Library and Archives Canada

This past week I completed the first half of my field placement at the preservation center for Library and Archives Canada. It was such a wonderful experience. I got to use some amazing equipment and got to spend my time with even more amazing people. I spent the week scanning negatives and photographs, taking images of books, scanning maps, completing work orders, touring the building and getting to know the employees. Maggie McDonald (a previous Algonquin grad) was our mentor for the week. She was such a positive and dedicated person. There was never a dull moment and she made sure that our time there was well spent. I am looking forward to returning for another week in April. For now here are some images from the past week. 

The exterior of the building is made of glass - makes for a beautiful view from the top floor

It is designed as a "building within a building" concept. With the exterior of glass on the interior is concrete. To the left of this image encase in cement is the vaults. This double enclosure helps maintain the proper temperature within the vaults.

The ventilation in the building is a work or art itself.

These stairs were originally designed purely for decorative purposes. The yellow beams were added later for support so that they could be used my employees.

On the fifth floor is where all the offices and studios are. There are many sections on the 5th that range from audio visual, book conservation/restoration, photography and restoration, art conservation/restoration. Each area has it own mini building on the 5th.

Maggie and Liz having some fun in the theater.

The lovely Liz and I :) (photo credit Maggie McDonald)

Lunch area complete with umbrellas to help block the sun.

A standard studio set up

One of the Hasselblads. We were pretty excited when we got to use this!

Old Habits Die Hard

Tomorrow I am beginning a week long co-op placement in Gatineau at Library and Archives Canada in the photography department. For the next week I will staying with some very thoughtful friends who are taking me in so the commute to my placement will be much easier.

Now I am a last minute packer...always have been and always be. But I will tell you this, I am damn good at it.

Click on the image to have a closer look to reveal the true organization and skill it took to pack this beast 30 minutes before I had to leave. (with time to spare to make this post!)

A. Towels, wash cloths, hair wrap
B. Fitted sheet for temporary bed, toiletries, lint brush
C. Belts, extra bags for laundry, my favorite scarves, and underneath the scarves there might be 4 pairs of shoes...
D. Pants and p.j’s
E. T-shirts and cardigans
F. Make-up, and jewelry
G.Underwear and sox

Flash, Css, and HTML...Oh My!

For an assignment in my multimedia class we need to design a fully functional website. This means venturing into the territory of Dreamweaver and Flash not to mention the coinciding code. At times when I am working on this assignment I feel like I have developed a form of temporary turrets where I randomly yell mild obscenities at my computer. But I must say that it is also a good test of patience, something that I could always use more of, and once you know what you are doing it can even be, dare I say it...fun. 

While on my website adventure I am going to be (well I am going to be making a solid effort anyway) to make subtle changes to the blog to make it flow nicely with my website and make this blog a bit more interesting/fun. 

In the mean time keep you eyes peeled for changes and new additions and wish me luck on this new adventure :)

A Secret Love Affair

Confession. I like cooking...but I LOVE baking!

Quick example. Right now I have 4 baking books in sight and I am not even in my kitchen. I'm in my bedroom. Seriously though recipes make for excellent bed time stories...

I find baking to be a great stress reliever, creative outlet and it makes for lovely gifts to boot! 

Here are a few images of some of my baking supplies and cookies I made recently for a bake sale at school. 

Happy Valentine's Day to you and whatever/whoever it is that you love.

sugar...or maybe it was salt

Nesting doll measuring cups

The secret ingredient is...magic

Mini ginger bread hearts

What's Your Type?

For an in class assignment this week in our post production class we got to print an image on canvas and wrap a frame. I really enjoyed this exercise and would like to print more on canvas in the future. Here is the image that I decided to print. This typewriter was a special gift from a family friend.

Layout for canvas

Another one just for fun!

A Night of Payne

Last night my good friends Mike and Brooke took me out for a belated birthday surprise.
Best. 
Birthday. 
Present.
EVER! 
They took me to see Nikki Payne. We had an amazing time and sat 3 rows from the front :) Here and a few images I took at home with a D3, 105 macro and SB800. The Last one is with a point and shoot = poor quality but too good to leave out.

After the show we got to meet Nikki and got our tickets signed

Mike, Brooke, Me and NIKKI PAYNE!

Snow Day Distractions

Today is a snow day. Hurray!


Even though I didn't have to make the trek to school I was a nerd and actually did homework today. While trying youtube a photoshop tutorial I came across this instead. *side note - contains mildly inappropriate content* but it hilarious and cheesy nonetheless. I am also embarrassed to admit that I actually might have learned something from this...