stefan.chirila PHOTOGRAPHY - Kitchener Waterloo Portrait Photographer

New BLOGsite + Promotion August 2009

2009-08-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

Hello folks! Welcome to the new StefanChirila.com blogsite. You may have noticed the new look and been wondering "What on earth is different?" Well, here comes the answer!

In a world divided between bloggers and those with web sites, I decided to settle for nothing less than the best of both worlds. In a comfortable blog-like interface you do not have to sacrifice the convenience of a web site's features. So feel free to try out these following links:

Portraits Gallery | Engagements Gallery | Get to know me | Explore investment opportunities

And because this awesome news is making me super excited and puts me in the mood for some celebration, I decided to indeed celebrate with the rest of you! During the next week, between the dates of Sunday August 16th 2009 and Sunday August 23rd 2009 booking a portrait session with Stefan Chirila will get you 2 free complementary 8x10inch prints per session! So read on to find out how to take advantage of this great opportunity!

How to take advantage of the 2 free 8x10inch prints offer: - easy as 1,2,3!

1 Decide which type of session you would like to book! Check them out here: Sessions
2 Leave a comment on the blog to let me know you are interested! and Email me at stefan@stefanchirila.com
3 Meet up with me for an awesome portrait session!

Celebrating ALYSSASCHROEDER.NET+remember Woodstock 1969+lost and scared puppy

2009-08-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

Last minute, I decided to go uptown Waterloo and photograph this event on renewable power sources. So around 6pm I headed out of the house on my bike headed to Fairview mall where I would catch a quick ride to Waterloo on the iXpress bus. Seemingly quite the ordinary day. But today was going to be full of Unexpected Occurrences. Here they come!

Unexpected occurrence 1: 'Meeting Elsa'
At the mall I met up with an old friend, Elsa, whom I had not talked to in almost 3 years. I found out just the other day that we have a common acquaintance, my friend Marko who let me borrow his flash for the wedding I photographed a few weeks ago, and today I found out that she had published a music CD! Buy her CD online here (or on iTunes under Elsa Jayne):

My bus having arrived, I got on it and I was on my way to Waterloo. The ride was short and enjoyable. The bus was speeding through the lively city with a melancholic sunset as its backdrop.

Unexpected occurrence 2: 'The white puppy'
Once at Market Square in Waterloo I decided to cross the street in style, not at the traffic lights but along the railway crossing King street some 70feet north from the intersection. As I was about to do so, I noticed this most adorable little white puppy tied up to a garbage bin looking scared out of his wits! I was not the only one who stopped to look at him. A bunch of passers-by did as well and this one man warned us saying how the puppy looks scared and thus may be very likely to bite out of fear.

Of course I acknowledged the words and chose to proceed with confidence feeling free to ignore them. Well ...I did so until the puppy made sure to let me know, through a most decisive bark that he wasn't joking around! Feeling somewhat silly jumping at the barking, thinking to myself the words that were for sure going through everyone else's minds, "he told him not to get close..." I got up and shot some images of him/her from a safer distance. Here he/she is.

Unexpected occurrence 3: 'the Woodstock celebration public concert'
Without being harmed by the most terribly dangerous seeming little white creature I just photographed, I proceeded across the now-harmless-seeming King Street. I was going to get on my bike and head over to the Waterloo Recreational Centre when I noticed a bunch of guys setting their instruments up and a few dozen people sitting on the square steps eager to hear them play. Since there was still enough light to get decent shots at a reasonably low ISO setting I adventured off my previously intended path and took some images of the acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, violin, guitar case-in-stead-of-a-drum-set and some other kitchen utensil as percussion instrument, band getting ready for their performance. I soon left in favour of attending the event at the recreation centre though.

I soon enough noticed, as soon as I got there, that I pretty much missed the entire event at the Rec Centre, so I mounted my aluminium horse (my bike) and headed back to the guys playing in public. It turned out to be a small celebration in honour of the concert that rocked the world for three days straight 40 years ago, back in 1969, Woodstock! Here's a taste of what the original Woodstock concert was like:

This one was a little different. Here's the images:

Unexpected occurrence 4: 'Alyssa officially launched her new BLOGsite http://www.alyssaschroeder.net'
As I was on my way back home I texted fellow photographer Alyssa Schroeder and I found out that she launched her new site while I was gone in town. So get clickin and visit her new site! I can say without any doubt that she is one of the very best photographers around.

http://www.alyssaschroeder.net

Today really ended up being quite an eventful day!

Kitchener Blues Festival 2009

2009-08-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I went out into town today to photograph the Blues Festival. I already missed the beginning of it and was glad it was still going on today. I also got to meet up with a fellow Kitchener photographer, Sarah Lisk, http://www.saralis.com/, which I haven't done in a very long time and recently I wanted to make a point out of networking and getting to know some of the photographers in the area. Well today was definitely a great day for it!

But let me start off with the small details. I got to see Kitchener in a way that I haven't seen it in a while ...it starts to look a lot more like Waterloo than ever before, since City Hall put its mind to making the downtown area more pedestrian-friendly. Most of it is done and it is LOVELY! People were swarming King street oscillating between purchasing memorabilia and foods of all kinds from the tents set up in the middle of the formerly busy and car-stuffed King Street.

Eventually I met up with Sarah, her husband and their son and a frantic photoshooting campaign started. I am so glad I got a chance to capture some very unique facial expressions, as you will notice below in the images. One things that impressed me a lot was this: As I was photographing some people dancing and swinging to the music, as well as a puppy on a leash next to a wheelchair (don't ask why, the puppy looked adorable), I noticed a man(who later turned out to be Stefan Myles http://fandyphotography.ca) in a beige shirt photographing, at his eye with the viewfinder of a camera of admirable size, attached to which there was a lens of comparable size. I might also want to add that on his shoulder there was the strap of yet another large camera, with equally a large lens mounted on it. So I took his portrait and smiled at him, then returned to capturing unique expressions in the public. He made his way over to me and smiled at me telling me not to worry too much about the large cameras, there have been people making millions with small tin ones. The words he said may not have been exactly these, but nevertheless I felt encouraged.

As I felt that I need a new location to shoot from, I left Sarah behind squeezing my way through the seats, bothering many people while doing so and begging their pardon ...all in the name of photography. I eventually noticed that there were photographers beyond this metal fence right in front of the stage and that one could enter there through the side. So of course that is where I headed. At the entrance there were two persons armed with imposing and authority inspiring green shirts who told me that since I had no pass around my neck I would not be allowed to go any further. I nodded in agreement and turned around to head away when... the same gentleman with with beige shirt tapped my shoulder and as I turned around he put this pass around my neck saying "you've got 5 minutes" pointing towards the restricted area. I went in there and got as many images as I could, then returned to him when I felt 5 minutes may have been up. I shook his hand in gratitude, thanked him verbally and asked for his name. The man looked through his pockets and eventually with delight informed me that here was his last card. And he gave me his business card. To that I replied by handing back the pass along with my own business card and let me tell you I was glad! The photographer is Stefan Myles http://fandyphotography.ca

Another surprise followed, as I was going to leave, the gentleman in the green shirt who formerly informed me that I could not enter without a pass, let me know that now it's ok to go back. So ...gladly I returned and got some more images, to Sarah's delight and admiration who eventually joined me in there.

This is today in a nutshell. Pictures shall follow! OH! and let me tell you that as I left the concert it didn't take long for a huge storm to brew up and for it to start raining just as I was on the bus home. It did not take more than the 5 minutes I had from the bus station to the house for me to get soaked through and through! It was good fun though! and somehow, miraculously, neither my mp3 player nor my camera got wet or damaged. Today was indeed a gift from God!

Alright, alright, I'll post some images now! Enjoy!

When photographing this gentleman I thanked him for letting me take his picture and for some reason one of his friends told me, "don't worry you will see him again, at the gates of hell". I walked away but then realized I should have saved him the dissapointment and have told him that due to a certain event that I believe happened about 2009 years ago, I will not be there to meet him.

How appetising!

When will acoustic fans stop trying to compete with the electric,,,

David Clayton-Thomas began his amazing journey as a homeless street kid and developed into one of the most recognizable singer/songwriters in the world, to date selling over 40 milion records. In 1996, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 2007, his jazz/rock composition “Spinning Wheel” was inducted into his country's Songwriter's Hall Of Fame. - http://www.davidclaytonthomas.com/

A fellow photographer. I love the look of concentration!

