Aurora Borealis as the sun begins to rise.

May 18, 2013; 03:34
Near Ardrossan, AB, Canada 53º43’42″ N, 113º7’27″ W
Nikon D700; Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye DX

I did something I never thought I’d do. I paid for a convention photo op.

Michael Biehn is at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this year. He played Corporal Hicks in Aliens, which is one of my favourite movies of all time (the other being Singin’ In the Rain). But here’s the thing, I didn’t want to have the typical photo op, where you’re just standing there all smiley. I wanted something funny.

So my brother Sam let me borrow his plush Chestburster. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. Maybe it would be attacking us. Maybe it was coming out of my chest. So Chestburster came along and sat in the hatchback of my car, peering out the window. Where he stayed… as I forgot him when I went into the con.

Now what will I do? My photo session was coming soon and I had no props and no ideas. I turned to Google images and looked up images of Hicks and Ripley. That’s when I found this:

Perfect! I had an image to work off of.

When I went into the photo area and met Michael Biehn. He shook my hand, and I told him it was an honour to meet him. I showed him the photo of Ripley and Hicks and asked of we can do something like that. He studied the photo. The camera man was pressuring us to hurry up, and kept yelling “3…2…1…” and Biehn put his hand up and told him to wait. Okay, that’s when I was thinking “COOOOOL!!! He stopped time for me!!! Take that rules and regulations!”

He then gave me back my phone, and said “I got it!”

He set me up accordingly then we took the photo. I thanked him not knowing exactly how he posed since he made sure I was looking away.

Then I got my copy of the photo:

YES YES YES!!! I think I got the most ridiculous and hilarious and awesome and, oh, AWESOME photo I could ever ask for with Biehn! Totally made my day!

P.S. If that was (and I am sure it was) Jennifer Blanc sitting on the floor holding my cameras for me, she is a totally darling! Thank you for safeguarding my things!

Here are a couple of my favourite photos I took from Naked Cyber Cafe‘s grand re-opening party.

Acta non Verba with Luna Dance Fusion:

Two dudes hugging:

• Geomagnetic activity
• Clear Sky charts
• Weather
• Memory cards
• Camera Battery
• Fuel

But sometimes if you think there’s a chance you can pull it off, it’s worth driving out and just looking at the sky with your own eyes. In the daytime today it was mostly clear so I went out tonight hoping for the same clarity, even though we are currently under a snowfall warning. There was also winds gusting to 50km/hr but I thought I’d try it anyway (the problem being the wind could shake the camera). Instead, I encountered a lot of haze so I turned back. No photos tonight.

Another thing people can check for, which I never do, is road conditions. I drove through some pretty hefty snowdrifts tonight but I also have top-of-the-line snowtires.

2012 was quite the year. I racked my brain to figure out what it meant to me. I think the best word I can use would be profound. I have felt emotions I never imagined possible, both of greatness and of sorrow. I have experienced and dreamt flying higher beyond my capabilities and have crashed and fallen harder than I ever had before. I have gained and I have lost. My heart was both overfilled with joy and emptied with sadness and anger. I have healed and I have bruised. My soul felt completed and was torn asunder. I have discovered multifaceted aspects of myself I never known existed.

Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Positive, neutral and negative, my life was very profound.

I want to end 2012 by sharing with you the most profound photo I have ever taken.

A blog post that I never made but probably should have was about my vacation in the spring when one of the greatest person I know, South African illustrator Warren Louw came and visited me in Canada. It was easily one of the best times I ever had in my life. During his visit, I took him around the province of Alberta.

The place: The Canadian Rocky Mountains, somewhere between Lake Louise and Jasper on Highway 93, a mountain road also known as the Icefields Parkway. It was a cool but beautiful drive during dusk of May 02, 2012. The road was slightly slick from a recent snowfall, which gave it a glazed sheen. The setting sun gave a very cool hue to the snowy mountains and frosted trees. A fog up ahead brought mystery to the scene. The air was crisp and fresh. Warren noted to me how we can hear absolutely nothing – no sounds of cars, people, even the animals were away. It was a beautiful, calming silence. It was just the two of us and mother nature in all her glory.

At this particular stop, Warren ran ahead of me to take photos of this gorgeous scenery. Armed with my camera and the 10.5mm fisheye lens, I was a few steps behind him and took the most spectacular photo I ever had in my life. It was the most perfect moment. The landscape, the positioning, the lighting, my choice of lens, my travelling companion, my state of mind… all incredible! It was all so perfect! Perfect, perfect, perfect! Everything fell into place!

This cool twilight winter image burns a fire in my heart and invokes powerful emotions from me. Emotions so powerful, I can hardly bear them. Words almost escape me whenever I look at this photo. Even as I type this blog post about the image, tears stream down my cheeks. How… how can this one photo move me so much? This photograph captured me in the most perfect world I’ve experienced. Like a painter baring her soul onto a canvas with each passionate stroke of colours of emotion that won’t fade over time, but be treasured forever.

As beautiful as that day was, I cannot ignore the fact that the road ahead. Although shrouded in mystery, it will bring new experiences. We are all travellers of life on a journey… a profound journey, hopefully finding love, happiness, peace in this universe, and most importantly, ourselves.

And with this, I leave you for now. Happy New Year.

Lately, Alberta has been hit by an unusual amount of wicked storms. This storm was actually close to me! The lightning was rippling through the clouds making me wish I had a video camera. What an absolutely stunning evening!

This bolt was cool to watch, as two smaller bolts merged to make the mega bolt that struck the ground. I am particularity partial to the two lightning eyes above the main chain, making a face!

The Vegreville Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) at sundown with a storm looming overhead.