Your Hand In Mine

Hiatus

2011-12-07T19:31:00.002-05:00

As you may have gathered by lack of posts, May being the last time, I'm taking a bit of a break. :o

School is kicking my ass and so as not to seem like i've just dropped of the face of the map. I wanted to tell you that I will return. I'm in exam mode right now, soon to be done. Meaning lots more time for posts and the return of photos. I'll let you know.

Hope you are all well. Thanks for caring (those that do).

-jaj

Closed Expressway

2011-05-22T10:58:00.002-04:00

The Gardiner Expressway is Closed this May 24 weekend.

RELIC

2011-04-13T10:42:00.005-04:00

So I don't normally post other peoples stuff or link to other blogs or tumblrs. Although, every now and then something comes up though that I just feel the need to share.

My friend Tom sent a link my way of this tumblr called RELIC and it is a goldmine of timeless photos and and images of all sorts of people places and things. Similar stuff to what you would see on Yimmy's, FFFFOUND!, Ilk Flottante or JJJJound. Except it has this fine art, DIY kinda feel to it but still being beautifully finished. They do these really cool mail outs and stickers that they make in house using stamps and typewriters. So check it out. I've attached some favorites of mine that a selected while perusing through.

Sebastian Faust

2011-04-07T10:50:00.002-04:00

Sebastian Faust is the son of the evil magician Felix Faust. His soul was sold by his father to a demon named Nebiros in exchange for power, but the demon cheats and grants the power to Sebastian instead of his father.

Faust possesses magical powers of an unclear nature. In addition to his vast magical power, he is also able to steal the souls of others, granting him their abilities and powers, as well as recharging his magical powers. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

He also makes and mixes music for fun in his spare time.

If your looking for a dancey, a little hip hopy, bass heavy mixtape to bop your head to. Give this one a try. QuickMIXtape

For more head to:

http://soundcloud.com/j-a-j

http://www.myspace.com/563366220

Shred Mission - Spot # 4

2011-03-20T20:13:00.003-04:00

Adam Carmichael - Front board over punji sticks.

Shred Mission - Spot #3 Sequence

2011-03-02T10:05:00.008-05:00

A sequence from the third spot we hit.

BS Noseslide

Shred Mission - Spot #2

2011-02-28T14:15:00.002-05:00

Double Indy or Indy-Mute Grab?

Adam over the Retaining Wall.

Higher Res Flickr Version Here.

B Roll

2011-02-24T21:36:00.002-05:00

Couple of shots I took of the guys inspecting the post after the shoot.

Shred Mission - Spot #1

2011-02-22T18:02:00.003-05:00

Adam Carmichael - Tail tap to fakie over the fence

Up in Owen Sound as we speak on a shred/photo mission to hit some street spots and shoot them with Spencer and Adam. Here is the a shot from our first spot.

Blue Mountain & Denim Shoot

2011-02-13T16:51:00.005-05:00

Sonia and I spent a weekend up at Blue Mountain recently snowboarding, walking, chilling, eating, fireside sitting. Andrew and Patrick joined us a couple nights and we all had a great time. First picture is Sonia on our chilly walk in the snow, second one she caught of me on our final night at the condo.

The last picture is one I used to for a off figure fashion shoot for school. It is a really easy set up, but I still need to take it further, get a bit more creative with it. If you want see the final result of the shoot, as well as another shot, click here to see it on my flickr.

M1xin x Australia Day

2011-01-26T00:01:00.003-05:00

Enter into my head for 38mins, with this new mixtape I recorded last night in celebration of Australia Day that's up on my SoundCloud.

A broad mix of lengthy dutty dubstep. *Keep in mind this is not a fast mixtape, I even let some songs play out*

I was running way to many programs when I recorded it so there are a couple lag hiccups, as well as a lame voice-over on the Modestep track but I really like it so I used it anyway. It's also kind of where the mix falls apart, but whatever. And yes, I know there is 3 SBTRKT songs, but their just too good to leave out.

Sebastian Faust (aka DJ jaj) - M1xin

Tracklist:

SBTRKT - Colonise
Shy Fx/UK Apachi - Original Nuttah (The Tek-One Remix)
SBTRKT - Timeless
Skream Ft. Example - Shot Yourself In The Foot Again
SBTRKT - Just Gets Better (Sbtrkt Gutter Mix)
Chase & Status - Blind Faith (Feat Liam Bailey)
Modestep - Feel Good
High Rankin - The Things You Do
Subscape - Just Coz

Stairwell Redux - Salt Print

2011-01-25T12:26:00.003-05:00

I made a salt print on watercolour paper yesterday. It was my first time in a dark room other than loading and unloading film. I thought it was a very cool experience, my program is so commercial driven and digital that it was refreshing to do something tactile. As we used these timeless processes that haven't changed it brought you back to the art form of photography. It was like the next step in the creative process, rather than emailing a file to a printer with all these icc profiles, embedded colours and other restraints. Although you obviously don't get the detail and the colour range of a digital print with a salt print, there is an aspect of freedom to experiment and continue to build the image beyond shooting and processing a photograph.

I printed another one that turned out better, but it's just for me.

Post X am Mixtape

2010-12-14T18:44:00.006-05:00

I finished my Photo exam today around 1pm. Drove home in the intense snow storm. Got inside and immediately made a random, impromptu mix-tape, without any planning, playlist, cues or anything. I threw this 28 min mix together with some dubstep, some dancey stuff and some things in between. There's something dark and grimy and something bright and bouncy for everyone. It isn't perfect as you can imagine, but considering, it's not that bad either. Check it out on my SoundCloud and let me know what you think.

