half-hearted attempt...

northern geographic © Raffaella Loro

Oh poor unloved blog... how I have forsaken you.

I have never developed this space into anything of real value, so there are often period of many weeks where I have nothing to say or think what I have to say is of little interest to anyone but me. However, I've been composing posts since 2004 and it would be a shame to give it up now.

So for now I'll fill the void with tales of my recent photo explorations. I've made some new friends in the past few months and among these friends I've made the gleeful discovery that at least two are photographically inclined like me. I proposed the idea of a photographical slumming and they were both keen to participate. Thus Team Awesome Photo Club was born. The name in itself demonstrates the type of fun we've had together so far. We're almost constantly joking about things that I'm sure only we find funny.

We seem to only take photos when there is a severe wind chill warning on, both times we have gone out together it has hovered around the minus forty mark. I make mention of this because it demonstrates our commitment to our craft. Our next meetup is going to be inside though. Our cameras don't last that long in the cold.

It's interesting to be shooting with more people again. I had been feeling that I was looking at things in the same way and looking at the images of my comrades has freshened up my perspective.

Yesterday we took the LRT to Clareview, and explored the unattractive batch of condo complexes that sit on either side of the Park n' Ride lots at the end of the line. It was rather depressing to see these complexes in person. The buildings were uninspiring, the location (although close to the LRT) left much to be desired. Lauded in the developer's advertisements as being close to all amenities, all of the shopping consisted of bland big box developments. It was a sad sight. If the fifteen for sale signs were any indication, the residents of those complexes were not too happy with their environment either. Yet there were signs of more construction, and the grander complex was also attempting to sell affordable living starting at $239 000.

We broke for tea and light refreshments mid morning and then returned to the great outdoors heading towards Chinatown where a parade celebrating the Chinese New Year was set to begin. The parade wasn't particularly exciting, but despite the weather there was a reasonable turnout. I didn't bring the right lens for the event and my photos are all lacking something. After the parade we randomly selected a local restaurant for lunch, then stopped at the Italian Bakery for dessert. I've realized that I've skipped any interesting details of the day, but I'm tired from my company's winter gala that I went to last night and I don't have the energy to type up a witty account of my day. It's an attempt nonetheless, one day my words will return.