fotograf416

Death of another blog...

2007-01-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

This blog isn't getting nearly enough feedback for the effort I was putting into it...

So I'm going to kill it for now...

It'll probably return in another form in the future... stay tuned!

Spidey by Delineated

2006-10-24T13:09:00.000-04:00

Spidey
Originally uploaded by Delineated.

It's not my photo, but I love the homage that Carrie did for me:

"It's like Fotograf.416 (Mike), only upside down and with a costume. :P"

It Snowed in Toronto

2006-10-24T12:41:00.000-04:00

DSC_2070
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

The title pretty much sums it up... I can't say I'm too excited about snow in October. In December on the other hand... LET IT SNOW! Gotta get my board'n on...

Cootes Paradise HDR

2006-10-24T12:40:00.000-04:00

Cootes Paradise HDR
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I fuck'n love this shot! One of my best in months. It was produced with two long exposure shots.

If you don't know Cootes Paradise, it's a wonderful place to take a walk around the water in Hamilton...

100k Views!

2006-10-24T12:39:00.000-04:00

100k Views!
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

That's right fucker! 100 000 Views!

Too bad I missed it rolling over... oh well. I'll make sure it catch it at a million.

Toronto Zombie Walk 2006

2006-10-24T12:34:00.000-04:00

DSC_2605
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I've gotten way to lazy with my posts... again. I'm going to try to keep these short so I actually do them!

Toronto Zombie Walk 2006 pics are up! My dumb ass was shooting at way too low of a shutter speed, but I still managed to get a few good shots. Check them out!

Sell Your Soul for a Black DS Lite

2006-09-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

20060914_dslite
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

If you're an avid gamer, or a Nintendo fanboy, you likely know that yesterday North America received the Black (Onyx) and (Coral) Pink DS Lite. I'm definitely not a video game junky, but since receiving my first original gameboy at the age of 10, I've been a portable videogame addict.

Yesterday, over lunch, I went out on a mission to Future Shop to pick up a little black companion to my PSP. To my dismay, Future Shop informed me that they had not received their shipment yet. Upon leaving the store, my mind wondered as to were else I could acquire my latest gadget. Looking up and to my right the answer stared down at me in red, white and blue: Walmart.

Overcoming the sickness building in my stomach and the growing guilt, I entered. Sure enough, in the electronics department, there lied at least 20 of these prized systems. The buying power of this giant is truly astounding.

Europe 2006 - Copenhagen Part3

2006-08-29T19:10:00.000-04:00

Copenhagen has some stunning parks that truly come alive in the summer, full of bathing beauties, beer drinking boys and angular architecture. We also stumbled across this fun miniature recreation of early Copenhagen.

Europe 2006 - Copenhagen Part2

2006-08-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

Copenhagen has an amazingly modern metro system. Everything is less than five years old, automated, clean... and has lots of wonderful big windows for taking photos.

My Toyz @ 10mm

2006-08-25T23:53:00.000-04:00

DSC_0022_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

My Toyz with a Nikon D200 + Sigma 10-20mm.

Alley Jaunt 2006

2006-08-22T19:38:00.000-04:00

DSC_0068
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I'm feeling way too lazy to write about this...

Read my blogTO post here

Europe 2006 - Copenhagen Part1

2006-08-22T13:17:00.000-04:00

Back to the Europe blogging...

Copenhagen is an amazing city! My enjoyment of the city was due, in no small part, to Christine's brother Dave being a wonderful host and tour guide. Dave kicked off an amazing week by meeting us at the airport, Carlsberg in hand!

Much of the first few days in Copenhagen were spend wondering the city, and riding around on the free bikes. That's right, free bike rentals! Just pop in a coin (equal to about $4), ride the bike as long as you like, then return it and get your coin back. What a system!

One of the best part of Copenhagen is a strip by the canals where rich people eat over priced food at stunning cafes, and poor people get drunk sitting by the water. It's a wonderful example of how people of different socioeconomic classes can coexist and share a wonderful space. A scene like this would never happen in North America. Public drinking and rich mixed with poor are both severely frowned upon.

Caribana 2006

2006-08-18T17:58:00.000-04:00

About two weeks ago was Toronto's Annual Caribana Festival.

It was pure insanity as a million people crowded the Lake Shore. The floats and costumes were amazing, but based on my view statistics, you guys only seem to care about the lovely ladies...

Who am I to argue? Give the people what they want I say...

Hillside 2006

2006-08-18T17:06:00.000-04:00

As another summer passes, so does another Hillside music festival. This is by far my favorite music festival in Ontario. So relaxed. Such great music! And they even have fabulous food!

I wish I had better photos, but this really isn't about the photography for me. It was much more about hanging out with my good friends Christine, Laura and Dave.

Good times... I can't wait for next year's festival!

Style In Progress 2006 - Dundas Square

2006-08-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

In my humble opinion, the Sunday of SIP in the back alleys of Queen St. is the true Style In Progress. That being said, the Saturday event at Yonge & Dundas Square is always good times with Hip Hop artist, BBoys & BGirls, and of course plenty of graffiti.

Unfortunately the weather was shite, which really put a damper on the event, but the fans and artists still came out in full force. Although some might argue that graffiti on a canvas isn't real graffiti, this festival is about the art form as much as it is about the culture.

I would however have appreciated more of a focus on the current issues the graffiti community faces, but I'll take the party and leave the politics for another day.

Style In Progress 2006

2006-08-18T11:54:00.000-04:00

Style In Progress this year was TOO MUCH FUN!

This was my first outing with my brand spank'n new Nikon D200 camera and Sigma 10-20mm lens. The super wide angel lens was everything I dreamed it would be. Never before have I been in narrow alleys and actually been able to capture entire pieces without making love to the wall behind me. What a joy!

Beyond my own personal camera masturbation, the graffiti this year was mind blowing! So many amazing pieces, as you can see from my insane number of photos posted here.

Special props to fucking insane We Kill You crew. I don't even know how to describe their ghost/tv/sticker/mask-wearing insanity besides saying it was brilliant and you need to check the pics.

I normally post the best photos near the top, but with the mind blowing number of photos posted, I've decided to just plop them down here in chronological order. Some of the best pics are near the end of the post, so don't be lazy, scroll scroll scroll...

Toronto Kickball - June 4th & May 28th

2006-08-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

IMG_9072_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

When you have to scroll back 28 pages, you know you're behind on your blogging...

Photos from the June 4th and May 28th Toronto Kickball games now online.

Style In Progress HDR

2006-08-04T13:31:00.000-04:00

This was produced with a 7 Shot Bracket, hand held. I need to go back with a tripod!

It was really difficult, even with a 7 shot bracket, to prevent the sky from blowing out in areas, and having the ground bright enough. It would be really helpful to have a wireless remote so I could meter the shot twice, and take two bracket bursts.

