Education is Essential

I wrote a little while back (here) about the on-going battle between the BC Teacher's Federation and the BC government. This year has been a tough one for teachers, being told that our profession, our working conditions and our constitutional rights are just not important; this in a profession where we spend our entire day (and often nights and weekends) putting others first - it takes it's toll. I have honestly felt like I have been taking a bit of a beating all year long. We know that education is essential to the development of a future society that is actively involved in shaping it's own environment for the good. Without adequate education - in whatever form it needs, a society is nothing. I know that teachers are fighting the good fight - for the betterment of our students and our future.

I submitted a few of these photos to the Film26 project for the letter "E". Here is what I said in the description: "E is for Education. I'm a teacher in B.C., Canada and right now our union and our union members are going through a very ugly battle with our provincial government for a new contract. There is so much mudslinging and bullying tactics going on right now, that I wanted to capture the beauty of a group of people coming together for one important cause - the education of our children. That's what we are fighting for."

I will also add that I have an amazing group of teachers that I work with, who have made the struggle of a "contract year" a lot more bearable - always there to listen, to commiserate or to make me laugh. I also do not know how I would have made it through this year without my fantastic staff rep partner - always willing to take a punch with me, and keep on going. She truly is an outstanding woman.

Submitted to Film26 Project - Letter "E"

A co-worker's kids show support! Thanks guys!

Submitted to Film26 Project - Letter "E"

Submitted to Film26 Project - Letter "E"

All photos taken with Olympus Pen F, Kodak Portra Film.

Macaron it again, Sam.

So just a little while back I finally posted some pictures of the Great Macaron Crawl that happened last summer. Well this whole Film26 Project is clearly doing it's job at getting me out and shooting more film because I already have the photos back from the Great Macaron Crawl - Part Deux (Special Birthday Edition), which took place only a few weeks ago. I could go into all sorts of detail about the rating and results of the outing, but one of our fellow macaron accomplices Michelle, does such a great job of it here on her blog that I feel like it has all been said already. So I will just let my photos do the talking instead.

My new favourite - located just blocks from my house... uh-oh!

The Beautiful Birthday Girls and Macaron Accomplices - Michelle & Sarah!

At the rate that this whole macaron trend is catching on, we'll be ready for a third crawl by summer time! For the record, we were totally ahead of the trend on this one ;) Thanks for a lovely day girls.

All photos taken with my Olympus Pen F and Fuji Colour 200 film.

Spring Forward

I just got back 2 rolls of film, both of which were 36 frame rolls, and both of which were taken with my Olympus Pen F half-frame camera. This essentially means approximately 72 photos per roll x 2 rolls = almost 150 photos! It is going to take me awhile to weed through them all, and figure out the best way to post them. Some are from around Vancouver over the last few weeks, and some are from our recent trip to Las Vegas. I also have another 36 roll of black & white from Las Vegas waiting to be developed (also shot on my Olympus). It's like feast or famine for photos around here lately!
At any rate, to get started on posting all these photos and in the hopes that a few lovely spring photos might inspire mother nature to finally bring spring to us, here are a few shots taken in Vancouver a few weeks ago.
I was experimenting with Kodak Portra film, which is slightly pricier than the film I normally buy, but is meant to give more intense colours. So far, I really like the effect... but more on that later.

Kids Matter, Teachers Care

The last few weeks have been really tough as the tension builds in the contract dispute between the B.C. Teacher's Federation and the Liberal Government. It is a difficult time to be a teacher right now as we watch our profession, our fundamental union rights, and the learning conditions of our students being continually eroded by a government who decides that balancing the books is more important than investing in our future generations. We spent 3 days this week on the "sticket line" - leafleting, spreading the word, and hopefully building support for our cause. And although I know that those actions are important in our battle for our rights and our students' rights, it sure did feel good to be back in the classroom for the last 2 days of this week.

I took several pictures during the walk-out and the rallies this week, but haven't yet finished the roll of film. I hope to finish  and develop it this weekend. But in the meantime, I wanted to post some pictures I took back in January of my classroom... to remind myself, what we are fighting for.

Photos taken with my Kodak Retinette IA and Kodak 100 Ultracolor film.

Rhymes with Orange (And Film26 Project - "D" submissions)

A few weekends ago, while Jeffrey was out at a driving lesson (yay for a husband who can drive!), I threw an old roll of expired Safeway brand 400 colour film in the Nikon FE and wandered about, snapping away, trying to get to know this new baby.
When I came across this bright orange building which happened to be situated right behind these bright orange berries that I was standing by. I could not look away! I kept waiting for someone to come by so I could say to them "Look at how that building matches those berries exactly!!"... but no one walked by, and even if they had, I probably would have chickened out anyway. But still, as I look at this picture, I marvel at that colour. It is a beautiful thing.

** As a side note - the first two pictures here were my submissions to the Film26 Project for the letter D - weeks 7 & 8. D is for "Dead-end" and "Dangling"**

 

This photo doesn't capture the colour of the berries as well, but I like the texture and composition of it.

That pesky orange colour even snuck into the following photos in the form of light leaks

What name would you give this shade of orange? I keep thinking "rust orange" but I don't know if that does it justice?

All photos taken with my Nikon FE and Safeway Brand ISO 400 color film.

Cheese Please!

A few weeks back Jeffrey and I partook in the most fabulous time of the year here in Vancouver...  Dine Out Vancouver! When restaurants all over the city, at all price points, open up their doors and their kitchens with delicious set menus at fantastic prices. This year we visited a whopping 5 Dine Out restaurants over the 2 week period. Our impressions of the restaurants varied overall, but we always had an enjoyable time.
I managed to bring along a few of my cameras during one of the outings because I knew I was going to be amongst fellow photo-fan friends who wouldn't look at me funny if I whipped out my gigantic Pentax mid-meal (reading back on that, it sounds slightly lewd doesn't it? Sorry about that). Unfortunately the lighting of this particualr restaurant (Salt Tasting Room) did not lend itself well to photos but, the eternal optimist, I snapped away anyway.
Here are the best of the photos I took.

Wine Cellar - mmmmmm wine!

Charcuterie & Condiments - mmmmmmm... meat

Cheese & Condiments - mmmmmmm... Cheese!

Wine, meats & cheeses, and wonderful company... what more could a girl ask for?

All photos taken with my Pentax K1000 and Kodak 400CN Film.

Winter Woes

It seems that everyone who I talk to is "done with winter"... myself included. Though we don't generally get much snow in this neck of the woods, and winters are generally very mild, I still find myself longing for sunshine, bike rides, drinks on the patio, light layers of clothing, and cute little shoes (rather than the mandatory rubber boots I seem to be constantly sporting these days). So, in an effort to see the positive side of winter, and remember that the changing seasons is one of the things that makes our country wonderful, here are some pictures of beautiful snowy weather - taken in Alberta over the Christmas holidays.

All photos taken with my Pentax K1000 and Fujifilm RHPIII (color slide film)