Vagabond

Today's challenge was to photograph an interpretation of my favourite indulgence or guilty pleasure.

I've been bitten by the travel bug. Not a nibble or nip but a chomp! I'm full of wanderlust and while I have had the opportunity to travel a little here and there, I'm ready to make travelling not a hobby but rather make it my lifestyle. Inspired by the television show "Departures" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Bl4zDenjg&feature=player_embedded) seeing the world and experiencing all it has to offer is the number one thing on my bucket list of things to do before I die. I love learning about cultures, religions and way of life and want to experience it first hand. I'd love to be able to experience the ruins of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka or endure the harsh temperatures of Russia in the winter (I'm sure the vodka would keep me warm) or hike through the Amazon rainforest or soak up the warm sun on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Other places I'd love to see: Vietnam, Indonesia, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, India, Chile, The Antarctic and Korea (both North and South).

Now if I could only find a pair of pants with pockets deep enough to hold all the money I'd need to accomplish this dream and I'd be all set!

Mags.

Confusion and Clumsiness = Colourful Chaos

Today's challenge was to communicate chaos, disorganization or messiness in a photograph. Find some beauty in it.

Guess where this was taken? Did you say work? Ding! Ding! Ding! Give that man (or woman) a prize! Feeling over-tired, I wan't really paying attention and pulled out my drawer containing these push-pins all the way and ended up with the pins all over the floor, my desk, my lap and even into my cold cup of coffee. After sitting there for a few seconds feeling dumbfounded (have I mentioned how tired I am?), I grabbed the 'ole point and shoot and started snapping away at the colourful chaos that surrounded me. After a few minutes though, reality set in and I started cursing away as I had to clean up the prickly mess......

Mags.

What's In Your Wallet?

Some carry a talisman, amulet, "lucky charm", or just a comforting thing in our pocket. What do you carry?

This little silver metal starfish was given to me by a friend a few years back. It's not something I carry in my pocket but rather in the change compartment of my wallet. While I don't believe it brings luck or good fortune my way, it is something that I do bring out from time to time when I am feeling anxious or at odds with things in life. I'll play with it in my fingertips while I work out some nervous tension or stress. Sometimes, I'll sit with it clasped in the palm of my hands while I sit quietly contemplating the solution to what's on my mind. It's message inscribed on the front is simple: Wishes. Sometimes when I've lost sight of my goal, or taken a slight turn off the path I've set for myself, I think of this and realize that with hard work, a plan and lots of dedication, I can obtain any of my wishes that I've put out there.

To quote that ubiquitous credit card commercial: What's in your wallet?

Mags.

Demolition Derby

Today we went to the Brampton Fall Festival where we saw various animals, antiques and crafts. The highlight of the day for many festival goers was the Demolition Derby. People waited in the stands for two hours prior to the start of the derby to secure good seats. There were prizes given for Best Decorated Car, Winner of the Figure 8 races and of course, Winner of the Demolition Derby.

Demolition Derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicle into one another. The last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory.

Mags

Surprise!

Last night was the first night of my photography classes. I've only been shooting with a DSLR since I started this project back on May 1st of this year. I've really taken an interest in photography and have decided to see where this Photography program will lead me to.

Throughout the day, I was receiving random texts from my husband checking up to make sure that the camera was stored properly in the bag, making sure that I got to school ok with the camera, making sure that if I took the camera out of the bag to ensure that the neck strap was secure around my neck, have I taken a photo in class yet....etc. His "nagging" was really driving me around the bend! What was his deal? It's not like I've never left the house before with the camera! Half way during class, the teacher was explaining a symbol that was found on digital SLR's and being curious, I decided to check out my camera to see where it was located on mine. I opened up my bag to pull out my 'ole trusty Nikon D50 (please don't laugh....yes...it's dated but it's been a great beginner camera), when suddenly I noticed something weird. There were two camera's in the bag........the second being a Nikon D200!!!!! What the....??!!?? Turns out, he bought me a new camera as a back to school present! Sneaky guy had snuck the camera in my bag after I had gone to bed the night before. I was totally floored.