The Photographer: Stefan Myles http://fandyphotography.ca

unexpected Cambridge bike ride+Galt Collegiate stage

2009-08-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today I went out with my bike thinking I would shoot some nature pictures and I met an old friend at Fairview mall that I haven't talked to in almost 5 years. Andreea joined me for a bikeride that ended up taking us to downtown Cambridge.

On the way there we stopped at Galt Collegiate Institute and found out that behind it, there are stairs going to this stage. It was a bit creepy because there was a dead mouse there as well, but don't worry I won't post images of it!

The walk down from the school

The view from above

The view from the stage

An evil spider that I had a non-violent and non-physical confrontation with. Click HERE to view.

This is Andreea when I was demonstrating high angle portraits to her

barbecue @friends + portraits

2009-08-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was awesome! I got invited to my friend Mario's house for "lunch" they said. See my friend Mario had two cousins over visiting him from Croatia and on the long weekend they organized this little "BIG" barbecue where they roasted a little pig and a lamb over hot coals.

I went there around 3pm, but the fun started a little earlier, as I got to find out from Mario's dad, who when I was asking him about the lamb I saw there broiling, let me know that they already had a little pig.

The lamb roasting on the BBQ

I then joined Mario and one of his other cousins's kid "little" Stefan, on the trampoline. We enjoyed some good food, some good fitness and then Mario's other cousin Sasha showed me their Jeep Liberty that they bought used and mostly broken for cheap and then rebuilt it and let me tell you it looks AWESOME!

The Jeep

I also got a chance to get some awesome portraits of the little Stefan.

Little Stefan, Mario's cousin's son

My friend Mario!

From left to right, Mario's cousins: Andrea, Ivan, Sasha

David and Katrina's wedding!

2009-07-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce to you David and Katrina. I met this lovely couple last summer as they let me know about their intentions to get married as well as having me as their wedding photographer. Half an hour talking and a Starbucks coffee later, we found ourselves in one of Kitchener's scenic spots taking their engagement session images.

David and Katrina

As I got to know them I also learned their love story. How David, for the very first time, beheld the love of his life through a Tim Hortons drive-through window and later on how they first spent time together and eventually realised that spending their lives apart would no longer leave them content.

Here's two panorama shots I took during the photo session. Yes I know, ?Panoramas? but I couldn't help it, I just had to:

Victoria Park stroll

2009-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Went today on a little stroll through Victoria Park . It was nicely overcast and I got to (FINALLY!) take some naturey shots again. Missed shooting green grass and trees and flowers. Here's a sample:

I also met this lady with a nice little 22 year old parrot. Here's a shot of them:

radio story

2009-07-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

So tonight I drove out to pick dad up from work at 12:15am and I had the radio on in the car. It was playing 109.2, a Hamilton station with the Delilah late night show playing. Haha here's some advertising, go to http://delilah.com to see her page.

Anyway so as this Three Doors Down song that I like a lot ended and I was somewhere on *checks google maps* HWY 7 West heading down the Homer Watson Boulevard exit, there's this middle aged man calling in to her show. He had recently had an epiphany. It suddenly occured to him how important friendship is and how few of the people he knows he can really call his friends, and most of all, how glad he is about the ones that he can truly call his true friends. So he wanted her to play this song that he didn't know who sings it, but the title was "I can only imagine".

Even though all in all it's a nice story, I only really got what he meant when listening to the song. True and straight to the heart as only country music can be, this song expresses pretty accurately the sense of awe of just about any man at the moment of realization about the divine. Enjoy!

Hardwood floor nuisance + flash for the wedding

2009-07-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Finally the other day we finished installing the hardwood floor in the house. I am personally not a huge fan of emptying my room of absolutely everything, storing it in the basement and then sleeping in a very dusty place during the few days this summer when the weather is too cold to sleep with an open window.

Well, all these being over with, here's the comparison:

Before

After

Also as I have a wedding shoot this saturday, I got myself a large flash for my camera. As all wise people I know that a big flash doesn't make you a great photographer ...BUT, a big flash will definitely make it clear, even to the most ignorant, that you are one. Also it helps getting one out of tricky low light situations where even cranking up the ISO and putting up with evil photographic noise won't help much. So here it is, the Nikon Speedlight SB600, the pride and joy of Nikon corporation.

Nikon Speedlight SB600

And here is a photo taken with it of my friend Marko who is the actual owner of the flash and kindly let me borrow it for the occasion! Marko is a photographer himself, but having more or less dedicated himself to photo-journalism ...let's just say it is not easy to get a smile out of him sometimes. Luckily he is quite on the photogenic side of the people spectrum.

new business email: info@stefanchirila.com

2009-07-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

For all of you impatiently waiting to contact Stefan Chirila for a portrait session; all you photographers who can not wait to network with Stefan Chirila; and all you others who are interested in contacting Stefan Chirila for one reason or another, the NEW email address is up!

info@stefanchirila.com

my encounter with the Kaiser automobile

2009-07-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

The other day I was walking uptown Waterloo and I saw this beautiful old automobile! I don't think I have seen a Kaiser before. On Wikipedia I managed to find the following information on it:

Kaiser automobile - Wikipedia

Originally formed as the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation in 1945, the corporation was reorganized in 1953 under the name Kaiser Motors Corporation after withdrawal of Joseph W. Frazer from the venture. The Kaiser-Frazer stock was redeemed, and Kaiser Motors stock was issued at that time. Kaiser Motors manufactured automobiles in a number of locations around the world with the primary facility and corporate headquarters at Willow Run, Michigan (USA).

Enjoy!

Natasha and Grant engagement session + StefanChirila goes .COM

2009-07-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

StefanChirila is going .COM

Yes, it is true, finally http://StefanChirila.com/ leads to this blog-site. If you ask me, this is very good reason for celebration. Why should you care? BECAUSE of the the Summer 2009 Stefan Chirila Photography cotest! The first 3 of you that comment on this blog entry showing their interest in StefanChirila Photography, will receive a $50 credit toward your photography session with StefanChirila Photography!

What do you need to do to get one? Comment and make sure you leave your email address in the comment! Of the rest of you who comment until the end of the week, I will choose 2 more, based on the originality of your comment (Tell me why I should give a coupon to you) and give them a coupon each as well! Happy commenting =)

Natasha and Grant engagement photoshoot!

As I have promissed, here are the images from Natasha and Grant's engagement photoshoot which I helped Alyssa Schroeder with as a second shooter. Here's what happens when two beautiful people come together during golden light. Enjoy =)

for those who wish to dig deeper into their computer

2009-07-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

I know this is a photography blog and many of you may ask, "how on earth is this kind of an article fitting on this blog?" Well, if you are a lot like me, then you are the kind of photographer who likes to get to know his/her tools of trade. One of the tools of my trade that I can less and less ignore as one of them, is my computer. I use my computer for storing images, post-processing and setting them up for printing or for delivery on DVD.

Now if you are the kind of person who has used a computer for a lengthy period of time then you know that problems will not be strangers for long. This is an article that talks about how to dig a little deeper and help one fix, or do things that are meant to be simple, in a simple way!

Click here for the article:Learn to LOVE the terminal!

my thoughts on: movie-Good bye Lenin

2009-06-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are used to good movie reviews, please forgive my lack of etiquette in when it comes to writing about a movie. I haven't done this before so here I go.

Today, as it often happens, I was listening to Yann Tiersen's music, namely the soundtrack of the film Good Bye Lenin. As a consequence I responded positively to my urge to play it again and see some parts of it.

(Above: music from the film Good Bye Lenin)

I must say this may be one of the best non-hollywood movies that I have ever seen!
Abstract:
East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the regime. His mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. Some months later, the GDR does not exist anymore and the mother awakes. Since she has to avoid every excitement, the son tries to set up the GDR again for her in their flat. But the world has changed a lot. Written by Benjamin Stello

The movie, however goes far beyond these lines. The movie not only very very very and I mean VERY well portrays socialist East-Germany (and I should know having lived as a child in Communist Romania), but it also goes beyond the looks of old versus new into explaining what everything was all about; what was going on in the minds of the people who loved and those who despised socialist Germany.

To me the film brings back memories and images of a kind of world that now does not exist any more. Memories and images that now are impossible for me to get before my lens, unless I get a large budget film crew. Images that I have seen as a kid and that I would love to share with you all.

Thanks to the miracle that is Youtube, you can now not only enjoy the Trailer of this wonderful foreign film, but also watch it in its entirety online. I shall do the work for you and add the videos in here! Sadly some of the videos do not allow embedding into blogs, however you can still click the link and watch it on the Youtube website! Enjoy!

