Capturing life as it is

Love yourself

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Photographers are known to be vain, right? You have heard about it? Good. But if you haven’t, please continue reading. I personally have no idea where this information is coming from, but I see some truth in it. Some. I used to be that photographer myself. I took photos of myself and posted them. A lot. But luckily I was young and silly, so this is far history for me.

Today I made an exception and posted this photo of myself, as it happens to be my birthday. The idea of this post is not to show how beautiful I am. Lol, I know that I am a beautiful person, but I do not need to post my face for that everywhere 🙂 BUT to inspire you to be more creative in whatever you do, in this case, photography.

Believe it or not, this photo is on one frame. No magic has been done here. After I took this photo, you could see all three of me on the screen. I will not reveal, as this really doesn’t matter, how the photo is done, as in this modern day, you can find everything online anyway. I took the extra mile at that time when I took the photo, so I can learn and explore more. And the only model I had by hand, was myself. So I had to break my long silence of posting my own face online for this post 😀

So, yes go ahead and be creative. And take a photo of yourself, if needed 😛 and love yourself!

August Northern Lights

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I took this photo a few years ago. What an exciting moment it was to be able to capture my first Northern Lights. I happen to live in a place, where their activity is hardly ever visible. So going out to “hunt” them was definitely an experience on its own. And I am glad about that. Photography is all about learning, being curious, exploring and experiencing. While doing all that the skills will get better as well. You gain confidence and most importantly, your life will get better and more enjoyable.

I think this is the main thing. Doing something for yourself, which charges you with the energy, which helps you to handle all the everyday life challenges or musts, like going to work, paying bills, waking up early etc.

Canada Day fireworks

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My recent excitement about photography, aside from the work I have been doing to update my product photography portfolio, was taking photos of the Canada Day fireworks. Well, it was quite a convenient “job”, as I was able to do it from my balcony. The only unfortunate fact was, that a tall building in my area was covering some of my view. I am definitely no longer into the loud boom and bangs, as I was sitting and taking photos with the earplugs on. The only “pay” was getting some decent enough fireworks photos.

July silhouette

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Summer, summer is here. Probably the most relaxed month of the summer. When you work all the time the only difference is that the days are longer and the air is warmer. Elderberries are ripe and colour the sidewalks dark purple or give you some solace while urban harvesting the kind bushes. More walks in nature, as honestly, nature calls.

I took this photo years ago during a summer music festival which no longer is, at Schilling. If you are an Estonian, then you know without any extra information who this person is. He is Peeter Volkonski. Maybe the closest thing to Mick Jagger. I like the vibes of this photo, the July vibes. Nice and warm summer nights, with music, friends and photography.

Enjoy the moment, as this is all you have.

Photographing the (old) dorm rooms at Tartu College

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A little while ago I had a chance to take photos of various dorm rooms at Tartu College. They have several room options in downtown Toronto for students who have been arriving in Toronto all around the world. It was my first so-called real architectural photoshoot. And I must admit that I loved it. Wouldn’t mind doing it again. If you are interested, shoot me an e-mail and let’s make the photos happen.

View of an old twin room. One of the rarest rooms available.

I guess the most fun thing was setting up the rooms, so they are ready for the shoot. One thing is to put things out you think is the best way. And the other is looking at the whole view through the viewfinder. Gathering the things and spreading them around in different rooms, so to have rooms look authentic and personal, was so much fun.

So-called old west facing kitchen. They call them old because these rooms are not recently renovated.

And the shooting. Well, it was somewhat challenging, as the windows were always bright, so the outside was oftentimes washed out. As I took these photos at the beginning of June when it was very sunny and hot. But at least you can still get the idea of the rooms. They are still pretty cool, I think. I like the two-desk situation and plenty of light. Perhaps not so much of a storage place, but at least a warm cozy corner one can call their own after being far away from home.

Single southside facing room.

