grace

(saturday)

Awoke at 7:05 to a dog sniffing my face.

Not a usual occurrence, but I'm house/dog sitting for my parents this week. Roxy is used to getting her breakfast at 6, and her stomach decided it was time I got up.

The sun was beaming, Spring finally deciding to make herself known. After a solid half day at the office, I joined my brother and neighbour in landscaping the strip between our houses, transforming it from a muddy slope into a usable walkway; no longer will I ruin a pair of shoes simply by exiting my house.

While sweating and shoveling, I got a text from The Girl:

"What best describes me?
Graceful
Funny
Sweet
Happy
Sexy"

Not the first time I've gotten a text like this from her. She's doing a quiz, and wants my input (even though she almost never uses the attribute I chose). I reply "Graceful"

Beat.

"Shut up"

See?

I was serious though. Grace is one of those characteristics that seems rare today. It's one of the reasons Audrey Hepburn continues to enthrall me; whether in Roman Holiday, Sabrina, or My Fair Lady, she epitomizes grace. Poise. A sense of worth, satisfaction, comfort in and knowledge of who she is.


(sunday)

Sitting in a cafe after church. It's that time of year where her schedule is filled up with various bridesmaid-related duties, mid-terms and lab reports, while mine is packed with work and an ever-expanding library of yet-to-be-realized photography projects, not to mention this oft-ignored blog.

So we sit, her with her books and highlighters, me with my camera and computer.

Old men find themselves drawn to her. It's hilarious to witness as these silver-haired gentlemen approach and comment on her books, her hair, how she appears so much smarter than the guy sitting opposite her. She flashes her smile, chats with them, laughs at their clumsy (albeit well intentioned) jokes, and leaves them feeling like they've still got It.


Sweet is endearing, Happy is enlivening, Funny is desirable and Sexy is alluring, but I'll take Graceful any day of the week.

22.3.09. Slightly increased contrast.

salomé

This was the photoshoot that almost didn't happen.

I went to high school with Sharla*, and through the wonders of Facebook, reconnected over a shared love of photography. Now that her daughter is a little bit older, Sharla was moving into doing photography more seriously and was looking for some portraits of herself for her own website.

First we talked about it, then let it sit for several (read: many) weeks before finally setting a time to do it.

Then I got the date wrong, and sat waiting in the Blenz downtown, a week early.

Then the next week, Sharla's car wouldn't start.

Rather than cancel again, we changed the location and went up to Mission Hill Winery, right above her house. The only other time I'd been up there, we'd gotten kicked...rather, 'politely escorted out'...for taking pictures, but I guess they relax a bit in the off season.

Most of my favourites from this shoot ended up in black and white, which wasn't really my intention going in. Milanna's little houndstooth coat had a lot to do with it; the textures and patterns just looked so much better in b&w.

I'd purposefully avoided shooting kids thus far, simply because I think they're done much better by other photographers. Milanna was a breeze though; she's obviously spent much time in front of her mother's lens.

I was really happy this shoot actually happened. I'd gone through a bit of a dry spell, and it felt great to be shooting again. And Sharla was stoked with the results, which is always a boost to the ego.

Oh, and Sharla also shot some of me. I'll be getting those soon, and you can guaranteed they'll be plastered all over the Interwebs. I am looking f-i-n-e.

1.3.09. Slightly increased contrast and black clipping.
1.3.09. Cropped to 3X5, slightly increased contrast and black clipping.

*fun factoid: Sharla and I were co-emcees for our grad formal*.

**this has nothing to do with photography, yet seemed important for context.