Sadly, I didn't get to use it in class last night, however, started goofing around with it as soon as I got home. This self portrait is of me with my new toy!

Mags.

The Road Not Taken...

Today's challenge was to make a photograph of a path, sidewalk , trail or road and post it. Lead our eye through the scene......

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Birds On A Wire

I was out on an assignment this evening trying to capture a photo of the front of a building (as per the daily shoot assignment). I decided to capture the municipal Hydro building as I really love the architecture and think it looks beautiful especially at night. While clicking away, I was distracted by a commotion across the street. I looked up into the dusk sky to see THOUSANDS of birds flying around in a large group. There were so many that it literally looked like a black cloud floating across the sky. Upon closer observation, I noticed the telephone wires and lamp posts were covered with birds as well. Feeling like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, I attempted to capture this phenomenon. It was difficult to capture clear photos of the birds as they were very unpredictable and and would take off in a flash. I wanted to post this photo as it was one of my favourites. I loved the dark silhouettes of the birds against the sky.

Oh, and the photo of the building front I was supposed to capture? Check it out here:http://magneticmags365.tumblr.com/. It's titled "Night Lights"

Mags.

Seasonal Suffering......

I'm a mess! I'm drugged up, feeling woozy, have a scratchy palette, watery eyes, runny nose and am itching all over! Not the vision of beauty that most of you may think I am! Yes folks....it's that time of year....ALLERGIES! From now until the first hardy frost I'll be a snotty mess. Some days are not as bad as others; however, if it's humid, breezy and the pollen is flyin' you know it's not a good day. While the main culprit is ragweed, other weeds can trigger reactions. I was in a farmer's field / weed field this evening trying to capture a weather shot. I ended up focusing on my archenemy: a weed field and ended up really liking this gnarly beast. After quite a few shots, I could feel the allergy symptoms kicking in--uncontrollable sneezing, , scratching my leg until it bled and my eyes closing up. I knew it was time to call it a day.......

Mags.

The Distillery District

Today turned out to be a beautiful day and I spent some time in the City this evening with some friends in the Distillery District and ate a wonderful meal on the patio at The Boiler House.

The Distillery District is a National Historic Site with an incredible rich history. The site was once The Gooderham and Worts Distillery, and represents the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America. The Distillery is now a small district that houses interesting boutiques, chic restaurants and is juxtaposed with modern condos popping up everywhere.

In 1886, the chimney of The Boiler House dominated the young Toronto skyline. It reminded everyone for miles around of the tremendous industry that was The Gooderham and Worts Distillery, at the time the largest in the world. Today, like the buildings themselves, the 156-foot chimney is completely refurbished. It's an architectural gem that every night is lit by its spotlight, announcing to all that this is still the source of The Distillery's energy ... albeit now, the people kind!

In 2003 the building was transformed into an award-winning restaurant by architects Mackay Wong. They retained all the major structural elements and used only recycled and historically appropriate materials to complete it. For example, the 22 foot high bar is made from 115 year old fir, recycled on site.

The successful conversion of the Boiler House from power plant, to award-winning restaurant, has been noted and praised by both architectural and food critics.

Mags.

It's All Fun and Games.........

Today I went down to The Exhibition (aka "The Ex") to take in my first professional soccer game between Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls. Sadly, our team was massacred by a score of 4-1. Ouch! Afterwards, we walked around the grounds at Exhibition place taking in all the sights and sounds of the CNE. It was a visual and auditory feast with flashing lights, ringing bells and game hosts yelling into their mics trying to lure you out of your money to play their games. This shot is of the ring toss game. The object is to toss the red rings onto the bottle necks. A special prize is awarded if it lands on one of the golden bottles.

Mags. 

Devastation and Dismay

Feeling a little nervous on bringing the DSRL with me to the Greenday concert last night for fear of confiscation or being trampled on by some wasted concertgoer, I opted to bring my new point and shoot with me. I thought it would be a great opportunity to experiment a bit with what it is capable of creating. I spent the afternoon with friends at Ontario Place on a restaurant patio overlooking the marina. I took some great shots of the boats, the infamous Cenisphere and of the beautiful Toronto skyline. Many goofy shots were taken as well by Bina as she was able to capture interesting shots of the Ketchup bottle, candid portraits of us and of the food we were eating. I was pretty sure that I'd have several selections to choose from for today's pictures.