Trailer:

Part1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQV9JQLmPR4

Part2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmTl8__8jmM

Part3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coVdNzvqkGQ

Part4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdf-j3MYZRs

Part5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pHpZVw92-4

Part6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhdDs8NgQk0

Part7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gymBOCtYxzw

Part8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-szo3hbKKYA

Part9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBgq5vysMVo

Part10:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ2u7NyxLHs

Part11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs6XHkkZrJ0

Part12:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QOFIJIRuQ

Festival in Victoria park+native dance+islamic author

2009-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I decided to go on a bikeride to Victoria Park. I completely forgot about the festival going on there, to my shame not even knew which festival that was. As I got there I noticed that there were quite a few things going on. By the clock tower there were many tents set up with tons of food! ...probably the multicultural festival?

On the other side of the bridge (on the island) there seemed to be two things going on. An Ojibway native peoples gathering with stands showing their artwork, free foods and even a nice birch bark canoe on display. And closer to the other bridge, there was the story telling festival. I stayed and listened in to both spots for a while. The singers/drummers on the native people's side were quite cool to observe, especially when the lead drummer was trying to explain to the others (volunteer ones) how they have to decide on a lead person and a beat and then stick to it.

In the storytelling festival area, there was a lady author speaking about how she got into writing and the fact that she is islamic. I found it interesting, to be quite frank, because of the whole controversy about women and freedom of speech, which seems to dominate that which our western world knows of the islamic commununity. So naturally I was curious of what she had to say.

Supported by her husband, who was sitting on a chair next to her, she started off by expressing how her husband encouraged her to get into writing at a time when she only knew she had a liking for it but was not too courageous about writing things. She then progressed into writing children's stories; mostly parables, reflecting every-day life truths that affect everyone.

One example that she gave was a story, filled with comic relief, about a little (islamic) boy who had trouble controling his flatulence during the early morning (4am) prayer, during which cleanliness is essential, along with the frustration that came with that fact.

That's when I was really getting curious, mainly how such topic would be welcomed by the islamic community, which to my knowledge, mostly based on commonly known notions about them, in other words stereotype, is quite on the strict side of the spectrum. Her explanation was that her story was welcomed with laughter and comments such as "this happens to me all the time!".

Another short story featured a bee that kept flying dangerously close to a spiderweb and which got saved repeatedly by a little girl, only to be stepped on later by the girl's sister. I forget the rest of the story and the moral of it but I found it interesting when she mentioned how ever since she was little she kept wondering why the coyote never caught the road runner and how she would find it entertaining in a story if that were to happen. That kind of mindset definitely ought to make for an interesting storyline, I'd say!

Sadly I did not stay for long enough to catch the author's name, but nevertheless it was an enriching and doubtlessly entertaining experience to listen to her.

As I was walking away, for a second I did not find it odd, but then I realized, "Link walked by me!", yes I am talking about Link, from the famous Legend of Zelda videogame from Nintendo!

I then followed him and got a picture of my own! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of his face. Oh well, next time!

(Above Left) A man in an amazing costume, giving a little girl a demonstration of what a native dance would look like! (Above Right) An Ojibway drumming song

A bona-fide Ojibway birch bark canoe!

People astounded by this ideological and engineering masterpiece of "green technology"

Drumming! Ojibway-style

Ojibway hand-made jewelery

AnOjibway family

Native Pride!

A police officer talking to a local homeless man. I love photojournalism, even when there's not much to journal about.

On my way back to my bike, which I locked up by the bridge, close to the boathouse, I got this image of the bridge. I don't think I've ever seen that bridge so crowded. Along with this picture, I've had an apiphany of how beautiful Victoria park really is.

Victoria Park bridge at Courtland avenue West

As I made my way back to the Iron Horse Trail, I heard the train signals going off at the road nearby. I was thinking of what other it could be, since the train doesn't pass by there very often. But alas, it was the train. I love witnessing such sights, especially when the train passes by Uptown Waterloo late in the evening with the large light on through the woody passages between the small streets. One day I'll have a photo of that as well.

If you want to discover the beauties of Kitchener by bike or by foot, the Iron Horse Trail is definitely the way to go. Who knows, maybe I'll see you around there sometime this summer!

Photos from meeting up with Revival Arts Studio are UP!

2009-06-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some family photos from meeting up with Revival Arts Studio a few weeks ago when I was over in British Columbia visiting Alyssa! They are such a beautiful family and such awesome people. They had a client meeting in the mid-afternoon and a birthday party to go to in the evening and yet they found time to meet with us! Thanks a lot Jason and Darcie Brown!

Michael Jackson Homage - Rest in peace Prince of Pop!

2009-06-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

I drove over to visit my friend Marko today when I stopped on the side of the road to change the disk on the car's CD player when the radio went on and I heard the sad news that today, Thursday June 25th 2009, the Prince of POP, Michael Jackson, suffered a cardiac arrest and was in a Los Angeles hospital and rumoured to have passed away.

Later on today the rumour has been confirmed. The world has indeed lost one of its legends. Michael, you will be missed by all who appreciate good music, and all who value the history of the humongously socially shaping phenomenon that has been pop music. May you find the peace and quiet that this world has denied you! May you rest in peace.

-- Michael Jackson

Apparently, a discovery[dot]com publication explains how Michael Jackson was also the owner of a patent for a special kind of shoe, which allows a person to hook them into the stage in order to lean forward way farther than one's center of gravity. The original link to the article is here: http://blogs.discovery.com/news_tech/2009/06/michael-jackson-had-a-patent.html

You can see a video which demonstrated this feat here:

Video: Heal the world by Michael Jackson

Video: Beat it by Michael Jackson

Biking to Cambridge with Marko and Samir+unexpected photoshoot

2009-06-23T21:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went biking with Marko and Samir. We decided to do a long ride and go all the way down to Cambridge, from where to bus back in the evening. Our first point of attraction was the "Haunted cottage" or also known as "The secret pirate hideout", a beautiful tiny cottage on the Grand River hillside, not officially used by anyone, other than the occasional youngsters who go there to drink, use drugs and perform pagan rituals, as the evidence littered around and spray-painted on the walls and floor lets us guess.

Our second goal was to find a place to eat, but what we didn't anticipate was meeting two of Marko's friends on the side of the trail, taking snapshots of each other by the river. The two were Shannon and ...Shannon. Being armed with cameras, myself, Marko and Samir, couldn't help but assist them by shooting diverse angles and then later intending to post the images on facebook for them to see. Then as we shot all those photos Samir remembered that he intended to ask me for some facebook id-photos himself, so I shot some.

Then, more or less against his will, I got a few of Marko, proud owner of a Holga film camera (if you don't know what a Holga is click here).

I don't think either of us expected to shoot so many photos that day.

Alright, I'm done talking, here's the footage! Enjoy!

Heres a song that totally goes well with the picture below. Ever played Uncharted-Drake's fortune? If the answer to this is no, then do it, do it NOW! it's the best game ever made!

Samir (in the foreground) and Marko (in the background) - walking on the tree laid in the swamp, in order to reach the secret pirate hideout - ghost haunted cottage! (I later noticed the tree is really only useful in autumn or during rainy days because there was no swamp there now, only very very very dry earth)

Shannon (on the left) next to Shannon (on the right)

Shannon posing for the camera

Marko enjoying Shannon's expression of friendship towards him...

Best friends forever

No two Shannons pose the same way twice... eermm I mean, each Shannon poses differently

Ladies, if you'd like prints, make sure to ask me: stefan.chirila@gmail.com

Marko showing us his Holga with pride. I wonder... is there a film-photography pride parade?

Samir sat on the wall, Samir didn't fall...

Great expression Samir!

Blog update+more miraculous coffeeCUP artwork+BEAUTY DIVINE

2009-06-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

I updated my blog interface today! YAY! for artistic impulses. The old header image was getting old and since I have so many lovely images lately that would work great, it would be a shame not to use any.

In the end I decided that the part of the glamorous header image would be played by this photograph:

of the beautiful Alyssa Schroeder, of British Columbia; amazing model, talented photographer, very very good friend and just about the most lovable girlfriend one can wish for.

I found it amazing how the the image completely changed the feel of the entire blog, making it feel more lively and summery! Hope you guys agree and enjoy the new look and feel as I do.

On another note, here's another wonderful coffeeCUP design that maically appeared on the wall of my coffee cup the other day as I was enjoying a self-made home-boiled cup of Greek-style-coffee!

This time it is a mutated giraffe drinking from a pond.

And since I love sharing the little things that make my day brighter, here's a TUTORIAL:Making greek coffee video on YOUTUBE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm-WhTRE-74

Also! I have gotten around to editing some more photos of Alyssa! Check this out!

