The Power of SHe on FB

As of yesterday afternoon, my Power of SHe project has made it’s way onto facebook.  This?  This is your official invitation. 

For those of you who’ve been following this blog for some time know all about the Power of SHe, for those who don’t, here’s the press bio for my little art instillation:  The Power of SHe is about how we, as self-identified Women, define ourselves in light of how society and the media seek to define and confine us.

I’ve been working on the Power of SHe for some time now.  It’s been exhibited twice, and continues to grow.  I believe it is a very important body of work, and something we desperately need.  So I hope you’ll join us as the journey continues.  The more the merrier.  Let’s force a shift from art project to movement.  We can make change happen!

http://facebook.com/PowerofSHe

Misadventures of a snowbound photographer

Tonight I have to direct you towards another url.  As I’ve already chronicled this particular misadventure on my photography website.  I do promise though, the many photographs of our frosty day are well worth the visit.  I know you’ll laugh as much as we did as we battled the environment to get these important shots.

http://tdphotography.me/2013/an-unexpected-snow-filled-adventure/

Hip deep, completely stuck, immobilized by the snow and ice.

 

And a big thank you to Jamie for not only volunteering as my assistant today, but for capturing the entire thing with her iPhone.  LMAO

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The last of the four Walt Disney World parks is Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and I realize it’s cliched to say it, but while it’s the last it’s not the least.  Hollywood Studios is AMAZING!  I’ve already shared the photos from the girl’s Jedi Training School experience, which was totally incredible and jealousy inducing, but that was just one small part of our day.

There are just a TON of character meets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the lines were minimal compared to many of the other parks.  There’s a bunch to do, yet this park doesn’t feel quite as overwhelming as the others (of course, by this point we had our system pretty much perfected – which really helps).  And it’s not totally kid-centric either, which was great.  This park definitely had the broadest appeal, with everything from Star Wars to the Muppets to Phineas and Ferb to Pixar’s greatest hits to classic Disney as well.  We loved everything about this one.  It was fabulous!

PIGS IN SPACE!!!

Such a great photo op, right outside the Muppet Show store.

Taking a break!

Trapped inside the game waiting in line to see Ralph and Vanelope.

The line to see Buzz and Woody was a longer one, but had all sorts of photo props set up.

Trapped inside the claw game.

“Oooo…. the claw. You’ve been chosen!”

Trapped inside the milk crate at Sid’s house.

Blasting off!

Loved strapping the girls into the rocket… it was cathartic. LMAO

Trapped in a box with Stinky Pete??? Ewwww!

Disney’s Magic Kingdom

This truly is THE park.  When people who have never been to Walt Disney World talk about Disney World, THIS is the park they are usually talking about.  It really is quintessential Disney.

When you are planning your WDW vacation plant to spend at least two days at the Magic Kingdom.  There is so much here that really shouldn’t be missed, and even with two days devoted to this park there are things you’ll have to skip.  I promise to go into the rides and shows in more detail on another post – listing the must dos and the must avoids.  But for now?  After such a long day?  I’m going to jump right into the photos.  After all, that’s really what you want to see, isn’t it? 

Quintessential Disney – Cinderella’s Castle (the arm of the crane, not so much).

Trying to pull the legendary sword from the stone.

On Prince Charming’s Carousel.

Parading with the Merry Makers in Fantasyland.

They pulled Damon from the crowd hoping he’d be strong enough to pull the sword from the stone while searching for a hero for Fantasyland.

Prince Eric’s ship, near the entrance to Ariel’s Grotto – a perfect place for our little mermaid to strike a pose!

Jewle’s living a lifelong dream!

The amazing ceiling in the Beast’s castle.

One of the tapestries in the dining rooms of the Beast’s castle.

Cinderella’s Castle!

Sketching one of the many flowerbeds.

One of the amazing open air shows in front of Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

Hooray for Peter Pan! Lily-Ann loved Donald Duck as Captain Hook.

I would have expected a bigger crowd for such an awesome show. But even though we arrived a little late we were able to get right up front. :D

Playing with Daddy.

This is what a trip to Walt Disney World is REALLY all about!

The Swiss Family Robinson’s treehouse – the girl LOVED their kitchen.

Posing in the tree house – one of the few attractions that are camera friendly.