As the concert started, I started to snap away in hopes of getting "the" great shot of the band. Knowing the camera had a movie setting, I thought I'd try it out to see how well it worked. I chose one of the songs that I loved and started filming. It was halfway during the song that the stoner boner beside me thought it would be a great time to jump up and down and smash his elbow in my face. #$%&!!!! I accidentally hit the stop button during the kerfuffle. I was angry! I thought I would delete the video and try again with another song. Not being familiar with the camera (especially in the dark) I managed to not only delete the video but ALL of the pictures I took that day! It left me with nothing! I was able to capture a video and take a few shots but then the red battery light started to flash and before I knew it, the camera shut down. Game over. So, while I know this is by far not the best picture that I had captured during the entire day, it' s the best of the worst that I managed to shoot prior to the battery dying..........

Mags.

Pura Vida!

August 1, 2010

From the minute we were picked up at the airport, until the minute we were dropped off, "Pura Vida" was an expression we were taught and used on a daily basis several times a day. 

Pura vida literally means "pure life", but the meaning is closer to "full of life", "purified life", "this is living!", "going great", or "cool!" It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, or to politely express indifference when describing something. The phrase has become widely known; this highly flexible statement has been used by many Costa Ricans since 1956. Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time, and of wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcoming difficulties with good spirits, enjoying life slowly, and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike. 

As our plane took off from the tiny airport, I looked down with sadness as I left the beauty behind. I thought of this expression and what it meant. As I prepare myself for reality, I know the daily stresses of life will soon rear it's ugly little head again. With perseverance, a positive attitude and learning to relax and enjoy life more, I hope to adopt this phrase and incorporate it into my daily life......

PURA VIDA!

Mags.

Monkey Business

July 30, 2010

Another early morning, another full day of adventure. This time, we went to Palo Verde National park where we took a boat ride along the Tempisque River, which borders the 45, 000 acre park, and flows into the Gulf of Nicoya. The Gulf is a habitat that encompasses fresh and brackish waters, surrounded by a mixed deciduous forest, gallery forest and golden brown savannahs. 

It was during our boat travels that we came across many different species of birds, iguanas, lizards and monkeys. While the Howler monkey's are cute and make unique noises, I fell in love with the White Faced Capuchin monkeys. However, I don't believe this alpha male fell in love with us.....he became quite aggravated and started throwing branches and leaves at us until we decided to move along. Cranky pants? Perhaps he was annoyed because we disturbed him during his mid-day nap. Nonetheless, he was adorable and I wanted to take him home with me........

Mags.

Thrills, Chills and Spills........

July 29, 2010

Today was another 5:45 a.m. start as we prepared to head off and partake in the "Mega Combo" adventure. We were driven to the Buena Vista resort about three hours away from our resort. At just over 2460 feet (750 metres) above sea level, this property is close to the Rincon de la Vieja volcano and provided a breathtaking view of todays adventures.

We started off zip lining through the transitional forest, with 12 stations and a hanging bridge. Once completed, we hiked through the forest to get to the top of a 1400 foot water slide down the side of a mountain. After lunch, we rode horses an hour through the forest up and down some pretty steep hills and ended the day at a Spa where we sweated in a steam room, caked ourselves in volcanic mud, showered to wash it off and relaxed in the mineral hot spring pools in the middle of the forest....whew....what an exhausting day!

Mags.

Tamarindo Treasures

July 28, 2010

Today was my birthday and as per usual, it rained buckets. But I didn't let that stop my fun! Guy surprised me with some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the afternoon and later on that night, a birthday cake complete with the staff singing "Happy Birthday" in spanish......

In the afternoon, I took a quick (but bumpy) cab ride into Tamarindo to peruse the shops for some unique finds. Sadly, every shop seemed to carry the same tacky souvenirs but I did quite enjoy the character and colours of the shops and enjoyed watching all the barefoot surfers stroll around town with their surf boards in tow.... I wanted to take a stroll on the beach in hopes of capturing one of the infamous sunsets, unfortunately, the rain came pouring down and dusk had started to come and as we were warned, walking along the beach in Tamarindo at night wasn't the safest thing to do....All in all, I enjoyed the sights, smells and sounds that the small town had to offer.......

