Hit 'n Strum... Accepted into the Canadian Film Festival!

This amazing independent movie was recently accepted into the Canadian Film Festival, Premiering March 31st in Toronto. Not only did Kirk Caouette write, direct and star in the movie, he also wrote and performed the incredible soundtrack that goes with it.

This film has so much heart... xoxo

 

Hit 'n Strum official trailer 2012 from Kirk Caouette on Vimeo.

Written, Directed and Starring Kirk Caouette. With Michelle Harrison and Paul McGillion.

Produced by Jacqueline Nguyen, Michael Gordin Shore, John Cassini, Shawn McLaughlin.

Associate producers Gina Chiarelli, Pieter Stathis

Sound designer Jon Ritchie
Director of Photography Pieter Stathis
Editor Su Fraser

I had the honor of shooting stills on set, to see more of the photos, click here.

 

A girl can dream, right??

I'm a dreamer. And a realist. But right now I am dreaming of this heavenly home in Spain belonging to Consuelo Castiglioni. I love the minimalism, and yet the richness in texture and warmth. Yes, I think I could be quite comfy in this abode...

 

Photos by Francois Halard

Look What I found! Sunrise at Angkor Wat...

While giving my camera bag a thorough cleaning from a month of travels, I came across a hidden CF card in an inner compartment. My heart jumped. Could it be?? Could I have hidden a CF card from my travels that wasn't formatted (and later stolen)?? Yes. It is true. I hid a card with some of the photos from my morning in Angkor Wat.

After doing some research on what temples to see, I realized that everyone visits Angkor Wat, the main temple, at sunrise. The sun rises behind the temple, creating a silhouette, which is a lovely image, but to me, this becomes quite boring. I thought there would be other sites to take advantage of in the morning light. So we started the day at Ta Prohm, also known as "the Angelina Temple" by the local guides, as this is where Tomb Raider was filmed. At first light, the surrounding jungle was beginning to make itself known with various bird and animal calls. The morning light began streaming through the ancient trees, pouring onto the elaborately carved stones of the crumbling temple. Wandering through the intricate passageways and courtyards, we literally had the whole temple to ourselves... it was magical.

Here are a few precious photos from one of my favorite experiences of the trip. Cambodia truly is a special place.

 

All photos taken at Ta Prohm except the last one, which was at Bayon, the temple with 216 carved faces.

there's just something about markets...

I've always been drawn to markets. Markets are usually in the center of it all. They represent people coming together to buy, to sell, to gossip, to visit, to get advice, to share, to taste, to trade. This is something that has gone on for ages all around the world, and it creates a beautiful energy easily drawn in to. For me, the local market is the best way to get to know an area: you can quickly determine the local produce and foods, the prices usually determine how isolated you are, the locals' reactions determine the frequency of tourists. Ultimately, it’s a no frills way to experience a place and its people. We sought these out in all the cities we visited, getting a taste of the unique flavors of each place.

Here are some iphone snaps from Vietnam and Cambodian markets...

Lumps & bumps & a really hard lesson

Recently I was sent this link called The 3 A's of Awesome, if you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it. In this inspirational talk, one thing Neil Pasricha touches upon is life as having lumps and bumps along the way. Since watching it,  I have used the phrase quite regularly. Especially so on this last adventure to Vietnam and Cambodia. Let's see... here are just a few of the "lumps and bumps" I experienced along the way...

-getting hit by a motor-bike driven by a Russian tourist when his brakes failed (or so his story goes)

-having a full body heat rash for the first week (at least it wasn't fungus, which was my first fear)

-losing my favorite anklet I got on a trip to Indonesia with my brother

-getting food poisoning (imagine sleeping on the floor of a moldy bathroom getting sick for 2 days- not cool)

-having my battery charger blow up in the electrical socket and couldn't charge my camera batteries for the rest of the trip

-falling on some rocks by the ocean, hurting my knee and wrist and bouncing my head off the rocks

-ruining 2 favorite pairs of sunglasses

And finally... having my laptop stolen with 2 days left on the trip.

Most of them are little things that happen in life (well, sometimes my life feels a bit more troublesome than most, especially when I travel!). Anklets, sunglasses and battery chargers can be replaced, my body will always heal itself (and luckily there were no broken bones), but it's the stolen laptop that's really hard to swallow.

I didn't back up my laptop. There, I said it.

I lost all my travel photos from the trip, but more importantly were the photos taken by the children in the orphanages we visited. I am so angry with myself for not being more responsible... I had every intention of backing up... I even had a portable hard drive with me! The photos were for a project... a foundation I am starting that is centered around supplying cameras to orphanages around the world, giving these children a voice to share their vision, to learn, to be empowered... to have fun! Luckily, the video footage is still intact, and I will share that as soon as I have something put together.

So the point of all of this... there will always be lumps and bumps along the way, but if there are things you have been putting off (like updating your software so you can use icloud) or other precautions you could take so the big lessons will instead just be little bumps... then do it!

The few photos I didn't lose were from my iphone... here are some of the incredible children we had the pleasure of meeting.