Kathy and Dave
Just woke up from a late night shooting Kathy and Dave's wonderful wedding. (Well, relatively late, I'm no longer a night owl now that the dog has come into my life)
Congratulations Kathy and Dave! It was an awesome event: great catering and the Blue Dot Gallery in the Distillery District was just perfect. Have a fun time skiing in Banff!
MACLEAN’S NAMES GULUWALK FOUNDERS ‘NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR’
This past July I was asked to document what was then a little known project called the GuluWalk. For all of July Adrian and Kieran walked 25 kms a day to demonstrate the plight of the night commuter children of Northern Uganda. Their efforts to bring this issue to the forefront have continued beyond July and they will be honoured in the upcoming issue of Maclean's magazine! Well deserved guys. More on the GuluWalk at
www.guluwalk.com and more photos on my website
here.
MACLEAN’S NAMES GULUWALK FOUNDERS ‘NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR’
Toronto, ON – In the December 26, 2005 issue of Maclean’s,
Canada’s only weekly news magazine, GuluWalk co-founders Adrian
Bradbury and Kieran Hayward were honoured in the ‘Heroes’ section of
the publication’s year-end double issue titled ‘Newsmakers 2005’.
Bradbury and Hayward were recognized alongside 18 other notable
international recipients including Bono and Nelson Mandela, as well as
Canada’s soldiers in Afghanistan and Justice John Gomery.
The Toronto natives were featured in Maclean’s
in recognition of GuluWalk, their 31-day ‘night commute’ in support of
the children of northern Uganda. Every evening in July, Bradbury and
Hayward walked 12.5 km into downtown Toronto to sleep in front of city
hall. After about fours hours sleep they made the trek home at sunrise,
all while continuing to work full-time and attempting to maintain their
usual daily routine.
There was a worldwide response to the GuluWalk that resulted in
GuluWalk Day on October 22, which saw over 15,000 people in 38 cities
worldwide take the first international step towards telling the story
of the children of northern Uganda. GuluWalk Day attracted people of
all nationality, colour, race and religion in a global show of support
for the innocent victims of the world’s most ignored humanitarian
emergency.
Every night as many as 40,000 children living in rural northern Uganda
walk into the town of Gulu and other urban centres to sleep in relative
safety and avoid abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Desperately
afraid of abduction, vulnerable children as young as four years old
will walk from their homes or displacement camp to sleep on porches, in
school yards or other open areas. These ‘night commuters’ walk from as
far as 12km away and make the return trek home every single day.
“The success of GuluWalk wasn’t just Kieran and I, but the work of so
many committed volunteers, charities and advocates for peace all over
the globe,” said Bradbury. “We’ve played a role in raising awareness of
this pointless conflict, but today there are still children night
commuting and thousands dying every week in appalling conditions in IDP
camps. We’re not going to stop raising our voices for these courageous
kids until there is indeed peace and opportunity in northern Uganda.”
Early morning, August 1, 2005. Adrian and Kieran celebrate on the final leg of the GuluWalk.
11th Annual
We became roomates at U of T's Innis College 11 years ago because all five of us wrote in our res applications that our favourite music was "anything but country music". Heather was the sixth, and only because the largest suite was for five.
Here we are at our 11th annual Christmas dinner with ALL of us in attendance! That's 6 roomies, 3 husbands, 1 boyfriend and 2 kids. We're growing every year... mostly thanks to the Medeiros!
L-R: Fred, Mark, Jing, Christie & Elizabeth, Kerri, Katia with Eliana, Steph, Andrew, Heather, and Valter.
Check that...
Border collie and Golden retriever mix is the consensus from the vet's office. That would explain his size and temperament. No springer spaniel -- he is already the size of a full grown one. Was fooled by the spots.
Off to deliver some photos. Ciao.
KAFREY! ... his name is Kafrey.
Yay!
We are the proud new doggy-parents of a dog with no name! This photo is from his online listing. Body of a springer spaniel, face more like a border collie. Just like we wanted, he is from the pound (Toronto Animal Services -- the one at Eglinton and Keele).
