A Day, A Week, Hemant, A Year

It was about two and a half years ago that I started to dabble in photography. I had always had an interest in it, but just never had the equipment, or took the time to learn about it. It was at this time that I took the plunge and spent some money on equipment and workshops, learning the details of the art from trained professionals. I can’t stress how much I learned from working closely with those in the industry. It let me learn things about my hobby that I would never have learned from books, or the internet.

One of my projects in an Intermediate Portrait Photography class required the students to spend some time with a subject to take shots of them in various poses. One of my friends was in a local Guelph band and it turned out they were looking for someone to take photos for them. It worked out great for both of us. Free photos for them, and great practice for me.

I took in a number of their shows, letting me fire off a lot of shots. I managed to get some decent ones out of the many I took. I found it difficult get really good shots at the shows since lighting was an issue. It wasn’t until the band and I arranged a session at a local studio that I finally got some pretty strong shots. After firing off around 500 photos, there was a number that I was really pleased with. I burned the photos for the band on a DVD and handed them over. It was up to the band to use them as they wished. I figured they would end up on their website and on their upcoming CD. Cool!

I don’t know about anyone else, but every once in a while I Google myself - that is I do Google search on ‘Hemant Naidu’ just to see what pops up. I Googled myself this afternoon and saw the usual - my name at the University of Saskatchewan Alumni page, a few websites I used to run, and a whole bunch of information on other guys named ‘Hemant Naidu’. But today I noticed one extra - Not There benefit CD Against Wal-Mart’. After clicking on the link I saw that the CD was done as a protest against the building of a Wal-Mart in Guelph, Ontario (it’s a long story, and I’m not going to get into it here) - and I was on the credits for the CD, under ‘Artist Photos’.

Since I still do hold the city of Guelph close to my heart, and do support the effort of the CD, I decided to purchase one online for a cool 25 bucks. Plus, I think it will be pretty cool to see my photos, and name on its insert! I’m not sure what photos they used, so the suspense of its arrival is killing me. I personally think this is pretty cool, even though it was only a benefit CD put on by local Guelph artists. But hey, I can’t expect to be on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine yet!

You can check out the website for this benefit CD here.

Anyone who knows me is aware that music plays a big part in my life. I love listening to it no matter what I’m doing - it’s safe to say that the only time I’m not listening to music is when I’m watching TV. My music tastes have changed a lot in the last few years, seeing me stray away from one specific genre to a more eclectic mix. As I get older, I have also grown out of my music snobbery that had plagued me in my days as a student.

I thought I would document my favourite albums (in no particular ofer) from 2005 - more-or-less, the soundtrack to my life for the passed year. Hopefully some of you take the time to give them a listen.

1) Coheed & Cambria - “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1 : From Fear through the Eyes of Madness” : Despite the insanely tedious album name, this CD really grew on my during my 90 minute commute to Saskatoon during my first month of work. This is the 3rd in a series of concept albums based on science fiction graphic novels by one of the band members. For more on the band visit http://www.coheedandcambria.com and http://www.cobaltandcalcium.com.

2) Alexisonfire - “Watchout” : Even though this album was actually released in the summer of 2004, I’m including in my list since I didn’t pay any attention to it until 2005. For those of you who have never heard of ’screamo’ music, that’s what this is. It is basically a mix of ‘emo’ rock and screaming. I know it sounds strange, but you’d be surprised how it can grow on you. The first time I heard a song by Alexisonfire I was thinking, “Who the heck would listen to something like this?” I kept getting little tastes of them and soon found myself compelled to buy the album. The mix of soft vocals, death metal vocals, and emo riffs is an unlikely, but great sound. For more on this band from St. Catherines, Ontario visit http://www.theonlybandever.com.

3) K’naan - “The Dusty Foot Philosopher” : This hip-hop album isn’t your run-of-the-mill hip-hop album. K’naan is a Somalian refuge who now lives in Toronto. His lyrics tell the story of his life experiences in the African nation against a fusion of African beats and hip-hop grooves. K’naan actually has something to say like his hip-hop pioneers, taking us away from the ‘gangsta’ garbage that has recently plagued mainstream rap. For more on K’naan, visit http://www.thedustyfoot.com.

4) The Mars Volta - “Frances the Mute” - If you want to put labels on a band, The Mars Volta would be considered ‘prog rock’ (progressive rock). Their music is often considered experimental, pushing the bounds of what some may even call music. This is not the type of album that you’re gonna love the first time you listen to it, but the more you do, the more it grows on you. For more information on this band from L.A., visit http://www.themarsvolta.com.

5) Esthero - “Wikked Little Grrrls” - Seven years passed between her debut album “Breath From Another” which you could intrepret as this album was going to be completely amazing, or it was so bad that it took that long to work out the bugs. This Toronto girl was definitely feeling the pressure over the last seven years after turning the heads of so many industry big-whigs. I personally can say that I was pleased with the album, even though I probably prefer her rookie effort in “Breath From Another”. “Wikked Little Grrrls” is all over the place, ranging from smooth jazz to hip-hop. I really thing there is something for everyone on this one. For more on Esthero visit http://www.nearlycivilized.com.

New Years Eve always seems to cause a dilemma for everyone when trying to come up with plans for the evening. Now that I was settled into my townhouse I decided that I would have my closest friends over for the evening to ring in the new year. The guest list was worked out and the invitations were sent about a week prior to Christmas.

The agenda for the evening was nothing more than for friends to sit around and enjoy each other’s company, some food, and some spirits. I spent the day of the party getting everything ready - picking up food that I had ordered, preparing Hors D’oeuvre I decided to make, and getting things straightened out around the condo. There really wasn’t much to do, but I ended taking longer than I expected.

It was good for everything to get done so I could just wait around for my guests to arrive. The evening went well, and think everyone had a good time. I was a little worried there wouldn’t be enough food, but it looked like I had exactly the right amount. Thanks for everyone who managed to attend and make the evening a success, and I’m sorry a few of you didn’t get a chance to stop by. Maybe next time. Special thanks goes out to Travis and Curtis for helping me with food and spirits, and getting things ready.

Please take a moment to check out some shots I took during the evening by clicking here.