As I said these are the photos of the old rooms, where the upgrade hasn’t happened. Next time I will share the photos of the renovated rooms and kitchens to show you the difference.

June clouds

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June is the first month of the summer. A beautiful glimpse offers long white evenings, breezy nights and ultimate freedom. Unfortunately, at the end of June, the days start to shorten again. Oh, why June’s beauty is so temporary?

This is the month to get away and leave the city behind. Go to nature, swim, hike, eat berries in the forest, and do something fun with your friends. Being a prisoner in a free world doesn’t feel right, it is inhumane and against at least my freedom sign. Now is the time to break through and do something.

This photo shows the crisp June clouds so well because I shot this through the glass of sunglasses. Look at the colours and the layers of the clouds. One can just fall into these.

Happy summer solstice and happy summer! Have fun 🙂

The photography exhibition “Toronto Estonian House: Last Act” is open this Saturday!

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You are welcome to visit my latest exhibition about Toronto Estonian House.

It consists of 10 large-format colour photographs printed on foam board, which portray the not-so-accessible rooms of the Toronto Estonian House. The 10 frames were chosen from almost 1500 frames. The preliminary selection consisted of 36 photos. Of the 16 extra frames another, online exhibition will be created in the future.

NB! The exhibition is open this Saturday and can be viewed 24/7, as it is displayed on the indoor windows.

It starts at the main entrance of Toronto Estonian House at 958 Broadview Avenue (LINK) with an introduction. There are 9 more photos by both other entrances, the southside and the northside. 

All photos exhibited can be purchased as photo prints.

If you wish to present this exhibition at your venue, please let me kindly know via e-mail.

May green

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May is described as green. During this month you will see how trees go green, almost overnight. I have already started noticing the little mouse ears of green fresh leaves on the bushes. Trees still seem very bare. But wait, May will change all this.

Also, more light is making the days longer. The evening sun is enjoyable, the wind is warm and it makes you want to stay out and enjoy the day. Oh dear summer, is not far.

Not sure if I will continue presenting monthly photos on the front page, the way I have done so far. Present May photo marks that I have been doing this for a year. I guess this is how time flies. Most likely I will continue, but just in another form.

Until the next time.

At the movie reading

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I had a great chance just last weekend when I was invited by my actress friend to her movie reading. I had heard about the term before but never participated in one. And I was asked not just to listen but to take photos. Yayy, super excited! Haven’t had a chance to do so much of my favourite candid photography in the past few years, so this was definitely a great challenge.

What is reading?

an occasion at which poetry or other pieces of literature are read aloud to an audience.

Oxford Dictionary

The movie reading was kind of the same. The actors were reading their script as they would be acting in the movie. But there was no audience, except me and two other support crew members. It was really engaging, as I was almost like an observer at a movie scene. The only difference was that the actors were sitting, but nevertheless, they put all their emotions into their words and interactions with the other participants.

Mind you the room was very tiny, which seated 11 people of whom 8 were reading the script. I had a hard time moving around as I didn’t want to disturb the people, but at the same time, I wanted to get the shots I needed. Well, I forwarded 100 shots and they were well received. These three shots should just give you an idea of what the scene looked like.

April moods

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April is an interesting month. Something in between winter and spring. Stuff is kind of not happening in nature and then again it starts to wake up. I have already seen the first spring blooms though, but I love seeing the whole of nature waking up little by little. Luckily there is a nature trail near to me, so I can see that change weekly.

I always remember a late-night shoot in April with my photography class students. We travelled to the countryside and tried our skills out in low-light photography. The first assignment was to find a subject in the evening and take a picture of it in the most creative way. I found this batch of hepatica – the first announcers of the spring in Estonian forests. I know it is not the best photo one can take in these situations, but I definitely loved this moody photo of the April forest.

Embrace your mornings and the longer evenings, go for a walk, meet a friend, and say hi to your local salesperson. Be present and explore! Happy spring!