JULY 13th SUMMER UPDATE

So summer's off and running and so far I have not done as much photography as I hoped. Gonna need to change that. I did go to Edmonton and was able to do x2 shoots in one day. What I discovered was I am REALLY out of shape and it was a challenge having to cope the next few days of pain after. The pandemic really took it's toll on my mental and physical health. I am in MUCH need of some exercise so I have been hitting the air bike more and trying to make plans to get out and walk, move and just keep busy physically. Finny doesn't love my new getting up more routines as he LOVES cuddling. 

Well, I am off to start moving as my BIG project is to organize our basement and purge some useless things I have been hoarding. Time to release some things I have not used in many many years. 

Here are some visuals from summer so far:

~ Nifty Level Fifty Reflection ~

~ NIFTY LEVEL FIFTY REFLECTION ~

So here I am, 50 years old and surviving during a global pandemic, surviving cancer, surviving in this UCP run province of Alberta. June 10th, 2023 I hit level 50, unlocked some pretty lame perks. Some of them involve waking up during the night for bathroom trips, when I get up things ache/hurt more than usual. My cats are hanging in there but definitely take a day at a time, as am I. 

Things are not normal, or were they ever? Seems like 2019 not only brought my cancer to the surface but with it the globe just went nutty. People seem so divided, everyone is on some kind of brink it seems of losing their marbles. As a teacher I have seen some really major changes and challenges come into the world of education. Basically, this world is never going to be the same as before 2019 and Covid. Not saying it's going to be bad and terrible, but it sure isn't looking positive on any fronts. 

With all the negativity surrounding it I have developed some plans on how I want to escape some of this chaos with some creativity and hopefully that can help keep my mental/physical/spiritual and emotional/social health strong. 

PHYSICAL HEALTH PLAN

• This one might be easiest of all, MOVE more!! I need to get active and hopefully yard work, photography adventures and just not being a complete potato will help here.

MENTAL/SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL HEALTH PLAN

• Do the creative things I love: ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, GAMING
• Spending time with friends, cats and family (Always good for this improving all aspects of my life)
• Keep learning and striving to be a better person in my job, personal life and just don't let my brain get sleepy.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH PLAN

• Going to do all I can to reconnect with that higher power. "This is My Father's World", isn't just a song that helped me power up spiritually during my chemo treatments, it's a saying that reminds me how much I need God in my life and heart.
• Connect with my Bible, reading, appreciating the contents of a book that contains so much good for me personally. 
• Take time to go out into nature, it's here where I can see God's presence more and I plan to showcase this through my photography, art and share it in new ways (I got plans). 

I say this lots but I do want to blog more. It's fun just writing things down and seeing where this writing leads. I have been playing a LOT with Ai (ChatGPT and Mid-journey) and I will at some point add some Ai posts to this blog. It's actually amazing to see how Ai is developing so quickly, scary yes to some point. I mean Terminator movies basically built a franchise on scaring people with quick development of technology like Ai. 

Summer is here and I am excited that I have some holidays now to really focus on some of these plans. I will try and keep this blog going with updates. If not here, check my instagram, FB photography for updates. Search up Randy Pond Photography. I cancelled my website as it was always glitching and the company I hosted with wasn't being too cooperative so the randypond.ca is no longer a thing. 

Thanks for reading this far. I wish you all the best for this summer and feel free to leave a comment. 

 Leaving you all with a portrait of my FINNY and moi!!!! LEVEL 50 here I come!!!! 

-Randy

~ Memories of 2019 and ALEX SHOOT ~

 THINKING BACK TO 2019 and SHOOTING WITH ALEX

MEMORIES FROM 2019

So it was in the end of September 2019 I was hospitalized with what I knew was a football sized mass inside me. I soon was told that it was cancer. It was a life shattering and altering thing to face and it was a difficult road to follow. Thankfully I got so many prayers, people supporting me that I never expected. I am truly blessed and humbled by it all. My hope is to try and give back to others the love and kindness shown to me by so many. 

SHOOTING WITH ALEX

This week was a challenging week of work and I got home today with the plans to get into my studio and do some photography. Thankfully this model Alex came to shoot but things did NOT GO smooth. Due to covid I haven't used my studio gear and when she got to my place my trigger batteries all died and we had to zip out to get new batteries. Then the main trigger would not wanna work....which was frustrating and as I tried to get it working, Alex got my older backup trigger to work. We were short on time so we shot what we could. It was sure a blessing to do something I loved like photography again. The pandemic really shut things down for my photography as it did for mostly everyone. I am so rusty and made a lot of rookie mistakes but it was fun to shoot again. Here's a few shots from todays shoot. 

