But first it’s time to be silly.

Getting back to business. This is my uncle.

He’s doing that.

Hi, I’m having a nice time in the sun.

See I told you.

Hotdogs ready in 5 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Impromptu ‘on our way to havin’ hotdogs’ dance!!!

Those people in the background were very loud and disturbing. Sorry, but some people came to the beach for some relaxation not listen to the twenty most fabulous stories about your stupid dog.

But wait, what’s this? Is that…

Look, it’s coming this way!

The Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft.

Now I must admit that this had me excited, and I will explain.

But first, a bit about rocks.

Standing on them is a good idea.

Ah, see. Satisfying, isn’t it?

Okay, that’s great. Can we go look at this hovercraft now?

I don’t know. Once you’ve seen one hovercraft, you’ve seen them all.

Well, when I was a boy I was treated to the same surprise on the same beach. I remember this fascinating experience quite fondly. That caused me to go in to snap mode. The perfect time to have a Nickelodeon Photoblaster hanging off the neck.

Hoping that doesn’t end.

But all things do, and we relive them on our point and shoot LCD displays.

Well hello. See that phone on the table? It would never take another call. How’s that for mysterious.

One day when I was sitting in the park I took a picture and a guy in the background looked very unimpressed.

Getting some fishing in.

Coffees. I can tell that I was reading Gravity’s Rainbow at the time, because there is also a dictionary on the table.

Hm, I wonder what will come next.

Coming up next, a collaborative portrait series of mutual pride. Crossing the water to the other land.

Well, this ones special. The ferry pulling in just after dusk at the end of a long week and ready to disembark. It’s a portrait of coming home.

And when I got back from New York, my ladies were waiting for me.

We made a fancy gathering on the coast in the Straight of Georgia.

My sister and I just having a real nice time on the rocks.

While we were hanging out on the grass a little bird came to visit.

He seemed very interested in our company.

And we became friends.

Deciding that a self portrait here into the sun was necessary.

Une cousin.

Guess I neglected to wind that roll in far enough. Some good family portraits coming up.

Rocking the Pignose.

I just returned from a trip through DC and New York, a combination of work and vacation where I shot a lot of film. I’ve found a sizeable backlog of neglected photos to push while I scan and edit about 20 rolls.  But this is a photoblog and words are just more space to scroll past.

This was the result of faulty beer packaging. Quite disappointing. You can see Olympic hockey on the TV in the background that we are eager to get back to. But the situation was made right by a new case from the shop keeper.

Making sure the second one is not defective as well.

I went to Our Town with a nice lady, big surprise.

I’ve made this photo before, 4 years ago. It’s hopeless, I cannot find it.

This is a photo of Paul at the restaurant.

What’s that a photo of?

Canada won the gold in hockey that day.

With a 50mm it was difficult to capture the epic sprawl of coach buses lined up over the Cambie St bridge towards downtown. They were waiting for passengers who were at the closing ceremonies.

With our nations victory, spirits were high, so we ate some greasy cheeseburgers.

Those are chocolate chip cookies.

Winter light.

Coffee and reading.

Peaking out the window from the same seat.

This band is called The Lonely Forest. They were here to open for We Were Promised Jetpacks, a great band who came to town when it was March.

We Were Promised Jetpacks taking the stage.

I liked them so much, I bought a t-shirt.

A classic Vancouver view.

I think that is the washroom at Budgies Burritos?

I thought that sweater was impressive.

Some other time and place, awaiting the Hawkers Delight.

Outside my favourite book store in Vancouver. That day they had agreed to take on a truck load of used books. I wondered if there was much in there that was worth their time.

I was visiting this space over and over during those months. The site where my favourite breakfast spot, Slickity Jim’s, burned to the ground.

Transporting to happier times, a few of us took a trip to this parking lot. Stopping to get the head excavated.

Actually, we’d gone to the Aquarium.

Proving it with a fish.

And swaying little sand aliens, SO CUTE.

Pit stop for soft drinks and french fries.

Then we waited for dolphins to entertain us like the subservient slaves they are.

Wasn’t expecting to see chimps at the aquarium.

This guy was cool, but fast.

At the computer terminal, visitors could ask questions and also reply. I knew the answer to that question. Nice little frame to help date the film.

Blogging is hard work! As you can see there is still a ways to go before I get to July. But we’ll get through this together.

The other day something happened.

Don’t believe me?

No, really.

You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it. Tenant played a show.

Fortunately, I was there.

I guess every once in a while, some photography manages to speak for itself. Or, I manage to shut up.

This is one roll of Kodak Tri-X, +1.

This is my first time blogging with a pro gamer mouse. Seems pretty much the same, really.

I was impressed by these mods. Maybe the auto experts can chime in, but I’d say that is good for 7 horsepower.

Randy returns to form.

Fair enough.

Birthday party, chocolate cake and beer.

It wasn’t that dark actually, the light was incredibly bright but I didn’t have time to adjust the exposure so I got it a few stops under. On the ground between us is one of those search lights aimed to the sky and rotating.

Hmm, how many interesting things are happening here?

You may have heard that the Bloedel Conservatory will close this year. Although this seems sad, because it is a beautiful place to visit, I do wonder if that place is really a good way to allocate resources. Maybe we could focus more on preserving existing natural environments than ruining them to create artificial environments?

If you’re a fan of Battlestar Galactica you might find that place somewhat familiar.

BLOG’D.

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.

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.