This shot is a little lower contrast (too HDR looking) than I aim for. Regardless, I'm somewhat please with the result.

UPDATE:
I created a Version 2 of this HDR scene, using a different set of 7 photos, and I'm much happier with the result. It's the second photos on your right.

Toronto Kickball July 23, 2006

2006-08-03T18:56:00.000-04:00

DSC_0354
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Hey Kickballers, photos from the warm up and pre-game shenanigans from the July 23rd game are posted.

For those outside of the kickball circle, these crazy kids on the right are the Morning After Pills.

These are my frist kickball shots with my fancy new Nkon D200 + Sigma 10-20mm...

Europe 2006 - London to Copenhagen

2006-07-21T17:54:00.000-04:00

IMG_7846_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

EasyJet is about as no frills an airline as you could possibly imagine. No movies, no free food or drinks. They don't even bother assigning you seats! Luckily I was able to push and shove my way ahead of the pack and grabbed a window seat.

I'm pretty happy with this window shot. I've found that one of the tricks is to shoot as early in the flight as possible. The longer you stay at high altitudes, the more frost builds up. That's my tip of the week ;)

Europe 2006 - London - Stansted Airport

2006-07-21T17:45:00.000-04:00

IMG_7841 - HDR
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

After dropping of Christine's incredibly heavy extra bag at my buddy Dan Snaith's house (aka Caribou... that's right, I'm name dropping!), it was time to briefly say goodbye to London and head to Copenhagen.

We flew out of Stansted Airport, which was about a 45 minutes train ride from downtown London. After checking in, we had a good 2 hours to kill before boarding out EasyJet flight...

So I broke out the camera, polarizer and captured some shots which I turned into this HDR.

Distillery District @ Night

2006-07-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

IMG_3333_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Way back in February I found myself down at the Distillery District for some video game art show. I got to play me some XBox 360, then got borred and when shooting.

After about 15 mintues extreme hypothermia and front bite started to set in, but I managed to get a few decent hand held shots. I'd love to go back with a trip this summer.

Anyways, enjoy!

First Pic with Nokia 6682

2006-07-19T11:11:00.000-04:00

20060718(005)_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I just got me a Nokia 6682!

The geek in me is gitty with joy over this new toy!

The music lover in me is hyped about the built in mp3 player.

The photographer in me is reveling in always having a camera at my side.

And to my surprise, it actually takes decent pics! Check out my first snap with the new Nokia 6682.

The Sky Is Angry

2006-07-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

DSC_0050_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

A violent storm rolled through Toronto last night... The High Park areas lost power for 9 hours. My first act upon the return of the sweet AC was to upload this photo... which also happens to be my first photo posted with my band spank'n new Nikon D200 + Sigma 10-20mm.

My Account of the Storm, as posted on BlogTO:

"I was nearly hit by lighting last night as the bolt struck less than 100m from where I stood. There was a flash, a fierce crack, a tingling in my feet and then a weird rubber band noise as the electrical grid went down, all in less than a second. The speed at which the storm overtook the area was astounding. Less than 5 minutes before the lighting and violent gusts of wind, I was playing tennis under a clear sky.

The power was out in the High Park / Roncesvalles area for over 8 hours, and my nerves were shaken for at least that long. If you have a good storm story, please share."

Europe 2006 - London - Camden Market

2006-07-14T18:02:00.000-04:00

I fuck'n love Camden Market. I'd go their every Sunday if I lived in London. The sheer magnitude of its flowing chaos blows my mind.

Great shopping. So many unique things to buy! Great people watching! I even found me a drum circle and a Japanese girl straight out of Harajuku.

The food areas are a bit much. Everyone yelling at you and shoving food in your face. It's really cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for... and then get it again about 45 minutes later.

The last two pictures on the right are two of my favorites from my European vacation. Both are HDR photos produces with slightly different exposure bracketing, and slight different post processing. Neither are quite perfect, but close enough to what I was going for. I'd really love some feedback from you guys as to which one you prefer. Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

Europe 2006 - London - London Eye

2006-07-14T15:08:00.000-04:00

We should have known from the ominous clouds that we were pushing our luck going on the London Eye... but come on, it's London, it's always cloudy!

Unfortunately for us, these clouds were determined to ruin our view of London. Less than 2 minutes into the ride the rain started.

Oh well. The view was still spectacular, but the photos could have been much better. I spent most of the ride looking for gaps between the streaks of water from the freshly falling rain.

Quite expensive (what isn't in London), but well worth it.

Europe 2006 - London - Big Ben & Underground

2006-07-14T13:24:00.000-04:00

IMG_7632_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

It might be a cheesy touristy shot, but I love it. So many iconic symbols of England in one shot: Big Ben, the Underground, cloudy skies, and a pink mini cab! Awesome.

Europe 2006 - London - Notting Hill Tube Station

2006-07-14T13:20:00.000-04:00

IMG_7617_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

The tube stations in London are so amazing! So old, so grand, so unique... It seriously puts the TTC to shame.

I could literally spend a year of my life photographing the London Underground... maybe I will one day.

Europe 2006 - London - Carnaby St

2006-07-13T17:26:00.000-04:00

IMG_7581_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

This year I decided to blow all 3 weeks of my vacation time at once with a grandiose 3 week adventure through Europe. My partner in crime was my friend Christine, on her way back from South Africa...

There are a few hundred photos already online, and I'm just finishing up the last 50 or so from Prague. I'll be writing up a post or two about each city I visited so stay tuned!

Our first stop was London, England. Thanks to far too many business trips, I amassed a massive amount of Marriot reward points, which were blown on 3 nights at a fancy hotel near Oxford station.

After struggling through our jetlag, Christine and I headed down to Carnaby St for a little window shopping. Definitely one of my favorite areas of London! It reminded me of Queen St. W in Toronto. I bought a salmon coloured shirt. It's a tough tough shirt. Seriously.

World Cup

2006-07-12T18:46:00.000-04:00

IMG_8247_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Unless you've been living in a closet, by now you know Italy won the World Cup, and not to insult Zidane's mother.

After the final penalty kick I headed over to College St. to check out the celebrations. It was no St. Claire West, but it was certainly wild enough for my liking.

New York City

2006-07-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

I've been to NYC four times now, and the sheer scale and energy of the city still wows me each time I'm there. Beyond that, it's an amazing city for photography! I'd never be without my camera if I lived there..

My Sunday in NYC was spending wondering Washington Square Park, SOHO and Times Square at night. The skulls are from a store called Evolution on Spring St.

Brooklyn's North American Invitational Kickball Tournament

2006-07-11T12:02:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Brooklyn Kickball held their first ever North American Invitational kickball tournament. We might not have brought home the championship, but we won a few games, made a lot of friends and definitely proved that Toronto can kick it!

