Kensington Market

On Saturday morning, I met the photo crew at the COOLEST shop in Kensington Market called, the Blue Banana: http://www.bluebananamarket.com/ We all gathered by the cafe to discuss what our individual plans for the day were. Some people planned to work on their "letter" assignment (see previous post) while others made up interesting projects on the spot. Like Dale, who figured she'd take photos of all the interesting doorways throughout the market and come back years later to document how they've changed. Myself? I was torn; I had already completed my letter assignment, and I knew what I wanted to shoot for our other assignment, so I didn't know where to focus my... focus (pun intended.) I ended up sort of walking around the market aimlessly. Don't get me wrong, I got some great shots, but I learned the valuable lesson that it's better to have some sort of plan/goal in order to get the creative spirit a groovin'.

When I was on my way to meet the group, I stumbled upon this fabulous colourful garage door that I thought would make the perfect backdrop for a portrait! I made a mental note of where it was and immediately dragged Chrissy over to pose for me. I wanted to see how the light and shadows would affect the outcome, but in the process, I completely forgot about what drew me to it in the first place, the colours!

Chrissy got the idea though!

Another skill I wanted to work on was mustering up the courage to approach random people to ask if I could photograph them. I asked this gentleman in-between songs, and he was more than happy to accommodate me. At first, I was snapping away vertically, but after showing my shots to the teacher, he pointed out that shooting him horizontally might be more affective - turns out he was right... again! Kirby likes how he looks like he's a part of the mural behind him. I totally did the on purpose (not really though.)

Now that I had my first victim under my belt, I was more than confident enough to approach this cutie sitting in a doorway with his beloved pooch. He warned me that she likely wouldn't sit still for a photograph, but it was worth a shot (again, pun TOTALLY intended!)

After I thanked him for his time and continued on, I turned back to see such a happy family reunion, I couldn't resist snapping another picture!

It was such a beautiful spring day, the sun was shining from every direction - all the colours in the market looked so very vibrant. Exile had tons of crinolines hanging from the top of their outdoor racks - perfect for capturing the light through the layers and layers of fabric!

And Courage my Love, as always, didn't disappoint!

We eventually caught up with the rest of the group, and Ronnie got caught up posing with Chrissy for this nifty review mirror shot!

On the way back, we came across the butcher shop with all sorts of carcases and intestines proudly displayed in the window. I could hardly look (let alone take a picture!) So, we continued on back to the Blue Banana. Chrissy stopped me mid-stride; she had found her "Z"! And at the same time, I saw a photo-op that I couldn't pass up. Believe it or not, she just so happened to be standing in this exact spot when I told her to stand still and let me take a picture - she hadn't even noticed the thought bubble until I showed her the image on my camera. "Man I miss da old days!"

Overall, it was a super fun and productive shoot. I had to cut my shooting time a little short as I had to catch a bus to London to meet the newest addition to our family, baby Iris! Blog to follow ASAP.

xo K