Decay-okay

Dear Manitoba, too quick I was to associate the boreal forests of our vast country all to Ontario. No no no, this province is as diverse as they come. Rocky, sandy, high, low, swampy, tall, flat, mucky, wet, dry. You name it. Coniferous, deciduous or no trees at all. Instead you can cut through prairie grass as tall as your lover. You decide. Pick a spot on the map and go. Simple. No need to wander too far beyond. Manitoba, you really have it all.

Took a drive out to this quiet place on the very last lovely day of Autumn of 2014 in Manitoba. Ate salami and havarti on bread en route. The air was crisp and held that unbeatable smell of sweet dry rot. Decay-okay. I love nature's shut down. It is always a pleasure to behold the process firsthand. I want to come back to this very spot by the river in June to swim. Lazy up to a point and clear as a bell. My kind of river.

Home and native land.

ps. Say! Sky detail and chicos in the same frame? You don't say.

New Mornings

Bea with milk.

Olive vs. Oatmeal

Portra 800 sure captures the weekend morning light just right. New routines, new roommates, new mornings. I enjoy breakfast in good company these days, to say the least.

Jibber-jabber jaybirds

Illustration. Natalie Baird / November 12, 2014

Here is the a freshly scanned illustration by Winnipeg multi-disciplinary artist Natalie Baird! I sat across from her late last night as she built up the work layer by layer, stroke by stroke with fancy markers and a felt tipped pen and didn't realize she was shaping up a portrait of me until it was finished and slid across the table with a "Here! Let's trade!". So we did. Love those naked bodies dancing above my head of hair. It was a paper gift I felt free to share on my funny platform. Grateful for her friendship and the ease of sharing a table with another creative soul as Winter gets crackin'.

At home with the Viks

My favorite family photo captured to date.

Nils, Melissa, wee Marte and Poncho the poodle invited me into their striking Winnipeg home a few weeks back. These are some of the color and contrast photos I felt free to capture while watching them move around their space as a family. Marte is nine months old and sweet as pie! To closely witness families go about their normal swing of things through my scope is something I delight in. I hope to do more of this type of work in the future. It is a damn treat to be invited in for a slow morning of quality coffee and play, free to raise the Kiev to capture when the spirit leads. I prefer the contrast work here, though the color definitely holds its own. I mean come on, that family photo with Poncho and his paw! Much too much for the quiet spectator in me. While the photo of new mama Melissa holding Marte on the kitchen counter is a little unconventional, I love the offbeat beauty of the scene. Two girls in the kitchen. One makes a point while the other makes the discovery she can handle the weight of an orange with her own two hands. The wonder of it all! The shot of the three Viks on the loose in the kitchen is very dear to me. Nils and his cheek stuffed with toast. This is life as we know it. I stuff toast in my cheek too.

Ektar 100
Tmax 400
// Kiev 60