Nature spree!

2009-06-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

It is time once again for Stefan to do some nature photography. I miss going out into town and capturing the warmth of summer, the intense greens of the grass, the ageless emotion of the old buildings downtown and to once again enjoy a day spent biking on the trails in town.

Boy, I sound like I'm going through a mid-life crisis.

No joke though, I very seriously plan to hit the trails one of these days and visit some of these places below. They are some of my favourites:

These past three images are from the Kitchener-Waterloo Hydro Trail that is found at the West end of town, south of the end of University Avenue. This trail leads out of the city, past St. Agatha, far, almost all the way to Stratford. The entrance is a bit down Glasgow street, before hitting the railway

Also these three photographs are available as prints of various sizes in my RedBUBBLE gallery: Click Here

Here's a map to the place with the images above:

View Larger Map

Oak Street, off of Victoria, a bit west of the intersection with King. This is one of my most favourite historical locations in Kitchener.

Editing Spree! + Photographer @Work

2009-06-14T00:44:00.000-07:00

Updated June 16 - 12:24AM
Today was relaxing. Got some images done that I shot alongside Alyssa in B.C. and got to edit some shots that I took yesterday while walking with my buddy Rich downtown. I'll show you some in a moment.

Before we look at those photos, check this out. A sea-horse evolved within my coffee cup from coffee grains! Obviously, positive and incontestable proof for the evolution ~~theory~~, I mean, of course, the law of evolution!

On my photo-walk with Rich yesterday I found this awesome orange poppy! I had never seen them in orange before, so this was most certainly a pleasant surprise!

Rich on the Iron Horse Trail, under the railway crossing near Belmont Street, is posing next to this interesting graffiti that we found. There's always new ones up, shortly before the city erasing them

As for Uptown Waterloo, gotta love how they turned the big parking lot by the bus station into a nice area for people to walk, skateboard and hang out.

I totally love those blue bars. I wonder if they were put there on purpose because they look so good in photographs.

--
Just finished editing the David + Mike Portrait Session, that I plunged myself into some more editing work. While in B.C. I had the chance to assist the lovely Alyssa Schroeder Photography in an engagement shoot. Of course I didn't let the chance pass me by and I shot along. I am glad I get to give Alyssa some images and know that they will be used along with hers!

Here are some spy-views of Alyssa at work!

Dave+Mike session posted!

2009-06-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Check out the David+Mike Photo session images here!

Trip to BC - May 2009

2009-05-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Update: June 12

Today I finished editing the portrait session of Dave+Mike as well as the Family Portraits that I shot for Alyssa's family. I can't wait to get around to posting it all!

Andrew, Alyssa's brother

--
Update: June 8
I am back home again and once again submerged in photo work. In the past few days I've been editing Dave+Mike Photos from their portrait session, a family session I have shot while in British Columbia, an engagement session that I second-shot while in British Columbia and some images of my darling Alyssa that I shot for fun!

I also managed to find the time to completely upgrade my computer system the other day, which should make all of the editing even more fun and less time consuming!

Without further ado, here are some photographic samples!

This one is my favourite so far! I love the expressions Alyssa can offer. I can not stress enough how great of a model she is as well as a photographer!

Playing with backlighting

Alyssa's graceful cat, Tiger. She is quite annoyed by photo taking most of the time, but sometimes she allows it.

--
Update: June 2nd - evening
With quite somewhat of a sadness in the voice of my thoughts, I sit and ponder about how tomorrow morning I'll be sitting in an airplane heading back to considerably colder Kitchener, Ontario. I guess the listening to Come back down by Lifehouse with the most lovable and needless-to-say-extremely skilled Alyssa next to me looking through photographs that we took in the past two weeks (a rough amount of 62 Gigabytes in JPEG + RAW on Alyssa's Canon 40D and my Nikon D200).

It's been absolutely great. In the past few days, more precisely between Tuesday and Friday of the past week, we rented a car from Enterprise and drove out to IKEA in Surrey, Gas town, Vancouver and Stanley Park in Vancouver where we enjoyed walking together and bonding.

Oooh! Can't forget the engagement session we shot together of Alyssa's clients Natasha and Grant (well more like Alyssa allowed me to tag along and shoot as well). They were a lovable couple and they look so cute together.

I feel quite sad leaving now that we've had so much fun together and bonded so much. What I can however look forward to is Alyssa comming down to visit me in Kitchener, hopefully in mid-July.

I really have to say that this trip has been a wonderful experience, spending time with a wonderfully skilled photographer lady, who is just as lovely as a friend as she is as a teacher. Thank you very very very very much Alyssa *big hug*!

As for everybody else reading this, STAY TUNED for I shall post some more images really soon, especially of Alyssa and how photogenic she looks while photographing!

----

Update: May 23 - afternoon
WOW! Alyssa and I just spend 2 hours walking on the Trans Canada Trail with Revival Arts Studio! http://www.revivalartsstudio.com

Jason and Darcie Brown are not just amazing photographers, but they are also fun to hang out with, talk business, [the art of] photography and just matters of everyday life. Their kids, Xander and Roxy were there as well, and Alyssa and I had the opportunity to take some shots of them all as a family. It was great shooting with Alyssa, especially as the Browns are such a photogenic family!

I really feel like I've met celebrities today. I am very hyped! And I can't wait to look over their portraits and compile a DVD for them with my pictures and Alyssa's.

Thank you very much Revival Arts Studio for the wonderful afternoon! Hope to meet you guys soon again!

Twitter: @rastudio

Here are a few images that Revival Arts Studio kindly took of us all:

from left to right: Revival arts Studio: Jason Brown, Darcie Brown and then us, Alyssa Schroeder, Stefan Chirila

Engagement style photo of Alyssa and me. Haha gotta love this one!

Feeling like the luckiest guy in the world, what can I say!

(Left) - And a more serious one. Thanks so much Jason!
(Right) - I love walking hand in hand with you Alyssa!

--
Update: May 23
Heres some photos I took yesterday of Abbotsford and the surroundings of where I stay here. Enjoy!

Update: May 20 - Photoshoot in the park
Today Alyssa and I went for a walk to a park near her house. An awesome little park with two swings, a slide, and most importantly a lot of trees, gravel, grass and Godly golden light!

If that doesn't impress you, then you must have never seen Alyssa (from Alyssa Schroeder Photography: http://www.alyssaschroeder.com/) in golden light. Well, I have an update for you...

As of today, beauty has been redefined:

It felt interesting to do a photoshoot with another professional photographer, especially one like her who is just as great behind the camera as well as in front of it. I am really debating at times whether this young lady is following the true calling of her life, photography, or if she should rather pursue modelling! It was truly a pleasure photographing her!

Also being in front of the camera myself was quite an experience. Goodness ...I felt awkward at times not knowing how to pose, where to stand, where to look, how to smile. Luckily this wonderful and enchanting photographer lady was there to guide me through setting up the poses that would bring out the best out my unphotogenic self. Of course she claims to disagree on my statement and says I am not unphotogenic, but I choose to be modest about my looks and to claim that my calling is to be behind the camera. I must admit though, that she manages to make me look way less unattractive than I'd be in a picture shot by anyone else!

I can definitely sympathise with my clients now and I know they really mean it when they thank me for guiding them and helping them pose themselves propperly. And I used to think they're just being nice HAHA!

Thank you Alyssa for the awesomely enlightening experience!!! You are an awesome person, an exquisite photographer and more of a great girlfriend than any demanding boy like me could wish for! *BIG HUG*

--
Trip to BC - May 2009
As I write this I am with Alyssa Schroeder, from Alyssa Schroeder Photography (http://www.alyssaschroeder.com/), in the impressively scenic, non-polluted vista-town of Abbotsford, BC. I have the opportunity to spend two wonderful weeks here with her, one of my most favourite photographers as well as my darling girlfried!

Yesterday we visited the dykes of old Sumas Lake, which now is beautiful countryside and took some portraits there! Enjoy!

We shot this one after having had a waffle cone of coffee ice cream from the awesomely creamy Birchwood Dairy farm (googleMAPS)

Right after the ice cream fun, we stopped at this little park in the same area where there is a small (small looking) creek, which is apparently man-made and goes over 30feet down straight! Scary! Pretty cool though that the Trans Canada Trail runs through all of this and I have seen it. This means that if I follow the Iron Horse trail in Kitchener North, through St Jacobs, Elmira and so on ...I eventually get to Alyssa's area (some few months of biking and 3000km later).

