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!
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!
Posted by Helene Cyr on February 11, 2010 – 1:51 pm
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!
Posted by Helene Cyr on November 29, 2009 – 4:38 pm
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.
Posted by Helene Cyr on November 16, 2009 – 9:51 pm
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
Posted by Helene Cyr on November 3, 2009 – 6:30 pm
Today I randomly walked into a store and discovered a remarkable man with a contagious smile. I can still hear his laughter! He painted his Saskatchewan homeland on his lunchbox and it was his art teacher who said “if you can paint like that, I bet you can play music.” With a few hundred dollars he purchased his organ and plays it every Tuesday in his store where he works still with his beloved wife of 50 years.
Posted by Helene Cyr on September 23, 2009 – 8:58 am
Recently I was asked by UVIC to do a quick morning photo-essay on the homelessness and a fabulous women who is part of a pilot project whom is not shown here. Having arrived at 07:15, the police had already done their sweep so there was little cliché to shoot. What struck me mostly and I wish I had sound bites to offer was the closed classroom where a dozen or so homeless people and former homeless gather every week sharing their insights on their common upcoming project. With small video cameras and still cameras they are interviewing people living on the street and will later amalgamate their material to make one film. This should be interesting!
In the room were two visiters from India doing a case study here on the homelessness. They have millions of people who are in dire straights and their country simply has no resources, here we have a mere 1600 (accounted for) homeless people (70% of which are mentally challenged) and we are rich to the brim in resources. They were simply baffled.
Posted by Helene Cyr on September 1, 2009 – 12:00 pm
My sweet neighbor asked me to photograph her mom so she can simply hold a memory of her. An honor it was and in return I experienced the fragility of time and was reminded of our relationships with people dear to us. It’s humbling.
Posted by Helene Cyr on August 14, 2009 – 12:19 pm
One can not say enough wonderful things about a backyard wedding where there is very little structure and plenty of room for people to mingle and share emotions. Bekkie and Kamil were incredibly laid back and made room for laughter. For this I opted mostly for B&W and it was refreshing to do so as this is my roots.
There’s something fascinating about Parades. An array of cacophony & visual over load topped with anticipation, nervousness and boredom. These images were taken from Mayfair parking lot where they spend up to two or more getting ready with last minute choreography, last minute tuning of hefty instruments, and a few embraces here and there to keep warm. The parade itself does not interest me, but behind the scenes where emotions are strong.
