Mabes & Sades

Meet Mabel. This is my first shot of her. Winnipeg/ October 2013.

Meet Sadie. First shot of her. Here she is trying to wrap her head around my explanation of "shooting film".

*Photos shot on expired Ilford Super XP2 film processed as C41. That is some wacky film! My first go with it; not to mention the camera these were shot with: a new-to-me Canon EOS 3 with 50mm 1:1.8 lens. Canon! Feels like a swear to admit. I have always been a Nikon woman! These came out nice (for a vanilla lens). Not bad for three dollars to process!

Fireworks

What to choose, what to choose? SW Manitoba 2012/ Fujichrome slide film.

Fuel for Life

Meet Mark Caird, a man with a soft spot for vintage bikes. He is a real character I met in a back lane in Minneapolis, MN mid September. He lured me into his garage workshop and promptly gave me a cold one. I cracked it, guzzled appreciatively and asked if I could shoot his motorbike portrait. He kindly obliged and set himself up for his portrait with his beloved 70's Shovelhead. I love when subjects take control and all I have to do is frame up the magic. When I was through with the flash, he searched high and low for a sharpie so he could sign the back of that metal sign pictured in the last shot just for me. I gave him my last Get Our Guns Go to the Mountain Take Over the State print for a fair trade. We shook on our newfound friendship, drank more beer and Mark repeated "hair of the dog Meg, hair of the dog" as I took in the details of his space. So many black shades to choose from.

It was not yet ten in the morning.

Hair of the dog.
Fuel for life.

Amen bud.

Steal away to the Creek

Craig and I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Justin and Britt alongside one another. The bride's godmother Bonnie did all the floral work and her bouquets were fine art. While we were shooting primarily in contrast 35 and 120 film, I couldn't resist to shoot a few rolls of color. The colors on September 7, 2013 were coming on strong. With a pair of beauties at the forefront of it all! Their love, like the light of day kept coming on strong and it was such a special day in which to participate. Wedding shooting is fun/ exhausting/ intense/ disciplined. Every one is dolled and wide open. Fair game for portraits! I have known Justin for a long, long time. He is dear and good. I met Britt years ago through the Bread and Circuses circus. She is a strong woman and I admire her.  Her one request was that she be photographed in her coop with her rooster and hens at some point in the day. My kind of wedding. 

Enjoy

Mopeds Ruined My Life

Who the fuck are the Casserollers you ask?

The Casserollers are a moped gang based out of Minneapolis, MN. Over the weekend Craig, Walter, Tex, Brent and myself blasted six hours southeast of the border with a truck and trailer packed with bikes to participate in the Casserollers second annual Tot Fest moped rally! To say the least, it was quite the experience.

There was beer and BBQ at nearly every stop over the course of the weekend, along with roaring fires, flowing kegs, prizes to be won, dice games, 'tatertots galore and an overall enthusiasm I couldn't get over. It was awesome. A real privilege to witness and enjoy firsthand.

Baby's first rally was a good one! Thanks America.

We arrived at five in the morning on Saturday and spent the day tearing up the city behind our fearless leader and host, Jed. Craig tuned up our bikes primo early in the morning (including a full motor rebuild on the fly for this lucky gal) while I wandered the neighborhood. Once the bikes were ready, Jed led us to local watering hole Legends Bar in the afternoon to meet up with the rest of the gang with plenty of time to mingle before the scheduled evening group ride.

And then it started to rain. But it must be said that we Winnipeggers are all-weather party animals and ride we did. The 50 riders quickly dwindled to 15, 11, 7 as the rain poured. Thanks to my excellent mechanic and the natural elements, my water-cooled motor never ran better! It was a hell of a ride in the pouring rain without a hot clue which direction was north; there was no choice but to keep up. I'll never forget that night. There was much whiskey downed, layers peeled and supreme dancing that followed upon our soggy return to Legends.

Sunday was the scheduled long ride out of the city. It was sunny, dry and epic. Two large moped groups converged beautifully at an intersection before the scheduled breakfast pitstop at the Wienery diner. The following route was scenic, winding, well-organized, well-paced for all to manage, not to mention traffic conveniently corked by Casseroller captains making for a smooth ride. Stuff of legends, really. No camera necessary, I was too busy blasting alongside the Mississippi river.

Monday was Race Day. There were many heats for separate classes of mopeds and I was happy to shoot and observe my main squeeze as he tore up the track on the only Peugeot at the rally! The Casserollers rented out a large go-kart racetrack for the day and the weather was right. Not much more to say. I learned a lot about leadership and hosting this weekend. Thanks again to the Casserollers for a HELLUVA time.

* All photos shot with Kiev 60 TTL // Tmax 400