by Nick Lamont
And our good friend Nick Lamont surprised us with a photo series including these mysterious folk by the names Alicia, Jessica, Scott and Monty the Cat. Enjoy his work and check out his first photo series for the site here
a photo series by Tom Henheffer
Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament and in response about 10,000 protesters flooded downtown Toronto last Saturday, marching in solidarity pissing off thousands of motorists as they shut down four of Canada’s busiest streets for well over an hour.
They met at the heart of the city in Yonge-Dundas square led by Mohawk musicians and a slew of politically-active Canadian celebrities no one recognized. They hollered the eloquent Chilean protest cry, “the people, united, will never be defeated!” and then broke off into more scattered calls of “Get back to work!” and “Harper’s a wanker!” After an hour or so they took off down Yonge street, stepping over the horse shit left behind by mounted police blocking off the roads ahead and, one would assume, making the Prime Minister’s collar feel extra tight around his George-Lucas style neck pouch.
The crowd, made up of a mixture of students, seniors, 20- and 30-somethings, and crazy homeless people with nothing better to do, was joined by fifty other such protests across the country as part of a grass roots anti-prorogation movement started by students on Facebook.
Living in Toronto, I was lucky enough to be able to write “Harper smells like farts” in bold letters on a piece of bristol board, tape it to a broken broomstick, and join the party. I then promptly forced a humiliated friend to carry the ridiculous sign while I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures.
click to enlarge photos
Photography by Tiffany Naugler
A 90% self taught photographer from the North End of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I can normally be seen at any of Halifax’s bars or clubs taking photos of my favorite local artists or scoring a couple of sweet shots/video for my blog (http://post-rockloveaffair.blogspot.com/).
Although a good portion of my work seems to land in the Concert Photography genre,thats not all that I am about.
I take photos as if I am going to forget today, tomorrow.
This leaves my portfolio full of many wonderful treasures, from my cat to the first snow fall to breakfast foods and portraits.
Now, lets get aquainted by starting off with a collection focused on this years Halifax Pop Explosion…
click thumbnails to see photos enlarged.
a photo series by Laurel Green
There is no denying that I am a lover of nature; an earth child. Born and raised in rural New Brunswick, the wooded Saint John River Valley is my home. It’s safe and familiar here and I find great comfort and meaning in the quiet, peaceful and ever-changing beauty of the East coast. It is this profound connection with my surroundings along with a deep-seated desire to capture nature’s ephemeral allure that drives me to photograph the places and things that speak to me in this world.
Recently, a week spent in British Columbia has shown me just how foreign one’s own country can be. When my toes broke the sands of Long Beach in Tofino and I gazed over the vast expanse of Pacific waters, it was as if I had touched down on a whole new planet. I felt like I was teetering on the edge of the earth as the salty waves swept me into an alternate dimension.
Never had I seen cedar trees stand so tall or creep and wind in entangled, mossy chaos as they do in the rain forest that hangs off the ledge of the Pacific Rim. Nor have I seen anything like the enchanting and alien sea matter that is dredged up from the ocean floor and discarded by the waves on the beach in exotic abstractness. There were snow capped mountains in the distance and the smell of the ocean invaded my nostrils as its sound crashed in my ears. I could taste salt on my lips. It was a vibrant and unfamiliar beauty that overwhelmed all of my senses and made my heart race.
The unusual colour cast in this series of photographs was created using a method called cross-processing, in which slide – or positive – film is developed using chemicals normally reserved for negative film. The process results in an unnatural palette – in this case warms tones such as red and orange – and exaggerated contrast between highlights and shadow.
click images to enlarge.
by Tom Henheffer
Journalist, scotch enthusiast and all around good guy Tom Henheffer spent four years in the monstropolis of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He chronicled much of his time in the new fandangled technology known as pictures. Tom has decided to share his autobiographical photo series with us here at Unfiltered Smoke showing scenes from musical performance, the cityscape and people met along the way. Take it away Tom!
by Jody Coughlin
You are never too old to learn. It’s really true. What is missing from the phrase is the part about it being easier said (to learn when you get older) than done. When we are young, our minds are as new as a garden waiting to be planted. There is nothing there to occupy our thoughts other than the basics and then our interpretation of those basics. That is not too say children are simple minded. Rather, they are like a chest full of golden coins not yet spent.
