Flowers and Anniversaries

Thursday, Jeff and I celebrated our fourth anniversary which, Google informs me, was our Flower anniversary. Since this post is about flowers, and since these images would not have been captured without Jeff’s relentless badgering to get me out of bed far too early on a Sunday morning, it seems fitting that this post would be dedicated to him. Happy 4 years!

What you see here is more than pretty flowers. It is, in fact, the result of partial lunacy.



 2 weeks ago, I had the bright idea that Jeff and I should wake up on a Sunday morning to catch the sunrise, and maybe a few good flower shots at the same time. Our previous attempt at dawn-time photography resulted in a few nice shots, but mainly it left us Cold, Tired and Hungry on the Transitway.



On the chosen Sunday, when the alarm went off at 5:30am, I was beyond eager to turn it off and go right back to sleep; flowers be damned. Jeff, on the other hand, decided that since my idea had him awake at 5:30am, I had better go through with it. (Support borne out of resentment is a rare and wonderful thing, isn’t it?) 



So we went out and walked along the Rideau Canal, stopping to catch some photos of freshly blooming tulips, narcissuses, dandelions and other blossomy prettiness. The plan was to make it all the way to Dow’s Lake and take in the full display of the Tulip Festival. About half way, that plan was abandoned; the sun was too high and bright for pretty flower shots, and the Tired and Hungry were setting in. So we swapped the Canal for the Elgin Street Diner, and their perpetual breakfast menu.

Circus shenanigans

A couple of Fridays ago, Jeff and I got in a car and drove to Montreal to see a circus show. Not just any circus show, but the annual showcase of the Ecole de cirque de Verdun, where my awesome friend Corey (you may have seen him here) has spent a couple of years training and learning circus arts.

I've always had a deep admiration for circus artists, for their dedication and creativity in a field that mixes both incredible athletic feats and personal and artistic expression, and is too often overlooked by both areas. So I took advantage of the opportunity to take some fun shots.


Pssst! That's Corey up there in the silks!

For this year's showcase, the school chose to adapt Jack Kerouac's On the road. The show, called Beat played on the theme of constant movement even beyond exhaustion, as well as the various meanings of "beat" and "béat" (Fr, "elated").

There were, of course, impressive acrobatic acts, eye-twisting juggling, incredible feats of balance and strength, some very fun transitions and interludes, and the overall magic atmosphere that you expect from any circus performance.



All in all, a great way to spend an evening, and I was very happy to be a part of it, even if my most athletic activity that day consisted of sitting up and lifting my lens :)

For the full set, click here.