Shooting With Impossible Photos at NXNE – S09E41

It started last year when I brought along the Fujifilm Instax and shot some instant photos. It became more a fun thing to do and to bring some nostalgia. Since digital photography is more prevalent, I decided to shoot with analog photographs to make things interesting. The response has been brought with surprise.

For the 2014 edition of NXNE, I decided to bring along the Polaroid camera and stacks of The Impossible Project films in various coloured frames. It was to provide shots to the artists, bands and friends as a way to cherish memories. I finally tried out the Black & White film for the SX-70 camera and it looked vibrant. I had been weary of using black & white because it didn’t interest but I found out that it develops faster than color. It has this artistic feel to it.
it was great to bring stacks as a few of the packs were made in late 2013 and best to use them as soon as possible.
Overall, it’s nice to bring some old-school flavour into photography.

I took photos at a couple of shows, at the CBC Radio 3 Fan Picnic and from Saturday’s MiO Squirtcar. Also in one of the photos, I got to meet one of The Strombo Show team during NXNE.
You can view the photos from below. There’s one photo that didn’t turn out too good due to the bright sunlight.

Jessy Lanza at Mercury Lounge – S09E33

What a way to end April on a soggy note. Things weren’t too bad as I went to Mercury Lounge on Wednesday night for Jessy Lanza. On a previous entry, Lanza’s opener was suppose to be Ricky Eat Acid but due to a change, it was local DJ, Jas Nasty who helped spin groovy tunes on a rainy Wednesday night. Overall, it was a great show and there was a good turnout as the crowd enjoyed and danced to the electro-R&B tunes from Lanza. I was checking on Instagram and someone said that she sounded like the late Aaliyah’s secret love child.
It was also good to see people from the likes of Eventful Capital and a few members of Fevers attend the event.

As usual, you can view some photos below. There’s two black & white instant photos that I shot and it was used by The Impossible Project.

Kudos goes out to Pop Montreal (pennant shown on the photo) and Arboretum Festival for holding an awesome show.

Call It Spring, Call It A Party – S09E30

It was a nice Friday afternoon and it was an opportunity to go out to St. Laurent Centre for Call It Spring‘s newly renovated store at the mall. The reason for dropping by was because Grace of 613 Style was the host of the party. Call It Spring is a Canadian retailer of men and women’s shoes. The party started at 5pm and it consisted of a live DJ, a slushie machine, a selfie station, candy and nail bars. I did take some candies before they were snatched up.

I was somewhat tempted to get shoes as they a selection for 20% off. I already have enough shoes and sneakers. I was there to say hi to Grace and also take some instant analog photographs by The Impossible Project. I finally got to shoot using Impossible’s 600 Film in B&W. I was reluctant to try B&W films but didn’t realize how artistic and unique it can be.

To my own surprise, there was a photographer I met once at Ottawa Fashion Week and it was nice to hang out and chat about photography. Don’t forget to view some of the photos below. Lastly, check 613 Style as they have more photos from the event. I’m in a few photos over at the site.
Have a great weekend!

Continuing With Chinese New Year, The Year of the Horse – S09E24

It’s been an exciting weekend with the lion dance performances and continuing to celebrate Chinese New Year. Monday was an off-day for the lion dance troupe but I had the radio show with the annual Chinese New Year show. Lauren returned to do the Chinese New Year show as I had Candice join me on last year’s edition.
Being year of the horse, it’s Lauren’s favourite animal as she kind of owns a horse. I got to explain the strengths and weaknesses of anyone who’s born year of the horse.

We also got to talk about food and there’s one I’m not fond of and it’s red bean. I know I will get some backlash as it’s their favourite food and dessert. To keep some happy, I played the song by the late Teresa Teng as part of the CNY show.

As usual, there were the familiar Cantopop tracks played and there were several band and song names with the word, ‘horse‘ in it. I was able to find some Canadian indie tracks with the particular animal name.
The best “horse” song would have to be Horses Fell by The Darcys. It’s still new but the band has become a favourite of mine.

I took a couple of instant photos by Impossible and finally got to use the gold frame. There are a few from Sunday, February 3rd. You can see the photos from below.
You can check the playlist over at this link and the audio is posted below.

Lastly, don’t forget about the Winterlude Lunar New Year Parade on Ottawa Chinatown. Happening on Saturday, February 8, 2014 and starts at 1pm. Hope to see you there.

Again, Kung Hey Fat Choy!

The Slightly First Live Show of 2014 & More Instant Photos – S09E20

After two week of the best of 2013, it’s back to the usual music show and being live on CKCU. OK, there was another hour but it was pre-taped and the playlist will be coming for it. January is usually thought to be a slow month in terms of new music. Apparently, I’m wrong as this week’s radio show had some new music being played. Certain bands haven’t released for four years and there is some buzz as we expect new material.

Returning to the radio show for the second half of the live show was Lauren. Back from her Christmas holidays. It was great that she was there because there were new songs from Coeur de Pirate and announced on social media & music sites, a new song from Tokyo Police Club. The band will be releasing the album, Forcefield on March 25th. The verdict on the new song is quite different than previous song on their albums. It sounds more poppy and not as rockin’ from the previous works.

As for Coeur de Pirate, she’s releasing a new album which is mainly cover songs and based on a CBC French TV show, Trauma. For the first time, Beatrice Martin (known as Coeur de Pirate) releases an English album through cover songs.
Also played were Crissi Cochrane as she released a live track which was posted on YouTube (Little Sway on January 28th), Robyn Dell’Unto (Little Lines on January 28th) and Warpaint (second self-titled album on January 21st).

