I finally got to see my first Toronto FC soccer game with my husband, sister and her boyfriend. I was very excited to see them play LA Galaxy even though some of their best players were injured or playing in the World Cup.

There were lots of fans and the rain had stopped so it was looking good!

This crew was very lively and had huge flags as you can see.

There was action.

There was some acting.

Great snacks!

And a fun game – even with the nil-nil score!

Back in May when all the lily of the valley was out I saw this small plant sticking out of the side of a flower box – I love lily of the valley and thought this was cute. It seems lately that I’ve been photographing a lot of flowers and animals but like I said earlier in the week I’m definitely getting focused on doing some holga photography for Holgapalooza.

I will try to get some photo updates of my garden this year. I’ve got lots of herbs and vegetable plants. The big summer yum so far has been the strawberries. I split my plants and kept about 8 in the garden and they have been producing a lot of fruit this year which was been wonderful.

I feel like I haven’t been very good about blogging the last few weeks perhaps because I’m in the development stage or not ready to show stage of various projects. Also, with a husband and his cut tendon and a dog with on going illnesses I’ve been feeling sort of exhausted. Plus, it’s summer! We’ve started playing soccer 3 days a week which has been really great exercise!

Other than that I enjoyed a fun birthday week which included dinners out, a mani/pedi, fajitas night, birthday BBQ and dinner and cake!

I got several things to help me prepare for my upcoming holidays including a new lightweight suitcase, Top 10 Tokyo book and gift certificates for MEC (so I can get some nice travel, quick dry, clothing). I know the trip is several months away but I like to be really prepared and I want to ensure I’ve got the best possible plan to see the most things possible without being too busy to actually enjoy what I’m seeing.

A big part of my trip will be to plan what cameras I want to bring. I’ve got several toy cameras in mind, including, the new Holga 135BC, that my sister bought me for my birthday. What I like about this camera over my traditional Holga 120 is that 35mm film will likely be very accessible and I find it to be better when being x-rayed multiple times at airports. If it’s a good fit and has good results I definitely see this as a choice camera.

I will share my results from the Holga 135BC once I get them digitized.

I will also be preparing to do some maternity pictures in early June for a friend. I’m really looking forward to recording her pregnancy with her and her husband. I haven’t done a lot in the area of maternity photos so I’m hoping that we can come up with some ideas for photos that are timeless but don’t fall into the maternity photo cliches that I’ve seen so often.

Well, that’s it for me now – hopefully, I will have something new and exciting to share with you soon like photos or art but until then, definitely check out the Traveling Toy Camera Project blog for lots of great photos from around the world! The camera is currently heading to Sweden!

When I was a brownie we used to make first aid emergency kits, you may remember the ones, a film canister packed with band aids and polysporin in a straw? Well, what if you had one for what you might need on the fly to repair one of your toy cameras?

This question has been running through my mind and I finally started to put one together.

1. Poke a hole (I used a small screwdriver) and pull a string through the top of the film canister (see above)

2. Start assembling useful things for your kit, so far I’ve got:

- 2 pieces of the fuzzy Velcro: can be used to replace a missing sponge in a holga

- 2 pieces of gaffers tape: I cut a piece of gaffers tape in 2 and then taped it around the outside of the film canister – great for taping up anything that ails you!

- small screwdrivers: to unscrew or rescrew your cameras

I would love to find a tiny superglue bottle to fit into the kit… it’s a great way to recycle some of those film canisters you may have lying around (like I do)!

what would you put in your kit?

So on Monday night we had a party with our soccer team and when my husband was trying to get the tv on he accidentally knocked a knife off the counter and into his foot. This is everyone trying to get the situation under control.

Now, you may be asking yourself why do I have a picture of my husband bleeding on the floor, well, I document things and that’s how I roll. Honestly though, as you can see he’s smiling and once I started documenting it…it just kept going.

Don’t read past here if you are sensitive to blood – photos are medically graphic. Read the rest of this entry »

My friend sent me some information about this amazing event, here are some tips from her for the event:

Sat only- doors open at 10am.

Some helpful info:
-There is a $2 cover that goes to supporting the youth girl programs that Ladyfest puts on (like teaching young girls how to play instruments and boost self-esteem).
-There is ALWAYS a line up, so I suggest going around 11 so you don’t wait around. There will still be lots of stuff there for you!
-There are lots of wonderful restaurants in the area for breakfast, lunch or dinner and it’s a great thing to do with a friend.
-If you are in need of a unique gift, here is where you’ll find it (Mother’s day is May 9!). I am always complimented on things I get there.
-Bring cash. There are a few banks on Elgin. Some vendors take Credit cards, but it’s individual.
-Lots of small residential streets around for parking.

