HAMILTON STYLES

My journey through Photography school.

New York City

A week ago a group of 35 Dawson students filled a bus and made the journey south to the big apple. 

We spent 5 nights in our amazing hotel in the upper west side. Every day was an adventure, going to the theatre, looking at some amazing photography exhibits, eating some amazing food, and visiting Coney Island are just some of the things I did.

Every night I hit a different bar where I would have a pint and relax after the day before taking the 1 train up to the hotel for the night.

The days blend together now, its hard to remember what happened what day. All I do know is that I’m counting the days until I get to visit this amazing city again.

Sheila’s Return Dinner

After having spent five months apart, I am finally reunited with my best friend.

She had spent all this time working at a hospital in Senegal. And this is the first time that we are reunited. I am invited to a family dinner with her parents, all of her siblings, and their significant others. 

What a joy it was to spend time with an amazing group of people. It’s fun to watch a family in action. Every one has a place and everyone has a role. It’s amazing what can be achieved with such a large group of people.

This small series focusses on the different hands it takes to pull off a family meal for 11 people.

Enjoy.

Blog Inspirations

These are some snapshots of my favourite blogs. I visit them frequently and some I have been following for years now. I like the simplicity of them. The white background really makes the photos pop!

All of these blogs are easy to navigate, you just have to scroll down. Most of them have unlimited scrolling which I love. Having to press a button to go to the next page just slows me down.

I prefer the simplicity of the layouts. White backgrounds, black text, and easy to see photos. 

Here are the links to the blogs:

http://wholelarderlove.com

http://arestlesstransplant.com

http://firtreehammer.tumblr.com

http://andrewandcarissa.com

http://freecabinporn.com

Maine 2012

This past weekend, a group of surfer enthusiast got together and drove down to Wells, Maine to do some camping and ride some waves. 

Getting away from the city for a weekend was exactly what I needed. I met my friend at her house early Friday morning and we were able to make the 7 hour drive and still have time to get our surfing gear and hit the beach for the end of day.

I didn’t do so well the first day but by the second day I was catching almost every wave that came in. What a thrill it was to be in the ocean and be able to get up on the board and ride the wave into shore. 

This has only been my second time surfing and already I’m seeing some major improvements. There is something about me and the ocean that just works. I love it. I have always loved it. It calls to me and brings me into a state of happiness and bliss. 

The water was cold. Coming in at around 16 degrees I was really fortunate I had a wetsuit to keep me warm and in the water longer. 

I met some amazing people and shared some great laughs all while enjoying the amazing thrill of surfing.

Summer Here is my final Fashion shoot for the Photo Studio IV class I had this semester.  Today we got together in class and went through all of our work, and the class gave me some great feedback on the images.  Doing this series has really relit the fire in me to keep on doing photography. It was such a pleasure shooting, editing, and then presenting. It makes me look forward to our last year when we get to work on our portfolios throughout the year. I have updated my blog and it now allows you to leave comments. So take a look and leave a comment.

Summer

Here is my final Fashion shoot for the Photo Studio IV class I had this semester. 

Today we got together in class and went through all of our work, and the class gave me some great feedback on the images. 

Doing this series has really relit the fire in me to keep on doing photography. It was such a pleasure shooting, editing, and then presenting. It makes me look forward to our last year when we get to work on our portfolios throughout the year.

I have updated my blog and it now allows you to leave comments. So take a look and leave a comment.

Mad Men - Season Three: Part 3

So good! I have a hard time picking a favourite season, but I really love Season Three. The dark tones, and sadness carry throughout the season. Even vibrant Joan, is dulled down to browns, and solid earthy colours. Even with all this sadness, I can find extreme beauty!

Mad Men - Season Three: Part 2

The beauty!

Mad Men - Season Three: Part 1

Wow! I really like Season 3! Second time through it and you pick up so many new things that you never saw the first time. I love that! 

