of life after 24,

This blog has moved to ALYSSABISTONATH.com

2009-06-11T13:46:00.003-04:00

When I started this blog it was an attempt to catalogue and make tangible the changes that were happening around me. I always think back to the moment; 23 years old, on a plane to Ethiopia, bursting with enthusiasm and joy, about to photograph my first feature. I really didn’t think life could get any better, but it did and it continues to. What do you do when you achieve everything you had hoped for at 24? You make new plans and goals. You continue to live the dream, I’ve learnt that the answer is to live 25 gratefully and 26 gracefully. Of Life after 24 has evolved. I’ve integrated my blog and portfolio as a new catalogue of everything beautiful and hopeful that has happened in these past few years. A lot of what has happened wouldn't have been possible without your support, so I hope you join me at www.alyssabistonath.com

Bless,

Alyssa

Punk Rock Pathetic

2009-06-07T01:34:00.004-04:00

After spending the afternoon at the Riverdale Art Walk, Dar and I dropped by an art event at Knox called "Rezound". I contributed the above photos for the Rezound zine. The words are by Emily from an article that she wrote about the Clash for Geez Magazine last year called Punk Rock Pathetic. As you can probably tell I am really liking overlaying Helvetica Bold over my photos these days.

Neglect

2009-06-04T17:41:00.004-04:00

My friend Ali tells me that when I neglect my blog she wanders off onto the sites of my linked friends. This amuses me because I'm often rambling about how I want everyone I know and love to know and love each other. So if neglect leads to community is it such a bad thing?

In any case, here you are my friend. I shot this photo as we were coming down a mountain. This was a particularly sad day for me. We had just met a family whose profound story moved me to tears. I had seen a boy riding this horse earlier on our way up the mountain. I'm not sure where he had gotten off to. There was something calming about the scene in the midst of a hectic and hard day.

"A" Channel Clip

2009-05-27T17:50:00.004-04:00

Here is the clip of Kurt's phone call to his morning show (on the "A" Channel) from last week. The photos playing throughout are ones that I took during a visit with Kurt and the rest of the team to Nelson's house.

Some love from the "A" Channel

2009-05-21T01:07:00.002-04:00

This morning my new friend Kurt Stoodley called into his Ottawa morning show on the "A" Channel from here in El Salvador. While he reported on our trip, a selection of photos that I've taken so far aired as the visuals! I'm pretty excited to see the clip.

Above is a photo of a little boy named Mario that I took while visiting a family with Kurt and the rest of the gang. Mario and his family (like many families that we have met) are really struggling. It's been an emotional yet hopeful trip. It's been truly amazing to see how much the WV staff here care about helping families press forward to create a future for the children and the communities alike.

Landed and Safe

2009-05-19T09:55:00.002-04:00

Well my friends. I landed in El Salvador on Sunday and have settled in quite well. Yesterday was quite a busy day. We went to the town of Armenia (I KNOW right?) and met two families that World Vision is helping. I shot this photo on the way out of the rainy hills yesterday afternoon.

Just do your thing, Baby

2009-05-05T17:41:00.007-04:00

Alyssa says: Ha ha where do I start on this one? I've had a scan of the photo of me (left) for a while waiting for inspiration to blog about it. What better inspiration than to find this photo of my friend Dar (right) on facebook? When I was a baby I LOVED photo albums. I was obsessed. I would steal them, hide in the corner and look at them over and over again. Also I am wearing aspen barrettes and a crisp white shirt (a typical outfit of 26 year old Alyssa). Dar for obvious reasons is one of my favourite people to photograph (especially in leisure wear basking in the sun). Look at the little starlet striking a pose. It amuses me to no end to see us both in diapers (and at our respective childhood coffee tables) doing what we like best. All this makes me think that very little has changed in 25 years - and that is oddly comforting.

Dar says: My mother sent me this photo and it kinda broke my heart (in a good way). I seemed appropriately oblivious to my dorkiness, proud of it even (which is how my mother raised me, socks n' sandals, and all), doing what Alyssa refers to as a "flourish". Damn right. I said to Alyssa, only moments ago, how I wished these two babies could have been friends way back then. The baby on the right clearly needs an audience, and the baby on the left wants to fill those damn photo albums with something she made herself. One day, they will both get what they want, and even be so lucky as to do it together.

Not a whole lot has changed today, as I am relaxing in the sun (in questionable attire) while Alyssa is organizing, organizing, organizing her pictures like a maniac. I do not offer help, only random moments of ridiculous behaviour to try and make her laugh.

Brazilian Dreams

2009-05-04T23:01:00.004-04:00

I spent only a little over a week in Fortaleza Brazil but strangely I dream of it often. My memories of the landscape, the smells, textures and people are very clear. Often it takes me a few months (years!) to revisit the photographs from a country, but I happen to be sorting through all of my photographs for my new portfolio site. I stumbled across these images and they reminded me of my dreams so I thought I would share them. The first and third are images of the Atlantic ocean and the middle a shot is of one of the favelas bordering Fortaleza's city dump.

When She Smiles

2009-05-03T23:15:00.010-04:00

It's fun to think in motion picture.

