The day in the life of alex
As seen through the lens of a Bronica SQ-A medium Format camera
As someone who has a strong visual social media presence it is not uncommon to hear feedback from followers asking such questions as 'your life is such an inspiration, I struggle so much with life, how do you do it?'.
As innocent as these comments and questions are I actually find them quite hard. Why? I am far from perfect and I am far from problem free.
It is easy to take my photos out of context. People generally engage in social media as a means to get inspiration, hence if you come across my photos you are most likely going to be inspired by them, I hope.
On the contrary, I and many other 'creators' reach to social media as a means of engaging in creativity. For many, the process of creating is our way of coping with a much larger battle that we are fighting, one that is most likely quite similar to what the same people who are being inspired by our work are fighting. Most likely, if you are feeling lesser then what you see on social media you should keep in mind you most likely have a lot more in common with the person who created it then you might think. The key difference only being, how we try and cope with our internal battles.
Recently I was feeling the effects of being asked for recommendations on how someone could live a rad life like mine. I believe, I snapped a little at them, saying I was far from qualified to give such advice as I am far from innocent on 'Living THE Dream'. To this person, I apologize. I truly am not perfect.
This left me inspired to show, what a real day in the life of Alex looks like. No censorship, no sugar coating. I wanted to remove any chance of editing through preception. I would shoot a random midweek day on my Bronica SQ medium format camera, which with one roll of film would force me to only have 12 shots on the roll; one shot per hour from the time I wake up till the time I get ready for bed.
Hour One
8AM
Time to wake up and pop my morning pills.
Hour One: Time to wake up… or try to at least.
My morning alarm goes off at 8AM. I struggle to wake up although I know it is important to start my day NOW. I have a key task to complete, take my morning dose of 3 pills. If I procrastinate on this, even by an hour I can start feeling the negative effects. Once I’ve done this I make my daily Instagram post and struggle not to fall back asleep.
Hour Two
9AM
Fighting procrastination and the urge to sleep.
Hour Two: Fighting off procrastination and the urge to sleep.
By 9am despite still being in bed I am starting to feel the pressures to actually “get up”. I normally start this off by procrastinating. Let's see how much I can accomplish while remaining bundled up in my blankets.
I will commonly pull up my various social media channels, engage with others posts and check in on my own posts, responding to any comments. I follow this up with further procrastination which can come in the form of reading the daily news, browsing media to get an idea of things to create and make plans for future adventures.
Hour Three
10AM
I am ACTUALLY up and out of bed.
Hour Three: Actually get up and out of bed
I am at the end of my tenure with daily procrastination. It is time to actually get up. If I am feeling extra ambitious like I was this day I jumped through the shower... Yeah, that's a thing I can sometimes procrastinate about. From there I complete the trifecta of the 3 S's; Shit Shave and Shower along with brush my teeth. I don't know how I manage to span all of this over an hour although I somehow do... Well actually I do know, I find distractions in the middle to help me, you know, procrastinate some more.
Hour Four
11AM
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Hour Four: Breakfast of Champions
My mom used to all ways tell me " an apple a day keeps the doctor away". It is with this phrase that I have grown up with an apple addiction. I LOVE my apples making it no surprise that my breakfast can consist of nothing more then multiple apples.
Hour Five
12PM
The key to a successful day for me, COFFEE.
Hour Five: My body’s fuel, Coffee.
Its time to hit the road for an appointment in Vancouver although that's not before getting the largest coffee I can find. Coffee truly is the backbone of any day, especially if it involves some driving.
No doubt the drive-through attendant was scratching his head as I held up my large film camera beside my head to capture this shot, especially as its large shutter went off like a shotgun.
Hour Six
1PM
Stairway to shrinkage… That is, brain shrinkage.
Hour Six: The Stairway…
I arrive at my city appointment; to see one of the two counselors I visit each week. On this particular day its "paperwork day", not my favourite day.
Counselor visits can be emotionally draining at the best of times but throwing in some analytical paperwork in there where you get to rate subcategories of your life on a scale of 1 out of 10, that's just even more tough.
Hour Seven
2PM
Honey, they shrunk my brain…
Honey, They Shrunk My Brain… but its still bloated with life.
I find it can be mentally exhausting seeing a counselor. Yes, I get so much from these sessions although no doubt afterwards I feel more cooked then a hard day of climbing. As I walk down the hallway away from my counselors office I feel so mindless. I usually have to do a walk around the block before hitting the road back to Squamish.
Hour Eight
3PM
Everyday I try and do something JUST for me.
Something just for me: a scenic pit stop
Everyday, no matter what I have on the books, whatever tasks I am given I try and make a point of doing something just for me. Generally, I try and keep this a creative task as I have found that creativity is something that has never screwed me over. Today I chose to make a quick stop at Porteau Cove for a short walk in search of a just ONE photo. I made a point of not bringing another camera with me so I had to find just one shot to take in the name of this 12 photo journal. I eventually was taken back by the strong outflow wind blowing down Howe Sound with the western flanks of The Tantalus Range on the horizon.
Hour Nine
4PM
I didn’t account for this…
I really didn’t think this days photo challenge fully through
I would say this hour backfired a bit although that would open me up to the vulnerability of puns.
When I started this little project off I really wanted to keep the values of a true reporter as a key point which meant no censorship of the day... So here it goes. After the all that coffee and being cooped up in a car for two hours plus a one-hour counselors appointment, let me tell you, I REALLY had to go pee! I barely made it up to my apartment without bursting. Let me tell you, if the elevator took any longer, it would have got even more embarrassing!
Now before (more) people question me with 'you say you're pee'ing but you're sitting down soooo", let me say yes, when at home I sit down to go pee. Just because I can stand to pee doesn't mean I have to. What can I say, my mother taught me well!
Hour Ten
5PM
Happy Hour.
Happy hour; An hour to rehydrate
After hour nines excitement it made sense to take up my friend Ryan’s invite to go get a quick pint during happy hour at the local establishment. This is always a nice way to start simmering down for the day, debriefing each other on our days excitement or lack there of.
Hour 10.2
5:15PM
I screwed up.
I hope Ooops will cut it, I got nothing else
Hour 10.2: Wrapped up in the excitement of sharing with Ryan my days project of documenting every hour with a single shot on my somewhat badass Medium Format film camera I let a finger slip taking a random shot. Ryan was quick to the punchline with a "There goes that idea!"
Hour Twelve
7PM
Yup, we skipped an hour.
Time to calm down
After the miss fire fiasco I had the moral dilemma of where to cut my losses. It seemed to make the most sense to cut hour eleven out and let the day naturally close with the true parting shot of my day.
As my day comes to a close its time to ensure my mind slows down to the point of falling asleep. This sounds easy but for me it is not. I start this daily ritual by taking a 10mg GloCBD chewable. I find this really helps calm myself. I then pop some prescriptions that help level things out till eventually I say, Goodnight :)
The days contact sheet
The following day I tasked myself with developing this roll of film at home and scanning it in. On this particular day, this post-production process was the "Just for Me" task.