North American International Motorcycle Supershow 2016

Another beginning of the year, another Toronto Motorcycle Supershow.

It's a tradition to be there, and this year they've been celebrating 40 years of the legendary show.

Of course, we've been there as well.

Plenty of things to see! If you're into bikes at all, you should visit the show (at least once). Numerous artists, especially in hall 5, presented their babies: whether it's the aesthetics, power and performance or something else.


And even tho this kind of event seems to be an inexhaustible source of good photographs, I must admit - I was feeling kind of bored (with a few exceptions!).

The problem is, I've been there last year and a year before - and I have exactly the same photos stored on my hard drive. Nothing changed, except for a few newly finished show bikes that were exposed this year. Other than that, it was pretty much all the same.

The same settings, the same vendors, the same booths, the same stage program.

Regardless, there is always something interesting to see, that you might have missed the year before.

Like I missed the snake.

And I mentioned exceptions.

There is a beautiful piece of work that surprised me - a breast cancer awareness chopper.
Full of symbolic terms, it represents everything good within bad.

Pink flake paint and very original "ribbon style" pipes are making the bike just awesome. Made by @cycleworx_custom_motorcycles.


And in regards of performance, Wildside Motorcycles presented the fastest bagger in the area. Yes, bold statement, but definitely justified. With 124 ci and 7-speed tranny, among other, this bike is the beast.

There was also a completely restored old 1971 Electra Glide - "Elvis" - that they were especially proud of. Shiny like new.





Also, some really nice paint artwork, the kind you have to see to believe. Amazing Fitto did his magic again.

All in all, interesting stuff. Personally, aside beautiful bikes, I enjoyed just catching the moments and details - like shapes on the wall of the International Centre, or a little girl playing with creepy zombie doll (that freaked me out a bit).

So, it's done for this year, but if you're in the area sometimes beginning January 2017, swing by the International Centre in Mississauga and have a look. You just might discover a new passion :)

Xoxo

@sharoncocaine

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

Soaking up some art

I live and breathe motorcycles.

Garage, noise, dust, exhausts, parts, chrome, filters, rat bikes, shiny bikes, gasoline, paint, tools, tires, chains, oils, powder coating, engines.

In an environment like this, it's easy to forget you have other aspirations too (or that you're a girl, for that matter).

There is some art involved in this motorcycle world, I have to admit (actually, plenty of it). 

But that should be another topic altogether.

My point is, I need a break occasionally, as well as other stuff (not involving motorcycle culture) too. Which is why I'm writing nonsense posts about my cat, hamster or current weather conditions.

I love bikes, but I love apple pies too and I don't eat them every single day. So I find  my escape in photographing and walking around the city, to satisfy my hunger for diversity.

The truth is, I need whatever - as long as it's something else. Preferably, something inspiring.

With that in mind, I was wondering the other day where should I go to change the environment a bit, and it was chilly and windy that day so I didn't actually want to spend the day outside. 

Then I remembered AGO, the Art Gallery of Ontario I haven't yet visited. 

After taking into consideration other alternatives, visiting AGO soon got up on top of my list. 

The moment I walked in I was impressed by the size of it and was eager to explore every corner of the gallery.

Currently, there are some really interesting exhibitions and collections holding, like Camera Atomica and AGO Photography Prize exhibition. 

The architecture inspired me as much as exhibited art pieces, most of all the famous Italian gallery and beautiful curvy designed stairs in the middle of the building.

I was never really a museum person (hello, I'm putting the polar bear with the radio as the main photo of this post), so it surprised me how much I was yearning for it.

One one hand, I mostly wanted to see the gallery from the inside due to beautiful architecture and design, but the exhibitions dragged me into them and it's impossible not to get intrigued by various artists and their pieces on the other hand.

Those foxy ladies were pretty awesome too. I kind of missed what was that all about, but the big, spacious room filled with skins looked cool.

Anyhow, a great afternoon filled with great art. I'm strongly recommending to anyone who's near Toronto to see it for yourself.