Thanks to our wonderful organizers Andrew & Sarah, Toronto made an epic entrance to the Brooklyn fields. The Canadian flag, matching uniforms (thanks to American Apparel) and a rather boisterous rendition of Oh Canada were all it took to make a few hundred Americans stop in their tracks and jointly say "check out Canada!".

Toronto fielded two teams, Toronto 1 and Toronto 2... Also known as the Rough Riders! Toronto 2 ran into some, shall we say, technical difficulties in the way of Brooklyn and DC's finest. So we'll just brush over those loses and move on to Toronto 1.

Toronto 1 came out of the gate strong with a near perfect defeat of Providence by a score of 7-0! Props to the Providence kids! They were good sports and kept the game light (Even if they did give everyone pink eye).

Toronto 1's second game was against some thugs from DC called the D-Block. These guys could learn a thing or two about chilling the fuck out and playing by the rules. We beat these losers 5-4, but thanks to some crafty cheating, only came away with an official tie. It probably didn't help that our referees were hammered at this point...

On a personal note, kicking a homerun against DC was one of the highlights of my weekend.

Lastly we faced Brooklyn 3, and, well, it didn't go so good... We were all a little too tired and sun stroked at this point to put up a good fight. Oh well. It hardly hampered what was without a doubt one of the highlights of my summer!

Brooklyn Bound

2006-07-11T09:34:00.000-04:00

The drive from Toronto to Brooklyn / NYC was full of adventure. Things started off sketchy with a MacGyver style reattachment of the rear view mirror involving massive amounts of duck tape and superglue... unfortunately the sun was a little too hot, the glue melted, and we were rear-view-mirror-less...

As if Christina's 10 year old Blazer wasn't having enough issues with the mirror, a flying piece of shredded tire took out her right turn signal just outside of Toronto...

But alas we made it!

We decided to take a detour through Times Square which was both mesmerising and horrifying! Christina, get off your cell phone! OMG! AHHHHH!

Gay Pride '06

2006-06-27T09:32:00.000-04:00

This year's Gay Pride parade was as wild and crazy as ever!

One thing that has struck me attending the parades year after year, is that increasingly the floats are Corporate in nature: Air Canada, Royal Bank, etc...

On top of that, it seems to be a political stage for everyone from Mayor Miller, to federal Liberal candidates. I'm torn on the issue. On one side it's wonderful that politicians are willing to come out with their support for gay issues. On the other side, it seems like too much like the politicians are simily whoring themselves for votes and using the parade as a stage to be seen...

I must compliment Mayor Miller for handing out water bottles throughout the parade. Truly a live saver. Even if it was one hand with the bottle, the other hand with the classic political hand shake...

Dyke March '06

2006-06-27T09:23:00.000-04:00

This years Dyke March was small but entertaining. Best described via pictures...

The Dyke March will never be able to compete with the Gay Pride Parade, but I think it's wonderful that Toronto has parades for both sides of the movement. Very view cities around the world support lesbian issues in this way.

Pride '05

2006-06-27T09:19:00.000-04:00

IMG_4028_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

In preparation for this years Dyke March and Pride Parade, I finally got around to posting last years Pride pictures...

King Khan @ The Comfor Zone NXNE

2006-06-11T23:57:00.000-04:00

IMG_9346_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

One of the most entertaining and lively shows I've ever seen. A definite highlight of NXNE.

Full review posted at blogTO.

Malajube @ Lee's Palace

2006-05-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

IMG_7004_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Thanks to the blogTO connections I scored some guest list action to see Malijube at Lee's last week.

Amazing show! The guys blew my mind!

Read my blogTO review.

...and check out "Fille a Plumes" on their myspace page.

Ladytron @ The Opera House

2006-05-02T16:53:00.000-04:00

IMG_6539_edit2
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Ladytron kicked some serious ass!

Read my blogTO review.

Missing from the review is my undying love for Mira... or maybe just my temporary infatuation. Not only was she hawt, but she had the more intense stare. She quite literally eye fucked the crowd for an hour and a half.

Ciao Jenna

2006-05-02T16:45:00.000-04:00

IMG_8204_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Our good friend Jenna is off to Van City until July. We shall miss her...

...that is, after we recover from the drunkest party in recent (barely function) memory.

Zoi Zoi

2006-05-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

IMG_8171_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

So many photos, so little blogging...

An old pic from back in March at one of Chris's fine Zoi Zoi parties. Ronda's give'n Chris the stare down. Way to go Ronda; you keep him honest... or at least as honest as an asian man trapped in a white mans body can be.

Lots of drunk pics in the flickr set.

Kickball Spring Training

2006-04-12T17:14:00.000-04:00

Kickball Pre-Season hasn't even started yet and I've already got 66 photos online! This could get a little rediculous by the time the season is over...

If you live in or around Toronto, you're over 19, and you like to act like a kid and kick ball then come on out!

Pre-Season starts this Sunday!!!

TorontoKickball.com

The Andreas Turn 25

2006-04-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

Last Friday night we celebrated the Andreas turning 25 with a rock'n karaoke, twister, glow-in-the-dark-glasses, tiaras, bubbles and more jello shotters than I can remember party!

It's all a bit of a blur so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Oh yeah, and I was punched for taking this picture. I'm still not sure why this is the "most unflattering angle ever". I think the picture is fun. Leave a comment you lazy fucks...

Happy Birthday Andreas!!!

Andrew

2006-04-12T16:06:00.000-04:00

Andrew's my homie... he drove me to The Opera House for CYHSY.

Then he kicked Christina and I's asses at connect 4. I want a rematch!

No we're not gay... Not that there's anything wrong with that...

CYHSY @ The Opera House

2006-04-12T15:58:00.000-04:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah rocked The Opera House this past Saturday. Great show! Tones of new tunes, most of which sounded great. The new songs were generally along the same lines as their previous album, but slightly more refined, as one might expect as they mature as artists.

My one complaint about the show was the sound system. Maybe it was just where I was standing (front-right), but the levels seemed totally off. Alec Ounsworth's vocals weren't nearly loud enough. Take away the vocals and CYHSY sound just like any other indie-pop-rock band.

Opening for CYHSY was The Brunettes from New Zealand. Initially I was very impressed with these guys. The general consensus was that they sound like Architecture in Helsinki. Unfortunately as time went on, they began to sound a bit mediocre and my attention started to wonder... They quickly grabbed it back with a very odd song, involving creepy masks, about Mary Kate & Ashley. It's beyond words; check the pics...

Oh yeah, the pics... Not really as good as I was hoping for. Really tall people shouldn't be allowed to stand front row centre.

Toronto International Air Show 2005

2006-04-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

This is my last large photos set from last summer that I've been meaning to upload. I took about 300+ photos and managed to cut it down to 65. The photos were a lot harder to edit than I expected. Auto Leveling caused the sky to go some funky colours. Auto Contrast cause the sky to go either too bright or too dark, and usually caused the planes to become very dark and lose all detail. Needless to say, many hours were spent with photoshop manually editing levels until I just didn't care anymore... so some of the photos could probably use a re-edit.

