Photo Life

EPISODE 1

Brand-new-second-hand-tie-dye-t-shirt on. That's how you start the week. I managed to roll out of bed at a decent hour, so even though Kevin and Stefano have already left the house it doesn't feel deserted, just pleasantly quiet. After breakfast I stand in the living room for a minute or so gazing fondly at my little makeshift studio, then begin taking the sheets down from the wall. I'm not sad about packing up the equipment, folding up all the metal legs, winding wires, and zipping up padded black bags. Just handling all that gadgetry; the thrill is still fresh. I try to keep it, right up until the last second, so even with the cumbersome bags over my shoulder and my fully loaded backpack I don't feel so weighed down walking to the bus.
I get off at Granville Street, and cross it just north of 6th ave, before the bridge. There's a red sign on the side of a building just across 6th that says "Beau Photo" in block letters. It's already beginning to feel familiar, like the Vistek of yesteryear. The interior is a little crowded, makeshift even, which makes you feel wonderfully at ease. There's no trace of that spotlight, tiptoe feeling I've begun to expect of camera stores, no what-are-you-doing-here-you're-not-a-professional-you're-not-gonna-throw-down-serious-cash looks from the staff. They are far too honest, I think, to be overly concerned with appearances. I return the strobe, and now it is a little sad. It's funny, I think, how the minute I started to learn about photography, light suddenly became a precious commodity. It's like a type of paint whose available form is constantly varying, a paint that is difficult to control and impossible to touch. And I have painted, and drawn, the old-fashioned way before, and intend to keep trying. But I've never felt more like an artist than when I'm trying to teach my eyes to see only light. I've also never felt more humbled.

The rain thickens on the way to school for my midday classes, and stays that way all afternoon; there is not much to be said about this part of the day.