Trying my hand at a tilt-shift of the farm. I love tilt-shift. When I was younger, I had a whole model farm kit–I love it. The little livestock, fences, trucks, silos, hay bales…

 

I got a call around noon on March 5 from my mom. She said that dad visited the farm that morning and that the demolition had already begun. Unprepared, as we all thought it was happening the next day, I grabbed my camera, and other equipment, racing from work in Toronto to Whitby to capture the demo of my family’s farm. The time had finally come, and while thankfully the developers had given us some warning as to the demo, I guess some of the work had started a bit earlier. And luckily, when I got to the farm, the barn was still standing. One shed had disappeared, separated into piles of wood, brick, and sheet metal. An orange vehicle with a claw traveled towards another shed, and I saw it reduce this building to the same piles, so quickly. Dramatic, perhaps. But watching this unfold has really been something else. Putting the “doco” hat on makes it more surreal as it’s not until later, when faced with the photos of before, and after, that it really hits me.

 

The next day, March 6th, the main barn was torn down.

 

I would like to thank my family who, while I wonder sometimes if they support my filmmaking tendencies, really proved it this week (at least I think so). My mom racing from her own workplace with the Hi-8 video camera so I would’t miss anything. To my dad, informing the residential developer of my documentary and asking if it was okay that I film the demo. My sister Laura who was there that day, and Rachel, who wasn’t, but helped me take photos days before–a portrait of me standing in front of the then-standing barn. And thank you to John who captured, on the DSLR, the little things I would have missed.  His photos are below. And thank you to all my friends who supported me in one way or another.

Watching the event unfold through a lens sometimes made me forget what was happening.  Thanks to those around me, I was able to capture this event and will reflect on it for many years to come.

 

 

 

 

The last two weekends were spent in Oshawa and visiting the family farm in Whitby, taking photos and recording video. On February 4th I filmed items being taken from the barn and shed and thrown into a scrap metal bin. The milk cooler was removed from the barn, seeing proper daylight for the first time in at least a decade. The thing was spotless on the inside. I ask my dad if it could be sold to another farm–he said there aren’t really any farmers that would have use for such a small milk cooler. As of now I’m unsure of its ultimate fate.

I took some photos the next day, February 5th, and then the following weekend, on the 12th, I had a nice farm dinner with my family including grandpa. More video was taken with the DSLR–still perfecting that system as it’s not as easy as filming with the HVX camcorder. Some videos and photos will make their way to this site, which I’m still tweaking to deliver images and video more easily.

Above is a photo taken of a window in the barn. A log leans up against the window on the outside. A few years ago when I encountered this window, seeing the log startled me as I thought it was someone standing against the window, or a cow perhaps, but I finally realized what it was. I think it startled me because the barn has been empty for so long–the idea of anyone greeting you in there is an odd concept. Oh, except for the squirrels and doves. You can rely on them for a good scare.

This window is located on a wall that’s ready to cave in–there’s a large split running along the middle of the wall, with large wooden beams braced against it to keep it from falling. John assured me it’s sturdy. Thanks!

In my thesis paper, a complement to my documentary film on the sale of my family’s farm in Whitby, Ontario, I wrote that I would continue the project with a website documenting the changes to the farm and surrounding area as the developers shape and build on the land. There hasn’t been much to note since the end of the MFA program (October 2010), but sudden developments have sprung up.

While I’m excited at the prospect of getting back to production (re-editing the film, posting content online), the realization of what’s to come certainly sets a gloomy and depressing tone. However, as I also note in my thesis paper, recording these events will preserve the farm, essentially saving it.

 

Happy New Year! Today, the Christmas tree comes down, giving me a good chance to take some photos.

…how lovely are your branches! This year’s tree is short but real, so it smells amazing in the De Grassi apartment. It’s more manageable as well since it takes up less room. And it’s pretty.

 

 

 

My goal was to write about my experiences at Hot Docs this year…well, now it’s mid-July and not only did I not do that, I haven’t updated my blog for two months.

Along with Hot Docs came many, many, many things to do in both my personal and professional life and it’s really just about now that the whirlwind has died down. Do you ever have one of those moments where you look at your calendar and go, “Woah.”? Well, compared to others I’m sure my schedule isn’t busy, but my goodness it sure did make the last two months go by in a blur.

Within that blur was my laptop going in for servicing twice. Once to replace the optical drive, and then another time (more recently) to replace the logic board. Being without my computer for a day is challenging enough, but a week or more? I realized how much I rely on this little comp. I do practically all my work on it. Which is both bad and good but I won’t get into a discussion/rant about technology.