Concept Still

2009-04-30T19:48:00.004-04:00

I've been thinking lately that I want to make a short film. I used to make them back in my teens and even early twenties, but I haven't made one in ages. I'm not sure what it will be about yet, but I'm experimenting with how I'd like it to look. Perhaps the story will develop from there. I think if it's black and white I'd like it to look like this photo of Emily.

This Collage Life

2009-04-28T23:32:00.000-04:00

The other day I was hanging out with my friend Yulanda. We recalled the visual journals that we started keeping at school and how important they are. Mostly because I LOVE collage - it's how I like life. Little bits of past, present, and future all mashed up together.

The visual journals (the Goodbye Books) act as a detailed non-linear timeline. Above are stills of a recent book (the 7th!). I've also added in photos of my bulletin board, wall and fridge where the collage has spilled out. If you'd like to see them larger - just give them a click.

Yeah yeah yeah...

2009-04-27T18:51:00.005-04:00

I'm sitting in the living room listening to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album (Dar lent it to me though she barely just got it). The window is wide open but I'm boiling hot because I'm wearing EWBJ's hoodie (he doesn't even know it!) and am covered up with the throw my Mum tucked into my bag the other day. I'm thinking about 1 Corinthians 13 (someone read it aloud at church yesterday after we had crooned a Hank Williams song). Those two (yeah you know who) are in the kitchen cooking up a fish concoction, and I can't wait to taste it. I'm patiently sipping cold tea (chocolaty chai!) and I am learning how to round corners in photoshop. I'm trying some new things just for the heck of it. The acoustic version of Hysteric comes on and I look down at this photo of Lisa and suddenly I am filled with so much optimism I might just burst. Doesn't Lisa look optimistic? Thank goodness life isn't boring.

Texture Time

2009-04-26T12:58:00.003-04:00

I've been really inspired by my favourite graphic designers and photographers laying textures over their work. I've experimented with it in the past, but I thought I would try some simple textures over some shots I took on my Mum's birthday.

These are best viewed larger, so give them a click.

Alisa?

2009-04-25T18:38:00.003-04:00

Lisa pointed out that her name plus Ali's name equals my name. This pleases me because I LOVE Ali and Lisa. Heck, it's overdue that they show up on this blog. So here they are. Ali on the left, Lisa on the right. I shot these (impromptu) on Thursday evening as GLORIOUS sunlight was pouring into my living room.

Cab ride blessings.

2009-04-22T17:35:00.005-04:00

Yesterday a cab driver named Emmanuel drove me to the Norman Felix Gallery with my Kenya prints. We talked about how his brother was living in Nairobi and "Had I ever been there?"

"Yes!" I replied enthusiastically telling him about my visit to the Canadian consulate and my misadventures on the bus ride over. He told me that his family was from Ethiopia, and when I told him that I had been there also the conversation really took off. We talked buna ta ta, injera, Abyesha, Addis Ababa, and the eventually the Full Gospel church. We discovered that his family attended the same church as my friends in Addis.

When he dropped me off he blessed me, and it made me feel nostalgic and hopeful. The experience inspired me to revisit my Ethiopia photos and I found this one. The man pictured is an Orthodox priest in Abote district. I photographed him right before dinner as the sun was setting.

From that famous walk home,

2009-04-20T15:07:00.005-04:00

While in Kenya we would walk the same route everyday. To the Nakumat, to the orphanage, back to our house, back to the orphanage. I'd often (almost always) have my camera slung around my shoulder. These photos were shot along the way.

Le le Liza

2009-04-18T17:28:00.004-04:00

Meet Liza, my eleven year old friend. Today we went on a photo adventure exploring the alleys in our neighbourhood.

Tear Sheets from TV Week Magazine

2009-04-17T15:52:00.005-04:00

Mi-Jung was kind of enough to send me her copy of TV Week Magazine. Last month my photos of Mi-Jung and the children were featured as a cover story in the Vancouver based publication. The article is about our trip with World Vision to Brazil and the Vancouver Campaign for Children. It is really great to see my photos used to tell the stories of these amazing kids.

Grace

2009-04-14T18:26:00.012-04:00

This is my brother Curt. When we were kids we fancied ourselves ninjas. We ran around with black t-shirts pulled over our heads and spied on unsuspecting family members. Once I jumped off the lazy-boy and karate kicked him right in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of him pretty good, but he was gracious about it. He's also pretty gracious about being in photos. I shot the above photo on Easter in my parent's backyard while he was having a smoke.
This is the first photo I can ever remember taking. I took it of Curt on the night of his 8th birthday party. I remember telling him to pretend he was drowning in the wrapping paper. I think he did a pretty good job.

FYI

2009-04-03T13:21:00.007-04:00

Opening: April 3rd-10th: Our photograph, "I Know You So Well I Don't Even Know You Anymore" is still touring with the International Roaming Biennial of Tehran. The show opens tonight in Belgrade.

Closing: April 8th: Pieces of Innocence moves on from T.A.N Cafe soon. If you haven't seen it yet, get over there! The exhibit is a selection of photographs by children we taught in Kenya last summer, and children we taught in Regent Park this past school year.

Announced: May 7th-31st: I'm excited to tell you that a selection from my series Restless/Unrest will be on display at the Norman Felix Gallery during the Contact Toronto Photography Festival.

