I’m looking for an assistant. For the right person, this will be a great way to earn some extra cash and maybe learn a thing or two. But please keep in mind that this is not a shooting position. That’s my job Instead, you’ll be doing things like holding lights, carrying stuff, and keeping track of equipment.

This is a year-round position, but the majority of work will be between May and October, mostly on Saturdays. I won’t need you every week, but when I do it will be an all-day thing. I do some work on Sundays too but almost never on weekdays.

Some traits you should have before you send me an email:

Having a sense of humour is a huge plus, the dryer the better. If you don’t have one, you should at least appre­ciate one.

You should be able to follow instruc­tions well, have a good memory, and be able to think for yourself. Clairvoyance and ESP will be helpful too, for when we are too far apart for me to yell at you to do something.

You should be good with driving direc­tions, and know Ottawa well. If you can’t get to the grocery store without a GPS, please don’t email me. You must know how to drive a car with a manual trans­mission, too.

You will need conser­v­ative black dress with sensible shoes. You will be climbing stuff, walking up hills, through gravel, and in very quiet churches where loud/hard heels are too distracting.

People will come up to you to ask ques­tions or verify schedules and plans. You will need to know what’s going on and have the confi­dence to answer. You must be polite and artic­ulate, no matter what happens. If you have ever lost your temper and gotten into a fight, please don’t email me. Even as my assistant, you will be the face of Photos for Life. I need to know that you will represent the business properly. Judgment and tact are vital.

You will be carrying heavy bags, loading and unloading cars, and holding awkward stuff. Some physical strength is necessary.

If you can look at some­thing and figure out how it works, bonus. Being good with elec­tronics and doodads is a definite asset.

If inter­ested, please email me.

…Mike

I’m happy to say that I had four images place in the ISPWP fall contest

This fifth place image was taken at the NAC:

This fifth place image was taken at the Ottawa Hunt and Gold club, during Jessica and Mike’s wedding:

This one, also from Jessica and Mike’s wedding, placed eleventh in the “Pure Art” category. It was taken at the Manotic Mill.

Finally, a photo of Courtney’s dress place seven­teenth in the “Dress” category:

…Mike

I got a special present for my Mom today: one of the photos I took at her wedding was awarded first place in the Quarterly ISPWP contest Location category Here is the award-winning photo:

This image, also of my Mom and Francois, was awarded 7^th place in the Ceremony category:

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

…Mike

I spent the last week in Boston with my good buddy Dave at Photoshop World. I’ve been to Boston before, ages ago…I think it was early 2003. Although I stayed close to the hotel for the most part, I did get around a little bit…Newberry Street was close by after all!

It’s always fun hanging out with Dave, and we were lucky enough to meet up with other photog­ra­phers who live in the area or who were there for the show…Kristin, Sarah (who is way taller than I expected!), Bill and espe­cially Melissa and Rene: it was great to hang out with you all!

As for the show itself, I was one of about 6 people in the seminar entitled “Photoshop Extensibility” aka Photoshop for Geeks, in which I learned some new stuff that I plan to put to use in Proofmaker and Autoloader.

It was also neat-o to meet some of the giants in the world of Photoshop…people like John Nack and Russell Brown (that’s Russell and I holding the Photoshop World commem­o­rative football, and yes I still have it

It was a great time!

…Mike

Out of all the photog­ra­phers that entered this contest, I made it to number 14! Here are the images that placed:

The first is from Amanda and Dan’s wedding…this is their dog waiting patiently.

This is one of my personal faves, and was taken right after the ceremony at Christina and Kent’s wedding:

After Wendy and Dom’s ceremony, we were walking around downtown doing the magic time, and we passed this open delivery truck. How could I resist?

The first of several from Monique and Andrew’s wedding. I like the comment the judge gave! A friend of mine said her expression reflected the price of gas!

One of my favorite loca­tions in Ottawa. This is Cristina relaxing for a few minutes during magic time.

Taken as Jordan waited to see Holly for the first time that day.

Monique and Andrew again

Another one of my favorite spots in Ottawa. It always helps when you get a coop­er­ative wedding party

Crossing the bridge on the way to the Museum of Civilization. Peter (the groom) is in the hat.

You know I love my panoramics Here is the inside of the Notre Dame Basilica.

and here is the view from the Museum:

One of my favorite ring photos ever If you look close you can see the conden­sation on the engagement ring!

The best room at Perth Manor. This was a photos of Kerri’s dress, waiting patiently.

Let’s hear it for brave Brides and Grooms! In this case, Alex and Lorne.

What a great year…I can’t wait for 2009!

…Mike