David Sweeney Photography

C41 processed Black & White film.

2012-02-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in a while, so just wanted to quickly share an image. I recently was given some Portra B&W 400ASA C41 film (that's right colour film - but it shoots as black&white). So I went out for a drive with my lovely wife a few weekends ago, and shot off a roll. Here is a sample....

1st Place for "Misty Morning Light Dance"

2011-12-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lxdesign/6304590423/

The Beach Photo Club held its first digital competition of the year on Thursday December 1st, and my image from the "Haliburton Forest Project" got a 1st place in the category of "Mist & Fog for the Intermediate/Advanced level. The competition was fierce, but good images prevailed! And I nearly also got the Best In Show, but I was beat out by another image of equal goodness. Oh well - maybe next time for the Best In Show.

Beach Photo Club 2012 Calendar launch

2011-08-27T20:59:00.001-07:00

President David Sweeney of the Beach Photo Club (BPC)
invites you to attend the launch of yet another exciting
initiative that celebrates the Beach.

THE BEACH 2012 CALENDAR
On September 6th at 7:30 pm at Community Centre 55, the Beach Photo Club, a community non-profit organization, in partnership with Vistek and Community Centre 55, will launch its second-ever professional-quality calendar focused on the Beach community.
Sponsored by Vistek, the calendar is an initiative that will support arts and social services in the Beach community while celebrating the Beach. A portion of each sale will go back to BPC and Community Centre 55 toward their valued programs.
The beautiful pictures in this calendar were taken by BPC members and were juried and selected by a panel of notable local community members. Featuring forty-nine spectacular images of the Beach, this stunning photo product is a practical calendar that emphasizes the seasons in the Beach, and includes photo tips for all who want to sharpen their photographic skills.
The calendar will sell for $20 and is available through club members, Community Centre 55, and selected retailers.
This launch will include an exhibit of the 13 main images, many of the club photographers whose images grace the calendar and some of the individuals who played a key role in the juried selection of the 2012 calendar photos. Please join us to celebrate this unique community endeavour.
Information:
Nancy Culver, Community Centre 55 416-691-1113
Mike MacLaverty, Beach Photo Club 416-690-6405
Community Centre 55 at 97 Main Street is accessible by TTC: Main Street Station

(Preview of my image "The Gazebo Painters" appears above here as a sample)

Doors Open Toronto 2011

2011-05-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of those who dropped by at Black Creek Pioneer Village this weekend - May 28th and 29th 2011. If you would like more information on my work, please feel free to contact me directly at lxdesign@rogers.com. I sell my work in several different ways, including framed and unframed prints, greeting cards, and more.

You may also have learned about my Millworks project while you stopped in to see my Pioneer Photography display. I also photograph historic mills. You can check out some of the images on my flickr page at www.flickr.com/lxdesign

Thank you, and hope to hear from you soon!

MILLWORKS 2011

2011-04-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

Come and check out Millworks 2011, opening on Monday May 2nd 2011, and running until Thursday May 26th 2011. Millworks 2011 will also be on display at Black Creek Pioneer Village on May 28th and 29th for this year's Doors Open Toronto event. David will be at the Town Hall at Black Creek giving advice to th public on photography of historic buildings. Please drop by if you can to either the exhibit or Doors Open at Black Creek.

Japan photo industry distupted by tsunami quake....

2011-03-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

The recept earth quake and resulting tsunami in Japan has affected the photography industry pretty heavily. I found an interesting article on the subject at Adorama.... http://www.adorama.com/alc/news/Japan-photo-industry-disrupted-by-quake

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2011, and another year of great photography. As I start off the new year with a new camera model, I would love to share with you a sacred moment that I got to share at the Toronto Zoo this past Thursday. While testing out my brand new barely hours old D7000, I got to witness the arctic wolves howling. Apparently this is a common occurance, but rarely happens during visiting hours - only early in the morning, or later in the evening according to zoo staff. I captured the image of this fellow on a hilltop in their enclosure, and as you can see the air was cold enough to show his breath. What a sight! Happy New Year to all.

Algonquin Moose

2010-10-20T20:19:00.001-07:00

On Monday September 27th 2010 I trekked up to Algonquin park, coming from Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve where I was staying that weekend. My intention - to shoot Oxtongue Rapids for sunrise, and then venture over to the Opeongo road to see Moose. Well... Moose is exactly what I would see that day, and lots of them!