DJ jaj - Post X am Mixtape

Tracklist:

Modestep - Exile
DatsiK & Excision - Calypso
Borgore - Sunset Feat Diplo
Cassius - I Love You So (Krusha Remix)
Excision - Darkness
Solid Groove - This Is Sick
Subscape - Nothing's Wrong
Rob Sparx - Arcade
Emalkay - Angie Got Stoned
Felix Da House Cat - Thee Anthem (Eric Pryds Remix)
Example - Two Lives (Wez Clarke Remix)
Afrojack - Take Over Control Feat Eva Simons (Adam F Remix)

PS. Still looking for that DJ name.....

upwards

2010-12-03T22:53:00.003-05:00

I went to the Don Valley Brickworks a few weeks back and took some photos, I'll post at a later date. But, after I went for a walk outside around and up to the decommissioned Don Valley Railway and bridge that overlooks the Brickworks. At the top of the hill is this big electrical pylon and I thought it would be cool to see what it looked like straight up. I'm almost done school for the semester, one more class Monday and 2 exams and I have three weeks off... to work, it is what is.

Andy Irons RIP

2010-11-03T17:42:00.012-04:00

Photo: Peter 'Joli' Wilson

Sadly there is another person to add to the infamous died at age 32 list. Pro surfer Andy Irons was found dead in his hotel room yesterday. He was said to have been battling dengue fever, a fly-borne virus common in Brazil. Major bummer is that he leaves behind a 7 month pregnant wife. Check this video of his epic skills as a moment for him.

Thanksgiving

2010-10-27T11:11:00.004-04:00

I know Thanksgiving was almost 3 weeks ago now, but here are a few pics from the weekend I spent up in Muskoka with Sonia's family. We had so much, just relaxing, canoeing, campfireing, drinking, playing guitar, eating, hanging. Used my telescope one night which was fun and I took some long exposures of the night sky . We went on a walk and randomly stumbled upon a old family burial plot in the woods. We then continued only to leave the woods to a field filled with horses, without a house or farm around for miles. It was rather mysterious and kind of exciting. Lastly, on our way home we took a detour to visit a hippie-artist farm sudo-commune with all these huge concrete sculptures of screaming heads all over the place, pretty cool. Took lots of photos but here are some key ones.

Maclean's Cover

2010-10-05T14:35:00.005-04:00

So I had a practical photo test today. I had to shoot a photo using bounce flash to be used somewhere in a Maclean's Magazine. I went in early to compose my things and my thoughts, feeling quite unprepared. But, after a little bit I began to get a couple ideas and was feeling a lot more comfortable. Once I had my shot, I still had a few ideas that went beyond just taking a photo, so went for it and made this tentative cover.

Morning Brew

2010-10-04T15:02:00.002-04:00

Morning themed shoot in the studio.

Mixtape

2010-09-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Photo: Troy McCullough

I made this short little Mixtape the other night while I was bored. I enjoy it, so I'm posting it. Track list below. Also, I need a better dj name if anyone has any suggestions.

DJ jaj - Sept 21st Mixtape

Noob And Brodinski - Peanuts Club (Zeds Dead Remix)
Michael Jackson - Beat It (The Blisters Boyz Remix)
Deadmau5 - Strobe
Tensanke - Coma Cat (Round Table Knights Remix)
Claire Maguire - Ain't Nobody (Breakage Remix)

Le Studiooo

2010-09-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Close crop product shoot in the studio.

FinePix X100

2010-09-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Fufifilm unveils the new FinePix X100, Classic styled 12.3 megapixel camera.

Read more about it here.

He's Still Here

2010-09-20T11:08:00.007-04:00

Joaquin Phoenix is still kicking it. Who knows what his mental state is but he is continuing to make waves as the film called I'm Still Here, showcasing his transition from actor to rapper directed by Casey Affleck, drops on the Sept 24th. It had a couple of screenings at this years TIFF with most people coming out still just as confused as to whether it was a hoax or not, as they were before seeing the film. They have this sick design team from LA called Keller House working on it which is almost cooler than the movie itself. Check out the trailer for I'm Still Here, and visit the design studio here.

Magnetic Man

2010-09-06T20:28:00.003-04:00

I've been sitting on this for awhile, but seeing as I cannot stop listening to and wanted to share it.

Three of the biggest names in Dubstep, Skream, Benga & Artwork joined forces to create Dub Super group Magnetic Man. With their first album coming out soon on Oct 1st they have been doing big things all across the UK in anticipation. So until it drops I've been listening to this essential mix they did back in July and as we begin into September I am still pumping it on my drives to and from work. So enjoy this 2 hour mix, some hot spots are:
00:08:40
00:29:00
00:32:00
00:45:00
00:54:00

The whole thing is great and you should take it all in but if you're impatient listen for a couple mins at those points and you'll get a good feel for it.

Magnetic Man - Essential Mix

So I've Been To Scotland With My Bonnie Lass

2010-08-14T20:19:00.008-04:00

Much time has passed since my last post. I haven't been lazy, just the usual... busy, but even more so.

Anyway, Sonia and I said enough is enough we are taking a holiday! Booked a flight to Scotland 2 weeks in advance, called up our friends and told them we were on our way. 11 days in Edinburgh, Sterling, Glasgow and an amazing road trip into the highlands to a small fishing village across from the Isle of Skye. Castles, thistles, whiskey, road side lunches of wine, bread and cheese, great friends, great night life (some places), great beer, some bad and some interesting and some great food (depending on where you were), beaches, mountains, lochs, rivers, overall a wonderful trip.

