So, here I am, overusing word "so" among other things. Struggling freelance photographer, build contractor and sociopolitical awareness advocate. What does it all mean. Well, photography is my passion, had my own darkroom since I was 12 (to be precise, I would turn our bathroom into a darkroom for days at the time, believe me, my mom wasn't happy about that, but, hey, she bought me the equipment, so...), spent endless nites working on B&Ws as a youngster. My very first camera was Smena Symbol, then Zenit-E. When immigrated to Canada, had a long break in photography due to financial and "just life" reasons.
Once the digital era arrived, I couldn't wait to get back on a horse, and I was an early adopter of digital, my first digital camera was QuickTake 200. Nowadays I have an Olympus E-system, and take photos mainly for friends, brochures, web, advertising and such. Specialize in paysage, nature, floral and macro photography. Last few years I also developed a need for more of an artistic approach to photography, more abstract and heavy image manipulation. See my #fotoart collection, which is just in it's infancy, but it'll grow.
My professional life (money making necessity) took me all over the place, spent large portion of it in ergonomics, building and then designing office environments, basically a glorified furniture mover with set of tools and specific technical skills. Due to the industry being overrun by incompetence and greed I decided, after nearly 20 years, it was time for a change. So, these days I'm a contractor and I build, among other things, cottages, decks, docks etc. I have been doing that for the last 6 years now and living in northern Canada, in a town of 1500, I must say, it's a lot more enjoyable then the skyscrapers of Toronto and other big cities (although I do miss the travel aspect), that I left behind. In my spare time I love playing video games, especially racing (my long life dream was to be a race driver, even built my own racing simulator), but also adventure and puzzle games. I also have a weakness for old Sci-Fi and Film noir. There is something about old black and white movies, that the new cinema just can't produce.
Now, as far as social awareness goes, I spent most of my life in large cities, basically the cesspools of society, not that there is no goodness in cities, but predominantly they are a conglomeration of all that is wrong with our society, and now I am breathing a fresh air, being 45 and seeing the world from a different perspective. Even before I ended up living in middle of nowhere, or as my friend calls me -"yo-yo in the woods", I've always had a distaste for a standard, consumerist society. Society that turns a blind eye to what really is happening in the world as a whole and just being preoccupied with their own petty, gluttonous lives. In younger years I was very voracious about turning people onto the "right" path, but these days, I try more to lead by example and show people that there is a way to live closer to being in harmony with nature and sustainability, being less parasite on this earth. Sure, am I perfect, far from it, but at least I make real efforts. So, leading by example and opening people's eyes to sociopolitical situation, even though it might sound like some conspiracy theory, is how I fight the good fight. Of course that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.
