Saturday night marked another installment of the annual Hang the DJ Retro Prom at Dickens Pub.  A night of merriment, 80's tunes and some seriously impressive feats of hairspray. I was asked to help create some memorable awkward prom photos as well as a few not so awkward photos because now that we're all grown up, dancing with your date isn't nearly as icky as it used to be.

I'm often reminded by Mr. Bastard that my head is abnormally small compared to most adults,  the large shoulder pads sewn into the stylish canary yellow ladies blazer I'd chosen as my costume really helped to accentuate that. I'm not sure if that's really the best feature to show off but I'll work with it. At any rate, I had a blast giggling behind the camera all night and I may have inadvertently sold someone a house with my sweet 80's young urban professional attire.  

I wrapped up the photo booth around 2 am and with rapidly drooping eyes, headed homeward.  It was cool out, but my stylish canary yellow ladies blazer helped keep the chill off. I turned on to my street and looked up to see the northern lights dancing in the sky.  I like to think that it was the 80's tunes that brought them out, I couldn't help but tap my feet and bob my tiny little head with the songs of Corey Hart still ringing in my ears. I pulled over to the side of the road and contemplated for a moment, with all the camera gear loaded in the truck already it would be a shame not to at least try to capture a few shots of the lights dancing over the city.  I was exhausted and no more than 200 feet away from my bed at that point, but the call of the camera convinced me to turn the truck around and drive back down town.

I have been known to wear inappropriate clothing when shooting landscape photos in the past. I'm usually too hot, too cold or standing knee deep in a lake when my boots only go up to my ankles.  That part is not new. What is new, is freezing my ass off in a bright blue mini dress and a stylish canary yellow ladies blazer at 3 am while standing in a typical photographer stance desperately hoping that the cars and pedestrians slowly going by don't recognize me.  

 
"Hey Llisa, we were just talking about you! We wondered if you were out taking pictures tonight"  I heard as the faces slowly emerged under the street lamps.  It was my friend Rob of Copsickle fame and his Missus, on their way home from a show.  I had been taking photos of the faint aurora looking south to the skyline, but had recently given up in favour of a selfie.  I hoped they hadn't noticed me trying to do a long exposure of jazz hands on the steep grassy slope while wearing footwear more suited to places like a pub or in a box in the back of a closet.  

Actually, I'll level with you - it was three selfies, the first two didn't turn out. My jazz hands were too jazzy. 

Fortunately,  Rob and Megan had been riding their bicycles north and were treated to a good enough show in the sky that they didn't mention any of the slipping and jazz handing I'd been doing. That would have been embarrassing. However, their excitement over the aurora in the sky confirmed my suspicions that I would have to move to my second favourite skyline picturing location on the other side of the city thus prolonging my bedtime for at least a little while longer.