My friend Ylimay makes flower crowns for weddings and events in and around Ottawa. I’ve previously worked with her on some photo shoots, and every time I go I end up having a blast, so when she asked if I’d like to do a shoot downtown, I immediately said “let’s do it!” Continue reading
Story time! How did a fabulous couple like Amanda and Josh end up doing a photoshoot in a laundromat in the middle of downtown Ottawa, to celebrate their engagement you may be asking? It all started in a magical land I like to call “The Internet”. Continue reading
Paris is the called the city of lovers, the home of fine wine, great bread, and quaint architecture. But what is there to do here? For this #throwbackthursday I’ve compiled a list of 5 of my favorite things that everyone should experience when traveling to Paris! Continue reading
While travelling through Paris, my wife and I stayed at a friend’s apartment, and every day we would walk down a street to get some bread from a bakery. On the way, I would always notice what appeared to be a vandal drawing at first, but when looked at closer, was a small mural made up of mosaic squares. I was impressed because it reminded me of the old days of video games when everything was pixelated, and because the artwork was based off of the MegaMan series!
As we explored Paris, we started noticing that these mosaics were popping up everywhere. A quick Google search told us that the artist goes by the name of “Invader”, who continuously places his urban art all over Paris, along with other cities around the world (Tokyo, LA, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Berlin etc). I enjoyed the idea of trying to find these mosaics while touring the city, so whenever I found one, I took a picture of it, like a trophy!
One of my favorite things to photograph are abandoned things. Buildings, houses, roads, hospitals, towns, you name it! There is something hauntingly beautiful about a place that was once used on a daily basis, then left from one day to the next. It’s like a time capsule, slowly rotting away, taking the memories of the place with it. Fantastic.
While photographing buildings and houses from the outside is quite easy, the best pictures usually come once you venture into the complex. This always has its risks, which can be as obvious as a security guard still keeping watch over the place, or as illusive as some wooden floor that has rot to the point that it could give way if you stand on it.
The first rule is to always be aware of your surroundings.
Rule number 2? Don’t take your wife to abandoned hospitals in Mexico. She won’t be happy…trust me.
I had always admired the abandoned hospital in Manzanillo, Mexico. It had been deemed unstable after an earthquake in 1995 cracked many of its walls. For years there was a guard at the front, and I was too young to brave it out and try and sneak past him. Last year though, I got my chance when I was visiting Manzanillo for 3 weeks. No one was guarding it and it seemed like I’d have the place all to myself!
Of course, I had never really thought that besides serving as a subject to photograph, it might serve other purposes for other people; like the skater kids we found hanging outside, or the homeless man we did not see, but could definitely smell in one of the rooms. The air was thick as well, with the scent of decaying wood and garbage. Still, the inside was as amazing as I had imagined when I was a kid. Old surgery rooms still held signs of where instruments where to be kept, the skeleton of the elevator shafts impressed on each of the floors we visited.
All in all, we stayed there for around 2 or 3 hours. I’d have stayed longer if I could have, to take advantage of the sun going down and use the light to my advantage, but I broke rule number 2, and was forced to leave lol
One day, I hope to photograph Chernobyl. It’s probably been done a thousand times over by now, but the idea of an entire population vanishing from a city in one day, leaving everything behind, is enough for me to want to go. I enjoy abandoned places. They’re very peaceful, but somehow you are always on edge. It’s a weird feeling I suppose. When I arrive in Ottawa, I’d like to look for a couple of places to practice this fun style of photography. Anyone interested is welcome to tag along! I hear there is strength in numbers when it comes to ghosts that haunt places like this…
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