Art On The Street, co-hosted by the Guelph Arts Council and the Guelph Business Association, July 14th

Wyndham Street on the left with the temporary open-air studios on Quebec Street

The Fountain at St. George's Square

Artwork by Aisha

Aisha at her easel

Artwork aficionados

Artwork by Noelle

Noelle at her easel

Artwork in the middle of an abandoned quarry in the Guelph Hills

It is an on old shelter that has been given a makeover. It sits in the old quarry that used to be worked on by the inmates of the long-gone Guelph Reformatory. It is the source of stone for most of the Guelph homes. It sits near the Eramosa River and is accessible from the aptly-named Stone Road. It is a favoured place for folks who feel they don't belong to and not accepted by the rest of society. The sheer cliffs is a favourite for climbers and adventurers. The area is now overgrown with scrub trees but still there remains a haunting presence that demands respect from whomever approaches the area. 

I love this place! 
(A vertically-shot panorama, handheld). June 8th.

Snapshots from the quarry floor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from the quarry floor by the old Ontario Reformatory. July 8th.

The lovely Eramosa: hand-held panoramics with the 5N

 the Eramosa

 a bend on the Eramosa

grey canoe on the Eramosa

 green canoe on the Eramosa

 the Ukrainian Catholic Church by the Eramosa

 two ladies walking by the Eramosa

 a walkway and a canoeway

where the Eramosa meets the Speed by Gordon Street

Shooting a wedding.... as a guest.

Kamal and Lamis' wedding on June 30th, in London, ON. This is the first wedding in years that I have  attended as a guest. Throughout these years, I have taken scores of weddings as a photographer, for both my business as well as (mostly) for Boston Avenue Weddings.

Initially, it was excruciatingly painful to keep still and not be involved in capturing key moments during the day. It was like, "there's a shot...there's a shot... what the hell is the photographer doing... where is he for that shot...." 

Not too long into the day, I started to feel great as a guest and it was a lot of fun soaking in the good will that pervades these happy events.

I did bring a small camera to shoot with, but as a guest, one is constricted in two ways: one's movements and the lack of the proper photo tools.

All in all, I wish I had more weddings to attend to as a guest.

I have a wedding to shoot this Saturday at the Toronto Hunt Club. This will be a more familiar Saturday territory.

Photos taken with a Sony NEX 5N at ISO 3200, cropped down to 1/3 of the whole image, 18-55.

Stuff for the little ones

at the Atrium-on-Bay, Jun 27th.

Corporate sports and breakfast cereals: I just don't get it! (a rant)

 

The Toronto Blue Jays against the Washington Nationals at Rogers Centre, in the shadow of the CN Tower. June 13th.

Perhaps it was because I expected to be wowed, to be amazed. But my experience at watching professional baseball was extremely disappointing! It was 2.5 hours of extremely mind-numbing boredom. Here you have guys going in and out of the dugout for the innings, warming up, stretching, throwing the ball around to warm up. The actual combined action probably amounted to a total of 5 minutes. Any excitement  in the stadium was generated by the staff who gamely tried to initiate "the wave", by the the announcers who may as well have said, "hey people, you just paid good money for this game so you better be having fun so you can rationalize your wasted money and time", by meaningless stats, by the occasional panning of the camera on the crowd to get people to be excited about "being on camera" for their 5 sec of fame.

Show me a game of rep soccer of 12-18 year-olds any day: now there's action from beginning to end.
Show me a game of pickup basketball of once-athletic 40-50 year-olds and I'll get excited.
Show me a chess game between two excellent chess players and I'll pay attention.

Furthermore, the concession stands were outrageously overpriced! $10.50 for a tall boy beer ($2.00 at the LCBO), $4.75 for french fries ($1.75 max at New York fries), $4.75 for Dasani water. (People are not allowed to bring food from outside... it's like airport security at the turnstiles). And there's the $7.50 mini Louiseville Slugger bat (made in China) that would be $1.25 at Dollarama (if they could pay the hefty licensing fee).

And there's the traffic after the game. What a f***ing waste of time.

Later today, I'll be watching the Guelph Royals for an inter-county game at Exhibition Park in Guelph. It should be fun sitting in the stands on a hot summer day, mere metres from the action, watching players who play solely for the fun of it, with affordable drinks and snacks. This is what baseball should be like. Baseball is not so much a game as it is a social and cultural experience. The action is just not on the field but also with the people around you.

There's something to be said for the local and the familiar.
And what about breakfast cereals? That's for another blog entry on corporate interests imposing an unhealthy practice to generate untold billions of dollars.
Full disclosure: This trip to the baseball game was initiated by my son's school for the 9-10 year-olds. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip as it was a chance to be with the kids, to watch their amazement at the game, at the CN Tower, at the festive atmosphere, at the "wonders" of the unique Slurpie at the concession stand. Our kids are growing up before our eyes and we should all take the opportunity to spend time with them as much as we can. 
Many thanks to Mr. R and the parents who came with us.
My negative comments on the day are solely on the idea of corporate sports itself, about the hijacking of a meaningful sport for the sake of making money.

KANTO: Fine Filipino Cuisine

Once in awhile, you come across a real find: a gem in the rough, a delicious treat with a unique ambience, excellent value for your money.
Kanto's website says it better than I could:
"Kanto will be showcasing Philippine cuisine with emphasis on street food as if you were in the Philippines.Live Local Marketplace in Scadding Court Community Center has revolutionized street food in Toronto. The community has set-up food stalls made from refurbished shipping containers and still following Toronto public health's guidelines. There's a variety of food from different cultures which are local, fresh and very inexpensive.Kanto literally means "corner". It is at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas.
Kanto is a division of Tita Flips and basically is a storefront at the moment where clients can drop by and get food readily available from our regular menu and daily specials.Kanto could also mean: "Kain na Toronto" (means Eat, Toronto!)Kain na sa Kanto!"

 refurbished shipping containers

 Diona with the Philippine flag

 I recommend everything, with special emphasis on the "halo-halo" and "palabok"

 street ambience: people, diesel fumes, and all

What the website doesn't tell you is that Diona has a genuine smile that greets you as if you've known her all your life! Here is Diona with her work of art: the pedestrian halo-halo transformed into a work of art!
(Check out the schematics poster of her halo-halo in the background wall)

http://kanto.ca/
many thanks to Ann Gagno for making me aware of Kanto!

Tripod and Bike (by the Speed River)

(along with a camera) the tools of my trade. June 3rd.

Bridge and Boathouse on the Speed River

June 3rd.

Church of Our Lady

Two versions of The Church of Our Lady, taken 30 sec apart.

 

Which one do you prefer? Comments are very welcomed! June 3rd.

Tracks and Train

Where Wellington turns into Woolwich and Elizabeth turns into Macdonell. June 3rd.

Bokeh and "not-in-focus" at York and Lakeshore

9:45 pm, May 31st.

click, click, click, click: 4 moments on...

...  the Bloor platform northbound.

 

 

 

9:15 pm, May 30th.

"Hippocampus"

"Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos, meaning "sea monster".

on a wall behind the Red Brick Cafe, Guelph. May 2012

Wall Art

 

 

Guelph. May 2012