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

~ 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.

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