NDP Federal Convention by Jamber Fracken

My friend, artist and activist Brian Granbois, recently had his car, that was full of his artwork, stolen. We can all relate to that gutted feeling of knowing you’ve lost the irreplaceable. Brian’s car has since been recovered but he still doesn’t know how he will get it repaired. I’m selling prints of this portrait of him, taken on Unist'ot'en land earlier this year, to help him recover from his loss. Brian has lot's of good karma in the bank and %100 of profits will go back to him, including any extra from the flat rate shipping fee. All prints made with love and shipped by the end of December.

For more about Brian and another way to kick in, check out the campaign started by Giselle Ruemke.

God's Lake

At the water, boundaries between people dissolve or at least turn a little transparent for a while. It doesn’t matter which language or religion carries the prayer up over the lake. Everyone stands together in faith.

They travel for days and weeks to seek healing for their bodies, their families and their souls.

Like the people of the land, the lake has a history of colonization. When Catholic missionaries arrived, the Sioux’s Wakamne was renamed Lac Ste Anne and their culture was ground into the dirt.

Their wounds remain but at the water, there is a mutual respect and the beginnings of a reconciliation.

Some of this work was published in The Globe and Mail and I will be sharing more on Instagram on my account and for Rogue Collective

TV debate fun

With all the serious election coverage I’ve been doing this month, I had a good time making bad tv portraits of the provincial party leaders during their debate. 

amberbracken.com

@Amber_Bracken

Christmas trash

This little mini-story was set to run in the Globe and Mail but got bumped by some hard news. The guys were so great, I had to share some of the photos anyway. Big appreciation to Marcus, who I rode along with, for making the day go so quick and all the people who showed me around the Integrated Processing and Transfer Facility.

Canadians create some of the most garbage per capita of any developed nation in the world. In 2010, we created 24,883,546 tonnes of garbage. That same year, Albertans created 1,052 kg per capita. And the holidays represent one of the major spikes in production over the year. All the shopping and wrapping translates into major increases in tonnage.

A few thoughts from the experience:

Everyone should visit the collections facility and see the scale of waste we are creating in person. It gives perspective on the life of the things we buy and throw away.

Even though our municipality uses lots of forward thinking strategies, like recycling, composting and a soon to open bio-fuels plant, to save waste from the landfill, nothing can replace individuals being more careful. Recycling that is too dirty or mixed up with non-recyclables (think styrofoam in a new tv box)  ends up in the landfill anyway.

It breaks my heart to tell you this, but pizza boxes are not recyclable.

The last photo of the pile of garbage represents less than 1/4 of the trash collected in an average week.

A friendly reminder that garbage collectors are people too.

In Edmonton, they load all of the trucks, that hold 10000 kg, by hand. Some days they make more than one trip. Don't make your bags too heavy.

If it was nasty when you put it on the curb, its nasty for them to pick up. Make sure gross stuff is double bagged and dangerous stuff is safely wrapped. The stories I heard about exploding bags of water and poo would keep you up at night.

Some of their routes are long and repetitive strain injury is a real risk for these workers, try to make it a little easier on them by making sure your garbage isn't hard for them to get to. Don't have it behind obstacles like parked cars, a long walk up your driveway or on a patch of ice.

In general, I think the City is doing a great job managing our trash the best they can but I think we could take a lot more personal responsibility for what we are producing. Just because we don't see it after it's left on the curb, doesn't mean that it's gone.

http://www.amberbracken.com/

https://twitter.com/Amber_Bracken

Praying for the land

I was in Fort McMurray again this weekend for the fifth and final Healing Walk past a Syncrude upgrader and tailings ponds. Hundreds of people came to gather, to reconnect with each other and the damaged land and to pray for healing.

@amber_bracken

@photobracken

Crime fighter writer, Jana Pruden

I had a good time shooting my friend Jana for her bio page, despite the freezing cold. Believe me, it is a testament to Edmonton toughness she looks so good while her fingers, toes, and face are screaming from the cold.

We wanted to do something a little bit noir and a little bit gumshoe and I think we pulled it off. On the job she really is like a tenacious reincarnation of one of the great detectives. Some of Jana's work I love best is her three part series on stabbing victim Misty Franklin who chose her own death after years of living as a quadriplegic and her riveting story about the Crichton farm, where a man killed his father after decades of abuse. Oh, and be sure to check out her work on my bio page too. There is no hell greater than trying to write about yourself.

On a technical note, I would've loved a hair light but resources and location wouldn't cooperate and I think it works anyway. 

@amber_bracken

@photobracken

Sleepy hockey fans celebrate Canada's Olympic gold medal

Although it was impossible not to capture at least some of the joy, it was Canada's hockey obsession, in all of its strangeness that got me out of bed. For what other sport would people pack into bars (and the government change liquor laws) at 5 a.m to watch a game being played 9000 km away? Some got up early, some stayed up all night, and many drank up for the celebration.

It cost me a few hours of sleep and some really cold fingers and toes but the many high fives, hugs and even a kiss (sweetly placed on my forehead) from strangers were a great start to the day. Canada's Olympic team and the fans who support them looked pretty great in the morning light.

@Amber_Bracken

(Not really) a Halloween post

I had so much fun shooting Los Calaveras with the help of Jason Franson. I'm not a morning person and it's not very rock n' roll to get up for the sunrise but it was totally worth it with such a great group of people.

The hearse is actually the band's gig schlepper but makes great eye candy too. And this wasn't a special one-off for Halloween, they rock this style year-round.

@Amber_Bracken

We want to hold them close and admire. Captivated by their delicate beauty, we daydream about the intricacies and magic and freedom of flight. And so is our caged bird diminished.

@Amber_Bracken

KISS vs KISS

Which Gene do you like better?

www.amberbracken.com

Color Me Rad

I covered this colourful 5K for the paper as a last minute morning assignment. What was supposed to be a "quick picture" turned into a trip home to shower. Thank god I knew enough to tape up my cameras since the colour gets EVERYWHERE. Anyway, I had a good time shooting this and now I'm twice as excited to run in the Calgary event!

www.amberbracken.com

Bloody beautiful

Hometown hero Jelena Mrdjenovich battled through a bloody cut to win the WBC World featherweight title against Melissa Hernandez on KO Boxing's Double Jeopardy card at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alta. on May. 31, 2013. The fight was gruesome but ever since I shot it, if something is hard and I feel like quitting, I think of Mrdjenovich and try harder.

www.amberbracken.com

Houseboat solstice

I just came back from Yellowknife, NWT, where I crossed an item off my bucket list: to see the midnight sun in Canada. I couldn't have wished for a better place to spend the summer solstice either, since we were lucky enough to work an invite to the houseboaters' annual party and houseboat crawl. All of these photos were made on my pocket camera, a Fujifilm-X20.

www.amberbracken.com