What really did it for me was the finale. What a beautiful episode. It really shows the strengths of all the characters. 

So sit back and relax and enjoy Season 3 of Mad Men! 

* all photos taken from AMC’s Mad Men website. Photos by Carin Baer.

Tara

Here are a couple shots of the fashion location assignment I had. It was a lot of fun meeting up with Tara at my Dad’s place in the country. All we had to do was walk down the lane and we instantly had a perfect backdrop!

The light was really great this day, there were these dark rain clouds in the distant and we could actually see the rain falling way off down the field.

A lot of fun to shoot, and I’m very happy with the results.

Yan This week was an interesting one. I was left without a model the night before our studio class and at the very last moment my ex was able to show up. I know what you’re thinking… “Wait a second, did he just say his ex?” After 6 years of no communication, and only running into each other, by chance, on a bar’s terrace a couple times, suddenly he is my subject and I am his photographer. I will say this: seeing him has definitely brought up some old emotions. Emotions that I guess I will always carry. He was my first love after all. Through all of this, I am thankful that I can meet up with an ex and not feel hate, anger, resentment or jealousy. Instead I got caught up on his life, shared some laughs, and just took pleasure in sharing my passion for photography with an old “friend.”

Yan

This week was an interesting one. I was left without a model the night before our studio class and at the very last moment my ex was able to show up.

I know what you’re thinking… “Wait a second, did he just say his ex?”

After 6 years of no communication, and only running into each other, by chance, on a bar’s terrace a couple times, suddenly he is my subject and I am his photographer.

I will say this: seeing him has definitely brought up some old emotions. Emotions that I guess I will always carry. He was my first love after all.

Through all of this, I am thankful that I can meet up with an ex and not feel hate, anger, resentment or jealousy. Instead I got caught up on his life, shared some laughs, and just took pleasure in sharing my passion for photography with an old “friend.”

Easter Day Weekend

What an amazing weekend! I was able to disconnect from the busy city and discover the busy country life instead. With visiting the recent land slide near my grand mothers house, the two large Easter meals with both sides of the family, and a final Easter Monday lunch I saw all in all it’s been pretty hectic.

Not to mention the great Saturday night hot tub/game night at my dad’s place in the country! Lots of laughs were had over a 2.5 hour game of Trivial Pursuit. I love trivia!

There was also an afternoon at Boutique Tara where me and some friends got together for a Stitch and Bitch. Lot’s of bitching done, some knitting was done as well.

Today involves cleaning up and getting ready for the week.

Happy Easter all!

A Day in the Country

Last weekend I took a road trip with my friend to her family’s home in Hemmingford QC. It was such a beautiful drive from the city. We passes all kinds of small farms and open fields. When we got to the country house we went for a nice walk through the woods behind their house.

We had an amazing BBQ that night with some yummy sausages and hamburgers. There was also a mango quinoa salad as well as a fresh garden salad. Yum yum!

That night was Earth Hour so we turned off all the lights and played Balderdash with a dictionary. Fun times had by all!

Happy Easter weekend everyone!

Montreal Botanical Gardens and Montreal Insectarium

Last weekend my friend and I took the metro all the way to the Pie IX metro station in Montreal East.

We enjoyed all the beautiful botanical plants that the greenhouses offered us. From tropical rainforests, to orchids, to dessert plants and even an Asian garden greenhouse.

So much to look at you can easily spend the whole day there, especially when the weather starts to warm up and you can enjoy the magnificent exteriour gardens!

All and all a great day!

Mad Men: Season Two - Part One

So this is how I spent my Spring Break; by watching Season Two of Mad Men of course! This season is great! Joan looks sexy in every outfit and even gets a ring on her finger! Let’s not forget about her HOT HOT HOT fiance! 

Part One consists of episodes One to Four.

Mad Men: Season Two - Part Two

I love the scene between Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) and Sal Romano (Bryan Batt). It was really well played by both actors. You could feel the tension between them. Well played boys!