Halloween Weekend

This past weekend, the Cambridge Times hired me to do their weekend photos, as the freelance photographer was unable to. It felt so nice to be back shooting for the publication again.


I took photos at the Farmer's Market of a couple girls feeding the animals at the petting zoo. Saturday was a special Family Harvest Celebration so there was face painting and other activities as well.

                                                                                                         


After that, I drove over to the Armoury to photograph the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada open house.

                                                                                                                 





Early into the afternoon, McDougall cottage had a toffee demonstration. :)

Alan

Hello there,
It's been a while since i've posted anything but I do have a couple new things to post.


A friend of mine from air cadets passed away on September 23 and to honour his life,
I wrote a story about him for the paper. It was published October 21.


Here's the photo and story.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/890527--honouring-cadet-who-passed-away

Week Seven and Eight...

wow, it's been forever since i've posted. I've been meaning to put the rest of the work i did at the times but i keep forgetting so here it is, finally :)

So the last couple weeks i worked on a few things... I did a few stories that I didn't take photos for as they were advancer stories, but i did do a few photo ops in there as well. :)


On August 22, i went to Conestoga as they announced the upcoming practitioner-led clinic that will be built and operated on school grounds. Here's the photo for it and the link to the story.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/864621--nursing-clinic-at-college

During those weeks, i also went to a meeting at Hillborn Pottery where the owners showed members affiliated with the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank the pieces that would be donated at the 25th anniversary dinner for the guests who came.


A couple days later, i went to the Calvary church to take photos of the backpacks and stuff that were distributed for children in need from the community.

In my last week, I got to meet the owner of Challenger Motor Freight, Dan Einwechter, and take a photo of him for an accompanying story that someone else submitted. Dan was going to participate in the Ride with Lance event, where he got to bike with Lance Armstrong so i took a photo of him in his gear, with his bike and a truck in the background...i was about to take the photo before i discovered i had no memory card! Dan made some phone calls to delay his next plans, before taking me back to work to get my card and then back to do the photo. He even took me for a ride around the yard in one of the brand new trucks. It was amazing! 

On another day, i had three events to attend. First I went to the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank to do an interview and photo of a boy named Cameron who collected pennies and small change so he could eventually buy shoes for kids who need them most. Then i went to A&W for a fundraiser event, followed by the Preston Market to take a photo there as well.

One of my last photo events was up off of St.Andrew's taking a photo of a community "pool olympics" my photo ended up on front page of one of last week's papers :)

End of week 6

Hey everyone,

This week started on a good note and continued to be fairly busy. On Wednesday, I photographed a local poet who will be involved in a poetry tour that will have 6 poets from Montreal and Toronto canoeing down the Grand River, stopping at different locations and sharing poetry. April Bulmer is Cambridge's poet that will be out sharing her work. After I met with her, I headed to McDougall Cottage to take a photo of one of the quilts they have on display until Labour Day.

April Bulmer, a local poet will be the Cambridge poet for the poetry canoe tour taking place on the Grand River on Aug 14. Bulmer has lived in Cambridge for 14 years and has three Masters Degrees in creative writing and theology.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/860221--connecting-words-with-river

Michelle Rozad, a teacher/interpreter at McDougall Cottage in downtown Galt displays the quilt by Vicki Mitchell, of Paxton, Scotland as part of the “2010 Wee Quilt Challenge”.  This quilt won best in show for this year and will be displayed with the rest until Labour Day weekend.

Thursday, I went to west Galt right near Southwood to photograph a man in his home as he got his new Peak Saver thermostat installed. John Jackson has spent approximately $40,000 on home upgrades to make his home more energy efficient and with a program offered by the government, he and his wife received around $2600 back, each. I will be writing a story about it on Monday and will post the link once it's online. For the rest of the photos, the links will be below them.

Ryan Parkinson of Delta Air Systems Ltd. shows John Jackson how to use his new Peak Saver thermostat after it was installed. This thermostat is part of Jackson’s efforts to make his home more energy efficient.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/861646--reeping-the-benefits



Today, I went to the YMCA before 9 a.m. to take a photo of an aquafit class knitting for a woman named Sue Sturdy's cause. With all my photos submitted and plans to set up stories on Monday, I get to leave early today to head to Port Dover with Eric on his bike. I've never been but I think it'll be really fun :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

  Members of Sue Sturdy’s aqua fit class at the YMCA help her knit for her upcoming project that will take place in September. Sturdy will cover one of the bridges over the Grand River starting September 9. After it is removed on September 26, some of the knitted panels will be made into scarves and auctioned off to help the YWCA, the food bank, and the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. Other pieces will be given to the Cambridge homeless shelter for people in need.

