Thursday, December 30, 2010

Projects | Western Canada Lifestyle Photographer

I have a lot of projects planned for this year and one of them is going to keep me close to town. I have been thinking of how I can capture some remnant of history and automation in the Crossfield area and I have decided on two ideas. One is to capture the slowly disappearing technology that was used to shape this area for the last 100 years. Like old bones fading in the sun, farm machinery just left behind to become a part of their environment. The other is to comment on the un-natural oil and gas mechanisms that try to remain inconspicuous for as long as they can live up to their purpose.
I will post work from this series from time to time until I can catalog them for a complete work.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Refresh The Page | Lifestyle Photographer

I'll tell you a secret about how I stay creative. Now that I have a little time I have dug out all my fundamental photography books and I am reading them again. I also have a little black book where I keep notes of all the important information I have ever learned about photography from books, other photographers, and experience, and I am reading it again. I now have time to go out and strengthen my foundational knowledge with freedom to focus on making great images "in camera". By Spring I will be energized and ready to be as creative as I can be without the stress of thinking about making "just" a great image.

The way I see it, if you ever stop learning then that is where you start to die as an artist. Evolution and change will keep you fresh and relevant no matter what kind of style you have. But it is not so much about "how creative" you can be but more like "how often". It's great to create an amazing image one week and ride the popularity of it's witness to your peers but it should be fundamentally important for you to be ready to do it again. Ideas and inspiration are integral to creativity but the desire to be creative is the river that flows beneath the surface of our daily lives and without it, we will just become a desert waste-land of stuff we did. Like an old building with peeling paint and collecting dust, a shell of an animal that lived it's life and was respectful enough to die and get the hell out the way.

I hope you think about this sometimes and when life gives you rest, get back to the basics. Renew your desire to stay creative, shed your old skin, and start winding the coil for that creative energy your going release through out the year...

...did I ever tell you how the Dinosaurs died out.......?

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Just Cruising | Calgary Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

Well it's always nice to have my camera on me now that I am using the Contejoure 40 pack from Click Elite. I almost forget that I have it on but then I can just stop in the middle of a session and blast away or setup for a shot.

It was tough today though, a few of us went to Spray Lakes and there was just enough wind and snow to make me want to ride as much as I could. While packing up I couldn't resist this shot of Ross and his very green kite. Amazing BlueBird day in the mountains!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Just Wait | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

It won't take long, for a good opportunity to make a great image. Even when your busy the moment will come and you have to be ready.

I'll admit I wasn't ready and this shot is all that I got out of an amazing skyline tonight. That's what happens when your busy doing nothing. And even though I need to relax and take a break, I have a new camera and lenses I need to break-in. Besides, the more I shoot, the more it energizes me. I can sleep later.

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Good Match | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

Last month I had a family drop in to the studio for a family session. We had known in the fall there was no way we could do something outside so I wanted to try a few different things. I had done some storyboards but just before the session I went on the itunes site and saw the classic black and white shot of the Beatles in their "hippy" days. Just a simple, loosely posed shot, showing their individuality but yet all together still a single unit. I love this shot.
I had to try that shot with this family. I already know they are cool and it has been great getting to know them the last few years. I have a lot of clients both good and bad just like any other industry and sometimes it's nice to have a good connection. With photography I like to get to know my clients a little better as it helps me to draw their character out in the images. These guys were a lot of fun to work with and I think this image worked well.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Full Time

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post so you know it's been very busy. In fact I don't think I have ever been this busy and the business is truly full time and seems to be running on it's own.
Been doing some great work and I'll be posting it soon. We have been busy getting sports packages out to the teams and finishing our print-runs for the year. Looking forward to getting into the back country and doing some kiting. Speaking of which, I just picked up the latest issue of Airdrie-LIFE magazine and I have published a few more images as well as my first un-edited written piece. Pretty exciting to not only get images in but to write as well. Been a great year.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Oil Slick | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

Tonight I had the privilege to photograph a friend of mine from town. Mike is a mechanic at the local garage and a member of the "Diablos" classic car club. I have had this idea to shoot mike for about a year now and just 2 hours before the session I had this wild idea pop into my head.

Mike doesn't really drink anymore but what do you get a gear head to do in studio that is going to shock my audience? Naturally I imagined him drinking from a quart of QuakerState 10-40 motor oil. So, without further adieu, here is Mike! (ps. butter flavoured pancake syrup looks just like fresh motor oil...)


Saturday, November 6, 2010

The View So Far | Canadian Adventure Photographer

Well I definitely can't say that I have made it. And by "made it" I mean when you know that you have come to a point of true success in your career. Nope, I sure can't say that, but I can say that I am enjoying the place I'm at right now.

Today a good friend of mine and I went to Moose Mountain near Bragg Creek, Alberta for a little cross country mountain bike session. Not too hard, about 1500 feet of elevation gain over 6.5 kilometers or rough and rocky goat trail. Weather was great. A little windy but clear and blue and about 6 degrees, just right to keep the body temp down while pedalling uphill.