I can't wait to try again this year now that I've got UV and Circular Polarizer filters for my camera. I have a feeling they will be very helpful in capturing the true colour of the sky, and reducing glare. The UV filter should also help reduce the atmospheric haze that killed a lot of the detail in my shots.

Cherry Beach

2006-04-10T13:37:00.000-04:00

Here's another hella old photos set for y'all. At the end of last summer Laura, DC and I finally made it down to Cherry Beach for their final party of the summer.

The fire and glow stick play made for some really fun photos.

Besides that it was just lots of techno and dirty hippies...

Pro-AM World Hip Hop Conference 2006

2006-04-10T13:31:00.000-04:00

IMG_5099_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

We the bloggers of blogTO get a lot of invites, so I to finally take advantage of this. A few emails and a phone call later and Lenny-D hook up a media pass to the Pro-AM World Hip Hop Conference 2006.

I had to work for my free pass though. My friend Erica and I spend about an hour on the red carpet taking pictures of "celebrities", most of which were just bboys and relatively unheard of Canadian R&B artists.

Eventually we started to crack for the sheer torturous boredom of it all, so we bailed on the red carpet and went and watched the bboys and bgirls who had started a large circle in the middle of The Opera House.

By the time the show finally got started we had to leave for a friend's house party... You gotta put your real homies first.

NewMindSpace Happy Birthday Lori Subway Party

2006-04-10T12:14:00.000-04:00

Lori of NewMindSpace celebrated her birthday in style a few weeks ago with a wild Dr. Seuss themed subway party!

The party goers and pbloggers met up at Finch station around 11:10 pm. The last car on the subway was boarded and the party very quickly kicked into high gear complete with costumes, drums, decorations, candy and lots of blasting techno. These parties are definitely turning slightly more rave focused.

Unfortunately the emergency bar was pushed accidentally once. Not too bad considering how overly crowded the subway was. Seriously, it was brutally hot in there. There was zero oxygen. I was getting intoxicated from carbon dioxide.

When the subway high St. George station the cops decided to finally step in and tried to put an end to the party. This was my last stop so I took off and didn't see how things panned out. From other peoples pictures it appears that party eventually continued...

Happy Birthday Lori! So what are we going to do for Kevin's bday? Capture the flag?

Akron Family @ The Music Gallery

2006-04-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

Back in March Akron Family returned to Toronto as part of their North American tour heavily weighted with Canadian venues. These Brooklyn boys are quickly becoming Toronto favorites. At first I was apprehensive about seeing such an exhibitionist band at The Music Gallery, a church, where I thought there antics might be stifled. Fortunately for us, Akron showed how versatile a rock band they are.

Entering through the back of the church, they started off by the show with a little jam session involving some acoustics and a lion on stick. Yeah, you really just had to be there. Unfortunately they were suffering from a colds, but luckily someone in the friendly Toronto crowd came to their rescue with Vicks, and was promised non-drug-related compensation at the end of the show. A highlight of the night was during one of their long psychedelic rock outs, they moved from the stage to the grand piano, and then added the church's organ.

The night started off with the lovely Laura Barrett. This was my first time seeing her live and I was extremely impressed with her charm and witty lyrics. Truly whimsical. It's amazing what she can do with that kalimba. I was also quite impressed with her side kick Richard on the standup bass. They are by far the freshest sound I've heard come out of Toronto since Final Fantasy.

Don Bridge Queen St E HDR

2006-03-24T16:47:00.000-05:00

I guess I've officially jumped on the HDR bandwagon now. If you don't know what HDR is, you basically combine multiple images at different exposures to give you detail in both the bright and dark parts of your photos. It's all pretty complicated, and it's kind of cheating, but it's also the way of the future. Maybe I'll write more about it later. I used a program called Photomatix, but there are lots of great HDR tools out there, including built in support in Photoshop CS2.

It was about -30C the day I took these photos, and extremely windy. I literally almost got frost bite. It took 20 minutes in my car with the heat on high and my hands in front of the vents before I could drive home. Well worth it in the long run, but damn that was painful. Gotta suffer for the art, right?

Heather's Jogging Pants Party

2006-03-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

Heather throws kick ass parties! But when I read the evite for her jogging pants themed party, I was a little skeptical. Shame on me. Goooood frick'n times!

Props to Evan for bringing the homemade over sized jenga game! Soooo much fun! They really need to start mass producing these.

And double props to Heidi and Jo for letting me takes pictures of their cleavage. These are far and away my most popular photos. Come on, everyone loves boobs. And these sweeties have some lovely lady lumps ;)

The Constantines @ The Opera House

2006-03-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

As part of my on going "let's upload all those old pictures I never got around to uploading" series, I've FINALLY got my Constantines pictures online from their show back in November.

It was a fabulous show! The Hold Steady opened with some solid rock. Their keyboardist was frick'n hilarious! Dude had a mother fuck'n handlebar mustache and was drinking from a 1.5L bottle of wine (or maybe it was a magnum of Champaign).

The Constantines rocked out hard. It was a flawless set with lots of cameo's. I was already a huge fan, but this solidified things. These guys are frick'n awesome...

Tenth Annual 416 Graffiti Expo

2006-03-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

I took these graf pics last summer at the Tenth Annual 416 Graffiti Expo. If yah don't know, this is a yearly event held in the big parking lot between Spadina and Bathurst on the south side of Queen St, and the back allies just south of Queen.

The 416 Graffiti Expo is a blast every year, and this year was no exception. The graf was stellar, the hip hop was fresh and the bboys and bgirls busted some phat moves for hours in the blazing heat...

This is one of my last sets from '05 to be posted. I put off editing these for a while simply due to the sheer number of photos. When it was all said and done, the graffiti pics alone took up 14 flickr pages! It also took up about a week of my free time spent editing these photos in photoshop. For most of the photos all I did was adjust the levels and added a bit of saturation. I can't even image how long this would have taken if I'd really tried to tweak every foto.

Whatever. It's done now. If you love graf check these pics out cuz some of this graf is just amazing! My personal favorite is the foto where a little girl ran in front of my camera. Her dad must have apologized to me 10x; little did he know she made my day. I think my favorite thing about these expos is how it gives me the ability to take fotos of incomplete graf still being worked on. It gives me much more of an appreciation for how these amazing pieces are created, and the time, effort and skill that goes into them.

...almost time for next yeas Expo!

Going Up

2006-03-09T17:08:00.000-05:00

IMG_2808_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

One Thursday night in February, after playing poker at Dave's place, I started my walk down to The Speakeasy to see Anagram play... Despite the fact that it was about negative ten billion degrees, I couldn't resist breaking out the camera and trying to get a picture of this building. The reflection off of the building behind me producing an upward arrow was just too perfect. Hand held shots weren't working out (possibly due to frost bite), so I did my best to use a fire hydrant as a tripod... and this is the result.

