R.I.P. No. 3 - white

I am not much of a writer, so I'll make this short but sweet. Please give a moment of silence - oh, the irony - to my third (yes, third) pair of earbuds that have befallen the same cruel fate as its predecessors (No. 1 - orange & No. 2 - lime). I hope you did not suffer too much under the jaws of, what must have appeared to be, a giant killer cat. You have lived a brief but useful life and you will be missed. May you find peace at the bottom of my garbage can. Amen.

Cheryl & Ohad's Wedding (12.06.08)

A teaser from a friend's wedding I shot 2 weeks ago.  They were married in a small chapel in Markham, so the guest list was small. But seriously, the room radiated so much love that it actually felt really crowded! Cheesy, but true. I don't think I've ever been a part of a more warm and loving wedding before and I'm so grateful to have clients like them; clients who took the time to make me feel like part of their family. I actually cried during their reception, it was so genuinely touching - I was amazed at the amount of photos I could get in focus!

It's friends and clients like Cheryl & Ohad that remind me why I love photography and perhaps why I chose to shoot weddings. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by love, celebrating people in love? Ha, the romantic side of me emerges ;P But I really am deeply grateful to them for allowing and trusting me to photograph their wedding. 

Cheryl & Ohad, I hope you have a great time renewing your wedding vows in Mexico. All the best <3

Leona Lewis - Run

I really love this song at the moment. Even though it's a remake of Snow Patrol's original version, she's done it such justice. Her voice gives me the chills - you have to see her performance on X Factor! The idea behind this video is also interesting, because it's based on the idea of the subconscious talking to the conscious mind. 

It's really helping me deal with some tough emotions I've been having, namely regarding my future. To essentially change and push my life forward for the better is downright scary, but necessary nonetheless. It's probably about time.

Light up, light up, 

As if you have a choice

Even if you cannot hear my voice

I'll be right beside you, dear

Louder, louder

And we'll run for our lives

I can hardly speak, I understand

Why you can't raise your voice to say....

Testing, Testing, A New Lens Alert!

I just got this new lens (Nikon 50mm 1.4) for a birthday present this year, and it's about time I actually tested it out! And surprise, surprise, my cat happened to be the subject (once again) for my test. Heh.

But look at that creaminess!!! Yum!!! It's still taking me a bit of time to get used to it, but I'm liking what I see so far. I hope to be able to use this lens for my future shoots; it's just too hot of a lens to leave unused and ignored....;)

A week after

Here's my boy the day after he got his cone off. You should have seen how long it took him to clean himself off - and was he soooo happy. Although when I think about it, it's like being offered a bath when you've had a week without showering. I would probably feel the same way...eww :( And I don't even think he even notices that something's missing. He was more concerned that the damned cone was off. Ha!!

Cahones no more

So I've finally gotten my man neutered. Let's just say he's not so happy to see me anymore.  I guess I'm the one who wears the pants in this relationship now :(  

And to add insult to injury, I've been documenting his humiliation in 'the cone'.  Ha! He's so going to hate me....:(

Just one of those days

I don't know how some cat owners can stay sane. Or perhaps it's just my cat and it's just me. I'm starting to believe my cat either needs a helmut, or I need to cover my place from ceiling to floor in bubble wrap.

Now, I am not a morning person. Not in the least. Really. Mornings make me cranky. So on this day, I actually woke up early (blame it on the 'gaining an hour' daylight savings) and decided to take a morning shower & enjoy a light breakfast (meaning a glass of OJ). It's a real treat sometimes when I wake up feeling good enough to enjoy the cool & crisp morning; all was well - so I thought.

Of course my cat was up as usual causing his daily mischief:

• digging up soil from my plants *I have now removed my plants
• trying to remove the pushpins from my corkboard
• attempting to chew through my computer wires
  
• dragging tissues from my washroom garbage can *I have now relocated my garbage can

Seeing how I figured he was up and thinking I was being a good mom, I would go play with my cat so he will stop destroying everything else. Apparently bad idea. Lesson to learn: Don't add fuel to an already hyper cat. Off he went bouncing off of any surface available to him - tables, chairs and somehow appropriately, my glass of OJ, which went spilling and flying ALL over my carpet. He literally kicked the glass right off the table. 

Did I mention that I was not a morning person?

But I should have expected this somehow. Coming from the cat who gave himself a bloody nose and a cut lip from trying to be SuperCat and smashed his face into the side of my table. All I'm saying is that either he needs a helmut, or I need bubble wrap. Lots of bubble wrap.

*sigh* It's just one of those days. And it's only 7:30AM. 

