This week I’ve been working on revamping my portfolio. I started it yesterday by going back and copying every photo I’ve ever provided to a client back to my desktop… there were about 9000 total. So far I’ve got it whittled down to about 3500, which means there’s clearly still a ton of work to be done. It’s hard to judge my own work – I remember each client, the fun I had with them, little moments, and get emotionally attached. How am I supposed to whittle 9000 images down to about 100 images when it’s so hard to hit delete? Ultimately the goal is to reflect the kind of image I enjoy making, the kind of image I want to make, the kind of image I do make. It’s a tall order, but I’m getting there.

The YouTube video for this weekend is something completely different. We’re big Blue Jays fans in this household, as you know, and were watching the game a few nights ago that led to Brett Lawrie being suspended. If you don’t follow the Blue Jays or Brett Lawrie news, this probably won’t mean anything to you, but suffice I say I laughed for about 15 minutes after watching this. Enjoy it while it’s up.

So it may have rained every day for over week. That doesn’t mean spring isn’t happening! Yesterday after a meeting downtown, I took advantage of a break in the clouds to do some shooting. I’m crazy about blossoms, and I know they won’t be here long…

We arrived home around 10 pm Sunday, after a weekend that saw us spend a night in Woodstock, a night in Moncton, and then a day of shooting all along the Fundy coast. Needless to say I was wiped out, so after a post-roadtrip beer I thought it would be nice to get into bed with my book. (I’m currently reading Guns, Germs, and Steel. It is amazing, but it’s taking awhile to get through.) As much as I love travelling, I find it always takes me at least a day to find my regular schedule again once I’m home. Going to bed early could only help.

In the bedroom I was greeted – nay, assaulted – by the most vile stench. It turned out that one of our cats, Ophélie, had expressed her displeasure at being left alone for the weekend artistically through organic mediums.

AG set to work cleaning up the mess, stopping at times to catch his breath because the smell was so bad. This is when things started to go really wrong.

The first mistake was not putting Ophélie’s canvas of choice, a small duffle bag, directly into the wash instead of trying to clean it by hand.
The second mistake was putting the tissues that had been used to clean the bag into the toilet rather than into the trash.
The third mistake was flushing.

You see where I’m going with this. At 3 am we found ourselves with a clogged toilet, and that’s about the time we realized our fourth mistake: we moved last year, and left the plunger in the old place. Somehow in the ensuing 15 months we’d never thought to pick one up.

Well, we were certainly thinking about it now.

This is about the time I started google searching for home plumbing remedies, and we tried them all. Hot water poured high. A wire hanger. Baking soda and vinegar. If we owned a Shop-Vac we would have tried that, too. At this point we were really respecting the superior technology that a plunger represents. AG even went out to the nearest 24 hour convenience store… no plunger. By 4 am we’d exhausted the options, and even managed to get the shower drain plugged. Finally we gave up, and fell into bed.

At 9 am the next day, AG went to Home Hardware, bought a plunger, and the whole problem was fixed in under 3 minutes. Needless to say, the rest of Monday was a total wash on the productivity front, so now I’m recalibrating. Getting back on track.

The moral of this story: if you don’t own a plunger, go buy one now.

As for Ophélie? She remains unimpressed.

Between the deaths of MCA and Maurice Sendak, and the news that Parks & Recreation is maybe being cancelled (?), it was hard to know what to tribute here with a YouTube video, but finally, it had to be this.

After you watch that, put on “Sabotage” and rock your way into the weekend.

On Saturday I met up with one of my 2013 couples who are having their wedding reception at Magnetic Hill Winery. They asked if I’d ever been there, and I hadn’t… so on Sunday with a lot of free time and little to do, AG and I found ourselves making a stop at the winery. The winery is not yet open for the season, and  given that we were showing up unannounced on a Sunday afternoon we hadn’t expected much – just to make a quick stop, maybe get a few snaps, and then get back in the car.

Instead, we were blown away by the hospitality extended to us by Jeff & Janet. We got a mini tour of the grounds (and free rein to look at whatever we wanted!), and an impromptu wine tasting, not to mention some historical notes on the grounds and the renovations that have been done to the structures on-site. I was completely impressed at how great everything looked (and tasted), and blown away again when I realized that Janet remembered which wines she had supplied for Julie & Josh’s wedding last year. Now that is attention to detail. Between that great experience, and the future grounds plans I was told about, I’m now extra excited for Heather & Randy’s wedding. Until then, I’ll content myself with the wines we bought…

Valerie and I got together at her house a little while ago to get some portraits. The goal was to get a few respectable-type headshots… and then to have some fun and look awesome. I think we succeeded! It was so much fun shooting because all of these amazing locations were seriously within a 60 second walk of her house. For instance, that little shed with all the lights? That’s her art studio, right in the backyard. Annnnd now you’re as jealous as I was.

Valerie, you were great, and you looked beautiful! Enjoy. :)

Over the weekend in Moncton, one of the things I did was attend the Peter Brötzmann concert put on as a precursor to the Re:Flux music festival happening later this month. Brötzmann is a German free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (“among the most important European free jazz musicians” as well as contemporary of Evan Parker, who I saw perform last year). It was an intimate concert alternately delicate and lovely, soaring and searing. AG made us drive home in silence so that he could absorb everything we’d heard.

In my opinion, Re:Flux is the most distinctly different and interesting music festival that happens in New Brunswick all year. If you’re at all interested in experimental music and sound art, be sure to check out the rest of the festival, running in Moncton from May 25 – June 2. This year marks the 8th anniversary, and I have it on good authority the Matthew Shipp concert in particular will be something to hear…

I met up with Maryse and Shane and their twin boys Xavier and Gabriel for a shoot two weeks ago. Immediately upon arrival I was met with an ear-piercing scream that told me this wasn’t going to be the best day of the boys’ lives. Ha! Fortunately we could go to their favourite place – Killarney Lake – to explore and get some shots… and run around and investigate garbage cans and sticks and eat rocks. (Afterwards I was totally wiped. Twin boys! Exhausting! Maryse & Shane are heroes.) I had a great time. Hopefully everyone else did, too.

This is real life, times two. Enjoy!

Last weekend I photographed a Valerie. That means that all this week, I’ve had “Valerie” stuck in my head. And now you do, too. Happy weekend! Oh, and May the Fourth be with you!

This shoot was lucky in so many ways. Lucky that Kelly could fly in from Calgary on short notice. Lucky that a meeting on my calendar was rescheduled, opening me up for a shoot. Lucky that this day was the only nice day in a weekend of rain. Lucky that Meaghan & Kelly are super patient let me play with some new gear (I’ve never taken my off-camera lighting equipment on a shoot before!). Lucky that Meaghan being the owner of Corked Wine Bar gave us a fun new location to shoot in. Lucky these two are so cutely in love.