As we age, we take in more information, we process it and store it and compartmentalize it and also, it is necessary to take into account the substance intake that will invariably (for good or bad) alter our brain chemistry and mix things up within the conscious and unconscious mind. Whether it is an aspirin or the fattest joint you have ever seen in your life, what goes in will definitely effect what comes out. To a degree. I think.
There is nothing more daunting than trying something new. I know this to be true from experience and also from observing this in others. The first day at a new job is a prime example of the case in point. You arrive at the office, you find your new desk, you strike up your computer. By this time (about five minutes into Monday morning) your nerves are shot. You just keep moving ahead anyway.
If you are lucky, somebody next to you will help you out a little. If you are unlucky, your boss will bark a question at you in front of an entire room of onlookers that you may or may not be able to answer. But, you pick your way through the day. You just do it because you need to. You want that pay check at the end of the week so, for the most part, you just do it.
It is not so with art of whatever kind. There is, especially at first, no incentive, no immediate payoff, save one. That one is to simply make yourself happy. That is the only immediate payoff to sitting down at your kitchen table to try out your new set of water colors or the little box of sketch pencils you bought yourself at the dollar store.
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Drawing your first-ever rendition of the half-eaten piece of toast that is sitting on a plate on your kitchen table, for anybody who has never drawn anything seriously in their life, will be a daunting task. Sure, it sounds simple. But, try it. It’s not simple at all. Therein lies the eye of the needle, educationally speaking.
That little nuance of difference in your mind between something sounding easy to the ear but translating down to be very complicated to the mind is where most artists seem to fall on the path toward their personal artistic triumphs. It’s a left brain, right brain kind of thing. I think.
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I have encountered people who say they cannot draw after one ridiculous, wet-rag attempt at a really stupid looking happy face (for example), rife with expression that reflects the beleaguered attempt from their maker. It’s sad. It’s pathetic. I have to hold my hands behind my back to stop from slapping the person who made such a sorry little face. I don’t mean to be mean (at least I don‘t think I do) but who ever said drawing or painting was easy? That you could do anything of real significance the first time out?
Is playing the piano easy? For some, it probably is. But for most of us, it seems complicated. It has to be broken down into bits of information. It has to be taken one small step at a time. It is the same when you draw. Here. Let me show you.
Take the above drawings of a piece of toast (the remains of my son’s breakfast). They are not the best drawings of a piece of toast in the entire world. Indeed, they are my first (ever) drawings of a piece of toast. I, just now, drew toast for the first time. What did I notice? I noticed that a drawing of toast requires a lot of necessary detail in order to make it look real. I am not so sure I captured all that detail in these drawings but now, I know, the next time I want to draw realistic looking toast, or impressionistic looking toast, I need to add a few details like crumbs around the edges and lots of differently sized holes throughout the bread. Those details are what toast is about. That is what I observed. I learned that toast is full of crumbs and numerous holes and it is actually a very complicated little thing. In summation: Observe. Recreate. Observe. Recreate. Observe. Create. Create. Observe. See. Recreate. Create…Catch the groove. Get going.
You can do it, too. Really. You can. I think.
a photo series by Nick Lamont
Nick currently lives in Fredericton with Joan Reid (who also contributed work to unfiltered smoke earlier). More will come down the road.
We’ve decided to unleash the first episode of “Craigness” a day early because of this exciting NEWS!:
Craig Layton has recently partnered with the fine folks over at www.haligonia.ca to have “CRAIGNESS!” cover the Atlantic Film Festival! His coverage will be featured right here at Unfiltered Smoke, including an exclusive interview with the TRAILER PARK BOYS for their new movie “Countdown to Liquor Day”! Stay tuned to Unfiltered Smoke in the coming days for Craig’s unique Film Festival Coverage and his guaranteed to be fantastic interview with the Trailer Park Boys.
I told you it was exciting news.
Craig’s guest on the first installment of “Craigness!” is Jule Malet-Veale, an amazingly talented and hardworking professional photographer. She was born in Oakville, Ontario, spending half of her life in Ontario and Vancouver Island, B.C.
She studied English literature with the goal of becoming a writer. Along the way she travelled parts of Europe, worked in various industries and discovered a passion for photography.
“Photography opened a new expressive world to me, It allowed me to say what I felt in one single Image. I could see the power that words and photography could have when united together.”
Now she lives in Halifax, N.S., where she takes pictures for a living, offering many years experience in publishing and communication arts, weddings, corporate events, portraiture and more. She has shot 12 covers for the Halifax News-zine The Coast and is the official photographer for the Atlantic Film Festival.
“With passion and uniqueness, I strive to capture the beauty of the moment. A moment that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.”