No-name has a great temperament and personality, especially for a four-month old. He was an absolute star at the Petsmart, despite the fact that he was still kinda stinky. Took well to a bath and even the hair dryer! What a dream! It is early yet, so we'll see how he grows into his new family.
Cats are coping amazing well. Darius decided that No-name was eating too slowly so decided to reach into the crate and scoop out kibble for himself. Mia took the 'let sleeping dogs lie' adage to an extreme when she tip-toed in sllloooowww motion up to the crate, around and then back to her perch. Very funny.
The results are in
This little baby is all grown up! Last time I saw this two-year-old was when she was the size of her little sister (see the last blog entry). What a difference two years make! Here she is, making up her own mind about participating in the family photo. Not to worry, we got some great results once the deals were made, and bargains struck.
Family photos round two:
I had a great time photographing Tracy, Alex, Miriam, Mike, Pat and John. Oh, can't forget about the dogs, Jenna, Fletcher and Sushi (the pug).
Not sure which is more challenging, 2-year-olds or dogs -- but it's all the more rewarding when you get a good shot of the squirmers!.
Family time
Time to switch gears from photographing muscle bound athletes to babies, kids and families. Interacting with people of all ages is one my favourite things about being a photographer.
I'm looking forward to photographing the Hadley's on Saturday. I first photographed the Hadley's two years ago when their first daughter was just a few months old. Hard to believe that that same little baby is now walking, talking and the big-sis to the second daughter of the family! On Sunday I am visiting the Ponton's with my camera. Although the Ponton's are first-time clients, they are no strangers. They are part of the bigger Saracens Rugby Club family, of which I am also a proud member.
See you guys tomorrow!
Tracktivities
ImaJing Photography is now registered to offer
Art Leather albums to all clients! I have purchased I-mount albums to use as my own wedding portfolios. They'll make their debut at the Jan 7-8 Wedding Show in Hamilton.
Email me with your mailing address if you are interested in receiving $2-off admission coupons to the show.
The I-mount books come in a variety of sizes, can be embossed and are an economical alternative to the popular montage-storybook style digital albums.
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Track practice:
Wrestlemania
Busy weekend, busy day.... No time to write now.... so here's a few reasons why wrestling is my new favourite sport to photograph. Photos are from the U of T Open tournament yesterday.
Thursday already
I can't believe that we are once again at the end of the week. Time really passes quickly when you are busy.
Tuesday evening was spent meeting with clients (Bad) Kathy and Dave,and their wedding coordinator Lisa down at the Blue Dot Gallery in the Distillery District. (We only call Kathy "Bad Kathy" in rugby related context. So as a bride we'll have to just call her Kathy.) I was a bit taken aback when I first saw Kathy arrive at the meeting -- she broke her nose over the weekend playing rugby and she had the whole racoon face thing going on. Ouch! Not to worry, there is a full month before her big day and we know that the bruises will fade by then (we speak from experience!)
It was great to meet Lisa, she has a wonderful vision for the set up and flow of the event at the gallery.
The Distillery District is made up of lots of shops and galleries in the old Gooderman and Worts factory grounds. Beautiful cobblestone walks and old brick buildings. We got a preview of what the area will look like at the end of December when we exited the gallery -- lots of white christmas lights on the trees -- just insert snow!
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Another project I have on the go is laying out a wedding book for Steve and Christy. The were married over a year ago and the poor parents are still waiting for just one itsy bitsy photo to frame and put on the mantle. I attended their wedding as a guest which means that I am working with another photographer's photos. Cropping, touching up, adjusting etc. A bit weird but I guess I am wearing a graphic design hat vs a photographer's. As fulfilling as it is to see the results of the layout (
click here), I know this would be much more satisfying if I were working from my own images. Well, at least I can't blaim myself when I see an otherwise perfectly good picture get ruined by camera shake, poor focus or other such mishaps.
