Endless Complexity of Being and Witness

This entry features 112 jpeg containers. With this scope in mind I feel responsible for introducing what you are about to experience but I find myself without words. It is a perpetuating comedy, then. I photograph for many reasons but one of them is the excellence it represents in the conundrum of self-expression, reflection and reciprocation. Where I stumble, photography grounds me. And, by the way, I love yours too. I think other bloggers should comment so that I can follow the links back to your internet venues. Now, then.

There is a film named Kodak HD 400. I shot a roll of it in my Nickelodeon Photoblaster.

Interestingly enough, the results from this expired roll that has been in my fridge (a number of fridges, really) for years are rather delicious.

Brother Entropy surprised us all in Vancouver with the weather throughout September but in October it began to rain at last. Quite convincingly I might add.

This cat convinced a number of individuals that being in a salad bowl on the floor really is not so bad.

Limits tested, but not met.

Quite content to be back on the floor again. I guess it is really nice to have a camera around for these situations.

Add another point in my decisive moment column.

I love that the film recorded the nature of the sky to some degree, polluted by the light of the city landscape.

I missed several cute/intimate moments between these two but I still wanted them anyway so I had to take them.

We were all in attendance to see a guy in a place.

Pretty sure that was 1/2.

Apparently that is what I looked like, proudly demonstrating my Nickelodeon Photoblaster back from the shop in tip-top shape.

Discovering mirrors is a bit of a strength, I would say.

Guy outside of a place.

Hm, and snapping to finish the roll off the next day. That place burned down on November 12th. That place where I spent so many days, taking oh, okay, maybe one more cup of coffee. Where the food always hit the spot. Where I truly loved the staff. Where.. I don’t know where to go any more.

Good thing, then, that we went inside that day. I guess this was the second to last time I was there. Kodak Tri-X.

I am going to weave in a roll of NPZ here and there and intend that I am slotting it in pseudo-chronologically. Again, different cameras and simultaneous rolls, so who really knows.

Kidnap Kids at Goonies.

Nadja at the Rickshaw.

They were great.

lol

I failed exposing that one, oops, was in a hurried commute. It is almost what I was going for though, to be fair.

That was Mono at the Biltmore, October 6. I only made that one shot on film. Actually, maybe I should include a few of the digital frames I made there…

Here’s Beard wondering if he’ll regret that face. Though he was happy to send me off with the 5d.

So Randy and I hopped in a cab.

The stage was set when we arrived.

The show was sensational, profoundly sensational.

To celebrate we visited 7-11.

On October 9th, 2009 the Centaur upper stage of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite impacted the crater Cabeus near the south pole of the Moon at a velocity of 10,000 km/h. I made a photograph for posterity.

We talked about something cool. Can’t remember what it was. Good story, right?

Waiting to get somewhere.

Quaint. It is always good to get involved with the community in pro-active ways.

Or to just sit and study.

Or sit and sip, discuss.

I am a little rusty.

So, something else that happened in October was my 10 year high school reunion, yep.

Eventually the photographers of the class converged a bit. Everybody loves to handle the Nickelodeon Photoblaster.

It was a weird event. Oh, no, not the reunion. Just the fact that someone almost managed to pull focus here.

That hat fell from the balcony above where a wedding reception was taking place. The hat was being used as a prop for photographs, unfortunately I ended up wearing it for a while before realizing what it looked like on me. Fortunately, it was legal for us all to drink this time we got together, and drinking definitely did occur.

I played with the photographer above who had by that time realized I was in possession of her hat. I was working my way up the stairs to deliver it back to her when I was intercepted by a friendly dude, the brother of the groom perhaps, who had come to retrieve the hat. I didn’t get any farther than that, which I regretted. I wanted to say thanks for playing with me.

Then it was time to celebrate a birthday.

And have a bit of a jam. I think Weston is going to be the family drummer.

That composition grows on me every time, more than last time. ;]

We drove to the supermarket. Careful not to get a parking ticket.

A portrait of a person; a portrait of quality time.

Completing the circle of life, queuing to pay. On the internet, at the cashier, on the internet.

Hallowe’en was approaching, and the last day at my old apartment. Still I had not found a new place to live.

Our Town had become a fairly regular spot to regroup.