David + Mike (brothers) portrait session

2009-05-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Update June 13

--Where the streets have no name by U2

I have just posted the images from the Dave+Mike Photo-session! They turned out outrageously amazing and I would like to thank the both of them for being some of the greatest models I ever worked with!

Thanks Dave and Mike!

So what do you do when you want to make a portrait session "FUN!"? Well, one way to go about it is to follow the general and universally valid recipe for fun, which is as follows:

FUN!=(Starbucks + friends)^2

Which is exactly what we did. We were three friends, three cups of Starbucks, two of which models, one camera and a lot of fun!

The brothers are bonding: in Dave's words, "Good times, good times"
Dave: "Do you still have coffee in yours?"
Mike: "You bet!"

Dave walking @Uptown Waterloo Market Square by The Shops

The old Seagram Distillery makes a fabulous backdrop. Thank you Waterloo City Hall for not tearing down this lovely old building!

--
*tired sigh* WOW! I just got home a few minutes ago from an awesomely amazing portraits session with my friend David and his brother Mike. I've known David for about half a year now, through my friend Daniel and today I got to meet his brother Mike as well. Let me tell you, they're twins and they look totally alike, speak totally alike and ...well they don't act totally alike, although they are both very likable, equally alike haha.

David just finished Conestoga college and is starting his own business in website design, while Mike is volunteering with the Waterloo Regional Police while studying at the University of Guelph. As you will notice in the photos, Dave is the more quiet one, while Mike is the hyper and sporty(er) one, I say sportier because Dave isn't exactly non-sporty either, they both do more running than I do reading posts online.

The initial idea was for me to shoot a session with David only, his intention being to hand some photographs to his agent and eventually get himself into modeling and perhaps acting. David's brother being around, we ended up shooting more of a family portraits session than anything else. It was great fun though! At one point Mike and Dave thought it would be funny if they were to jump over each other, taking turns; of course I could not let that opportunity go and quickly went into position, recording the moment for future generations to enjoy.

I believe the highlight of the day might have been when David saw the previews of the photos on my laptop and liked the ones of him and Mike so much that he got the idea of printing some out for his parents, as a random gift. It's awesome when unexpected joys pop up randomly throughout the day like that.

Oh, and of course, we had Starbucks! A fun afternoon demands Starbucks, of course any fun-loving person in the world can second that ...mmm white chocolate mocha. Enough talk, here's some photographs to enjoy!

Dave

Mike

Mike on the left and David on the right. Yes it took me a while too to get over the amazement of how much they look alike!

TORONTO with Alex and Justine + Steve

2009-04-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I talked to my friends Alex and Justine and we decided it would be fun to do a day trip to Toronto, visit the Royal Ontario Museum and take some photos while at it.

And so it was! We drove over, spent some two hours in the ROM, then got some photos of Alex and Justine on the way to the car, grabbed a coffee (of course) at Starbucks and shot some more photos!

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

I love taking pictures at sunset!

A random empty glass on a side-street near the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario

The inside of a church on Bloor street, Toronto

A panorama of a church on Bloor Street will follow too!

Then yesterday (Saturday) I spent a few hours with Steve downtown Kitchener. He came down from Toronto where he's working on his masters at U of T. We spent some time at Matter of Taste Caffe enjoying a cappuccino when dad calls my cell phone telling me to seek shelter because apparently a storm was up in Waterloo and about to hit Kitchener soon. I told him that we are indoors and hung up. No more than 10 seconds after I hung up, there was a loud sound, the sky turned black and the construction fence along King street was laying on the ground along with the bike tied to it. If we lived further south I would have thought this is a tornado, but luckily we don't =P

About an hour later we made our way back to Steve's place. On our way I shot some portraits of Steve at one of my favourite spots in Kitchener, by the old Electrohome factory on Shanley Street. Overcast lighting sure has a magic about it that makes it quite fun to edit photos.

First artwork sale!

2009-04-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am quite excited to write this entry. Yesterday I received an email from RedBubble, a web site white I post some of my artistic photography, letting me know that someone purchased a 16inch x 20inch print and that the profit that I've earned would be transfered into my PayPal account shortly!

The picture that made the sale:

The idea behind me writing about this, is not just me sharing with the world (showing off) the fact that I managed to sell some of my artwork, but to mention the awesome phenomenon that exists out there, these web sites that allow you, and may I add, for no cost, to post artwork and to present it to potential customers, to sell it, and to have it printed for the customer without any extra involvement by you, while as a result you end up with an amount of profit transferred into your wallet!

One of these sites is RedBubble:

RedBubble allows me to set up an account, upload artwork that is viewable by anyone on the internet, set my artwork up in a gallery and then:

The allow me to advertise my gallery all over my other sites, blogs and so on using:
Banners:

One-picture animates slideshows:

Or a more elaborate slideshow-in-an-embedded-window format:

Another web site that offers similar services is Lulu.com!
This web site is targeting photographers and writers who would like to publish their work in book form. The website offers anyone the opportunity to put together a book with photography or just text or both for no cost, then post it along with the price they would like for it on the lulu.com marker place. The web site of course adds their little extra there for manufacturing and shipping, et voila, anyone can get published now, on-demand!

Check out the Demo!

good news: pollution is bad, but NOW we know it, it's official!

2009-04-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

As stated in an article on Discovery News Online, recently the USA supreme court has come to a conclusion:

"that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare"

Original link: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/17/co2-health-epa.html

EPA Deems CO2 a Health Risk

AFP

April 17, 2009 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shifted course and deemed carbon dioxide a health risk on Friday, in a turnabout important to global warming-related regulation.

"After a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed finding ... that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare," an EPA statement posted on the agency website read.

"This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations. Fortunately, it follows President (Barack) Obama's call for a low carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation," Administrator Lisa Jackson said.

"This pollution problem has a solution -- one that will create millions of green jobs and end our country's dependence on foreign oil.

"As the proposed endangerment finding states, 'In both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem. The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act,'" she added.

Five out of the nine Supreme Court justices ruled in April 2007 that carbon dioxide was a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

They ordered the EPA to decide if the greenhouse gas endangered public health and welfare and said that if a so-called endangerment finding was made, the agency must draft rules to reduce vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide.

In December 2007, the EPA sent a draft finding to the Bush White House, presenting evidence that CO2 did endanger public welfare.

But the administration of president George W. Bush failed to acknowledge the report and spent the remainder of its tenure resisting the Supreme Court decision.

Many environmental groups have been appalled that the Bush administration refused for eight years to take action over the crisis and in their view manipulated or ignored science to pursue inaction, at any cost.

John Walke, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defense Council, said last month that such an EPA shift would "make findings that greenhouse gas emissions not only endanger public welfare -- ecosystems, the environment and the planet at large -- but also make the important link between global warming emissions and how they will affect smog pollution, malaria and other public health problems."

photographing Big!

2009-04-07T22:15:00.001-07:00

UrbanJedi portraits

2009-03-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Urban Jedi: I am not talking about an urban legend, neither do I speak of a saga, a myth, or a long lost religion. I speak of the truth that lies within many individuals that live in our crowded cityscape. This truth is the craving to unleash that which stands behind the word Jedi! It is agility, graceful movement, and lethal strength.

What I am trying to say is that a few days ago a bunch of old friends of mine summoned me to photographically record a thing that used to be a highschool dream for some of us, a lightsaber fight, as featured in the Star Wars Movies. I must admit I had often dreamt of the day that I can transform a wooden weapon into a graceful lightsaber in post-processing. That day is here. At the same time, their dream was that they would be the ones holding the wooden utensil that I transform into a lightsaber. These combined with my hunger for even more elements to add to my portfolio, resulted in this unique session with broadens my offer to my clients even more. Now whoever is interested in personal portraits and is a fan of the Star Wars saga, can make his/her dream come true! Without further ado, I give you Master Jedi Logan Templar (equipped with a green crystal lightsaber), his padawan learner Mirrassi (with the golden lightsaber) and their arch enemy, the Sith Lord Shadowan Kojin (with his fiery red lightsaber). Let the duel begin!

For the readers' curiosity sake, the three duelists are as follows:
Master Jedi Logan Templar aka Daniel: trained in the art of Karate and Kobudo for 5 years

Padawan Mirrassi aka David: has studied Tae Kwon Do for 8 years, Karate for 6 months and Aikido for 3 months. He also enjoys throwing elements of baseball into his overall technique.

Sith Lord Shadowan Kojin aka Gaelan: enjoys th use any element of strength he posesses as well as his extraordinary agility and any obvious flaw in the opponent's technique to his advantage. If everything else fails, his large capacity of brute force always comes in handy.