Here are some photos to give you a taste of our venture.

They look better on flickr

UE #2

2010-04-18T19:11:00.006-04:00

Josh, Matt and I went to explore an abandoned factory near us. Super scary, 10 floors and a boiler room tower of awesomeness. There was some amazing graffiti in there that I snapped photos of and will post at a later date for you to see the wondrous art that lies inside. It's called the Tower Automotive Building you can read it's history and what is happening to it in the future here.

Lots more on flickr here.

Music Dump

2010-04-07T16:16:00.006-04:00

Paul, Sonia, Monkey, Sonia, Me, Paul

Last night was pretty cool. Through various connections at so hip, I got invited to go see Korn. I'm not the biggest fan, I used to listen to them a fair bit in high school and earlier but not so much these days. However, the owner of so hip is very good friends with the band and we weren't just going to watch the band we were going to "see" the band. We got our backstage passes and watched from a private balcony to the right of the stage, not the VIP floor, this was like six people private, pretty surreal. Then it got even more surreal as after the show we went back into the dressing room, drank beers and chatted with the whole band. I must add though, like I said I'm not a Korn fan at all really, but they played an awesome show and I was thoroughly entertained. Certainly was an experience.

As I was uploading photos to my computer I found some others that I hadn't posted of other shows we've been to recently.

This photo is shit, but you get a good idea of the dark mellow mood of the XX so I'm posting it. I thought these guys were great, room for improvement, they need to gel together a bit more. Although, it kinda just furthered that lo-fi feel. I said hey to the lead girl at wrong bar later that night, she stopped to chat and everything, pretty sweet.

The Friendly Fires were wicked! They really did suffer from having a tough crowd. Nobody really wanted to groove, and that's what these guys are all about. I will definitely see them again and try and start a dance storm.

Last but most certainly not least is Bonobo. It has been a long time since I have been to a show that contained as much musical talent as this. The whole band was on point and so tight, each member bringing something unique and special to each song. All of there sounds and notes were just so true and rich. I got super hunger towards the end, which kinda took away from it (I was that hungry) but, the whole experience still prevailed and it was amazing.

Further Decay

2010-04-06T17:41:00.004-04:00

This is a roll of film I shot at the abandon homes from the previous post.

Abandonment Issues

2010-04-04T16:56:00.007-04:00

There is a strip of houses between Oakmount and Pacific on Bloor, maybe about 11-12 homes. All but one are boarded up and abandon old rental houses that fell into disrepair. The one being lived in, I'm pretty sure are squatters, but could be wrong. There wasn't an application for a new development to go in the houses place once they were gone, so the demolition permit was rejected and now they sit, rotting. Spencer, Josh and I walked around and took photos then we got into one of the house and took some more. Fun times, I'm pretty sure I accidentally stood in human poo.

Tons of photos on flickr

Forum!

2010-03-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

Jareth the Goblin King

2010-03-08T16:35:00.004-05:00

Found this today and thought it was amazing, even though it was on ugliesttattoos.com

Tear Knee

2010-03-03T17:54:00.004-05:00

Tierney came to school with me and modeled for some Broad and Short lighting shots. We had a pretty fun time and the shots didn't turn out to bad either.

Lomography

2010-02-26T00:21:00.001-05:00

This is my product photo I recently took for my studio lighting class.

Stereograph

2010-02-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Spencer and I took this 'stereograph' stylied image for a class. Our teacher asked to keep it she liked it so much.

UPDATE: I posted our other stereograph that we took to go with the suit one because everyone seemed to like it so much.

Winter City

2010-02-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

This happened a while ago now, but Sonia and I braved the freezing cold back during those couple of weeks of sub zero temperatures we had here in Toronto, bundled up with camera in hand trekked out to the Winter City Festival at Nathan Phillips Square. There was this dance troop from France called Compagnie Les Passagers that did this crazy performance on a wall suspended by climbing ropes and harnesses. We lasted about 25 mins and then our appendages got to cold and we retreated to pints and pub grub.

Reduce the Juice....In Qatar

2010-02-10T23:49:00.003-05:00

So my good friend Sara Wicks, whom I don't see nearly enough, made big news! For a good while now she has been devoted to an effort to limit energy consumption called Reduce The Juice. After much growth and leaps and bounds of progress, Sara has set her targets to the East and in March she will be travelling to Qatar to act as a workshop leader as well as a presenter to teens from around the globe. You can get more details from the article here, it's a good read, so give it a look.

Three Men and a Surfboard

2010-02-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

In case some of you don't know my parents moved back to Australia last year after being in Canada for 13 years (I think). Anyways, my dad never learned to surf as a kid, body surfing yes but that was the extent of it. Since then he has always wanted to learn to surf and now that he is back in Oz he's bought him self a board and him and two mates of his who also long to surf are diving in nose first and learning to surf together.

They have set up a blog to follow their adventures and progress called Three Men and a Surf Board check it out. I'll be adding it to the links at the right >.

Reshoot

2010-02-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

A shot from a re shoot we did in class for a previous assignment. This is Josh.

High Park Bi-Cycling

2010-01-30T16:20:00.003-05:00

I developed a roll of film I shot in early December, here are some pictures of a bike ride through High Park.

It was pretty cold and we had to rug up, but we had fun. I'll probably post some more from this day in the future.

Old Home

2010-01-29T15:08:00.003-05:00

A picture of my old house in Orangeville. I found this photo on my old hard drive when I was backing it up the other day.

Window Light

2010-01-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

You all know Tierney by now. She helped me by modeling for a window light portrait for school in which I had to incorporate the usage of hands.