I love going into the back country with Pat, he is extremely positive and never has anything negative to say. It's all about enjoying the moment and being "present" while we are out there. Today was just the same, catching up since our last kite sessions last spring and discussing our plans for a potentially amazing winter season. No major highlight, no peak experience (excuse the pun), just a good day enjoying the view. So far, so good!


Friday, November 5, 2010

600 And Still Counting | Canadian Adventure Sports Photographer

Phew!!!

We just finished two weeks of photographing nearly 650 kids in sports teams in Central Alberta. Now post production is in full swing and some packages are already into the lab for printing. This is our busiest time of the year and it is nice to work with the local sporting associations and take care of their sports pictures.

Another week of packages and printing and it will be time for some back country work. Below is a great couple who came out for a session this morning. The weather was great!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Happy Halloween

It's that time of the year again.......

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Come Back Soon | Calgary Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

I had to get out for one last ride today and I am so glad I did. Being on the motorcycle again was another great experience. My custom Cafe Honda is 35 years old and even though it has been sitting for two weeks, it started up right away.

I notice the air is quite warm as I pull up to the end of Murdoch Street and begin making a left onto to the Madden Highway. Rolling out of the corner I twist the throttle back and kick up through the gears until I am just past the last 50 Km sign, now almost at full speed. Cruising west directly into the sun which is now lumbering just above the horizon, it’s hard to see but with my sunglasses on it is not too bad. My front wheel is just a little out of round so at top speed the bike shakes just enough that most of the road is a blur anyways.

Now in top gear I am travelling as fast as this old bike will go, the engine letting out a distinct metallic drone. I lower my profile, push my butt into the hard foam at the tail cup of the seat and bring my chin to a hover just above the gas cap. I can feel the air ramming the soup bowl sized head light and spilling over the gages, wrapping around in a load roar as it makes one last effort to rip my helmet from my head.

I pull the visor down and all the noise and vibrations move at once to the outer envelope of my new bubble. The noise has become white, like an un-tuned radio in another room, there but barely noticeable. Just the road now, a converging point in the distance that is rushing upon me with yellow and black and exiting through my periphery. I was excited but now I am calm, almost detached from my previous focus and the world around me slows down. This is it, that moment of purely simple satisfaction of being alive and being unbelievably aware. It is in this place I can hear my soul, and for a brief instant, I am sure I thought it say, “you need to come back here soon”.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

New Town Council | Political Portrait Photographer

Tonight I was at our new council's swearing in ceremony at the town hall in Crossfield. I was asked to photograph the new Mayor and Council but the town office is just way too small. Actually, the building next door where we shot was also way too small but I managed to jam my lights up as high as I could and get this shot of the group.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

One Big Wheel | Canadian Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

This morning I met with a couple of guys from Calgary who actually ride unicycles in the mountains. These things are simple yet built like a tank. They were riding off of 20" ledges, riding onto rocks and logs, it was very cool. We spent half the day in Kananaskis at Elbow Falls and a few other locations close by.

Here is a shot from today.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Downhill MTB Shoot | Western Canada Adventure Lifestyle Photographer



The family and I packed up and drove to Salmon Arm, BC for the weekend and while I was there I had the chance to take out a few DH mountain bikers from the area.

We Spent two days at a West facing slope just outside of Canoe in the Larch Hills called" "Rubberhead". I have ridden this area myself and it has a lot of great places to shoot. Unfortunately it rained for two days so we only managed to get a small portion of what I had planned.

We had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday in Pritchard with my wife's family and by 4pm the sky started to open up so My cousin Steven and I ripped a little closer to Kamloops to have a look at "the Ranch". We managed to shoot for 20 minutes with a dramatic skyline as the sun dropped below the horizon.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Square Peg | Canadian Adventure Lifestyle Photographer



I was at my doctor’s office a while back, just about the time they started removing the children’s toys from waiting rooms. Some kind of media led scare tactic in an attempt to reduce the spread of germs, I guess. I am sitting on the rock hard chair when my focus slipped from the 13 month old sports illustrated magazine to the noisy 13 month old child in the play area. I figured this little guy was waiting for his mom and he was playing with one of those hammer-peg sets with the red painted sides and the round colored blocks that kids love to hammer through the holes. Weird thing about it though, and what really drew my interest was that the peg this kid was trying to pound through the round top holes, was square. The peg looked just like the others, painted orange but oddly enough, it was square. I started to wonder if it belonged to another set or if some sick person had intentionally setup a queer intelligence test for little people. No matter though, it was starting to get interesting and I had to try hard not to laugh while I looked around the room to see who was responsible for this kid who was now beating the crap out of this toy. I was amazed by his stubbornness or maybe it was his tenacity. Again and again, this kid would grab the peg, line it up right over the hole and drop that hammer like he was drilling pipe. With every smash of the little pine hammer, a high pitched roar of contempt mixed with disgust would echo through the waiting room. This, I though, was much better than a 13 month old magazine.....

