February 27, 2015

Windmill blues

Babs smokes and Kit looks on in Paris, France // October 2007 

Seems like one hundred years ago we three ladies of the North were traipsing through Europe with bright eyes and bushy tails. We spent all our dollars at Zara and on french cigarettes and cheap wine which we drank straight from the bottle at all hours of the day. Thank goodness for the photographs. Lord help us. These made me laugh as it had been a while since I last took a stroll through the stacks.

Happy birthday Rebecca, you beauty.

February 25, 2015

Winter Vol. 100

Merle at the window. Elie, MB / Feb 2015
JJ visit's Justin & Brit's farmyard kitchen. Elie, MB / Feb 2015
From a farmyard to the Red River; Winnipeg, MB / Feb 2015
Snowsuit navigation of new space. Red River ski trail; Winnipeg, MB / Feb 2015

February 20, 2015

Natalie by winter

Natalie was kind enough to invite Iain and I along to capture an abandoned farmyard which she has been commissioned to photograph for the entirety of the year 2015. We roared off altogether one fine Sunday and these are some of the portraits I felt free to shoot of the photographer at work. I think this is such an incredibly well suited commission for Natalie.

The family of this land found and fell for her print, photo and film work on her website via Parlour coffee. The very landscape along with the odds and ends which dot the property become the workmanship which Nat is known for. She is a gentle, wry and clever woman. Her work embraces the small town mentality and for as long as I have known her, has upheld an offbeat edge to her feminine hand. I could pick her work out of a haystack, any day of the week. Looking forward to seeing this body of work surface as the year progressses. Nat will continue to shoot a combination of 35 and 120 film, digital and as far as I know, moving picture.

Natalie, you beauty.

Nat wipes out / January 2015 near Stonewall, MB.
Nat stands tall / January 2015 near Stonewall, MB.
Woman of great flair / January 2015 near Stonewall, MB.

Kiev 60 / Tmax 400

February 19, 2015

Parkabath

Winter frozen in time on a cold day in January, 2015.  

Sometimes a gal just needs to lighten up, ignore the mountain of homework and complete a project that has been sitting in solitude for ages. This evening I put my energy into processing a few rolls of film. Winnipeg winters lend themselves well to the darkroom process. My negatives dried in a such a damn hurry after pulling them out of the deep that I could scan them just a few hours later. First for everything. I am getting to know my new darkroom. It's airy and vast for a basement. Smells of stones, mice and wet earth. Need another safelight and so forth; the list is endless really. And yet. And yet. Is it really endless? Hardly. The equipment is nearly all there, ready to rock n roll. Picked up some monster trays off a courteous neighbor a few weeks ago. Excuses excuses. No excuses. How I long to invest my time down there these days, breaking in the space with attitude, an apron and a backwards cap.

Come to think of it, there has been plenty of longing going on of late. Longing for a sense of home even though I have a roof over my head. Longing for a darkroom even though I am sitting right on top of one. Longing for the winter to end even though this is the time to keep the head down and push toward the academic finish line. By the time spring unveils herself, I will be nearing completion. Sell the moped to pay for school. Take a trip on foot instead. Margot, time to snap out of it.

Life is good. School is heavy though life is rich.

Thank the stars above for that Poolboy of mine who keeps the bath hot and his lady laughing.

So. Trying hard to adjust my ball-and-chain attitude toward school. The scholar in me rattles the cage, restless for release. Winter has settled like a heavy blanket and all I want is to free my feet. Thankfully I have access to two of the most lovely bathtubs in warm homes with candles and whiskey service to help maneuver through the long dark. This too shall pass. Slicing up cardstock into 5x5cm cards for school is some people's ideal. I need to quit winging and apply the lesson once and for all.

Practice
Practice
Practice

Why is this so damn hard? Why do I fight student-hood tooth and nail?

The photo above was shot on an old farmyard near Stonewall, MB. When I held up the negative to the light for a good first look, my eyes went straight to it. It sums up well the way this winter feels for me.

To complete my evening of rebellion, I plan on slipping into bed to read something totally unrelated to Montessori. Student rascal.

Adios all.

Kiev 60 / Tmax 400

February 11, 2015

Tony for Hut K


Jill Sawatzky, the woman behind Winnipeg label Tony Chestnut is never one to sit around for long. She was recently approached by Hut K--a fantastic furniture shop located at 200 Princess Street in Winnipeg's Exchange District--to create a small collection for their newly located space. It has been some time since Tony Chestnut has been available to purchase from a physical brick & mortar location. Jill dove right in and delivered yet another collection of magic to assist the people of Winnipeg to transition from drab and bitter Winter into bright and hopeful Spring with ease. Her latest no frills collection for Hut K features a sleeveless wool duster in camel, navy tunic, midi wool pull over dress with neon piping available in color options ochre and evergreen, as well as a cropped wool vest with hand felted poms also available in two color options of camel and blush.

Get your limited edition Tony while you can at Hut K now located at 200 Princess Street!!

Easy breezy; adios Winter!

Modeling by Pascale Axford-Forest
Kiev 60 // Portra 400