This and That

Aloha, everyone!
Although the week started off slow, looks like it's picked up pretty quickly. Yesterday morning, I went over to Wedges N Woods to do a photo and story of a fundraiser event that they're holding this week and on Saturday.
The story was published today on Page three. Here is the link to it below the photo  :)

Andrew Amlinger, marketing co-ordinator for Frank on Finance, takes a shot while Katherine King, another marketing co-ordinator, Pat Busby, owner of Wedges N Woods, and Gabriel Frank, president of Frank on Finance, watch. All four have helped organize this week’s fundraising event for the Oral Health, Total Health organization.


http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/858266--1m-goal-for-golf-clinic


Today, I only did one photo op, but I was handed a bunch of assignments and now have three appointments tomorrow and two more to organize.
I took a photo of some kids making clay sculptures at a Children's Art Camp through the Cambridge Libraries.
Here's my favourite.

Olivia Cacciacarro works on a sculpture during one of the Cambridge Library’s children’s art camps at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Galt on Tuesday.

Last Friday, I did a photo and story of a friend from high school who is collecting empty beer bottles and such in order to give a donation to the local humane societies. The story was published today, along with the photo on page three and already this morning, she got an email from someone interested in helping her reach her goal of $5000. Here's the photo, with the link to the story.

Katie Neil is collecting empty beer cans and other bottles to deposit in order to raise money for local animal shelters.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/856967--empty-effort-combats-cruelty

Yesterday, I went to the mall in the morning for the launch of a new program called "Penny Harvest" that's through the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank and helps to pay for things such as back to school products for kids in need. A little boy named Cameron Hass donated a big container that he was filling with pennies to help other children. Here's the photo and caption for that.

Cameron Hass, 8, adds pennies to a jug he presented to the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank’s Penny Harvest on Thursday at the Cambridge Centre. Money raised will help towards buying back-to-school items such as shoes for children in need. The Penny Harvest will return to the Cambridge Centre on Aug. 21 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. 

Today, I was out and about all day taking pictures of construction sites and then I got a feature photo as well. The first is the site of a public school that's being torn down after a new building was built. The old building was worn down and needed lots of renovations so they decided to just build a new school all together. The second site is the Riverbank Restaurant that will be restored and expanded. I saw the blue prints and it's going to be pretty amazing. It should be finished by Spring 2011.

Construction to the Riverbank Restaurant in downtown Galt is under way and it is planned to be completed in the Spring of 2011.Plans for a two-floor solarium surrounded by glass are in the works, as well as keeping the original stonework, with minor adjustments to it.

Construction on Ryerson is moving along as the old school is being torn down and a new one is being completed. Construction started in May and should be completed by the end of this month, before the start of the next school year.

After the construction photos, I went over to L.A. Frank's by the water and took a couple feature shots...

                        Sarah Nunnikhoven, 9 and her brother, Kurt, 7 enjoy some time at Mill Race Park with their parents on Friday.

I also did a story on a Teen Reading program through the Cambridge Libraries. Here is the photo and link to the story.

Patricia Pilon displays a weekly prize pack in front of the teen summer reading club board at Clemen’s Mill library on Wednesday.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/859163--write-a-review-win-prize

Make a Wish

On July 27, I drove to Brantford to witness and photograph a little boy receiving his wish come true through the Make a Wish Foundation. Along with Great Escape Hot Tubs of Cambridge, a Marquis hot tub was delivered to Carson's house and the Brantford Fire Department showed up to fill up the new tub.
It was a great day and I'm glad Cat, a good friend of the family was there too. The fire fighters also took Carson for a ride around the block and to our pleasant surprise, they left a pair of boots and pants behind so Cat and I had some fun trying them on.
Here are some of the photos from that day.

With the help of a Brantford Firefighter, Carson Huelin, 6 holds the hose that fills his new hot tub. Huelin received a hot tub through the Make A Wish Foundation of South Western Ontario. Huelin lives with Batten Disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, causing the brain to be unable to break down proteins, causing brain cells to die and eventually immobility, and lack of speech, among other things. Great Escape Hot Tub Company of Cambridge delivered the Marquis Spa to Huelin's house on Tuesday. Huelin's older sister, Jamie passed away in April with the same disease at the age of nine. Huelin's family chose the hot tub in order to give him a way to relax his muscles and body.

Huelin also got to take a ride around the block in a fire truck with the Brantford Fire Department, along side his father, Sheldon.

Cat and I enjoy our time trying on the fire fighting gear while the others go for a ride.

