The objective of this assignment was to create a meme that reflects my online self.
Author: Tyler Rubis
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Site Setup and Installation
1–2 minutesI could say that my site setup and installation has been fun, easy, and straightforward, but that would be a lie. Over the last few weeks, I have been troubleshooting my website and have fully reset and restarted a handful of times. One of my biggest challenges initially was trying to find and work with a theme that didn’t require an additional purchase of a “premium” package in order to access all of the features. After several attempts to use other themes, I ended back where I started, with the default Twenty Twenty-Five theme from WordPress.
As I went through, trying to set up my site, I knew the kinds of features and pages I wanted but had a hard time trying to implement them. As a photographer and filmmaker, I want my site to act as a portfolio, so I know that I want to have a page dedicated solely to my photos and information about my films. I also know that I want my blog posts and process posts to be neat and organized separately from my portfolio.
Since I’m aiming for something similar, my main points of reference for my website’s design have been other photographers’ websites, particularly Greg Girard’s (www.greggirard.com) and Liam Wong’s (www.liamwong.com), as they are two of my favourite photographers. I also watched several videos on building websites with WordPress,
How to Build a Portfolio Website on WordPress (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5TbR5LV2cw) and How to Create a Portfolio Website With WordPress(2026) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAjcTYc86pg)
Since I already have an existing body of work, I’m aiming to import that to my site, while focusing my blogs on current projects and photos. My goal is to post a photo or photo series weekly, and go through the details and thought process in the blog, having a featured photo as well as a link to the series in my portfolio.
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A Trip to Lonsdale Quay
2–3 minutesEarlier this month, as an optional “field trip,” I, along with several members of my film cohort, visited the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, to see an exhibition by the Canadian photographer Greg Girard. It was my first time visiting the gallery, and my first time across the harbour in years, with my last trip on the SeaBus likely being when I was still in middle school. Of course, as with most times I go somewhere “fresh,” I brought my camera along should inspiration strike, and strike it did.
The exhibition was beautiful, and though it was my first time seeing his work, Girard’s photos–predominatly urban and street photography, with a blend of both local places, as well as cities across Asia–resonated deeply with me. In fact, as I write this, I’m looking over at two postcards featuring my favourite photos from the gallery that I picked up from the gift shop. I worked my way around the gallery, admiring the artwork, before following a few of my friends outside onto the building’s balcony, where I was greeted by a lovely view of the harbour, with the Vancouver skyline in the distance.
It was a perfect sunny day, so as the sun glimmered on the surface of the water and the boats bobbed up and down at the dock, out came my camera. There was lots to see from the balcony between the walkway below, the shops and spinning sign of Lonsdale Quay Market to my right, and The Shipyards to my left, so I took several shots of the area, and a few of myself in the reflection of the gallery’s windows (gotta get that profile photo).
We spent a while longer in the gallery before our group decided to head out and explore the market, giving me a chance to find some more angles and new subjects as we wandered around. One of the main reasons that I love the ocean, and by extension most cities and spaces around it, is that everything feels so vibrant and lively, from the constant breeze blowing over the shore, to the boats cruising through the harbour, and the foot traffic along the boardwalk. After a summer at home in Kelowna, a clear, sunny day in Vancouver was–quite literally, considering the wildfires in the Okanagan–a breath of fresh air.
After picking up some food from the local shops, our group settled at a bench on the boardwalk and spent the next while chatting, with me occasionally stepping away to snap a few shots of seagulls or anything else that caught my eye. My friends told me that I looked like a “vacation dad” which, with my baseball cap, cross-body bag, and Pink Floyd shirt, I couldn’t dispute.
At the end of the day, I got to visit an art gallery and discover an inspirational photographer, catch up with my friends, take some nice photos, and enjoy some of the last days of summer.
Not a bad way to kick off second year.
-Tyler
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Talking to a Stranger
2–3 minutes
I was walking around taking photos on campus, making the most of that golden hour light, when I saw a man in the distance. He was standing in the middle of the transit centre, directly under the dome skylight, shooting photos through the gap between the top of the stairs and the overhanging concrete ceiling.
Now, as a general rule, I don’t like to talk to strangers, and I REALLY don’t like to start conversations. I find it awkward, and I usually don’t have anything to talk about. That, however, changes when the stranger in question has a camera. Suddenly, there’s an easy connection.
So I walk up to the guy, my camera in hand, and ask my go-to question:
“Whatcha shooting on?”
We got chatting a bit about our respective cameras, me with my modest but dependable Canon R50, and him with his much larger, fancier setup complete with a zoom lens that likely cost more than my tuition. I felt like I was showing off a family SUV to a guy in a Ferrari. He told me that he’s been a street photographer for about 15 years, and I talked about being a film student. It was a fairly brief conversation about nothing more than our gear; we didn’t even exchange names, but I walked away feeling pretty good about the interaction.
What’s funny to me about that interaction, is how different it was from my interactions with other photographers and filmmakers online. The truth is, avoiding conversations with strangers is something I do on the internet too. Sure, I’ll leave the odd comment on someone’s social media, but do I send them a message just to chat? No. If anything, most interactions I have with strangers online are simple, short, and to the point. Most of my online interactions start and end with a single sentence or question to a faceless profile: How do I colour grade my photos like that? What lens should I buy? Nice picture! Should I upgrade my camera?🔥.
That interaction with that guy in the transit centre was different. There was no real point to the conversation: neither of us learned anything new, we didn’t trade advice, we didn’t exchange social media profiles or names. We went into the interaction as strangers and we left the same way. But does that mean that the conversation didn’t have value? I don’t think so. If anything, that short, “pointless” interaction meant more than any online interaction could.
And why is that? Why did a short chat with a stranger leave more of an impact than hundreds of online interactions? Honestly, I don’t have an answer.
I’m just a photographer.
-Tyler