It's getting cold!

Yes, the winter is coming. It's not really so tough, considering we're in Canada and still haven't had a proper snow.

One would say it's unusually warm for this time of year.  I'm actually glad because for once, Croatia is full of snow, and we're not :)

Still, getting colder and colder every day.

That means my cat doesn't want to spend nights outside anymore, and wants to curl up on my bed to sleep there.

That means making tea occasionally and dishes that you eat with the spoon.

That means less walking and less nature photographing. Hence, more hamster and indoor stuff.

I was just cleaning Shelly's cage the other day, so while she was out, I decided to take a few photos again.

The only apple I had in house was huge, and she was obviously overwhelmed with the size.

I had to bite it off so she could continue nibbling it.
Surprisingly, she showed more interest towards my camera than the apple.









We also had another photo shoot in the garage, with a beautiful model and a great make-up artist. Again a great experience. Lovely girls. Had issues with the lights again though. How I wish it was summer and we can shoot outside...

The other day, it was nice and sunny, so I wanted to get some fresh air.



I took a walk, and the path that I'm usually taking surprised me with great reflections in the lake, that I haven't noticed earlier.

I have also been dealing with the domain and the website, so beachofhope exists no more. I have a new website that you can see here.

Still working on it though, don't be judgy.

Considering I have no idea what I'm doing, it getting along pretty good. :) I had some help from my hosting service agent who was kind enough to make my day. Thank you, Colton!

So, with all that was happening, between the work, photo shooting, little business I started on the side which will stay top secret (literally, it's better if you don't know), new website and all - it was a pretty busy week. 

It's time to think about Christmas holidays and presents now.

Stay warm!

XoXo

Models and pumpkin (soup) as the highlights of the week.

This was another busy week. Lots of shooting, lots of Halloween, lots of work.

(Here's a picture of my pumpkin, so you can start laughing immediately and forget it before you finish this post).




So, back to the beginning.


We had another photo shoot this week which I really enjoyed.

It's always nice to work with professionals and every time it gives me new experiences.

As winter approaches and it's not warm anymore, the shootings become more indoor than outdoor which is a challenge for me.

I rarely shoot inside, I never use the flash and I hate it when I don't have enough light. Yes, it sounds lame and it means I'm not good at it. That's true.

However, I managed to end up with some sweet photos.

I do realize more and more how I like to work with models. I want to do some more of that stuff. At least my cat and hamster will be off the hook for a while.

I also need a proper place to make a studio. And get lights. And the rest of the equipment. And the models. The ideas I already have. For some reason, I didn't get into that yet. And why is that?

It's not really easy. When I tangle up myself in umbrellas (not mines) and lights (again, not mines, borrowed), all I think about is how I'd like to switch places with a model. Then I get a good shot and that changes.

I've been a model a few times - fun, but it doesn't give you the same rush as photographing does. 

It was the same thing when I first started riding my motorcycle. All I could think was where to park, remind myself not to drink, being concerned about where to leave my helmet and stuff.... it was so much easier when I was a passenger. But, one nice ride, alone, on a sunny day, on the countryside road, and that all disappears.

It's better to be in control. Everything else can be adjusted. 

On another note, this week has been wrapped up in Halloween flair and naturally, I bought a pumpkin (!). 

Little did I know what to do with it, let alone how to carve it out. No, I'm not trick or treat child and have no idea how to carve a pumpkin. I've seen people doing wonders with it :) Look up the first picture to see how NOT to carve the pumpkin.

I just made a pumpkin soup, I dried out the seeds and I carved it the best I could without cutting it to pieces. Fun? Perhaps. Will I do it again next year? Probably not.

I look at people all dressed up, at neighborhood houses looking like deserted castles with graveyards in front and I'm thinking - how nice of people to nurture that tradition. Somebody has to. I'll leave that up to professionals.

I enjoyed the soup though. And I still enjoy the autumn colours outside, which I've been shooting lately too. More you can find on Instagram as usual.

Also, I've been playing with my original website lately and turned it completely around. It's still in process, but you can take a peek here.

Happy Halloween!

Greetings from the Summer - over and out

Well, another summer is gone. Still, I'm pretty surprised by how warm it still is, considering it's end of September.

