I had an awesome weekend visit by my buds Will & Dan that taught me two things; good friends are rare and therefor valuable, and that I can no longer drink more than a few pints of beer in a sitting. I mean it – I feel awful today.
Blog
The Last Sunflower
Nineteen
There’s something appealing about a building number spelled out for me. As if it’s a higher level of sophistication – only the literate may enter – if you can’t read, you’ll never find it, like it never existed.
Pick
I feel like the perception is, that if I don’t post something here, I’m not out taking pictures which, while potentially true, often isn’t.
Often I’m shooting client work in Ottawa like, events, portraits, and the occasional wedding; also lots of personal family stuff. I try not to be overly repetitive here either, so posting a photo of my son Quinn may be easy, I’m not going to do that every day; certainly you’d get bored.
So while I drop what I can here on the blog, sometimes I can’t, or want to spare you self-indulgent family pics, or sometimes the shots I took just kinda suck, which is great for me to better myself but not so great for display. That all being said, I think I “owe” you a photo, so here’s one of Quinn displaying a family trait (TMI?), swear I didn’t team him that.
I’m keeping my Canon 17-40 f/4L on the camera right now, because I don’t use that lens enough and it’s really quite good… admittedly wide-angle is a bit of a tough-spot for me, so all the more reason to force myself to do it. Processed using the fine Lightroom plugin of Nik SilverEfex Pro – Holga filter.
Feel Better
New haircuts often make me feel better because, apparently, I have one of them rubbable heads that the ladies can’t resist!
Misha Normand Garcia
“Misha was pursuing his childhood dream and playing hockey on a scholarship in New Hampshire when, after a game, Misha collapsed. Rushed to hospital, the doctors soon realized that Misha had a rare form of invasive brain cancer: anaplastic astrocytoma.
He soon returned to Ottawa and saw oncologists at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Throughout his multiple treatments, including radiation, chemotherapy and even a risky twelve-hour brain surgery, Misha would amaze the health care professionals, and those closest to him, with his body’s resilience, and his positive attitude even as he was sometimes getting sicker.
One day, physicians at CHEO suggested an experimental new drug treatment. Amazingly,the cancer soon started to disappear. During this time, Misha grew stronger and started university.
Unfortunately, the cancer returned aggressively during the summer of 2009.
Misha has been a regular on the oncology floor at CHEO and on the CHEO annual telethon. He became active in cancer groups like Young Adults Cancer Canada and he and his family volunteered with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. This included a passionate testimonial Misha provided in early 2009 to a group gathered to support clinical trials and experimental therapies raising more than $ 150,000 in a single hour.”
Today, at the age of 19, at 2:30pm, the Cancer he had fought so hard and for so long finally claimed his life. I had the privileged of working with Misha, his sister Meena, and his Mother Josée over the past 6 months, fundraising, volunteering, and finally, taking family portraits. Their last together.
The excerpt above is from a Legacy Fund establishment; the Misha Normand Garcia tribute fund. If you want to make a contribution, to let his family know they’re not alone, you can make a donation to the fund by clicking this link, click donate now, and choose option #9 for the fund.
I’m holding my son a little longer, and a little tighter tonight.