Mags.

Arenal Adventure

July 27, 2010

Today started off bright and early at 5:45 am ( I thought I could sleep in on my vacation?) as we were picked up at 6:30 a.m. by our tour guide who was going to take us on an adventure that would include visiting a volcano, hiking through the rain forest and relaxing at a hot springs. 

It was difficult to choose a picture for today as there were so many great ones taken. I chose this one since it's a unique one..... Unique in the sense that it is very rare to see the top of the volcano. Usually, it's covered in clouds but thanks to the heavy downpour we experienced while hiking in the rainforest, the clouds were pushed away for a few moments and we were able to capture some great shots. 

Located in Costa Rica's northwestern area, in the province of Alajuela, the Arenal volcano is considered to be a young volcano and is the most active one in the country. It's also unique in the sense that it has two craters....the one on the left side is the older crater of the two and isn't as active as the one on the right, thus lush vegetation is able to be grown on one side. On the right hand side, we can see that it remains very rocky . A few minutes after this photo was taken, the clouds rolled in and covered the volcano top again.

Mags.

Mary Iguana

July 25, 2010

We got up early to explore the resort and walk along the rocky beach. The weather was beautiful (hot and HUMID) and the sun was shining brightly. Guy became rock lobster red after being out a half hour or so in the sun (Costa Rica is only 9 degrees away from the equator and the sun is a scorcher!) so we decided to take it easy in the afternoon and hang out poolside under the shade of the palapas. As I drifted into a little afternoon siesta, I was startled by a little scream. A woman was running past my chaise freaking out in spanish. I sat up to see what all the commotion was all about. And there she was.....sunning herself in the sun, Mary Iguana was out in all her glory as if to say "Here I am! Take some photos of me!" I'm not sure if she is really a she or a he, but, the iguana seemed to really like having her photo taken......

Mags.

And We're Off..........

July 24, 2010

The long awaited day has finally arrived........time to leave on vacation! This shot was taken as we were sitting at the gate watching our plane arriving to take us to Costa Rica! The beginning of the trip started off a bit tumultuous. As we were getting ready to leave, the pilot informed us that one of the engines wasn't working and couldn't be fixed. They towed us back to the gate, unloaded our luggage and sent us to a gate at the opposite end of the terminal to board another flight. After an hour and a half delay, we were on a new plane and on our way!

Just over 5 hours later, we touched down in Liberia, Costa Rica. As we stood in line at customs, we could spot the luggage going around on the carousel. Mine, however, was pulled off the carousel and I noticed that my suitcase was wide open with clothes strewn on the floor. What a fantastic way to start the voyage!

Mags.

The Glass City

Yesterday, I travelled to the Big Bad City to meet a few friends for dinner and drinks. Anyone who knows me knows I love the city. I love the concrete jungle, the hustle and bustle of people, the constant activities that have the city buzzing. I love trying out the swanky restaurants, peering into the unique boutiques and watching all the weirdos go by. This is the view from my friend's office window and shows a great depiction of all the glass used in the office towers, condos and hotels that make up this fantastic city. I love how the mirrored building reflects other buildings in the surrounding area.

 

Mags.

Chinguacousy Park Fire/Life Centre

Tonight I tagged along with my friend Scribe as she zipped around to a few local landmarks around the city that we live in. Once of our stops was to the infamous Chinguacousy Park which, as seen through the lens of a camera, can be quite beautiful. Dusk was fast approaching so we needed to be quick. I snapped a few shots of this "house" with this week's architectural theme in mind.

Located near one of the park's entrances, the Fire/Life Safety Education Centre is a hands-on learning facility for training children about fire hazards in and around the home.  Upstairs, Stephanie’s Place models an average home with kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath. Children have the opportunity to find hazards and learn where to go when fire strikes and locate safe escape routes out of the house.

 

Vowing to come back, I've marked out a few other spots to photograph in and around the park. Stay tuned....

 

Mags.