Hugging the Royals… (almost)

Hi Folks:

Victoria’s October rains are among us once again, which is very good for the aquifer but not so good for hugging (even though we did get our new posters laminated). Once we get a free day that’s clear we’ll be back out again!

As it happened, our two most recent hugging sessions coincided with the arrival and departure of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and family on their tour of Canada. We knew something was up when we saw the legislature grounds being set up the day before their arrival, but needs must so the following day we headed to our usual location at the Homecoming Memorial. We had thought they might get time in their schedule to come and see us, but alas it was not to be. Nonetheless, we had a steady stream of people passing by on their way downtown so we had a wonderfully busy afternoon! Continue Reading →

Photo of the Month – September

Hi Folks:

September was a busy month for Victoria, hosting (among other things) the Classic Boat Festival, the Chalk Art Festival and a visit from the British Royal family. However, in sorting through the 1100+ images we made last month, we were drawn once again to images we made in Beacon Hill Park. It really is a magical place for us. Continue Reading →

Hugging Kelowna

Hi Folks:

Well, since Mike’s mother’s birthday is in September, a week or so ago we departed our little island hideaway for the Okanagan valley. And (for the first time in seven years) our ‘Free Hugs‘ posters departed the island with us. Our Hug Certificates have been downloaded and given out by people all over the world, but we’d yet to do a ‘Free Hugs’ session outside of Victoria. It was time!

Hugging Kelowna

Hugging Kelowna

Mike’s mom was a great sport, not only indulging us in our madness but willingly joining in. We set up by the Sails sculpture off Bernard Street, down by Lake Okanagan. When we do our hugging sessions, we offer but people have to come to us. Those who aren’t interested are welcome to simply pass us by and continue on their way. This location offered us ample space for people to move around us and a bench for Mike’s mom to sit when she tired of standing. We had a lot of fun, and hugged Kelowna tourists and locals alike! We’ll have to remember to bring our posters the next time we go traveling… 🙂

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. Many thanks to the entire(?) wait staff at Earl’s Kitchen + Bar for coming out and hugging us en masse!

Creative Use of the Lightroom Radial Filter

Hi Folks:

It’s been a while since we did a Lightroom tutorial, so it must be time for another one. The Radial Filter is our focus this time; it’s the third and most recent of the three tools in Lightroom (the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated Filter being the other two) that allow you to target specific parts of the image by masking out certain areas and making adjustments to the rest. As such the Radial Filter uses the same layout and the same presets as the other two tools. Let’s get started. Continue Reading →

Photo of the Month – August

Hi Folks:

One of the benefits of living where we do is that we’re frequent visitors to Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park. In addition to the many trees from all over the world, shrubs, perennials, ferns, etc. the park staff plant several thousand flowers every year. And we haven’t mentioned the wildlife, from dragonflies to black-tailed deer. It’s a wonderful place to visit, and the changes through the seasons are something to behold.

As usual we have two images for our photo of the month post, one from Marcia and one from Mike. Both were made with our cell phone cameras, and both were pushed around a bit in Lightroom. Continue Reading →

Photo of the Month – July

Hi Folks:

July holds the birthdays for both of Marcia’s parents, and while her Dad turned 93 this year, her Mom passed away several years ago. To honour her Mother’s memory, every year Marcia buys a rose and gives it away to a passing stranger – usually an older woman with whom she feels an affinity. Below is an image of this year’s gift:

Mom's Birthday Rose

Mom’s Birthday Rose

One day while Marcia was away celebrating her Dad’s birthday, Mike went for a walk in John Dean Provincial Park, just north of Victoria. There are many levels of beauty in this park, from the old Douglas fir trees to the salal berries, to an insect superhighway cut through a leaf. One only needs eyes to see.

Insect Highway

Insect Highway

Okay, that’s it for now. Go out and make some photographs!

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. For Marcia’s Dad’s birthday we put together a 40-page book containing 68 of Marcia’s photographs. If you’re interested you can see a preview of the first 15 pages (and purchase the book) here: My Photographs

Photo of the Month – June

Hi Folks:

Choosing our photos of the month for June was, well, a Mammoth undertaking!! This was mostly because the mammoth exhibit from the Field Museum in Chicago is currently on loan to the Royal BC Museum here in Victoria. As museum members, we were among the first to get to see the exhibit when it opened. Continue Reading →

International Free Hugs Day, 2016

Hi Folks:

As last Saturday (the first Saturday in July) was International Free Hugs Day, we were out at our usual location (Victoria’s Homecoming Memorial, by Ship Point) offering hugs to locals and visitors alike. This was our 9th hugging session this year, but because it was International Free Hugs Day we extended an invitation to friends and members of our local photography group to come and join us… and join us they did! Continue Reading →

The Why of Hugging

Hi Folks:

In our last ‘Free Hugs’ post we detailed the process of making our new ‘Free Hugs’ posters. Below we have the lovely Marcia modeling one of them for us.

New Posters in Action!

New Posters in Action!

We’ve been offering free hugs to locals and visitors (and other species) for seven years now, and (without question 🙂 ) the one question we get asked more than any other is, “Why are you doing this?Continue Reading →

Eating Our Way Through Victoria – Breakfast Out

Hi Folks:

In Marcia’s family the favourite meal to eat-out has always been breakfast. On the road? Get up early, take on a few miles (or kilometres), then pull over and have a hearty meal.

Victoria is blessed with many fine restaurants that are open for breakfast, and today we thought we’d profile two of them. We only write about restaurants we like because if we’d had a bad experience somewhere it may have been the chef’s day off, the server was having a bad day or something else, but a good meal, shared, is something to treasure.

Without further ado… 🙂

Continue Reading →