As the morning proceeded at Opeongo road, I did the usual drive slow up the road and scan left and right looking for any sign of wildlife - like many do every day. Once I reached the lake, it was time to turn around, and then come back the meadow where the new bridge has been built. This would turn out to be the spot of gold. We tracked a bull which appeared to come out suddenly from nowhere. He came to the point in the meadow, and then back towards us to the bridge, then crossing right over the road, and up into the hill where the hydro line was. Obviously he knew this path well, as he had no problem forging his way between a group of photographers and nature watchers that has massed. We would follow this guy for the next couple of hours, as he made another appearance not 20 minutes later into the second meadow. My favourite shot of the day was from his second pose, where he stopped to take a drink of water in the river. The river was nice and calm, and I got the perfect reflection shot - a great nature story ineed! Thank you to the Moose of Algonquin.

Fall Colours Are Coming!

2010-09-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

As we approach the end of September, leaves are starting to change all around us! This is my favorite time of the year, with warm days, and cool nights making it wonderful weather for being outdoors. I have also been spending a lot of time on the weekend's this past month up in Haliburton at the Haliburton Forest Wildlife Reserve, where my wife and I lease a campsite, and have a trailer on our site. Last weekend we observed a very nice start to fall colours in the highlands of Haliburton. The forest property borders on Algonquin Park - and from what I observed - I am thinking that the upcoming week will definately be prime time to visit Algonquin park for fall colours.

We may get a nice showing right up until the October 2nd/3rd weekend, but I believe that by Thanksgiving weekend, we may have significant loss of leaves - this is just my prediction - I could be wrong! In any which case --- get outside - and check out the fall colours in your area over the next few weeks - 2010 should be an awesome year for colour.

Have fun, and keep shooting!

July Update

2010-07-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is here, and in full swing, I have been spending much more time up north in the Haliburton area. I am developing a series of images from the Haliburton Forest, which I have been shooting for several years. With the 200-400VR in my line-up now, I am also hoping to spend time tracking and shooting wildlife in the forest. August is the perfect month for that, as the mosquitto's retreat, and cooler nights pervail. I am hoping to get a decent Moose image this year -- or at least that is my goal.

Some other project's that I continue to work on include the MILLWORKS project, and I am looking for an exhibition space and/or sponsorship to mount a much larger display of the Millworks images. If you would like to contribute or know someone that I should speak to, please contact me directly. I would love to talk with you. I am also going to be relaunching my self-published Millworks book upcoming in the fall of 2010. Look for more info on that.

As always - you can see some of the latest things I have been shooting at www.flickr.com/lxdesign

Photographers That Inspire!

2010-06-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

In a recent issue of Outdoor Photography Canada, I was inspired by a couple of seasoned nature/wildlife photographers. The first was an article titled "Whats in my bag", where a professional wildlife/nature photographer dissects the gear that they carry around. This month was featuring Kelly Funk. I was surprised how closely matched our gear was. He also has the 200-400VR which I recently acquired. His website is www.naturalwonders.ca

The second photographer, of course is Darwin Wigget. I always look at his sunrise or landscape images, with inspiration to achieve a higher standards in my own photography. Darwin is a regular writer for Outdoor Photographer, and I love getting the magazine and seeing what he has to say.

This coming summer and fall, I am going to be concentrating more on my nature/landscape and wildlife work. I will be spending a lot of time at the Haliburton Forest Wildlife Reserve, where my wife and I lease a campsite on Black Lake. I spend many Saturday and Sunday mornings getting up at 5am, and driving up the north road to look for wildlife and/or a nice sunrise spot to shoot at. There are several good locations for sunrise, and I will continue to find more this coming season.

Millworks Lecture / SPOOM Spring Millers Day

2010-06-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, this is an update as of Thursday June 3rd 2010. There is a lot going on this week!! Starting off with the end of the MILLWORKS II exhibit which was taken down this past Tuesday evening. Thank you to all of those who dropped by to take a look at the images. I received tons of positive feedback. I didn't sell any of the work from the show - so if you are interested in purchasing anything, please feel free to contact me! Keep in mind that I can also do custom sizing, and images.

Secondly, tonight is my presentation to the Beach Photo Club. I will present the body of work that I have spent the last 2 years putting together on the MILLWORKS project. The presentation will run approximately 1.5 hours, and includes a 20 minute slideshow set to classical music. If you are looking for something to do tonight, please feel free to come and listen to the talk. There is a $5 drop in fee for the club - location is St. Aiden's Church - Memorial Hall, 70 Silverbirch Avenue in the Beaches.

