2011 was my 6th year attending the Northern Voice personal media conference. I took the opportunity this time to play around more with my DSLR camera. I got to talking with photographer John Biehler about shooting using a fisheye lens, and he was kind enough to lend me his for the second day of the conference.
Fisheye is such a different perspective, it took me some time to get a feel for what it works well on. Here are a few of my favorite fisheye shots from the day (click to enlarge):
See all my photos in my 2011 Northern Voice photoset. The first half were with a 'regular' lens, and the second half are fisheye shots.
Last year I attended the Intention Retreat, which happens the 5 days over New Year's. It was a gathering of about 80 people, held in camp lodges outside Maple Ridge, BC.
It was an amazing way to celebrate the end of the year, and start of the new. It's a combination of workshops, dance parties, and communal meals. An excellent container for a gathering.
There's a pre-festival party happening next friday, and there's also the opportunity to ride a bus up to Intention for 1 party night. Check the Intention website for details.
I'm attending again this year, and I highly recommend this event.
The eastside cultural crawl inspired me to buff up my photography. Thinking about what I would show if I was displaying a photo exhibit, I went back and remastered one of my all-time favorite shots. Click to enlarge.
Notes from day 1 of the 2010 Northern Voice personal media conference...
Bryan Alexander reminds us inject a sense of mystery into our (digital) lives.
How do you Find Your Voice? Monica Hamburg says "Write, write and keep on writing. Don't be afraid to suck."
Dave Olson says "Take Risks and Hone your Craft with practice. Your voice comes out of your personal experiences."
The Cunting Linguist said "Write for yourself. Create excellent content. Be yourself online and don't pull your punches."
Taylor Loren ended the day with a hilarious take on relationships in the digital age. She had artistic slideshow technique, and maybe works with my cousin.
PPS: A friend of mine recently started a new blog about food and environment issues in Vancouver. I have been quite enjoying it, so check out: None too strong.
Petra's Call is an innovative flash-based webcomic from Ninja Robot Dinosaur that you should definitely check out. There are 15 episodes currently, all available through the embedded flash app above.
I met the creator Shane Neville years ago in Vancouver. He since moved out to the Maritimes, but looks like he's back in Lotusland in 2010. Exciting!
Lantern Park - Beacon at Main and Terminal is an entry in the VPSN "Where's the Square?" design competition, created by myself and 2 friends. It's a re-design of the large park between Main St Skytrain station and Pacific Central station in Vancouver.
Critical Mass is a fun bike ride that lets everyone cycle parts of the city that are normally overrun with cars. Costumes are encouraged in our monthly bike parade!
Vancouver details: Meet at the North end of the Art Gallery. On the last Friday of every month. Announcements at 6 PM, we ride at 6:15.
Critical Mass uses ad hoc organization through the ride. Every cyclists looks out for each other. It's important for safety that all the bicyclists stay together in one large group. Safety in numbers.
Stop and "cork" open intersections to cars. This is a very rewarding experience and a good opportunity to see the beautiful parade go by. After corking you'll be at the back of the ride, and can play the peloton game of racing to the front.
People at the front need to choose the route in real-time and shouldn't get too far ahead. The group will stop after the top of bridges or big hills and let everyone catch up. If the mass is big it should stay on larger streets so we have more lanes and can ride together.
Interesting Vancouver 2008 was a delightful little conference covering a wide variety of topics. Here's a recap of some of the points that I liked the most.
James Sherrett: We put 2 things into our bodies to make us who we are: stories and food. Be aware of what you're making part of yourself.
Darren Barefoot: Living outside your comfort zone helps show you who you really are, and grows you as a person.
David Young: All the "great places" throughout history have been created by a core group of individuals in that place. Vancouver has more then enough potential to be a true great place.
Huge credit to Brett Macfarlane for organizing the event. I'm looking forward to more Interesting in the future.
