Culture of Greed Session - Part 2

So, after spending not too much time inside Culture of Greed's rehearsal space, we decided that it would be a good idea to find a new location. The rain had let up, so we went outside. Jim and Jet started wandering around to the side of the building, not really knowing what it looked like, and found an incredible location. The colours were perfect - faded reds and oranges. There was rust. There were box cars. There was even a shovel. I couldn't believe our luck. Here are some of the shots I took out there:





We even got in a few closeups, against a wicked rusty background:



There's some more pics up here, and a new location coming soon!

Culture of Greed Session - Part 1

While I was down in Florida, I had a photoshoot scheduled with local band, Culture of Greed. This was a bit of a challenge, because it was in a city that I wasn't 100% comfortable with, with very limited transportation and time, and I had to rely on other people to scout my locations for me. But it turned out great because the guys are all fantastic and super professional.

The first location was definitely difficult. It was raining outside, so that ruled out outdoor shots for the first part of the shoot. We went inside to their rehearsal space, which had a very cool atmosphere, but was also very reflective, because of its aluminum walls.

We didn't end up spending too much time here, but we did get some decent shots.





The best are yet to come! Keep checking back for more updates, or for a sneak peak, check out Flickr


P.S. Comments make me very happy! I see all you lurkers from the Tampa/Clearwater area... say hi! :)

Florida: All is full of love

La piece de resistance... how can you not love a view like this? There's hundreds of different things that I love about Florida, but I think this sums it up. Being on the beach, you can feel your senses in action.

Take in the sight of the ocean... flip flops... blue water & white sand... Smell the salt water, the sunscreen, the people barbecuing in the distance... Hear the rolling sound of the waves ... Feel the mist, the sand beneath your feet. Taste the salt on your lips after swimming in the ocean. Honestly, nothing can quite compare to the beach, and Clearwater Beach just happens to be my favourite beach that I've ever been to.

more love?

Beautiful Downtown Clearwater, FL

Yeah, I ran out of macro shots, so no more what it is... at least, not for now. Did you guys like that game? I can't tell.

So, I think I've mentioned before about how we've been going to Clearwater Beach since I was about 8 years old. This place is my second home, and I've watched it change and grow over the course of the years. A recent development to the area is the way you get to the beach from the mainland. On the beach side, they built a beautiful new causeway (it used to be a small drawbridge type, that I absolutely loved, but I must say the new one is much more aesthetically pleasing), and they created a roundabout down near the pier, where you can easily access the marina, the public beach and beach walk area, the residential area, and another random street (hah!) ... but on the other side, on the mainland, they changed the access to be two different one-way streets - Court Street takes you to the beach and the causeway, and Cleveland takes you downtown. (With the old bridge, you could take either street and still access the bridge easily)

Ever since they made that change, we've tended to spend less time in downtown Clearwater. I thought this was quite sad, because downtown Clearwater has lovely architecture, and they've really beautified it with flowers, statues and trees. So I went out there one night, camera and tripod in hand, to snap a few shots. (I didn't really take that many, because I had plans to meet up with Gregg later on, and I only had about an hour to shoot off some pics)

Welcome to downtown:

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The Fourth of July!

Since we were going to be in the States for the 4th of July, Amy and I decided to go all out with an old-fashioned Independence Day Cookout! Only... we had never celebrated Independence Day before. So we picked our "Americana" theme and just went with it.... Flags, Red-White-and-Blue Flowers, Cupcakes, Cookes... Napkins... you name it! Apparently, we did it right! Amber told us that most American's didn't even go as all out as we did. Welcome to the 4th of July, Canadian-style:






On the menu:

Appetizers:
Ketchup Chips (a gift for our American friends, from Canada!)
Nacho Dip (my personal specialty) & nachos

BBQ:
Corn on the Cob
Roasted Veggies
Burgers
Argentinian Sausage (Juan brought them, and they were awesome)

Dessert:
Watermelon
American Sprinkle Cupcakes
American Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Juan's roasted Marshmallows

Drinks:
Lemonade
Strawberry Daiquiri's
Juan's Midori & Cranberry specialty


After everyone came out of their food-induced comas, we took a walk/trolley ride down to the main strip to see some fireworks. Thankfully, the 4th ended up being the one day of the trip that it didn't rain at all. It was perfect weather, and there were tonnes of people out to celebrate the holiday.

When we asked a police officer on the beach where we should go to see the fireworks, his reply was "Just look up!" Hah... nice. I guess he was right though... the fireworks were literally going off all around us. It was pretty amazing. The best ones were shot off from across the causeway, at Coachman Park. We watched from a few miles down, and it was still a stunning display.

Happy Fourth!