Finally, this coming Saturday June 5th is the SPOOM (Society For The Preservation Of Old Mills - Canadian Chapter) Spring millers day! SPOOM will be meeting in the morning at Chaffey's lock/Chaffey's Mill, and the rest of the day will revolve around the Delta Old Stone Mill which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year! At the Spring Millers day, I will be promoting my project, giving out post cards, and talking about the future of the project. I am crossing my fingers that my new post cards arrive in time for Friday.

MILLWORKS II Now on display!

2010-05-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

MILLWORKS II, May 5th to 31st 2010 at Tan Coffee, 992 Queen Street West. Now on display, un-officially part of the Contact photography festival in Toronto. This is David's second installation of his Ontario Historic Mill photographic project. Millworks mission is to capture Ontario's milling history through photographic documentary. Come by and see the exhibit!

The Millworks Project turns 2!

2010-03-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that yesterday was the 2nd birthday of the Millworks Photography Project. On March 24th 2008, I began photographing historic mills as an official project. The rest is history. That first day out on the project, I had taken the day off work, and headed east into the Duham region. It was there that I found Tyrone Mill, and fell in love. I continued on my journey, seeing close to 6 mills that day. (Balls Mill. Cream Of Barley Mill, Vanstone Mill, Molson Mill, Tyrone Mill, and The Brooklin Flour Mill). Since that day, I have probably seen close to 200 mills across the province.

Most of the mills are in different conditions, from falling apart, just parts lying in a river bed, to fully functioning and operational. As I embark on the 3rd year of the project, I am looking forward to discovering many of the mills that I have not seen yet.

MILLWORKS 2

2010-03-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

Now that I am back in Toronto, and my contract with the Yukon First Nation's is over... Its time for me to turn my attention to my upcoming exhibition! MILLWORKS 2! This will be the second installation of my historic mill photography project titled MILLWORKS at Tan Coffee shop 992 Queen St. W. here in Toronto during the month of May 2010. I will be announcing more details about the exhibition and a small reception that I am hoping to have. To see more images from the MILLWORKS project, please visit: www.flickr.com/lxdesign and navigate to the Mill project photo set.

Last Day in Vancouver

2010-02-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today was the last big day in Vancouver. Tomorrow morning I will be heading home. Today was our last show at the O-Zone in Richmond! We had an excellent show as part of the Pan North presentation on the mainstage at the O-Zone. With a modest crowd, it was one of our best lighting shows, with movers, and LED's twinkling above... the performers of YFN did an awesome job! I hope that I will have another opportunity in the future to work with these guys, it has been an excellent experience being here in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. I am going to miss this experience.

Vancouver Report: Feb 22nd

2010-02-22T22:43:00.001-08:00

Today was a day off.... and how better spend the day, then head downtown to take in the sounds and sights of the Olympic experience. Tonight, I hung out with some friends at the Canada Hockey House, where we watched the woman's hockey team win victorious 5 to 0. What a game! Tomorrow is our show at the Richmond O-Zone!

Vancouver Report; February 21st

2010-02-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

Today was the big day of our show "What The Land Remembers" presented at the Aboriginal Pavilion here in beautiful Vancouver. The day started off early for us with a 6am load-in. We arrived this morning to connect the microphones and lighting gear which was additional to the provided equipment of the pavilion. Our shows were at 10am, and on the hour, every how with the last show at 2pm. The show was fantastic! And we had easily over 1000 people come over the 4 shows. This was the highlight of our experience here at the Vancouver Winter Games 2010. A reception was held afterward for the contingent from the Yukon First Nations. Tomorrow is our day off, and I am hoping to meet up with my friend Phil who is here working for Sam Robert's, and take a walk in Stanley Park.

Vancouver Update - Feb 20th

2010-02-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

I had an excellent day today here in Vancouver! Taking a break in the morning at the house, but then I headed downtown around noon to catch the Northwest Territory show at the Aboriginal Pavilion. There were a couple of performers in the show whom I have worked with before from Iqaluit. The show was excellent, and they got a standing ovation - one which was definately deserved.

I had a couple of hours to waste, so I walked around downtown for a bit. Then I was off to BC Stadium for the Victory Ceremony tonight! That was awesome.. as the Yukon was featured tonight, and the Dakhka Khwaan Dancers from our contingent were featured as part of the entertainment. They did a fabulous job of course... and we didn't end up staying for very long, heading home shortly after the headliner act went on.

Tomorrow we have a very early morning, 6am setup at the Aboriginal Pavilion for our show.

Update: Friday Feb 19th

2010-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

Today was our first show at the Surrey live site! And the show went very well. We are part of the Pan North presentation at both the Surrey and Richmond live sites. Our next live site performance is on the 23rd in Richmond. We are getting ready for the big presentation however this coming Sunday at the Aboriginal Pavilion in downtown Vancouver. It should be the highlight of the trip!

