Toronto Pig Save Vigil | Bearing Witness, Peacefully Protesting & Offering Love

June 10, 2016  •  6 Comments

It's very hard to take a photo with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes.

It's even harder to wipe the tears away, look straight into the eyes of innocent animals who are trapped in trucks and about to enter a slaughterhouse, and tell them that we love them and we are trying our best to save them. We must seem like liars to the animals who know that we are capable of opening the truck doors. What the animals don't understand is the legal system that considers them property and the people that consider them food.

I joined Toronto Pig Save at a 24 hour vigil and it took me eight months of emotionally returning to this set of images, only to be reminded each time that it's all still happening, at every second, all over the world, and it has been happening the whole time I wasn't thinking about it, too. Next time I will be stronger.
 

Our day started at Fearmans Pork Inc in Burlington. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. When I arrived, I was greeted by a friendly group of people who encouraged me to grab a sign and join them in peacefully protesting what was happening behind us. 

Truck after truck arrived full of pigs and left empty. I still don't know which one felt worse. We spent the morning rushing over to trucks that were stopped by red lights to give the pigs as much water and love as we could before the lights turned green and the pigs were brought to face their worse nightmare. Traffic lights had always felt slow to me before this day, but in those moments they were a mere blink of a pair of sad eyes. It never felt like enough time. It never felt like enough. 

While giving water and a glimpse of human love to these pigs, we were also drawing attention to the slaughterhouse and our group's efforts, educating people driving past this busy intersection through signs with messages that were both informative and thought-provoking.



I can not count the number of trucks that we saw dropping pigs off to the death factory that morning. We were at ONE slaughterhouse, in ONE city, in ONE country and we saw so many pigs in just ONE morning. It was shocking to say the least. 

We looked into their eyes. We heard their screams. We visualized the rest.

Our hearts were continually torn apart by what was happening around us. Giving water to the thirsty pigs was a therapeutic and necessary part of my own wellbeing throughout the morning. It felt productive and important. It made a small but meaningful difference within a life of confusion and fear to these pigs. Though I had only just met them, the people beside me became my favourite people, my partners in caring about these beautiful pigs and the future of peace in our world, and givers of much needed hugs.

As noon approached, my mind replayed visions of the pigs whose eyes I had looked into and who I knew were already murdered. If 10,000 die at Fearmans Pork Inc per day, then I had witnessed about 5,000 of them. I was very confused and disheartened to be a part of the species responsible for this horror. 



We relocated to Maple Leaf Slaughterhouse in Toronto where we would spend the rest of the day. We started by walking a couple blocks away from the slaughterhouse to engage in community outreach on another busy intersection. With more signs and tons of resources to give away, we initiated conversations with people on the streets. My pain from the morning drove the most powerful conversations that I have ever had on the topic of animal cruelty. I wish I had that much pure and honest emotion flowing through my body to formulate and guide such impactful discussions on a daily basis. 

In comparison to what we witnessed at Fearmans Pork Inc, we saw that the trucks at Maple Leaf Slaughterhouse arrived less often but with a lot more bodies per truck. The cages on these trucks were packed as full as possible with chickens and stacked many cages high by many cages long by many cages wide. 

In between trucks, I joined Chalk Chick as she worked on an illustration of a chicken named Mercy, who had been rescued from this exact slaughterhouse at a previous event, and taken to live in peace at Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary (a wonderful place that I frequently visit). The artwork was being done right in front of two garage doors that opened into the slaughterhouse for trucks. I witnessed the cages full of animals being quickly thrown off the trucks and thousands of live chickens hanging upside down by their fragile feet and going around a conveyer belt that forced them through chemical baths and sharp blades to their death. I saw the dead bodies piled into big bins on the backs of trucks as pipes released pools of blood across a permanently red bloodstained floor. 

Meanwhile, more trucks continued to arrive full of chickens who were taking their last breaths. I had never interacted with a chicken before that day, but upon locking eyes with these sad and beautiful little creatures, I knew there were a lot of someones staring back at me who were desperate for love. Out of impulse, I started petting some of the chickens on their heads, wings and beaks while sharing sobbing words of love and apology with them. This evidently soothed them for a moment. Someone beside me started playing the ukulele and singing to them and I was overcome with hope, sadness, love, hate, inspiration and a completely honest feeling of what it truly means to be human, genuine, peaceful, present and loving in this world. The people who stand with The Save Movement are truly angels. 