Studio Out Takes

2010-01-18T17:45:00.003-05:00

This was taken between serious shots while shooting for Will's Bio pic on his website Will Fournier PhotographyThis is the one he ended up choosing. You can see it again here.

More Food... Shepherds Pie

2010-01-15T17:49:00.001-05:00

A Sonia specialty.

Breakfast of Champions

2009-12-20T20:40:00.002-05:00

Made a yummy breakfast this morning, slept in till almost 2pm! (much needed)

Warm Swell

2009-12-14T20:02:00.003-05:00

A flashback to summer. Some Kiteboarders I shot in Lake Ontario during the airshow.

white wedding

2009-12-10T17:27:00.002-05:00

last photo assignment.

Water Landing

2009-12-01T16:14:00.002-05:00

this is an older one

Scanwich

2009-11-26T14:29:00.002-05:00

I had a delicious sandwich I wanted to share with you.

Kensington Strobe

2009-11-20T18:25:00.004-05:00

Had a "field trip" to Kensington today with photography class. Brought some strobes and high powered flashes down and had a grand old time. Here are couple from the day. You can view them in high quality on flickr here.

Need Energy

2009-11-19T19:34:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a break from writing and essay, didn't really have any thing to post so I'm just posting this for the hell of it. Another stock photo for school. Nothing spectacular but, I killed some time posting it just now so I'm happy.

hungry

2009-11-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

had to take some stock photos for school. here is the hunger themed one.

tolie

2009-11-13T14:15:00.004-05:00

this is the bathroom of centre island I took a while back

Oh yeah, It's my birthday

2009-11-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

my hair is way longer than this now

Crop

2009-11-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

I can't decide, I think I like the cropped one more and I'm a linear dude so I like the boardwalk but I just don't know this time. thirds is better on the crop.

texture

2009-11-10T19:21:00.002-05:00

a post for post's sake.... intersecting boat ripples

Daniel Eatock

2009-11-09T11:59:00.005-05:00

I don't do this often and haven't done it in awhile (post other people's stuff) but, I found this while cruising It's Nice That and thought it was really cool. Then when I explored further found some pretty witty, pretty interesting things and wanted to share it. You can check out Daniel Eatock's website here. (check out the 'do not touch' (counter balance shelves)).

the finer things

2009-11-08T17:44:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: the forth photo here was recently used on blogTO's Morning Brew, you can see it here, this is my second photo to be used by blogTO you can see the other, used for the weekend radar, here.

bicycle rides by the water front and distillery dist have become our new thing.

pretty sure we found a new place to live, hopefully signing the lease tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Calendar Replacement

2009-11-03T22:38:00.006-05:00

So we have this calendar of homeless people, very Joey L. just no where near as good. Anyways this month is just way to creepy to have up in our kitchen and when you are surround by these guys on a day to day basis and some of the photos are even taken blocks away from us, it loses it impact. So, Sonia and I decided to take a replacement photo, these are some of the out takes.

There are a couple more of my silly hair on Flickr.

some things

2009-10-30T21:58:00.003-04:00

Had a crazy time moving some of the last things from my parents place driving back and forth from Toronto to Orangeville to school to home and all over in between, getting pulled over for having a out headlight, not awesome. At the end of it all I had the car at school, so we filled it up and had a hang out sesh with great friends. These are just some snap shots of our stroll DT. a few more on flickr here.

Jacob W.K.

2009-10-27T16:20:00.002-04:00

Had to make an album cover for class. I chose to make a re-edit of Andrew W.K.'s party rock debut.

Also took a 9 photo panoramic stitch that's posted on flickr. It was just way to large to post here, wouldn't of looked any good. But you can see it here.

More Thanks Given

2009-10-15T13:26:00.003-04:00

Some more from the past weekend. The hitch-hiker was the best thing of my life. Sitting on a 70 ft cliff or so, having a coldie and along comes this hitch-hiker in the middle of no where. I had to take pictures, so good. There is one more photo on flickr here.

Pano Sky

2009-10-13T10:47:00.003-04:00

Possible submission for a panorama assignment I have to do for school. 4 x 30s exposures stitched together. Haven't decided to use this one or one in the city. Still pondering.

Took this very late while up in Haliburton area this weekend with Sonia's family for Thanksgiving. Had a wonderful time, so much fun.

Placid x Bon Voyage

2009-10-06T18:59:00.005-04:00

I took the day off school to catch up on some assignments I have been procrastinating from doing. When I finished I spent some time time cleaning out my hard drives and I found some older photos from our family camping trip to Algonquin this summer.

Speaking of family, my parents have left Ontario and are in Calgary making their way through Alberta and BC whilst eventually traveling home to Australia to which they are returning permanently. They have said enough with these Canadian winters and moved back to the mother land and warmth, not to mention the rest of my extended family. It wont be long now till we are down there visiting. Bon Voyage mom and dad as you explore the best part of one of the greatest countries and you return to the other great country. Love you.

ANNY JAM 2009

2009-09-24T17:18:00.003-04:00

It's that time again.

The 3rd Annual Anny Jam @ Rotary Skate Park

Rob Dyer will be coming home from Halifax the night before to come on Sunday and Jam with us.

Tell your friends and get stocked!

Sun Oct 4th - Noon till 5

FREE!! FREE!! FREE!!

MSTRKRFT x U2 x BORN RUFFIANS x 150

2009-09-22T16:28:00.006-04:00

So this is going to be a biggy!

