A huge thank you goes out to everyone who voted in the 2012 PeterTweeter awards, I was astounded last night to win the Photographer award. I feel that there are more deserving photographers, but am flattered that you enjoy my work on PtboCanada and Trail Swag. Thank you once again!
]]>Every February my friend Lesley and I head down to photograph the latest cars at the Canadian International Autoshow, but sometimes the more interesting bits aren't the cars.
I thought I'd continue my quirky Toronto Autoshow blog posts to give you a photographer's view/behind-the-scenes look at attending the autoshow on media day. (Here's my 2011 post)
This year since I wasn't shooting for a publication, I had a rather enjoyable day strolling around and seeing what I could find. You can read some unique coverage on my outdoors blog at Trail Swag.
At the show, the final touches were being put on the displays for today's opening for the public.
FIAT's 500s were a colourful start to the show as you go up the main escalator.
I found that last year was a real break-out year for people using DSLRs for shooting video, however this year video cameras were the norm. Maybe there were fewer bloggers attending this time around or maybe their Editors weren't happy with all the shaky-cam footage from last year (not many were using proper stabilization techniques).
Then again... there were at least two people documenting the day on tablets, and one shooting video on a cell phone attached to a monopod.
It is pretty neat to think of all the tools at our disposal, however I don't think the quality is there on the output of most of them quite yet.
Speaking of tablets, they were highly utilized (especially the iPad) in the car set-ups running instructional videos and allowing information to be a 'tap' away.
As always, there are numerous gorgeous cars at the show... and some real power-houses as well...
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One section that really caught my attention was the Toronto Automotive Technology Competition. Twenty teams of two from High Schools in the GTA compete in automotive challenges to test their comprehension. They get 20 minutes at each 'station' that offers a challenge in the areas such as engine measurement, compression, electrical and waveform analysis.
The hardest section has Volkswagen Jettas with an undetermined amount of faults. Each of the student teams will have to determine and fix (within a time limit) their car with only the help of the supplied manual and tools. You would have to have a good grasp on how cars work in general since these are brand new 2012 models that the students most likely would have never seen before.
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I was chatting with Mario Celeste (a teacher at Thistletown Collegiate Institute who had his own team of two at the competition), and we both agreed that we wish this sort of thing existed when we were in high school. He said this sort of event is great to showcase the students from schools and said all of the teachers that were in this event were top notch. Mario's dedication was quite evident though and he exuded pride in his students Yaqub Hisseini and Edriss Sydeaq (pictured left). Congrats to all of the entrants! |
This photographer was well prepared by bringing his own (aspiring model/girlfriend?) model for each of his vehicle shoots.
There was an extreme lack of Jones Soda for us Non-drinkers at the end-of-day reception!
That was another fun year and I ready look forward to the next as there is always something new to see.
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These are my top 5 favourite finds in 2011, even though the album might not have come out that year. Here's what I discovered...
10) Adele - 21 (2011). What an amazing voice! I found it funny (and probably true as it seems to reflect in her music) when she said that she can't write music when she's happy. I hope for a speedy recovery from her current throat ailment and hopefully this time off gives her ample opportunity to write more music!
9) Vivaldi - The Four Seasons. 2011 was the year I explored Classical music in more than just a passing. Other than the obvious Beethoven classics, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons instantly became my favourite classical album.
8) A Very She & Him Christmas (2011). It's been a few years since a decent Christmas album has come out, and this one will be a staple every year for me now.
7) The Black Keys - El Camino (2011). Not the sort of music that would be in my normal rotation, but I couldn't resist this new album. Now to check their back catalog starting with their breakout album "Brothers".
6) Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (2011). Pitted against his brother's solo album, I think this is the better of the two. It was if Oasis never broke up.
5) Mumford & Son's - Sigh No More (2011). Although I'm not much of an East-Coast music lover, I think we all fell in love with Mumford & Sons. If you loved the songs that became hits such as Little Lion Man and The Cave, yet you don't own the album yet, treat yourself to the "Sigh No More (Deluxe Edition) because you get both the original album and the live version (although sadly there was no vinyl edition). This album is nominated for four Grammy Awards. I also love the great cover photo.
