Tis the season for reflection... 2015 has been a wild ride from start to finish. I met a lot of interesting people along the way! I graduated college (what the hell? four years ago if you told me that was a possibility I'd have laughed.)
Yet again, I found myself in a new city, in a new part of Ontario. I miss Bellevegas a lot more than I realized I would. It had it's quirks, it had its characters. I met a number of incredible skateboarders, made a lot of friends, and I had a lot of good times there. When it's time to go, it's time to go though. I'll never forget y'all!
I had some interesting experiences behind the lens and personally, and I feel to an extent that I have grown from them all. That's what we're all after right? Personal growth? I'll celebrate that as a win.
My 5D is currently with Canon, getting repairs done to the hotshoe and a few of the buttons. I've been encountering a lot of problems lately with my flashes not syncing correctly with the shutter, which has taken it's toll on my shooting. Right from the end of May until now I've been regulated to one flash, on my camera body in order to achieve high speed sync shots. There have been a number of times this year where this was incredibly frustrating, and ultimately I chose to dedicate my summer to filming two video projects.
As I did a year ago, I'm gunna make a list. This year however, there are my most memorable experiences from the past 365 days (In no particular order.)
Cirque du Soleil was simply one of the most incredible things I've ever had the privilege to shoot. Being asked to cover such a big event as an intern was a little nerve wracking at first, I'll tell you. As things got underway all self doubt left and I had a blast. The colours of Varekai were amazing. The acrobatics were mind-bottling. Being able to tour the stage and speak with the performers and some of the people in charge of the production was incredible. It's events like this that remind me how lucky I am to use a camera every day.
Ahhh.. Banff. More specifically the Johnston Falls. Easily some of the purest oxygen I've ever inhaled, along with some of the most dynamic scenery. In my second day of traveling across Canada I took a shorter driving day in order to make it to these falls. I made my way rather slowly through the Rockies, stopping at my leisure to photograph the sights. Making the falls just before magic hour only left me a little bit of time to shoot so I tried to make the most of it. After discovering a strange looking trail off the main paths I mosied my way down to this little spot.
Getting to meet up with Jesse while I was in BC was a great time. It's always awesome to get to explore new places to skate with homies! Kelowna was a blast, and despite a papering of no skateboarding signs we managed to get in some great shots and do so relatively hassle free. I can't wait to get back out west and see ya again dood!!
Long Beach will always be the best place in the world to me. I'm not a beach person at all either; I just think that the forests surrounding the wild Pacific ocean, and the smell of salty air is the most amazing environment to wake up to every day. It was also great to see Spenser Smith, my oldest friend, and shoot together like we used to 10 years ago. The waves normally get wild, and the tide is usually a lot closer than it is here. It was nice to see a father taking his young one to enjoy the natural beauty before we eventually destroy it.
This photo will forever remind me how insane a journalists life can be. In one day, I went from shooting a beer fest, to taking photos of kids and rubber ducks, to sitting in a court room listening to the verdict in a double murder trial. I'll always have a soft spot for photojournalism, even if it doesn't end up being my career.
TPR you crazy bastard. 306 Rooftop Tour is basically what happened when we met up this year. I'll never forget it, that's for sure. Shout out to you too, Chevy. You're a natural born killer! Keep at it!
A large older dude didn't like the fact we were skating on this schools roof, and he felt the need to be vocal about it. I played deaf up until he was literally right behind me yelling about damage and hurting ourselves or some such bullshit. After he insulted our collective intelligence (as this frame was being made) I'd had it. Being the only guy on the ground sucks, but I'll stick up for my homies. We aren't stupid, we know the risks of what we do, and I'm pretty sure we aren't five year olds with mommies who'll sue the daylights outta anyone. Fuck off and let us do what we do.
More TPR on more rooftops. Noseblunt Pull, at a spot a lot of people have dreamed of skating.
Try it, you never know what'll happen!
This was one of those awesome wake up at 5am to go skate sessions. It was a blast, and I could never ask for a better way to start my days.
This was an idea I had actually come up with in the Spring of 2014. As I found issues with my camera, I adjusted to accommodate. There was no better year to get started on filming this project that had been floating around in my head! I actually filmed this simultaneously with production of That Life 2.0, so that gave me a challenge. After countless hours editing, I produced a full 22 minute video on DVDs for the homies to watch and enjoy. Once the fatigue from that project wore off I began working on a shorter web edition. I couldn't be happier with the results!
Filming was a new challenge to me, and one I'll always enjoy. My passion lies in still images though, so as my gear gets back to 100% I'll move my focus back to stills.
I've been messing around with some architecture stuff here in St. Catharines. I'm working a full time job in a greenhouse now, so I'm free to shoot some of my other passions. I haven't gotten to do any skating here yet outside of filming with Connor, but I hope to meet some people once the snow melts! There isn't a lot of street skating here sadly, a lot of guys go up to Hamilton for it I guess. We may see what's up there next year!
Until then, keep it real my friends. I miss you all, even if we don't talk much anymore. Life's a trip, make it a good one.