Announced: I have been selected as one of the Grand Prize winners in the Show Your Ontario contest for professional photographers! Check out the above photograph and more of my images in the winners gallery. A catalogue containing my photographs (and the photographs of my peers) will be released on June 18th. The release will be in Toronto at the Lennox Contemporary and is complemented by a two-week-long exhibition.

Let Us Prey

2009-03-27T12:30:00.007-04:00

The Report on Business Magazine shoot I did earlier this month was terribly fun. Sinclair Stewart's article Let Us Prey is about the rise and fall of the celebrity CEO. Find it in today's supplement in the Globe and Mail.

All Growed Up!

2009-03-24T00:33:00.009-04:00

1967 - age 14: That's my Mum in the middle. Now you can see where I get my big hair from.

(left) Check out those ringlets!/ (right) Look at that collar - look familiar?

My Mum grew up in Guyana and moved to Winnipeg (Canada) with my father when she was 19 years old. She was the first in her family to get married, and by the time she was my age (26) she had two sons and was a successful banker. She's a smart woman with a huge heart. She also is the only member of my family who can beat me at Monopoly...

I've recently realized that whenever I get into trouble it's because I've forgotten half or all of my Mum's wisdom, "Remember who you are, and whose you are." She has sent me off on many an adventure with those words echoing in my ears. My Mum is perceptive, she knew I wanted to be a photographer long before I did. She bought me my first camera years before I would admit to anyone that I loved photography, and has supported me non-stop since this whole journey began.

Happy Birthday Mum. I love you.

Along side.

2009-03-21T22:58:00.014-04:00

The first photo is a recent of Emily. The second one I took last August in Bramps while I was walking home through the fields and farms near my parent's house. The letterboxes around them are inspired by the loads of widescreen cinema I've been consuming of late. The other day I was watching Everything is Illuminated, a film which gives me the same feelings of nostalgia as the above photographs. In it a character played by Eugene Hutz says,

"I have reflected many times upon our rigid search. It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us, on the inside, looking out. Like you say, inside out. Jonathan, in this way, I will always be along the side of your life. And you will always be along the side of mine."

Frankly, I couldn't have put it better myself. This is the reason I love photography. Every frame an opportunity to document, to remember, to remind, to live along side! To return home and to move forward all at once.

I PROMISE.

2009-03-20T00:02:00.004-04:00

I promise that I can take photos that are completely in focus. Honest! But for now I am having too much fun experimenting. These are more photos from my spring walk on Tuesday. The garages behind my house remind me of New York in the 80's... not sure why. The old man in the photo caught Emily's eyes. There was a gentleness in the way he stood on his porch that suggested he may have just wandered out of a story book. When I called out and asked if I could take his photo he walked down to the sidewalk out of curiosity. He asked why, and I told him I liked his face, and he LAUGHED! He stood proud while I took the photo, and when I showed it to him he gently grasped my arm and smiled with such WARMTH. It was a really lovely city moment.

So long,

2009-03-18T01:23:00.011-04:00

So long the silent winter,

I breathed as you said,

You missed my mind,

My mind, I was waiting,

Patiently,

For my shoes to sink,

gracefully into the ground.

And when they did,

I knew that I would find the words,

Words long retreated into my chest.

Emma and I took a brilliant walk down to Queen West this afternoon. I haven't posted in a while, but I was waiting for exactly this... the emotion/motion of spring.

A Change in Perspective (Finally)

2009-02-16T18:35:00.002-05:00

boats at the harbour in Fortaleza, Brazil (2008)

field near Anne of Green Gables Museum, Canada (2007)

near the Ugandan border, Kenya (2008)

hills of Jeju, Ethiopia (2007)

Funny how you don't know how much you need/ want a change of perspective until you get one. (More on this later - I'm late for family day dinner.)

Above are some experiments with tilt shift inspired by Sam. These look way better bigger so click on each one and a larger version will open in this window.

Love Come Down!

2009-02-15T00:10:00.007-05:00

I hope you'll come out to the El Macambo tonight between 6pm and 10pm! I'm showing two prints from my series Take Off Your Jacket Dreamer at an event called Love Come Down. We are raising money for Sketch. (Sketch provides art programs for street-involved, homeless and at risk youth).

Let's celebrate love in its truest form!

Bless,

Alyssa

anything to make you smile,

2009-02-10T14:51:00.002-05:00

happy birthday dar!

Some love from CTV,

2009-02-09T15:11:00.010-05:00

CTV BC has posted a web gallery of my photos from Brazil. I was there this past December shooting for the Vancouver Campaign for Children. The picture above was shot in the home of one of the poorest families I have ever met. The visit was quite heartbreaking especially when this little one flashed me such a playful look. Mi Jung Lee (a CTV news anchor) tells the story best here.

I also encourage you to watch the videos on the main page. They do a good job of showing what the conditions are like in the favelas where the children live and how World Vision is helping to make a difference.

I'm going on a PANIC!