YFN 2010: Wednesday February 17th

2010-02-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

Here is today's report from Vancouver! It was an absolutely gorgeous day here today weather wise in Vancouver. Sunny +10 or more... and a nice day to just relax! After yesterday's marathon walk, I wasn't about to do that again, so I spent half of the day relaxing at the house. We had a very nice "columbian" style egg breakfast made by Diego our sound man. The crew (director, SM and SD) headed off to the rehearsal in Richmond around 12:30pm. I headed to Broadway Camera around 2pm in search of miniDV tapes for the camera.

As it turns out, Broadway Camera was completely sold out of tapes, but there was a Sony Style store directly across the street, and they had ME class tapes, which was perfect! And exactly what I needed.

I then headed to rehearsal to meet up with our 43 performers and crew in Richmond. I got to ride on the "Canada Line" train on my route. An un-manned subway system, which was quite interesting. The train was packed, but that was to be expected given the events going on around town. I arrived in time for the thunderous sounds of the grand finale of our show. We had a very nice dinner at the hotel where our performers were staying, and afterwards headed to the OZone in Richmond to check out the live site where we will be performing the show on the 23rd.

After seeing the live site, we headed back to the house together in a cab, and called it a night. All in all, a nice day in Vancouver.

Day 1 in Vancouver...

2010-02-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

Today, was the first full day in Vancouver, and we started off the morning by sleeping in a bit... but that was perfectly fine with us. We headed to the Aboriginal pavilion for 12pm to do a site tour. We arrived with a show just about to commence, so we ended up watching it. It was showcasing the Cree indians of Canada, and it was a good presentation. I was able to get a good idea of the lighting situaiton. The venue is very small, so there is not much we can do, but we are adding some fixture's for gobo's, and that is a good thing.

Once we were done at the pavilion, Alejandro and Diego (director and sound designer) went their seperate way, as they needed to go to the airport to collect some of the gear which was coming in as cargo. Chris and I headed to Yaletown with Chris's friend Phil. Phil worked on the opening ceremony, and will be working on the closing as well as other events throughout the olympics. We had lunch at a very nice restaurant in Yaletown - which used to be an industrial area of Vancouver. It has been converted into an area that reminds me of Toronto's distillery district.

We were thinking of going to the Yaletown live site after lunch, however long line-ups didn't seem attractive, thus we ended up deciding the take the ferry across to Granville island, and checking out the scene over there. While over at the island, I was stunned by the gorgeous view of Vancouver's downtown west area - over near Stanley Park. There was a beautiful mountain range in the background. So I decided to split from Chris and Phil, and headed for a walk to Vanier Park. The view paid off - it was stunning, and got some great photos.

I then spent the next 5 hours or so in downtown Van. I took the ferry over to the mainland of downtown, and walked up Horby. I did a stop into Robson square, where there was quite the buzz. I decided to return, but first - I was flame bound! That's right.... the olympic flame (outdoors). So off I went, and saw, and took pics. Then back to Robson square! There wasn't much going on, so I just sat down for a while, took a load off, and once I was refreshed, headed for the bus and back to the house.

Highlight of the day: The Olympic Flame.

In Vancouver!

2010-02-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

8pm local time here in Vancouver, I have arrived! After a 4 hour flight, we have arrived in Vancouver... there were athletes on our flight -- we believe a number of them were curlers from Switzerland, and there was a Croatian cross country skier.

We are settled into the rental house, and looking forward to tomorrow. We are heading downtown to check out the sights and sounds of the Olympic buzz.

VANCOUVER 2010

2010-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

as of Monday February 15th, I will be on my way to Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. I am working for the Yukon First Nation's show "What The Land Remembers", which will be featured at the Aboriginal Centre on the 21st of February with 4 shows. We will also be performing the show at two live sites as part of the Olypics in Richmond and Surrey. I will be updating the blog here on my site on a daily basis while I am in Vancouver, and letting you know how things are going over in Vancouver. I am very excited to go and be part of the celebrations, even if only a small part in a much larger event.

David

Millworks Presentation

2010-02-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturay February 6th, David gave a presentation to the "Canadian Tool Group". The presentation was well received, to a full room of participant's from the group. The presentation ran for approximately 1 hour. David would like to thank all of those members of the Tool group that attended the talk. The feedback from the talk will be great for future presentation's. David will be presenting the MILLWORKS project to the Beach Photo Club on June 3rd 2010.

MILLWORKS upcoming presentation.