Henry Rollins @ Convocation Hall

2006-03-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

IMG_5197_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Henry Rollins in totally insane and a complete masochist. He's also pretty much the closest thing I have to an idol (yes, me to Alain). This guy jumps into things head first and NEVER backs down from a challenge. I fuck'n love his outlook on life! He'll bring you to stitches and scare the crap out of you at the same time. Fuck'n brilliant! Or insane. It's a bit of a gray area.

If you ever get the chance to see him live, DO IT!

Alley Jaunt

2006-03-09T16:50:00.000-05:00

Back in August I spent a day biking around the back allies near Trinity Bellwoods checking out random art displays in random peoples garages... and what an amazing day it was!

They basically went door to door asking every house owner in the area if they could use their garage for a weekend. If I recall correctly, there were about 16 stops, with chalk marking the path between exhibits. The plush city was my favorite! There was also some cool blown glass work and photography.

Just north of Bellwoods I found some huge and very colourful flowers swarming with bees. Me not having much sense, got right up close for some crazy macro shots. Seriously, check out the full sized images and prepare for your mind to be blown.

Goin' Steady @ The Boat

2006-03-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

IMG_1471_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

A few pics from the last Goin' Steady 50s party at The Boat have been posted. There's another one happening this Friday. Check it out!

There are also a few pics from The Constantines show at The Horseshoe in this set. Good show, but I was way too far back to get a decent pic. I've said this a million times and I'll keep saying it. I hate The Horseshoe.

Anagram @ The Speakeasy

2006-03-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

IMG_2852_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Not quite as bitch ass late as the Meligrove pictures, but pretty frick'n late none the less...

Anagram were awesome as always. People moshed, lead dude smoked cigarettes, then moshed, then smoked some more... many bottles were thrown. It was anarchy, and that's what we came for...

Meligrove CD Release Party @ The Mod Club

2006-03-03T15:01:00.000-05:00

IMG_0806_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

These pictures are crazy late... I'm a lazy fuck, sue me.

Many many thanks to John for lending me his memory card after my dumb ass forgot mine!

Basically, Meligrove kicked ass... I see a bright future for these boys.

Happy Birthday Michelle!

2006-03-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, or somewhere close to that, was Michelle's birthday. If you don't know Michelle, well, then that’s your loss cuz she's pretty frick'n awesome. She's also got some kickass friends who brought lots of treats, gifts, games, and of course, the love...

The evening started off with a birthday pre-party at the Markham house. Cake was eaten, pin the horn on the unicorn was played (apparently donkey's aren't hip anymore), and much alcohol was consumed.

Then it was off to Zoi Zoi at the Boat for some French pop, dancing and further consumption of alcohol. Generally good times, although the vibe at The Boat seemed a bit off. I can't tell if it was the lack of people there (they got busted down by the fire martial, so now they actually have to adhere to their capacity limit of 120-150), or if it was due to the advertising in the dreaded 905...

After I left the birthday partying crew, I walked up to college for Sophisticated Boom Boom at Rancho Relaxo... And all I can say is "wow, what a party!!!". Scottie was all over the map with the music, but somehow managed to lay down crowd pleasing trax after crowd pleasing trax. The dance floor was jumping all night! I'll definitely be going to Scottie's next event!

Loser Curling

2006-02-22T19:01:00.000-05:00

New Loser Curling photos posted.

I got some sweet ass motion blurrs with these shots. The subject has a fair amount of sharpness and detail, while the background has an intense blurr. Check out the full size pictures to see what I'm talking about.

I used my wide angle lens for most of these shots. For a few of the later shots I added a polarizer filter. It's still hard to tell how much the filter helps.

Never Forgive Action @ Gypsy Co-op

2006-02-21T15:51:00.000-05:00

If you love the hip and/or hop, don't miss the next Never Forgive Action! There is no night in Toronto with better old skool hip hip....

...and fine ladies. but i've got a girlfriend, so you check out the fine ladies, and I'll check out the hippen and the hoppin.

...and ghost djs! OMG!

this post needs to end. now.

for a more coherent review of Never Forgive Action @ Gypsy Co-op: blogTO: Never Forgive Action @ Gypsy Co-op

Toronto Kickball Fundraiser

2006-02-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Kickball Fundraiser was an amazing success! Not only did the party kick some serious ass, but we raised over $400!!! Ryan, Michelle, Alex and everyone else involved in throwing the party did an amazing job!

Girlfriend Material started off the night with their first and last show ever, due to a fitting name change to Shitt Hottt. That's right, count the T's, 5! They're that eff'n hottt!

Boyfriend Material came on second and rocked out hard! Alex was give'n'er on the mic!

Beth in Battle Mode had a great sound and an awesome stage (basement) presence! I see big things for this band...

The Code Name Laurentians were amazing as always. You rock Royal!

Wide Angle @ Eaton Centre

2006-02-17T11:55:00.000-05:00

Back in late January I went on my first urban adventure with my new Tiffen Wide Angle 0.75x lens.

I took this opportunity to finally get some pictures of Michael Snow's "Flight Stop".

It was difficult to get well exposed shots without over-exposing the skylights. John recommended using HDR, but that would have required a tripod, lots of time, and actually knowing how to produce HDR images (one day soon I'll learn).

I'm pretty satisfied with my photoshop edits now. I was able to brighten the images without maxing out the high-ends or losing too much detail.

I'll probably go back to the Eaton Centre soon and give it another go with a tripod and my circular polarizer filter. I'm very curious to see if this helps produce a higher dynamic range.

Oh yeah, I also got some fun pictures of the high rise attached to the Eaton Centre, and I really like the picture of the water fountain taken from a level above.

Code Name Laurentians @ The Bagel & Sneaky Dee's

2006-02-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

If you love the Code Name Laurentians (and why wouldn't you), jump on over to flickr and check out two new photos sets from their shows at The Bagel and Sneaky Dee's.

The set from The Bagel was a long time in coming, as the show was from back on November 17th. This was the first time I saw Royal and the gang, and I instantly fell in love with their sound. The Bagel on the other hand is frick'n puny and left no room for rocking out, but the beer was $2.50 a bottle, so I'll let it slide...

The set from Sneaky Dee's was taken on January 14th. This was the best turn out I've seen to a Code Name's show, and Sneaky Dee's is a fabulous venue for both rocking out and photography. It wasn't the best performance I've seen from the Code Names, but quite enjoyable none-the-less.

Oh yeah, and I got some fun pics of a disco-ball type light at The Bagel... ewwh, trippy.

Kickball Bowling @ Bathurst Bowlerama

2006-02-01T11:19:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Kickball Crew met up Sunday for some off-season shenanigans at Bathurst Bowlerama for some wicked bowling fun.

