street art no. 4

From Schmidt & Weston blog

street art no. 3

From Schmidt & Weston blog

street art no. 2

From Schmidt & Weston blog

There is no excuse for boring back alleys.

a review

I find it very hard to write nice things about my own work. It is not that I think what I make is bad. More that I'm never confident that I ever finish the editing stage. That makes it hard for me to write about the short films I've made.

Then just the other week, a very good friend of mine was in town and was very excited about my stuff. She started by saying, "Your films make me uncomfortable..." and then I smiled... because it was just the right thing to say. We've known each other for a very long time now, and she is one of the best photographers I know. I also know that she has never bullshitted me about anything.

Anyway, because it took me a week or more to write the copy for my website, I thought her words would have more value, since I've noticed that people can claim just about anything on the internet.

Here it is:

Weston has a wonderful sensitivity to those moments often overlooked or dismissed as inconsequential by storytellers as banal within contemporary renditions of ‘quintessentially Canadian’ politically or culturally charged moments. He masterfully conveys a compelling story of the individual's struggle with herself within her environment by generating a paralleling story alongside the overt theme of each short film that inevitably becomes about the viewer.

Charting the trials and tribulations of Carrie in French Panic, Weston brings the experience of an Albertan English speaker taking French classes in Montreal into the realm of subconscious discomfort through association for the viewer. By consciously pausing in moments of silence, or of self-reflection on the part of the subject, Weston craftily prolongs the ‘invasion of privacy’ one feels while witnessing the peripheral moments of weighty words spoken about the main topic by the subject. This sets up a parallel experience of discomfort that transcends through the greater issue at hand through the subject’s words, body language, and silence¸ directly into the lap of the viewer. The border between subject and viewer is seemingly removed by this inherent process of self-reflection and association that is generated by the act of watching.

In Levi¸ we are exposed to a dramatic reality- one of a Canadian Hasidic Jew who has come a point of departure from his faith and (as a consequence) his way of life and family. The viewer is immediately able to connect with Levi through the feeling of familiarity in what is likely to be unfamiliar terrain. Weston connects us to his subjects, and he therefore connects Canadians to Canadians, strangers to strangers, and ultimately, unfamiliar to familiar which in retrospect is brilliant.

-Kat Thomson, October 9, 2010

Thanks Kat. I know I could never have written that.

wooden boats float

From Schmidt & Weston blog

We went to a wooden boat show on Granville Island a few weeks ago. I like the idea of building my own wooden boat, but I worry that it would end up like a dreadfully oversized and ignored project in the driveway I don't have access to.

From Schmidt & Weston blog

A friend told me about a man he knew that was an investment banker. The banker lived in Deep Cove, which is further north and east from our place on Burrard Inlet. Instead of driving, like most folk would do, this guy would apparently put on his suit, grab his briefcase and drive his boat to downtown Vancouver Relic style(from the Beachcombers).

I should have paid more attention during my two economics classes. I had no idea that such a lifestyle was possible.

From Schmidt & Weston blog

tokyo town

From Schmidt & Weston blog

I have no idea what this sign says, but I really, really like it. If you can read japanese, feel free to fill me in.

dreadlocks and hardhats

From Schmidt & Weston blog

People with dreadlocks should not need to wear hardhats because they can always weave their own. I'm almost positive that a baseball bat could do no damage to that head. Almost.

monday's animal - no. 2

From Schmidt & Weston blog

Slugs.

This Monday it's slugs.

These poor little guys get no respect at all and everyone recoils in horror at the site of a giant BC slug. While at the same time, snails get to show up in kids books and in France are sometimes eaten.

Well guess what? The one and only difference between a cute snail and a disgusting slug is that shell. Otherwise they are exactly the same animal.

From Schmidt & Weston blog

Not having a shell is a real pain for slugs. They don't appear cute, because they are naked fat snails, and having a shell is the only really good thing about being a snail. It also means that slugs can dry out, which is not good. So they have to live in constant moisture and slime. The beach is not even an option unless it is really pouring (or you are a sea slug, which means a life time of constant swimming).

Much like monday's animal - no. 1, (the barnacle for those keeping track) slugs are hermaphrodites. I feel that an hermaphroditic existence may not the best lot in life, and is so far the common denominator in my monday's animal series.

Now this last photo is disturbing and is part of my new portfolio that I hope to impress the local police department with so that I can be a forensic photographer. If you are eating, I'd advice you to put it down or just click here. Fair warning.

Slugs can do nothing... NOTHING to defend themselves. It's tragic and horrible.

From Schmidt & Weston blog

So stop whining about it being Monday.

triumph, perhaps

From Schmidt & Weston blog

I have never learnt how to drive a motorcycle. I'm going to have to do something about that since post apocalyptic movies would suggest that motorcycles might be the only vehicle available after society collapses. Not that I'm one of those crazy folk who believe that end times are nigh, but such things are most likely to happen quickly and catch us all by surprise. I have a feeling facebook will somehow be involved.

From Schmidt & Weston blog

So just in case the apocalypse sneaks up on me, I'm gonna learn how to drive and fix a motor cycle. I think I would also like to ride a Triumph in a road warrior society, because it sends the right sort of message.

careers I forgot to pursue

From Schmidt & Weston blog

Sometimes I wonder what jobs I could do for 8 hours straight and not whine about it. Lately, I've been thinking crane operator. You get to sit up real high and move really, ridiculous huge things through the sky. I would want to have music going and not be bothered too much, but I suppose that would be unlikely.