Santa and some raw art

This was a busy week. With all that's normally going on, there was a Santa Claus Parade in downtown Toronto, last Sunday, which I wanted to see. Also, I went to see the Raw Artists exhibition on Thursday.

Santa Claus Parade was, well... fun. For all those under 10.
Nevertheless, it was nice to see it once, get some shots and leave it at that. I was surprised by how many people were there. It was a nice, warm day so I guess that contributed a lot.

The streets were closed, security guys everywhere, children jumping around, parents holding thermos bottles with coffee sitting on sidewalks, cushions, blankets, strollers, sandwiches and lots of reindeer horns on people's heads.

Apparently, people arrive early in the morning to save the spot for their family, so that they can sit in front row and see the parade.

The parade alone lasts for couple of hours, but to have a nice watching spot, you should be there hours earlier.





To be honest, it was actually more interesting before the parade showed up, because of all the people and kids mingling on the streets. Put some children on the middle of the empty street and give them some crayons and there you go. Art as you've never seen it.

I didn't wait to see the Santa though - it was enough for me to witness Frozen characters, clowns, girl with the goose, people in dog's costumes, Lego figures and other, I must say, lame and totally unrelated characters to something that's called Santa Claus Parade. 

The only thing they all had in common were Christmas songs. I didn't see a single reindeer :O or one of Santa's elves, for that matter. Or anything related to actual Christmas holidays. Too many commercial banners and sponsor signs for my taste though. It was like watching commercials on TV.

However, it was obvious the children were enjoying it. They don't care about rules or names or commercials or appropriate costumes. They spent the day dancing and drawing in the streets of Toronto. What can be better than that?

For something more to my liking, I visited a more adult event going on in MOD Club on College Street this week.


There was a Raw Artists Uprising event with numerous artists showing their work. Some of Toronto's photographers, painters, jewelry makers, make up artists, film makers and musicians were presenting their best pieces and had fun in connecting and browsing thru other spheres of art. It was quite interesting to be mingling around some extraordinary individuals. Here's more on that, where you can see the artists involved and some of their work.

All in all, a fun week. I was surprised by some snowflakes yesterday, and that doesn't seem like fun at all. Soon enough it'll be snowy and (more) cold and I'll have to stay in and shoot the hamster again...

Stay warm!

Thought of the day - fairness

My very first post on this blog was about moral question I couldn't get out of my head.
I don't know whether you've seen it or remember it, but long story short - I photographed some skater kids and was concerned later if I'm allowed to send them the photos (for the mere fact that they were underage). I have just started with the whole photography thing and up until that day I never even thought about that kind of stuff. They were just skaters - 10 or 11 year old kids with a skate and nice manners. I did my research and found the solution for the question that was bothering me, and I did the right thing.

But my point is, I was asked by one of the boys to send him the shots because he has a skater blog and wanted to post the pictures.

And then he said something that surprised me.

"Make sure you send us your name, lady (lady?! :O ),  so that we can give you credit."
And I'm like, "Credit?"
"Yeah, credit, for the photo, you know."

I knew what he meant, but...

..."so that we can give you credit"?

That's what an 11-year old said to me.

An eleven year old.

ELEVEN (11) (or ten, or perhaps twelve, it doesn't matter. A kid).

So, the kid knows that it's nice to give credit when you use someone's photo. That kid knew. A lot of my friends know that. Lots of other people know that. It feels like common sense, right?

And yet, there I am yesterday browsing through Instagram and finding my own photograph in someone else's gallery. Come on! No credit, no name, no "repost".  And not a kid, an older guy.

I know it's not a big deal - it's just one photograph. Whoever put's their content online knows that this can happen. But seriously, don't you have any doubts about whether that's right? Is there any moral and social obligation in your mind that might trigger the "maybe I should put an artist's name underneath it" alarm? No, I guess people don't have those alarms.

Maybe he didn't know? Or he didn't think it was a big deal. Or maybe I'm too f* nice sometimes. He should have known better. We have a word for him in Croatian - magarac.

And even though it's flattering that someone really liked my photo, I'd still prefer that they don't just post it under their name. It's actually a steal. By all means, if you like my photo - you're free to reshare it - as long as you say who's photo it is.

So I asked the certain individual to either remove it or to put my name underneath it (I mean, there is my watermark on the photo right there!), but he never replied. And what can you do? Except to report the post as a spam, or to fill in the copyright violation form and submit it to Instagram.

I did both.

If everything else fails, I have snapshots of the individual so I can publicly expose him. But that's not gonna help either.

I know there's a lot of people struggling with the same problem out there. And I'm not a professional photographer, but it still doesn't feel right. Especially on a platform like Instagram, who's whole purpose is to show your visual arts, photographs and videos. It makes it even worse, actually, because it diminishes the whole value of  Instagram idea.

It just happened so, that I really like that photograph because it took me some time and effort to make it the way it looks (the photo underneath). It's a matter of principles. It's collective common sense and proper conduct that everybody needs to lean forward to, but I guess that's Utopia.

So, be nice, work hard, play hard and stay fair. That's my thought of the day today.

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!