i heart pictures

Heart, originally uploaded by Jhascrapmom.

all kinds of pictures.
sometimes the more primitive the better.

i spent years taking photos with film, from my 110 camera and my dad's polaroid when i was a kid, my champlain cegep dark room days as photographer for *the bugle*, to my return to photos with the birth of jake and then holly...and then finally to digital within the last 5 years.

and now? the iphone.

i was taking photos with my beloved blackberry...but it was frustrating.

when i finally made the switch to my iphone last may, it took me minutes to realize that this was more than just a phone. actually...now? it is barely a phone.

it is my point and shoot. easy. small. clever. creative.

that is all i need.

i have been taking photos non stop with it since i got it, no surprise there. what is neat is that i am also displaying these shots more and more often. there is something retro and fun and haphazard about the results that have just won me over.


i mean, i get the same results using my plastic fantastic diana...and she is a much prettier camera, in her sea foam green casing...but let's be honest...that 120 film is a pain in the ass. at least for me it is.

my results with the iphone are instant. there is a lot to be said about that. and cheap. so cheap. and fast. i am impatient. fast works for me.

i am also showing off my instagram shots more and more. canvaspop, an ottawa based company, can whip up a 12x12 or 24x24 image on canvas in days. it can be on your wall within the week. funky and unique and just...right now ( please note that this is an unsolicited plug;)) - i just really like this company ). i am anxiously awaiting the delivery of a set of 9 images...i will share when they are here and on the wall.

and then, within the last month, a selection of my mobile photos have been picked up by getty images, for their fledgling mobile image collection ( within their regular photos ). the quality of the mobile images is now considered good enough to hold their own in the world of licensed imagery. interesting.

there is the debate as to whether or not photos taken with your phones is considered as *real* photography or not. there are really interesting points to be made on each side.

as a photographer who uses everything but medium format, i have my favourite way of shooting. and it is the one i do the least.

(black and white film if you really want to know)

however...there are photos i have taken with my phone that i could not have gotten any other way. the convenience, the spontaneity i find i can *get* with my little pocket buddy is unique from how i see with my big camera. the imperfections? they add to the photos. the in phone editing? the ease with which i can share the images? all part of the fun.

for me, my iphone is like a polaroid in my pocket ( wait...i even have an app for that...). how cute is that?

in a perfect world, i would life a life where every moment was perfect and rehearsed and ready for the shot. but i don't. so this works for me.

the irony here? i did not want this phone. fought it for the longest time.

as always, i end up eating my words.

i much prefer taking photos than BBMing. who knew?

behind the scenes

behind the scenes, originally uploaded by Jhascrapmom.

once in awhile i get to take photos for real.

and it is always a blast.

what do i mean by *for real*?

well...where the final product ends up in a magazine or on a website or on someone's walls.

dabble, issue 6, february/march 2012

my most recent adventure involved janet villenueve and joy zaczyk, the moggit girls, and their feature in this month's dabble magazine, where they are also known as
The Quick Tip Chix.

You can find the article here:)

dabble

milo - dabble, issue 6, february/march 2012

and yes, milo did get included...who can resist a puppy?
not the art director at dabble we found out!

this is my second assignment for joy and janet and what i find most interesting is how these shoots are put together. 

now, i am sure not all photo shoots run quite as smoothly as this one, as janet and joy are ridiculously organized and naturally good at what they do, but the amount of detail work is insane. 

it is, ultimately, the details that make the room interesting. the books on the shelf...the fluff of the comforter...the tone of the pillow...the fold of the blanket...the placement of the flowers ( which in this case was supervised by janet's mom, on site for maternal touch detail )...tiny elements that fall into place to create a room you just need to fall into.

now, this is not to say that this happens without a ton of work. 

cuz it don't. 

by the time i show up with my cameras (and a puppy?), janet and joy have placed, replaced, worked, reworked, bought, unbought, ironed, unironed, added and taken away a plethora of *things* you, the viewer will never see.

their job is to make you feel a room. 

i can tell you all about how soft those white sheets under the double comforter were ( yes, because i was caressing them the whole shoot ) but if you do not feel it when you look at the photo? then all that work is wasted.

dabble, issue 6, february/march 2012

one of my favourite photos from the day is the top image from this post. the mirror shot with the ironing board, the socks on the floor ( there for the benefit of the puppy ), the camera lenses on the board, the second camera with it's strap hanging down ( i have learned the value of always having a second camera now) and the opened, half drunk cup of coffee. 

total imperfection in front of the perfection of the dressed bed. 

and the puppy.

the puppy was never supposed to be part of the scene. 

i had gotten milo three days before this job and as there was a bit of travel involved, i could not leave him at home. 

joy and janet were seduced quickly by his little puppy ways and next thing i knew, they had him on the bed, luxuriating on the comforter, like a king. 

he was a little spoiled. 

not just by the girls but also by janet's family who stopped by. i actually thought that perhaps her brother was not going to let me take milo home;).

after the shoot, and some wonderful lunch that included homemade croutons ( sooooo good...that janet knows how to craft a caesar salad, let me tell you), i went home and processed the images.

i had not intended on including the shots of milo, they were taken for fun and for my ongoing chronicle of my life through pictures...but they were too cute not to share with joy and janet. 

well, they were also included in the set that went to the art director at dabble...who decided that yep, indeed the puppy needed to be in the article...so voila! milo got his big break. 

see why i love doing this?

and there was even more puppy goodness...dabble was fabulous in including a plug for the animal rescue, animatch, in the article and that kind of publicity is always welcome.

and janet's brother? the one who had a hard time not dropping the puppy into his pocket and taking him home? 

he ended up adopting a rescue dog from up north through animatch. 

how cool is that? 

enjoy the magazine - it is a canadian product, with much canadian talent. 

and thanks to janet and joy for inviting me to play!

and a nod to justin who dos the best bts posts.

lake

lake, originally uploaded by Jhascrapmom.

just a photo for today.