2009-02-06T10:43:00.005-05:00

Actually I'm not. However I did think it was a funny misreading of a Raffi song title on some vinyl and Lisa's house. Raffi is Going on A Picnic. In any case it has nothing to do with the following post except that these are some places you should go (picnicking, panicking or otherwise);

If you are wondering what I was doing in Brazil. You can check out the Vancouver Campaign for Children in full swing here. Go Mi-Jung! Go Bob!

February 15th: Word on the street is that stills from my series Take Off Your Jacket Dreamer will be on display at Solar Crash - Love Come Down at the El Macambo. My friend Nathan and other musicians will be performing amongst a mix of exciting visual art. All proceeds go to Sketch.

March 1st - 31st: If you were wondering what I was doing in Kenya, P iga Picha is coming to Toronto! Stills shot by the children of St.Clares orphanage will be on display and for sale at T.A.N Cafe for the month of March. Stay tuned for details - you won't want to miss this.

April 3rd - 10th: Urban Jealousy is making it's way to Belgrade! You can follow the International Roaming Biennal of Tehran here. If you happen to be in Serbia - check out my collaboration with Dar and Andrew entitled "I Know You So Well, I Don't Even Know You Anymore"

Regent Park

2009-01-27T20:18:00.004-05:00

As the kids from Piga Picha Toronto went around their neighbourhood taking photos - so did I. I wanted to concentrate on details rather than my usual portraits so next week I can show the children examples of texture, colour and space.

On another note, who's responsibility is it to clean up all that police tape in Regent once a crime scene is over? Get on it man! It's messing with our morale.

Me You and Everyone We Know

2009-01-27T14:49:00.011-05:00

I missed the boat on the film "Me You and Everyone We Know" (it was released in 2005). However last night after watching it for the first time I'm glad that I did. It unlocked a nostalgic archive of a way I felt about the world in 2005. The movie is a bunch of instances that fit together and somehow create movement, a theme. Each instance funny, silent, strange, and inconsequential until it all ends in a tidy package. A package that shows that humans regardless of age, sex and race universally need each other with the utmost intimacy. They need to be understood and allowed to disappoint.

How does this all relate to the above photos? I'm not sure really. I took these last week in Regent Park while teaching a class to 12 year olds about photography and it's ability to unite through a universal story language. Other than that the photos abstractly remind me of a scene in the film when Miles Thompson's character shows his younger brother a birds eye view of "me you and everyone we know" made with punctuation marks from his computer. Later he says "I'd live up there if I could, if there was no gravity." We crave distance and intimacy at the same time (or as Dar and Emily would put it - attention and anonymity). It's a delicate balance.

Restless/ Unrest

2009-01-18T12:17:00.007-05:00

During the post election ethnic riots in Kisumu Kenya, Sister Philomena wouldn’t let the children of St. Clare’s orphanage outside. She was afraid a Kibaki’s police would kill them. The children had plenty of time to think. Their lives are hardly ideal, but they want to be engineers, doctors and teachers and pilots.

Months later I was at the orphanage for six weeks, and time after time I saw the juxtaposition between the children’s most freeing moments and their most bored. Slices of their environment tell of a general restlessness. The boys are mostly pensive and graceful; the girls strong and bold like the housemothers that are raising them. They all seem to be waiting to grow up so they can carry on with life.

The dichotomy between freedom and boredom fascinates me because it mimics a trait that I see in my peers at home. They too seem to be waiting to grow up and have freedom even though they are for the most part in their mid-twenties.

Oh Industrial Revolution!

2009-01-15T00:25:00.008-05:00

The view during the train ride home from Bramps is hardly pretty but there is something familiar and comforting about the barren industrial landscape. I wonder what the story is behind all of it. Tons of warehouses with smashed windows, junk and shipping yards, old CNN trains, a strange boxy banquet hall, the fast flowing river, panel houses, fields sprinkled with towers... there is so much to see. The ride often seems a little too short to take it all in and as I arrive at the Bloor platform I often wonder when I will get another chance.

(Thanks Dar for the post title)

Good Ole Yeller - Break (it) down.

2009-01-13T13:10:00.006-05:00

I remember the first time riding in Ben's car. It was early -7 am? The Kisumu sun was coming up orange and we were riding around photographing a Celtel promotion. Steve said I should name the car - so I coined the yellow Peugeot "Ole Yeller" (the boys had never seen the movie but they humored me). There was another time we were driving up a hill the back door flew open and Joanna almost fell out - seat belts save lives...

The photographs above are from a memorable afternoon with Ole Yeller (the same afternoon that I shot these.) The car was leaking gas and we ended up broken down in the hot hot sun. So while Ben made the trek to get more fuel we played with some neighbourhood children. Their laughs of delight as I popped up from behind the car door to photograph them are permanently etched into my memory. What had begun as a sad morning has ended up as a fond memory. Good Ole Yeller.

Happy Birthday Daddy-O

2009-01-12T23:46:00.009-05:00

age 17

in a 25 cent "boot" (booth)/ posing in n.y.c for a photo to send to my mum

skinny tie & tapered pants... mhmm

I love my Dad. He's pretty awesome. First off his name is Oscar - awesome right? His childhood was pretty much a mix of Huck Finn and Little House on the Prairie. He grew up on a farm with the ocean in his backyard. He talks about anacondas, alligators, and mangos the size of your head. As a teenager he rode a motorcycle, and in his twenties left South America and went to University in the BRONX. He scored the woman of his dreams after 2 years of cross continental pursuit through love letters. Not to mention he saved a man's life once right in front of my 5 year old eyes... need I say more?