Yumi edged out Alain and myself with a 10th frame spare-strike combo to secure her victory with scores of 114, 113 and 112 (yeah, we suck).

Jenna, Graeme and John got a slew of style points with their unconventional 360s and granny style bowling.

I'm not sure who organized the group shot, but the matching of bowling balls to shirt colours was a brilliant idea! Once again, the kickball kids make for amazing subjects.

This was one of my first outings with my new Tiffen x0.75 wide-angle lens. I've been really happy with the results so far. The lens produces crisp shots, with minimal barrel distortion, and allows lots of room for cropping.

I was less impressed with my new polarizer filter as it reduced the light intake far too much and required a shutter speed far too slow for such high motion photography. I should have tried combining the filter with a flash. Oh well, live and learn.

UPDATE:

I added a few more pics:
- more bus pics
- the pics john took of me... i do have good form. thanks for noticing andrew.
- pics of graeme's crazy 360 moves

NewMindSpace: Faerie Tale Streetcar Party

2006-01-27T16:18:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday NewMindSpace threw a Faerie Tale Streetcar Party.

About a hundred kids met up at Queen & York, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two extended accordion-style streetcars. Once the streetcars arrived, they were boarded post-haste. Decorations were quickly thrown up, glow sticks broken out, and tunes bumped out in what quickly turned into a bit of a rave party.

A nice touch was a quick stop over at the Spacings In Transit photography exhibit on Queen E.

Once again, great work Kevin and Lori! Keep up the good work!!

What will Kevin and Lori come up with next?!?

Almost time to go home...

2006-01-26T18:09:00.000-05:00

IMG_1426_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I've been playing around a lot with my new circular polarizer and uv filters. This is the first shot I've posted where I've combined the two filters. I love the affect it produces on sunsets.

Yonge St. @ Night

2006-01-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

IMG_1381_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

While driving home last night, I decided to take Yonge Street so that I could finally get a few pictures of the florescent lights arching over this busy thoroughfare.

It was very challenging to drive in traffic while operating my camera, but I managed to pull it off without killing myself. Going 40 km/h at night combined with a ~1 sec exposure produced some amazing trails.

These are also the first shots using my new polarizer lens filter, which helped reduce the reflection on the windshield.

Over The Top Festival Launch

2006-01-14T15:25:00.000-05:00

blogTO: Over The Top Festival Launch

All my photos have been posted!

What a great show! Great Lake Swimmer kicked things off with a very soft and slow performance, but that’s pretty much what we were expecting from Tony Dekker, who happens to be my favorite Toronto singer-songwriter at the moment. His songs are incredibly personal. You can see in his face the passion he has for his work. I can’t get over how shy he is on stage. He must have said 10 words the entire performance.

Akron/Family blew my mind! Incredibly lively and entertaining. I loved their antics and stage banter. I couldn’t get over the lead singers facial expressions. He reminded me a lot of John Belushi. I’m pretty sure everyone in the band was tripping on something. They kept drinking from Starbucks cups, which I’m bet were not filled with coffee. At the end of their set they also thanked someone for the cookies. "Special" cookies no doubt. I wish I could have seen their hoedown at the back of the Great Hall, but I wasn't giving up my prime third row spot fo nut'n.

Owen was accompanied by a string quartet which gave Final Fantasy a much fuller and more layer sound than his solo shows. The quartet seemed very talented and professional, but what the fuck do I know. Owen didn't seem in top for this night. He appeared very nervous about following the highly animated performance of Akron/Family. He also was experimenting with a few instruments that were out of tune due to the heat in the Great Hall. In addition, he was performing mostly "new" songs, although I'm pretty sure I've heard him perform most of them before.

My only complaint with the concert, was that Akron Family should have headlined. The flow of the show was ruined by having the most lively and energetic performance in the middle. Having Final Fantasy billed second would have been a great build up from Great Lake Swimmer to Akron/Family.

World Peace Graffiti Van

2006-01-13T16:04:00.000-05:00

During the boxing day (week... month...) sales that happened after xmas, I finally decided to pick up a real tripod.

To celebrate this new fangled tool, I went on a night shoot in my hood. I've always wanted to take pictures of the World Peace graffiti van on High Park Blvd.

I love how this picture looks like it was taken during the day, but was actually taken at 10pm! I used a nice long 15s exposure at ISO200.

While shooting I was fortunate to meet the artists while shooting and captured a picture of him with the van. For that pic I used a flash which caused some white balance issue with the long exposure (15s at ISO100).

Flickr Explore Top 500

2006-01-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

IMG_5054_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

I just found a great link which searches for your photos that have been listed in Flickr Explore's Top 500 daily photos.

Scout: Find your photographs in Flickr's Explore

From this I learned that one of my favorite photos made the Top 500 back in August!

interesting/2005/8/9/page47

Code Name Laurentians

2006-01-11T00:35:00.000-05:00

IMG_9070_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

blogTO: Code Name Laurentians

I have a tone of pictures posted from the Code Name's show at Neutral.

Many of them are very similar unfortunately. I had trouble picking my favourites. With the low light you get such interesting burrs and trails. So many of them are interesting for such subtle reasons.

Help break the code this Saturday January 14 @ Sneaky Dee's (11pm). Part of Night Moves with DJ Pamm, Jes & Jonathan

Street Car Hunting

2006-01-04T00:42:00.000-05:00

2005_12_28_StreetCar_240
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

One of my favorite thing to do while going downtown is street car hunting with my camera.

I took a fun set on December 28th before jumping on a street car heading east from Queen St. W and Roncesvalles.

As you can see, I've created an animated gif of the series.

Beer Mile

2006-01-03T11:47:00.000-05:00

Back on November 25th a bunch of Jacquie’s crazy track friends, and apparently other crazy track kids around the world, decided it would be a good idea to chug beer and run around a snow covered track at night.

The way it works is you start by chugging a beer. Then you complete a lap of the track and chug another beer. 3 beers, 3 laps. Sounds easy enough, right? Evidently, not so easy. The carbonated beer, combined with running your guts out, plus the negative ten degree weather, resulted in some rather painful looking projectile vomit.

As if these kids hadn’t suffered enough, a handful of them had to show just how frick'n hard core they were by running another lap naked! This is an annual tradition known as the Naked 400. For those of you lucky enough to be a 'friend' of mine on Flickr, there is a rather revealing picture you should check out.

Loser Curling

2006-01-03T11:18:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my New Years resolution, Loser Curling pictures have finally been posted.

And here I thought curling was lame. So wrong, so very wrong. Curling with these kids is GOOD TIMES! Gloria bakes bonbons, Ryan runs around like a chicken with his head cut off explaining the rules, Christopher provides comic relief by separating his shoulder, flasks are concealed and contents consumed. Generally, it’s chaos on ice.

And no I'm not obsessed with Lev! He whored out his memory card in exchange for sexy glamour shots. If you have a problem with that, take your, uuuuh, business, elsewhere!