These past few months I’ve seen casting blitzes, Hot Docs films, shoots, Ottawa, short films, done editing, transcribing and more. Completed applications, saw Junior Boys, went to one beautiful wedding, more transcribing, a bbq, a family picnic, fireworks, a parade, Girl Talk…the rest of the summer holds much of the same business but I would rather be busy than not. What I need to do now is post more photos and videos, and take more and more. Here’s to the rest of the summer!

Or perhaps with the weather we’re seeing April, winter boots as well. :/

I must have been living under a rock for the last 15 years because I never realized that my Oshawa homestead had an apple tree!  I was mowing the lawn last weekend and saw some delicious looking apples and decided to pick some, and document the process.  Sad to say I was quite excited for…apples.  But not just for apples…picking apples right in your own backyard!  And then making a crisp with those same apples last night. Mmmm.

The week is almost over, and it’s hard to believe that the DOC NOW film premieres and Opening Galas have come and gone!

The films premiered at the John Spotton Theatre (NFB, 150 John Street) over three nights (June 7-9).  It went so well, and I was happy that everyone enjoyed the work, and that people liked my film!  Woohoo!

The Opening Galas for the photo and new media exhibitions were on June 10th starting at Beaver Hall (29 McCaul Street), and then at the 80 Spadina Avenue base camp (Toronto Image Works, Studio Two, and Ryerson Gallery), with four galleries total opening their doors to the public, showcasing the awesome works of the Documentary Media (MFA) graduates.  Congratulations everyone!

The festival isn’t over yet though!  The exhibitions run until the end of June, with some going until early July.  There are more film screenings starting TODAY (June 11), and then on June 12th and June 15th.

The next screenings for my film are on June 12th (2pm) and June 15th (7pm).

Visit the DOC NOW website for more information!  Check out the exhibitions—they’re AMAZING!

The first screening for my film is tonight (at the NFB, 7pm), and also jump starts the DOC NOW screenings for this year’s festival!

If you’re interested in attending tonight, or screenings on June 8th and 9th, please contact general@docnow.ca to RSVP. All other screenings are general admission and do not require an RSVP.

There are screenings on June 11th, 12th, and 15th as well at Ryerson University.

ALL SCREENINGS AND EXHIBITIONS ARE FREE!!!

The films and exhibitions are all amazing, and I encourage anyone reading this to go check them out.  Visit the DOC NOW website for all the details!

One of the best things about making this documentary is going through old family photo albums and finding photos like the one above.  They really are a reminder of how much the farm has changed.  I wondered about the steps in the photo, and where they are now, before realizing that this photo was taken before the farm house had been moved.  The spot in which they lie may be covered by HWY 2, but I’m not sure.  I’m going home this weekend to do some final shooting and I remember my Grandpa has an aerial shot of the farm BEFORE it was moved, so I’ll be sure to post that photo with an “after” aerial.  Happy Easter!

I was researching aerial photography in Durham Region and came across Global Air Photos.  They have an online archive of aerial photos, all watermarked of course, but accessible for browsing which is amazing in itself.  The above photo shows the western part of Whitby in 2006, and in the very bottom right-hand corner is the Mackey Farm!  I was pretty shocked, that the only photos they have of Whitby pretty much all circle the farm.  The photos also feature the four high-rise apartment buildings that have been there for as long as I can remember, perhaps foreshadowing the farm’s sale and the surrounding residential growth when they first went up.

Thanks Global Air Photos…wish I could afford you, or one of your flights, and have kick-ass photos/video for the film!

http://www.globalairphotos.com/large/ON/Whitby/All/2006/014/1

(Another photo, taken from the north of farm, looking south)

After underestimating the amount of work that goes into my rough cut, I won’t be showing one tomorrow.  Instead, the rough cut will be completed for next week.  Yup.  Underestimated is an understatement.

Right now I’m selecting photographs that will illustrate the many changes the farm and its surrounding landscape has endured.  I’ve already posted some of these photos in the blog, as I find them to be a fascinating glimpse into the farm’s past.  However, I’ve neglected to thank my family members who actually took the photographs!  So, thank you for taking and saving these family photographs, and also for allowing me to steal your albums to scan those photos and use them in this film.

Oh, and also articles.  This clipping above was given to me by my Aunt Maggie, and was taken at a farm sale.  The photographer captured my Grandpa (the man below the auctioneer’s arm, and I find the caption to be really funny.

Back to work for me!

I haven’t been very good at posting…which only means I’m engrossed in completing my thesis film…right?  Well, kinda.  I’ve been steadily working, finishing the majority of my interviews in February.

This Monday I’ll be showing a rough cut of the film to the class….likely  a very, very rough cut.

I’m a treasurer for the DOC NOW thesis festival, so that’s been eating a lot of my time.  But it’s a fun experience so far, and I’m getting really excited for the festival.