The Crew of CRAIGNESS!
Exec Producer – Laura Nurse
Producer – Hank White
MUA- Vicki Martin
Location/Stills Photographer – Josh Boyter
DOP – Herb D’Entremont
Poetry and photography by The Katelin Dean
Katelin Dean is a journalist currently working in Woodstock, N.B. Though not originally from the town, she has made it home and is constantly inspired by her artist and musician friends around her. Through poetry and photography, she embraces her creative side at any chance she can and has decided to share her work with Unfiltered Smoke. Take it away Katelin!
moon mask
mesmerizing moon
is that a face i see
somberly searching
just like me
but once a month
you show yourself
you wear a mask
like everybody else
after the reveal
you retreat again
to a thin sliver
of what will become again
Summer Fling
mysteries of our meeting
barely a name exchanged
simply searching
masking you as someone else
your face falls from my mind
only a name remains
it was never real
you’ve found your life
i’ll try to live mine
no middle ground
memory masks
tales and truths
there is no middle
only triumph and despair
Train Bridge
Beautiful Bridge
What do you know
What have you seen
Boxcars to Bar fights
from mundane to obscene
Many have crossed
Few have stopped
Do you hear the laughter?
Do you feel the pain?
from your wide wood planks
to your latticework metal frame
You are hiding too
but an instrument
competing with the tides of change
you will remain
Smile Lines Hide the Pain
A Uniform and Dark Glasses Don't Define
by Joan Reid
Joan is 26, originally from Centerville NB but now living in Fredericton NB. She is self taught in the realm of photoshop, starting by experimenting with the program 5 years ago. She says she finds that some form of creativity in her life is vital, even if its just for fun. She finds inspiration for her pictures everywhere, from Archie comics to Magritte. This year some of her work was on display at the Dooryard Arts Festival in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Some of which is on display here below. She takes photographs of her friends and with photoshops turns them into paint-like portraits.
Photos by Craig Layton.
As an artist, Craig Layton continues to grow and explore the use of film and Video as a means to generate social commentary with his thought provoking subject matter and unique visual style. Recently he has made the transition to still photography and immersed himself into the underbelly world of Fashion. He has been involved and made contributions to Halifax Magazine; Faces Magazine and the international www.thursdaynightmagazine.com. To date, he has made eight films holding five producer credits and has made his directorial debut with his 2003 35mm short “Dress Up”. This series of pictures includes shots from various spots around Halifax Nova Scotia, including The Halifax Gay Pride Parade, Halifax Harbour, The Freedom of the city and Halifax model Laura Nurse.
by Jason Wilson
Isaac Thompson and I have been working on a novel together since last November. “Welcome to Oak Grove” is our first attempt at something as daunting as a book. Isaac has co-written two plays (Play of the Living Dead and The Slasher Play) and has dabbled in filmmaking. He also sang for the bands The Search For Alexander and Tattered Black Dress.
On my end I’ve written mostly journalism or opinion pieces. I’ve written short stories that have never seen the light of day but nothing as big as this. So far we are excited with what we’ve come up with.
It’s a small town horror story set in the fake New Brunswick town Oak Grove. Everything seems normal on the surface, but the underbelly of the town hosts a malevolent being set on torturing the townsfolk under the guise of leading them to salvation.
For inspiration, Isaac and I have gone to a cabin in Knowlesville, New Brunswick. Knowlesville is a tiny place that is mostly covered in woods. The roads are dirt and difficult to traverse, especially in my tiny Volkswagen (Rocinante). For two nights on two separate occasions we have travelled there to edit and write and it has been a fantastic experience. While we don’t yet have an excerpt to share, we do have a series of photographs I took on both trips. They’re mostly of the cabin interior as well as a small cemetary and some trails around the area as well. Enjoy!
by Tom Henheffer
Cocks were a-flappin’ and fake tits a-bouncin’ as the old naked men jogged, the transvestites bore all and the lesbians rode their motorcycles at Toronto’s annual Dyke March and Gay Pride Parade. The audience of tens of thousands toughed it out through rain and shine to near overdose on flamboyance as every colour of the rainbow cheered and danced its way down Yonge street. The streets, bars and businesses of Church Wellesley village (colloquially known as gay village) came alive for pride week’s finale parades; and the love that dare not speak its name was shouted from the rooftops while everyone from BDSM-gear clad leather daddy’s to politicians like Jack Layton and Elizabeth May turned out to join in the grand gala of gayness.
