“Help-portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment, and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate.”
On August 7th some friends and I organized a help-portrait here in Winnipeg. My little group of great people set up at a greenhouse celebration put on by the Spence Neighbourhood Association - their garden did great this year and there was reason to celebrate!
Lots of people came out and feedback from the community was oh so good - smiles were quite contagious! I would definitely mark the day as a success on the community level but also on a personal level. I’m searching for words to describe what this event was to me, but I’m having problems coming up with them. …the appreciation, gratitude, happiness, and friendliness of everyone involved (from the community organizers to the beautiful people in front of the lens to the volunteer photographers…) was so overwhelming and rewarding.
I just delivered the last of my photos this past Saturday which marks the end of this help-portrait initiative. It’s over…but I’m already looking forward to the next one so much! Thanks to everyone who came out and made the day such a success. Let’s do it again sometime. :)
Beautiful people in front of the camera
Beautiful people behind the camera
“ Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please.’
Hugh MacLeod
A few months ago now I had foot surgery. Minor and nothing complicated, but it was enough to gimp me for some time. Exercise is something I need, it helps keep me balanced. So even ordinarily a physical hinderance like this is very difficult for me. But it also came at the worst possible time - right when two of the most unexpected and hardest things were thrust in front of me. Dealing with the tragic disappointments of life and the reality of death is hard, and not having that physical outlet during it all was difficult.
But I am now healed in more ways then one, and am excited about the present and the future. I can do yoga again! And ride my bicycle, and longboard, and go boxing, and walk barefoot at folk fest! Life is good.
Time is precious and is the most valuable thing you can possibly give, and it is with this thought that I carefully choose where I spend my own time. From volunteering at The Bike Dump to energy exchanging at my local yoga studio this fall, I will give back where I can. And in doing so will help further causes that I believe in on top of personal growth.
Thanks to all my true friends, both old and new. You’re the best and I appreciate you so much.
When you develop strong feelings for someone you will always have strong feelings towards them - they don’t just go away. What exactly that type of feeling is can shift dramatically, but it will always be strong and directed.
“It’s a funny thing about comin’ home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You’ll realize what’s changed is you.” -Benjamin Button
Two weeks ago I returned from Cuba. It was an amazing trip. Cubans never cease to amaze me with their generousity and kindness, despite so much hardship. The people there are so genuine and trusting. My cuban friends even joked about hitchhiking being their national sport!
This was the first time I’ve returned to Cuba in 5 years, and the way I experienced it was…much different then the last time I was there. Last time I was only 17 years old, and stayed on the tourist path nicely laid out before me. This time, I made an effort to get off the beaten path, making real connections with the locals. I went fishing with a local for hours on the rocky shore. I grabbed some beers and wandered through the local market (talk about a stark difference from even the tourist thrift markets). I played baseball with some locals in the town near where I was staying. I experienced Cuba.
I’m back in Winnipeg now and I’m having trouble slipping back into the way of life here…it just feels less “right”. Although I’m back where I was before my trip, I feel like I’m looking through a different set of eyes…or at least with a different perspective. Friendliness in the streets is few and far between here: Saying hello to a passerby is considered odd…hell even making eye contact makes people feel uncomfortable. In the morning I look at blur of cars buzzing past my bus stop: Most all of them occupied by but a single driver. And then there are all the things we take for granted here…
Our problems are so miniscule here compared to big problems in other places in the world, and we place so much emphasis on them. It just seems so dumb, so…pointless. I can’t help but feel we live in a hopelessly segregated, introverted society.
Will I readjust? …or do I even want to?
“ To the desert go prophets and hermits; through deserts go pilgrims and exiles. Here the leaders of the great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality.
Paul Shepard, Man in the Landscape: A Historic View on the Esthetics of Nature
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.
As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.“
-Steve Jobs
