Exhausted But Worth It

After months of planning and a few nights of scarce sleep, we had our first Help-Portrait event in Saskatoon today. I'm exhausted, and it was a very full day but the results below speak for themselves.

We set the bar pretty darn high today and I have more to share in the future that are right up to the standard, as well.

 

  Lawrence - Help-Portrait 2013

  by

  Jay Scott

The thing is, it's amazing what you can accomplish as a disabled photographer when you've got an army of assistants to hold lights, adjust this, tweak that or make what would take me two hours take five minutes. Without them this photo would not have happened.

Thank you, Lawrence, for being such an amazing piece of talent for me to photograph today!

He knows how to play and if you're interested in hearing his work you can find him on YouTube here.

I Was Due

Isn't it often the case? The photographer seldom gets photographed. Nothing like a new tool to test out and learn about to motivate oneself to shoot.

This time I couldn't let Angie be my subject. The lighting I had planned in my mind was not going to be flattering.

Since looking through the slides that came with my Light Blaster I have had an image running through my head that reminded me of Quickman's stage from Megaman 2 for the NES.



Many of the stages have that metal and pipes look, it is a robot fighting game, after all. But the blue hues from that one in particular had my memory jogged after looking at that slide.

I wasn't sure if the portrayal would come through, but thinking about how much hardware had been in my head, and still is in my neck, I thought a look of transparency, or peek below the surface of my skin, might be interesting as if the metal is being revealed.










Finally, I'm not mad, angry or hostile, but it doesn't take a master photographer to know that a big toothy grin wouldn't work very well for this photo, hence the firm expression.

 

  Self Portrait 09092013 - 2

  by

  Jay Scott

A Fine Hobby

But no replacement for photography. I've enjoyed the lanyards and key chains I've made. I have a few more things in mind and ideas for the future, but for now I need to keep shooting.


This belt was a huge project and the end result was worth it even if at times it felt tedious. It ended up being 44" long, stitched up 5mm at a time, with each stitch needing the remaining 50' being pulled through on each knot before the next stitch can be made. Of course this length was reduced as the belt was made, with 19' remaining on each end. It was a long process, but I'm happy with the final result. I plan to use it around my waist to tie a leash to and walk Kiwi this non-winter season we hope is coming. As well, I plan to give it a try for the carrying sling on my strip light and it can serve as something easy to grip when I need to carry or lift something heavy and awkward.

Next I plan to make a monkey's fist, a dog toy and a few wrist bracelets for the accessible weight machines at the gym. A person can learn almost any hobby or skill thanks to Youtube and the rest of the net.