And the packing was underway. I was fortunate to have amazing help from amazing friends. And a place to live was found.

As my apartment emptied I paused to make one last image in that place.

I moved on October 31st. The weather was incredible, as was the help I received. Hi, mom.

Later we returned to Command HQ and launched Operation: Destroy Brain Cells.

Other things also happened that night, as they usually do.

Although I dawned the horse to this party, the hot dog guy found an appreciation for my style. We traded hats and I wore his zombie Barack Obama mask which worked out nicely because I was dressed formally and it was possible to shoot through the eye holes in the Obama mask, unlike through the horses mouth.

Salacious!

November 1st deserved going out for breakfast.

R.I.P. Idle Thumbs <3 (that was being out for breakfast another day in fact). I was boycotting the price of razors for a bit. :/

We are at the Elbow Room.

The painting walls occurred. The consumption of Stiegl occured, occurs yet.

Leica eyes. You know’em or you don’t.

You’d think I might be near Our Town again.

Might be right…

It is happening on all sides of me.

Oh, this is unique. I brought to a show a flash device for my camera, then I used it.

I am impressed you’ve got this far, honestly.

But do not worry, we are almost there.

OK.

I think we’re good.

Good morning, Internet.

You know what, Internet? You’ve never looked at your watch, or crumpled your forehead, or quoted me the time, or inquired ‘Morning… ?’ and I love you for that. Your reward is this blog. We commit your mortal remains to the bosom of the MAE-West. That was a really funny joke I just made, it’s just unfortunate that you don’t get it.

I preferred this lot vacant but it is full of used cars again today. This first roll of b&w was shot during August through October in one of my infrequently used SLRs, the trusty Nikon FG.

Things happening on street corners.

This might be the masterpiece of the entry. I know I am getting started a little slow. We’ll see where this goes.

A subtle PBR cache.

This is a government of Canada building. Somehow in this country you don’t get guns pointed at you by private security contractors when you point a camera towards architecture.

Seeing a lot of these lately now that the new subway emerges right down the block from the office.

I was on a trip to buy some film that day. It was when I realized that the price of Tri-X has risen dramatically in the last few years. It was quite a while since I’ve bought any since I had a modest stash.

As an experiment I recently picked up some Arista Premium from Freestyle photo (google will tell you that many people consider this repackaged Tri-X or at least almost identical to Tri-X). I will talk about it in a future update when I get around to shooting some since some of the photographers reading might be interested (it is priced almost 1/3 the cost compared to a roll of Tri-X).

Since I’m down the path of wankery already, here is the Zeiss ZF 50/1.4 at 1.4 on Kodak TMAX 100 (the old version). This is the flower garden outside my old apartment on 14th. I often read when commuting and so when arriving at home I’d like to sit there for a while and finish off the current chapter. I guess that POV is a nice memory now.

Same thing, 1.4.

And finally, 2.8, probably my favourite aperture on that lens.

Seems this guy was wearing a hat.

I’m not quite sure why I did that. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I thought 1/4th made me a videographer too.

I was talking about how much character the shutter on the Nikon FG has. Naturally I had to demonstrate.

There was a rainbow. I promise.

In October I got my Leica back from service and put some trix in there. I guess I did not write about it here but in the summer my Summicron fell apart. Not many people know this, but on the third day, God’s Summicron fell apart also, and from his tears the oceans of the Earth were formed.

I said stand still I need to test the focus. I don’t know what’s more amazing, that my collimation is now corrected or that he didn’t make a face.

Let’s not.

His name is Rich Hope and he’s gonna whip it on ya.

But really I was there to see Grady.

And I had the pleasure of proximity permitting me to photograph the Gordie Johnson signature truss rod cover. It’s nice to look for the details like this when shooting live music. The stuff the other photographers will never get.

Then again it also helps being close enough to get knocked out by the headstock.

Rocking the epic double-neck.

And the Explorer, no less.

So that was the first roll through the reborn M6. This has been an intermediary update. More soon, kiddies.

Good morning. I’m going to blog a bit now while I have a chance. There’s a good pile of boxes to my right. The shelf is empty and the closets are following close behind. Of course some of those boxes I didn’t have to pack because they were already waiting there like they’ve been the last 2 years or more. I don’t quite know what the feeling is to witness these piles of hundreds of 8x10s most of which not even grant me pride. Nonetheless, when I reach my new home I plan to pull them out and get them on to the walls for once. Perhaps I will see many of them in a new light.