Even though she’s a little wary of heights, she did great!

Being silly.

Looking at Belle’s favourite book in Maurice’s cottage.

At only five and a half the girl is apparently much taller than Belle was at the same age. LOL

TRAPPED! We had to do Dumbo twice, the wait was more fun than the ride. LOL

Lily-Ann, putting on her very own circus show while she waited to ride on Dumbo again.

Seek no more

On Thursday, February 28th I felt a sudden need to light a candle and to send love out into the universe.  I didn’t know why I needed to, I just knew that I had to.  So at 4:30 I let my daughter choose a candle and we lit it together.  Shortly after that things became all to clear.

Bran Everseeking, who was known to some as Thomas Dunbar, was a treasured friend.  At 4:15 his wife, Naomi, had posted to FB that he was having a heart attack.  It wasn’t until later that evening I would learn of it…  after seeing another post she made at 6:04.  Bran had left this world for the next.  Gratefully I didn’t learn the news until after Lily-Ann had gone to sleep as with it came a slurry of tears.  It honestly felt like some cruel joke.

The last couple of days have been absolutely draining, and I really have no words – which is why this post is more dry facts than anything else.  I’m simply trying to relay information without breaking down again.  For now all I can share are images, something I believe Bran (as a fellow photographer) would appreciate.

The candle I lit at about 4:30 on Thursday, burned until 4:54 Saturday morning.  I know this, because the change in light woke me from a troubled sleep and I saw the last ember go out.

Goodnight my dear, dear friend.  Know that love follows you from this life into the next.  Seek no more.

The last photo I took of Bran, at Welcome to the Gaybourhood in 2010. He’s playing with Lily-Ann.

The candle I lit, on it’s second night. Photograph edited only to convert it from RAW to JPG and to add the text.

A photograph I took in honour of Bran Everseeking. Edited only to convert it from RAW to JPG and to add the text.

Follow your feet my dear friend, they know the way. Photograph edited only to convert it from RAW to JPG and to add the text.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

When we sat down to plan our trip, we decided to spend six days visiting Disney parks.  Two days for Magic Kingdom, one for Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios, and one spare day to go back wherever we felt needed an extra day of exploring and fun.  Well…  that extra day ended up with us back at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  We absolutely LOVED this park.

For those who have never been, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is like a zoo and an amusement park all rolled into one.  And as far as it’s zoo aspect goes, it’s one like no other.  While there are lots of areas where the animals have their own private enclosures, there are also a plethora of spaces where the animals are free to wander around with a multitude of species all sharing beautifully sculpted landscapes.  It really is quite impressive.  And while I promise to share lots of animal photos at a later date, here are a few of us just taking advantage of some cool photo-ops at the park:

These animals were sculpted into almost every available surface. It was pretty impressive.

Lily-Ann in “Asia”.

The great stone dragon (from Mulan for those who don’t recognize it or the reference).

Kid kid loved this sign and thought I should grab a snapshot of it. LOL

Playing around.

This performer was part of the Lion King show. He, and the rest of the cast, were very impressive!

Like me, the girl can’t resist a chance to get up and personal with animals. These pigs (I inquired about) are apparently natives of New Zealand, and are about eighteen months old now. I thought they were just darling!

Checking out an Ostrich egg in Rafiki’s wildlife center (where the many biologists and animal care specialists work).

We hung out with one of the animal scientists for a while, and he let the girl hold a REAL cheetah skull when no-one was looking. LOL She was very impressed!

Character Meets at Walt Disney World

You really do need at least five or six days to properly do all the parks (not including water parks) at Walt Disney World, and a big part of the reason why are all the character meets.  Because, lets face it, even an adult only vacation to WDW has to include character meet ‘n greets!

Most of the time, you just hop in line and wait it out.  And some of those lines can be LONG.  We were there during the off season and even then there were a couple of characters whom we waited for over an hour in line to see.  Now, if you were to skip all the character meets you could chop a couple of days off your trip, but why would you want to do that?  The characters are what makes Disney the fun that it is – otherwise it’s just a bunch of theme parks.  People love Disney World and Disneyland BECAUSE of the magic that is Disney, and that is ALL about the characters.

