I like Cars

I like cars. I like cameras. I like when the two mix. I also like rat-rods like this old school ford.
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I was talking to someone about traveling recently. She's going on a trip. It really put the bug in me. I really just want to jump on a plane and check out somewhere fun and exciting. Stupid money and not having enough of it.

Slow days in the Studio

Mahjong in the park. Every time I would go to the lake, I would see tons of people playing this game. I tried to learn it once. Way too complicated for me...
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The bubble gun. This guy was selling them and thought that I needed to get blasted. I can't blame him. What would you do if you saw a 6'3" foreigner coming at you with a camera?
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I am not really sure what this kid is doing with his hands, but he was having a good time jumping on the manhole covers as he walked home from school.
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So I met another Saskatoon photog who has the magic skills of web design. We were talking about sites (I was asking who made his) and in ten minutes he had something together that was better than what I could do in a week. He also pointed me in the direction of a pretty sweet template company. I fired off an e-mail to get the low-down and assuming that they are as easy to they claim to edit, I should have a new site up and running in a week or so. Keep an eye out for the all new www.vancelester.com

i miss China.

This was one of the great stores on the lake. Corn on a stick for 50 cents, Bao Zi, Zong Zi, stinky Tofu. This place had it all.
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Lake cop. Busting anyone who mistakenly rides their bike on the promenade.
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Bike repair in Hangzhou. These people have little boxes of parts and set up shop on the street corners. The quality of Chinese bikes are pretty low and these guys fill a need. They charge about 20 cents to fix a flat. I used their services on more than one occasion and biked away a happy camper.
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Outside of work, I haven't shot anything in a couple weeks. I find that much of Saskatoon is just not as interesting as Hangzhou was. I know I sound like a broken record with all of this missing China. I'll try and cut it out. I think it is time to start a new Saskatoon project. Time to head downtown tomorrow with the Leica and shoot a few rolls.

Shanghai Street Front Fried Duck Vendor. Brian, Danielle and I happened upon this place just after finishing lunch. Even though we were beyond full, we had to try it out. Fantastic.
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A young family enjoys a warm sunny day at West Lake in Hangzhou China.
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A migrant worker clears old lotus blossoms from West Lake in Hangzhou China.
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A pedestrian walks across an intersection in Linping China. This was taken near my apartment.
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Speaking of the ol' stomping grounds, Here is a shot of my apartment. 都市港萬 (Hmm, I don't think I have this 100%) or in English - Du Shi Gang Wan.
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So I am getting through some of the backlog of images from China. It is bringing back lots of good memories. I've really been thinking about getting back to that place.

Something else that going through all of this film has done is make me love film even more. The whole process is just something that I love. I love finding film that I shot a while ago and have just developed. Screw this instant digital crap. I like to leave my film around undeveloped for months. Then when you do get around to developing it, it's like Christmas.

Scanner Fun

So I picked up a scanner that can scan film. That means that I can now take care of the back-log of film that I shot in China. Today was dedicated to that task. I am at 12 hours and it feels like I haven't made a dent in it. At the rate that I am going, it could take a while. After I get it scanned, I still have to do some basic editing. Thank god for Photoshop scripting.

Speaking of China. I really can't wait to make it back there. Going through these pictures really made me appreciate my time there. Hangzhou was pretty much true to it's slogan of "Heaven on Earth". Some of my days spent eating Bao Zi and Zong Zi while drinking coffee by the lake were epic.

So once I get all the photos scanned, look for a multimedia thing as well as a bunch of stand-alone images. All I have to say is that it is about time!