But for now, more fancy colours.

I found this roll from 2007 somewhere inside a tube. It had never been cut. So I’m rewinding a bit to once again revisit moments that occurred when I first moved to Main street a couple days before I move again.

This circumstance will be familiar to some.

My buddy Maarten was in town to work with us for the summer. I was happy to see him again and still wish I made more time to spend together.

This is a series of JJ attempting to play Forza Motorsports.

He’s not getting much positive encouragement though.

Because somebody wants some candy, and somebody wants it really bad.

Desperate times…

Sometimes there’s nothing left to do but to move in for the kiss.

I got a kiss that night too but I did make $5 for it.

These things happen on the bus late at night.

Never met them before or again.

We’re waiting for the b-line.

That dinner felt like a parody.

All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.

We’re getting some air outside. It is the second last Fake Jazz Wednesday at the Cobalt.

This week and the next, people were taking tiles or any piece that would remove as souvenirs before the end of The Cobalt. I just took some photographs.

In the ladies room the art was more ambitious.

Hello.

That was a random angry human yelling at me like many others have done. Their finger is sore and yes that’s a cigarette.

Hello.

Hello.

Man, I really wanted that shirt. I had trouble taking no for an answer. I’m sorry I was so persistent.

I really don’t remember much of that night but I did leave my phone on a bench near where we’re standing right there. There was a nice guy delivering papers early in the morning who found it and when I realized I’d lost it I got in contact with him and he drove up to me at the 7-11 payphone within 2 minutes. He leaned across and handed me my phone through the passenger window of his Honda Civic. His car smelled like a cigar and he had a nice moustache. He told me his karma must be doing good this week because he just found a wallet full of money the day before that he was able to return. I told him I didn’t know how to thank him but I gave him $20 which was all I had on me. He smiled and decided he’d take his wife out for breakfast. That would make me very happy I said. Later when I was looking at my call history I noticed he tried to call ‘Mom’ at 6am thinking that was a good person for him to call! Sorry, Mom! Haha.

Our Town = Our town.

Sitting by the window with coffee and a book.

So for Craig’s surprise birthday party the theme was being old. Everyone dressed up like we were triple our age. Well most of us did.

Naturally I brought the horse for some reason.

I wanted a photograph of her for years before this moment arrived.

Newlyweds Jon and Randie gave me a couch to sleep on that night after I had trouble getting home. In the morning Jon made me coffee and toast and we played video games. All the good ones are taken!!!!!

Fraction of a second too late.

Maybe that’s what the end of times will look like.

And then I discovered the Vancouver Ukelele Circle which gathers every month at Our Town Cafe.

They are led by this man.

He seems to take his role very seriously.

That night there happened to be a film crew from Japan visiting.

He’s no relation to the crew but seemed very interested to tag along either way. Just like me.

I thought their camera guy ruled actually.

A week later I was at the Cobalt again for the final Fake Jazz Wednesday and the final show ever at the Cobalt. Yeah that’s a paint brush.

I actually loved their set but didn’t learn their name.

Next was Anha.

Goodbye Cobalt. I hardly knew you.

This entry really was about the end of things and the passing of time. Good bye East 14th Avenue. I already know that it will be difficult to remember you fondly and that’s an injustice because you were the best place I’ve ever lived.

I never thought I’d see a resonance cascade, let alone create one! I am imagining the general theme for this entry will end up being things overlapping, like the occurrences presented and images themselves. When you’re shooting 2 cameras concurrently it creates a challenge to sort them back together, but since a couple of these rolls are rife with double exposures then perhaps the fair lady of the universe has sent a resonance upon my cortex.

Our new subway line in Vancouver has a system of television screens which appear will be used for advertising. The first time I rode the line I saw this unregistered software notification on the screen so I snapped thinking it wouldn’t last long. It was at least a couple weeks before they did something about it.

If you’re used to shooting on the street with a 35, this compositional catastrophe is what happens when you try and do it with a 50.

They were getting ready for Halloween already in September at Value Village.

