333.365 Rust and Rope

Tuesday November 29 2011.

Rust and Rope. Industrial Magic.

Chris.

322.365 Time For Snow Boots?

Friday November 18 2011.

I don't think my latest work boots are going to hold up to the winter. Perhaps I'll have to get some cheap steel toed winter boots.

Chris.

321.365 Piling Up.

Thursday November 17 2011.

Our first real snow storm of the season. It's been coming down since about 7am. Not too hard but enough to start piling up in little drifts from the wind.

This is about a foot deep so far.

Chris.

317.365 Lily - Strobist.

Sunday November 13 2011.

Finally, I managed to get Lily under the strobe. It wasn't easy. I had to have the girl hold her still. I managed to get 3 or 4 shots off before she had enough.

And I had it in my head that I would like to be a pet photographer! LOL.

I ran this through Color Effects 4 to jump up the contrast a bit. I've been testing the program out this weekend. So far I really like it.

Chris.

312.365 Need I Say More.

Tuesday November 8 2011.

LOL.

Chris.

311.365 Poor Mr. Pumpkin

Monday November 7 2011.

This is what happens when a jack o lantern freezes and thaws for a week. Not a pretty sight. LOL.

Chris.

310.365 Puppy Love

Sunday November 6 2011.

We took LIlly to my parent's today to meet their dog, Bella.

They got along like they had known each other their whole lives. This is the longest they stayed even close to still for me!

Chris.

309.365 Out For Dinner.

Saturday November 5 2011.

We went out for fish & chips to Joey's Only. Yum.

My iPhone did a nasty job exposing this one but when I converted it to B&W, it looked much better.

Chris.

307.365 Lily

Thursday November 3 2011.

Meet Lily. Our new dog. We adopted Lily from the Edmonton Humane Society on Wednesday.

She is from California. One of the dogs rescued in a shelter there that is partnered up with the one here. She was flown in on October 27th and from the minute we stepped into her room at the Edmonton Humane Society, we knew she was the right dog for us.

She has such a loving disposition, calm yet excited to see you. Barely makes a peep.

I wish I was able to capture a better photo of her but every time I sat down to take a photo, she would come running to me to say hi. Maybe I'll set up the umbrella this weekend and plop her and her blanket on a table.

Chris.

304.365 Halloween 2011!

Monday October 31 2011.

We are all set for another round of "Give Me Candy". Just need some jackets. Pretty chilly out today.

My Ninja and Rapunzel are tired of waiting for me to get ready.

Chris.

294.365 6:30AM

I decided to do a one day photo project today. Just with my iPhone nothing too serious. Just for fun. It started with the following image of my morning coffee cup and went on from there.

Friday October 21 2011.

First conscious memory of the day. :-)


The Last Look.
This is the last thing I see when I leave for work in the morning. I get him up every morning and make sure he gets dressed and eats. He looks as tired as I was. TGIF!!

On The Road
I'm on the road. As you see, it's fall in Edmonton, Alberta and it's dark when I leave for work at 7:00 AM. Still light when I come home but not for much longer. :( Nothing like sitting in traffic drinking coffee to wake you up.

Sunrise
I usually see this type of sunrise when It's dark enough out in the morning. Not the best photo but you get the idea.

Back Hoe Sunrise
You just have to love the sunrise on a shiny clean back hoe. LOL.

The First Of Several.....
Walks to the main building 1/2 a mile down the road. I will drive if the weather is bad or I have lots to carry but I really prefer to walk. It gives me time to get over the anger on my way back to my office from the main yard. :)

Work To Be Done.
We have been cleaning out our Quonset this week. It was a huge disaster thanks to the guys in the shipping department. Here we have to level this platform so I can erect some pallet racking on it next week. And you guys thought I just sat at the desk placing orders all day long. LOL.

Incoming Product.
Here's the most boring part of my job. Ordering supplies for the field jobs. They send me a list, I order it, I send it out to them. Woop-de-doo. I much prefer to order equipment but I'm done with that for this year I think.

Piles Of Paperwork.
This is today's pile. Not so bad. I still had time to get some work done outside.

Finally Home.
Usually this is the one who greets me first when I get home. Today I had to chase her down. :)

A Canadian Institution.
Tim Horton's is a Canadian coffee and dognut chain. All my Canadian friends will be quite familiar with this place I'm sure. Mmmmmm Coffee.

Thus It Ends.
And so my day ends as it began, with a large cup of coffee. Yes, I can drink coffee and fall asleep at the same time. :)

This concludes a typical day for me. Thanks for tuning in. LOL.