Happy New Years!

2006-01-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Years guys!

Thanks to all my friends for making 2005 a great year.

And thanks to Jacquie and Heather for throwing kick ass NYE parties!!

My New Years resolution is to get my 2005 photos posted before 2007. So far so good. I've managed to FINALLY get around to posting the rest of the Stars and Caribou pictures.

More posts to come, including:
- graf expo
- cherry beach
- air show
- lots of subway pics
- and naked pics of your mom.

Eaton Centre Manhunt

2005-12-29T11:07:00.000-05:00

IMG_7827
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

On December 23rd, the Manhunt posse stormed the Eaton Centre in an attempt to have some good old fashion fun, and hopefully freak out a few pedestrians in the process.

Unfortunately the game wasn't too exciting. It was difficult to see a manhunter coming, which resulted in most people simply being tagged from behind. Christine, Sadie and I were taken out by Alain as we stepped off the escalator.

Regardless, we all had a good time, and in typical manhunt style, we made sure that a level of mischief and chaos was achieved. After the game ended, Manhunters took turns getting in a large garbage can outside the Eaton's entrance. Once everyone sufficiently stunk of trash, a race was held to the Queen St exit of the mall. I’m pretty sure Alain took the prize.

I'm looking forward to the first mega-snowstorm Manhunt in High Park!

Caribou @ Lee's Palace

2005-12-25T04:00:00.000-05:00

I've started posting my pictures from Caribou’s December 12th show at Lee’s Palace (33 posted so far). It was great to see Dan play again, and the boys put on an outstanding show.

Dan was also kind enough to let me interview him for blogTO, so check it out:

Interview: Caribou

Thanks to my sister Jordana for taking the photo for the interview. She’s got mad skillz. In addition, thanks Jordana for teaching me about Colour Balance. It has been very helpful in editing my photos from this concert. Without CB adjustments, everyone's skin looked a hideous redish colour.

Goin' Steady @ Footwork

2005-12-20T18:11:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was everyone's favorite 50s party, Goin' Steady! Unfortunately, the venue changed from The Boat which we all love, to Footwork which we all hate(d). It just feels weird having a 50s party in a techno club. Sure the sound was great, the video screen was cool and they did decorate the place quite festively, but all those things just make the whole experience a little too refined for my liking. I like the grungy ghettoness of the boat!

My suggestion to the Goin' Steady people is to make up with The Boat. We know you two can get along. My second suggestions is, for god sakes, start selling advance tickets if you are selling out and over crowding The Boat.

All bitching aside, from a photographic stand point, Footwork did have some cool lights that I used to my advantage. Check out the jesusesque shots in my Goin' Steady flickr set.

Stars @ Lee's Palace

2005-12-20T17:28:00.000-05:00

I've written a full length article about this concert for blogTO, so check it out!

I’m pretty excited about my new position as a writer for blogTO. It may result in a few shorter posts like this, but in generally it will only encourage me to take my camera with me everywhere I go, and to attend even more shows than I already do. Goodbye sleep, hello internerd famous blogger status!

I digress. About half of my pictures from the Stars show have been posted, and I’ll try to get the rest up by the end of the week. I was nice and close for this show, and the stage was very bright and well decorated, so check out the flickr set for some kick ass picture!

Ride the Reindeer Subway Party by New Mind Space

2005-12-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Ride the Reindeer Subway Party put on by Kevin and Lori of New Mind Space. These kids throw great parties! Pillow fights, zombie walks, capture the flag, etc... But the Subway Party was one of the best ideas yet. About 50 people met up at Kipling station at precisely 11:11pm. You could tell from the vibe that people were ready to party HARD. The anticipation was palpable. With little warning the word was given and the last car on the train was chaotically boarded. The car was packed! Very quickly the party burst into full swing. People seriously went all out!! Costumes, tones of candy, presents, bubbles, music, dancing, caroling, a whole lot of yelling, whistles, snakes, airplanes, etc... the list goes on and on. An amazing night!

Thanks again to Kevin and Lori. So when’s the next one kids???

Final Fantasy Video Release Party @ The Boat

2005-12-09T12:46:00.000-05:00

There’s nothing better than talented bands in a small venue, which is why I got my ass down to The boat early for this show. I arrive at 9pm when the doors were supposed to open. At 10:30pm they started letting people in and the line was huge! If you weren’t already in line by 10pm, you probably didn’t get in....

And that makes you a sucker because this was an awesome night! Things started off with Henri Faberge and the Adorables. I don’t know what to say about these guys. They were much more entertaining than they were talented. Fun, just not great music.

Then came the singer-songwriter Laura Barrett. She has an amazing voice, but was a little too quite for the drunks in the back. A fierce battle between the shuuuushers and the talkers broke out. I’m surprised it didn’t come to blows.

After Laura finished her half hour set, we were finally treated to our sneak peak at the new and first ever Final Fantasy video. I wish I could tell you it was amazing, but to be honest, I was disappointed. I know he doesn’t have a major label giving him millions of dollars, but this looked like something that was produced on a film student budget. Beyond that, they completely ignored the wonderful lyrics and message of “This is the Dream of Win & Regine”. Despite that, there was some sort of appeal to the escapism of the video... and of course the unicorn ponies.

Final Fantasy put on a great show complete with a Block Party cover of “This Modern Love” and a guest appearance by Gentleman Reg. Stellar as always!

After Final Fantasy came the real treat of the night, Ninja High School! I know these guys from Manhunt, and knew they had some band, but come on, everyone is this city is in a frick’n band. I was more that a little shocked when they took the stage. Instantly the vibe in the room went from tired and drunk, to bouncing off the mother fuck’n walls. The vocals had energy, the tunes were catchy and the band was moshing with the crowd! Only fitting that they told the crowd “You're going home in a fucking ambulance!”. Off the mother fuck’n hook. Without a doubt, my new favorite positive hardcore dance-rap band.

Zoi Zoi @ Resistor Gallery

2005-12-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

IMG_7746_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

On Saturday the crew headed down to Resistor Gallery @ College & Spadina for Zoi Zoi and a night of fuck’n hot French Pop action. Christopher knows how to throw a fuck’n stellar party. The music was way less shitty than I expected. I would have dance more but my belly was so fuck’n full of turducken. Christopher did a fruck’n great job of setting up the space, and the video screen with French movies was a fuck’n great touch. Pardon my French...

Let it snow...

2005-11-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

IMG_7579_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Well kids, the snow has arrived. Driving now becomes an extreme sport and walking anywhere becomes hazardless to ones health. All in all, good times! We are Canadian after all. We’re tough, hearty, and only complain in a polite way when no one is really listening. So suck it up and enjoy the snow while it lasts, because unless you’ve got a plane ticket to Cuba, you don’t really have a frick’n choice in the matter. I say, let it snow!