2010-01-24T21:53:00.001-08:00

The Tool Group Of Canada will be hosting David Sweeney on Saturday February 6th, 10:00am at the Victoria Square Community Centre in Markham. David will be presenting images, and some history on favourite mills including the Tyrone Mill, Hope Sawmill, Robert Nesbitt Sawmill, and more.

You can see the advertisement for the upcoming meeting on the tool group's website: www.thetoolgroupofcanada.com

David is busy preparing images for a slideshow, and powerpoint presentation which will last approximately 1 hour. A longer version of this presentation will be presented at the Beach Photo Club on June 3rd 2010.

Finding a mill can sometimes be a happy accident!

2009-12-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Sunday December 27th 2009: Today I went for a drive east of the GTA to explore some mills with a friend of mine. Our objective was to first head to Tyrone Mill, where we spent some time working on some HDR captures. I love visitng Tyrone Mill, as it was the first mill I ever visited as part of my mill project. I find myself returning to Tyrone over and over again, as I fell in love with that mill from the very start.

We were heading across sideroad 4 after leaving Tyrone travelling east. After sometime of travelling we passed a sign which made me do a double take. I wasn't sure what I had just seen, but I knew I had to turn around to find out what it said. Now here is the happy accident. The sign read "Fudges Mill, Hallelujah Books Gifts & Crafts". After a short drive down the road titled "Grist Mill Road", we came upon a bonified water powered grist mill! This mill would have only milled grain turned into grain for animals. From my observations, it looks like this mill provided a service to local farmers in grinding and refining grain. The mill still has most of its artifacts intact, making it an awesome visit. The mill is however quite cluttered with a lot of articles of belonging to its previous owners. For example, in the main part of the mill there is a 12' long church pew which was obviously part of the religous articles business that may have previously occupied the mill. I am going to be trying to do some research on the history of the mill, and I will report back as I find out some information. For now, here is a picture of the mill. There are more images to be seen in my flickr gallery.

Update: MILLWORKS in 2010

2009-11-11T18:25:00.001-08:00

Announcing my upcoming exhibition in May 2010 at TAN COFFEE - 992 Queen St. W. MILLWORKS 2! The second installation of my historic mill photographic project will be presented at Tan Coffee in May of 2010 along Queen West. The second installation of my project promises to be bigger and better! More information to come.

Queen West Art Crawl

2009-09-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this past weekend at the Queen West Art Crawl. To those of you who took my card. Please check out some of my images from the Millworks project. The link will take you to my Flickr page. I am hoping to rebuild my website coming soon. In the meantime, you can also email me at lxdesign@rogers.com with any questions. I'd be happy to email you some sample contacts of my work. Custom sizes are available for all of my prints.

MILLWORKS featured on the Ontario Heritage Connection website!

2009-08-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

I am very excitied to announce that the Ontario Heritage Connection has published an article about my MILLWORKS project on their website. They have also mentioned that I will be at the upcoming Queen West Art Crawl, as well as mentioning my connection to SPOOM having become a member recently. OHC's mission is to serve as a hub for the exchange of information about Ontario's culture, history, built and natural heritage, archaeology and the environment using the Internet. I would like to thank the Ontario Heritage Connection for showcasing my images and project. Please visit their site at the link below...

http://www.ontarioheritageconnection.org/

Heading North

2009-08-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, with the summer almost at an end, its my favorite time of the year to get out and photograph. This coming weekend I will be heading to the forest ... Haliburton forest that is. With the hope of another moose sighting. We'll see.

Then on monday, I am off on a week long photography trip with fellow photographers Toni Wallachy, Maureen Littlewood, and John Wallace joins us on day four. We are starting from Toronto staying overnight at Tobermory, Manitoulin Island, Batchawana Bay provincial park, Lake Superior provincial park, and Chutes provincial park. I am looking forward to the adventure. In the meantime... I still have the Pentax 6x7 for sale. If you are interested drop me a line! I am not back from my vacation until August 30th.

Stay safe, and happy shooting!

David

For Sale: Pentax 67 Medium Format Camera

2009-08-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, thank you to all of those who dropped by this past weekend at the Guild Alive with Culture event at the Guild Inn in Scarborough. We had a very hot and sunny weekend, and talked with lots of folks who dropped by the booth. A big thank you to all of those who supported the art sale.

I have decided that I have 1 too many medium format camera's... and I am selling my Pentax 67 medium format camera. This camera is capable of producing some excellent images! The 6x7 format is 3 times larger than that of 35mm film, for superior resolution and quality. The camera comes with the 90mm normal lens, non-metered prism, and original manual. I am asking $400 for the camera. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me via email.

Thank you everyone, and happy shooting!