*****update*****

All is well and forgiven again. I came home and Jasper was all affectionate and sorry (I think? to the best of his ability anyways) and we're buddies again. Don't get me wrong, I love my cat to bits, but some days....ARRRGHHHH!!! 

And it's not like he's never been annoyed at me. I just have to see this photo and remember that he was also not a happy camper when I left him at the vets for observation after his SuperCat jump. Ha! Well who thought it was a good idea to jump that distance in the first place? Oh well. 

Just wait until next week when I have to leave him at the vets to get him neutered....uhm, yah. That should be fun. Pictures will follow. Stay tuned.

An oldy, but a goody

Thought everyone might enjoy a video of Jasper when he was just a wee kitten. How he's grown now! I will try to get a more updated video of him now. Perhaps when he's eating and digging through my plants. Grr...but nonetheless, enjoy!!

**note: I have no idea what I was watching at the time on television, so excuse the whatever is it that's in the background :P

Applewood Farm Winery

Okay, before I re-cap my Thanksgiving weekend, what happened to the weather? When did it become winter in October? Where's my crisp autumnal temperatures?! BAH. Not that I'm really complaining, because it could be worse (think blanketing snow storms a-blazing)...but still...*whine* I would have preferred to hang onto another 2 weeks of the light layers, thin scarf & fall jacket kind-of-weather. Oh well, bring out the winter jackets, ear muffs, gloves and boots.

Thanksgiving weekend:

Now my family's not really the roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce kinda people. We tried to celebrate this holiday the "traditional" way for a few years, but we quickly realized that 3 weeks of eating leftover turkey was a pain in the ass. 

This year I decided that, yes, I think I'll start a new tradition of my own (sorta)!!! Autumn = crisp weather = calls for outdoor activity + seasonal fresh fruit = APPLE-PICKING!!! Doesn't that remind you of your elementary school days? I remember picking apples, drinking hot cider & hay rides *what a pretty picture* Okay, so that's what I had wanted to do originally.  Only in retrospect should I have researched this great plan of mine earlier on...I mean, how did I know that apple season was nearing its end?? Huh.

But off we went - me, my brother and the hoebag to a farm...e-i-e-i-ooooo! Ha! So if we couldn't get apples, at least we should try for the next best thing - pumpkins :) We went to the Applewood Farm Winery in Stouffville and got ready for some pumpkin harvesting. Of course we got a little distracted by the actual winery.  I ended up buying their Macintosh Meade and 2 of their fruit ports. Yum!

Off to pumpkin land. 3 for $10, any size? Hello!

Some of the selections:

The only apples left were ground apples = not good for eating. Apparently they're really tart and only good for making pies. I would have bought a bag, but there's only so much pies and tarts I can consume before I roll my way out the door.

The view from the hayride - yes, we got on a hayride! We opted out of the corn maze they had there. I think after hearing "OWWWW" coming from the corn maze, we figured the hayride was a safer choice. 

Can you find me?

Jasper 19 weeks

Awww...I dug this old photo up of Jasper when I first got him and he was no bigger than my television controller. How cuteeee!!! I almost forget how small he was. He's not so much anymore though.

Okay, so the next 2 photos are for all those curious to see what Jasper looks like now! Sorry I haven't posted an updated picture of him in a while, but he's now 19 weeks, has all his shots and I'm just waiting a few more weeks before I get him *ahem* neutered ;P

Here he is "helping" me with my laundry. Ha!

A Political Funny

I < 3 Tina Fey & Amy Poehler!

Veggie Fair & V-Fest 2008

Virgin Festival was here again, or like my Mom says: "V-FACK? What's that? A new swear word?" Me: "No Mommy...it's V-Fest."

This year the Foo Fighters and Oasis were the headliners and as much as I like Oasis, I was in no mood to hear them argue or play a mediocre set (so I've heard from a friend that attended their concert). So Foo Fighters it was :)

I took the hoebag with me this year, and I was to meet my brother and his gf downtown. My brother wanted to attend the Vegetarian Fair prior, so that's where we headed for lunch. How is it that I've lived in Toronto for so long and not known about this? I was in veggie bliss :) Although I'll be the first to admit, the vegan movement is something I'll never be able to get into. Kudos to those who are, but I love my dairy and eggs too much to give it up. I tried this vegan energy bar that kind of tasted like sawdust with berries. 

I also scored some organic tote bags from Green is Black. I LOVE their bags; I'd purchased one in Vancouver and I'm uber excited to know they've opened shop here www.greenisblack.ca If you know me, I am a self-proclaimed bag whore. Yes, I admit it; and if it's environmentally friendly, even better :D

Anyways, some photos to share from that day. The first was on the way to Harbourfront Centre to the Veggie Fest. I just liked the shapes in this first image:

Really good organic vegan cupcakes!! Surprise for me! Although really, the icing made all the difference. I had a Green Tea cupcake. The hoebag had a vanilla one.

