Plaza Vieja
I was just editing a batch of Cuban images last night for a travel magazine submission and figured it was time to put some more travel pics up on the blog. Let’s start with my first night in Old Havana, wandering around while waiting for my brother to meet us. Aside from the lights here in the plaza, the darkness really takes hold in the old town and yet the streets are peaceful and very safe, even as you navigate in the low light to your Casa Particular — if you can remember the side street it’s on!
Plaza Vieja in La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), Cuba, 2011.
BikeStyle – Mia Kohout
My good friend and inspiring colleague Mia Kohout from Momentum Mag was recently tapped for a cover profile in WE Vancouver, a local arts & culture weekly and it’s out today! As her ‘official photographer’ we set out to create some images together on a sunny Spring morning this week. The weather was perfect for a bike ride and after a stint near our Chinatown office we took to the seawall for some more shots. We almost didn’t come back to work! While we did the chosen cover shot on a rainy day in January, here are a few of the other images we made this week. If you have a chance, take a look at the WE piece linked above — it’s packed with great ideas on cities and cycling.
Vancouver, 2014.
Twilight at Trout Lake
It’s been an incredibly busy March here for me. Between my regular job putting together artwork for the magazine, some annual commercial gigs, portrait sessions and traveling for work and pleasure, I haven’t found much time for personal blogging. There is definitely a backlog! Looking for some time to process and share some new images with you. Here’s one from last Friday night — just as the rain showers broke I sped off to Trout Lake on my bicycle for some twilight spring song. With a new 14mm/f2.8 lens for the Fuji X-E1 in tow, this was one of my first shots.
Vancouver, 2014.
That Time I Jammed With The Cubans….
It was Christmas Eve and Sandra, Jon and I were enjoying the festive ambiance of Trinidad, Cuba — a remarkably colourful and beautiful city on the south coast of the main island. When we heard the son clave coming from up the cobbled street, we ventured forth. Dusk was just settling in, the image of the birds previous to this post was taken moments earlier, and the music was beginning to pulse from inside and out. Sitting, watching and eventually grooving to this quintet (one is off camera right) I was suddenly given an instrument to join in — a very large horse’s jawbone. We got a couple songs in — adding a whack here and a thump there I hit the beats in time and felt like a natural on the ‘bone.
That’s me on the left, enjoying every moment and I was thrilled for the experience (thanks, Sandra, for snapping the shot in such low light). Back in Canada I played in an Afro-Cuban / Brazilian percussion ensemble called Sambata for a number of years. We played festivals, parades, private events, clubs and dance parties throughout the lower mainland – and we rocked! It’s been some time since I played with the band, but the music is still within me, everyday. I am proud to say I can spot a son from a rumba and could probably get back up to speed on the breakneck batucada style Brazilian samba in a few sweaty hours. Maybe it’s time to reconnect with the music once again…this was a great tease.
Trinidad, Cuba, 2011.
Half Circle, Full Flight
The sun sets on the Caribbean Sea as we watch flocks of birds take flight from a rooftop in Trinidad, Cuba, 2011.
Window Seat
Salish Sea, 2013.
Dogwood
Carvel, Alberta, 2014.
Jonny Bright Eyes
Carvel, Alberta, 2014.
Hangin’ in the Bone Tree
Carvel, Alberta, 2014.
Crossing the Slough
Carvel, Alberta, 2014.
Meeting Fires Creative 