This is my 15oth post! Recently I have gone back to my 2nd year of school, started going out again, had my wisdom teeth removed and all sorts of other stuff.

photo via myspace

Last Tuesday Mstrkrft played a set at Tattoo. Sonia and I went with some friends and wild'd out until we were drenched with other peoples sweat and couldn't breath. Awesome tunes as always, the boys are definitely a hit and I believe its time to up-size venues!

Thusday, we pulled a very Sonia & Jacob move a hooked up some last minute floor tickets for U2 at the Sky Dome (rogers centre). It was amazing, I've never seen a show quite like it. Not to mention there you are on the grass of the Sky Dome under the lights of the CN Tower with U2 playing away. Very awesome and a big change from the mstrkrft show a couple nights before.

photo by Tim Saccenti

On Friday I had my wisdom teeth removed finally, Thank God! It's not the nicest feeling but what a relief to have them gone never to bother me again. On Saturday night after spending the whole day drugged up on pain relievers packing up my things from my parents house in Orangeville in preparation for them moving back to Australia. Sonia and I arrived home expecting just to chill out and watch some movies when she reminded me Born Ruffians were playing at the Oprah House. A couple quick website look ups and and few phone calls to find out about tickets and we were in a cab on our way there. There was a awesome band opening called the Acorns whom use ukuleles in their songs. Really great night, good wholesome fun.

Meet Guillermo, Soni and my Mexican friend. He spent a lot of time with us at So Hip this summer while learning English in Toronto. We loved him so much we renamed the giant piranha at so hip Guillermo, the king. We miss him.

...there's a couple other things on my flickr

Wild Horses

2009-09-08T21:19:00.003-04:00

We went up to Paul & Sonia's property for a little time off and to celebrate my Sonia's birthday back in June. Ran into some horses while driving around on the uatv. Paul and I found a raccoon and her baby chilling in the out house of an old hunting cabin. So, when Sonia and Sonia came back from the spa they wanted to get some apples and go out and feed the bandits. We had no luck with the raccoons but the apples proved useful in coxing the horses over to the fence.

Went back to school today, first day of second year.

Riverdale Farms X Muskoka

2009-09-07T17:38:00.003-04:00

Sonia and I took some time off during the last week in August to go up to Muskoka to hang with the Burton crew at the Soulsports cottage to do some wake surfing and sun bathing, fireside sitting and beer sipping. After a night there, we boogied over to visit Andrew's cottage just out of Port Carling. When we were leaving Wednesday moring we saw a deer grazing by the road and pulled over to snap some shots, wasn't to bothered by us, so much so that Sonia got out of the car!

We arrived home with enough time to visit Riverdale Farms, which is right near us about 2 blocks. An amazing little farm with heavily forrested trails and ponds. Really nice in the afternoon. There are lots of photos on my flickr including some pictures of the tomotoes and chillies we grew on our little deck.

Fake Summer - Dirty Lens

2009-07-18T21:21:00.008-04:00

Summer for me is really just another season. It doesn't mean big vay-cays or cottaging on a lake, it's just as busy if not more than when I'm attending uni. I have noticed throughout my blog I comment a lot about being busy, so I apologize if it is becoming monotonous. But that seems to just be who I am, I'm unable to avoid it.

This may sound like a cop out but it is proving rather difficult to find the time shoot. I don't like hauling my cam back and forth in and out of the car not to use it. I have been trying to take a picture of Orangeville for a while now and its proving more difficult than I thought. And my lens is filthy! These photos are a flashback to some of my older photos for me, kind of like a remix.

*just to prove how busy I am, I started this post a month ago, got busy, saved it as a draft and didn't do it till now (Aug 16).

I have lots more content to put up of fun stuff I promise to post when I find the time.

United By Fate 5

2009-06-28T13:35:00.004-04:00

So Friday we went out Tortilla Flats with Chris Haslam and Ryan Decenzo and some of the Nixon/Globe fam. Had some munchies and chatted for a while. Grabbed cabs to the Bait Shop to see the premiere of Globe's Unitied By Fate #5 - Ryan Decenzo's part. So sick he nollied el toro. After awhile of mingling and checking some art and watching some mini ramp riding, we crossed the street with the guys to Cadillac Lounge till my eyes were closing. So much fun, great guys such down to earth dudes, Haslam is a wise soul.

NXNE + Cool Kids + MMVAs

2009-06-23T21:33:00.006-04:00

So, I'm unbelievably busy, working 6 days a week at Moguls and So Hip. Doing the reverse commute to oville. Trying to maintain some sense of order and not let the dishes over flow in our small apartment with two messy people is a full time job on its own, so we try to squeeze it in when we can.

Although, I have been able to fit in some fun here and there. It has been North By North East all this last weekend here in the city. Sonia and I saw The Black Lips play at Dundas Square on Thursday which was cool. Then on Sunday after I worked and we saw our fathers for dad's day, we hit up Dundas Square again to see The Cool Kids with Spencer and a bunch a So Hip family and friends getting there a little to late to catch the GZA spit. I took a few photos and then we chuffed down to the MMVAs as Lady Gaga was playing. I'm not a fan, but she is crazy and had flaming boobies. I didn't take to many shots of this just one of the stages for documentations sake. Finished of at the fox and the fidel for a bit to eat and bevies and the worst meat-head server I have ever encountered and will never return....oh yeah, on the walk home I walked through a barricade into what ended up being the Jonas Brothers secured walkway to their limos as they were about to get in them, with screaming tweens on the other side of the fence to us, being held back security. No pictures, sorry, you'll just have to believe me. To be honest it was so funny, but just too lame to photograph. All in all super fun night, you can view MORE HERE.

Fire! Fire! Fire!

