Blog
Photo Composition Blog
I decided to take a picture of something that is a symbol of my childhood. This crossroad and corner store is so nostalgic to me personally because this was the only Area of Hamilton I knew growing up. I lived in the country all my life, a small town called Wainfleet, it is about 25mins from St. Catherines in the Niagara region. But all my family, both parents' sides lived in Hamiliton, and this picture is where I spend most of my time when I would visit, it is where my Nana lives. I would use to walk there with my sisters after my Papa would give us each a toonie for ice cream and candy. The memories live on from that spot Hamilton. There were also so many houses in that neighborhood, and when we would drive at Christmas or new year's, we could tell where we were by that store, meaning we were at their house. The photo itself, I took it at like 7:30 in the morning as I was waiting for the bus, that is why it was a bit darker, I thought it was perfect and exemplifies a lot of my family and that is why I chose this photo. For the Composition, I used Pattern to get the streetlights to really look fluorescent and luminating. I also used balanced to really indicate its and crossroad while still including the store on the corner of the street. Then I edited it a little bit to expose more of the lights in a darker setting.
My Nicolas Picholas Interview
So, the other day I had the huge advantage of interviewing one of my all-time favorite Radio personalities Nicholas Picholas from Janet and Nick in the morning on Kiss 98.5 Buffalo. It was an incredibly good interview, and we really had a wonderful time doing it and I would do it again if I need any advice on starting in this industry.
One of the first things I asked him was...
Chris: “What do you like about working in radio?”
Nick: “The fact you get to talk to people,”
That was huge for me as a student to hear this starting off in this industry because when I sense a good vibe with someone, we could talk for a long time, which in fact happened with Nick.
I went on to ask him “what are the daily challenges are working in radio?”
Nick: “You know, the challenges are making sure you are relevant. Trying not to upset a very divided population where people are very vocal about what they like and do not like.”
“Trying not to upset a very divided population,” we live in a very divided society and if we can keep both sides happy when in this industry is very influential. Nick explaining this in detail was a major heads up to fellow personalities such as myself who should be aware of what is to come diving into this industry, as he is a Radio personality on one of the biggest radio stations in the United States.
This next question was the one that I related to by far the most, especially when I value all the people I have met in this industry.
Chris: “Who do you look up to in the industry? He responded with...
Nick: “Everybody. I do not have any heroes. I have people I have worked with over the years who I like how they work and love working with them. I look up to those in my immediate circle of friends. I do not have a radio hero; I will say it that way. I have people that I have worked with that I really enjoyed working with and I would say Those are my heroes”
“Everybody” Nick said, this response was nothing short of exactly what I feel so far in this industry as a student as I also have people, I look up to but nothing further than who I talk to daily. Nicolas has been in the industry for such a long time, and I grew up listening to him every day, so it was a huge honor and privilege for him to take his time to chat with me. I am so thankful to Nicolas and if given the chance to sit down and chat with him again, I would do it in a heartbeat.
You can listen to Nicholas Picholas every weekday morning on Kiss 98.5, and you can follow him on Instagram: nickinbuffalo.
Why I Love Radio
So, I grew up in southern Ontario very close to Lake Erie, so when I turned on the radio, I would pick up Buffalo, New York radio stations in the area I lived in, and Kiss 98.5 was on 24/7. I was the type of kid who needed Background noises to help me sleep and to save hydro we kept the radio on as opposed to the TV. I would wake up from school and Janet Snyder and Nicolas Picolas would be the first I heard in the morning before school. I remember even missing my bus for school because me and my sisters would wait to hear the artist line up for their headlining events like Kiss 98.5’s Kissmas Bash and Kiss the Summer Hello concerts. The thing that drew me to that station was the content, I could listen for hours and not get bored, they were funny and interesting, and I always wanted to hear more, and we loved the song choices. And in my head, this seemed like a very cool career to get into. As I got older sports and more specifically hockey, would become more my interest. I would hear Janet and Nick in the morning talk about the Buffalo Sabres briefly, but I wanted to hear more hockey and more specifically the team I cheered for, so I shifted from Kiss 98.5 to Sportsnet and TSN. From there I wanted to become more of a sports personality. I love listening to Tim Micallef and Sid Seixerio, Jeff Merek and Eliotte Friedman on 32 thoughts, all the Sportsnet shows. I listen to all these podcasts and radio shows, and I hear all these opinions being said and I want people to hear my voice, I grew up having heated sports conversations, mostly hockey, and have fully debated people on certain sports topics. But then I constantly look back at kiss 98.5 where all the shows throughout the day talk about everything and interview/meet incredible people that I am a fan of. I'm not just a die-hard hockey nerd, I love everything love stuff like Music, pop culture, social media personalities, Marvel and I can provide insight on all those topics and keep things interesting or more importantly keep the listeners interested. I was never able to attend one of those Kiss 98.5 events because of bad timing year in year out, and I would love to host an event like that one day. Radio and social media have always had a huge impact on my life and where I am today, I'm always on my phone, watching TikTok's, reading on twitter, Instagram news stories about everything not just sports, fan theories, the latest on Celebrities. I have all the tools to put together an incredible radio show and even if the anxiety of going live freaks me out, I could put together a compelling podcast one day and thanks to kiss 98.5, TSN, SportsNet and a wide range of podcasts is why I love radio.