#IdleNoMore

#IdleNoMore, originally uploaded by Robert Snache - Spirithands.net.

#IdleNoMore

Join us in Drumming
Join us in Singing
Join us in Dancing
Join us in Round Dance
Join us in Positive Revolution

www.idlenomore.com
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Please take the time to fully consider the future of Indigenous relationships with the Crown.
Idle No More is positive action, growing in scope and importance.

I welcome one and all to share and reshare this image.

A Smile in the Sky!

We've had a spectacular November. Today we were greeted with the biggest brightest smile in the sky! If it wasn't for the chickadee swarming near our feeder I may not had even notices the bright arc above us. I called my wife to witness this Circumzenithal Arc. I am sure it's the first time she had seen it!

Night as a Beginning

Night as a Beginning, originally uploaded by Robert Snache - Spirithands.net.

Many see the night as an ending.
For me it is a refuge. Many things in the night sky evoke wonderment and inspiration. There are many stories in the dark night and some I have had the pleasure to speak to my spirit and many more I have yet to understand. It is my pleasure to share what I have learned.

Spirithands Photography on Facebook

Hints of NLC's

Spotted a faint glow in the Northwestern sky this evening and took this iPhone shot. The DSLR shots will come shortly! These may possibly be the first Noctilucent Clouds I have spotted from Rama First Nation.

The Summer Triangle

The Summer Triangle, originally uploaded by Robert Snache - Spirithands.net.

And so the comfort of the summer starry night comes as heralded by the Summer Triangle. I have staked out a couple of potential locations to shoot the stars this coming summer. Hopefully those clear evening come in frequency and the mosquitoes stay away while I shoot!

Via Flickr:
Stars in the eastern sky after midnight reveal the triangular beacon of the summer night sky.

Celestial Conjunctions

February and March night sky of 2012 has the marvelous Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. The two planets are converging in the western twilight and currently are joined with the crescent moon. The scene will only get better in March. March the 12th Jupiter and Venus will be a double beacon less then 3 degrees apart. Also not to be missed onn March 25th the three celestial bodies will be 5 degrees apart and by all accounts will a very pretty sight to witness. Don't miss it. Below are some shots I took on February 25th 2012.

Couchiching Sky

On the eastern shores of Lake Couchiching is the community of Rama First Nation, my home. I have spent most of my life here on the "Rama Reserve" taking baby steps to reclaim my culture. The historical records says we settled here sometime after the Wendat left this region dispersed by the Iroquois. By my estimation we have been in this general area of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe for 7 generations or more. Enough time for our people to establish a strong spiritual connection with the land,air and water. I spend a considerable time capturing the interconnection of these three elements and what it means to me. It is vastly important place for me. I call this set of pictures Couchiching Sky.

Rama Ojibway Indian Council Hall 1928

Rama Ojibway Indian Council Hall 1928, originally uploaded by Robert Snache - Spirithands.net.

A little piece of history from my community. Image from D.T. Plett

Chicago Morning

Chicago Morning, originally uploaded by Robert Snache - Spirithands.net.

Just over a month ago we packed up the kids and a few essential things and flew on a mission of mercy. We were on our way to see my gravely ill mother-in-law in Marikina City, Philippines. I had a lot of doubts about taking this trip for financial reasons and pure uncertainty of the situation that was before us. A dying person so beloved, how can we not go, I thought?

I had real thoughts about my kids and whether or not they were going to enjoy this trip. We were last in the Philippines 4 years ago when both my babes were just a toddler and a new born. We went there because I was off for a few months and we just got word of my mother-in-law's diagnosis of cancer. This time the kids are older and knew a bit more about themselves and what they liked.

A funny thing happened on the way to Chicago. I was blessed by two wonderful kids who proved to be very adaptable to waking 2am in the morning to make a 6am flight in Toronto. They were excited to fly and go to see their Lola. The next blessing was a message from the spirit to me. I witnessed a beautiful sunrise on the way to Chicago. I didn't realize I had a perfect seat, the plane left at the right time, the clouds cleared at the right time and the Sun Shone so bright as we landed in Chicago. Everything was going to be ok and my spirit was lifted.

I am here today in Marikina with less than 10 days til we are due to fly back. My kids Lola, my wife's Nanay has had a miracle of 4 years of fighting cancer. This trip has saw only small steps of improvement in her ICU state. A far smaller miracle was experienced last week when she was moved from ICU to a private room. Alas, we don't know if or when the moment will come. The messages from the spirit don't tell secrets about this. At least not to me.

We continue to hope.

Stars and Night.

Many people who I am connected with in social media know that I have a passion for long exposure and night photography. I have begun to take that a step further to create Time lapse videos. Below is a rough cut of where my photography passion is going.

To create this I video I had amassed over 1000 frames of night shoots spread over 3 days. I was limited buy battery power and weather condition which hampered the duration and quality of the images due to the formation of frost. It gets cold in November! Once I had all my images processed, I created a virtual zoom and pan with the help of a Photoshop script found here. I next compiled the images in Picasa to create the videos at 1920x1080 resolution. I had the three video I created imported into Windows Live Movie Maker to do a simple video. The music is Virtue Lost which is Creative Commons audio.

Voila! I expect I will continue to create this moving image in the future.

Edit:
Here you will find my timelapse videos on vimeo.com