Of Exposure And Salvation

Photo stuff ahead! You’ve been warned!

When was the last time you were looking forward to something? I mean really looking forward to it, not just, you know… thinking “Thank God it’s Friday tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the weekend.” No, not that kind. The kind where you actually picture every little step of something and can’t wait for it to happen.

I was looking forward to finally, finally filling up my latest roll of film and handing it in to The Lab. For several reasons. One, I didn’t even remember what shots were on there, but at least I was confident I had solved the stuck-shutter-problem, thanks to my brother. So, nothing to bitch about this time around, right? Also, there hasn’t been any long blog post with more than just a stingy few photos in quite some time. And while I’m sure y’all enjoy reading news about our doubtlessly adventurous, exciting and never boring everyday life, it’s not a stretch to imagine you sitting there, thinking (or maybe shouting… who knows) something along the lines of “Stop the talking already! Show us them pictures!”

So yeah. I was really looking forward to getting this roll of film developed. To a point where I actually pictured being at The Lab, talking to the owner, then returning four days later to pick up the developed negatives, going home and writing this post. Only in my imagination, it was a different post. Because, in my imagination, I didn’t rip the effing film in half, now, did I.

Not many of you still shoot film, I think, and some of you probably haven’t held a film camera in a decade or two. You see, in the pre-automatic era, you had to advance and rewind the film by hand. Turns out, to rewind it, you have to flip the release switch. Because, you know, rewinding is the opposite direction of advancing, so… anyway, I didn’t flip the switch all the way. But, be it because the camera’s a tad older or just because that’s how it is, there was always some resistance on the first few turns of the rewind lever, so I didn’t even realize the film had ripped until I opened the back. Jolly fun! There’s the roll on the right side, where it belongs, and there’s the film on the left side, where… it definitely shouldn’t be, because now it’s ruined. And there go days of pleasant anticipation. Out the window.

I went into the bathroom. It doesn’t have windows and is almost pitch black. I pulled the film out and rolled it up. I don’t work well under pressure, have I ever told you that? I didn’t even bring anything to put the film in. I asked Gaga to hand me a canister, so for the time we had to open the door and let a flood of sunny daylight in, I put the rolled up negative strip into my pocket and hoped it would survive all the abuse. I brought it to The Lab the next day, but I didn’t have much hope. Because I noticed the next morning just how much light fell through the gap under the door. The whole film would have probably been exposed, anyway, right? Better not get your hopes up.

Well, it turns out, film can take the abuse, and the bathroom is dark enough not to ruin it. So, apart from the last few shots of our bike tour around Stanley Park and Prospect Point, they were all fine. So what was that you said? “Stop the talking already!” Yeah yeah yeah. Here you go.

Halloween

It was Halloween a few weeks ago. That seems a big deal in other parts of Vancouver, like Kitsilano and Yaletown, but not so much in the West End. And, of course, I had to work, so I wasn’t out and about for the big party or the trick-or-treating. But there were a few houses in our neighborhood where they took the challenge of having the best decoration quite seriously. Seeing a creepy black figure standing in the bushes was only the start of it.

Carved pumpkins in the doorway are a must-have of course, but really, these people didn’t leave a square meter of their property unadorned. There were spider webs everywhere, dead people in rocking chairs on the veranda, fighting cats with red eyes on the lawn… they obviously had a lot of fun setting it all up.

Even the hedge surrounding the property wasn’t safe. But it was really all just the entrée, the hors d’oeuvre. Because the centrepiece of the installation… well…

Yeah. That.

On a photographic side note, it was a pretty miserable day, that one. The beauty of digital photography is that you can set the white balance in post production, right? In analog photography, you’d probably use filters. Or do a color correction. Well, I don’t have filters. And I didn’t feel like color correcting anything. Think of me what you will. 🙂

Walks

I convince Gaga of taking the camera once, and this is the result? I have a duck’s butt and beer paunch and I squint and what’s that green stuff coming out of my… ? What is that you say? Luckily, I’m married and don’t have to worry about looking good in public anymore? Oh. I’d never thought of it that way. Well then… what a nice picture of me on the beach! And I’m carrying Albert around, how lovely. 🙂 By the way, he’s become quite the little dumpling and it gets more and more exhausting to carry him in the scarf. We can still do it, but after two hours it’s really a relief to get him off your chest. Luckily, he thinks so, too.

