Helene Cyr Photography » Personal

school trip

Helene — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:30:05 +0000

What a privilege it is to tag along with my son’s school field trip. To photograph teenagers with their trust is unusual in our times. The days of Henri Cartier Bresson are long gone where life unfolded naturally in front of his lens with no fear or suspicions. Today good luck pointing your lens in a school crowd without some form of threat or law suit. Right don’t get me started..
Another argument would be, well you have them on your blog now don’t you? Yes, I do, and it’s a slice of life, a place and time was recorded with honesty. These images can not in no way shape or form be used other then in this context unless I am permitted by the subjects to do so. There is much to cover on this topic of photographing surrounding life… more to come!
These were taken with an old 50mm 1.4 at the Ocean Discovery Center in Sidney, BC. I highly recommend visiting!

Oahu with Félix

Helene — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:22:56 +0000

Nothing like taking your 16yr old aspiring surfer son to the surf mecca of Hawaii and witness his fascination with the ocean. My guess is he has dolphin blood!
Such a treat to travel with him and his positive spirit! A small burp into our holidays when Day1 the bottle of water spilled onto my camera and it died… serious bummer. A good friend suggested the Canon Power Shot D10 which I rented for the week and was pleasantly surprised by it’s versatility! For one, it loves the water which makes it ideal when you have a dolphin as a son. The images below were only touched up in Lightroom. The quality is by no means of professional standard but will do just fine for playing around and catching moments that normally would be difficult without proper water housing.

Félix’s excellent eye…

Life of a Light House Keeper

Helene — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:23:01 +0000

The romance and mystery of the life of a lighthouse keeper can be a beautiful thing and also a very isolating experience. There are 27 staffed lightstations along the BC Coast. Staffed with two employees for safety reasons, the keeper’s primary duty is to report the weather changes on our rugged coast. Every 3 hrs starting at 3:30AM, lighthouse keepers all along the coast will call in the weather report to Coast Guard radio. The radio staff collects the data and transmits the information for all vessels at sea. There is the on going station maintenance of course, and some keepers take on odd chores such as collecting and removing the countless items of plastic and styrofoam debris that litter our shores. Keepers don’t get days off. They are out there 7 days a week, for month after month. This keeper tells me that although the idea of living on 50 acres of prime ocean front property conjures forth images of romance, in reality the long days and nights offer personal challenges regarding keeping the mind and body active and stimulated. The word romance is gradually replaced with words like patience, self-reliance and endurance… this is not a career choice for everyone to be sure. It was a privilege to experience the day and life of a lighthouse keeper and I am now fully aware of their critical presence on our Coast!

Happy Spring!

Helene — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:22:59 +0000

Mime from L’école Brodeur

Helene — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:51:59 +0000

A very talented group of students and teacher put together a heartfelt 20+ minute mime show for public performance during Vancouver’s Olympics. Their script and performance during the rehearsal was so moving that it was difficult to hold back the tears. If anyone in Vancouver had the chance to see it, you would understand. Congratulations to you for your extraordinary work!

Oahu, a short week of fabulous Aloha spirit

Helene — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:34:31 +0000

Oahu, spells Aloha. The Aloha spirit is nothing like I’ve experienced before. Sheer kindness and laid back mentality lies deep within the Oahu’nian veins. Even the official and non-official photographers at the Volcan Pipeline Pro were so surprisingly casual. By the way those pro surfers who ride the pipeline are seriously nuts. If the opportunity arises to visit the lovely Karen and her kind spirited Island once more, I would wish to do an essay on the Aloha spirit and their comfort and respect towards their incredible ocean. “Aloha”!

shot by the lovely Karen

Palm Springs surrounding deserts, 11/29/09

Helene — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:38:39 +0000

They boast of 100+ golf courses and a sea of windmills. It’s believable. But you can’t help wonder where heavens’ are they getting their water? After shooting Michelle and Berkeley’s wedding I treated myself to 2 days of desert (mostly by car I’m afraid) as Joshua Tree Park is immense! They should have a sign “watch for soft sand” as you will get very very stuck. And this I did well no more then 20 feet from the paved road! No less then 5 minutes both a car and tow truck stopped to help. This is John with his dog who helped me partly before the tow truck could truly pull me out. John was incredibly kind and seemed as though he was pulled out from a movie! The highway leading to L.A. is already 8 lanes wide at 159 KM from Palm Springs and you are warned not to go near it past 4pm… gaaa. The other park I visited was Indian Canyon, also a spectacular park where the palm trees are huge and grow from a natural fault line water source like an oasis. These two deserts I briefly visited are incredibly spiritual places! Oh! can you find the chain gang in any of these pictures? Truly.

exquisite friends in the rain, 11/20/09

Helene — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:22:01 +0000

Such a treat to spend the weekend with friend photographers and my son, away from our computers and the buzz of it all. First weekend to ourselves. The rain poured and poured and poured… i loved it, we all loved it! The rain hit my lens and I could not care, they kept playing and being wild. So much fun you are!!!!!!!!

Tofino with Félix + mega rain

Helene — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:51:09 +0000

Breathtaking summons our escapade and wedding shoot in Tofino. From electric blue skies, snow on the pass to eventually two solid days of relentless torrential rain where the roads threatened to be closed. The wedding couple were extraordinary and braved the elements which made for some of my most favorite shots! Félix was a great help holding the umbrella keeping the 75º rain fall from hitting the camera! Can’t wait to work on this last wedding.. thank you Félix for your indispensable help!
1st image taken by Félix

Montréal + eyes open

Helene — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:10:43 +0000

A short trip to Montréal with Félix fed many of our senses. Family, dear friends, photographer comrades, and walks along old neighborhoods fueled me beyond words! The City is known for its’ openness and it’s fabulously true, Montréaler’s do not seem threatened by the camera. I was a tourist in my old town and enjoyed opening my eyes.