~ Sigma 150 - 600 C Shots in Elk Island National Park ~

 ELK ISLAND ADVENTURES

Got to go to the beautiful Elk Island Park with my new lens. There was TONS of humanity there and I think the animals and birds all went into hiding from all the people. I drove the Bison Loop and just saw other vehicles. Jen and I walked around a bit and I did manage to catch some photos. I am really excited how this lens opens up new doors for me in my photography. It's so much fun to be able to get ZOOMY with my camera!!!!Stay tuned for more images.

~ Summer 2022 Update ~

A Moment of Growth

I was having a summer where I was praying a lot to God for some inspiration and direction to take my talents and creativity. Within a day or so of praying I got a message from a very good friend, more about this message later. This friend visited me when I was sick, brought me food when I was in the hospital and most importantly kept me in his prayers. Not only did he pray for my health and healing, he got his church prayer group to lift me up in their prayers. I came out of cancer and was faced with a pandemic....my photography was mainly portrait based for so many years. I always love nature, landscapes and seeing it around me was always beautiful. When I started my photography the lenses I wanted to shoot animals and nature were so expensive as they were massive zoom lenses with a LOT of glass. Ok, that backstory is over, back to the message. My friend was able to purchase a Sigma 150-600 lens, which was on sale. He shared this with me and after discussion with my wife, we decided this would help me get going in a new direction with my photography. I called Vistek in Edmonton and turns out they only had 1 lens left and I was able to pick it up. I have always been happy with Vistek and their customer service and was glad I could support a business local to me.

 This image was the first thing I shot when I got home from Edmonton yesterday. I want to share more on my BLOG how this lens and I will work together to showcase how God has gifted us on earth a taste of heaven. Teasers of heaven are all around us, we just got to be open to seeing them and realizing that our Creator loves us and all these things we find beautiful are gifts from Him.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it inspires you to pick up a camera and look for those gifts. God is the ultimate artist and creator. I give Him all the praise for the gifts he gives me and the beauty around for me to capture with my camera.

-Randy

~ University of Alberta Botanical Garden Visit ~

On a spontaneous whim my wife and I went on a trip to the University of Alberta Botanical Gardens near Devon. We had a great time, it was a sunny and hot day. It was great to see a lot of the flowers in full bloom. We have gone before but later in the summer when flowers were not as healthy as they were in July. It's great to see these gardens and the updates they have been doing to the grounds since the last time we went. I love to photograph flowers so it was a lot of fun, by the end of the visit I was drenched from the heat. I still have a ways to go with my personal health. The exercise we got from walking around was much needed on my end.

Here are the photos from our visit:

~ Summer 2021 Update ~

 SUMMER 2021 Update

Here it is summer of 2021 and I have not updated this blog in ages. I have been working on a post that goes into more details about my year of 2019 but for now I'll just give a quick overview.

September 2019 I was diagnosed with cancer, I started aggressive chemo and was hospitalized for about a month before they let me go home to finish chemo. I took the year off of teaching to recover and of course during that time COVID19 hit hard and the planet went into survival mode with people not allowed to gather. 

I started teaching in the fall of 2020 and now here I am finished one of the hardest years of teaching I have ever had. Thankfully I am vaccinated x2 with the wonderful phizer vaccine. It has been stressful at times and I did have to quarantine once because I was a close contact with a covid positive person in my class.

I have not touched my camera much, I am hoping this summer I can start shooting some new pixels and doing more photography!! Really going to try and get more physically active as I packed on some serious covid pounds....also due to a thyroid issue too. 

Anyway, this wasn't a super exciting blog post but glad I was able to post something. These aren't new photos, just some I have shot since recovering from cancer. Posted from my FLICKR. First pic is my ringing of the bell to celebrate finishing my chemo.

So if anyone that's reading this wants to shoot some photos with me, please contact me and let's create something awesome. I need to get out and adventure with a camera again!