4) The Cars - Move Like This (2011) - If you close your eyes while listening to this album and try to identify which year any of the songs came out… you'd guess the 1970's. I tried listening to other 70's Rock bands that have tried to create a new album such as The Steve Miller Band... and I was hugely disappointed. With this album however. nothing has changed in the Cars' sound and that synth-pop is a great throwback to when Classic Rock was king.
3) Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing (2011). After hearing Furr and Black River Killer, I bought the album without even hearing it and found it very rewarding. Although it is laced with a country twang, these songs are solid. I had a brief chance to speak with Marty Marquis from the band and he even said that it was his favourite album to date. The one that "he could listen to from beginning to end" and was really proud of it.
2) The New Pornographers - Challengers (2007) and Together (2010). I think both of these albums go hand in hand. The band changed their sound ever so slightly starting with Challengers and every song is fantastic. I don't skip a single song. The pleasure from their aural diversity is quite a journey and having numerous band members sing lead keep it varying. They have all the things I enjoy… cello, multiple harmonies, harmonica, clapping. It is funny to think that they all have their own solo careers and this is just a collaboration when ever they feel like it. Serendipity?
1) Brandi Carlile - Give Up the Ghost (2009) (sadly only available on CD). I think this is my favourite album of the year. I discovered it just into 2011 and it has been in rotation throughout the entire year. Her vocal range keeps every song fresh and even after going back and listening to her previous album "The Story" (her best known album), I feel that the maturity she possesses on this album speaks/sings wonders. If you enjoy "Give up the Ghost" check out her 2011 album "Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony" (which is available on vinyl).
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Last year I caught wind that every year in the town of Warkworth, Ontario, they host The Perfect Pie competition. Over 30 years old, this competition covers all facets of pie from Apple to Savory. For $5 you can go in and fill a plate with as much pie as you can muster from many different contestants and see for yourself... which one is the perfect pie. Afterwards the pies are sold off (proceeds go to charity) by an authentic auctioneer who speaks a mile a minute. The entire event is held in a tiny church and you actually feel the warmth of a small close-knit community. Everyone knows each other and you can't help but listen in on cute local conversations while stuffing your face with pie.
I can't wait to attend this year's competition on Saturday the 5th and I hope you get a chance to as well! I'll be the one there with a huge grin on my face and blueberries on my chin.
]]>The Rally is held in a quarry in Catchacoma which is on the outskirts of the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park so it is rather scenic. Dense forest and plenty of delicious raspberries and blackberries litter the edge of the forest. If I had to pick my favourite fruit, I think I would say Blueberries, but Raspberries are a close second, so I always made the time to stop along the way and stop to smell the roses, eat as many raspberries as I could. The problem with having cars go by at 100KM an hour in this environment is that they kick up a fair bit of dust.
How much dust did they kick up? Here's a photo after one of the first cars passed Myke...
Which needless to say, kept me from my snack attack.
You can see photos of the rally over in my store.
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At first glance you would think this was a photo edited in Photoshop, but it isn't. It's a dying memory card. I was worried it was my sensor at first, but it turned out to be one particular memory card that intermittently fails. Thankfully I use numerous memory cards (thanks to a tip from pro-photographer Rick Sammon) so I avoid the "all your eggs in one basket" type of problem versus only using one large card.
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There is something special about seeing a play in the outdoors at a farm, completely prone to the elements. Swallows fly overhead and swoop into the barn as a nice breeze blows past you. There are no microphones here and the acoustics are great. After all of the positive feedback from the rehearsal of Berlin Blues (and the catchiness of the final number), Drew Hayden Taylor remarked, "Maybe I should have made the entire thing a musical?". If you haven't seen a show before at 4th Line, this should be the year. Berlin Blues runs June 28th to July 23rd and Robert Winslow's famous The Cavan Blazers runs August 2nd to August 27th.
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