head out in the harsher mid-day light. There is no real reason for this other than convenience. The beautiful early morning light usually has my breakfast getting in the way and the afternoon light competes with dinner. Harsher mid-day light isn't too bad with the help of a polarizer though.

I decided one weekend that I wanted to get out for a morning walk along James Street North to take advantage of some morning light and do some street/documentary work (or whatever you want to call it).

One problem I didn't foresee with my master plan for the day was the morning light may have been a little early for everyone else as well and I was greeted by empty streets.

I was a little disapointed by this revelation as I was looking forward to doing some street photography. I decided to continue on my walk anyways to see what I could find. So how do you practice documentary/street photography without any people to document? Well you just explore around and take images of what speaks to your soul.

As I continued along James Street I found my first subject and was rewarded for my perserverance with some great morning light.

Collision Course

I thought for sure as I entered the market area I would be able to hang out for a bit and get a few frames of the shoppers experiencing their sidewalk shopping experience. Alas, I was too early for the shoppers and was only greeted by a merchant setting up.

I came upon someone else enjoying the morning light and waiting for the market to open as well. He seemed like he was deciding to wait it out, whereas I decided to continue my journey

I decided at the outset of my trip to put my polarizing filter on my lens to make sure my colours didn't wash out as the sun was rising. But I was noticing that sometimes the filter was adding a weird washed out look depending on the position of the sun. I couldn't figure out why it was doing it but embraced it and found an images that I king of liked the effect in.

As I made my way into the Jackson Square area, I came across a photo oppurtunity I have been shooting quite a bit on my walks lately; the building on building shot.

After walking around downtown for a bit without finding any real good photo situation I started back towards my car. I have really had an affinity for colour photography this year for some reason, being drawn to it while I am out. The best thing to do in this situation is to embrace your tendencies. As I have been moving around to different areas I have noticed wonderful colours and have considered a Colours of Hamilton Project (more on project ideas to come though)

Now although I loved my morning walk was great there wasn't a lot of oppurtunites to shoot street photography with the lack of people out and about. it was dominated single subject frames. As I was nearing the end of my journey I saw one of my first multi-subject oppurtunities approaching so I ran across the street to be able to get the shot (the empty streets helped me out!)

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