Even though our dog is such a cutie I try not to use too many shots of him in my 365. Tonight he was even cuter than normal – I know, hard to believe isn’t it? This is his favorite toy and as luck would have it the most annoying one as well. It doesn’t squeak, thank goodness, but we are forever having to dig it out from underneath furniture for him to play with. I had him sit for the shot and at the last minute I pulled the ball out from my pocket. I am sure it took everything in him to stay still for me. I had to work quickly and only got two shots off before he couldn’t take it anymore and pounced the ball as if his name was tiggerrrr.

Strobist: SB800 1/64 through an umbrella on the floor @ 8 o’clock

Bichon Frise

The Snow Leopard upgrade has been out for a while now but I was a bit nervous to install it when I heard all the negative press. I finally took the leap recently and boy am I glad I did. My Mac seems to run fasted and even though the visible enhancements are minor, they make a great operating system even better.

Strobist: SB800 1/128 with grid and flag @ 5 o’clock pointed at the Snow Leopard box.
Small flashlight pointed at the Apple logo on the computer.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Upgrade

Today was awesome, guess who got to go for a ride in a helicopter this evening. It makes me want to be a pilot all over again. I still have my license but I would need to be re-certified if I ever wanted to fly on my own. One of the greatest moments of my life was my first solo back when I was getting my license, seems like a lifetime ago. Thanks Bruce for the opportunity, it was amazing!

Bell 206 Ranger - Canadian Helicopters

Me and my boy can’t wait for summer. This is our DIY backyard pool, how do you like it? I say he makes it, any bets? D’oh, I think I forgot to fill it with water )

Happy Bench Monday Everyone! (not really a bench but he is up high off the ground??)

Summer Fun

These are my son’s crazy new PJs. When he was younger he just loved anything to do with Mario Brothers and deep down I think he still does. They bring back many fond memories of us just hanging out, playing Nintendo and me actually being better at it than him. That didn’t last long, he now runs circles around me on any video game. Don’t let the silly pajamas fool you, he is a pretty cool cat most of the time.

Strobist: SB800 1/32 through umbrella @ 4 o’clock
SB600 1/16 pointed to ceiling with DIY bounce card handheld @ 7 o’clock

Crazy Mario Brothers Pajamas

Just walking down the street on Whyte Ave in Edmonton and low and behold I happened to stumble across a Starbucks. For some reason I can’t help myself when I see this sign, I just have to go in and get myself some joe. I know that I am part of the minority but I am one of the few in Alberta that perfers Starbucks over Tim Hortons – I know, such blasphemy but I prefer my coffee to have some zip as opposed to zap.

Always time for some joe at Starbucks on Whyte Ave in Edmonton

Those of you from Edmonton should recognize this famous sitting statue located in the food court at West Edmonton Mall. This poor guy has been holding his burger, just about to take a bite, for over 10 years. He looks kinda creepy but for some reason I always want to sit with him whenever I find myself eating at the food court. I am still amazed at how busy the mall is no matter what time of day I go shopping, you should see this place at Christmas – it’s a mad house. West Edmonton Mall was the worlds largest mall until 2004 when the owners built an even bigger one in the States. Consumerism at is best.

West Edmonton Mall Food Court

On my way home today I was thinking about what my shot of the day would be – was kinda stumped. As luck would have it I turned left instead of right and the crossing lights came on, the arm came down, and I knew I had my shot. I had something else in mind but there was a police car behind me so I didn’t want to get to close, maybe next time. As it was, I’m sure he was wondering why I was hanging out my care with camera in hand.

Moving Train at Crossing CN Rail

On the way home today I saw a gaggle of geese, I just like saying that word – gaggle, flying home from their winter down south. I have always wondered where down South they go, where ever it is I’m jealous. I followed them to one of our bigger parks within the city limits – Hawrelak Park. The one day I don’t have a strobe with me so I had to go with the natty light only. This has to be the tell toll sign that Spring is here for sure – fingers crossed.

HBW everyone.

Thank goodness spring is finally here!! I don’t want to jinx it but I think it really is this time – that means no more snow. That also means that the kids can play outside more and not be cooped up in the house diving us parents mad. My youngest son and his cousin are truly best buds, like two peas in a pod. there are a couple of junction boxes on our street and all the kids in the neighborhood love to sit on them for some reason. You can tell by the smile on his face that he is just as happy as us parents that warm weather brings more freedom.

My oldest son and daughter had a film festival hosted by their school this evening where the students of the film studies class film, produce, and present movies in a local theater. I was amazed at the quality of films that were presented, we all enjoyed the festival and can’t wait till next year. My daughter was the big shot producer and stage manager for the evening – she did a great job and I am very proud of her. My nephew even walked away with the grand prize of a new ipod touch – congratulations Mr poker player.