2009-06-07T22:17:00.004-04:00

There was a fire in one of the apartments next door to our place when Sonia's brother Sanjay was over for a visit. He went out to move his van for the fire trucks and we noticed a crowd of people outside, so I hobbled out with my can and took some photos. More on flickr

We just got back from the 7th Annual Orangeville Blues & Jazz Fest. Lots of great music, warm sun, cold beer and awesome people.

iced tea socials

2009-05-25T19:39:00.003-04:00

So I haven't posted for a while, I know. I have broken my foot skateboarding and have been couch/crutch bound for the past two weeks = sucks! Anyways, I should of totally taking a pic of my foot but couldn't be bothered. Maybe I still will just to be crazy, right now it's all blue and looks like I have put a sock of high blood pressure on one foot.

I have added a new link to the side bar entitled iced tea socials. Scott introduced me to the site as he went art school with drew, the creator, for a short period of time. I have never met Drew other than a brief wave over skype one afternoon, but Sonia got to meet him today when Scott & Drew visited her at So Hip and I'm jealous! Anyways, point is Drew is an ilustration student at sheridan. When he is not working away with all his side projects and things he has going on for school he makes little comic strips and I think they are the best thing to happen since nutrient enriched sliced white bread. To see more visit his blog by clicking here or at the side under links.

Atmosphere

2009-05-08T17:00:00.001-04:00

As promised Atmosphere photos. This show was great, best in a long time. Good long set giving the dedicated fans what they paid for. The dude rolled on through songs with ease and witty segways between tracks. Keeping the energy strong and not letting his darker songs slow his momentum. A tight band backing up his stylish flows. Had an awesome time and will definitely check him out next he's in town. In the mean time you should peep his myspace and give it a listen if you haven't already. I took some shots with Sonia's P&S but we were up in the loft so had to zoom pretty far so the quality isn't the greatest, but you get the idea.

Also picked up two new vinyls. When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold! & God Loves Ugly.

Centre Island

2009-05-06T22:01:00.002-04:00

Went to Centre Island last Sunday with Sonia and Andrew. $6.50 is all it is for the ferry ride over. Bring some snacks and some beers, lovely. You can rent a quadracycle for $16! Anyways, took lots of photos and had an awesome time. Tons on my Flickr.

Going to see Atmosphere tonight, I'll try and take some photos and make a post later.

Flight of the Conchords

2009-04-22T12:06:00.004-04:00

So for our anniversary Sonia and I had dinner planned and then had tickets to see Appleseed Cast. Last minute, like hours before the show, a friend of Sonia's called to tell her that he found someone selling tickets to see Flight of the Conchords at Massey Hall that night! We had tried to get tickets earlier and were unable. We jumped at the chance, canceled our dinner plans and a sold the tickets to Scott so that an epic evening of Appleseed wasn't wasted. So amazing! Front row! I don't know how Sonia and I keep hooking up front row seats to everything lately but I like it. The best one year anniversary ever.
Plenty more photos on Flickr.

A cast member of the show, Eugene, did a stand up set before the Conchords went on and it was hilarious. He told a story of atrocious service when traveling on Delta Airlines. They lost his bags and then there was a 10 week fiasco that went on for him to eventually get his bags back, which he ended up doing himself by driving to some strangers house where Delta delivered the bags by mistake. At the end he handed out post cards for everyone to send to Delta to assist in venting his angry to the airline. I have attached a copy below for you to see. All in all great memories.

One Year

2009-04-21T11:17:00.002-04:00

It is Sonia and my one year anniversary today.
i love you darling

Creative Expression

2009-04-20T19:44:00.003-04:00

Sonia and I utilized our Sunday off to thoroughly clean our apartment. We rearranged our plants and made a sweet little turn-table garden set up. On Friday we went and saw Woodhands at the Phoenix, we took a couple photos before going out as our little form of creative expression.

Unknown Pleasures

2009-04-19T12:55:00.002-04:00

I have finished exams for my first year of uni and while most people are celebrating by getting wasted, I chose to buy myself a new record. Picked up Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures from Rotate, a needed addition to the collection. This is by far a top 10 record of all time in my mind and it sounds great on vinyl.

.....more film

2009-04-15T11:53:00.004-04:00

I finally finished and developed and old film that has been in my camera since last summer! You can really see a change in my photography since I shot this stuff, at least I think so. Anyways, I got the pictures burnt to a CD when I got them developed and the CD didn't work. So, I unpacked my new scanner-printer-beast my dad hooked up when picking up my camera and scanned a selection of the film. Just like the good old days when I first start posting and I had to Photoshop out the particles of dust that were on the underside of the glass because it was such an old scanner. Fortunately, I don't have to do that any more, just some level adjustments. As always, more on Flickr.

Old Stuff

2009-04-09T13:15:00.006-04:00

calgary - originally posted september 2006
we have this framed over our fireplace and no, i don't know what it says

toronto - originally posted august 2006

I've made mention to this and linked it before, but I have added my old/original blog to the links at the side. I started it in May 2006 and used it for about year until it went offline temporarily because of some copyright infringement with the host's site name. And when it came back on line the layout of the site was all wack and disorderly. So I ditched it in April 2007, went blogless for a month and then started this one in June of 2007. At one time I used to update the old one everyday, almost. If you have time, take a look through (please excuse the awful format). It's kinda cool, there are photos from when I first started to really get into photography. Due to the pressure of posting everyday there is some junk on there and some boring stuff, but I also kept it going while I lived out west at Big White as a snowboard photographer, so it's kind of a little photo journal of that too. Not to mention, other than the stuff from BC it's all film. You can view it HERE or just click on the link to the right.