At the Virgin Festival/Centre Island:

Our view - so it wasn't the best, but thank goodness for jumbo screens :) Foo Fighters were awesome by the way. Of course my brother had no idea who they were. 

12 weeks

Okay, okay, I've been a lazy blogger again. I'm slowly working on finishing my Vancouver pictures, so hopefully I'll have them up to share for everyone to see. I'm also hoping to get a few sessions under my belt in the upcoming season, so let's hope things all work out and I'll be able to update my portfolio.

Anyways, a post isn't a post without a picture and nowadays, my cat's the most convenient model who will let me photograph him ;) He's getting pretty big now, which is a good sign! I'm glad he's growing...but he's also realizing that with his new body, he can jump higher, climb higher and reach things he's never been able to do. Let's just say he's had his fair share of his encounters with Ms. Spraybottle. 

If he's not attacking my legs, my slippers or chewing on any type of wire *sigh*, he's usually doing the following (pictured above). Hooray for cats and their need for 16 hours of sleep :) 

Although I'm kind of not too sure about his favourite hobby now, which is to watch the water drip from the faucet. What ever happened to "cats and water don't mix"?? 

Jasper Update

Just a quick update on Jasper for those who are interested :) He's now 9 weeks old? And getting more curious and daring everyday. Just now, he decided that swatting my face could be a fun game. Not so much. I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow to get his second round of vaccinations, and perhaps some ear mite medication. He keeps on scratching his ears, and there's been a build-up of wax (tasty); it seems to indicate ear mites - hooray. We'll see what my vet says.

Anyways, a friend asked me how I could get all these picture perfect portraits of this little guy? Well 9 times out of 10, I get images like this one (as he's charging at the camera lens):

This one's for you Amanda - haha! So he's not quite the perfect model yet. Perhaps in time ;) Enjoy!

Crazy Cat Lady

Because I've been behind in editing and posting photos, here's another picture of Jasper to tide the time. Haha, soon this blog will be taken over by this little guy. My one of many posts of my cat; hence I'll morph into the crazy cat lady - oh no! I just kid though! :P 

But here he is in all his glory. He's demanding, whiny, an attention whore, and a gourmet at heart. He truly is my little prince.

My New Boyfriend

Meet Jasper. He's my new 1.4 lbs boyfriend ;) We met at work and it was love at first sight. He was picked up by 3 other people though...younger at that (what a tease!), but he decided to come home with me :) He's still in training mode, because he knows who wears the pants in this relationship!! But I think he's a keeper ;)

*The real story: He was found wandering the parking lot around my workplace. He was picked up by 3 highschool-ers who couldn't leave him by himself. They wanted to give him to the shelter as none of them could keep him. But they made a pit stop by my store, where I heard and saw the little guy and was convinced that he had to come home with me! But no matter what, there's no question that I wear the pants in this relationship :P

A Posting Hiatus

Okay, okay, I've been lagging in my posts again - and it maybe it'll be another week or two before I can play catch-up with my photo blog :( Busy, busy, busy bee I am.

Upcoming postings to look forward to:

• My community assignment
• My final project/personal project - some people may already know what I've been busy working on, and may have been a participant ;) Thank you!
• New York, New York
• Vancouver & Rockies 
• Misc. stuff...TBD :P

But in the meantime, enjoy a picture of my dinner from Saturday! Veggy good food + good friends + perfect weather = great time! 

*added later: By the way, guess who got herself some tickets!! Yahoo!! 

Viva la Vida!!

OMG! Guess who's coming this summer? Must. Get. Tickets. Now.

An unexpected pedestrian

I thought I'd also throw up a fun picture I took for the street assignment. Quack, quack! She was a real gem to shoot. Probably one of my best models ;) Her & her partner actually came right up to my camera lens as I was snapping away. Almost 2 minutes after this photo, the couple tried to cross the nearby road, and was *almost* hit by a crazy young driver. I'm glad he noticed that the ducks seem to have a larger human-shaped object tailing them with a camera and stopped. Hurmph.

The Street

Wow, days sure fly by quickly. It's already June?! When did that happen?? That just means one thing though - it's almost summer! Yay! Well, let me clarify, since those who know me, know that I HATE summer. So *ahem*, what I meant is "yay!" for the tons of events going on in the summer & hanging out w/friends, but "hiiiisssss" & "BOOOOOOOOO" for the damaging, horrible, burning, scorching, crazy hot & un-forgiving sun. 