The Guild Alive With Art

2009-08-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

This coming Saturday August 15th and Sunday August 16th, drop by the Guild Inn park for the "Guild Alive with art" artists sale. The sale runs from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday, and you will be able to see a collection of images from both my MILLWORKS project, and images of the Guild Inn Park. Special discounts for those who mentioned seeing my blog advertisement! Look forward to seeing you this weekend.

David

2012 or BUST!

2009-07-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is a special announcement! 5 of my images will be appearing in the Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club exhibit titled "2012 or BUST!" appearing for the entire month of August at The Grapefruit Moon restaurant at 968 Bathurst Street. Here is a description:

"2012 or BUST!"

Please come and check out the awesome Newsgirls Photoshow at the Grapefruit Moon Restaurant for the whole month of August! The Grapefruit Moon Restaurant, 968 Bathurst north of Bloor, has generously given us their entire wall to display 40+ photos of our fabulous female boxers in action. You gotta check it out! It's awesome! And their food is awesome! And affordable. If you don't know the Grapefruit Moon, this is your chance to impress a date with good food and good times.

Boxing in the 2012 Olympics is looking good for women. It won't be announced until the Fall but if all goes as planned, CABA (the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association) will be announcing that boxing, the only Summer Olympic sport that does not allow women's participation, will finally be letting the women in.

July Update

2009-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I haven't done any updates for several weeks! My appologies. I have been very busy shooting more images for my MILLWORKS project, and talking with several owners of the mills. Generally, they have been very interested in my project, and have been very supportive in allowing me access to photograph the mills. Thank you to all of the mill owners and operators that have allowed me to do so.

I have been speaking with the owner of Tyrone Mill, and will have some of my greeting cards and 5x7 / 8x10 prints available for sale in the mill coming soon in the next few weeks. I am currently selecting images that will be for sale, and hope to have them delivered in the next 2 weeks to the mill.

I am also looking into applying for an artists grant to continue working on my Waterfalls project. The grant money would be used for travel to northern Ontario to see some of the waterfall locations which are more difficult to get to.

thanks for reading, hope you are all having a wonderful summer, and thank for for visiting www.sweeneyimages.com!

Film Fanatic?

2009-06-26T14:08:00.001-07:00

I would not call myself a film fanatic.. as clearly I am not, owning a D700 and D90 as my main camera's, but recently a friend of mine decided to call is completely quits on all of her film she was storing in her fridge for the past 3 years or more. So with close to 75-100 rolls of film in the bag, I decided it was time to upgrade my film body from a lowly Nikon F50 to the amazing and faboo F100. The camera is fantastic, and I am looking forward to using it over the next couple of months shooting mostly slide film.

Aside from the F100, I just spent Wednesday June 22nd evening at the Guild Inn park. I am proud to say, I didn't take a single digital image that night. Instead I was armed with the Cambo 4x5 and Pentax 67 Medium format camera. I did 6 exposures on 4x5, and the better part of 1.5 rolls in MF. A fun evening, and always a joy to concentrate on shooting film. I hope film will be around for a lot longer that most think... and it never dies.

Upcoming Projects:

2009-06-17T13:34:00.001-07:00

With MILLWORKS coming to an end, the project is not over! I actually continued shooting mills all throughout the month of May, having visited locations such as the Barber Mill in Georgetown, Hillsdale Mill, Coldwater Mill, and more. What's coming up for MILLWORKS?

June 13th and 14th, MILLWORKS project was on display and prints were for sale at the Beach Arts & Craft Show in Kew Gardens. August 15th & 16th 2009 - David will be selling prints and more from the MILLWORKS Project at The Guild Alive With Culture, at the grounds of the Guild Inn in Scarborough. MILLWORKS will also be featured at David's booth at the Queen West Art Crawl coming up in September on the 19th and 20th.

I not only have framed and unframed prints available at the art sales, but greeting cards as well. I can also print and frame any custom size you may be looking for. If you would like more info on the upcoming shows, please feel free to contact me.

MILLWORKS EXTENDED!

2009-05-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

This news just in... Millworks has been extended until June 10th at TAN Coffee - 992 Queen St. W. The next artist coming into TAN will not be hanging until 2 weeks from now, so I was given more time for the exhibit! Thank you to Marilyn Eng at TAN coffee. Please stop by to have some amazing coffee, and view the Millworks exhibit.

Last Week: MILLWORKS!

2009-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

this is the final week to come by at TAN Coffee (992 Queen St. W.) to see my latest exhibit MILLWORKS 1.0 running in conjunction with CONTACT Toronto.