This vending machine was sitting in the lobby of the theater, it reminded me of the movie “Toy Story.” Bonus points go out to the one that can name the Toy Story character in the image and who played his voice in the movie. Those of you that have kids should get this for sure, I mean what kid/parent hasn’t seen this movie at least a couple dozen times?

#300/365 – broke the 3rd century mark, only 65 more:)

Every Sunday night we have our families over for dinner – our way of staying connected as a family. With Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, Nephews, fiends and of course our kids there is anywhere form 20 to 30 people each Sunday. Whenever we tell friends or coworkers about our Sunday dinners they mostly think we are crazy. One reaction that comes to mind which still makes me laugh: you mean EVERY Sunday, I can only handle all my relatives on special occasions at the best of times. Not us, we have an awesome family and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Just wait till I tell you what we all do for summer vacation every year.

This shot is of my niece taking a break from all her cousins watching one of my all time favorite Disney movies – The Incredibles. I love how here fingernail polish matches her shirt, what a little fashionista.

I had the extreme privilege of shooting the the6th annual Small and Mighty Celebration for kids with cancer. I had a blast and met some very amazing kids and families. The event was at St Basil’s Church in Edmonton and the evening was truly a celebration on all accounts. This night was for the kids and their families who have survived or are still on their path to survival with cancer. The event activities included a silent auction, face painting, semi permanent tattoos, a balloon animal artist, an incredible dinner, a wicked dance, a magician, and a juggler. I almost forgot the 10ft crocodile cake that was donated by a local cake decorator. Suffice it to say there was plenty of fun stuff for kids of all ages to do, thanks to the spectacular planning and organizing of the Small and Mighty event committee.

Thanks again Amy and I look forward to next years event.

Owen

Strobist: 2x SB600 1/8 into reflective umbrella @ 4 and 8 o’clock.
Sb800 through DIY diffuser pointed a background behind subject.

Quick Movie Quiz – anyone know what movie I am making reference to in the title. No cheating, if you Google it you will be served a penalty.

Have a great weekend everyone!

On the way home today I drove past a cemetery and saw the sun falling behind this statue. As I got closer I noticed all this fruit at the bottom as an offering I imagine. I played around with a couple of different lighting set ups but liked this one the best. I knew I wanted to have the statue in silhouette but wanted to still have the fruit visible. I didn’t have a light stand so I held a SB600 below the camera and flagged it to direct the light just enough to give the fruit a little kiss of light. This was shot with my LX3 which one again pleasantly surprised me with its performance especially considering it is just a point and shoot.

Srtobist: SB600 1/64 hand held below camera, slightly to the left, flagged with DIY foam flag/bounce card. I had to diffuse the flash with Kleenex to drop the intensity of the light as the SB600 only goes down to 1/64.  Triggered with poverty wizard.

I was in the mood for a little black and white today and firetrucks have always amazed me – I wanted to be one when I was a kid. I know that isn’t possible but a kid can dream. Typical shots of firetrucks are mostly bright red or even yellow so I wanted to capture one in black and white in contrast. Do you know how hard it is to find a firetruck driving on the road when you are looking for one. I got lucky with the rolling ominous cloud and I liked the leading line of the bridge railing.

First Monday since our vacation so that means it’s time for a Bench Monday shot. Most of the snow is all gone now but the forecast is calling for some more tomorrow – GIMME A BREAK!! I tried something new when processing this shot, even though it looks a little HDRish it is not – just one exposure. My daughter loves her new Vans, when I got my first pair all they had were the classic checker board style. We saw some while we were on vacation and I was this close to getting them but the Mrs. reminded me of how old I was

Happy Bench Monday Everyone.

Another mall shot, this time at West Edmonton Mall. It amazes me every day how many things there are around us to shoot that most of us just take for granted. How many people just walk by these cacti without even giving them a second thought, now they are immortalized on the web. I can’t wait for spring to arrive for good and I can shoot more people doing their thing outside. One of my favorite pastimes is people watching, it’s what got me into photography in the first place.

Strobist: SB800 DIY bounce card 1/128 @ 8 o’clock triggered by poverty wizards

This was shot at Southgate Mall in Edmonton as I was strolling through the food court. As you all know by now, being a photographer I am a big fan of awesome light. When I saw this huge pillar of light I was immediately drawn to it and had to capture it. If there is one tip that I can give any photographer it would be to always have a camera on you. As much as my wife thinks I am crazy for it, I pretty much always have a camera on me just in case something grabs my eye. Even if it is just a camera phone you can still capture a shot to share with the world. It doesn’t have to be the shot of all shots so long as it is something that is interesting to you.