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:

~ 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.

~ 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.

~ 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:

~ New Year 2016 and a blank canvas ahead ~

New Year is in full swing now and lots of people have already broke their resolutions which is why I don't like to make them.  I do enjoy thinking about the future and the creative opportunities that may come my way this year.  Every year is exciting to think what images I can capture from life.  I do love art and I am going to try and continue with my 52 week art challenge.  So here are some random things off the top of my head I am considering for 2016....

• working on putting together my art and photography to possibly have a showing of my work at a venue some where 
• PAINTING, I say it every year but I want to get the paints out and finish a few of these 
• This one is the same every year, but shoot some new faces and collaborate with some new creative people (photographers, artists)
• Game!!! I need breaks from the camera, I like to play some MTG (Magic) or course hop on the console (xbox one) for some fun.  My gamer tag is Phocus on xbox live if you wanna add me.
• Get stronger spiritually, doesn't have to be church all the time but I want to spend more time connecting to my God and building that one on one connection to Him

I have not really shot yet in 2016 so I'll post some recent edits from a shoot with the beautiful Russian Canadian Galina!!! :)

~ Fall 2015 ~

It's been a very long time since I've written anything on my blog.  The summer has ended and now fall and my teaching life is in full swing.  It's been a rough year, marked with the sadness of losing our newest cat Mulder at such a young age and right when the summer began.  I still find my happy place is behind a camera and being creative.  Without art, without imagination this world would be a very difficult place for me to exist in.  Social media to me is meaningless without images, I love photos and don't care if they are mine or belong to another photographer.  There are so many talented photographers out there.  I spend a LOT of time on 500px looking at works that humble me and inspire me.


Every year before I go back to school I attempt to do a photo shoot to mark summer ending and just get my last few pics in with warmish weather and natural light before hiding out in studio for the winter.  I will share here some photos taken of the stunning Vickie.  Hopefully I'll BLOG more as I have neglected this blog for a VERY long time.
-Randy

~ Friends ~

I got to do some photos with two friends.  Using mostly the sigma 35 art and a bit of the 85 1.4 rokinon lens we went to Festival Place in Sherwood Park and walked around taking pictures.  It was a last minute photo shoot but sometimes those are the best kind. :)  Have a great Tuesday!!! :)