I mean, I like warmish weather just like everyone else and feeling re-energized by the sun's golden rays :) BUT, sometimes those rays are like evil, killer laser beams targeting my pale, ghostly skin. You would think that I would appreciate some sun and get a tan, yes? No, my friends. The sun only does one thing to me: burns. I don't look that far off from the crustaceans found in your local Red Lobster platter. Yah, I'm sexy ;P

Anyways, enough with that! On to the photos :) These photos were taken for my "street" assignment. I think the pictures are self-explanatory, but for those who like to know the backstory, these photos were taken somewhere along Yonge Street. I managed to capture some photos of a homeless woman while I was walking around downtown before class. Every once and a while, she would shout in her tiny voice, "Change? Change?" to the people passing by her - people who didn't even give her the time of day.

The second photo was taken a few hours after class when I somehow ran across the same woman, in the same position, sitting at the same corner, still calling, "Change?". Once again, people walked by her. My classmates kind of wondered whether she actually sat there for a duration of (must have been) 6-7 hours (that was the time frame between each shot).  I managed to go up and give her whatever change was in my pockets during the day, but I kind of wondered whether it still sat untouched in her cardboard container later that night.

The End of an Era

(if you look closely at the photo, I like how there's two elderly men heading towards the Beer Store at 4PM - haha!! The Beer Store is blocked by the sign, in case you're wondering)

Okay, so I meant to post a while back re: my next assignment, but I'm going to sidetrack for a bit - since it is my blog! ;P So I'm dedicating a post to what I call an end of an era. No, not really for the Loblaws (or "Loblaw") Company, but for my own neighbourhood Loblaws supermarket store. May 28th marked the last day for Store #1002 and next year, it will turn into a No Frills - which is a chain that Loblaws also owns (I'm pretty sure there's a more business term for what that is). Ha, interesting huh? Kind of like the Banana Republic --> GAP --> Old Navy syndrome.  But still, it's no Loblaws :(

Now why am I dedicating an entire post to supermarket you ask? It's just a grocery store, right? Go shop at Dominion! Bah!! Well, this store has also been my "home" for 8 years. Ignore the fact that I probably haven't worked there in the last 5-6 months due to scheduling conflicts, but yes people, I worked at Loblaws...in the Photolab to be more specific.

It was in the Photolab where I met some of my closest friends to date, and to think that we're all going to be separated is sad. I don't think we'll ever lose touch, but it's not the same :( So perhaps it isn't really the store that I'm mourning, but the people and connections made there that I'm going to miss the most.

So farewell Loblaws! I will miss shopping with you; to my co-workers/friends, I'm only a phone call away :) 

The Familiar - Part Deux

In my first post, I mentioned that the kitchen was a meeting place for my family to go chit chat about our day. Well, the kitchen just so happens to be the place where we eat! Duh. What better way to document something familiar to me, than to take photos of my weekend lunch :) Mmmm...spicy ramen (with an egg added in for good measure!) Spicy MSG noodles + soft boiled egg = one happy stomach :D

I managed to take a before & after shot for your viewing pleasure. Trust me, the before shot was not easy for me to take, as I was uber hungry :P 

A friend also mentioned that I used a Japanese spoon vs. a Chinese one to eat ramen with. I'm telling you, the Japanese sure know how to create awesome utensils. Did you ever run into the problem of having your spoon fall into your noodle bowl? Well, I did and it sucked. Imagine having to fish that thing out with your chopsticks. Soup & noodles flying all over the place...not a pretty picture :( Well, extend the spoon handle and add a hook = problem solved!!! Go figure. My ramen eating experience has never been a problem ever again :)

Bon appetit!

My Familiar

thefamiliar_01, originally uploaded by serena.so@rogers.com.

Hello! Just testing out my first post on my photoblog. Welcome :)

Anyways, I promised some friends that I would start blogging my photography adventures ;) So here I am!

So what is this photo then? 

*Backstory: I've been taking a documentary photography course and my first assignment had to do something with the "familiar". What the heck is the "familiar"? Well, apparently none of my classmates really knew either, including myself! Haha! But the instructions were to capture - on film - a snapshot from your everyday life; daily rituals, meal preparations, people, objects, etc. were fair game for subject matter.

I chose to photograph my mother's bedroom. Kinda boring, maybe? But I realized that this would be an appropriate snapshot of my "familiar". This is where my brother and I would go to and catch up with my mom (besides in the kitchen, but I'll talk about that later); whether it was for a quick "hello! how are you?" or lengthy & in-depth (driving my brother to boredom = asleep on the floor) "girl-talk" :P 

Anyways, I hope you like this one! I may post more pictures up later from this assignment - stay tuned!!

Cheers :)