Yesterday contained opportunity for a photowalk with photographers and a chance to witness the world with growing intensity of light and warmth late on a Thursday, winter afternoon in High Level, Alberta – all were giddy with being outside and anticipating spring’s arrival … still a month away.

Listening to several songs this evening. First, my daughter asked me to find and download four Glee tunes (Animal, Dog Days are Over, Bad and Smooth Criminal). Next, we loaded Adele’s 21 album/CD (a Christmas gift) onto our iTunes account; my daughter likes Set Fire to the Rain. Twice this week, I’ve returned home at day’s end to huge decibels of Adele preceding the dinner hour. Beyond this, we’ve downloaded Schubert’s Ave Maria, the music accompaniment to her current ballet performance, music for her to practice with. Of the songs that have played through, tonight, while editing photographs the ones that stand out are those from my father’s time If I didn’t Care, by the Inkspots, I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, by Bix Beiderbecke.  I’ve been listening to the Get Low soundtrack which has eight songs involving Jerry Douglas and his dobro in a Bluegrass sound, one of the primary sound elements undergirding the music of Alison Krauss with Union Station.  And, then the iTunes music shifted to Foster the People and Pumped Up Kicks … a catchy tune that stood out for me at West Edmonton Mall’s ice rink as Edmonton youth waited to personally meet Selena Gomez back in October prior to her concert.

Quote to Inspire – “Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.” — Yousuf Karsh. If you are a photographer in need of inspiration I would point you to a podcast called The Naked Photo offered by Rianne de Beer, a Canadian photographer on Canada’s west coast (between Vancouver and Salt Spring Island); in episode 5 he looks at Yousuf Karsh’s approach to creating a portrait of Winston Churchill, a photograph commissioned by the Canadian government. There is a ton of insight to be gleaned on forethought and the process to capture essence … of the subject.  http://thenakedphotopodcast.com/