The Succulent Allure of Meaty Meatasticness

At the risk of sounding disrespectful to folks that consciously make a choice to be vegetarian, I do have to admit that I take a strange amount of delight in watching folks fall off the vegetarian bandwagon. It makes me feel less weak willed knowing that I once tried to reduce my weekly meat consumption and failed miserably when others who have been vegetarians for a long time suddenly decide they can no longer resist the succulent allure of meaty meatasticness (yes, that really should be a word). It's like that saying goes, 'Vegetables are what our food eat'. I only bring this up because we were at our friends' wedding last night, and the bride admitted to having given up her heathen ways and embracing the delicious carnivorous lifestyle. And I couldn't help but shout out a rather emphatic 'YES', as this means we could now go out for dim sum with her and her husband.






The above are photos of the many meaty things I ate during our Eastern European meat-and-beer-cation.

Urban Exposure Project and the Shameless Self Plug

Calling all photographers in the Calgary area - if you're interested in social issues in our community and are between the ages of 20 and 40, check out United Way and Because.ca's Urban Exposure Project and see if this may appeal to you. They are currently recruiting for next year's cohort and have set 'Community' as the project theme. I was a participant in last year's project exploring the issue of 'Poverty', and it was an incredible learning experience, a chance to force yourself out of your comfort zone and get you to interact with many folks in the community that you would normally pass without notice, and also a chance to get involved in the community through volunteering at many social services agencies. The intent of the project is to have you as a photographer document the experiences and findings of your project in a series of images that will then be framed, mounted, and exhibited. Come on, as if there's any greater pleasure in life than seeing one of your photos hanging in a gallery (even if it's only for one night), and people standing around it discussing its meaning or its impact on them.

Shameless self plug - you can see one of my photos from last year's exhibit here

Bridges of San Francisco

Shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge

Transmission Incomplete

I recently heard someone ask the question, "Why would anybody shoot film?!"... The irony of this was that he was deciding on which framed print to buy... from a photographer who shot film. It was hard to restrain my derisive snort at his idiotic comment.

I shot the following series using my Diana Mini on 35mm Fuji Provia 100 in Budapest, Hungary. The Mini has a loose switch for bulb and N modes, and often moves to bulb without me knowing it. I have blown out many a shot as a result, but occasionally, a few do turn out kinda interesting. And as more and more folks pick up dSLRs and similar larger sensor digi cams to produce noise free tack sharp images of blah, I find myself increasingly drawn to the allure of flawed lo-fi analog imagery. I especially love the scratches, dust, and imperfections in the first shot.