-Randy

~ iPad Pro Summer 2019 ~

Going into summer I was feeling pretty rough. My health hasn’t been good (mental or physical) and I know change is needed. Photography hasn’t been as fulfilling lately and I have been really wanting to do more art lately. Digital art has always been something I wanted to do but I could never really get used to the Wacom tablet as it just never felt right.  A few years ago I tried out an iPad Pro with the pencil and was SOLD at how comfortable it was to use to draw.

I got the nice big version of the iPad with the pencil 2 and a very cool case for it. So far I couldn’t be happier. It fits with my style of art and it’s so fun to sketch and doodle on it.  The power of the iPad Pro is amazing as well. I use the app Procreate and it is outstanding to have tons of layers open as I draw.

I used to always open sketchbooks and a big inhibitor of drawing was that I always wanted my art to look perfect. Many sketchbooks just sat blank due to my lack of knowing what to draw and my desire to make it look great. The iPad takes away my mental barriers and lets me just sketch or doodle away. Giving my the layers allows me to change things if they don’t work out and instead of ripping a page out of the sketchbook I can just delete it or just start fresh and get it to where I want it to be.

Definitely stoked to draw more and I love the portability of taking the iPad with me wherever I go. Excited to share some art here and also photos too. Here are some recent drawings and photos of my precious iPad Pro.

~ Alberta Election ~

With an Election Day comes my political rant. Hehe. (Disclaimer: if you disagree just move along, unfriend if you get that bent out of shape) 

Ok let’s get this started. The average Conservatives supporters in Alberta seem to connect really close to the average Trump lovers. They think that the UCP party will bring jobs and do great things for our economy. Forgetting that the reason the last election went NDP was out of anger at corruption and greed and we were “draining the swamp” and giving a new group of people a chance. 

The conservative supporters also seem to have this make Alberta strong and free idea. Why not just use MAGA and get it over with??? This Alberta hate against Ottawa is ridiculous. We are part of Canada. Just cuz you can’t jack your truck up another few inches due to lack of funds is not the fault of Justin. This whole mentality of “we got the oil and should separate from Canada” seems common among the conservative Alberta supporters. 

I hope people can see that education is a huge factor in this election. Strong schools and more access to education will result in jobs.  Better education = better humans. I can make my point quite easily. Go to any politician twitter or social media page and read some responses of conservative supporters. Engleesh does not seem to be their first language.  This is evident by reading their responses to anyone that has a different point of view. Strong education = better paying jobs and better future. 

Alberta is STRONG. Alberta is FREE. We don’t need to disconnect from such a great country. We should be questioning our leaders and staying informed. However in this election to me there’s only one strong choice and that is the NDP. The Conservative party has dominated this province for far too long. Giving them the keys back again so soon after they went on a joy ride and smashed up our car is stupid. Allow a new group of leaders the time they need to create a better place for us to live and work. Don’t get sucked into stupid catch phrases and wanna be Trumpland mentality.

Polar Vortex

This has been some super cold weather last few days.  I have been totally staying inside and not going anywhere.  This morning with wind chill it feels like -42.  I have not been doing much photography but I feel this time has given me some time to edit and really consider where I am going to go creatively in 2019.  I am really going to try and write more as well.  This blog is a lot of fun and for personal growth as a writer I should really give it a shot.  I never really did feel like writing was my jam which is why I was more into creating images with sketches and now with a camera.  I prefer to allow my images to speak for themselves rather than try and write.

I also want to get back onto working on my YouTube channel.  I think it would be fun to show more video work with my cameras.  Possibly mix in some video from my gaming and blend it in with photography work.  Throw in some photography tutorials along the way.  YouTube has been something I have ignored for a long time and I really think it could be a fun way to expand on being creative with photography.

I hope if you're somewhere caught in this polar vortex you're staying warm.  Enjoy the day and look for ways to be creative in your own life.  Without creativity this world is a super dull and boring place to be living in.

This is a great video by John Spencer

New Focus for 2019

This year I have made some decisions with my photography.  I have shot all kinds of things in my journey with cameras.  For 2019 I want to really shoot more for myself and for creative reasons.  I love portrait work so I plan to continue shooting TFP work with people to try out creative ideas.  Also my home is for sale and we're not sure what the future holds or where we may move.

I really want to try to focus on a mix of art, photography and make it a personal project to focus on creating stronger images, ideas and push my creativity with it.  Basically going back to school with myself as the teacher.  I am going to revamp my website and social media to reflect this personal journey.  Please hang out and check in from time to time to see how this turns out for me.  I am thankful for friends and family that support me and of course the amazing wife that supports my creative escapades.  I might also try to increase my work on YouTube and create more video work.