And speaking of, it also means deadlines for submitting things to the thesis catalog and whatnot.  I’ve been digging into the archives of my recent photography of the farm to try and find something worth representing my film.  Perhaps I should have put more thought into figuring out what that one photograph would be.  I narrowed it down to two photos.

The first is very romantic, but I feel like viewing it on a website won’t necessarily grab people.  It does speak more to archives and memory, but….

…I feel like this image really says it all.  Development encroaching on the farm, and I think it also fires the imagination in terms of what others kinds of issues can arise from that.

Which is a better representation of the film???  I’m not sure yet…

In other news, I’ll be heading to Hot Doc’s DOC U program in May!  I can excitedly announce that I’ve been accepted into the week-long program and will promise to blog each and every day.  I’m totally taking the entire week off to indulge in everything documentary, and immerse myself in the festival experience.  May….wait, that’s when my film needs to be done right?

Right…

And so my posts have been few and far between.  Thus, to update, here are a few photos from holidays at home.  Season’s Greetings!

I love films and hey, I’m trying to make a living at making them, so it was especially sad to see The Carlton movie theatre close down this week.  It’s always sad to see old establishments in Toronto close down, but especially movie theatres.  These places hold special meaning for me; the excitement of seeing of film, the feeling it leaves with you afterwards, discussion around it, the ability to escape for an hour or so to another place, time…a theatre is the home for all of this and more.

I didn’t even really get to say my proper goodbyes, but it’s okay because I have a lot of great memories from my many visits there.  A special thanks must go out to the awesome staff, a few of them friends and former classmates of mine, who hosted the weekly Monday Midnight Movie Madness nights that I especially loved.  Seeing Back to the Future in a movie theatre was pretty awesome, and hilarious since  screenings were normally accompanied by non-stop jokes from the audience members.

With The Carleton’s closing this week, it has been nice to see the surrounding community reflect on this event.  Special mention of one staff member and friend Doug Benn, who’s Facebook page for the past little while has been riddled with photos and videos reflecting on his time at the theatre.

While the above photo is a little shocking, it’s a reminder of what we’ve lost.  It also creates an urgency to keep alive the things that smaller venues like The Carlton represent, such as support for independent filmmakers.  Without that support, we stand to lose much more than a space.  We will lose important components that make up Toronto’s artistic and cultural tapestry.

 

Making a film that touches on food production, sustainability, the “green” trend, changing landscapes, suburban expansion, and the disappearance of the family farm, I’ve been looking around a lot at juxtapositions of urban vs. rural spaces.

An event in toronto that happened, detailed in a thestar.com article today, was a great example of this juxtaposition.  A wild deer (assumed wild) was found in downtown Toronto, before sedated and taken away.  An idea of a wild animal roaming the streets of Toronto is a strange image to have in my head, and the same must have been for the people that experienced it first-hand in the city’s core.

 

Authorities aren’t sure where the deer came from specifically but regardless it managed to permeate the city borders and for a few moments the urban and rural came together.  Now, there are zoos and petting farms within the city, but those animals are contained.  The wild deer is like a foreign object–it doesn’t belong in the city, and as soon as it got it, great effort was taken to remove it.

I think it speaks greatly to how easily urban spaces permeate the rural borders and take it over without much opposition (or if there is, ultimately housing and serving the growing population is the priority and wins out), while the reverse requires much more effort.  Well, one day perhaps the wild will take over again.

 

I’ve been going through a really old green photo album of my family’s.  The photos within are pretty old too, and were taken with the old brownie kind of camera (which my family still has!).  Here are just three of some of the photos I’ve found so far.

 

I found another interesting blog post on the Toronto Star Photo Blog, this time….actually, two posts, specifically from Richard Lautens, a staff photographer.

The first was a post on an H1N1 vaccine photo op at Toronto General Hospital, but noted that the vaccine contained, “in fact”, a placebo.  Lautens ended the post with “Shame on you TGH.”  The second post was to clear up that the vaccine given to the people in the photo op was not a placebo, but also not the H1N1 vaccine–but most importantly, that it was not a placebo.

“The fact remains that all too often there are official photo-ops and gatherings where certain events are fed to the media inappropriately and then the media is blamed for the lack of truth in journalism.  I think we all should try to do better–media included.”

The final two sentences struck me, and it was actually something I had been thinking about in the back of my mind for the past little while.  The expectation of the media, as a source of news and information, to be infallible; to be correct 100% of the time.  Although that is not the reality, of course.  Of course there is an expectation of being responsible for your error.  But what happens if you’ve been fed the wrong information, like Lautens pointed out.

It makes me think about when I’m interviewing subjects for a documentary.  It’s a good reminder that I can’t just take what they’re saying at face value and slap it in a sequence for public consumption.  I should be responsible, and fact check.

