Not the grand prize, but I won the portrait category for my pictures of Chaos from Canada Day ’06, and Gerry from my Gerry Project.

Our judges had their hands full. With close to 100 entries, and photos of everything from penguins to crocodiles to war veterans and other UCC luminaries, it wasn’t an easy decision to compare these apples and oranges. Ultimately, the judges decided that technique and content counted in equal measure.

To create as fair a judging process as possible, names, grade, and graduation years were left off the photos, and replaced by a number. That way, current students and Old Boys all had an equal shot. (To ensure no judge was swayed by the opinion of another, each wrote down his or her favourite number, with no prior discussion.)

It was a blind judging, and as a result, my two photos tied with each other for first place without the judges knowing that they were both from one person. Not bad for the first photography contest I entered.

Seeing my pictures in print is great, but winning isn’t the important part.

Being recognized for the pictures was a nice little bonus.

Bronwen is my original muse. We happened to meet shortly after I got my SLR camera, and ever since, she’s my primary model when doing photographic tests and experiments.

These were taken over the course of about a year. From before we started dating to passed the break-up.

Every angle captures a different side of someone.

Looking back on these reminds me of how much I miss it when she had red hair, which she dyed for me (but didn’t like to admit it). Too bad I can’t convince her now to do it again.

Wide angle fun

The Canon 15mm proves to be a complicated addition to the lens arsenal. As a photographer, you really have to understand how to handle the distortions, even when it’s on a 1.6 FOVCF body. It’s obviously not meant for portraits; faces end up being comically disproportionate. It’s great for context shots though, when the surroundings say more than the subject.

Contract

I got a contract under my personal business, my first. It’s made my schedule rather busy. There isn’t much time to just laze around on the weekends anymore. I have to plan my fun.

Tai Chi break

Tai Chi classes have been suspended indefinitely, as the teacher’s wife has just been diagnosed with cancer. While I miss the relaxing two-hour sessions, I don’t miss waking up at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday to make class. With the extra time, I flirted with the idea of picking up piano lessons again, but I’ve decided that it would too much of a commitment right now. I still need some form of physical activity, in addition to the Tai Chi Yang form practice on my own, so I’ll probably be going to table tennis again.

Nail in the coffin

I’m off to New Hampshire for two weeks next month, for industry job training. I had to find my passport, issued five years ago for my trip to Hong Kong/China/Macau, with my dorky glasses and hair parted down the middle. In addition to my old address, my mom was listed as contact in case of emergency, but I changed it to Pat. It would have been John if he wasn’t so far away. Pat’s also a good person to go to in a crisis; he’s the one who always keeps it together.

I miss my music source

Ever since Trolley moved out, I don’t get introduced to awesome new music anymore. The latest find (on Jeff’s recommendation) is Wicked Wisdom, featuring Jada Pinkett Smith as the frontwoman. I never would have believed a band with Will Smith’s wife would be so good.

I was going through my pictures and realized that there were quite a few I haven’t posted, so I decided to do an end-of-year wrap-up. Most of these are photos I like but they didn’t fit anywhere, or were made redundant by other pictures telling a story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since we got bought out by a public company, the purchasing procedure has changed quite a bit. Some of the top brass from the head office in Boston flew in this week, and I made it a point to thank the CFO for personally approving the purchase of a new Canon Rebel XTi, 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, and 50mm f/1.8 lens. After the president introduced me, he told me I did a fantastic job with the pictures in the company catalogue, and it really made my day.

I think I’ve really developed as a photographer in the little time I’ve owned my first SLR camera. Looking back on a year of photos has made me realize that I’ve learned a lot, not only simple photographic theory, but familiarity with my camera and post-processing as well. I still have a lot more to learn though, especially with exposure and metering, as digital cameras make it easy to get good shots without really needing to have an in-depth understanding.

This is Gerald, or Gerry as he prefers, an alumnus of my high-school, Upper Canada College.

Gerry was born in Germany, but being a German-Jew, he soon moved to Holland in the years leading up to the Second World War. “My father was rather prescient”, he put it. Eventually, he came to Canada. For four years, he attended UCC, graduating in 1940. I was in the class of ‘99. After a year at university, he volunteered for military service at 19.

“19?”, I asked in disbelief. With a smile on his face, he told me, “You grow up fast”.

He began as a commissioned officer for an artillery unit. Responsibility of the lives of many men under his command was something he didn’t want, but his knowledge of German, Dutch, and English moved him to a more preferable position as an interrogation officer. His superiors would send him co-ordinates of intelligence to gather, sometimes behind German lines, sometimes in a downed tank, and a private would drive him in a jeep to obtain the information.

He survived.

From left to right, his medals are:

• The 1939-1945 Star
• The France and Germany Star
• The Defence Medal
• Canadian Volunteer Service Medal
• The War Medal 1939-1945
• The Service Medal of the Order of St. John

His proudest accomplishment is the Maltese cross he wears on his chest — The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, presented by the Governor General herself. Even though he’s a commander of the order, second only to knights or dames, he’s extremely modest about it. The framed award presented to him lies in a pile of assorted things in his bedroom.

I first met Gerry a few days ago, after finding out about him from the bi-annual newsletter published by UCC. The newsletter, called Old Times, is a way for alumni, called Old Boys, to keep track of the goings’ on at the College. There was an article about the school’s prized Victoria Cross medal collection being presented to the new Canadian War Museum here in Ottawa. These were the same medals I walked by in the front hall display case every day at school, too young to appreciate their historical significance. Gerry was one of the veterans invited to attend the presentation ceremony.

However, my interest in Gerry stemmed from a different section in the same issue of the newsletter, announcing a photo contest open to all past and present students. The contest seemed like a great project, not only as a way to practice my photographic skills, but to test myself as well. I would have to find a subject related to the school in some way. Gerry, being an Ottawa-area Old Boy, was my closest connection. Taking pictures of someone, let alone someone I had never met before, was a daunting idea, and I would have to step out of my comfort zone to do it.

After looking up his name in the phonebook and gathering up the courage, I called Gerry. He was happy to meet.

I’ll be submitting the second photo.