David (middle): "I'm sorry, I'm the new kid, what are we supposed to do with these again?"

New BLOG Layout! + News of interest

2009-03-22T19:31:00.001-07:00

In other news:

Great News for all U2 lovers! The band of choice of so many will be on tour this year and be in concert in Toronto, Ontario on September 16th 2009 at the Rogers Centre (the former Skydome)

Also here's an online player where you can listen to their songs:

Urban Exploration: Lyric Theatre, Hamilton

2009-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

So I did some urban exploration with my friend Eric today. I went over to the Lyric Theatre with. Boy was it ever a bad day. I lost my gloves and im totally itchy and I think I have an allergy to the dust haha.

Gotta admit the place is awesome, just a little too dusty for my taste. The room you see here is the auditorium as seen from the stage. Very very dark.

Hope my allergy goes away soon!

Me on the stage in the auditorium.

Eric - Finding a way inside

My buddy Eric who ended up getting a portrait session as well at the end of the day

Waterloo Regional Worship 2009!

2009-03-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

On the 7th of March I got to go and photograph the Waterloo regional Worship 2009. Basically all sorts of Christian churches in the Waterloo region get together with the best of the best of their worship leaders and they put together a BEAUTIFUL concert!

My friend Gary was part of the singers team and he asked me if I wanted to come and take pictures for them as volunteering. Of course I wouldn't let such an opportunity pass by. So here's the results:

Slideshow

Street Photography: anti-Scientology protest in Kitchener

2009-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

As I was walking downtown today, I noticed a group of people standing near City Hall. The thing that intrigued me about them was the fact that they were wearing masks and holding posters. I came closer, took a few pictures of them and soon enough I realized what it was all about.

They were protesters, gathering as a statement against the Church of Scientology. They were very friendly and allowed me to take pictures of them, even posed for me. I asked them about the purpose of their protest and their reply was that they were speaking against the fact that the Church of Scientology was infringing human rights and putting people and families in danger, as well as maliciously convincing people to sign contracts which make them legally obliged to pay large debts to the Church of Scientology, in money or in physical labour.

An anti-Church of Scientology protester in downtown Kitchener, Ontario

What they said the church of scientology does:

The protesters explained how the church of scientology recruits people on behalf of the religious beliefs that it proclaims, then in order for the person to join the religion, they are required to sign certain documents which require them to obey the rules of this organization.

The purpose one has, as a member of the church of scientology is, in short, "purification". The way this is conducted is through "courses" which the church of scientology provides and teaches, at a cost. The cost can reach up to $128,000, roughly, and the member is obliged by law (since he/she signed the document to become a member of this church) to pay this debt, either in money or optionally in physical labour, at the construction sites of their churches (possibly other locations as well).

Some of the people endebted, I was told, who ended up paying their debt in physical labour, were children. Which is an infringement of human rights in Canada.

In the case of a church member's intention to quit their membership in the church, I have been told that the Church of Scientology legally charges them a considerable cacellation fee, which is legally enforced by the document the member signs upon enrolling into membership.

Also the church of scientology obliges its members to quit contact with friends and even family members who question or deny belief in the teachings of the church of scientology. This, they told me, has already led to many people ending up unable to speak to half their family, since that half of their family was part of this church.

Who are these people who were protesting?

I asked them whether they were members from within the Church of Scientology who were revolting against its means or whether they are all part of an organization.

I received the answer that they were not part of an organization, instead they were people of different walks of life, some of them ex-members of the church of scientology, some just people who learned these things and are appaled by them, and thus would like to speak against the practices of the church of scientology and warn others about the danger they believe this church poses.

Why do they protest?

I asked them what moved them to protest. One of the protesters then explained how they do not protest because they have anything against the church of scientology as a religion. He expressed how he believes in a God who is invisible, who came to earth, impregnated a woman with himself, then lived among us and sacrificed himself to himself. The same way that this protester has the right to believe this, he said, so do the people of the church of scientology have the right to believe whatever they find worth believing in, be it an invisible God, or aliens. So neither he nor the other protesters have anything to bring against the religious beliefs, however, the protesters hold it as imperative to share their opinion with the world, which is that the Church of Scientology is using legal means to bind people to the payment of large debts. This being a fact that they hold as dangerous and people should be warned about.

My own thoughts:

I personally love doing photo-journalism and getting in contact with people like this who have something to say and are not afraid to say it. It is often not a little thing to do, to stand up against a strong economic and perhaps somewhat political power and openly express your discontent.

Up until this day I have not much come in contact with the issue of the Church of Scientology. I did not know many details about it, its beliefs, or its practices. I find that this has been a very educational experience to me which I value a lot. Whether these things that I was told are truly fact or not, I can not guarantee since I have not had direct contact with the church of scientology, but I find that no warning is too much of a warning. One can never be too careful and should always be as informed as can be.

To the protesters:

If you read this then I would like to thank you for letting me photograph and interview you. I find that what you people do is a great thing, you are exercising your right of freedom of speech, which is a thing that I give thumbs up to!

More photographs:

The High Resolution Copy of an Artwork

2009-03-11T19:29:00.001-07:00

I have written a blog entry on this before, here, where I explained how the people at google earth are making 14 giga pixel sized digital "copies" of famous artwork, see the video by clicking here, which very very much inspired me to try something similar, while not at the same size since my computer right now can not handle blending 300, 10 megapixel, images all at once.

I have talked to a friend of mine, Emily Shields, who I knew had some artwork that I could work with, and I managed to convince her to allow me to make such a "digital copy" of one of her oil paintings. Here's the result:

Notre Dame of Guelph 2009 "take 1"

2009-02-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I took my friend Daniel to Guelph. The purpose was street photography and the visiting of the famous Our Lady Immaculate church, one of the more imposing buildings in the area.

Once again I went into a church with the name Notre Dame (our lady) and I was unable to use my tripod for photos. Last time (in Montreal) I had left my tripod at the hotel, this time I had it with me but not the device that mounts on the camera, so I couldn't attach the camera to the tripod

But once again i propped the camera down on the ground, put my kit lens on, set it to wide angle and propped it up with the lens cap. Et Voila.

I also got some really good portraits of Daniel, which are a welcomed addition to my portfolio as well.

Heffman Street and Woolwich street in Guelph, Ontario.

This one reminds me of some verses from the song Moment of Surrender from the U2 album: No line on the horizon:

I was speeding off the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down till the pain will stop

At the moment of surrender
A vision of a visibility
I did not notice the passers by
And they did not notice me

street documentaryING

2009-02-25T00:22:00.000-08:00

Last night, in Kitchener, Ontario.

High Definition digital copies of artwork!

2009-02-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

There are many things I want to do with my photography, one of them is an interesting idea that I got inspired by Google to do. I have tried to do this with portraits, and city scapes, but I have not yet gotten around to applying it artwork, which is a feature that I would like to offer to my photography clients.

An example for portraits done that way below:

A panorama of 6 both vertical and horizontally places images: stitched together, resulting in a high resolution image great for printing BIG or for detailed post processing.

Basically here's what it is:

A High Resolution Digital Copy of my client's artwork. This basically means photographing the artwork artistically by shooting multiple shots of it and putting them together giving you extra colour detail, accuracy and did i mention insanely large resolution?

I am soon going to post a new gallery on that theme along with some samples, since a friend of mine chose to volunteer some of her artwork for my portfolio in return for a free session ;).

The idea was inspired of something the people at google are doing for Google Earth, you can see it here:

As the years go by

2009-02-07T02:09:00.000-08:00

While browsing the Internet today, I came across this picture of the Lang/Tanning building in Kitchener, Ontario. Just for the sake of comparison, beneath is one of my pictures that I shot in December 2008.

Lang building in the early 1900s.

Lang building December 2008, recently sold.

streetPhotography dillema in Europe

2009-02-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

Today I read a strange title in a friend's blog. It said "R.I.P. street photography in Europe". naturally, curious of the nature of this news, I looked at the entry to find a link to the following article.

In a nutshell, a case of a baby's photograph in a hospital in Greece, a scandal arose which went as far as being taken into account by the European Union's Court of Justice ...et voila, a decision has been made as how in Europe now, in order to take someone's picture in the street, one has to have their explicit permission.

I personally do not think this will end up being one of those laws that will be enforced, as in, I do not believe that police officers will walk the streets arresting or confiscating film from people taking street photography pictures (I mean consider all the tourists!). However, in the future there is an established rule when it comes to problems concerning people not wanting their photo published, and then photographers will need to give up the right to the negatives.

