- Feb 21, 2015

A day in the life...February edition

After taking the kids to play in the woods and having the uncomfortable experience of having Carmela chase and challenge a very patient Rottweiller, Gordon and I decided we needed a day off shooting. First stop....our local butcher to load up on Jerky for the husband....blech

So where does one go to photograph in our hood? Why out to Wander a local store where the owner travels extensively and sources out work from artisans in Thailand and Indonesia.

They have beautiful carvings and jewellery and I had to refrain from doing some retail therapy while shooting

Though I love me some jewellery and wooden carvings...I have to admit these guys are the ones that really caught my eye.

Now I have to admit...I loved all the detail and beauty of the sculptures in the store...but alas my little photographer heart was broken by the fact that there wasn't any beautiful light spilling over them...so in true crazy lady fashion I found a lamp, a dark spot and made the light I wanted.

Though we could have stayed there forever we had to leave because we were at serious risk for spending more money than a person aught to....We walked down the sidewalk and what did we see but this handsome face looking out his car window!

Seriously!! How can you not want to kiss and smush this face!

Ofcourse true to form I saw another dog I wanted to photograph not 20 feet from the handsome Frenchie. This Jack Russel caught my eye because he was patiently sat watching him mama photograph some hanging plants on a wall....Fred and Carmela would never be this patient.

We continued on our walk and entered a park where I spied this young man strumming away on his guitar

When I asked if I could have his portrait he smiled nodded and shyly looked away from the camera when I stepped up to him.

When I walked back to Gordon he pointed out this cute Min Pin dressed in a denim dress outfit. I imagine none of you are surpised that I bee-lined over to talk to her mom and ask her where her outfit came from...I was sure Carmela would love it. Apparently her name is Ms. Chanel and she has an extensive wardrobe

Leaving the park we spotted this charmer and I struck up a conversation with him asking for his story and his portrait.

He told us they call him Whiskey Jerry and he was more than happy to tell us his story.

What followed was the most epic and animated story I ever heard.

He told a tale of how back in the day he shot at a group of cops

He never did tell us why...but the story was entertaining all the same

The story didn't end well for him...he never did get away with it and did get caught. He told us it was okay though...he did the crime so he had to do the time and is now square with the law.

He snagged his friend's attention and pretty soon we were learning all about him too. He tells me they call him Hee-dau-nge (excuse my phonetic spelling)...apparently it means Killer Whale of the Sea. He said the government gave him the name Brian but he prefers Hee-dau-nge.

He told me his grandfather was a carver...and one of his totem poles was standing near Burrard bridge. He follows in his grandfathers footsteps and is a wood carver too. We asked where he usually sells his art and made plans to seek him out in the future.

Grateful for the gift of story, time and pleasure they had given Gordon and myself, we bid them both farewell thanking them for all they shared with us.

We left the park heading out to meet one of my besties and her hubby for coffee at Wicked Cafe. Jules has the most amazing character of a blue VW bug called Jake. I found this mini-Jake recently and couldn't wait to share him with her