One of those high-rises in the background could be ours, I think. Not sure, though. We’ve only been to the Broadway a few times, it’s a good area for shopping. This was probably when we bought my jacket. (No metadata to check the date, duh.) I guess it doesn’t look like much in a photo but it’s quite nice to walk through a city that is obviously huge, and then seeing how much nature surrounds it. Kinda puts things into perspective. On the other hand, it’s kind of sad that we haven’t really left the city even once since coming here. But that will change. Soon, I think. 🙂

This was the first day I wished I’d put on my rain trousers. My jeans were soaking wet after only about ten minutes. Still, it feels good to be outside in any weather, and from the looks of things, most Vancouverites would agree. These last few days we’ve had really horrid rains and winds. There are definitely fewer people riding their bike to work, but there’s still plenty of them. And don’t get me started on the joggers. It seems like there’s more of them, the ghastlier the weather becomes.

So, this lady was just standing there looking out on the ocean. Yes, I asked her if I could take her picture. Yes, I felt like a weirdo.

This will be a recurring motif, I guess. Because it has the only few things in it that are a constant here: Gaga with Albert, the English Bay, and rain. Maybe, after enough trial and error, I will find a way to make it look powerful. Or beautiful. Or both. I’m not there, yet, so you’ll have to cope with seeing endless variations of it in the future. 🙂

Spot my family. 🙂 This must have been on that miserably foggy day when we were sitting in a cloud. Like the next one. Probably the last one I took in Harwood Street.

Work

When riding your bike to work everyday, it can become a bit boring. You see the same stuff every morning and every night. So, for a few days, I brought the camera along and told myself to find something that was special on that day. Which doesn’t necessarily make for special photos, but I never said it would, did I. 🙂

That morning was quite hazy, but there was a spot of golden sunlight and a clearing in the fog right on that patch of green. It looked kinda nice. If nothing else, it serves to show the kind of environment I get to see in the mornings. 🙂

This is my sunny-day lunch spot. Whenever the weather is nice I buy some take-out food and go to the waterfront. There I sit and feast my eyes on the mountains. The city, too. It doesn’t look so bad from here. 🙂 My half hour of mid-day bliss, before I go back into my dark factory hall in which I do my chores. 🙂

And this, of course. Most professionally prepared coffee in town. That is mostly speculation on my part, of course. But it’s really good coffee. Way, way, waaaay better than what the robot at work prepares. So, sometimes, in the afternoon, I sneak out for a couple of minutes and treat myself. This is the second-last frame that was usable. Real light leaks, ey!

The first photo up top is the last one. It’s on the roof at work. They have two huuuge barbecues, bar tables and a few hammocks. I’m sure it’s really nice in the summer. A bit useless right now, but hey. We’ll get there. 🙂

Yes, it’s blurry. You go and try a 2-second hand-held exposure, see how you do. That ball is the Telus World of Science IMAX cinema. The only IMAX in the city, and it only runs science shows. Dinosaurs 3D and some such. And here I was, hoping I would see Star Wars in an IMAX. Oh well.

Last Bits.

See how I always keep photos of Albert for last? That’s to make you stick around. 🙂 These two are from the Red Umbrella, on Gaga’s birthday. That was a nice day. Even if Albert ate too much, at least he got to eat good food. 🙂 We should do that again, soon.

Yep, that’s a preeeetty wet bib. The teeth…

That’s it for now. There’ll be more soon, I hope. Let me close with a snapshot of tomatoes. Because, why not? We bought them on the last farmer’s market of the year. The sellers grow a few different sorts. But only, like, 320 or so. The 2% we tried were really yummy. Maybe next spring, we’ll get to try a few more percent.

Have a good one!