Dalai Lama Toronto

This weekend I was a volunteer photographer working with the organizers of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Toronto Visit. The Dalai Lama was in Toronto for 3 Jam packed days. He is constantly on the go, public talks then meetings, then opening the new Tibetan Canadian Cultural Center, then more teaching's, VIP lunch's then blessing two huge prayer wheels, then more teachings, back to the hotel, and then off to the next city.

His Holiness is now 73 years old and very busy man constantly on the go. When he was moving from place to place the photographers and news crews had to run to keep up with him.

Xray Cover for Eye Weekly

Out this week Eye Weekly coffee issue. With a X-ray photo of my coffee machine that I have made for them. Think of the X-ray as a huge negative and that this a contact print of the machine.

Laars the new publisher and editor of Eye remembered a set of X-rays I made In 1997 for Shift Magazine. At that time they were printed on colored photographic paper. Kentmere sold a series of black and monochrome colored papers, Red, Silver, Gold, Orange, super mat and very rich colors. The paper was processed and printed in darkroom which was lots of fun and hands on. but did take a day or two of stuffing around to get right.

Both Shift and Kentmere colored paper have gone. But the X-ray machines are still ticking along. Huge hulking machines with dials marked X and Y.

So off I went in 2010 with my coffee machine under my arm to make another contact print. The image looks just as good printed digitally as the old analog ones and was made in 1/2 the time.

0 to 100 project at CM&P Studio

We have been photographing older people this weekend filling in the gaps in our wish list for the 60 70 and 80 year olds.

Max Gordon who at 91 is the oldest person we have photographed for the project came to the studio with his wife Anne (88) and they are were huge inspiration. Max is totally switched on and a busy guy I think this is how you get to live to be 91. Don't stop moving.

Andrew Easson and Stacy Branford have kindly lent us their space to shoot in at 9 Davies Ave. It has been great--more grip equipment than you can poke a stick at here.

As usual Andrew has made our shoot simple and hassle free.

Check out www.cmandp.com for all your production needs

The interviews of the older subjects have been amazing.

A 88 year old woman said "The best part of being 88 ? I don't give a shit what anyone thinks any more I just do what I want."

A 50 year old man said "Now I am 50 my parents can't tell me what to do any more."

This is a contrast to the 4 year olds who go blank when I ask them "What will you do when you are old?"

Thanks again to Steve Milo of Milo Casting for finding most of our older subjects for this shoot.

And Walter Branko of B3K digital for the great deal on the p65 and Capture One advice and support www.b3kdigital.com