Heres the link to the original article: http://www.inquisitr.com/17518/no-more-taking-pictures-of-people-in-public-in-europe-anymore/

Content of the article is here below:

No more taking pictures of people in public in Europe anymore

Here we go folks down that slippery slope of stupidity once more.

It appears that the European Court of Human Rights has now ruled that the taking of a pictures without the explicit consent of the person being photographed is a violation of that person’s right of privacy – even if it is taken in a public and even if it is never used. This decision was the result of a court case involving a newborn baby who was put into a sterile unit when born. At that point as a part of a commercial service provided by the hospital they took a photograph of the baby.

The child’s parents in turn objected and demanded that the hospital hand over the negatives. the hospital refused and when the Greek courts refused to hear the case it went before the European Court of Human rights.

"The Court reiterated that the concept of private life was a broad one which encompassed the right to identity," said an ECHR press release about the ruling. "It stressed that a person’s image revealed his or her unique characteristics and constituted one of the chief attributes of his or her personality."

"The Court added that effective protection of the right to control one’s image presupposed, in the present circumstances, obtaining the consent of the person concerned when the picture was being taken and not just when it came to possible publication," it said.

The ECHR said that the taking of the photograph breached the child’s right to a private life as guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that the Greek courts had failed to uphold that right.

Source: Out-Law.com

This doesn’t bode well folks for all those photographers out there who bless us with some of the greatest pieces of art imaginable.

Blog update February 2 2009

2009-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

I updated the blog today with gallery entries for my main categories of photography. These galleries are available through the top menu of the blog when you hover the word Gallery.

If you want an overview of them, click the word Gallery up in the menu and it will take you to an overview blog entry which also contains links to the individual gallery pages.

Another menu item is the Multimedia one. If you click it, it will take you to an entry with some YouTube videos that you can listen to while surfing the blog.

If you want to see my last entry before these additions, click here: Urban Exploration + Barra Castle
Enjoy! =D

Urban Exploration

2009-02-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

My urban Exploration photographs:

Uncategorized:

The old Electrohome factory building at the corner of Shanley Street and Duke Street West, Kitchener, Ontario

"The abandoned cottage" in the woods at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Wabanaki Drive, Kitchener, Ontario

The Barra Castle, Kitchener, Ontario

Street Photography

2009-02-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Our Lady Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Guelph, Ontario

Victoria Park - Kitchener, Ontario

Victoria Park, Kitchener, Ontario

Barra Castle - Kitchener, Ontario

St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, Kitchener, Ontario

Alma College, St. Thomas, Ontario - Summer 2007 before it burned down in May 2008

Artistic Photography

2009-02-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

My artistic photography gallery:

Engagement Gallery

2009-02-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Natasha + Grant engagement session, Spring 2009

Joe and Jenny engagement 2008.

Andrew and Kelsey engagement 2008.

Portrait Gallery

2009-02-02T19:34:00.001-08:00

Beethoven Piano and Cello Works by Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian

Special request scenarios:

Galleries

2009-02-02T19:33:00.001-08:00

Portrait Photography:

Engagement Photography:

Artistic Photography:

Street Photography:

Urban Exploration:

Multimedia

2009-02-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

For your browsing convenience, I am going to provide you with an entry that contains videos and music that you can open in a second tab and listen to while you browse. Enjoy!

urban exploration + Barra Castle, Kitchener, ONTARIO

2009-01-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

_{Urban Exploration - From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exploration

Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities.[1] Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. It may also be referred to as "draining" (when exploring drains) "urban spelunking", "urban caving", or "building hacking".

Abandonments
Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. Abandoned sites are generally entered first by locals, and often sport large amounts of graffiti and other acts of vandalism. Explorers face various risks in abandoned structures including collapsing roofs and floors, broken glass, guard dogs, the presence of chemicals, other harmful substances, most notably asbestos, hostile squatters and sometimes motion detectors. Some explorers wear respirators to protect their airways.
--}

Looking for an adventurous photoshooting experience, a friend of mine offered to take me on an Urban Exploration session with him. The target was the Barra Castle in downtown Kitchener. The over a century old building is declared a heritage landmark and can not be tore down for that reason, however this aspect of importance does not seem important enough for the city to apply the needed repairs to it. And since the owner does not have the required funds either, the building remains in its current state for another while. How sad. For those of you interested in perhaps visiting the place, keep in mind that the building is closed since it is deemed unsafe for inhabiting. The floors are moldy and being made of wood are likely to give you a very short trip from the top floor to the bottom one. I need not mention the old building dust which will likely give you a sore throat the following day (as I am having now) either. If you do decide to go in, please respect the building as it is a Kitchener landmark and it would be really cool if future generations get to see it as intact as possible. The building is located across the street (pretty much) from the Joseph Schneider haus museum on Queen Street, a little West from the intersection with Courtland Avenue.

Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=queen+street+and+courtland+avenue,+kitchener&daddr=43.445295,-80.493787&hl=en&geocode=&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=19&sll=43.445358,-80.493009&sspn=0.001054,0.002543&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=1 9
More info on the Barra Castle building in downtown Kitchener [The Record, newspaper]: http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/293668

Photographs from the Barra Castle, Kitchener, Ontario - January 2009:

The Red Livingroom - Barra Castle 2009.

My friend Eric - Barra Castle 2009 - striking a very photographer-like pose as he photographically documents a chandelier.

adventurous dreams + the future of energy[again]

2009-01-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

It is that time again...
Every once in a while I feel a deep and unquenchable craving for an adventurous outing into the realm of the outdoors for the purpose of retrieving some primary material for my industrious activity of choice: photography. That material which I speak of is none other than raw pictures, ready to hatch their JPG or RAW shells and develop into saturated contrasty coloured works of art.

Alright alright, enough poeticness. I crave to go out photoshooting and I melancholically remember past photoshooting trips that I have been on in the past year and am trying to decide which location to re-visit, or whether to attempt something more bold and to discover some new locations. Available companionship for such an endeavour is also scarce these days *sigh* so the outlook seems kindof bleak at times. But I shall not lose hope, instead I will take the time to share some memories and ideas below.

Hilton Falls, Ontario.
An hour hike through a maze of trails takes you to the waterfall. Nothing earth shakingly mindblowingly breathtaking; but definitely a place worth the hike on a hot summer day. The lookout point offers firewood for those craving a barbecue, and the water is always fresh and cool, ideal for a refreshing sprinkle.

The green fields at the old garbage dump by the Hydro Trail in West Kitchener (end of University avenue).
The fields are green and photogenic (in summer) and the trail that leads through the woods is long, adventurous and filled with thirsty, dying to bite you, mosquitoes. If you are dying to give blood and the walk-in-clinic is already closed for the day, don't panic, just take a bike down there and you'll be guaranteed satisfied!

Westfield Heritage Village, Ontario.
A far hike, but only a moderately far drive from Kitchener. If you take Homer Watson Boulevard down and out of Kitchener and make a right turn on Blair Road at the roundabout just when you enter the city of Cambridge, then you're definitely taking the scenic route. Follow the road to downtown Cambridge, then down Main street to HWY8 and make a right turn on that heading East towards Dundas. Eventually there will be a road turning left (552 - Kirkwal St.), that will take you to Westfield. The place is full of a magic that can not be explained easily. Try watching the movie "The Village" and you'll want to visit this place for sure!

Elora Gorge in Elora town, Ontario.
In Elora, there is a stairway that leads down to the river. It is steep and it goes down deep, but the sightseeing is worth the trip (the trip back up that is when you return). Just look for the old mill and follow the river shore looking for the stairway down. The river is never too deep and if you know to keep your balance you can cross it and find your way down it. There are plenty of these little caves around to explore, plenty stony cliff-sides to climb and definitely many landscapes to photograph.

Webster's Falls, at Spencer Gorge, West Flamborough, Ontario.
Webster's falls is located on the Niagara escarpment, near Tew's Falls on the Bruce Trail. The hike is pleasant and filled with many lookout points. There is also a cliff of considerable size which can be reached by one who not necesarily is a great climber, but one who is not afraid to get a little earth on his/her pants. Great panorama opportunities there for sure.

Tew's Falls, by Webster's Falls at Spencer Gorge, West Flamborough, Ontario.
A nice height and walkable, yes even in winter, and yes it is indeed a miracle that I am still alive.

The Future of Energy[Again]

The original article is from the Official Google BLOG. I am posting this because I not only find the topic to be interesting and relevant to my own philosophy, but I believe it is a topic that affects all of us, since we all share the planet and its future.
Original link: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/back-to-energy-future.html

1/21/2009 03:36:00 PM
In 1979 President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar hot water panels on the roof of the White House. Recently a Googler from our Washington D.C. office asked the question, "What ever happened to the Carter panels?" After a little digging, we were able to track down the original panels to Unity College, an environmental college in Maine, and bring one of them back to Washington D.C.

