Where's Ameet?

Fountain
Originally uploaded by fotoluvr.

Photo class is over. I now have a stack of beautiful black & white prints to admire, and maybe someday, frame. So what's next?

While the lessons I learnt in the darkroom are useful, they're not sustainable. Traditional photography is on its death-bed, and the trick is to transfer those processes to a digital darkroom. With a few tips from the instructor, I am now churning out near-professional quality prints out of my humble Epson.

Meanwhile, I've been trigger happy this weekend. A combination of good weather and the "Doors Open" heritage festival meant I was out the whole weekend clicking pictures. The processed ones are on flickr. Check them out.

Cartoon

Tom Toles, Washington Post.

Happy Mommy's Day

... to all the wonderful moms out there who sacrified so much to bring us into the world. Spending a weekend with my sister and her 10 month old son gives me newfound appreciation for the art of child-raising. I knew it was hard - but not THAT hard. You girls rock!

More Prints

Perspectives
Originally uploaded by fotoluvr.

Uploaded some more B&W prints on Flickr. Take a look and feel free to leave comments.

Shrinking Sleeves

There is a conspiracy brewing against the biceps-challenged. Notice how shirt sleeves are getting shorter and shorter this summer? Makes my average arms look like chopsticks. Between my personal life and my job, time left over for pumping iron is a scarce luxury. I don't need to feel any more guilty about it. I will brave out this summer in last year's Tees. Sigh.

Hope

Today's Sex and the City line:

If the world's fattest twins can find love, there's hope for all of us.

Colour Returns

Yorkville
Originally uploaded by fotoluvr.

There are two rolls of undeveloped black and white film sitting on my kitchen counter - mocking me. I won't know how they turned out till I print something in class on Tuesday. Seeking some instant gratification, I picked up my digital camera and went on a shooting spree. Click on the pic to see the results.

Foto

I'm taking a photography class to learn the darkroom process. We had our first printing session yesterday. Here's a scan of my first successful print!! It took about 5 tries to get it right, but it finally worked!


The picture is a clocktower on Yonge St. You can see the top of First Canadian Place (BMO tower) in the background.

Black and white pictures really force you to think about contrast, exposure and composition. I miss colour, but I need to get the basics down first.

Guess Who?

Can you guess who's this celebrity enjoying (supposedly) private time? A friend sent this pic - but I'm not convinced. I'd like to see if any of my blog readers can guess.

Spring Cleaning

What does a single gay man do on a rainy, April weekend morning? Clean his wardrobe!

Anyone who lives in a temperate climate endures a bi-annual ritual known as "changing of the wardrobe". A long, arduous, linty, sneezy affair. It involves taking down everything from the hangers and folding everything into two neat piles, one for storage and one for Goodwill. That's only half the task. The other half is opening your storage boxes and taking out all those skimpy, short-sleeved summer clothes, trying them on to see what fits, discarding the ones that are oh-so-last-year and hanging up the ones that could still work. Ok - there is some washing and pressing involved, but how much can you do in one day?

There's a refreshing, misty, cool breeze blowing in through the open window. Perfect weather for some pakodas and chai.

TV Wisdom

The Toronto Star ran this piece on all the "wise" things we hear on TV. Here's an interesting one from Brenda on Six Feet Under.

"Academia is one huge circle jerk. All the sequestered people defending the one good idea they've had in their lives."

Is that why they have tenure?

Washington DC

Literary Gem?

"His penis is so beautiful ... I just want to knit it a hat"
-from the movie "Prime".

That line threw me into a loop. When I see a penis, tiny woolen hats are the last thing on my mind. I don't knit either. I dabbled in some crochet as a kid, but that's another story. In fact, I don't look at penises that much. I don't find them visually attractive. I am more interested in the bodies they are attached to. And the only hat I want to see on a penis is a rubber one.

What to do - I'm like this only.

[A little inside joke - for those who watched MTV India in the mid 90s.]