Fun in the Sun

Although this week is a four paper week, i'm surprised I wasn't busier. Yesterday, I went to Shade's Mills to take photos of kids playing at the beach to accompany a story one of the other reporters did. 
The photo I took from that got front page today. soooo cute.
Later that day, i went to the library to get some info on a summer reading program for teens. I don't have a photo for that story so I put it aside in order to set up a photo sometime next week.
This morning, right after i came in, I headed out to get a photo of people lined up at Roger's for the release of the new iphone. I talked to a couple people who had been waiting for 13 hours!! i think that'll go online and stuff so i'll post that. i just wrote a funny little story to go with it.
After lunch, I went to Katie Neil's to do an interview and photo on her. She's raising money for the OSPCA and humane society. She's collecting empties. I brought her a bunch to add to her collection. So far, she's raised between $150-$160 and her goal is $5000. Hopefully with the help of this article, she'll get more support from the community so she can reach her goal faster.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Jonathan Van Nierop, 2, enjoys the beach and his sand castle at Shade’s Mills on his first trip with his mom and siblings on Thursday.

July 24

This past weekend, I went to two assignments on Saturday. One was the book launch of a local author, which i did for fun so I could meet her. Earlier that day, I went to a house of a girl who collects pop tabs to be put towards wheelchairs. She just handed in over 100,000 and is onto collecting for a second one. I brought her probably 4000 to start out and we put them all on the table outside for a photo. Here's what I have. 

I'm just starting the story so it should be in later this week. My Summer Company story will be in tomorrow's paper.

Danielle Voisin signs copies of her books at her book launch on July 24 in downtown Cambridge. Defining Someday is a book geared to help readers set and achieve their life goals.

Michaila Melanson, 12 has been collecting pop tabs since she was 10 and recently handed in 108lbs of tabs (167,400 tabs) that were used for a child in need of a wheel chair. She received an award from the Army & Navy in Stratford recently for her efforts.

July 22

Hey all,
I just finished editing and sending off my photos from a Celebrating Seniors picnic held at Riverside Park today.
Hopefully it'll be in tomorrow's picture. Here's what I came up with :)

Isabelle Wiens plays lawn darts at the Celebrating Seniors picnic in Riverside Park on Thursday.

Maureen Schell, Carol Mertens and Gloria Morgan enjoy the four-person teeter totter at Riverside Park during the Celebrating Seniors picnic on Thursday.
















Maureen Schell holds on tight as she rides a teeter totter at Riverside Park during the Celebrating Seniors picnic on Thursday.

Peggy Bell, Lorraine Shuttleworth and Judy Thibodeau enjoy the four-person teeter totter at Riverside Park during the Celebrating Seniors picnic on Thursday.

July 20

Good morning :)

I probably should be writing my next story but instead, i'm listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 soundtrack and on here...and facebook of course lol

This week has gone by pretty slow. I went out on assignment for the first time yesterday to do a story on a program called Summer Company. While I was out, I got a ticket for being too close to a fire hydrant. Awesome...not. Oh well. 

On Tuesday, I interviewed an author who grew up in Kitchener and went to Preston High School. She just released her first book and is coming back to Cambridge on Saturday for the launch party. She submitted a photo to me and I wrote the story. It was published in today's paper on page 5.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/850660--author-set-goals-then-make-them-happen

I also wrote a story on the upcoming Mill Race Festival. That story was also published today, on page 13.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/what's%20on/article/850712--younger-performers-at-festival

Today, I'm about to write the Summer Company story, as well as make the contact for a story on a girl who collects pop tabs for wheel chairs. I'm looking forward to it, because I have over 3000 to add to her collection.

Here's the photo of the 16-year-old girl who is part of the Summer Company program. The story will be in tomorrow's paper and I'll post the link once it's up. 

Have a great day!

L

Andrea Wong, 16, holds some of her StoryBaskets that will later be delivered to her customers. Wong is part of the Summer Company program which gives young students grants towards starting their own businesses in the summer. Wong decided to make and sell creative baskets according to different occasions. No basket is the same.


http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community/article/852481--gift-of-experience

July 16

This past Friday at work, I had two assignments. First, i had a photo op at the Galt Arena Gardens where some people were planting greenery and cleaning up the nearby creek. After that, I was off to African Lion Safari for the official introducing of the new baby Asian elephant, Jake.
I got to photograph them during their elephant swim and speak to the Elephant Superintendent, Charlie Gray.
Since I just finished working at safari, I went over to visit the girls at the playground before returning to work. Jeff let me go home super early so I left my photos for Monday.
The photo and story for safari will be tomorrow's front page story and main art. I'm very proud! :)
I hope my fellow safariers will enjoy the story, as well as everyone else who is following my work. I will post the link once it is posted to the website.