This goes the same for archives, particularly my family archives.  I need to double check things and ensure that I’m delivering the correct information to the viewers of my final thesis film.

For example, my parents believed that my cousins and I were the 7th generation of Mackeys.  After reading the Mackey Family History book, I realized we were only the 6th generation and corrected my parents.  They seemed slightly amused by this.

Whenever I’m visiting the Mackey farm, especially with my camera, I seem to discover more things about it and thus begin taking photos.  I’d like to think it’s a less obsessive documentation of the farm, while it still exists…I find something interesting, and sort of do a photo series on it (like above and below).

However, I think there’s something working at the back of my mind that reminds me subtly that the farm will cease to exist at some point in the near future, and the time is now to start documenting it.  The archive is something of great discussion in terms of my thesis project.  The film I’m making, the photographs of the farm I’m taking, all will become an archive of this physical structure and the space around it.

It seems strange now to think that the space where these tires sit will soon be gone.  I can’t help but think how the value of the photograph of it will rise, for me personally, once the physical thing is gone.  I suppose I can’t miss it until it is gone, although I feel like I’m already in a phase of mourning.  No, not for the tires.  Just the farm.

It’s strange to think that I can say with certainty, this is one of the last Falls for the Mackey Farm in Whitby.  Better document it while I can.

[picapp src="0101/6262bfad-6290-4edc-942d-121524398c49.jpg?adImageId=5352936&imageId=105541" width="500" height="333" /]
^— PicApp photo.  Searched Toronto (creative photos).  Pretty nifty!

WordPress has announced that they’ve enabled access for WordPress bloggers to the service PicApp.  Basically, it allows one access to “millions of available premium images to the mix, all for free, and the service offers up to the minute sports, news, and celebrity images from some of the top photographers and agencies throughout the world.”

Seems pretty cool!  Especially since I don’t have to worry about forgetting to add a photo credit, if I might get a “cease and desist” letter from a photographer, or if I’m trampling on copyright laws, etc.  I just embedd, and forget about it.

Seems like a good way for photographer to get credit while allowing bloggers to use their images, kinda like Flickr’s Creative Commons database.

This reminds me of a discussion in class last week, after listening to the CBC’s “Who Owns Ideas?” podcast on the Ideas radio show.  It went over some of the key issues regarding copyright laws and downloading content, especially today.

PicApp seems like one of the many new web services that enables the free sharing of “ideas, culture, and creativity” (music, photos, video), while also crediting the photographer.   Curious to see what other interesting developments might occur, especially in regards to music.

***Update:
Check out the terms and conditions…I haven’t gone through them all, but they’re pretty interesting.  Of course, once you use images from PicApp you end up entering into a contract with them, like almost any web service, such as twitter or wordpress.  They are very explicit of what you can DO and NOT DO with the visual content you obtain from PicApp, as expected.

I wondered what the deal was.  How does PicApp make money from offering photos?  Advertising is a big part of this of course, and is mentioned I believe in the terms.  PicApp “facilitates the flow of royalties through the incorporation of advertising in visual content for online use.”  Kinda like Hotmail–every email you send, at the bottom is some kind of advertisement.

What I find very interesting, if you make your way through the part about ads in the terms, is that it seems like the goal of website advertisements is to never make it obvious that something is an ad.  And so, for example, I can’t tell someone to click on a Google AdSense ad to generate more monies for me.  That goes against the terms and conditions of me allowing my blog to have such a feature.  Oh, and I can’t create a web page that “thank you”s for clicking on an ad.

Oh internets.  You are teh funnies.

Gearing myself up for Nuit Blanche!  Still haven’t looked at any of the exhibition listings.  Still haven’t decided if I’ll go out at 8pm and retire early, or sleep and go out at 12am instead.  I think this year will be played by ear.  Also, should I ever bother bringing my camera around?  If I didn’t last year, I wouldn’t have captured the Sam the Record man lights (above).  If I don’t, I could regret it.

Also, thunderstorm???  Better prepare myself for a downpour.  Boo!

Here’s to an interesting night!

There are red window coverings that are illuminated at night that I just love.   I can’t wait for this construction to be over, but I guess it won’t matter because I’ll have graduated by then.  Goodbye Image Arts building, the version I once knew.

In a coffee mood!  Decided to hit up Bulldog Coffee over on Granby Street.

I went to their website and saw a drink featured…Bavarian chocolate latte…WELL!  When I went in to order it, the barista informed me that the website hasn’t been updated in years!  and that the Bavarian chocolate latte has been a featured drink for months.

That didn’t stop him from making me a chocolate latte though!  I was sad the beautiful latte art didn’t hold up completely for me to take a snapshot, but the essence of it is there.  Beautiful, and very delicious!

What the heck are you eating?