Judging an Artist by Their Tools

     When I got my new camera and posted the first batch of photos the things I heard the most were "Wow what a great lens." or "You must have a really nice camera." No harm is meant by this, I know, but 'compliments' such as these completely dismiss the photographer. As if I just wildly aimed the camera and crossed my fingers for the best.
      Maybe I'm being overly sensitive and the comparison has been made before; no one ever says "wow what a great painting you must have really nice brushes." The lens doesn't focus itself on that glint in your eye, the camera doesn't crouch itself down on the floor, or climb on top of counters to get the shot. The camera doesn't sit on the toilet in the dark and ponder the way the light comes through the window across the brick wall.

Just sayin,
Amulree

Self Portrait

      There's a reason why I prefer to be behind the camera, to be an observer as opposed to being in the centre of it all. I haven't always been comfortable with myself, speaking up especially in crowds of people I don't know. I found a way to enjoy myself in such situations, to make myself useful. I truly do love it, seeing things others miss, facial expressions, embarrassing happenstances. To capture it is a personal, selfish pleasure. I suppose that's pretty creepy, but it can be useful.
      Anyway here's a self portrait, and it is difficult for me to post it, believe it or not.

Especially with very little make up on and bags under my eyes.

and I don't need your "oh on the contrary!" so please refrain.

-Amulree

     

Beautiful People, Beautiful Camera

     My camera is the most beautiful thing that has ever been in my presence. I took it out with me the other night just to get the feel of it, and getting beautiful shots is just so easy. It helps that all my friends are beautiful of course.

     I really am lucky to have friends that put up with having a camera in their face all the time. 

     I feel like I worked really hard to buy this camera, and that nothing but good will come of it. Like I can do anything now. That being said, I should really read the manual. 

-Amulree

Misc. Saturdays

Uuuughhhhhh.

     Being hungover is such a waste of a day! I can't help but wonder if it was worth it. I'm out however much money I spent, I feel like crap, and now I'm wasting all of this time so I can recover. I was doing really well too, I budgeted out a week's worth of groceries for only $7.63. I need to smarten up and sort out my priorities.
     I 'enrolled' in two classes on creativeLIVE.com, one is for wedding photography and the other is is about goal setting. I like the website, it is free education, but you really need to be able to carve out the time to get the most out of it.
     I haven't been out with my camera as much as I'd like to be either. Ugh I'm so disappointed in myself. Granted it has been ridiculously cold outside, polar vortexes and shit. Time to renew my kijiji ad, and let the job offers roll in.

-Amulree

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to Me.

This is a thing I own now.

As well as these things:

I didn't take these 2 photos they are from the manufacturer's website.

     I barely know how to use these things! But I will learn and I look oh so forward to it. I have some very lovely friends who are willing to model  (put up with me) while I practice with them because I'm going to need a lot of practice. 

     I found my old camera held me back a bit when it came to doing certain things. I'm really looking forward to getting some wide angle shots as well as shooting some interviews with the Mark ii. Oh and getting some really nice portraits! I'm really excited you guys. I feel like I can do anything. 

-Amulree

Just Keep on Learning

      So, I thought I would I just give a list of all of the learning tools I've been using so far. I've learned so much in such a short period of time and I owe it to these sources:

youtube.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy (short, to the point)
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A (short, humourous)
http://www.youtube.com/user/BHPhotoVideoProAudio (seminars, very informative)

CreativeLIVE

http://www.creativelive.com/photography

     If you're in Toronto I highly recommend visiting Henry's: http://www.henrys.com/ or Downtown Camera: https://www.downtowncamera.com/ .The people in both of these stores are very nice and informative and they always seem to not mind answering all of my questions. If you know of other stores in Toronto that you think are great feel free to give me a heads up.
     I still have so much learning to do, it can be overwhelming at times, but any question I could possibly have can be researched, studied, and practiced all on my own. It's all about keeping myself motivated, and reminding myself of why I'm doing this.
     It's funny actually, my current job keeps me pretty motivated. Every hour I spend there I feel like I lose. bit of myself. I work in the service industry and it requires a lot of self restraint and a lot of "yes sir/no sir/would you like some more sir?" All the more reason to stay focused.