Happy Birthday Kirk!

2005-11-22T14:10:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

Kirpatrick is eff’n awesome, and it was her bday this past weekend. There are so many amazing things I could say about this girl, one of which being that wherever Kirk goes, the party inevitable follows. Yeah, she brings IT, that’s right…

Kirk also makes an amazing photographic subject, especially when she is dragging me into the women’s washroom to document the removal of her torn stockings. Yeah, that’s right ladies, cameras in the bathroom. Look out!

The Go! Team @ The Phoenix

2005-11-21T14:50:00.000-05:00

I have finally posted my pictures from The Go! Team show at The Phoenix a few weeks ago. It was a very entertaining show; almost more theater than music at times. The crowd was really REALLY into the show! Everyone was singing along and busting a move. Not your typical "I'm too cool to dance" Toronto hipster show.

The Go! Team is one of the most multitalented bands I've seen in recent memory. Everyone in the band played at least 2 instruments, or took a turn on the mic. The lead singer bounced around stage, never standing still for more than a few seconds. Her rap/singing style was full of energy and really riled the crowd up. We were given a breather when the very talented, shy and cute Japanese drummer sang a heart warming ballad. Then it was back to their unique blend of hip-hop dance-rock, combined with a great background video show, lots of crowd participation and round-upon-round of projectile Halloween candy.

Pillow Fight @ Dundas Square

2005-11-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I observed one of the craziest urban adventures yet. Kevin and Lori of New Mind Space organized a massive pillow fight at Dundas Square. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 adrenaline fuelled PJ wearing fighters showed up, pillow in hand.

There was some confusion and concern when people realized that an anti-gun protest was occurring in the square at the same time. Organizers of both events got together and decided to coordinate their efforts. The pillow fight was initiated by a call from the stage to use “pillows, not guns”. The pillow fight quickly overshadowed the protest for its 30 minute duration.

Generally I feel that the two events co-existed in an acceptable way. The one exception being when a mother of a gun victim was telling the story of her murders son while the pillow fight was in full swing. In the end, life must go on. Public spaces must be shared. And the pillow fight was in no way being directly insensitive to the spirit of the protest. The protest its self had speakers that were aggressive, confrontational and practically encouraging violence towards political figures for not doing enough to stop the gun violence. So let’s move on...

The pictures are a lot of fun, so check them out! I probably should have used a faster shutter speed, and a UV filter would have been really helpful, but this is a pillow fight, not a sunset, so enjoy the pics for what they are.

Photographic highlights for me were:
- pillows exploding!
- the little kids taking on the big kids! Hell, all the kids were so cute!!
- pillows being thrown in the air!
- red ninja pillow figher & sad pillow girl
- the old-skool-raver pillow fight battle!
- lovers and fighters (aka make-out couple)
- nap time…
- and capturing an amazing picture of a pillow being thrown over my head. You can actually see the feathers through the pillow case!!!

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ The Horseshoe

2005-11-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

IMG_2160_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

This show was sold out and massively hyped. I've been a big fan of their album for a while, so I was naturally pumped to be seeing them, but somewhat hesitant since I'd heard their live shows still required some work...

In the end, these boyz from NYC didn't let me down. The vocals were raw and powerful (that guy is going to have no vocal cords left in 10 years, maybe 5). The overall sound was full and energetic.

I was torn between my desire to rawk out hard for every song and take the occasional photo. Luckily the Horseshoe has shit lighting, so my desire to take photos waned. In contrast, my desire to kick the shit out of the hipsters at the front who refused to dance grew with every song. Urge to kill, rising...

The New Pornographers @ The Phoenix

2005-11-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of The New Pornographers, but they put on an excellent show. Their live sounds was impressive and the set was tight. I guess this is what happens when you've been rocking out since '96.

Oh yeah, and their new keyboardest is haawwt! Or maybe it was just her nerdy sweater that I like so much...

The Organ @ Revival

2005-11-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

I love this band. They can do no wrong in my world. Although I would like to hear a few new songs. It was basically the same set I heard for the Exclaim show at the Phoenix several months ago. And they are still the hottest lesbian band on earth.

Gentleman Reg on the other hand have some work to do. Just not as entertaining as The Hidden Cameras, but a respectable side project none the less.

Extermination Music Night @ The Don Valley Brick Works

2005-11-09T15:45:00.000-05:00

I don't even know what to say about this night. It was completely beyond words. A mind blowing warehouse party at Brick Works with incredible bands. Can you say Rock Rave?

Most people I talked to agreed that the highlight of the night was Anagram's 4am set. It's difficult to set the mood, but the music was aggressive, hard and dark. Couple this with the warehouse setting, cutting the lights before their set and an intense mosh pit, and you have the makings of legends.

Aside from the music, wondering around the Brick Works complex was quite an adventure! Long tunnels, piles of rusted metal and rickety stairways to nowhere made for some excellent exploring.

The Gardens Faithful @ Rancho Relaxo

2005-11-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

This was The Gardens Faithful's final show. They rawked out hard and it was a fitting end to a great band. Kirk & J-Hole went all out with custom made signs and outfits.

As J-Hole so eloquently pointed out, I also learned this night that operating a digital camera becomes exceedingly difficult and frustrating with every gin and tonic consumed... "Rookie's drunk!"

J-Hole also learned an important lesson this night. Don’t get too drunk around Kirk, because Kirk takes what Kirk wants.

We wish Ennals all the best on his future rock star endeavors.

Wolf Parade @ Horseshoe

2005-11-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

Wolf Parade were amazing live! They are definitely one of my favorite Montreal bands at the moment.

Wolf Parade has followed the growing trend among indie rock bands in having multiple lead singers. This worked surprisingly well for them. The keyboardist has an excellent voice and is able to carry the slower songs. The guitarist has an awesome raw rock star voice and somehow managed to sing while head banging. Truly a site to be seen.

The only down side to this show was the problems they had with their gear. They ended up cutting the set short and generally seemed in a bad mood after the problems started. It was unfortunate, but gives me added incentive to see them again.

I reiterate my hatred for The Horseshoe. Maybe if they didn't over sell every single show there...

The Grates @ The Phoenix

2005-11-09T12:56:00.000-05:00

IMG_5368_edit
Originally uploaded by fotograf.416.

My first flickr/blogger post, yippy!

The openners for The Go! Team show at the Phoenix were The Grates. They weren't as great as their name might imply, but they were fairly entertaining and the lead singer hopped around stage like an emphetamine fueled raggedy ann doll. Quite remonicent of that girl from Metric. The band sounded to me like a Yeah Yeah Yeahs knock off. Oh yeah, they're from Aussiland.

Death to 20six

2005-11-09T12:45:00.000-05:00

my old blog http://www.20six.co.uk/rotenblog is essentially dead. 20six is shite.

lets give this blogger.com thing a shot... this will mostly be a photoblog.