The working title for the project is More Pictures About Buildings and Music. This is a direct reference to the Talking Heads album More Songs About Buildings and Food, because the spark for this idea came from a TED talk that David Bryne gave in 2010 called How architecture helped music evolve. Further inspiration came from a book I later discovered called Buildings for Music:The Architect, the Musician, and the Listener from the 17th Century to the Present Day.

The ideas in Bryne’s lecture and in the book really inspired me and I thought this would be a great way to explore the relationships between three of my favourite things: architecture, music and photography.

Back in 2001 I created a website for Canadian photographers called CanPhoto.Net: The Canadian Photographers Network. The site included discussion forums and lots of other resources for working photographers in Canada. Unfortunately, a few years ago I had to shut the site down. For a variety of personal reasons I just didn’t have the time, the money, or the energy to continue operating the site on a voluntary basis. I thought the hiatus might last a few months, but it ended up lasting a few years.

Well, I’m happy to say the hiatus is over and the site is back online.

Some of the objectives of CanPhoto.Net include:

1. To create an online community for the professional Canadian photography industry that brings all members of the professional community together to support and encourage one another by openly sharing information and resources in free discussion forums.

2. To foster better business practices and professional development among members of the industry.

3. To provide current information about news and events within the Canadian photo industry, keeping our members informed and up-to-date.

This is a free resource for members of the Canadian photo industry so please check it out, sign up and support our community.

The Canadian Photographers Network

It’s been awhile since I’ve gone out to take pictures just for the fun of it. I think it can be a common problem with working photographers, and when you do something for a living it’s often the last thing you want to do on your day off. The problem can be compounded if you’re going through a difficult period in your life and you’re generally lacking in joy, enthusiasm and curiosity about the world around you. I’ve been in one of these ruts for awhile now, but things are starting to look up and I’m trying to get out there again and take pictures just for fun.

I was walking by this small park off Bloor Street last week and was immediately drawn to the shadows and the colours. I was using a 45mm tilt-shift lens and used the tilt to throw the top and bottom out of focus. It would have been an okay image by itself, but then a woman came to the park with her dog and started running and playing, too caught up in the fun to take any notice of me and my camera. I think their presence and playfulness makes the image much more interesting. I had fun taking the picture as well, but unfortunately it was dampened a bit when I returned to my car and found a $30 parking ticket under the wiper. Oh well… it was still nice to be distracted by the joy of photography for a little while.

International Women's Day in Chiapas, Mexico.

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, so I wanted to share this image I took a few years ago during a Women’s Day demonstration in Chiapas, Mexico.