Kiss Kisumu Hello,

2009-01-10T16:47:00.005-05:00

Kisumu, has been on my mind lately. Here are some shots from my time there.

We Heart Amy Savin.

2009-01-09T19:45:00.008-05:00

While posting the winter photographs from Cherry Beach I fondly remembered shooting there last year with folk musician Amy Savin. Amy is a bright and a genuine talent and was an absolute joy to photograph. Needless to say, I am extremely excited for her upcoming album release.

Ps. If you look in the far distance of the second photograph you can see the life guard stand that Nathan is balancing on in the post below.

Let's Hear it for the New Year! (Cherry Beach)

2009-01-06T14:05:00.009-05:00

Photography like many things in life requires practice. While I get plenty on the field, I always find it inspiring to meet and shoot with other photographers. So in true New Year style my friend Nathan introduced me to Toronto photographer Maegan Guerette and Vancouver photographer Ken Semenuk. We sat in a cafe and traded some wisdom before heading over to Cherry Beach to shoot of some stills. All in all it was a really fun day, I learnt a ton, and had a great time. I hope the rest of the year follows suit.

Let's hear it for the New Year.

Old friend, new photos

2008-12-29T15:19:00.008-05:00

The lovely city constantly reunites me with old friends. Pictured is Michael a dear friend from University who was also my housemate for a year. When I moved into my new apartment I remembered that Mike worked across the street, and now we get to see each other quite often. Since our days at Ryerson Michael has become a talented director, editor and film critic. A testament that midnight conversations about hopes, dreams and fears actually pay off.

Here is some other photography I've done with Michael:

Promo for Michael's documentary Breech & Explore (2007)

Creative - The Walk Away Home (2006)

Bread for BlogTO

2008-12-29T14:14:00.006-05:00

Emily is writing a weekly review of a Toronto bakery for BlogTO and I'm shooting the photos. You can check them out here every Thursday. It's been quite exciting to go around the city discovering new treats. One of my favourite bakeries that we've been is Pain Perdu up at St. Clair and Christie. There you'll find the some of the most delicious French Toast the city has to offer. Yum.

Cabin Fever

2008-12-23T00:45:00.007-05:00

The view out my front and back windows on Friday morning.

Brasil Outra Vez

2008-12-20T12:25:00.005-05:00

You've asked and here they are, a few more shots from Brazil. The children living in this area were a delight to spend the week with. It was sad to say goodbye.

It's amazing that we've been back for two weeks already. My colleagues are busy putting everything together, and I couldn't be more excited for February.

Blessed,

2008-12-20T11:00:00.001-05:00

I was asked to show some of my photographs from Kenya at Knox the other day. Here is a low res. version of the slide show. I chose some of the photos taken at St. Clares' Orphanage. Special thanks to Paul Galipeau for the song (it was a hymn that he recorded at the church service we attended in Kisumu). You'll notice that in some of the shots the children have cameras in their hands - they are the children who participated in the Piga Picha Project. Check out the blog: http://pigapichakenya.blogspot.com/

The children's shots with be exhibited in March. Hope to see you all there.

Bonito em Brasil.

2008-12-04T20:55:00.004-05:00

Many of you know that I am in Brazil, and I have benefited tremendously from your emails and encouragement! The shoot is almost done, and I am proud of what the team has accomplished.

Pictured above is one of the grandmothers that we spoke with as she looks out at her grandchildren playing in front of their house.

Emily on the keys

2008-11-21T11:01:00.008-05:00

Emily on the keys and yours truly on the camera. Check out our first collaboration at:

www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_delis_in_toronto/

The experience of working with a such a friend is more wonderful than words. Everything becomes an adventure, the difficult becomes hilarious, and the joy even more awesome.

Love, meat, sandwiches.

Everything Political

2008-11-07T10:33:00.024-05:00

We all had election fever is some capacity. When Obama won I called my parents to see what they had to say, I wrote on Obeto's page - "Kisumu forever", and called Dardana at the Smashing Pumpkins concert to make sure she had heard. (She said Billy Corgan had told her.) In the subway that night we sat beside two men that did not know each other. Both African American, one was dressed in an America suit/ costume and the other in jeans, a beanie, and Bob Marley pictures hanging around his neck. They spoke hopefully about the spirit of Jesus Christ, and how Moses came down from Mount Sinai glowing from being in the presence of God.

I wish I could photograph this glow. I came downstairs this morning and it struck me how much more political my life has become since June. It started with Kisumu, and the remnants of the riots that affected a country and the lives of many friends there. It continued through Nairobi where I chatted with development workers whose cynicism ranged from hopeful to robotic. It moved through me when I came home and went to the World Youth Congress. Hundreds of kids marching through the streets waving the flags of justice, peace, equality and love. I saw K'naan perform and talk about coming to Canada as a refugee, and saw when he and the Right Honourable Michel Jean looked at each other with some knowing secret (as she danced beside me in the crowd.) It continued through my travels to South Africa where I saw the effects of the economic crisis in the tangible form of hunger and starvation. I saw the Taxi Wars first hand, the corruption and apathy. I came home to the cries of Wall Street, a historical financial bail out, the Canadian and American elections. Life revolved around getting home on time for SNL political specials, talking on panels about the global village, facilitating heated arguments about voter apathy and repetitively listening to songs with lyrics like, "I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up, If I could stand up mean for the things that I believe."

