Adventure

Anyone who knows me well will know that I have a certain sense of adventure.

I love nothing more than to try something new, particularly if it's outside or musical, or both.

These past few weeks have been filled with opportunities to try new things, and I've been so excited to be getting my adventure buzz back. To bring you up to speed, I've been working at a beach as a lifeguard and at a sports camp for the last little bit. This means that I've had to step out of my regular comfort zone and test out new skills and abilities in many environments.

For my NLS Waterfront, I got to learn how to clear a snorkel and mask underwater (side note, how hilarious is the word 'snorkel'?!) how to use a paddleboard, and how to surf ski (which is amazing!). I also learned a great game called Beach Flags which is played on a beach volleyball court.

With camp, I got to try a little bit of everything the camp offers. This includes mountain biking (I did the stairs!), body surfing (jumping in the river after a dam), tscheukball (sp?) rowing and dragon boating in the paddling tank, and the low ropes course.  Not quite as adventuresome, but I also gained a wide knowledge of camp songs, games, and sports.

Basically, I'm pumped to be getting out and pushing my boundaries a bit.

I feel that the reason I like trying new things so much is that I'm the kind of person who likes to be just a little bit good at everything. I don't say this to be boastful, it's actually quite the opposite. I'm a perfectionist in the way that I have to put 100% into everything I do, but only to the extent of my abilities. By 'a little bit good at everything' I mean that I just like to know enough about a wide variety of things in order to be able to put some effort in. I like being able to say 'hey, I've done this before, let's see how much I can improve'.

My sense of adventure, in this way, has led to me having an array of skills, but I'm not necessarily skillful. Which suits me just fine! In fact, I got my camp name from being similar to a utilitiy tool (no, my camp name is not Tool). I have a ton of hidden talents and skills that can come in handy when needed.

Thus, I'm just a little bit knowledgeable with things photography, rock climbing, guitar, harmonica, painting, kayaking, rowing, golf, cross country skiing, and yes, blogging.

But that's not to say that I limit myself to being only knowledgeable. When I try new things, I like to keep working at them to see improvement, and to throw myself once again into the proverbial uncharted waters. Although, sometimes they aren't proverbial, there really are uncharted waters.

I'm a person who's not afraid to toe the comfort level boundary.

Sometimes I need a little assurance or prompting, but generally, if I want to do something, I'm probably going to do it. I like to use a skydiving analogy for this. If I were to ever skydive, this is how my in-flight conversation would go.

"Wooooooo, this view is AWESOME."
"When do I get to jump?!"
"You sure this thing is on right?"
"Do I jump yet?"
"Oh god, I gotta jump soon!"
"Should I really be doing this?"
(Person: "Yeah. You got it.")
"You sure?!"
(Person: "You know you want to try it.")
"It's scary!"
(Person: "You're all over this. Go for it. Do it!")
"Yeah?"
(Person: "Yeah!")
"YEAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

So I'll conclude with a list of adventuresome things I'd like to do one day.

- Long Range Traverse
- Macchu Picchu
- West Highland Way
- Whitewater Rafting
- Whitewater Kayaking
- Geocaching
- Outdoor Climbing/Bouldering
- Caving
- Ziplining/more high ropes
- Wakeboarding
- Kitesurfing
- Real Windsurfing
- Bungee jumping
- Horseback Riding (in a forest)
- Dirtbiking/Ride a Motorcycle

You probably think I'm crazy.

I probably am :)

The Key to Happiness

It has been over a year since the acquisition of my camera. I was contemplating this today, and thought, what a better tribute for Zeus and I’s first anniversary together than to showcase our year’s work? I’ve included a small amount of pictures (hey 50-some is small in terms of 365 days), some of which you may have already seen, some you perhaps haven’t.

I’m going to share a tidbit of information with you.

I know nothing about photography.

Not joking. I’ve barely even read the owner’s manual for my Olympus E-volt, never mind taken a photography class.

I don’t know a thing about how to take a half-decent picture.

But here’s my secret.

You don’t need to capture a beautiful photo as much as a beautiful moment.

For me, photography isn’t about getting the shot right; it’s about preserving a memory.

I think, through my photographic experiences, I’ve learned a little life lesson, which I’m going to share with you.

