One thing I find really annoying about being part-time in this photography thing is that the day job gets in the way of actually taking pictures. If you look all over the internet for advice on improving your photography, the number one response is shoot and shoot a lot…Well that’s kinda hard when you work 70 hours a week in another profession.

I have found ways to work around this problem though. One way is my 18 Wheels and a Camera project, this allows me to shoot and exercises the ol’ noggin in spotting those images even while I’m driving my rig down the 402 highway. Another way is my regular photo outings, today’s outing was kind of a road trip. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I put up a vote on Twitter asking for which direction to go…They said south, so I went south and ended up at Port Stanley.

I couldn’t believe the weather for a mid December day and it was quite nice out, the light was amazing. Anyways, here are some of my favorites from today….

As I was heading out of Port Stanley with the intention of swinging east and north to hit up some of the smaller towns past London, the clouds came rolling in and killed my light. I was totally bummed, I was having such a great time. I ended up just packing it in and heading home. As I was driving along I saw this last image. The mix of light, clouds and the framing of the trees just grabbed me and I slammed on the breaks. If the guy in the blue and white late model Ford Pickup up is reading this….Sorry dude! But I think it was totally worth it

My first year of doing Cans for Comments was a pretty good success if I do say so myself. Thanks to all the kind peeps out there, I collected 70 cans for the London Food Bank.

Today I headed out and picked up those cans. Now I’m no math wizard or anything and counting can be a little tough for me sometimes, so I think I may have gotten a wee bit more the 70 cans from Costco…But whats a few more cans really? Just a little warning though, I’ll be looking to double my can count for next year, so all of you have 12 whole months to warm up those comments. In the mean time I’ll try my damnedest to have some killer posts for you to comment on.

Again I want to send out a HUGE thank you to Chris+Lynn for birthing this awesome idea, you two are the best! Also don’t forget that there are still tons of photographers and bloggers doing their part for Cans for Comments. For a list of those said participants you can head on over to the Cans for Comments website and start commenting away to help get some food on to the tables of those in need.

Cheers for now,

David

It has been a while since my last (Music to Inspire) post, so I thought I would feature one of my favorite bands The Civil Wars. I’m not exactly sure how I came across this duo, but I’m sure happy I did.

The Civil Wars are the combined talent of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Apart, they are both amazing artists with some of the best vocal cords I have heard in a long time, together they are absolutely f-in amazing. One of my go to songs is The Girl with the Red Balloon off of their album Live at Eddie’s Attic. This song is kind of a contradiction for me. If you listen to the lyrics it is a rather sad story of a girl that has lost the love of her life (or something along those lines), but the guitar and vocals just lift my spirits out of even the darkest of moods. I find that when I get depressed or if I’m in an irritated state of mind it really hurts my work, so all I have to do is boot up iTune, throw on this song and I’m up and running again in the perfect frame of mind to create.

I really think you’re gonna dig this song. If I’m right, you will want to head on over to their MySpace page where you can watch some videos, listen to more of their work and download the above mentioned album Live at Eddie’s Attic. Also, don’t forget to follow them on Twitter(@joywilliams @johnpaulwhite and @thecivilwars) and hit up their Facebook page.

I guess I’ll just shut my yap and let you listen to The Civil Wars with their song The Girl with the Red Balloon

Cheer!

It’s been a while since I have posted anything about my family, but after the news we just got I thought I would share a bit.

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will know that my youngest son Nathan has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified). PDD-NOS falls under the autism spectrum. He is 3 years old, but at the level of a child half his age.

As it turns out, after a visit to a developmental pediatrician, our eldest son Logan may fall under the autism spectrum as well. We have been concerned with his social skills for a while, but having a diagnoses of autism was kinda hard to hear. You start to blame yourself and a feeling of failing your child does tend to happen. It is to early to tell anything yet with more tests to follow, so all we can do is wait.

All I can ask for as a father is to ensure my boys are happy, whether or not Logan turns out to have autism is a mute point. Of coarse I have moments where I feel like I have failed my boys, like I have neglected to protect them. Then I have to tell myself that I have done my job, Logan is a happy child and as long as I do everything in my power to keep him a happy child, I have not failed.

Be them doctors, lawyers or the guy behind the counter at the gas station… As long as my boys are happy I will be proud of them.

Cheers.

Toronto is my kinda town, not the traffic mind you, but the atmosphere. I didn’t really know these till I met with Aleen and Luke in the Distillery District of Toronto to shoot their engagement session. There are just so many little nooks and crannies to shoot that I was almost over loaded with input.

The weather wasn’t the best, but with a couple like these two and a play ground like downtown Toronto it’s hard not to get great pictures. Driving home I kept spotting other little spots and back drops, I wish I had a few more hours with Luke and Aleen.

I couldn’t ask for better clients (I really do have the best), I’m on pins and needles waiting to work with Aleen and Luke again, I can already see the smiles, tears and how absolutely gorgeous Aleen is going to look on her wedding day!

Just wanted to do a little update on the Cans for Comments food drive happening all over North America.

For myself, at last count I had amassed 35 comments meaning 35 cans heading to the tables of London’s Food Bank….so far. There is still about a week and a half to comment the hell outta this here blog. If that is not good enough for you, Scotty of Think Photographics and Chris+Lynn have put together a nice little site where you can find a big ass list of some extremely caring and talented photographer that are also taking part in Cans for Comments. So why not head on over, look at their amazing work and leave some kind words.

Now if you will excuse me, I have a post from a killer engagement session to work on….Gotta give you something new to comment on don’t I?