A refining of direction

I've been struggling for some time trying to figure out what to do with this blog. My natural writing style seems to lean towards theology and philosophy, but neither of those topics have a direct place on a photography website, although photography can contain elements of each.

One would think I would write about photography here, but there are many other people far more capable and knowledgeable writing on the subject already; one of my favorite photography writers is local Vancouverite David Duchemin. While I probably have insight into what it's like to be a semi-professional photographer just starting out, my friend Adam Loewen is already writing from a similar perspective with much more eloquence than I can muster on a semi-regular basis.

The truth is that I am a huge procrastinator, suffer from my own unique blend of self-diagnosed ADD and OCD, and am just plain forgetful. I like havign a plan, but rarely stick to one. I enjoy objectives, but often feel cramped. In the end, life seems to get in the way of writing far too often.

Nevertheless, I spent some time in Stanley Park today, and came up with an idea. Over the next few months, I will spend some time doing a photographic exploration of this city that I currently call home. This will be part travelogue, part photo exhibition, part bike adventure. I plan on visiting everything I can within biking distance of my home on Powell street, and maybe a few locations farther afield. These locales will include, but won't be limited to, Stanley Park, Chinatown, Granville Island, Kitsalano and maybe UBC, Lonsdale Quay and perhaps some of North Van, and of course the Downtown East Side. I will include pictures, as well as some of my thoughts on the neighbourhood, the people, and the landscape.

I should have the first article up in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned. 

Wedding # 5

I've just finished editing Garret and Breanne's wedding - this one took a lot longer than I thought, for several reasons. First, it was an overcast day, which required more color tweaking than I thought it would. Second, I moved the day after the wedding, and spent the last month adjusting to life here. 

Regardless, it's done now, and there's some great shots. I've also learned my lesson about double-booking my time ;)

Other than that, life is good. I took a spontaneous trip up to Prince George last week, and I might put a couple shots from that trip up here. Life in the DTES continues as 'normal' - last night my entire block was taped off by the police because of a guy threatening to jump off a building down the street. Thankfully they managed to get him down safe and sound, but it really brought home to me just how desperate some people are down here. Depression and mental illness is such a terrifying spectre at the best of times - now imagine facing that without the safety net of friends and family. Add abuse into the mix, and you have a deadly concoction. It is little wonder that people turn to addiction and suicide to escape the pain that they are in. Fortunately in this case the man was able to be helped... I just hope that I can help make a difference in someone's life, and let them know that they are loved.

Life in the DTES

I've been here for almost two weeks now, so I've decided that this would be a good day to say a little something about life down here. 

Here's the thing: people are people, wherever you go. People on the street are not monsters, not evil, and not all murderers, rapists, and gang members. In fact, you are probably more likely to run in to one of those types in Abbotsford or Surrey than you are here in the DTES. Here, the people are addicted to any of a variety of substances, often mentally ill, and poor. Yes, they are often unpredictable and hard to communicate with, but they are also Good, and loved by God.

I've been learning this week what it means to be Small. I'm very purposefully limiting my focus to today, and ignoring as much as I can what may or may not happen a week, month, or year from now. I live for today, and the most important question I ask is 'how do I love better?'

So this is my new motto that has emerged from the DTES: Live small, love huge. It sounds so simple in premise, but in practice I think it will take me a lifetime to fully grasp.

Systems, Chaos, and Control

'You see, if we have someone on night shift at the front door, there's someone there to fight with. If there's no one there, the drunk angry guy just goes to bed instead of starting a fight. We're actually better off with less control.'

This is just one of the surprising statements from the mouth of Mr. Gordon Wiebe, my mentor. This guy is forcing me to think - really think. Not the kind of thinking required to get an A on a paper, but the kind of thinking required to actually re-evaluate life, leadership, and God. I like it.

How do complex systems emerge? How do we truly be a 'servant of all'? What does it take to create stability on a street of continually-shifting chaos? What really is salvation, what truly is a 'better' life?

I don't have answers for these questions. I can barely formulate them into coherent thoughts. However, the idea of organic growth, of growth based upon a truly (and some would say extreme) servant-leadership model is astounding. To my brain, it shouldn't work. Having no night shift at the front desk of a hotel in downtown Hastings should lead to chaos within the building, but it hasn't. The building is actually better off and more stable than it was a year ago, when more safeguards were in place. It's weird, crazy, and it's working.

Of course, there are still rules, and still problems. There is just enough structure here to create a system which allows growth to take place, if one knows how to look for and define growth.

Day one, and my head is already exploding. This will be an interesting time.

Vancouver

If you are new to this blog, welcome! Today begins a new chapter in the crazy journey of my life - I'm moving to one of the poorest areas of North America: East Hastings, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Today I went and met with Gordon, my mentor, and checked out the room where I will be saying, just around the corner from the infamous Pigeon Park. Fortunately this trip relieved a lot of the fears that had been building up in my head over the past couple of days.

First, the room that I am staying in has a bathroom (with shower!), a washer and dryer, AND a kitchen. The tradeoff is that my bed'room' is behind a curtain in a shared space - seldom used in the evenings and mornings, but shared nonetheless. Personally, I couldn't be happier with this arrangement - it seems like the perfect mix of independent and communal living. Of course, only time will tell how this will really play out, but for now it looks as grand to me as a 5-star resort.

Second, the people are as cool as I remember. Gordon is a great absent-minded professor type. He's visionary, intelligent, and always thinking about eight things at once. Fortunately for him (and me) his daughter runs the business end of the operation, and makes sure all the details fit where they are supposed to.

Third, East Hastings has become real once more. Hastings, like most places, carries a caricature that slowly forms in one's mind. Such imaginations of places seldom resemble reality, and such is the case for Hastings. Yes, there are many people there dealing with issues far larger than you or I will ever deal with. But underneath the addiction, abuse, and pain, there are human beings begging to be treated as such and pleading to be loved. That is the true East Hastings - broken people congregating with the hope of finding some kind of escape or freedom. Is the Church really all that different?

I spent the second half of today wandering the streets of Vancouver, watching people and thinking about this city. It's been a gorgeous day for people-watching, and I'm beginning to gain a real sense of appreciation for this diverse and sometimes crazy city. If you follow this blog over the next eight months you should see three patterns emerge: My thoughts about people and systems, my learning experiences in the world of professional photography, and some thoughts on Faith and my encounters with God in the place 'where the devil lives'. I hope you'll join me.

Oh, and can someone please comment on this so I know my comments work? I haven't had any since I switched to the new host, and I'm starting to get worried that something is broken.