The key to happiness is seeing the beauty in small moments.

It’s taking the time to notice how amazing that millisecond is in its entirety. It’s taking a step back (or a step closer, in some cases) to look at the world around you, the land, the people, the animals, the sky, and seeing something special.

My approach to photography is fairly haphazard, but it works. I just do what I do on a day-to-day basis, except I have a shutter button to capture what I see for later.

I tend to forget how full our lives are with beautiful moments.

Children laughing, trees turning, water splashing, people smiling, even ducks with itchy butts.

Photography brings me back to appreciating the beauty of my life.

Colour, space, movement, light, dark, big, small.

It’s all there.

...if you can see it.

So, in no particular order, here are my beautiful moments, or some of them.

 Purple Aster in the Trent Nature Areas

 My sister, Ali, at the Peterborough Zoo

 Fall in Millenium Park

 Paddling at Charleston Lake, Ontario

 Cass, the stud

 One of my favourites -- Muskoka chairs at the Noonan's Nest on Salmon Trout Lake

 Clouds by the Oshawa Airport/field behind my house

 My Goddaughter, Kate, and friends colouring at my cousin's wedding

 Kate playing with my necklace at Dance for Life

 Dad, being a goof

 Danny wakeboarding on Salmon Trout

 Some barnyard daisies in Kingston, Ontario

 An interesting dragonfly on the Rotary Trail in Peterborough, Ontario

 Waterdroplets on a leaf near Big Clear Lake outside of Apsley

 A cautious duckling

 An itchy duckling

 A waterfall by Millenium Park

 Fall in Nichols Oval, Peterborough

 A yellow flower in Millennium Park, Peterborough

 A particularly grumpy goat

 Gold taking a snooze in Kingston

 Spring grass somewhere unknown in Peterborough

 Hermann the Heron, landing at Charleston Lake

 A sunset house on the Otonabee River

 James.

 My little cousin (read, pretend niece) Jane Claire colouring thoughtfully

 Jane Claire, looking much more ferocious than above

 Some random person on a rock

 Why is said random person holding my Goddaughter? And wearing my scarf?

 Ohhhh, it's Jenny, looking happy at Charleston Lake

 Godfather Joey with little bro, Gerry (also known as Dad)

 Kate, being adorable with bubbles at my parents' house in Oshawa

 Kate, complete with ever-persent drool, holding her Mom's hand

 Mum, and long-time neighbour Karen sharing a laugh on Canada Day

 Fall in Nichols Oval, Peterborough

 Ground control to Major Tom, Gerry is about to flatten you.

 My personal favourite, loon with chicks on Big Clear Lake

 Middle Earth. Ok, no, it's the Lady Eaton Drumlin in fall colour

 My parents out back in Oshawa, Ontario

 Mushrooms on a log bench in Temagami, Ontario

 My very handsome father

 Sunset at the Silver Bean Cafe, Peterborough

 Those lovely chairs again

 My house in Peterborough, complete with storm, rainbow, and blooming cherry tree

 Relaxing at Bob's Cove on Charleston Lake

 Calm morning water at Charleston Lake

 Rain droplets on a white rose

 Hanging out at the cottage (only took one shot...photograph, I mean)

 My childhood best friend, Vickie, with some pretty cool Raybans

 A beautiful sunset on Charleston Lake

 Not from Zeus, but my boots overlooking Rat Lake near Gravenhurst, Ontario

 A plant and two friends near the Trent campus in Peterborough

 The Trent University John DePencier Trail

 Sunset on Sandy Inlet at Camp Wanapitei

Waterfall downtown Peterborough

Willy, one of my favourite and most inspiring teachers I've ever had the fortune to have; he taught me how to effectively deal with 'hiker's foot' :)

If you were patient and interested enough to make it to the end of the post, I thank you :) I'm also wondering if you'd like to leave a comment and tell me how you feel about the blog so far and the photos. Zeus and I have certainly been busy!

Also, I've been looking for more opportunities to shoot on a regular basis, so if you have people, pets, properties, plants, or even pork pies you want picturequely preserved, please give me a shout! I'd especially love to try my hand at portraits (not joking, despite the preposterous alliteration), so if you'd like some family photos free of charge give me a shout!

-- C