My best friend is staying with me right now. She just spent the last year working and living in a refugee house. I come downstairs to tell her about a story that I just read in a book a friend recommended to me. I want to tell her about a young Jewish man who was arrested for refusing to join the Apartheid Army in South Africa almost two decades ago, but she interrupts me because she wants to talk about a letter Harper wrote to the Washington Post in 2005. It takes a long time to work through both of our political interests, and how they converge.

I'm saying all of this because I've been sitting on a series of images that I shot in Kisumu. I look at them from time to time, but more often than not I close the window and continue on with life as I can. It hurts to see them, it definitely hurt to shoot them. They're of the graffiti sprawled on the walls of houses burnt during the riots in Kisumu. The owners long gone fearing for their lives, the perpetrators triumphantly spilled their hatred around with cliches from American movies. My hope is that where ever there exists extreme hatred there will be extreme love. As journalists and story tellers I think we are called to show both. We see horrible things, we experience them and we record them because we want to see the situation evolve into something different. So here are the images. Perhaps I thought that finally showing them would allude to this idea that I understood something, but rather this post and these images are an effort to understand everything political around me.

I photographed these boys right after the former images, just a short walk down the road.

Field fire, Stanger side, the port and good night.

2008-08-31T16:34:00.006-04:00

Field fire near Durban on Friday night.

Field visit to a village near Stanger on Saturday morning.

Visit to the Port in Durban this evening (Sunday- day off)

Good night!

South Africa so far.

2008-08-28T16:07:00.005-04:00

Today was my 4th day in South Africa. It has been a wild ride out here, each day I am learning and photographing from first light until driving back to the hotel at night. Happily, I have internet so I can show you a few photos. This first one is from a series of photos we're doing about food security, and the second from a football game I photographed on top of a mountain.

Not missing, just missed.

2008-08-24T15:28:00.000-04:00

It has been ages since I've seen or spoke to many of you, but as you know I've been in Kenya working with the Tumaini Children's Project. It was a great time being back home briefly. My friends and family really circled around and helped me make the most of the time between trips. For those who were following along on the Piga Picha blog - the World Youth Congress (Quebec) exhibit and lecture went well. I felt so privileged to be a delegate, and I am extremely pleased with the response to the children's photographs. The lecture went smoothly, and generated a lot of interest in the project. I met tons of great youth leaders who I am excited to work with in the future.

Now I'm headed off to South Africa (currently I am in Washington) on assignment with World Vision. Since my trip to Ethiopia with them last year I have been itching to shoot for them again. This time we are headed over to shoot photographs in Durban and Bloemfontein with a focus on food security in this area of Africa. Many of you will remember from the news earlier this year that Durban was an area where attacks were carried out against foreign immigrants because of their effect on employment. Cities are rarely the same after such events, and I wonder what Durban will be like. In Kisumu (Kenya) where I was with TCP, many of the locals spoke of the post-election violence like they themselves could not believe it happened even though the legacy left by burnt buildings, tire-melted roads and hateful graffiti was every where.

I am slowly beginning to learn some of the many complexities that affect Africa. I love the continent even more now that I know some of these realities than when I was an idealistic child. I hope this trip will not only yield photos that inspire change and action, but I hope that I will learn what change needs to be had in my own life.

I am extremely grateful for all of your well wishes, and thoughts. I'll be seeing you soon!

Bless,

Alyssa

we stay the same (and change at the same time)

2008-08-24T15:15:00.007-04:00

After spending the majority of the summer working overseas in Africa I came home to Ontario with fresh eyes. In desperate need of rest I found myself at my parent’s house in Brampton. I usually don’t consider Brampton as a place “to get away from it all”, but only minutes after my friend from Toronto showed up we were walking through the fields and farmland retreating from the burden of time that would steal me away to travel once again. We considered our time that weekend “ageless.” We dressed up in costumes, and towed my dog around exploring abandoned farms like we were nine-year-old adventurers rather than two mid-twenties artists. There is something about the rural Ontario landscape that inspired us to “play”. The whimsy of that weekend helped me rejuvenate in ways that so many international vacations had failed to do in the past. The photographs reflect a number of things. A fierce fondness for my homeland, the desire to see it grow as I do, but mostly I hope they reflect the way that I feel about my friends when I see them in it. The range of weather and the timeless landscapes affected our emotions, heightened our humour, and bonded us together just as we prayed the summer would before the fall brought back upon us the responsibilities of adulthood.

Kenya 2008

2008-06-27T05:20:00.007-04:00

I am currently in Africa with TCP (see post below). My blogging for the next month will take place on our team blog which you can find here

Above you can see a photo of 8 month old (although born pre-mature) twins. Clare & Clarette.

2008-06-15T20:23:00.006-04:00

I shot for a client (Stella Artois) on Tuesday at a Wyclef Jean performance. The crowd just wanted a piece of this guy, it was insanity.