Reilly Henderson, Tim Rodgers, Mallory Vanier and Nick Krete, members of the Mill Creek Stewardship Rangers put down mulch on the freshly planted greenery on Shade St. on July 16 in the efforts to plant native species in the area and clean up the nearby stream.

Reilly Henderson, a member of the Mill Creek Stewardship Rangers plants some greenery on Shade St. on July 16 in the efforts to plant native species in the area and clean up the nearby stream.

Jake heads to the elephant swim, followed by Elephant Superintendent Charlie Gray on July 16 at African Lion Safari. Jake is the newest edition to the Asian Elephant family at the safari.

Jake heads to the elephant swim, on July 16 at African Lion Safari. Jake is the newest edition to the Asian Elephant family at the safari.


http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/849347--lucky-jake

Bug Man

Today, I was asked to attend a bug exhibit at the cambridge centre in order to get some info and a photo. little did i know, the exhibitor is a cambridge resident and a very interesting man.
The exhibit had over 500 of the world's most amazing bugs, although his collection is well over 20 000 now.
John G Powers started collecting bugs at age 9 after he got a bug kit from his parents. He's been collecting now for 50 years and has bugs from around the globe. One of his favourites is the Goliath Beetle, which you will see in the photo. 
Powers has quite an impressive butterfly collection and has sent them to many famous people, and received things back from them. These include letters from every president since he was born, except Nixon, with the most recent from Obama, as Powers provided the butterfly collection used in the inauguration for Obama with regards to butterflies and his idea of "changes."
Powers has a pair of signed gloves from Mohammed Ali, letters from the Queen, Princess Diana, and the queen mom, as well as the Pope and actresses including Goldie Hawn, Red Skeleton, and many more.
Wings of Paradise was started by Powers as well and he is the first man to release butterflies with quotes from the bible on them.
His story around these bugs is really amazing and I am going to do an article on him for the Times. A photo and caption will be used in tomorrow's to let the community know he's out at the mall. With the time restraint of today, i have to wait until a later date to tell the rest of his story. He's a pretty amazing man and i was lucky enough to have been invited to his home to see his butterfly garden. I can't wait!
Also today, after speaking to my editor about doing a story at African Lion Safari on baby animals, he received a press release from there introducing the new baby elephant, Jake who is the product of artificial insemination, and the first success in Canada of it. 
Jeff thought i'd already contacted the woman but in fact, i was going to just as i received the email from him. Weird. So i'm going back tomorrow to do this story and maybe see more baby animals around safari :)

This photo will be tomorrow's front page art. I can't wait! so many photos and stories of mine will be in tomorrow's paper. Sports photos on page 18 (that's a first!), photo on page 3, and who knows what else. It's been a great week!

July 14

Good morning :)
I just got a copy of today's paper and my photo looks nice on front page :)

Yesterday, I shot at a golf tournament. I've never shot golf before so i'm not really sure what the outcome of that will be. either my editor will be okay with one of them, or he'll have to run one anyway and just never send me out again. We'll see how that pans out lol 
After the golf shots, I had to rush to the Galt Country Club to attend a luncheon for the Rotary Club as they were making a presentation on their Study Exchange to South Korea. It was very interesting.
Here are the photos I did yesterday.

Jake Benn tees off at the Ian Leggatt Junior Tour at Savannah Golf Links in Cambridge on Wednesday. Benn's home club is Cambridge.

Jake Benn tees off at the Ian Leggatt Junior Tour at Savannah Golf Links in Cambridge on Wednesday. Benn's home club is Cambridge.

Rotary International Group Study Exchange members, Larry Olney, Renee Kulinski-McCann, Laurie Clack, Katie Keilty and Leah Smith made a presentation at the Galt Country Club to other Rotary members on Wednesday about their recent exchange trip to South Korea.

Work week is finally picking up.

Hey all,
This week so far has been rather eventless but my editor gave me a bunch of things yesterday afternoon to work on for the rest of this week, and to continue with next week.


Yesterday, I went with a reporter to a local funeral home as he was doing a story on the funeral homes postponing the HST tax on funeral arrangements. The government still gets their 8%, but the funeral home has deducted that much themselves so that people don't have to panic and make decisions too quickly.


I just took a simple shot, but here it is.

At 4:30, I headed over to the Langs Farm Village Association's company picnic to take a few shots. I focused on something new this year which was the appearance of one of two new horses for the Waterloo Regional Police. King was accompanied by two officers and the kids seemed thrilled to pet him and be around him.


This first picture below will be used as the main front page art in tomorrow's paper :)
Guess I better get off to my assignments for today. I'll post later when I get back!