-Amulree

Winter Blues

    Still working on street photography. It's probably petty but walking through the city I just know there are so many photographers in the city and I know there are particular places that are "over shot" (I don't know if that's an actual saying but I'm saying it) Kensington market being one of them. It's hard to find something that someone hasn't already shot, it's a little disheartening. Also, it's winter and everyone is just so miserable, rushing to get from point A to point B. In times like these I tend to seek out colour.

Incense Shop

   

    I think this photo speaks a little to the Kensington vibe. It's also just one of the five photos I took that day. 

    In other news I'll be buying a basic flash kit today! I'm super excited, I know I already said I was broke, and now I'll just be more broke! You will all get to watch me become unbroke, it'll be good I swear. Oh and there's this little website called creativeLIVE. It's all online, and you bascially sit in on creative courses. You can enroll in classes for free. I have yet to attend a class but I'll let you know how it goes.  

-Amulree

Meeting Inspiration

     I've been working on a project for my friend Vance Hedman. It's a series of vlogs, documenting the preparation for World Pride in Toronto this summer. I just film the interviews but honestly I feel so fortunate to be a part of it.
     Today we spoke to Troy Brooks who is an artist in Toronto, and whose mural has been painted on the side of 418 Church st. He was so inspiring to listen to. He never gave up on his art, and he stayed true to himself and his form of expression.

                                                                   Troy and Phoebe

You can view his interview (when it's edited and posted) and others                                       here: http://thegayguidenetwork.com/category/world-pride-2014/vlog/
You can also view Troy's work
here: http://www.troybrooks.com/gallery.html

    We get a lot of extra footage from the interviews, a lot of interesting content outside of World Pride and we're planning on using it to make a documentary. Overall, I think it's one of the best things I've ever worked on. More on that as it unfolds I guess.
    So anyway, Troy Brooks was so inspirational that I bought a new camera today. I was up all night weighing the pros and cons, and after today I just wasn't afraid to take the chance.  I honestly feel like it was a necessary investment. I am going to be the most broke, but that's nothing new to me.


-Amulree

Dreams vs. Reality

      Sometimes I come up with excuses to go into Henry's just so I can talk to somebody about photography. Today I went in to rent a lens even though I probably can't actually afford to. I'm going to be saving up for a new lens, so I want to try a few that I've been looking at before hand.

     So, I have this little dream of mine, of being a photographer, but I have some realities I need to face. One, it's going to take a lot longer then I thought, and I need to be patient. Two, I have so much learning to do. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and take a nap.

Frozen Over

Snowy Snowy Night

The Green House

     I didn't take any photos today that I was happy with but I wanted to share this little love story about Allan Gardens. Basically, I'm in love with Allan Gardens. It's in my neighbourhood and I'm looking forward to photographing it with a super wide angle lens. Thing is, my camera has a cropped sensor, and it's hard to get the wide angle shot. This problem plagues me, I have horrible dreams where I'm camera shopping but I can't afford a full frame camera. That's real life actually.

    I hate having so many ideas for photoshoots and being limited by my equipment. Why did I have to pick such an expensive profession? It makes things ten times harder. I'm getting that napping feeling. Anyway, I'll get there, it'll just take time. One step at a time. Just have to keep learning as much as I can in the interim. 

-Amulree

      Street photography is something I struggle with. I love shooting people which is a big part of it, but I've never been comfortable with the idea of 'shoot first, ask later.' I think maybe, I will have to get over it. I've also never been too keen on architecture, so much grey and too many straight lines. I say this and I can't help but hear Rafiki's voice saying "Look harrrrder." I will train myself to do so, I'm going to bring my camera with me every where and I'm going to post a photo everyday.

