Focus 365 — Not a Sunset, but a Sunrise

This is the 365th post in my Focus 365 series — a supplement to Bastard Type.

For those not familiar with Focus 365, it was a little project I started on January 1st, 2011 in an effort to share a photo for each day of the year. The idea was to try and put some good vibes back out into the world through art and creativity. Sometimes I missed a day or two and caught up the next day. Sometimes, like in recent months after my hiring on at Zoomer magazine combined with freelance work I’ve been doing, I missed weeks at a time and had to update with multiple photos per day to catch up. I was completely fine with that and it was worth it.

The was certainly a good year to take on the Focus 365 challenge. Over the year I posted photos from Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Florence, Rome, Siena and New York City. In that year this blog’s audience grew by the thousands, and I can’t thank everyone enough.

For the record, the top five Focus 365 blog posts were, in order:

Peeling Restaurant (November 21)
The Beautiful Discovery of Henri Cartier-Bresson (February 20)
Bacchus to the Future (May 14)
The Accidental Genius of Eugène Atget (May 12)
Heating it Up with Erin English (July 20)

As the title of this post says, the image above is not a sunset, but a sunrise. I look forward to continuing this blog into 2012, meeting even more wonderful readers and bloggers who I’ve chatted with and even come to know on Facebook and Twitter, and interacting with people around the world through art and writing on this blog.

Thank you all for validating my belief that art grows communities and brings constructive energy with it. This small corner of the internet has seen that happen over the last year, and I look forward to continuing with writing and posting photos on here while watching it grow even more in 2012.

Prayers for blessings and good will in this new year.

Sincerely,

MC
January, 2012

Montreal Graffiti Art

I came across this building while walking through Montreal a few months ago. It’s just off Rue St. Catherine, not far from Rue St. Laurent. I’m not sure if it’s an homage to a specific person or just a beautiful piece of art, but anyone who doesn’t think that graffiti art has a place in civic life is sorely mistaken. I’d take the vibrant colours and creative passion that went into this artwork over the cold, plain, glass and steel walls of the countless condos popping up like acne all over Toronto any day.

In a city like Montreal or Toronto, there’s enough space for the condos and the creative/created space to co-exist (and while codes can be creative, in the great development race that has engulfed Toronto they rarely are) but it seems like we’re being overrun with the former at the expense of the latter.

Whoever created the above artwork, congratulations. You did a fantastic job.

Harbourfront Wind

An afternoon wind along the harbourfront in Toronto.

Photographed 2011

Regis Philbin, B&W

A shot I took of Regis Philbin when he was in Toronto for a book signing recently last year. It was in the evening, and the toll of the travel and the later hour was clearly beginning to get to him. He was very gracious with all of the fans who showed up, though, and his wit was much sharper when he was interacting with the crowd on the mic than it came across during his final year or so on television. A very funny, gracious man who can still work a crowd like he was back on The Joey Bishop Show.

Unicycle (Abandoned)

An abandoned unicyle on the streets of Montreal.

Photographed 2011

Cycling Rue St. Jean

Photographed during a street festival on on Rue St-Jean in Quebec City, Quebec, 2011

Man on a Giant Bicycle

Pierre Bernier, a kind man who runs Museovelo, a bicycle shop on rue St-Jean in Quebec City, cycling around near his shop during a street festival last month, laughing and having a good time with passersby.

Check out another photo of him in action here.

Photographed in Quebec City, Quebec, 2011

Colourful Street

My beautiful girlfriend walking up a street in the old part of Quebec City. She’s wearing my favourite purple dress and it’s as if the colour flowed from her body to the walls and doors as she walked up the hill.

For more images of Kristina and our trip to Quebec, click here.

Leaving the Grind Behind….

Photo copyright Hostopia

Perhaps my favourite shot I took during my time as a professional photographer. I came up with the concept of the mane undressing as he crosses the beach, tossing aside his work clothes to lay with his partner in the hot, topical sand.

Of course, the sand was neither hot, nor topical. It was September and this is Ashbridge’s Bay in Toronto. With some creative editing I think we made it look alright.

For more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

Alena after a Workout

Model Alena Konovalova posing during a workout shoot about a year ago.

For more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

SPLASH!

Brandon Wickens and Rachel Sellan during a shoot. The terror on Rachel’s face was real, as was the chill in the water.

For more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

Erin Sells Sea Shells

Photo copyright Hostopia.com

This is a shot of a real trooper. Toronto-based glamour model Erin English took part in a beach shoot for a client who needed the photos ASAP. Unfortunately for Erin, it was September and the blue waters of Lake Ontario, while looking somewhat tropical after edits, are actually quite cold. In between takes she’d run up onto the sand and wrap herself in two blankets to keep warm. To her credit, however, she never complained and was always ready to jump back in the water when needed.

There’s another post about our shoot here, and for more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

Rachel Part Two

Another few shots I took of Rachel. Believe it or not, the beach is Ashbridges Bay in Toronto. We tried to make it look a little more tropical.

For more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

Rachel

This is a shot of Rachel Sellan, a Toronto-based model I worked with a few years ago on a commercial photography shoot. I was going through some of my old work shots recently and decided to take a shot at editing them in a different way than I would for the clients I was shooting them for. As well, such as in the case of this shot, I used some outtakes and edited them in a way that I ended up liking them.

Over the next few posts I’ll put up a few more older work shots. As well, for more images feel free to check out my online portfolio.

Courtyard Lamps

Lamps in a courtyard in Montreal.

Photographed 2011