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.

Setting up the dark room

It all started with a gift. A friend, older gentlemen who often comes by, visited a week ago and left me a box full of old photo equipment explaining how he doesn't use it anymore and wants to clear up the house. At the moment, I'd never have guessed that this will bring me to a whole new level of experimenting.

My eyes opened wide and my heart raced while I went thru the box and among other things, I found an '84 Canon T70. 

When I felt the weight of it in my hands, it instantly reminded me of my childhood and of photo cameras my father used to have back when I was little.

It was really interesting reminding myself on how to even use it. It might sound funny, but last time I used camera with film was probably when I was 14 or so.  I totally forgot about how to put the film in it (it's not rocket science as I thought when I was a kid). I totally forgot about how you need to rewind the film at the end. And having a limited number of shots made me felt constrained at first, as well as not knowing whether the shot was even successful or not! However, all that sounded like lots of fun.

So, after I played with it for a day or two, while wondering how will the photos look like, somehow I thought it might be fun to try and develop them myself. That was a long shot at first, but as I kept researching, I realized it's actually doable. All I need is an adequate space, some chemicals, trays, paper and a photo enlarger. 

And film. 

And safe light. 

And clothes pegs and lots of other knick-knacks that happen to be useful (but you figure out that after you start).

It was Sunday when I woke up with the definite decision that I'm doing it. Went back to Craigslist and Kijiji links from night before and set up a meeting with a guy to buy the enlarger thing. I went to buy chemicals and found out that it's not that easy to find them, especially on a Sunday afternoon (however, I did find a great store next day, that had everything I needed in one place and with very kind and helpful staff - FilmPlus, close to Dupont and Lansdowne)

So, after experimenting with chemicals and finding the right alternatives (cause I couldn't buy them on Sunday), I ruined my first film by exposing it to safe light (wrongly I assumed it's safe). I tried again and ruined my second film with bad use of chemicals.

The third film was half decent, but it was still not developed properly and ended up being too dark. Accordingly, the photographs were lousy too. But it was a beginning!

So next day I bought all the right ingredients and the fourth film was actually quite good, due to proper chemicals.

(I also bought that little box for developing film the next day; very, very helpful.)

So the second day, the second batch of photographs ended up being pretty good. I'm still getting used to the camera and experimenting with lenses, but it's exciting and very inspiring. There's still stuff that I might need to make my life easier, but it works! And I'm happy.

Also, still need to figure out the easier way to open the film container, instead of busting it with the screwdriver.

All in all, an amazing thing to do! Lots of work and waiting, but there's something special in it. Maybe it is so for me, and not so much for the real photographers who actually did this when I was still in diapers. But there's the right time for everything and good old stuff are sometimes the best. And even though it'll never be like a digital photo, it makes me smile :)

Cherry Blossoms shooting in High Park, Toronto - a couple of things to know

So, I've been waiting for cherry blossoms to bloom. That's no secret.

I love them, they look beautiful and I simply wanted to see them in High Park, because apparently there's plenty of cherry trees there, and it might look awesome. I've been monitoring carefully every day, so that I wouldn't miss the chance to see them and so that I could be there on time to take some photographs.

I know it's a popular place to go and see the cherry blossoms and I knew there would be a few people around. Especially since I was going there in late afternoon, around 6 pm, during the rush hour. But what the hell, a little traffic I can stand, cherry blossoms are definitely worth enough to fight it. And the park is huge, so what if there's going to be a few people there, there's enough room for everybody.

Little did I know that the truth was nowhere near that.

Yes, the blossoms are fantastic. But a "few people" part was total delusion.

It took me about 20 minutes to reach the Sunnyside beach (which is completely normal, especially that time of day), but then it began.

From there, to reach the High Park by car, it would normally take me 5-10 minutes, if I'm getting in on the east entrance.

Yesterday, it took me 25 minutes to get close to it, another 20 minutes to get inside the High Park and another 10 minutes sitting and waiting for the river of cars to move.

There were millions of cars, millions of people walking and I was sitting there and  jealously looking at them.
Well, me and other drivers in cars in front of and behind me.

I loudly said "nice" and reminded myself not to loose my patience, but it was already gone. I was trapped inside the park, on the road, not moving anywhere.

And even if I reach the parking lot, which was, I finally came to conclusion at that moment, impossible, there would be no chance in hell to find an empty space to park.

I swear, it was like half of Toronto came to see cherry blossoms yesterday. So I figured, me seeing them will not happen, not today.

I decided to turn around and exit the park same way I entered. I turned around and I realized that the way back to the exit is as crowded as the direction I was going in the first place.

Nice, I said to myself again and I also said lots of Croatian words I do not want to translate now.

After another 20 minutes, I was finally coming close to the exit.

On my way back, I've noticed the signs that said: "Welcome to High Park! Cherry blossoms! Due to anticipated high volume visits, we provided additional parking lots at Sunnyside beach, Lakeshore Blvd." Again, nice.

So that was a cardinal mistake. It took me around 2 hours to get there and back home without even getting out of my car and with no photos. And I wanted to see those blossoms so badly.

So this morning, I eagerly woke up at 5.30, left my place at 6 am, and I was at the High Park parking lot next to the cherry blossoms at 6.15 am. What a joy!

And what a sight to see! 

I was not alone, no.

There were already people there, mostly with cameras, trying to capture the best of the blossoms. It was amazing.

After a while, the sun came up enough to light the blossoms and the view was spectacular. It was definitely worth it and I'm glad I got there so early.

Aside from the families, amateur photographers and exercise group, there were professional photographers capturing the loving moments of couples, there were some wedding photo shootings, there was a rich old lady with two dogs and a photographer taking her portraits with the dogs....

Plenty of interesting things to see and very amusing. Gotta say, lots of stuff going on at 6.15 AM in that park.

So, word of advice: if you want to go there while the cherry blossoms are blooming, avoid going by car, unless you plan to be there early in the morning.

Or just get there at the dawn and see for yourselves how mesmerizing it is.

I can't believe I actually wanted to wait for the weekend to go there.
Despite all the beauty around me, there would be lots of Croatian words echoing thru the cherry blossom paradise.