Visual.Curiosity

I’m currently working on a few projects, and thought I shed some light on one I’ve been working on the last little bit. The project is called “Western Perspective” and it focuses on the under-reported everyday aspects of the Islamic faith; a side that is pretty much ignored by mainstream media.

On a side note, almost all forms of western media report extreme cases of people participating in unfathomable acts of terror and labelling them Muslim extremists. I might be walking a fine line to some, but why even use the word Muslim? Alright they might claim to be of the Islamic faith in their misconstrued minds, but by carelessly labelling them as Muslims instigates fear and paranoia. Sorry to tell you folks but this is exactly what these people want, and unfortunately the majority of people are caught in this web of nonsense. It doesn’t really matter what religion you belong to, and to put it frankly, if you are an extreme nut job then you are an extreme nut job regardless of your religion.

I was reading Brent Foster’s blog and ran into a video link about a photographer/teacher named Dave LaBelle that he posted. After watching the video clip I then started to re-think my own position and reflect on the few things I’ve learnt this year. I always knew that life as a photographer/photojournalist would be difficult and that it would require a lot of mental strength, determination and motivation. I underestimated these three and my expectations have gotten me into trouble. We have to accept that there will be times where you might feel hopeless, where you feel your work just isn’t good enough, but from my own experiences this is when you need to push yourself the most. You need to push yourself regardless, even if you don’t want to be pushed.

My first year working in the industry has taught me many things, but at the same time it dampened my spirits and at times hindered my aspirations. Things didn’t seem so rosy at one point and my goals as a photographer/photojournalist were proving to be more difficult than I ever expected. I’ve chosen a tough gig to follow folks, it’s pretty cut-throat and competitively fierce.

Before returning to Canada I thought things would fall into place quite easily, and figured that I could make things happen within a year, maybe even quicker it was my country after all, my comfort zone. Oh boy was I wrong. It’s taking a lot more time to develop and build something meaningful and my youthful optimism has once again gotten the best of me and led me to some disappointment.

After a few years of trying to integrate into a new country, I found myself again in a similar situation, but this time trying to re-integrate myself into my own country. The latter in my case proving to be more difficult. I knew my surroundings, and my environment was frighteningly familiar, but even among the familiarity there were other aspects of life happening before me that added to the growing puzzle. Moving away from a fairly solid structure in France to pursue my long-term goals of becoming a photographer/photojournalist was an easy decision to make and it made a lot of sense to start at home. It didn’t really matter if I had no structure upon my return, I wasn’t in school, I didn’t have a job, my family was in Winnipeg, and my friends were scattered in other cities across the world. We all make choices that make us or break us, and over time I was just mentally fatigued. Now with the year ending I do feel a tad bit wiser, and even though I got side-tracked a bitter reality check was required to get me back on the right path.

This video clip has reminded me of why I came back home in the first place. Mr. LaBelle has many things to teach and offer us; as photographers and as people, so watch the clip and absorb what you can. In my experiences thus far, I found that surrounding yourself with good people, people you can learn from, people who genuinely want to help you, support you, and share their knowledge can make a world of a difference. You’ll come out of it with a better mindset, your vision and goals would be clearer, and overall, you’ll become a better person. And this is what it’s all about my friends, we all strive to be better than we are today and we’ll all eventually learn these things on our own.

Keep capturing those moments!!!!

Black and white cuts from the 12th of December. It was a real pleasure N’namik, I’ll make sure to visit again. Happy holidays to you my friend.

I was just rummaging through some photos I took this year and came upon a catalog series I shot for Phototerra earlier in the year. Their entire spin was on fur clothing. I love animals and I don’t agree with the fur trade, but sometimes you just have to go against your beliefs and get the job done. So as a reminder to all you furry animal lovers; please don’t shoot the messenger well in this case the photographer!!

There was one model and a whole line of fur clothing and outerwear. We’ll keep the list short so here are 3 that sort of work well together…

On the 12th of December photographers from around the world spent the day giving back to their communities. Many gathered at homeless shelters and spent the day with people who have endured one to many hardships. A dozen or so local photographers spent the day at the Old Brewery Mission in Vieux Montréal to show their support for the cause.

Taking somebody’s portrait is a very personal and intimate exchange, and if it spreads a little happiness, then at least you were able to make somebody smile. I printed a 5×7 and personally delivered it to Mr. Dostal.

N’namik Dostal originally from Turkey has called Canada home for the last 50 years and lost everything he once held dear; he now lives in a homeless shelter in downtown Montreal.

Picasso known for his bold paintings will forever be engrained in the art world as a genious (although my tastes lean toward Van Gogh and Monet). The first time I saw this photograph titled, “Picasso in the Middle” a few years back, I didn’t realize at the time that he was one of the first artists to intentionally draw with light.

Apparently he accidently got the idea from one of his photographer friends, Gjon Mili also well known himself for capturing action sequences in one photograph.

So I went out and bought a led flashlight and thought I’d imitate Picasso….I call it “Flower in the Middle” ;P Wish I had pocket wizards or radio poppers to play with the lights…will need triggers and receivers real soon I’m getting bored : (