The show will officially come down on the evening of June 1st. Thank you to everyone who has dropped by, and I have been overwhelmed by the positive response. I will be mounting another exhibit featuring more images from the mill project.

If you are interested in an image from the MILLWORKS exhibit, please contact me, as the work is for sale, and available as framed prints, matted 5x7's, or greeting cards. Custom framing also available for larger sizes, or prints on canvas.

Haliburton Forest weekend.

2009-05-19T08:14:00.001-07:00

While my Millworks Exhibit is still on display at Tan Coffee at 992 Queen St. W. until the end of the month of May 2009. I spent this past weekend up at my wife's family trailer in Haliburton Forest. We had a great weekend opening up the trailer for the first time since the fall. The bugs stayed away, as it was either too windy or cold for them to come out. It only got nice and sunny on the holiday monday as we were leaving. I got to spend time photographing the wolves at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre (I am a member), and driving around the property looking for waterfalls. There were lots of waterfalls and rapids to see at Haliburton Forest with the rivers and lakes swollen as they are this spring. I got some great images from this weekend.

The ride home was wonderful too! I took a new route, and explored a new mill which somehow I completely missed the last time I was in Kinmount. The Austin saw mill is in the midst of a restoration project. It looks like they are doing a great job too. I will be following this project throughout the summer everytime I go up to the forest. We also stopped in to Tyrone Mill on the way home to drop off some post cards from the Millworks project. The image featured on the post card was taken at Tyrone Mill. I will post some images soon.

4x5 back up and working!

2009-05-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce that today, I finally got around to replacing the ground glass on my Cambo 4x5 monorail camera. So for any of you who read this and know me well. You will see me shooting with the 4x5 soon. Its a conversation piece for sure! Now... off to the store to pick out some film.

Attending SPOOM this weekend.

2009-05-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

I am really looking forward to tomorrow - Saturday May 9th. It will be my first time attending a SPOOM event. SPOOM is the Society for the preservation of old mills (Canadian Chapter). This is a north american wide organization which holds events, throughout the year. The emphasis is on the preservation of mills. Tomorrow's theme is on the alternative uses of old mills. Two of the mills which we will be visiting (Salem Mill and Birge Mill) have been turned into private homes, while maintaining some of the milling history in the buildings, incorporated into the home. Most of all, I am looking forward to promoting my exhibit on right now at TAN Coffee - 992 Queen St. W. and giving out post cards. Also on the list of possible mills to visit in the Grand river region is Hortop Mill (seen left). I will give a report on how the day went.

MILLWORKS is open!

2009-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the day, my first exhibit on historic mills is open at TAN Coffee (992 Queen St. W.) in Toronto. Please come by to see the images that I have hung for the exhibit. The shop closes daily at 9pm. I would like to thank Toni Wallachy for coming and helping me hang the work last night. She was a big help with making decisions about how to hang the work. I would also like to put in a plug for QSQ - Queen Street Qreative, who did my canvas printing. They did a fantastic job, and pricing was reasonable! Check them out at http://www.qsqinc.com

Millworks opens tomorrow!

2009-04-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

Millworks 1.0 officially opens tomorrow at TAN Cofee @ 992 Queen St. W. in Toronto (North east corner of Ossington & Queen). I am excited about the exhibit, as this is the first public showing (aside from flickr) of my historic mills project. All of the works are for sale, if you are interested in a piece, please contact me at lxdesign@rogers.com for information. Please also feel free to contact me if you would like more background info on any of the sites that I have visited or would like to see more of my historic mill project.

Chaffey's Mill

2009-04-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by the owner of Chaffey's Mill recently on flickr. I was very surprised, as I am sure many owners of the mills have possibly taken notice by now that I am doing this project.

I wasn't sure about Chaffey's Mill, as the two times that I was there, nobody was home. Anyhow, I am glad I did get the picture that I did, as I was informed that the roof is going to be redone this year with a new copper roof. Chaffey's Mill is a wonderful site, also coupled with a lock part of the Rideu system.

MILLWORKS is coming!

2009-04-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Are you getting excited to see my new exhibit opening at TAN Coffee at 992 Queen St. W. this coming Friday? Well, I certainly am. Last night I got a lot of work done in preparation for the show, and I am looking foward to hanging the show on Thursday. I hope that everyone who comes to see my work, will like the images. I tried to choose a cross section of images which best represents my project. I hope this will be just the beggining, with future opportunities to exhibit more of my work from this project. I am also happy to announce, that my friend Toni and I were recently accepted into the Queen West Art Crawl for 2009. We will have a 10'x20' booth displaying our work again, with images available for sale in greeting cards, prints of different sizes, and framed works. If you have any questions or are interested in seeing some samples of my work, please feel free to contact me anytime at lxdesign@rogers.com

CONTACT is coming!