So many lives are stolen each second from innocent, mysterious, loving, playful and curious beings all over the world, and for nothing more than a human meal. We do not need to eat animal protein, and in fact we are healthier without it. Convenience and taste win the battle for many people, yet any vegan will honestly admit that taste has not been sacrificed by switching to delicious plant-based foods, and convenience is rarely an issue as vegan options emerge on a large scale around the globe. Many people insist that their eating choices should be respected, but what about the animals? What about all of the beautiful pigs and chickens that I witnessed who are long gone and who didn't deserve the fate that was chosen for them? In the words of M. Edward King:

This choice you say is your right
that you can eat just as you like
and it's merely an opinion that I voice

But your choice, it kills so many
this opinion kills not any
and your victims, do you give them any choice?

 

My experience with The Save Movement was very emotionally draining, but it was even more important in growing to better understand myself, my knowledge and feelings about the world, and my place within it. As I prepare to join this movement again at an upcoming 24 hour vigil, I know that I will be stronger. I will be there, fully. I will raise awareness. I will love and I will mourn. I will document. I will speak up and I will speak louder. Please join me. 

 

 

 


 


International Wedding Photography

February 09, 2016  •  Leave a Comment

CARLY & DUSTIN | PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

 
Traveling for work. What a dream come true! The feelings I have when I visit a new place for the first time are extremely special. I become excited, inspired and grateful and surely this can only be a recipe for awesome things! 

Carly and Dustin gave me my first destination wedding opportunity when they brought me with them to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I can't thank them enough for getting this sweet ball rollin' for me! Here are some of the photos from their special day:








So. Much. Fun.



I'm thrilled to announce that my 2016 wedding season is bringing me to several wonderful destinations: Cancun, Kingston, Penticton, Jasper, Vancouver and Varadero (+ all over South-Western Ontario). I can't wait to travel and create and enjoy and share! 

Contact me for more information about destination wedding photography magic! 


Kids & Cameras

August 27, 2014  •  1 Comment

KIDS & CAMDERAS | PHOTOGRAPHY CAMP  2014

This camp was offered at Lambton College in Sarnia, Ontario.

The group consisted of kids between the ages of ten and twelve who entered the course stating that they wanted to learn how to capture memories, use their camera settings and take better pictures.


When asked what she learned about photography in the camp, Ari (pictured below) simplified the practice well: 
"it's super duper FUN".  

The camp consisted of four three-hour sessions that were organized into photography lessons, techniques and crafts for a good combination of lessons and activities... mostly activities!

 

DAY 1 | CARDBOARD FRAMES & CAMERA SETTINGS

Activity: Searching for image scenes and testing perspectives without the distraction of actually taking a photograph (and having some photo fun with them too): 

                                        Photo by Sydney (age 12).

 

Lesson // Understanding light, shutter speed, aperture and ISO and how to properly expose an image:

Photo by Ben, age 11.
     Photo by Ben (age 11).         Photo by Jadyn (age 12).

 

DAY 2 | HANDMADE FILTERS

Activity: Crafting and designing lens filters from various transparent household items, including plastic bottles, saran wrap, clipboards and 35mm film: 

The effects were really cool:

Photo by Ethan, age 12, taken on his cell phone with a handmade filter.
     Photo by Nadine (age 10).       Photo by Ethan (age 12).

 

DAY 3 | LIGHT PAINTING

Activity: Drawing with light sources in the dark classroom: 

Photo by Ari, age 10.
     Photo by Ari (age 10).           Photo by Ben (age 11).


I enjoyed watching the kids discover that the act of setting up and taking photos can be such a blast:


"Lights, Cameras, Rainbows!"

 

DAY 4 | PHOTO CRAFTS

Activity: Making photo magnets and post cards to bring home and share with friends and family: 


Homework | Photo Scavenger Hunt

Practicing camera settings and techniques learned in class. Unlike typical homework, this was FUN:


Photos (L to R) by Ben (age 11), Nadine (age 10) and Ethan (age 12). 

 

The kids provided written feedback which was all very positive:


We also had a group reflection at the end of the last day of camp. The kids said they were excited to have new friends with a shared interest in photography and that they looked forward to keeping in touch with each other after the camp ended. 

A community was built, a lot of fun was had, and of course we took many photos along the way!


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