When chasing a child around the store becomes exhausting, this is possibly your best option.

Until it is learned that ears could be very fun toys!

Who likes some kitty portraits? This feline’s name is Frida.

I still believe firmly that the best pet portraits are the ones where you can make them out like historical evil dictators. I couldn’t quite nail that mood here.

Dave.

Hanging out at the studio after working on some tracks.

And here to add some ancient history to this post are a few shots beginning with Kevin.

So this is what ends up happening when you fail to realize or remember that you’ve shot a few frames on this roll before and then pulled it back out of the camera. Oh, and not sure what Kevin is up to but we’ll get a closer look…

Wasn’t sure which framing worked best. The frames are completely off from being aligned.

Quite flattering. If I remember correctly, he had a couple drinks.

This frame helped me finally to date the exposures. It was 2 years ago last September that I was sitting at that table. I was waiting for my new landlord to meet me at the cafe to sign the lease for my new apartment. The same apartment I will leave in 2 weeks.

So this is what the kids are doing these days. They plug the iPod in to the sound system and then they don’t have to actually perform any music, they just get to sing in the microphone. It helps if the venue is almost empty.

This is Tom and he’s waiting to play next. A couple days ago I saw him running for the bus on Broadway. Tom, you run for buses like a fucking pro.

He’s not so bad with the sound machines either. The name of this group is Haunted Beard.

Now, this shot and some that follow point back towards the title of this blog, the thoughts which inspired it and the associated conflicts. If I wish to document, do I have boundaries? I have to admit I’m less and less a fan of those constructs which persist when they do so without imminent harm or danger. But again, harm and danger are too subjective for my confidence.

If you wanted to understand what’s resonating through him I encourage you to find out.

“It’s not what I imagined.”

My favourite for the surreal quality.

f/1.4 and 1/4th.

Here’s Noah. Seeing him that night was part of a long string of random coinciding encounters we had. Or maybe not so random!

I named this guy Disneyland. Creative, I know.

We wanted to give Scott a ride home but since we had 5 people to fit in the car, with his bike, it wasn’t meant to be.

Another night at Our Town. Noah again, in plaid. Actually, Disneyland is in that picture too haha!

The Collapsing Opposites.

The Head That Was Out Of Focus In The Last Frame.

Thee Ahs. Damn, I came across this looking them up. Big thumbs up around here.

Wasn’t allowed to type between those two.

Dave watching GI Joe PSAs.

Heading home just before sunrise.

Hi, me.

Carcassonne. These double exposures were again a mistake.

As an artist I have some profound statements to make.

See, I told you. I think this statement is something like: I know how far .7m is.

Another important statement: What a Bentley being towed for illegal parking in the handicap zone looks like.

Getting a cappuccino. These are on top of a jazz quartet if you didn’t figure out yet. And it gets weirder.

Like Jon sitting next to himself playing the trumpet while also blowing the trumpet in Rick’s ear back in the previous frame.

So something else that happened at the stag was one guy locking himself in the mens room at the restaurant for an hour. This was a case of what I’d call overenthusiastic pre-drinking. I was in the mens room with Norm, on the left, when he finally unlocked the stall. You can tell Norm isn’t quite sure about this situation.

So there’s Norm playing the drums, with Jon blowing his trumpet while Mike is exhaling his hit off the hookah on the porch behind Norm’s house.

Later in the morning, sitting with Norm before catching a bus back home, and… a pole on a bus.

Trying to look a bit proper the night of Jon’s wedding and another example of flash thievery at a party/show I went to in September.

Meant to do that one actually.

The view in the window of a restaurant with some party goers.

It was groovy to run in to Weston at that party. I had no idea he was into that scene.

This hallway we’re in was stocked with chalks for anyone inspired to create artworks.

Most times when individuals become aware of intended to be candid photograph attempts I’ll just stop because it becomes something I’m not interested in. But I guess sometimes it’s still a good idea to keep going.

Long story, short; this guy thought I couldn’t stop his eyes in a photograph in that light if he kept them moving constantly.

Some thing happening.

Hi, Noah! I am not sure how I received that look from her but I think it makes my temperature rise.

At this point I could click Save Draft and continue this entry later but I’ve reached the extent of what I currently have scanned.