And let’s face it!  Most of the rides are no camera rides (though some people are asshats about it and snap pictures anyway – ruining the experience for those around them), so the character meets?  They’re your very best photo ops.  And some of the cast members really are fabulous and are SOOO worth seeing.  Peter Pan pops into mind.  Seriously, he spent about ten minutes with Lily-Ann…  who happened to be in her fairy costume.  He even tried shaking pixie dust out of her.  He really was fabulous and made the girl feel that way too. 

So, here are a whole whack of character meet-ups from our trip!  None of the photos have been edited or enhanced.  I am not even going to THINK about that yet.  It’s going to be a STUPID amount of work considering the two or three thousand images I have.  LOL  So it was just a RAW to JPG conversion.  LOL

Dug and Russell are totally cute, and so much fun!

We only got a few minutes with them, but they made it worth the wait.

We were thrilled to see Baloo and King Louis.

Damon had to get in for a photo op with these two – they’re his favourites!

Pocahontas wanted to know if the girl’s bag was for raccoon treats.

Ariel is one of the girl’s favourite princesses, so I made her a tail for this meet-up.

<3

Gaston was a lot of fun, charming and silly too.

I tried to convince Jewles and Lily-Ann to play the parts of the flustered girls who are head over heals for Gaston, but they wouldn’t go along with it… so it was just me. LOL

Pooh Bear actually took the time to spread out the girl’s mermaid tail – which was really sweet.

Jewles has always been a nut for Winnie the Pooh, so this was a dream come true!

Lily-Ann was over the moon to meet Merida – and she told her so.

“Who’s your favourite princess? Let me guess, is it Ariel?” “No. It’s YOU! You’re my favourite.”

Two BRAVE grrrls.

I told her that our family had gone as Elinor, Fergus, and Merida for Halloween. She loved it!

When I tried to straighten Damon up before our picture was taken she laughed and said “You really are like Elinor.” ;)

Okay, yeah… I’m sharing six pictures of us with Merida. We love her! LOL

Big hugs for Chip and Dale!

Goofy was really sweet with Lily-Ann.

Kid kid was super excited to meet Pluto…

…and called us over for a picture with him too.

YAY Phineas and Ferb! We love Phineas and Ferb… yes, I have pictures with them too. LOL

Playing with Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates).

It’s Handy Manny!

The girl couldn’t believe that Mr. Incredible kissed her hand!

High fives for Frozone!

She was head over heals for Mr. Incredible after that kiss. LOL

Lily-Ann insisted I have a picture with Frozone and Mr. Incredible too. I don’t really have a super hero pose in my back pocket – but I did my best.

We didn’t see Wreck-it Ralph (the movie) until AFTER our Disney trip – or I’d have been in there too. LOVE Vanelope, one of my favourite princesses. :D

Considering how “old school” Mickey is, I was shocked over how excited Lily-Ann was to see him. She didn’t want to let him go!

I wasn’t sure we’d ever get her to stop hugging Mickey Mouse. She was just sooo in awe of him.

Even teenagers need a squeeze from the mouse.

How can you NOT love Buzz and Woody? Toy Story is Fabulous!

We had to get a family photo with these guys! I just wish Jesse had been there too.

Jewles tried to get away with avoiding the “toys”, but they weren’t about to allow that. ;)

The hall of princesses was one of the few character meets that has a fast pass.

We were rushed a little here, but it was still a real treat for the girl – who asked Rapunzel where her frying pan was. ;)

My favourite Disney princess from my childhood and youth was always Aurora.

Gotta love a princess who’s such a good friend to animals, as Briar Rose was.

So is it any surprise I have such a giddy goofy smile on? LOL

Lily-Ann was too in awe of Cinderella to say much, but we took pictures, just the same.

Even Jewles got one with this classic Disney princess.

We spent quite a bit of time with Marie. Lily-Ann wanted to adopt her! LOL

We made sure to point out that as much as Marie would love Canada and staying with us, that she and Duchess would miss one another terribly.

Lily-Ann wasn’t happy about having to leave Marie there, but she could understand not separating her from her mom.

I appreciated her spending so much time with us when there were so many others waiting.

This was our second meeting with Daisy, we saw her our first day too. This is at Magic Kingdom, but she’s at Epcot as well.

Lily-Ann was almost as excited to meet Minnie as she was to meet Mickey. Again I wasn’t sure she’d be willing to let go.

