Trudi jumps for her ball

My poor tired dog walking feet have been saved since Trudi learned to fetch and jump high for her ball. She just loves this game! 

Time to enroll her in Agility classes!

Rain down on me

Today was one of those days where I am glad that having a dog forces me to go out, even when it is cold and dreary and the clouds are filled with water.

It had been a rainy afternoon where Trudi sat and stared out the window wondering when she could go out and me, telling her patiently every 10 minutes, "not yet, it's still raining". Finally although the clouds were still spitting drizzle, neither of us could wait any longer and off we went to the schoolyard down the street.

After 15 minutes of me trying to get my dog to fetch and play in the puddles (which she detests), the red brick school building began to glow a warm pink gold, the kind of colour I have only seen in Denmark. And before I knew it, a full rainbow fell on us, set against the most brilliant sunset sky.To the north, the sky shone gold, and to the south, purple pink. Beautiful, heartwarming and well deserving of a blog post!

SPCA portraits

Volunteering at the SPCA, I encounter so many dogs that are fearful, sad and anxious, especially when they first arrive there. It is thus often hard to tell what kind of pet they will make. However, even after only 10 minutes with them outside, they relax and you can just tell by looking into their eyes, that all they want is a secure home, and loyal master to follow.

Train 64 / Open

5 hours on a train with nothing but time on my side, I finally got  chance to explore and test some iPhone photo editing apps.

Leeworkstudio

After alot of hard work and perseverance, Leeworkstudio.com, a website showcasing my best and latest photography has been launched. Please do visit the site and check it out.

Gold Rush Hotel, a Print Oculus Mobile Device Photography winner!

I am pleased to share that my photo "Gold Rush Hotel" has been selected as a winner in a mobile device photography competition held by Oculus Arts. The photo will be published in their upcoming book titled "Print Oculus: Mobile Device Photography". As well, to coincide with the 2013 CONTACT Photography festival in Toronto, "Gold Rush Hotel" is currently being exhibited, along with 11 other juried photos, at the QSQ Giclee Boutique and Gallery during the month of May.

Here is a sneak preview of the book. 

 Some upcoming events which I will be participating in:

Exhibition "Re-opening" and Book Launch
Thursday May 23
QSQ Gallery, 845 College St. Toronto 
6-9pm

Artist Talk
Saturday May 25
QSQ Gallery, 845 College St. Toronto 
1pm (to be confirmed)

Books ($25cdn) and signed prints are currently on sale at QSQ.

Dog

Twist

Twist restaurant in the Mandarin Hotel - design at it's best in Vegas!

Even captured with an iPhone, the images are able to showcase the beauty of this restaurant.

Zion Canyon

On the way to Zion Canyon, Utah

The Big Bend in the Canyon

Circular Escalators

With it's excessive number of flashing lights, neon signage and overdone themes, I expected everything about Vegas to reek of tackiness and cheese. So I am pleasantly surprised to see several restaurants showcasing stunning interior design, and the Wynn hotel, an innovative circular escalators leading to their gardens.

Paris in Las Vegas

Flying over Nevada

Amazing view out my United Airlines window of the Nevada landscape. 

Good bye ice cold snow, welcome desert heat!

First day of Spring

Yet another storm has hit leaving behind 20cm of snow with another 5cm on it's way. What a menace the climate has been this winter to Montreal. I am finally going to admit out loud: I am winter tired and my body has had enough.  It is March 19 today. Did I mention I'm really looking forward to the first day of spring tomorrow?

Focused

No matter what, there is nothing more special than the eyes of a dog looking up at attention.

Pitbulls

I have to admit, since adopting Trudi, who has possibly a pitbull mix, that I have developed an affinity to this breed of dog. They are often beautiful and unique in their colouring and markings and have the most adoring eyes. When loved, trained and treated with care, they are one of the most loyal breeds to have in the family.  

In my opinion, this terrier breed is no different that any other dog and should be given the opportunity to have a good home. The general population however, tend not to adopt pitbulls, assuming that they cannot be trusted and forgetting that ANY dog, big or small, can turn dangerous when untrained or mistreated. (Need I mention that the majority of aggressive toy dogs I've met while walking Trudi have been little lapdogs who have been coddled instead of taught not to fear larger animals). Thus pitbull mixes, are generally feared, unwanted and sadly, in many cities, banned. 
 
This is Mika, currently at the SPCA. She was initially found as a stray and is a bit timid. But with the 15 minutes that I spent with her, it was clear that she is a gentle sweetheart.
Mika's petfinder profile can be viewed here.

Sweet Boston

Selfishly, volunteering at the SPCA as a photographer,  I am conflicted between selecting images that I would consider as good photography versus photos that will get the pet adopted. It's really a challenge to shoot these animals, especially since they don't get outside much and when they do, are extremely excited. This in turn makes shooting them close to impossible, especially when they don't stop jumping up or sniffing around head down, eager to explore their new surroundings.  

Yesterday's Boston Terrier was a gem though. I think I managed to satisfy my creative needs and those of the SPCA's adoption team with these shots. She was gentle, calm and most attentive to the treat in my hand. Off course, how can one not love these huge eyes as they stare up at you!

Rest in Peace

Last week, I found out that a colleague from my film industry days took his life. Although I haven't seen him for several years, the hours we did spend working together, through the thick and thin of film production, were enough to leave me saddened to hear this incomprehensible news. 

No doubt the last few days have been full of reflection and questioning of life, it's value and what it takes from us. As human beings, the depth and make-up of our emotions are not apparent. Where there is light, there are also shadows that form and stay. As easily as the layers of joy be perceived, so can those that ache, be hidden. 

My friend, rest in peace. I hope what was tumultuous and painful for you is now clear and calm.

MOOooo!

Shooting animals not only takes photographic skill, but also an innate sensitivity to animal behaviour that only a few people possess. One such talented photographer whose work I have been following in recent years is Béatrice Schuler. Please check out her work here.

Thanks to Béatrice, I was inspired yesterday to dig up some photos which I shot two years ago while on her farm in Nova Scotia.

Somehow I managed to catch this fellow's attention.

I guess he was looking for some affection.

Happy Valentines Day!

kleejourneys at the SPCA

Petfinder  is an online resource to find a pet to adopt, be it a cat, dog, rabbit or rodent. However, when looking at the photos of these animals up on the website, I am generally appalled at the quality of them. How does a rescue operation expect to get their dogs adopted when the first impression of a potential owner of the animal is an out of focus image of their ass? First impressions do matter I must say.

So in my efforts to make some kind of difference with my photo skills,  I decided to volunteer for the SPCA in Montreal as a member of their Petfinder team. If I could have it my way, I would spend all my volunteer hours making full use of my photography expertise, and taking the amount of time needed to shoot the animals, best when they are relaxed and at ease with me. As it turns out, 70% of the SPCA volunteer job is administrative and 30% related to photography. It's no wonder that somewhere along the line, image quality is compromised.

However, let's hope that this volunteer is able to find the happy medium between getting good images up online and doing in-house administrative chores to get these animals into a new home with a better future.

Here is my first contribution...

From the inside looking out during the winter, bright and sunny days are deceivingly warm. In actuality it's currently -24C outside, feeling like -34C with the wind.

A good day to stay in, stand by a window for a dose of vitamin D....

....or cozy up next to your best friend!