UPDATE: Sonia and I just went on wiki and figured out what the building said..... DREAM

Heads Will Rendevous

2009-04-06T19:23:00.005-04:00

self portrait. originally posted Aug 17 2007

So as most of you may know, I have a set of turn tables that I play with on occasion and love collecting new vinyl. Well, I got the Virtual DJ software and have being doing some 'disc jockeying' on my comp which is very difficult seeing as I don't have monitors/headphones and have to do everything with the track pad and keyboard, no hardware. Anyways I recently got the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album It's Blitz, Sonia and I were listening to Heads Will Roll last night and both thought that it could likely be a very remixed song. So today after school I came home did some cleaning up and popped down in front of the computer and remixed it myself with Cut Copy - Rendevous. I'm new at it, and it's still no where near perfect I am fully aware but for an amateur who's had the program just over a week I think its... o k, I'm just wasting time at home by myself. Give it a listen for yourself and don't tell me what you think, ok well you can if you want but I'm just having some fun with this so I don't care that much about constructive criticism on this one. Don't let me stop you though. It's just so much fun. You can listen to and/or download it HERE>

Kensington

2009-04-03T21:18:00.005-04:00

Had to take some pictures for a school assignment in Kensington. Great... the most cliche and played out place to shoot. Once I got over the original negative stigma of walking around with a huge expensive camera taking photos, looking like the biggest tourist in a city I live in! It wasn't so bad and I had a lot of fun and got a few cool shots. More on my Flickr

FILM!

2009-03-29T11:57:00.003-04:00

So I have developed the film from the 4x5 cameras Scott and I shot with 2 weeks ago, scanned film and they turned out so sick. We used ISO 50 transparencies which are really specific and you have to get your settings spot on or your screwed. Seems we succeeded, I love using these cameras.

Burton US Open

2009-03-24T11:47:00.007-04:00

ben, me, shaun white

Peetu Pilroinenben, Jake & Donna, me, zac, davedave, ben, peter line, me, (im so bad with names)

So I've been in Vermont since Wednesday arriving home late Sunday night. I got invited by the Burton crew here in Ontario along with a bunch of other rad dudes and dudettes to venture in a convoy of big black ominous SUVs and trucks to the Burton US Open. We went to Burlington at first, to tour the Burton Headquarters with its incorporated skate and jib park with big bowl and half pipe in the back where the local kids come to skate. Inside everything is open and bright, everybody is in shorts and sandals with their dogs roaming freely around the office and the Burton store. After taking a walk around and meeting all the people behind the scenes we continued on to the BMC or Burton Manufacturing Center. I have watched a Burton Vapor get constructed from nothing to a finished product. Remarkable and totally amazing. To much to really get into all the details, this isn't "How it's Made", if you want to know ask me and ill go into it, i'm a huge tech nerd, but not on here.

Anyways, highlights, well I met the ginger phenom Shaun White, chatted for a bit and snapped a shot in which you can't see where his hair stops and mine begins. Then the big man himself Jake Burton and his wife Donna, nicest people every, lifechanging event. And last but definatly not least, chilled with Peter Line 2 nights, such a solid dude. All in all I will never forget the past 5 days ever!

There are more photos of the Halfpipe event on my Flickr.

thanks to dave pearson for the party shots.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

2009-03-23T20:34:00.006-04:00

So they're filming a movie at the intersection Sonia and I live at called Scott Pilgrim vs The World based on the series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The crew is placing cotton fake snow and then blowing ice and snow everywhere else as well to create a snow scene then driving a old TTC bus through the intersection. Michael Cera is staring as Scott Pilgrim who must defeat his beautiful new girlfriends 7 evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. It's funny seeing I have a very good friend named Scott Pilgrim who is also peers with O'Malley, small world huh? Sonia thought it was a prank that Scott was playing on us when we first received a notification about the filming in our mailbox until I told her about the comics.
I got in trouble for taking photos, had to be covert.

UPDATE: Flickr has been updated with some photos of the Burton US Open at Stratton Mtn in Vermont that I just got back from. Such a great time full post to come once I collect some more photos from friends.

Canadian Music Fest

2009-03-16T14:21:00.006-04:00

bloc party photo: emma svensson

holy fuck photo: james mejia

Sonia and I went to show on Saturday as part of the Canadian Music Festival. We went and saw Bloc Party but were pleasantly surprised to find out that the opening band that night was none other than edgy Toronto natives Holy Fuck. Bloc Party played and entertaining show but as hard as I have tried to like the new album, hearing it live cemented that it does nothing for me. Maybe a few songs, but otherwise it has settled in uncomfortably as the the dreaded third album. I was talking to my friend Jason and he was saying that he read an interview that said each member has been taking their turn with the albums and creating them in their own direction which is kinda cool, but it was clear from the crowds reactions as the show went on that Silent Alarm still reigns. People weren't rocking out to the new album not because they didn't know the words, everyone was still singing along. They just aren't as good. Even clarity, the new stuff is all over the place and disorderly. Silent alarm was on point and tight almost math-rockish. I'll put it this way, if I didn't already know and like Bloc Party before that show, I wouldn't of cared about them after.

Which brings me to the highlight of the the night, Holy Fuck! No, that's the band. They stole the show in my mind, just amazing. Experimental, improvisational electronic rock. Started by Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt "a chaotic live celebration of lo-fi noise and weirdo casio-driven rock. With a rotating rhythm section consisting of some close friends and multi-talented players they were described as 'Toronto's evil super group'." Working with all sorts of artist from, Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think and even recording and working with Glenn Milchem drummer of Blue Rodeo (and side project the swallows) as part of the band for some time. They are so worth a listen and if you get a chance to see them, GO!