Hey, I just noticed I had the French side turned towards the camera....Oh, well I have enough French speaking friends that they will appreciate it. :) That just shows how tired I was by this point. What a long week it's been.

Chris.

293.365 My Ride This Afternoon

Thursday October 20 2011.

Yup, I get to drive the coolest things at work sometimes. This came back from a job site and needed to go over to my mechanics. Why bother them when I can just hop in this beast and drive it over to them. Just down the road a bit.

What a heavy machine. So far this is the biggest machine I've driven. Sadly, it's the biggest we have so I will have to be happy with that. :)

Chris.

292.365 Dinosaur Egg?

Wednesday October 19 2011.

While walking around the yard at work today, I noticed this egg shaped rock. It's a bit bigger than a goose egg. I've been on the look out for smooth neat shaped rocks for the kids to pain this winter. This one is mine.

This will make a very cool Easter egg.

Maybe I should crack it open to see if there is a dinosaur in it first. LOL.

Chris.

290.365 Haunted Door.

Monday October 17 2011.

Our receptionist here at work loves Halloween. The front office of the building is loaded with decorations such as this one. This one is on the door to the main building from the front office. They eyes light up and flash. Quite creepy when you are standing in front of it.

Chris.

283.365 Jurassic Forest

Monday October 10 2011.

We made it to Jurassic Forest on the last day of the season for one more walk around the trails.

Looks like the Pteranadon on the right is getting ready to come at us....we better run! LOL.

Chris.

281.365 Corn Maze Fun

Saturday October 8 2011.

Went to the corn maze today for some family fun. after the dizzying trails on the maze, the kids relaxed on the hay stack.

Chris.

280.365 Rusted From The Rain

Friday October 7 2011.

A bandsaw blade slowly rusts away in the elements. Once it cut steel down to size so it could be fabricated into some amazing structures. Now it rots in a silent coil.

Chris.

277.365 Canada Geese On A Grey Dingy Day.

Monday October 3 2011.

Even the geese don't want to hang around on this dingy cold fall day. I don't blame them.

Chris.

276.365 My Princess.

Sunday October 2 2011.

She's getting so big. I can hardly believe my eyes when I look at her sometimes.

No matter how hold she gets she will always be my Princess and my Sweetpea.

Chris.

275.365 Ker Plunk!

Saturday October 1 2011.

Who remembers this classic game?

I can remember playing over and over and over. It took me a year to find this. So glad I did.

Chris.

269.365 Back To The Skating Lessons.

Monday September 26 2011.

The kids are back at it with the skating lessons this year. They have a great time. The boy is a machine on the ice. By the time the lesson is over, he is soaking wet! Both from the ice and sweating.

Chris.

268.365 Ready For Another Party.

Sunday September 25 2011

Finally the last party for my son's birthday. The family all gathered at our house for hotdogs and cake. A few didn't make it but I ate their hotdogs anyway. :)

Chris.

267.365 Birthday Party!

Saturday Sepetmber 24 2011.

We had the boy's kid party today at Jump Zone. They set up the jumpy castle of your choice in a warehouse bay and let you have at it for a couple of hours. The slide was the favorite part of the castle. I was very tired after watching 9 kids jump and slide for 2 hours. All were red in the face and very tired by the end.

Chris.

Testing The iPhone App

I have installed the Wordpress app on my iPhone in hopes of being able to take advantage of blogging while out and about.

Here is a photo taken and edited right on my iPhone.

259.365 Level Up!

Friday September 16 2011.

I was getting that sinking feeling in my office. A chair should not roll against the wall on it's own. I had some boys come over and level my office out again.

Much Better.

Chris.

258.365 Not This Again.

Thursday September 15 2011.

Alright, again with the mud. I'm not going to enjoy the mud in my new office. At least when it freezes up it won't be muddy.

Chris.

257.365 Things Around My New Office.

Wednesday September 14 2011.

I've decided to take some photos of the odd things I find about my new office. Here is a good example.

I've never quite understood a fire extinguisher cover. Sure, It keeps it clean and crust free but if my office is on fire, fumbling with the cover could cost me the building. Maybe I'll take it off and put it in a case.

Chris.

256.365 New Digs

Tuesday September 13 2011.

Yup. I'm back in the office trailer again. Got kicked out of the office building and my cushy 3rd floor office with the roof access that got me so many great photos. Ah, well. At least I'll be more in touch with what's going on with my stuff. It's quiter too. I missed my old office. But after 2 days it's like I never left it 4 years ago.

Chris.

255.365 First Time On Skates.

Monday September 12 2011.

My daughter had her first skating lesson today. She was a bit nervous. Ice is much more slipery than a dance floor! She will do fine with a little more practice.