2009-04-17T12:46:00.001-07:00

The 2009 edition of CONTACT - Toronto's photography festival is coming soon. The festival runs during the month of May every year in Toronto. This year, I regret that I was a little broke, and wasn't able to afford to pay the fee to enter, but I am very happy to announce that I am still exhibiting a solo collection of works at TAN Coffee in Toronto (992 Queen St. W.) at Queen W. & Ossington Ave.

My show entitled "Millworks 1.0" will be the first time I am exhibiting a collection of images dedicated to my Historic Mills Of Ontario project. A project which I have been very passionate about for the last year. The collection will feature new work, and images which can be seen on my flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lxdesign/sets/72157604234545704/. I am planning to exhibit both traditional C-prints, as well as canvas prints. I am going to be spending a lot of time this coming weekend to select the images, and I have to get cracking as of Monday next week to produce the prints. Its always a fun and creative process getting ready for a show.

While I am not having any kind of formal opening or reception, I would invite people to come by on Friday May 1st to see my show. I will be available from 4-6pm at the coffee shop to answer any quesitons about the work. I can also be contact by email at: lxdesign@rogers.com

Film Is Not Dead!

2009-04-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Film is not dead... today I went to Downtown Camera Inc. and dropped off 3 rolls of E6 (slide film), and 1 roll of black and white. All shot on my Pentax 6x7 medium format camera. I can't wait to see the results! There is always something magical about shooting film, and getting it processed, opening up the roll, and taking a look at it on a light table. The gratification of nailing the exposure, getting the technical things just right, and coming home with winning images. I can't describe the satisfaction when an image moves you.

I am also anxious to get out and start using my 4x5 monorail camera again. Back in August of 2008, I dropped the holder which houses the ground glass of the camera. This is an essential part of the camera, as this is where focus is confirmed, before sliding in the film holder. Without the ground glass, you can't focus or compose the shot. I got a quote from Vistek to replace it, but the price is not right. I am looking into an alternate supplier.

As much as I love the digital world.... viva la film!

Trip to Brockville & PEC

2009-04-13T19:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone! I had a very busy Easter weekend which started on Thursday last week with a very late night drive to Brockville. I stayed overnight with my friend at her parent's house, and we spent the majority of Good Friday exploring mills and light houses from Brockville to Alexandria (just past Cornwall). We saw many good mills during our exploration. Some of the locations were not accessible, so plans for a future trip are definately in the works. Saturday we spent the day heading back towards Toronto, but stopping at many more locations again. One of the towns (Newburgh), turned out to be a treasure trove of mills! Indicated as a small dot in the Historic Mills Of Ontario book, this was definately a hot spot. We counted somewhere in the range of 5-6 mills in this area. Some were ruins, and the remainder are private homes. I am planning to return again, and photograph this collection of mills.

On Sunday, we headed out again. This time, our plan was to head towards Prince Edward County. The plan was to visit Scott's Mill, and the Glenora Mill. The only two locations indicated in the "Historic Mills Of Ontario" book. As it turns out - there are many more than we expected. We found a number of mill locations aside from the Glenora and Scott's mill. The highlight of the day however, was the visit to Scott's Mill. As it turns out, we happened to visit PEC on the same day that the Rotary Club of Picton was hosting a waterfalls tour. Scott's mill happens to be located not more than 500 feet from a beautiful waterfall in PEC. One that I didn't even know about. Most of the waterfalls in PEC are located on private property. The highlight was the fact that the mill was open to the public - something which is rare, as it now belongs to the conservation authority who are working on a possible restoration project of the mill. We had an excellent weekend. I will be posting pictures to flickr in the next few days. I will update the blog when that is done.

Heading east for the weekend

2009-04-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

With the long weekend coming up, I decided that it would be a great weekend to get outside and continue the mill photography project. So this weekend, I am heading east with a friend to explore historic mills from Kingston to Cornwall, and north up the Ottawa corridor. There lots of mills in this section of Ontario, with the Rideu river and other river systems providing perfect locations for milling communities in the mid-late 1800's. I am looking forward to exploring this area. One of the mills close to Kingston is the Babcock Mill (seen above).

Welcome To The Sweeney Images Blog!

2009-04-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

I am completely new the world of blogging! Welcome to the start of my new blog! Here I will be posting information on my work, what I have been up to, new collection of images available. I look forward to updating you in the weeks/months and years to come.

David