Distillery

2009-03-11T09:01:00.004-04:00

UPDATE: a b/w version of the top photo was used by blogTO for their weekend radar, you can see it here.

Went to the Distillery Dist. yesterday with school. Was pretty fun, went on a mini tour guided by my prof Johan and then just cruised around and took photos. There are lots more on my flickr and while your at it check out sojourn-al to see a couple of really cool stitched shots that Scott took.

update: visited all the galleries that were open and saw some really amazing stuff. A full post to come on one of the exhibitions I saw. Also got a tour of the Pikto Studio, and although this is on Scott's blog also we just thought it was so awesome I feel I need to make mention of it as well. Has a huge 16"x22" cyclorama, I want one! Skate half and shoot with half!

Hands Up

2009-03-09T10:15:00.004-04:00

I shot Sonia the other nite, haha get it?....sorry. Don't worry, she's ok.

update: she hates this photo.

My Brothers Keeper

2009-03-05T18:05:00.003-05:00

David hasn't been featured in any of my photos for a while. It was great spending time with him this week. He is also a natural model.

Secret Garden Club

2009-03-03T21:08:00.005-05:00

Seems like the conservatory is becoming a frequent walk spot for us lately, took some more photos in and of it. There are some 'art-fag' shots and I also tried to take some more broad documenting shots so you could see more detail and how its laid out. Today at school Scott and I used 4x5 cameras outside. I really enjoy using these cameras, there is a lot of control you can have, its just going to take some time to learn, that and they're huge! It's also fun to be using film again. Once I get the negatives developed, as long as they expose popular, whether they're good or bad, I'll scan them and post so you can see my first attempt. Until then check out the Garden photos on my flickr here.

Self Hype

2009-03-03T09:55:00.001-05:00

So Ive been mentioning and posting school a bit lately, so to keep with that theme. Scott Pilgrim posted a collection of photos of his photos from a white balance exercise him and I had to do. Then added a dismantling sketch of me. Check Scott's blog sojourn-journal (or as I like to call it sojourn-al) and the full size image on his flickr here.

Fenced In

2009-03-02T10:44:00.002-05:00

A tree at the beach trying to escape the confines of a fence.

School

2009-02-25T23:12:00.002-05:00

Just a couple of silly photos from school, purely for posts sake. My legs looking downward and the spiral shell case, uh, stair case. There is a great one of Scott on my flickr we did for a panning shot as part of an assignment. Great fun, check it here!

Kropilak

2009-02-22T14:42:00.002-05:00

Took this after the winterfest pictures. A very Branislav Kropilak inspired pic. His are way better and impossibly clean.

Office Space

2009-02-16T13:55:00.004-05:00

My great friend Malcolm who lives in Scotland is studying construction design architecture stuff at Uni in Glasgow. While doing research for a project he found something and thought id like it. It's about old subway cars being turned into office space and working space for artists called Village Underground. Based in London England, it was created by furniture designer Auro Foxcroft. Some may remember a similar project using old shipping containers. You can see one here and the subway cars here.

Games Night!

2009-02-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

So i'm completely out of chronological order here, this happened even before Wintercity Fest.

Anyways, on the 6th we had a games night at our apartment. You know, good old fashioned family games night. Catch phrase, Jenga the excitement was almost to much for some. All in all it was alot of fun. Good old firends and some new ones too. Music and drink, lots of food from the potluck dinner with the main couse graciously prepared by Jenna. Her first 'real' food dinner she'd ever prepared and it was awesome. Here is a little taste of the evening, and as my trend has been lately there are more available on my flickr here.

Nathan Phillips Square

2009-02-14T01:00:00.000-05:00

So Sonia and I went to Nathan Phillips Square last week to watch the second night of the Wintercity Festival here in Toronto. There are some more pictures on the event on my flickr.

Alot going on lately very busy, to much to give a proper update so I hope you enjoy pictures.

PBNYC

2009-02-05T10:46:00.001-05:00

Button Up, originally uploaded by Poster Boy NYC.

So I have recently added another link to the site, some of you may have noticed, most of you probably not. Anyways one of Sonia's co-workers and friend of ours Jenna has a blog called Searching for Answers. Pretty cool stuff I suggest you check it. I found this on there and I think its awesome.... street artist Poster Boy NYC check it here or go to Jenna's blog for more.

Beaches

2009-02-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

Sonia and I went to the Beaches for a walk today at Kew Beach, I brought my camera along an took some snaps. It was a beautiful day with sun and not to much wind, the beach was busy with people, kids and dogs. We had a really good time. There are more on my flickr here if you want to take a look.

Thomas Forsyth

2009-01-27T06:02:00.000-05:00

So I bumped into this guy Thomas Forsyth cruising around I forget where now, but it was for another piece of his work with spinning tops but I'm a huge chess fan and when I found this I thought it was just way too neat!

UPDATE: I forgot about this, but the GZA from Wu-Tang is also obsessed with chess, he believes teaching kids to play at a young age will assist in taking on the world and taking over it. Read more here. He wrote a ultimatum about it for Frank 151 but I couldn't find it. If you can it's awesome.

Goodbye Christmas

2009-01-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

We finally took down the Christmas tree. But instead of just taking it outside and leaving it on the side of the road. We decided to utilize this and heat our home, so I cut off all the branches and sawed it into sections and we had a roaring fire all night. All with my Swiss Army knife too! Here is all that's left.

we sure do!