Sone Ki Chidiya

Saffron

That's the source. As beautiful as the aroma and flavor it exudes.


Came across this picture on Wikipedia and just had to post it.

Washington Bound

It's been 9 months since I left the DC area. Washington DC has the most beautifully landscaped public spaces in North America. Every Spring, they reward us with a splendid display of nature's bounty. Starting with the cherry blossoms that blanket parts of the city, the manicured trees and lawns of the National Mall burst forth with fresh green foliage, rinsed clean by the April showers. Cool, crisp Spring breezes make exploring the city on foot a delight.

This April I have the opportunity to visit my beloved city once again. Following a training class on Thursday in Reston, I will be spending the long weekend (it's Good Friday) with my dear friends in Washington DC.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures I took around DC last Spring.

Spring

Spring is in the air. The mercury has been climbing. The sun's out in full force. The street musicians are back. So are the sketch artists and vendors. Most importantly, the tourists are back! Nothing says Spring in Toronto like the hordes of American tourists.

Random observation. There are two neo-classical edifices on Yonge St - just North of Queen. They're each about the width of a typical storefront. Separating them is a driveway leading to some uninteresting buildings. The gap seems oddly out of place - as if the structures were once connected - part of a larger structure. Got my curiosity going.

Another random observation. The area South of Bloor and just West of Spadina has some beautiful homes. Each decorated to the nines. Remided me of the homes around Dupont Circle in DC.

Walls Do Talk

She snuck into the building right behind me, carrying a tray of leftover sandwiches. About 5'2" tall and slightly overweight. She wore a bright red spring jacket. I had never seen her before. We both walked briskly towards the waiting elevator. She hit #15 - my floor. Could it be? I brushed aside the thought. The elevator stopped at #4 and the other guy got off. I began the small talk, "I guess that's dinner". ".. and lunch", she quipped. "I am stuffed, but my boyfriend is probably starving", she added. The elevator stopped at #15. "After you", I said. She walked out. I reached for my keys and walked to #1501. She stopped at #1502 - the apartment next door. We both looked at each other. A silent acknowledgement.

She fakes them quite well.

Random Thought

Isn't it ironic that when you have lots of time, you have no money to do stuff, and when you have the money, you have no time to do stuff?

15 Park Avenue

My vegetative state last evening, thanks to a neck cramp, was a convenient excuse for some heavier TV watching. I popped in the DVD for 15 Park Avenue, mixed up some salad, poured me some wine and watched the movie. (On an unrelated note, when they say Ibuprofen and alcohol will give you stomach ulcers, they mean business. My gut feels sand-papered this morning).

Aparna Sen is a good director who, for untold reasons, happens to be obsessed with street addresses. 15 Park Avenue comes across as an attempt to bring art cinema to the Indian masses. Pick a contentious social issue, throw in some talented actors and film most of it in exotic locales. That Aparna Sen formula, which I first encountered in Mr. & Mrs. Iyer, has been carried forward to this movie.

The contentious social issue is mental disorders (with rape thrown in). The talented actors include Konkona Sen Sharma - who delivers, Rahul Bose - whose talents are completely wasted, Shabana Azmi - who mostly plays herself and Waheeda Rehman - who has limited opportunities to shine, but shine she does. Shefali Shetty (Ria from Monsoon Wedding) gives an highly underrated performance in a supporting role. The exotic locale is the Kingdom of Bhutan - rarely seen by the outside world.

The actors put in a good effort, however the end result comes across as uncoordinated. The cinematography comes across as too flat. This was probably intentional, as any creative use of lighting effect renders Indian cinema to the dusty depths of the"art-movie" pile. (My mom's words echo in my mind -"what a dull movie - it's always so dark".)

The plot is revealed slowly and carefully. The characters build up over time. We can soon put the pieces together. And just when we felt everything was coming together, the movie ends. Like a dangling sentence. Leaving us to stop and think, and reflect on Meethi's existence. This much-disliked ending was my favorite part of the movie.