Brendon Purdy | Photography | Blog
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Back on my feet!
Finally I'm walking again! Well I guess you would say limping again, ...like a hip-hop artist. But I'll take it without complaint. It feels so wonderful to be mobile again no matter how limited I still am. With this new mobility comes the reminder of what we take for granted in life when things are going well. I'm not going deep here, but I always feel it's important to recognize gratitude and perspective, especially when you've spent 2 months on the couch!! So a big thank you for everyone's support and help I received over this last period. I am indebted.
Here's my first shoot since I started weight-bearing. A perfect one I think, comparing my feelings for shooting again and the smiling face of Ben here!
So this is 6 month old Ben and mom Sarah. They both live in New Zealand and were in Ottawa visiting family (including a good friend of mine Rebecca). We did these on Petrie Island Park outside of Ottawa.
Posted on May 28, 2010 - 03:44 PM
R.I.P. Vulcan
Ahh the passing of an old trusted friend is always difficult. Hardly a year old and so full of gas for life, my compadre known as Kawasaki Vulcan is now home to the fields of spare parts in mechanicsville.
And I'm now a statistic. Shocking how quickly you can become one.
On my way home from a photography convention in Richmond I was hit by a left turning driving going the opposite direction. Except for a scream into my helmet I had no time to react and was broadsided and thrown into the air in a 360 flip across their hood and onto the pavement. Landing spread eagled face up on the road my first reaction was to get up and walk it off followed by when was the last time I backed up my mac (it was in my backpack - it survived). But it only took a second and a glance down at my left foot's angle to know I'd be waiting for an ambulance. Soon after I was surrounded by first responders and helpful people, 911 was called immediately, firemen showed up, and the police for statements. And for myself I went into shock! I've never experienced this before and it's like your hyperventilating.
I had the ambulance attendees use my iphone to capture most of these images. Can you tell my completely fake smile.
They had just reset the ankle bones before this photo, and that was bar-non the most painful experience I've ever had. It was an hour or so after the accident so my adrenalin had slowed down making it way worse than the initial hit itself.
And a temporary cast is on for the MRI scan's.
Here's what came up. Sheared off portion of my tibia.
Spiral fracture of the fibula.
And the successful carpentry work the next morning. Don't they look exactly like screws from the garage you bought at Home Depot?
You know when your heading on an exotic trip and it hasn't quite hit you yet that your going someplace and that your life's going to change very soon? Well I think an injury of magnitude is somewhat the same. Your dealing with pain, and the distractions of it all so the actual mental impact is far away. It took a few days in the hospital for it to sink in and realize; my god this happened and I'm here with it, and in it, and I can't fly home!
And here's my whole slew of home-care devices installed by ICBC. I feel like an old man!
So I'm exactly halfway through the 6 weeks of non-weight bearing for the bones to heal, and the cast is off.
I'm so thankful that the accident wasn't worse and that I have the ability to recover from this. As well as a thank you to all the amazing support and messages I've received from everyone.
Posted on Apr 12, 2010 - 12:47 PM
The best kind of workshop
My annual trip down to Vegas to attend the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographer's International) where 10,000 professional photographer's converge for workshops and seminars over 5 days. It's one of the most inspiring events for me to learn from the best and be immersed in this creative occupation with so much talent and excitement. You get the best of the best photographer's and every supporting medium is there to check out as well.
What could make this event better you might ask?:
How about riding a motorcycle down for it! 5000 km round trip and a perfect excuse for a late winter mini adventure. I've always felt he best trips are unplanned ones so I didn't plan my route except for a bit each morning over breakfast. I veered through small towns and side roads looking for the best twisties, and travelled as far as felt healthy each day. The trip started in rain out of Vancouver and ended in it too.
Listening to K'naan's "waving flag" anthem and riding into Vegas. Soundtrack moment to my movie moment!
Sunrise in Death Valley National Park. This photo sums up the romantic draw of my trip.
And Death Valley at 190 feet below sea level.
The same day after the heat of Death Valley, I cross a mountain pass at 8500 feet aptly named "deadman's pass" and am suddenly committed to getting through an insane snowstorm. This storm would've scared me in a car, but riding a forced 20 miles an hour with completely numb fingers and an fogged over open visor (snow in the face), made the experience so unbelievable it felt surreal. One thing for sure was that I couldn't possibly have appreciated my plug-in heated vest more! Praising it became a mantra.
20+ inches came down that night locking me in the little town of Lee Vining until the roads were cleared. This gave me time to check out the salt water Mono Lake.
The next pass into Lake Tahoe.
Helmet hair.
The northern Californian redwoods.
And the rest was for fun riding! Hope you enjoyed these.
Posted on Mar 17, 2010 - 12:59 AM
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BIOGRAPHY
Brendon Purdy is a Vancouver based photographer specializing in weddings, portraits, sports, and travel photography. In his spare time Brendon likes to cycle as fast as he possibly can.
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The Cyclery Bar-none the place for bikes (if your in Ottawa) http://www.smallworks.ca Our mini home guys Hyperfocus Photography friends of mine Elements Modern Weddings Great wedding planners in Vancouver Master Mind Events Ottawa friends and wedding planners
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