The boy on the other hand was a blur on the ice. I could barely get a photo of him he was so fast. :)

Chris.

254.365 Swimming Lessons Again.

Sunday September 11 2011.

And we are back to swimming lessons! The Girl did awesome! So did the boy.

Chris.

252.365 Discipline.

Friday September 9 2011.

What you see here is an example of how to discipline your kids. LOL. You just got to show them who's boss. Otherwise they will just jump all over you. LOL.

Try to take me on will they.......Good luck. :)

A special thanks to my wife for snapping some shots of me and the kids wrestling.

Chris.

Should I Start A Photography Business?

I've been thinking about whether or not I should try to make a go of a photography business. I love photography, it consumes me. Everything I look at I wonder how could I light that. Or, what a great photograph that would make. My family will tell you I'm obsessed. I call it passionate. But, It is a bit of an obsession for me.

Starting up a business used to seem like the thing to do. I took the New York Institute Of Photography's professional photography course so I could learn. And, learn I did! I like to think I'm a pretty good photographer. Not an amazing photographer but I can hold my own. But once you make that decision to start a business it becomes just that, a business. I would end up being a business owner. Worried about income, taxes, expenses, etc. With all the worries of running a business, would I have time for my passion? How much more pressure would there be to create impressive images every time, every session? Would it take the fun out of my passion? How much more of my time would all the administrative portion take up?

Right now, I take photos of what I want, when I want. I get to just enjoy the art. Lately, I've become so consumed with the question that I think my images have suffered because I'm trying too hard to make every image a winner. I've even been getting down on myself and my skills. Sure, that is a typical trait of an artist, nothing is ever good enough for us and our own work is terrible, but it's been getting worse over the last 3 or 4 months. Why, at this point in my life, with my kids still young and my job filling my days, would I want to spend all my free time running a business and possibly taking the joy out of it?

I think, at least for the next 10 to 12 years, I should just focus on the art and the joy it brings me. I can document my kids lives, do personal projects and just love the art. Who knows, maybe one of those projects could lead to something. Maybe sales of the images or even a book. Maybe that's what I'll do. Just enjoy the art and the peace it brings me. No more getting down on myself for a less than perfect image. I'll focus more on how good the good ones are and be happy with any keeper ratio I have.

Thanks for reading my internal struggle. It's not over yet but I think I have more of a direction.

Chris.

251.365 Last Lake Portrait

Thursday September 8 2011.

This is the last lake portrait for the girl this year. We are all done and we have winterized our trailer. Maybe we will make it out there this winter for some skating on the lake and a cold winter fire but I doubt there will be a short sleeved portrait. :)

Chris.

250.365 Last Lake Portrait

Wednesday September 7 2011.

This is the last lake portrait for the boy this year. We are all done and we have winterized our trailer. Maybe we will make it out there this winter for some skating on the lake and a cold winter fire but I doubt there will be a short sleeved portrait. :)

Chris.

249.365 Mohawk.

Tuesday September 6 2011

This is Bella. My parents dog. She has the best mohawk of any dog out there. I think I'll try to talk my parents into gelling her hair up and I'll bring my lighting kit over! That would be some awesome portraits.

Chris.

248.365 Sharps

Monday August 5 2011.

I'm a great person to go to the beach with. If there is a sharp item in the lake, I'll step on it before you can! Every year I find something to step on. At least once. This time it was a broken beer bottle. Given that this is a stubby bottle, I'm sure it's been there a long time. I've not seen a stubby bottle in many many years.

Odd part is this was right by our dock that we run and play around all the time. My son stepped on it first and cut his foot but not as bad as me. Kids heal so quickly! I'm still hobbling around on a sore foot.

Chris.

247.365 Thoughts Of Fall.

Sunday August 4 2011.

My wife, deep in thought about the sadness of our last weekend at the lake. Fall has arrived which means skating lessons, swimming lessons and dance class for the kids. I'm sad to see the lake season end too.

Chris.

246.365 Misty Lake.

Saturday August 3 2011.

It's that time of year where the air cools so quickly during the night. The lake still holds the day's heat and gives us this great mist. If you get up early enough to see it.

Chris.

245.365 Morning Balloon Ride.

Friday September 2 2011.

Ok, I took this a day early but I just know my schedule is going to be hectic tomorrow and I really wanted to share this.

Chris.

244.365 Morning Radar Tower.

Thursday September 1 2011.

My kids call this 'our tower'. It's about 3 or 4 houses down from us in a field. I look at it every day out the back yard.

This morning as I was helping the boy get ready for the first day back to school, I was struck at how the rising sun made the colors pop against the blue sky.

Chris.