Yes, it’s the 4th of May once again – one of my favorite days of the year…why? Because I’m a bit of a geek and love to say “May the Fourth be with you!”

So…May the Fourth be with you!!

Okay, so I’ve completed a few more things on my to do list which makes me very happy…perhaps not as many as I hoped but that’s the way it goes sometimes!

1. Publish more articles, somewhere: I’ve had one article in Light Leaks and I will be doing reviews for the Toy Camera website which is really fun

2. Travel to Japan: as I said the flights are booked and we are doing research now on hotels and places to stay and what we want to see.

3. Fast on all days of obligation: 2

5. establish my own workshops: This is well on it’s way, so please stay tuned!

12. Go to the movies (6/5): Complete! I’ve been catching up on all my want-to-see movies which has been really nice

14. organize the office: I haven’t actually started this yet but I did find a shelf that I want to bring in to replace some of the old furniture and hopefully make it easier for me to organize my pictures, albums etc…

19. visit Petrie Island (1/10): We went for a lovely walk at Petrie Island and saw some great wild life – it was very relaxing and I definitely look forward to doing it again soon!

27. read 5 books I already own: started reading the book I bought on Japan…I could be making a greater effort on this one!

30. organize old photos and negatives: I have started collecting all my negatives and putting them in boxes but there is still more work to do!

31. do more silkscreening: I have drawn out some new designs and am getting ready for production!

33. shoot 1 roll of film a week: I’m not even close but I have shot a lot more film and shoot at least every week, even if I don’t finish the roll

35. use all of my toy/vintage cameras: I have started using them and it’s been a great time experimenting and cleaning up my old cameras. Right now I’m fixing one of my holgas and am excited to have it up and running again!

36. paint the house: I have started picking colors which is always step one and I’m hoping May and June will be a good time to paint as we can open up the windows…the snow today was discouraging I must say!

39. use my stereo pinhole camera: YES! I did start and have been using the guide that by PictureNoise created and let me know about via the forums at ToyCamera dot com.

40. build my Gakken TLR: Done! And I LOVE IT!

41. use it: Done!

59. plant my garden: I’ve been watching my bulbs come up and some of the plants start already…hopefully the snow today does not disrupt them too much!

60. give Lily, my dog, a bath: Complete – after the “skunk incident”

68. blog regularly: This I think I am doing but it is on-going

69. take time out for myself: I have been trying to do more of this and think I’m succeeding – I try to keep at least one or two nights free a week so I can do what I like. I’m slowly learning that I don’t have to fill ever minute of every day…

73. Take part in a traveling camera project: the camera is currently in Spain – this has been a really exciting project for me and I have been so happy with how things have been progressing and that the camera has been moving around and is currently on it’s first European leg!

So recently, I’ve been talking a lot about all my favorite toy camera/lo-fi online hangouts and supplies so I thought I would give a quick run down of two of my faves.

The background, over a year ago my aunt Kate showed me something she got from a photographer friend of her’s for a Holga contest, Holgapalooza. She knew that was really into my Holga and thought I might be interested in entering – she was right! This introduction to the contest got me interested in Light Leaks magazine and helped me find the toy camera community.

I probably visit the Toy Camera website and forums at least once a day – it’s the best crowd I’ve found in terms of people willing to help and offer advice. There is always examples of what people are doing and images to see and commentary about the latest and greatest toy and lo-fi cameras out there. The website does reviews of cameras, article on photographers and galleries. Recently, I’ve gotten some great advice about Japan and comments on my first Gakkenflex images in the forums. When I started the traveling toy camera project I went to everyone and said, who’s in and what camera should we use? And over 25 people have signed up so far.

Light Leaks magazine is awesome! (And, no, I’m not just saying that!) I love the reviews, how-tos and seeing the amazing images submitted by the Light Leaks community. The greatest edition to Light Leaks has been the shop - a Canadian run camera, film and accessories shop. With affordable, fast and reliable shipping and $2 film, my dreams have come true! It’s also wonderful to be able to support a local company and independent magazine. Preview Issue 17 of Light Leaks here!