The playlist for the second hour is at this link. You can listen to the audio from below.

Using Instant Film Cameras – S09E06

Since June, I have been using instant film cameras and so far, it’s been a total shift to how I take photos. Even though it’s costly getting instant film sheets but the response to people seeing me use Polaroids have been quite a surprise because they haven’t seen the cameras in quite a long time and I get asked where I get the instant film sheets.
Recently, I loaded the sheets to the Polaroid SX 70 camera (photo shown on top row) and the results have been not perfect as the film runs on 125 ISO speed and there’s no flash on the camera itself. I’ll most likely have to shoot outdoors with the camera.
The photos are posted below. The results to using The Impossible Project have been mixed as I have messing around the dark/bright slider on the two Polaroid cameras. It’s been a work in progress to shooting Polaroid/instant film cameras and it’s challenging and fun. I have success on using the Fujifilm Instax Wide 210 (photo shown on bottom right) and the Polaroid Land Camera 600 (Autofocus 660) as the film speeds are not as volatile compared to the PX 70 film by The Impossible Project.
I have made a rule of sorts that taking instant film photos is like making three wishes from a Genie bottle as I have to carefully shoot carefully and be sure it’s fun and creative. Analog photography has rapidly decline since the convenient use of digital photos from smartphones and cameras. It’s still good to cherish instant photos in a very artistic way. Recent photos are posted below, check them out.

Season Nine – Interview with Leif Vollebekk, The Return of Lauren and Shooting Polaroids (S09E01)

It’s a brand new season of WildWorks. Nine seasons, I can’t believe it’s going on for pretty long. The radio show is now onto its fifth season. I know it’s confusing to track what season is what for the blog and radio show.
To start off the ninth season, I had the opportunity to check out the 2013 edition of Ottawa Folk Festival. It was a privilege to see some of the musicians and bands again. Just great to see The Belle Game and Leif Vollebekk.
In kicking off the new season of WildWorks on CKCU-FM, I aired the interview with Vollebekk as he came out with a new album in early 2013. It’s been awhile I have seen him in Ottawa as he’s mostly residing in Montreal and touring around. You can listen to the interview below the entry.

Also returning was Lauren as she was away for over nine months and due to a change in the co-hosting positioning earlier this year and the change in the scheduling for this season.
It was awesome to have her back as the new Arcade Fire song was unexpectedly leaked prior to the 9/9/9pm release date. All I have to say that the new song, Reflektor is a catchy and funky track. I mentioned on-air that it feels like “Sprawl II” all over again.
It was a good show as new music from The Darcys, Stars, Basia Bulat and Jenn Grant were played. There are new albums being released next week (September 17th) and onto October. It’s an exciting time for any music fans around.
You can check the September 9th show’s playlist over at this link. The audio is posted below.
Programming note, as with the schedule change, The Wild 10 Countdown will now be separate. Expect a split on the audio. The expected return for the Wild 10 will be around next week.

Since the Summer, I have been shooting photos through instant film. It’s becoming a fun way to shoot photos and in a way, I feel like it’s becoming a bucket list on who to take photos with. You’ve been seeing the photos over the Facebook Page, Instagram, Flickr and the blog. You’ll be seeing more photos from the Instax and Polaroids. I can’t say that I’m being a trendsetter with shooting instant film photos. Although, people are astounded seeing the cameras as everyone is used to shooting on digital camera. Instant films and Polaroids have been making a slow comeback because of its quality and feel of the photo.

Lastly, I had a great time on Sunday night as an old friend was in Ottawa for a wedding. We met over at El Camino as it’s a popular spot for good tacos in the Nation’s Caption. It was a privilege to meet his wife and baby son. I already posted the photos on Instagram.  All in all, what a great way to start the new season.

Summer Special 2013: The Social Media Summer Series #2

This week’s guest for the Social Media Summer Series, it was an opportunity to bring in Jenna Tenn-Yuk. All I have to say that she’s multi-talented with the poetry and music that she showcases. The topics discussed were blogging, some social media and what’s great about Ottawa.
Another part that was delved on today’s show as Tenn-Yuk wrote on her blog in 2012 about coming out of the closet. The topic on LGBT was brought up and I was being careful in asking the right questions.
Briefly mentioned during the music break was on the late singer, Leslie Cheung as I thought she might know Chinese music (known as Cantopop).

Songs played this week were new music from Shad, Basia Bulat, The Balconies and The Naked And Famous. It’s exciting to hear new releases from bands and artists as we anticipate their new record.
The playlist can checked at this link. You can listen to the audio below.

As usual, I was joined by Katarina, host of The Cloud on CKCU-FM. All in all, what a great way to end July. I totally apologize if I didn’t introduce her name on the air.
Lastly, I’m enjoying taking photos from the Fujifilm Instax. As the photo posted above was taken on the Instax. I may not be a trendsetter but I’m just having fun shooting photos from digital and analog.

Programming note, The Wild 10 Countdown will be on a Summer break and will try to post the July 24th edition as soon as possible.
Have a great long weekend as we get into August.

Update: Here are links as Tenn-Yuk was in the news about LBGT.
CBC Radio One interview on Ottawa Morning (August 23, 2013).
The Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed from August 19, 2013.