Front St. Upheaval

     I remember visiting Toronto about seven years ago, and being in awe of the sheer size of everything. I remember Front st. in particular coming out of Union Station. Living here now I see it everyday and it's almost unrecognizable, but still I am in awe.

     I want to tell you why I like this photo, but I can't really explain it. When I was taking it I remember thinking "Who left their backpack there? Who does that?" I will probably watch a seminar today on photo critiquing, that way I can sound smart when I talk about composition and such. 

    

    I've been developing a curriculum for homeschooling myself. Every week I will watch a certain amount of seminars on different types of photography, equipment/software tutorials, and business planning. All of the practical learning will come from the job I've been taking on.  

    I have two jobs coming up in Feb. one is a wedding reception and the other is a photo shoot with a cross fit trainer. I'm pretty excited about both, things are going pretty well so far. 

This is the youtube channel I've been watching mostly: http://www.youtube.com/user/BHPhotoVideoProAudio?feature=watch

   

    

Misc. Saturdays.

     I bought this airwick plug in and it smells like cheap cologne and now my entire apartment smells like cheap cologne, but it's better than it smelling like cats, and this shit was expensive so I have to wait until it's all used up before I buy a different scent, that's like 2 months of cheap cologne.

     I have a meeting with a client today, he's a cross fit trainer (??) and I presume he wants photos done of him in action. I'm pretty excited about it. I put an ad out on kijiji and that's how I've been meeting people and getting work. I'd say I get about 4 job requests from each post (I post once a week) and I'll only be able to take half of them due to my existing job schedule. Which is fine because I'm not asking for a lot at this point I'm just trying to gain as much experience as possible.

       So, from there I should be able to forecast how many jobs I can get in a month and roughly calculate how much money I can make from photography alone. I'd be able to make more if I worked less at one of my jobs, but that's a risk I'm not quite willing to make yet. I want to hone my skills to a point so I can feel more comfortable charging people more and then quit one of my jobs. Let's say by Spring.

    I'm also planning on taking my camera out and renting a lens possibly. I meant to get up a lot earlier today but there were some circumstances preventing me from doing so that I am totally ok with. It's the weekend anyway. I feel like this blog is more interesting if there are more photos in so I think I'll start posting one of my favourite photos from the day in each post.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend,
Amulree

   

Getting Organized

This is Happening.

I'm not too sure but I think getting organized is going to be very helpful in the long run.

Good Morning

     I already had my career choice decided before I started this blog. I had to confess that.

     I'm trying to be a professional photographer. Correction, I am going to be a professional photographer. I have found so far in my quest to D.Y.I Career, I am constantly making little corrections like that. Breaking bad habits, like waking up at 11:00 am, and not making the best use of my time.

     Self motivation is something I've struggled with my entire life, and yet I insist on being my own boss. I think I wouldn't be happy any other way. So, slowly but surely I am breaking those little habits and the main factor in doing so is realizing that my success is completely dependent on me.

      It seems so obvious that one's success should be reliant on themselves, but not to everybody. I am going to speak for myself and if you can relate that's more than I could've wished for. I come from nothing, living on my own and being able to feed myself is a success on it's own. That was my first taste of it. People like me don't often get the chance to see past where they come from, and it's hard to yearn for something you've never tasted.

     All of a sudden, this idea of my own success became this heavy burden, this giant work load, but an achievable one. I got over not believing in myself, and thinking I don't deserve it. How, you may ask? Honestly, (and sorry to disappoint) I had nothing better to do.


-Amulree

In The Beginning. . .

      Here's a bit about myself, I am 24 with no post secondary schooling, with no definite direction, I live on my own and I work. That's about it. I'm no different than most people my age save for the fact I am one of few who chose not to go to university or college. Why doesn't really matter, it happened and here I am.

       Everyone seems to think that this was a bad decision. I get warning signals everywhere I go, and sometimes I can't help but feel like I get looked down upon. Maybe I'm naive, and ignorant but I will do whatever it takes to begin my career not tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

       So, where does one begin? Probably by picking a goddamn career.