While I do hope it will stay so for another few weeks, I doubt it and I'm beginning to make my peace with what's about to come.

Ever since I got back from Croatia, things were pretty busy.
Summer ending was nice though, and despite having little time to wonder around, I did some things I wanted to do.

Like going on a Scorpions concert at Molson Amphitheater . It's a thing we planned the whole summer, and I knew it was going to be nice. With little up's and down's, the night turned out to be truly amazing.

I've seen them before, but I haven't heard them in a loooong time (probably because I don't have the habit of listening to music unless I'm in a good, nostalgic company or I'm running).

They grew old, and I became an adult in the mean time - but once again they touched my soul for a moment and reminded me of younger days.

Their new albums are still pretty awesome though. They still got it. They did performed the greatest hits, of course, but I wish they played other, less popular, but way more interesting ones.

We had a guest here - so we went out a few times and I got to shoot in a company for a change.

Gave me time to play around and explore what else my Nikon can do.

We mostly visited my favorite old places to shoot, but I can never get enough of this city view.

Finally, went to see Niagara falls (thanks to the guest, too). I've been wanting that since I got here, but I never had a chance.

We were there only at night, so I still want to go there by day.

The mist was a bit annoying though. I guess that comes with the view.

The falls are truly amazing, especially at night with all the color and lights.

It's hard to even capture it on the photograph and if you're around, it's a sin not to see them in person. It's spectacular.

We had another photo shoot at our location with two great girls. We had a professional photographer there who did a great job, but more important, he lets me sneak around and practice.

That gave me another opportunity to get some of the shots myself (with real people) and here's how that turned out.

Yeah, this was quite a summer. The only thing that makes me happy now are the colors of the fall, yet to be fully revealed in a few weeks. Somewhere, if you look closely enough, you can already see them.

If you're on Instagram, follow @sharoncocaine for daily photo updates.

It was busy... just how we like it. Update.

So, the last couple of weeks were pretty busy. Ever since I came back from Croatia, things just kept going on and there was no rest for the wicked.

The work piled up, the house was a mess (I do live with a male) and the fridge was empty (male again).

In between cleaning and restocking, there were moments of some photo opportunities I just couldn't miss.

The first thing after my arrival back home was a party we had - business and private kind of party with plenty of friends, lots of food, drinks and a good band. It was nice and exhausting, and everything ended with a good burnout, as expected.

After that, I was mostly trying out a new Nikon I got recently.

So naturally, I went on all the usual places I normally go and tried to capture it with a new lens.

I must say I'm pleased, even though I could use another telephoto lens. What I have now is actually doing pretty good work on macro shots.

Back home, I witnessed some Philippe Ramette's photographs for an upcoming exhibition that was supposed to take place after my father's - and his work got me thinking a bit. I sort of wanted to try out things he does, so I played around a bit with that. My options were limited and actually didn't have as much time as I wanted, so there is a few experimental shots I got. For now.

I went downtown (which I rarely do lately) to see the Buskerfest and famous Toronto sign on Nathan Phillips Square (which everyone took a picture of yet, but me).

I also visited Distillery district again (I wish I could be there more often - that place is amazing).

We also went to CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) place one night. Too expensive just to get in and leave the car outside, when basically everything else you need to pay extra. I was terrified of the rides (I would kill to ride on the most bad-ass ride when I was younger), but I guess that's adulthood. You kind of become aware that there might be actual mechanical issues and all sort of risks and that you might actually die.

We went up north to a cottage for the long weekend. I got up at 6 am to try and shoot the sunrise. Of course, east somehow ended up being totally on the opposite side of where I was thinking (It's not like I'm carrying a compass with me all the time) so the sun got up behind the bushes and cottages and the image was everything but nice.

We also had a photo shoot going on last week, where I finally got to shoot some real people (in your face, Shelly the hamster). Actually it was a girl, a model, and she did her job pretty well. I got to the conclusion that I need a lot of practice still. It was a good experience. I'm looking for models now.

Last, but not least, I joined Instagram. A huge step for me. I've been kind of avoiding it this whole time, but what the heck. You can see a lot more photos if you follow me there - @sharoncocaine

That's all for now. Rock on, folks.