Had to get a photograph of all the girls with our ears!

Tiana is another princess we really like. Gotta love a strong female roll model – who just happens to end up a princess.

…all I could think was how hot she had to be under all that fabric! Yikes!

Lily-Ann was SOOO excited to meet the fairies she could barely speak.

So Tinkerbell made sure to give her lots of hugs – which was really nice.

Periwinkle was happy to meet a water fairy – as frost fairies and water fairies often have to work together. ;)

They actually had a really cute visit… it was sweet. :)

This is Peter Pan… the fellow I raved about in my blog post.

He was SOOO good to Lily-Ann. He played with her, made her laugh, and was so genuine and sweet.

He mimicked her, and was silly with her. He visited and asked her questions.

He even tried to shake some pixie dust out of her, and wanted to know how she was able to fly there without it.

He spent way more time with Lily-Ann than anyone else we saw him interact with… we were just tickled.

Not too many of the characters took the time to really get involved with you, but he was AMAZING.

I don’t know how long they’ll be able to keep him young outside of Neverland, but let’s hope it’s for a good long while.

We had to try THREE times to get in to see Jasmine and Aladdin. They were always busy!

It was worth it though. Aladdin was silly with Kid Kid, tickled her, and made her laugh. It was nice.

…now one “good one” for the scrapbook. LOL

One more meet-up with Pooh Bear. This time at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

EEYORE!!! YAY!!!! :D

Awww… :D Jewles + Eeyore = True Love Forever!

Snuggles for Tigger (who the girl DEFINITELY out bounced).

Rafiki was very cool to see. :) And next to NO line. I was amazed!

Disney + Nighttime = Magic!

Another “must do” at Disney are their nighttime spectaculars (the voice in my head says it with a thick Italian accent and REALLY rolls that R).  Meaning get your butt a spot to sit, or find yourself one square foot of space to stand, and ensure you’re there – because even the crappiest of spots is still magnifico!  Truly!  You haven’t seen fireworks until you’ve seen them at Disney!

But do be warned, Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios is not for everyone.  Young children, or those who are impressionable may find it too scary.

Disney’s Mainstreet Electrical Parade – okay, not a fireworks show, but still AWESOME!

Loved the electrical parade!

YAY Pete’s Dragon!!!

“Wishes” at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

This show brought tears to my eyes. “Wishes” is AMAZING.

You have truly never seen fireworks until you’ve seen them at Walt Disney World.

“Fantasmic” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Fantasmic is one of the only places in all of Disney World to catch a glimpse of certain characters.

Terrible photo I know… but it was MEG! One of my favourites, and I only caught a glimpse of her for a second before she was gone.

“Celebrate the Magic” at the Magic Kingdom park.

Blessed Samhain – from Fairy Berry and us

Before anything else, I just wanted to wish you all a blessed Samhain.  Hold close the ones you love, and remember well those who have already passed from this world.  As the world enters the dark half of the year, gather close to share stories and memories, and soon we’ll return to the light.  Brightest blessings, may your lives be filled with warmth, caring, and many wonderful new memories to share in the future.

Now…  I want you to say hello to Fairy Berry.  The girl was just thrilled when I finally let her see the ponysona costume I’d created for her.  As I helped her into each piece, she’d run to the bathroom to see how it looked:  and with pants, sweater, two wigs, and ears, that was several trips to check out her reflection.  So she was quite happy to show it off while I snapped a few pictures before she headed to school this afternoon.  It’s totally adorable on her, and the wings worked just as I’d hoped:  they actually flap as she walks, skips, and hops along. 

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Family Photography at Dusk

Dusk is a time of day often neglected by photographers.  The poor light tends to cause folk of our ilk to shy away in favour of brighter times, especially considering dusk is shortly after the “golden hour” with it’s beautiful warming rays.  However, dusk can be a lovely time to shoot.

The low light of dusk creates images reminiscent of yesteryear, with it’s last filtered rays of sunshine…  It is exceptionally moody, creating romance and intrigue.  Especially during the late Autumn or early Winter when rosy cheeks and noses only add to the feeling of crispness.  Here are a few photos from a recent shoot to inspire you to get out there and create during this mostly ignored time of day:

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My thanks to the St. Onge family for braving the chilly air in search of these shots.  It was a pleasure working with you!