BRIGHTON, ON (12/02/11) - Barry Ostroskie of Rossmore takes a spill on the right corner of the track, during the men’s four-wheel-drive non-studded race at Brighton Speedway. With a range of ages and competitions, ATVs, Snowmobiles, ice bikes and cars took to the 1/3rd mile icy track to compete in round two of the Oval Ice Races.

Petra, Jordan (22/12/10) - A tourist walks in front of one of the royal tombs along Petra, Jordan. Remained unknown to the Western World until the early 1800's, and popularly known from the Indiana Jones movie, Petra is named as one of the 40 places to see before you die.

Kite surfers in Dahab, Egypt, December 23, 2010.

Cairo, Egypt (26/12/10) – A Tourist Police Officer stops for mid-afternoon call to prayer beneath one of the nine pyramids of Giza.

January 6th, 2011- An elderly woman uses the wheelchair of her companion to help her keep her balance, as she pushes him along the icy sidewalks of Bergmannstraße, in Berlin, Germany.

January 29, 2011 - Former Buffalo Sabres player Rob Ray, born and raised in Stirling, laces up for the first ever Mill Pond Hockey Tournament in Stirling. Ray, notorious for being a fighter, finished his career with 3,207 career penalty minutes, leaving him 6th overall in NHL history

The Good ole HOCKEY GAME

Lace up time

Games on

Second line

Shoot and score

Fresh dry socks after a game

I was out shooting with a 300 and went to the first ever organized pond hockey tournament in Stirling. It was pretty fun and it really got me missing lacing up the skates and hitting the ice. The sound of newly sharpened blades as they cut through the icy glass, the rush of the game, the challenge, the competition and the trickle of sweat that rolls down your back after the hardest two minutes of your life.

So I shot some tighter shots and things that I saw and felt made up the components of a hockey game. My favorite was always the feel of clean dry socks when my wet and achy feet were pulled out of the skates. From the looks of it others were enjoying it too.

January 29, 2011- Some were in mild shock and others triumphant, but over a dozen people braved the grasp of old man winter and took to the icy cold waters of the Trent River in Campbellford this past Saturday. The 19th Annual Polar Plunge helped to raise money to assist in covering the cost of new hospital equipment.

Inside out

Some photos takin' out the window of different vehicles

One thing that is for certain is that we spent a nice chunk of time sitting in some sort of transportation. Bus, car, taxi, truck, plane... everything but a boat. Here's a little look out at some of what I saw as I passed on through.

I visited several Mosques in the Khan el-khalili market, downtown Cairo. They were as visually appealing as they were a treat to the ears. Sitting on the floor, eyes closed, you could feel the energy of the rooms. Men and women separated, head covered in respect and shoes left at the door. I could have done it all night. Feelings of peace and ease.

Hello Cairo

I have been mulling over in my head now for a while just how I'm going to blog about my trip. People keep asking what was my favorite, and it's difficult to answer because I enjoyed so much for so many different reasons. From portraits along dusty roads to camels along sand dunes, mango lassies on cushions alongside the red sea, to nights under the starlit sky. It was the perfect little get away and allowed me a lot of time to think, even in the hectic scatter of 35 million people and 8 hour bus rides into the dark.

After many long hours snowed into airports and a few hours of Polish Żubrówka, a delicious herb flavored vodka made from bison grass, we were in Cairo. A half dozen years to the exact date, and I was back in Africa again. Completely different Africa in a lot of ways but yet it carried so much of the same vibe. I liked it.


My first observations were that Cairo = craziness.

With an estimated 25 million and an additional 9 million that commute in each day, the place was pretty sogged, especially the roads downtown in late afternoon. You can expect to wait quite awhile, and did we ever. A lot of my first taste was spent in a car/bus commuting, it's not an easy place to maneuver and you can forget about any sort of road rules. If there's a free space you fill it otherwise you're fuckin' things up, and if you have a horn, for some reason you need to continually lay on it.

Advertisements are everywhere, tons of bazaars all sell virtually the same thing and each rip you off by at least 50%, but the bargaining is super fun! Brightly colored materials hang to dry from high-rise balconies and fresh, clean looking buildings are scattered among the rubble and half built dreams of the city.  People live stacked upon each other, with half started/finished structures that make the already decaying buildings look like unwelcoming pin cushions. In most places the smog hung thick, an unhealthy spew over vibrant and breathtaking ancient landscapes.

There's people everywhere and everywhere there's people trying' to sell you something (or marry you.) Kids are brilliant little entrepreneurs, some wild some mimic various accents in their English, and so many of them good with a camera! The people were friendly and although a lot of things were left unspoken, it was perfectly OK. Aside from that, I noticed mosques towered and were magnificent in design, monstrous over the debris around them, I had the best rice pudding I’ve ever tasted in my life and women were far from a majority. I could have Bedouin tea and baklava for breakfast every day and am not at all opposed to bug nets or bug bites.

