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.
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.
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 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
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.
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!!!!
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.
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
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:
Thursday - APRIL 28th, 2016 - Trying to Get Back To Blog Life
I have hardly been updating this blog....I need to refresh my photography blog and hopefully try and do an update once a week. I really do love blogging. I never really know who is reading what I write nor do I much care as it's just fun to share random thoughts and ideas and never know where they end up. More important than my writing is being able to share the photography I do. If it wasn't for people I would not have much fun doing photography. People are interesting subjects and I find each portrait I shoot a new challenge to get images of a person that they appreciate and will value. Life is so short, I want people to look back fondly at an image of themselves and remember that was them at a certain point in their life.....or even more special have my image be a lasting memory of that person for generations to come. I just created a new black and white gallery on my FB photography page. Black and white images are so timeless and really show the beautiful contrast of shadow and light. I love to shoot in RAW format and then edit a shot to color or black and white.
-Randy
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!!! :)
Feeling a very heavy heart today as I came across some photos from my iphone last year around this time when we welcomed Mulder in to our lives. He was a young kitten with a world of bad experiences that were so ugly and dark. He experienced some of the worst of humanity and had some health related challenges that he eventually over came. We loved him so much and he just became part of our family. We never knew, never imagined his time would be so short with us. We got him just before Christmas 2014 and by summer of 2015 he was diagnosed with a fatal virus. Saying goodbye crushed our hearts and my wife and I miss him so much. For those of us with pets and animals we know that unconditional love and those lessons about life that we learn from our pets. That connection is so amazing I consider it a precious gift from God. I do love technology and video games but mankind cannot compare to the creative talents of God. My cats did not just evolve in to being these amazing little creatures. They were created by God and no one will convince me otherwise...that is the power of my faith.
When I said goodbye to my cat Scully I felt such an deep sadness but a renewed feeling of faith and belief that I will some day see my lost pets and family. Heaven to me is real, it exists in my heart and to me gives me that much needed hope for something better than this world. Mulder experienced some pure evil from humanity and I know God didn't create us to treat his creations that way. I am thankful we were able to love him and create a home for him that surrounded him with love. As christmas 2015 comes I will feel sadness but also a calm for knowing he was here to teach me and I was here to love him. Not really caring who reads this....this was written for Mully and for me. I love you lil dude....I know you're gone but you live in my heart and I know God will reconnect us one day.
Your tall cuddle buddy Randy! xoxox
This summer I was able to shoot a few weddings with my good friend and professional photographer Olivia from Images by Olivia. She is a super talented photographer and together we had a blast shooting this wedding at the start of Sept. Weddings are always a fun time seeing the couple enjoying the day with their family and friends and the special moments that unfold.
-Randy
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
I want to write words today to express my sadness, but my wife Jen wrote some beautiful ones for us.....so I am copying and pasting what she wrote to my blog.
Thank so much for all your support over the last 48 hours as we dealt with our baby Mulder's illness and diagnosis. He was only about one year old.
I whispered goodbyes and I-love-yous and stroked him while he left us at about 1pm today. The vet felt that his fever was getting pretty high and he almost definitely had FIP as we had ruled out most other possibilities. But more importantly, the vet believed Mulder was already in crisis today, and this truly helped me make the hard decision.
I feel at peace with this, and I'm grateful that he did not suffer too long or too much before we knew what was happening to him.
I spent the morning cuddling him. And bawling. Im not gonna lie. He ate some fat food with gravy (his favourite) with happy enthusiasm, but he couldn't finish. About five minutes before we left for his diagnostic test, he went and sat inhis carrier for the first time ever. It was like he knew.
I know so many of you enjoyed watching and hearing about him. I got so many private messages over the last six months from people saying how much they enjoyed him. Thank you for those. We enjoyed him too. I hope his little life with us was so great that it erased all the awful stuff he went through to be here.
Top 10 things I'll miss the most about Mulder (but not limited to 10 of course):
10) I will miss him wrecking all the things.
9) I will miss him crashing out exhausted after wrecking all the things.
8) I will miss his fascination with the flushing toilet.
7) I will miss him running between the shower curtains and falling in.... And having a shower with me.
6) I will miss him being Finnegan's buddy. Nahla could take him or leave him. We can be honest.
5) I will miss him turning on the light. Then turning off the light. Then turning it back on. Then off. Then on. Then...
4) I will miss putting his toys away only to find that he dumped them all out again seconds later cuz he likes it better that way. I mean, how is a guy supposed to find something? And the giant chewbacca lol. Well, giant compared to him.
3) I will miss his enthusiasm for food. Him jumping into my plate of lasagna and the look that said he just hit the jackpot, watching him eating wet food with utter enthusiasm, and his level of focus when he was trying to sneak his face into my plate of food.... Or trying to sneak food from my mouth. He wasn't picky apparently.
2) I will miss seeing him chilling out on Randy's legs looking like he's watching tv too. Like a dude. And cuddling like a baby who knows he's safe and loved.
1) I will miss his spunky little character that was constantly in my face and in my heart. I don't care if he wrecked all the things.
Mulder was a very special, beautiful little guy. He had a very rocky start, and it took 5 months for his path to lead him here. He was here little more than six months, and was almost a year old. I'm glad we saved him and I think he knew happiness and love here. Helping him eased our pain from losing Scully, and now we say goodbye sweet baby kitten.
The town of Vegreville is going to be the first of 150 towns across Canada to get murals created by the talented minds of Mural Mosaic and on May 20th, 2015 it was revealed. The mural was made up of 1500 tiles that were painted by community members and many of the students attending schools in Vegreville. The mural is located on the wall of ATB and will join together with the other 150 murals to create a larger image. Recently elected MLA Jessica Littlewood was there to represent the Alberta Government. It was a fun day and some very cool art.
I teach art at the High School and was able to paint a tile and have my students be a part of this amazing experience. Of course I shot some images. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.