So what ever happened to the panels? It turns out that during President Reagan's administration the solar hot water panels were removed from the White House in 1986 and placed in storage. In 1992, Unity College located the panels and transferred them from a General Services Administration warehouse to their campus in Maine. After restoration,16 panels provided their cafeteria with hot water for the next 12 years. In cooperation with Unity College, Google was able to bring one of these panels down to our Washington DC office for display throughout the next year.

At the panels' dedication in 1979, Jimmy Carter stated:

"This dependence on foreign sources of oil is of great concern to all of us. In the year 2000, this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy. A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people." (To watch video of the dedication, check out this trailer for a movie about the panels) here: http://www.roadnottaken.info/ .

As we welcome our new U.S. president to office this week, we wanted to share this piece of this history with you. Google is committed to a clean energy future and we hope that you will join us in supporting the creation and adoption of renewable energy technology — what could still be one of the greatest and most exciting adventures for all of us.

New BLOG + Looking back on 2008

2009-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,

The moment has finally come that the new blog is out and going! Due to the fact that BLOGGER is allowing HTML/CSS editing on the blog page, I was able to implement my own taste and liking and thus this new blog interface was born. I was debating importing the old posts from the other blog http://stefansphoto.wordpress.com but I eventually decided that I should compile a "Best Of 2008" instead. This should give anybody who visits this blog a better overview over the past year and fit it all into one entry. So hang on tight for here it comes:

Best Of 2008

Engagements 2008:

Joe and Jenny's engagement, Summer 2008.
This was indeed one of the highlights of the summer of 2008. It was my second engagement shoot and I think one of the best I believe. I caught some very lovely lighting and discovered a spot that I think I will be using a lot from now on.

Joe and Jenny's engagement, Summer 2008.
Gotta love how their hearts visibly glow with the light of love.

Andrew and Kelsey's engagement photoshoot.
Andrew and Kelsey were my first engagement photo session. There are really very few things that help set the mood other than golden light.

Portraits 2008:

Alyssa's visit to Ontario, summer 2008.
This autumn was the first time my darling Alyssa came to visit Ontario. We had quite a fun time filled with many unforgettable adventures. Alyssa is indeed both an outstanding photographer and a wonderful model. Check out her photography and consider hiring her for a photo session if you live in the Vancouver area. http://alyssaschroeder.blogspot.com.

Photography 2008:

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal, Quebec.
The view was fantastic and I do not believe this picture does it justice at all. Having forgotten to take the tripod from the hotel room, I had to make use of the lens cap and a plastic filter box to prop the lens up to take this picture. Boy how I love improvisation...

The St. Joseph Oratorium in Motreal, Quebec.
This was truly an intense experience. It took me quite a while to find the location of this, a lot of asking random strangers in the street, some of whom did not speak English (which was a challange for me, not being an amazing French speaker). I must say the searing for it was quite enjoyable, adding up the subway and bus rides that it included. The building is HUGE! and located upon a tall hill. It is basically a church built upon another church, while underneath it, St. Joseph, the person who started the project, is buried.
The steps you see in the middle, the brighter ones are made of wood. The cement ones on their sides are for tourists to climb up, while the wooden ones are meant for pilgrims, who, it is said climb them on their knees, as a tribute.

Marie reine du monde Cathedral in Montreal, Quebec.
A truly impressive, massive building. Just the way I like cathedrals to be for photography. The building is in the shape of a cross, with the altar at the intersection of the cross's axes, and seats along all sides of the cross.

Right outside the cathedral (photograph above) was this homeless man (I assume by his clothing). I could not help photographing him (I love photographing homeless people, they always show a lot of personality in their facial expressions). Only after I looked at the picture on the computer I noticed how the man looked like he could have just come out of the stone carving behind him. Take a look!

I shot this at the docks in Montreal by the St Lawrence River. There were many ships there, mostly yachts and one or two freight ones. When I saw this man I thought to myself "wow he looks cool!" so i pulled out the Tamron 70-300mm and quickly shot a few shots of him. They weren't great so I decided to forget about it and leave him onto my memory. But then as it was time to embarque the little tour boat that I had a ticket for, I noticed that from the lower part of the dock, in this position he looked great. So once again, quickly before he had the chance to leave, I put the eye to the lens and off I was shooting. Was very glad I caught a glimpse of this most mysterious looking character. And I went onto the ship.

Only later, when I looked at this picture again did it occur to me, "could he be a sailor? ...leaning in most a poetical fashion over the railing, waiting for the ship that shall take him back home, to his beloved sea..." Who knows. But I most certainly love being blessed with the opportunity to capture such stories full of emotion.

The LANG building, downtown Kitchener, Ontario.
This building that has not been of much use to anyone for a long time will soon be rehabilitated into offices/ apartments and an artists' corner, which my sources say will feature an art gallery and caffes. I personally am quite looking forward to that. Also according to what happened to other old buildings in the city, the facade will remain, which I also find a good thing. Looking forward to when it's done.

Connect

2009-01-18T20:56:00.001-08:00

General Information:

Stefan Chirila Photography offers solutions to special event photography needs as well as everyday photography available to anyone. My services include:

* Wedding photography
* Family Portraits
* Personal Portraiture
* Graduation Photography

Located in Kitchener, Ontario, Stefan Chirila Photography provides its services to the cities of the Waterloo Region.

Contact Stefan:
Tel: 519-580-0699
E-mail: stefan.chirila@gmail.com

Personal Portraiture:

I offer customized portraits for individuals, couples and groups in the environment of your choice. I am experienced in bringing out my clients personality and charm through my photographs. Every photo is individually looked at and retouched to ensure that you receive the finest quality photographs. You will receive the final photos in the format of your choice. High resolution prints and/or a CD containing the full resolution retouched photos.If you would like to book me or need any information, please contact me at stefan.chirila@gmail.com.

Family Portraits:

I offer to capture the true spirit of your family in the location of your choice. I am available to photograph you somewhere in nature or in the comfort of your home. If you like, I’d love to help and suggest a location as well.

Every photo is individually looked at and retouched to ensure that you receive the finest quality photographs. You will receive the final photos in the format of your choice. High resolution prints and/or a CD containing the full resolution retouched photos.

If you would like to book me or need any information, please contact me at stefan.chirila@gmail.com.

Graduation Photography:

My graduation photo package is for those who want creative personal portraits that go beyond the typical school graduation package. I will capture your personality and style through your grad photos so you get to decide whether your session is causal or formal.With your graduation photo package, you will receive a minimum of 5 unique and creative poses. You may wear up to 3 outfits and bring up to 2 friends to be with you in your photos at no extra cost! I am also open to any ideas you may have for your portraits, including location ideas! I want to give you portraits that are unique, memorable and most importantly, show your personality!

Every photo is individually looked at and retouched to ensure that you receive the finest quality photographs. You will receive the final photos in the format of your choice. High resolution prints and/or a CD containing the full resolution retouched photos.

Your Grad Photo Session Includes:

* a minimum of 5 poses
* location of your choice
* wear up to 3 outfits
* bring up to 2 friends
* free retouching
* full resolution photos on a CD
* rights to print your photos

If you would like to book me or need any information, please contact me at stefan.chirila@gmail.com.

Wedding Photography:

My wedding packages are as follows below, remember each package can be customized specifically for your needs!

Basic Wedding Package: offers photographic coverage of the entire ceremony. As well, there will be a photo session for the bride and groom. Group portraits of the bride and groom with family are also included in this package.

Deluxe Wedding Package: offers you full photographic coverage of your entire day. I will start shooting early in the morning photographing the preparation of the bride and groom and continue photographing until the main events of the reception are finished.

Each of your wedding photos will be individually looked at and retouched to ensure that you receive the finest quality photographs. I will provide you with the full resolution retouched photos on your choice CD or DVD. For an additional fee, prints can also be made for you upon request.

If you would like to book me or need any information, please contact me at stefan.chirila@gmail.com.

Engagement Portraiture:

I offer customized portraits for couples in the environment of your choice. I am experienced in bringing out my your personality, charm and love through my photographs.

Every photo is individually looked at and retouched to ensure that you receive the finest quality photographs. You will receive the final photos in the format of your choice. High resolution prints and/or a CD containing the full resolution retouched photos.

You receive a free complementary engagement photo session with the booking of a wedding package.

If you would like to book me or need any information, please contact me at stefan.chirila@gmail.com.