Of course I may read this in 2020 and realize I didn't do anything I wrote here but it's good to have goals. :)

I will share the most recent creative edit that will give you a taste of where I want to go this year with my photography and art.  MODEL is MJ and she loves Dr.Who....so this was inspired by her outfit and sonic screwdriver she had.
-Randy

~ November 2018 Update ~

I have neglected you BLOG.....time write something new.  So here is a bit of an update.  I am currently fighting off a nasty old cold.  It wasn't fun, sick for a few days but I am on the mend.  Photography has gotten to be SO SO SO slow.  I am not shooting much TFP anymore and have been actually enjoying art a LOT lately.  Watercolor paints are so much fun and I am trying to spend more time with art.  I have also been playing a lot of Call of Duty (Black Ops 4) on my xbox one x.

I am hoping to get my studio lights up one day soon and find a model or two to come shoot here.  I think in a few more days this cold should be gone, just in time for my November break.  Tomorrow in the United States I am HOPING Americans can get it right and vote out some of those moron Republicans.  For me it comes down to tomorrow, if they don't go with the BLUE wave then it will tell the world that America is this toxic and Trump does represent current American values and attitudes...which is seriously sad if that happens.

My photography shares today are from the FLICKR feed, which has just updated it's PRO account.  It's a bit more pricey but I am so impressed with it's features.  Unlimited full sized images and a few more nice features for professional photographers.  I have used 500px less and less over the last few years.  I kinda have a soft spot for FLICKR as I was on it from pretty much the beginning of these photography shenanigans.  So back to the photos for today...these are some sunset pics, shot only a few minutes away from my house.

This wild and crazy world....

So I have finally started year 21 of teaching and still loving the challenges and learning I experience every day.  There is a LOT of potential for changes in my life right now but looking forward to what these changes will bring.  I love photography but lately I've been actually doing what I have said I would do for years, which is to pick up a pencil and some art supplies and create some art.  I added a link to my website to showcase my creative side more.  It's felt good to mess around with art and create without the camera.

I am trying my best to not worry about the world but it's been crazy.  Make America Great again and it looks like a dump.  The climate change that so many try to ignore is looking quite real.  So many terrible storms and wild fires.  It's tough to stomach news lately with the nutty things happening.  I am thankful for art, music and creative people.  Thankfully there are people trying to make the world a better place with their talents.

I will drop a few pics here of recent things I've been doing with my camera.  Gonna try and share more art as well.  Stay tuned and if you're reading my BLOG a huge thanks as I am a terrible writer and hoping posting a blog or two will help with that.  The photos in this blog feature a model I love working with: DESTINY and we shot them late summer out in Vegreville.  It's always fun to collaborate with her.  She's always been a great model and friend to work with.  She got me some amazing Oiler players to give me autographs!!! Spoiled photographer here!!!!

-Randy

It's BEEN Forever!!!

I haven't written much in ages.  I guess I could start this blog back up again.  I do enjoy sharing work on it.  I really had this connected with my FLICKR account and it was a lot of fun to post work.  I think I will give this a try again.

It's fall time and so far it's been pretty NOT fall weather.  Mostly SNOW and lots of rain!!  I do love winter but it would sure be nice if there was some fall to be had.  I love the colors of fall and capturing the different colors of the leaves.

Here are some blog photos of a recent shoot with a model from Edmonton named MJ.  She has been so fun to shoot with.  She is also a talented photographer and has a really cool instagram.

~ End of Summer 2016 ~

I almost never got to shoot my END OF SUMMER 2016 edition.  Really busy getting back to work so I will share some of the quick shots I got of the model.  Thanks to Angela who met me in Sherwood Park after her work and on a cloudy and rainy evening.  Here are the shots, hoping to blog some summer work from summer including the Wil Yee wedding in BC!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to check out the BLOG!!!!
-Randy

~ Mini Shoot in Edmonton with Craig ~

Shooting With Craig

Last night I met with a male model in Edmonton for a mini shoot.  We did a shoot for about an hour.  I don't often get to work with male subjects so it was a blast capturing pics of Craig but really the gender of a subject does not matter it comes down to light and just shooting cool locations and making the best shots possible.  Here are a few shots from our shoot: