August 14, 2009

racing like a pro

after what can only be described as a series of poor-verging-on-surreal choices, I have survived what I feel to have been my first freelance/photojourno trial by fire.

an approximate schedule:

    Thursday, August 13
  • 2130 - leave to meet Culture kids at the Lamplighter
  • 2215 - get to Lamp, do the rounds, see Kaitlin and Aleks in addition to Culture kids + Lougheed. Shoot the Raccoons and a singer-songwriter that Kaitlin knows.
  • 2300 - leave lamp, head to Bourbon
  • 2310 - arrive at Bourbon, am blown away by The Heard.
  • 2330 - say hi to Abra, wish her a broken leg
  • 2335 - say hi to Piper, apparently engender envy of Piper's vocal lesbian fan club.
  • 2345 - shoot Piper's set.
  • 0005 - see chad, say hello.
  • 0025 - leave for red room
  • 0045 - party in the red room; it turns out I know four groups of people there (ex-Ubyssey, CiTR, Aleks, and Lougheed).
  • 0110 - it's Steve Louie! I like him.
  • 0120 - The Clips throw down an amazing farewell set.
  • 0210 - we leave the bar.
  • 0240 - me and Lougheed catch an N17
  • 0310 - back at Ubyssey Haus
  • 0320 - bed
  • 0715 - up again (!)
  • 0747 - miss the 4, get on an 84.
  • 0804 - miss a 7, get on a 4.
  • 0816 - on the 253 to Park Roral
  • 0840 - at LDB at Park Royal
  • 0845 - meet James from Had a Glass (v. cute, well-built but so friendly that it's not at all imposing)
  • 0900 - start shooting wine bottles
  • 0945 - finish shooting wine bottles
  • 0955 - London Drugs pit stop.
  • 1005 - on a 253 to downtown
  • 1030 - coffee #1; venti Pike Place
  • 1035 - 44 to Ubyssey Haus
  • 1040 - so many emo kids
  • 1100 - walk to Ubyssey Haus, check email, tidy up.
  • 1110 - half of Haus wakes up; are bewildered to hear about 0715-1100 period of my day.
  • 1115 - convalesce, a little.
  • 1145 - head to office with Justin
  • 1230 - after a little light internet, leave office
  • 1300 - Justin picks up a cheque, I say hi to Marielle
  • 1315 - Coffee #2 (Jeremy's Blenz: "give me an enormous drip coffee, please.")
  • 1330 - part ways with Justin, eat lunch.
  • 1400 - make way to site
  • 1430 - I'm in and tweeting.
  • 1550 - Brokencyde
  • 1615 - Bad Religion
  • 1645 - Streetlight Manifesto
  • 1715 - NOFX
  • 1730 - loaf in sun
  • 1815 - Alexisonfire
  • 1840 - leave site
  • 1900 - Ubyssey office
  • 2040 - parent pickup
  • 2130 - home


inside 24 hours I shot eight bands from two festivals in four venues (and on three stages in one venue) in addition to a trip out to West Vancouver to shoot wine bottles, for a total of three shoots and 1200 frames with a short break for a little under 4 hours of sleep, fuelled only by grim determination, obscene amounts of caffeine, and a sub-par noodle dish from the VIllage.

I feel spectacularly worn out in some ways; my shoulders ache from the weight of my gear, my shins from walking and my elbow will undoubtedly be next. I'm occasionally incoherent from sleep-lack, and I admit to a shorter fuse than usual. Sitting here typing this, showered and full of ice cream, I realize that this is the blissful kind of tired, and that I honestly haven't felt this way since I worked on shows.

It's a good feeling, and I'm glad to have it back.

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August 08, 2009

welcome, ghosts

given that long-form thoughts stay here, short ones go to twitter, photos go on either on flickr or to facebook, is it any surprise that my impending photoblogs will also go somewhere else entirely?

the recent works blog is coming along, and the portfolio side requires some tweaking to bring the look and feel into alignment, but I think they'll hit the prime time soon.

feel free to comment on the unfinished forms, though.

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August 05, 2009

sea change

I gave notice today, and my last day will be almost exactly six months to the day I started. This has been the last in a long string of jobs I've held since 2006 that can all safely be described as settling.

I think I'm ready, but there's really only one way to find out.

...here goes.

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