silver and gold

Grey Cup Sunday is pretty much a sacred day for Canadians. Unlike our beloved Coupe de Stanley*, the Grey Cup is guaranteed to remain in the True North**. For 96 years running, this trophy has been fought for, and your attendance at a Grey Cup party is pretty much required.

This year, I was a bad Canadian.

My Grey Cup Sunday was spent in an art gallery, surrounded by models and lighting gear as I assisted on a photoshoot for a local salon. The photographer is one of the most sought after in Kelowna, and I have the good fortune of working for the same company as he. It only took me several months of working literally outside his office to get the courage to volunteer as an assistant.

I learned I have much, MUCH more to learn.

For one, although I knew this instinctively, I realized I always see the world horizontally. When I picture what a scene will look like, that scene is always horizontal. Yet the photographer shot the entire day vertically. I simply could not wrap my head around it. I've made it my mission to start shooting vertically, even if it feels horribly wrong.

I didn't really shoot much. I moved lights and fans, organized models, fetched coffee, swapped lenses. Once in a while I tried it out.


And I learned that, despite what little knowledge I have, I'm doing just fine.

24.11.08. Cropped to 3X5, slightly increased exposure, slightly increased highlights.

*Which hasn't been in Canadian hands since 1993, when Montreal won.
**The only exception being in '95, when Baltimore took home the prize, only two years into the league. How embarrassing is that?!