Oh and satellite dishes – I'm pretty sure everyone has one.

Enjoy my take on Egypt.

 

So, on December 11th I hopped on a plane and headed to Germany for a few days before departing for Egypt. It was nice to drink in some Christmas spirit. This is one of the many Christmas Markets in Berlin. The roasted hot nuts and gluhwein sold it for me!

BELLEVILLE, ON (20/01/11) - John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, visits Loyalist College to discuss a recent announcement of changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Plan.


So this was my 'breaking news' assignment. Four shooters were sent to cover this little conference when a couple of Government officials swung by the school. Another photo from the hallway was used as it was clearly more news-ish. I found his facial expressions and inability to sit still quite amusing and used the time to try and get him looking awkward.
Accomplished.

BELLEVILLE, ON (19/01/11) (TOP) Loyalist Lancer's Power, Joanne Laton, serves the ball in the second set.
(BELOW) Leighann Bishop (14) and Averil Luck (3), jump for the block during the second set of Wednesday night's game. The Lancers won the match 3-0.

Well, after almost six weeks of being out of North America, I am back. With school only hours after having landed, culture shock in full swing and jet-legged like a mother... this was a nice ease back assignment. This semester we work on the schools online paper and this shoot was for the sports page. Tomorrow, politicians. Welcome back.

http://www.vimeo.com/17696854

Til the day I die: A Mothers Story

I am done this semester. This is the end result of past weeks of madness. I am happy. I board a plane tomorrow afternoon for Germany and I'll be in Egypt by Wednesday. Crazy. Pure crazy. As I stare at my knapsack next to the door, sitting by a fireplace and sip on eggnog, it becomes more real. Christmas this year is going to be different and in 5 days I'm going to be in Cairo. Wow.

This is 16-year-old Emily. Born with a rare disorder called Kabuki Makeup Syndrome, named after the facial resemblance to the white makeup work by traditional Japanese Kabuki dancers, she is 1 of 400 people worldwide to share this genetic anomaly.

Emily, is priceless. She is a gift and she is the most gentle loving soul I know.

My reason of absence for not blogging the past 2 weeks, I blame on her, and I don't care one single bit. I've spent a lot of time with Emily, her brother Kenny and mom Sonya in the last couple of weeks. My mama bear and her cubs, now in Ontario, and close enough for me to drive and visit. I've also been doing a story on their life.

Mixing work and pleasure is the best part of this job and I love when I can do both. The last week or so has been a hectic scramble to make a multimedia piece, write a social issue story and figure out a picture documentary based around their every day. The hardest part so far, has been trying to look at them as an outsider and separating myself from them emotionally. I've also had to try and see them with fresh eyes and pinpoint the story I want to tell. I've been so close and have been such an intimate part of their lives for so long, I know them so well, its hard to separate moments from what gets that story across sometimes. I was there, I know the feeling, I know the mood, I know the everything, it's finding how that best gets across to my audience that's the challenging part. They know nothing.

So, I've been piecing together a small three minute audio/visual of who and what they are. As people, as a family, as a minority and as human beings on this planet who struggle, but who survive. Who love and love with all they have and all they are. What you see is what you get kind of people, and what I get from them is nothing short of a small blessing. Karma giving me special people who I couldn't imagine not being in my life. I love the kids to death, like a brother and sister, and as for Sonya,  I have nothing but the up most respect for her. I want to do their story justice. I want to show them as the people I adore and can only hope others see them as I do.

Here's a little glimpse. Stay tuned for the results.

Edit. Edit. Edit. The fruits of all my labor have just hit the homestretch and are in the final stage. Thousands of photos have been narrowed down to about five dozen. This is the last Saturday night of my semester. This time a week from now I'll be on a plane, Germany bound, and the Saturday after that I'll be on a beach in Cairo. I'm itching for it. Through the stress and the frantic scurry to pull everything together and pull it together well, I feel the eagerness pulling at me. The fires there. I need this.

(Photo creds to Darby Scotland)

Belleville, Ont. (28/11/10) - Santa was a fan favorite again this year, as six year old Aidyn happily receives a candy cane, at The Canadian Pacific Railways (CPR) Holiday Train event this Sunday. With over 12 years of operation, raising money for local food banks, this year marks the seventh time the train has rolled through Belleville.

Reflection in a window in downtown Belleville.

I haven’t been posting much lately, partly because I have not shot a lot of new material that's ready for on here just yet. I've spent the majority of my time (almost a week) working on a multimedia project and social issue story I'm doing. Photos to follow I promise.

I liked this pic because it looks like even the inside wants to be outside. I love reflections. I also love that it is almost December and the temperatures (although below 0 today) have been as high as 15 this week. Global warming at her finest.

I feel like the tree