There is an upcoming exhibition on American photography and film early next year which would be nice to see if I get the chance.

More on AGO's stuff you can find on their website.



Until then, there are a few other places I still need to discover. More on that soon, I hope. But first, some apple picking.

@sharoncocaine

Music day in Toronto Music Garden. Or not.

Last night, I remembered how there was the time in my life when I couldn't imagine to fall asleep without music in my ears. 

I had a few playlists only for that purpose and it was impossible for me to go to bed without listening to sweet sounds of Pink Floyd, Knopfler, Metallica or Vangelis (among others). 

Weird bunch, I know, but they all have one thing in common - smooth, soothing sound that regularly helped me calm and fall asleep.

I guess I was thinking about it because Steve Vai was in Toronto this Saturday, and I missed it. 

I was kind of sad-ish for not seeing him, but thinking about his music made me remember so many other, nice stuff from past. So I listened to some of it last night and I was nostalgically happy. 

Therefore, to continue the music vibe, this morning I went to visit the Music garden in downtown Toronto. 

Instead of being in the good mood (cause there was no reason for otherwise), I somehow didn't start my day right. Maybe I got up on the wrong foot, or something.

Not that I need a special reason for it (I am a woman, after all), but I did something and I said something and I killed the music day mood. Totally.

On the bright side, I did get some nice shots of the park and spent the morning in the beautiful waterfront environment. 

The garden is actually quite small and it consists of six different, little parts (Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Menuett and Gigue).



The whole garden represents Bach's Suite No.1 in G Major for unaccompanied cello, BWV 1007. 

During the summer, there are free concerts held in the garden, twice a week, and I can only imagine how cool would it be to listen to Brazilian choro on a lazy afternoon in early August Sunday, which I won't hear - I'll miss it, of course, cause I won't be in the city at the time.

I'm also missing Ron Bumblefoot and Joe Perry tonight, just because I feel meh about the whole day and I don't feel like going out. I'll be whining about that tomorrow. Or maybe not.

In the meantime, I'll be listening to some sweet sounds again this night, and hopefully, tomorrow is going to be a more pleasurable day.

Rock on and sweet dreams.

Walking thru the Village of Murals

Just recently (before all this spring began) I was looking for a nice place to take a walk. Since all my walks are usually close to the lake, I decided to move a little bit up north and see what's going on there. That's when I came across the Islington's Village of Murals.

Located on Dundas Street West, between Islington and Kipling, there's a whole bunch of murals, mostly painted by an artist John Kuna.

More precise, there's 26 of them along the area and their purpose is to illustrate places and people from neighborhood's history, mostly from early 1900.

The Pub With No Beer

Next to every mural there is a board with the name and description of the illustration, explaining what, when and why.


It's like walking thru the museum of past.

There are people around you walking fast, cars are driving by, it's busy weekday, everyone's hurrying somewhere and then you set your eyes (because you can't miss it) on "The Pub With No Beer".




That's the mural that depicts smiling faces of workers leaned on the truck full of empty bottles cases, and makes you wonder how simple and happy people must have been then, even though they worked hard and had little.

The faces of Islington

There is something in each mural that brings out the nostalgia, happiness, proud, sorrow or compassion.

I'm sure it brings out a lot more to the people grew up in the area than to me, being a complete stranger. But it still makes you feel different, walking with those murals on every step as opposed to just walking, minding your own business.

Mimico Creek

This way, you remember to notice - or you notice to remember. Either way, it's a nicer walk with that contrast between now and then.

Portraits Of Our Past

The illustrations are beautiful and I admire the whole action of making it happen. The murals really make the place look interesting and fun, but also they show the proud and appreciation of the past.











What amazed me the most is that all of the murals were intact. They are clean and graffiti free, and that tells me that there is obvious respect for the illustrations themselves, for the past and for the neighborhood. I hope they'll stay that way for a long time.

The Old Swimming Hole, Aftermath, Harold G. Shipp's "First High Flier!"