Laconic Reply

2008-06-02T10:53:00.001-04:00

Laconic Reply, originally uploaded by a*e.

I took this shot last year right about this time in Ethiopia. I really liked this man. He was a Sheik with a really great sense of humour. This is the only serious shot I got of him - it happens to be my favourite shot of the day.

Eric Hacke writes about this shot and others in his blog Laconic Reply. Check it out: laconicreply.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/alyssas-photography

Alyssa Goes to Africa Pt.II

2008-05-29T16:09:00.001-04:00

flyer, originally uploaded by a*e.

I modified one of my source book entries as a flyer for a benefit I'm having. It's been a long time since I've "designed" something. I'm pretty happy with it

For the month of July I will be going to Kenya with an NGO called The Tumaini Children's Project. I'll be leading a team who will be teaching photography to 90 children living at St. Theresa's Orphanage. Not only are many of the children living with HIV/ AIDS, but they also face incredible hardships and the stigma associated disease.

The photographs that the children take will be exhibited at the end of July at a block party in their community. It is an effort to raise AIDS awareness and to finally give the children of St. Theresa's a voice. When we come back we will be taking the exhibit to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress. Also, we will be documenting the whole process for a documentary similar to "Born into Brothels."

Help us get to Kenya to benefit some very deserving children by donating online on the TCP website: http://www.tumainichildrensproject.ca/

Please make sure to specify that the money is for the PIGA PICHA Project and is in support of me (Alyssa Bistonath) by sending an email to Julie Hakim through the contact page. You will receive a tax receipt in the mail. It would be helpful if you could send me an email as well so I can keep track of what I still need to raise.

We are also accepting camera donations! Please contact me if you have a digital or film camera that is in working condition that you would like to donate to the project.

Many thanks,
Alyssa

Princess at the Swan.

2008-05-22T21:40:00.001-04:00

Princess at the Swan., originally uploaded by a*e.

Keri in another lighting test from last week. This is at my favourite restaurant in the whole wide world The Swan. They were gracious enough to let us use the space in the morning before they opened. Keri (LOVE!) was gracious enough to help me out on the first shoot of the day. If you look closely you can see Ryan in the back.

I'm still processing the shoot from last week (almost done!) This is to cure my need to post photos since I want to show my wonderful clients first.

Aspen is the colour of our lives.

2008-05-22T20:01:00.001-04:00

Aspen is the colour of our lives., originally uploaded by a*e.

Beautiful beautiful Dar was standing in for a lighting test at a shoot last week, but I liked the shot so much I thought I would post it.

Tinting it a bluish-green colour is a bit of an inside joke - but you know I like the look of it.

And the story continues,

2008-05-14T23:28:00.003-04:00

, originally uploaded by a*e.

Even though I went to Ethiopia for World Vision's magazine Childview a year ago, I am constantly amazed at how relevant the trip has been to my life on a daily basis. Everyday I think about the communities I encountered, the stories I learnt, and the girls I had a chance to get to know. To many aid workers I encountered, hope was and continues to be a lifestyle. I was awestruck to see the incredible impact World Vision had in the communities from food security to maternal health to AIDS awareness and education.

The article called Scarred by Tradition was about Female Genital Mutilation. Recently I was pleased to learn that designer Carol Moskot and I won Canadian Church Press awards. First place for Feature Layout and Design (Magazine), and Second place for Colour Photo Spread (Magazine).

Above you'll see two photos from the spread. You can also check out the original article in Child View written by Nicolette Beharie here (pages 16-21)

all these times.

2008-05-14T16:43:00.001-04:00

all these times., originally uploaded by a*e.

times we listened to goodbye songs.
goodbyes and tries and sighs.
and the long silences, and thoughts that
no one ever heard.
we're here,
now.
not then.
when regrets were everything
and everyone had something to say.
this is now,
we're okay, we're okay.
and we have days,
and years.
so longs and stays.
and today,
today is everything

"I know you so well, I don't even know you anymore"

2008-04-19T23:07:00.005-04:00

"I know you so well, I don't even know you anymore", originally uploaded by a*e.

Styling by Andrew Child and Dar M.

When challenged by local artist Sona Safaei to conceive a photograph with the theme "Urban Jealousy" I immediately thought of Andrew and Dar as collaborators for the project. Their unique style and character was perfect for a city story about love and the tragic loss that we face when our most intimate friendships become cloudy and vague.

As the city pushes it's people to become more; more successful, more beautiful, more unique, more aloof, friendships are put to the test. "I know you, I know your weakness, but you are more than me... this is our urban jealousy."

This photo is one in a series that will address the topic. The fight for reconciliation, for forgiveness, and our insatiable need for one another.

To view the photograph larger click here.

Awesome. We got news today that we're in! This photograph will be shown in Turkey at the Urban Jealousy /1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran Curated by Serhat koksal and Amirali Ghasemi

World Vision Maternal Health Gallery

2008-04-12T15:11:00.005-04:00

between talks, originally uploaded by a*e.

A few people have asked where they can see more of the photographs I shot while in Ethiopia. World Vision has put a few more of the up on their site in a gallery about Maternal Health:

Check it out here

The Summer Sun

2008-04-07T23:40:00.011-04:00

hides from our April song.
as much as we beg it,
to show us where we belong.

A friend of mine said that he heard Roger Ebert say that the problem with cinema today is that cinematographers do not backlight movie stars as much as they did in the good old days.

all eyes

2008-02-16T18:42:00.008-05:00

all eyes,
looking behind,
trying to make sense
of this wild ride.
as they move forward.
i'll stand still.
picture after picture.
my eyes filled,
with the hope on faces,
as lives rush by.
we'll know places.
where we met eyes.

It's crazy how vivid my time in Thailand is in my memory. I can put myself right back on the bridge snapping people on the train as it flew by. I walked the bridge end to end even though I was petrified off the height and water below me. It's strange how when we're over seas we push ourselves to face our fears and really live life for all it's beauty and wonder.

Tips for a more natural sky:
Often when we expose for a dark subject (in this case the train and the people inside of it) we are met with the difficulties of a blown out sky. It is important to shoot with a polarizing filter when outdoors because it provides detail that can often be recovered later. In the case of this photo the sky was barely existent, but in photoshop I created a brightness/contrast adjustment layer setting my brightness to -150 and my contrast to +100. Adjustment layers automatically creates a mask which you can use to select the areas that you want to be affected. Select the mask in your layers window, and using your paint tool paint absolute black on the areas that you do not want to be affected by your adjustment layer. To create a soft transition between your adjustment layer and your original photo make sure that your brush is set to a lower opacity and is at a minimal hardness.

when we remember,

2008-01-25T17:19:00.009-05:00

these days
we'll exclaim,
"how beautiful!
when we were young and together
with coffee and confusion,
with cold air and harmony ,
with bravery and held breathe,
we held each other up."

I took this photograph through the window of a train while on my way to visit my family. I love the idea of taking a train to see family. It sounds reminiscent, it's comforting, and when I saw this Weston factory I started to ache for the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. It seems certain to me that this landscape has changed little in the past 25 years, it remains timeless. Yet by comparison it was a shaking reminder that I have most obviously changed in the same amount of time. Changes supported by the bravery and harmony of my friends and family.

The relationship between time, memory and the image derives a notion that a modern photograph and a digital technology can be combined to make an image that is reminiscent of our past feelings and artistic tools. The question many ask is, "Why don't you just use a film camera if you want it to look like film?" The answer, we are human beings in need of new methods to observe the dignity of our past while at the same time exploring the freedom and limitless potential of our future.

Fashion Week

2007-03-27T15:49:00.000-04:00

Behind the scenes of Lucian Matis' premiere spring launch.

Sad City,

2006-11-21T14:55:00.002-05:00

these days of distance,

in a city we called our own,

we trekked through streets,

we made them our homes.

Eye Weekly, Stroll- November 20, 2006

This was a really fun shoot. I when urban exploring under the DVP and through the park by the towers. Later I found out that one of my friends lived in one of these towers as a child.

Everything Pretty Wastes,

2006-08-16T15:35:00.004-04:00

take off your jacket dreamer,

lay your soul bare,

there is beauty in what is broken,

love what you cannot repair.

Run Dorothy,

2005-07-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

run and dream of oz.

the ashes of emotion have little against the winds of change.

I snapped this out of the window from the car as Stephanie drove Marco, Josh and I up to the beach on Canada Day.

Fragile Beginnings

2005-06-07T15:20:00.002-04:00

When I first decided to become a freelance photographer my eagerness (and perhaps recklessness) lead me into the office of Peter Bregg who at the time was the chief photographer at Macleans. My prof. at Ryerson had imparted to me the importance of talking to people who were successful in the field that I wanted to go into. It was good advice and I still pass it onto anyone who asks me how to become anything hard.

Peter told me how he got into the industry, showed me his recent work, looked through my portfolio, gave me shooting and lighting tips, told me to carry a camera everywhere, to go digital, to practice practice practice. He never told me that I was awful and that I wouldn't make it. He didn't even tell me to get better - he just helped me see that photography needed to be a passion - everything else would follow. I doubt Peter remembers me now, but that day he showed me a type of kindness that would keep me motivated and energized for years and years.

It took me a couple of months to get a digital camera, and even a few more to start shooting street photography, but I remember the day that I took this photograph (below). I was terrified to ask the elderly man. I went home and got my roommate and went back with him. He stood by my side as I meekly snapped two shots. These days I would take the photograph without a second thought, but somehow looking back I see the fragile beginning as a precious time.

Like Sunshine,

2002-12-19T18:42:00.001-05:00

This is one of the first photos that i took in the Dominican Republic. i had just turned 19, and it was my first time overseas. There were a number of children displaced from their homes in Hati and were living without parents in Bateys near the border. I was there to help build a kitchen in a church where the children were being fed. I have vivid memories of playing baseball with them, of riding in the backs of trucks down steep mountain sides, of spending New Year's Eve on the beach, of floating in cool water under the stars, of feeling helpless, of feeling hope. I ended up taking 17 rolls of film on my Canon Rebel EOS X. It was my first time truly exploring life through the lens. Every time I think back to this time, I think about how lucky I am to have discovered photography in this way.