As entertaining as this kid was, I can’t help but wonder if we as humans occasionally do the same thing. I mean really, I have seen just as much frustration on the face of some of my friends at times as I saw in this peg pounding child. What if our lives were created like this wooden set with the round holes, and we are just trying to cram our idea of who we think we should be into where we are right now? Are we unhappy with our jobs, or do we constantly dream about what we should have done with our lives? All too often we take the easy route to a secure and safe lifestyle. We go to school for our parents, go for that easy money job, all the while thinking that we will be set as long as we have money. We get busy, life and kids and at the end of the day we think we’ll get started on that dream tomorrow.

The problem with tomorrow is that it is just that; tomorrow. We need to think about what we can do today, and how can we start to live that dream instead of just dreaming it. One sure way to start is to understand what it is you are passionate about. Are you passionate about some kind of vocation? Do you love to work with people? What do you do in your spare time that energizes you? I am not saying that your passion has to be your job, but what if it was? Pour your energy into the things you love, do it lots, and be patient. Eventually you will be doing something that you were created for. You will know because people will see your passion, you will be very good at it, and getting paid for it will just be a bonus.....

Relax, put down that square peg, and get started on what you were planning on doing tomorrow.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Grad Session - Two Lights



Well I had written something very profound but then my browser crashed and it is gone....

That's why you should save your work, DOH! Anyways, Mitch and I stopped at a few locations around Crossfield and set up a two light studio portrait rig to get the shot of him in his Soccer gear. Lovin this lighting setup.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Projects

As I posted previously I am now working with a major production company in L.A. to distribute my adventure lifestyle photography. What this means is that I will be working on a lot of my own projects and shooting almost full-time while I am in the mountains. I meet a lot of interesting people and am always on the look out for individuals who live their lives to the fullest and play hard when they get out there. If you are one of these people or know someone who is into some fringe sport or likes to just live passionately in the Rockies, go ahead and send me a message.

See you out there!

OCF Workshops A Total Success




Earlier this year I was talking to a few other photographers about putting on an "off Camera Flash" workshop. I love this kind of work and to actually show others how to get great results from off-axis flash just seemed like a fun time.

The OCF workshop takes place for one day on a weekend in an exotic or cool location, we bring in models and and six photographers from various markets and spend the day learning the "baseline" for their exposures. During the day the photographers are let loose to use this new tool to be creative as well as discussing the relationships with clients, business of photography, posing, and a series of considerations when photographing people outdoors with studio-like lighting.

We started the year with both busy-amateurs and established professionals, everyone was getting amazing results early into the workshop. This weekend we finished the season by shooting the Calgary rock band "Telly Rock" out near Drumheller, Alberta and had our guest instructor Michael Warf join us in Okotoks at the Big Rock Erratics.

When I started this I was excited to see everyone getting such professional results but now I am just blown away by how amazing our students images were when they overcame the fear of off-camera lighting. Everyone who joined us did a fantastic job, including our models, and instructors. Thanks again to everyone who came out and made this project a success. We have huge plans for next years workshops, it's going to be great! Below are group photos from our workshops.




Thursday, September 23, 2010

Just Great Work

I seem to be doing a lot of great photography jobs lately and that means working with awesome clients. It has taken some time but more and more people from around this area are hearing about how stress-free and fun our portrait sessions can be.

I will be back shooting some interiors this fall and spending more time with families while the colors are amazing and it is still warm enough to be outside without a jacket. This family suggested we try the session at their property and I am glad they did, what an amazing place and they were easy and fun to work with.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Season Is Almost Over

I photographed one of my last weddings of the season and a fantastic couple I have come to know over the last year. This couple did a great job looking warm while it was actually only a few degrees in the positive. Funny thing is, every time we have been together for a session, it has been extremely cold. Great images though, congratulations guys!

I would also like to thank Darlene at Priddis Greens - Golf & Country Club for being extremely professional and accommodating to myself and our wedding party. This is an amazing location even when the weather is not the best.



Thursday, September 16, 2010

Happy And Stress Free

That's right! I have done a bunch of these sessions this week and parents are actually telling me their kids are happy afterwards. No parents frustrated, no kids whining, just a pile of fun images.

If you don't already know, sessions are free and only last 10 minutes tops. You can see the proofs in minutes and all print orders are reduced to $20.00 per sheet. It's a great alternative to the basic school photos.


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Is There Really A Market For My Work

As you can tell I have been extremely busy and so much that the blog has not been updated for a week. Lots of cool stuff has been happening lately. First one being that I have written my first real piece for a magazine. It is a small (473 words)one but it is to accompany my Kiteskiing images in the winter edition of Airdrie-LIFE magazine.

The second cool update is that I will be licencing my extreme sports photography with a sports subsidiary of GETTY IMAGES which is the largest image source in the world. Very cool to get a call from Los Angeles from someone who is interested in the type of work that I love to do.

Now it is time to put together all of the projects I have been dreaming of for the last few years. Maybe there is a market for the type of work I am passionate about.

Below is a recent shot from one of my student/grad sessions.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Let 'em Loose

I just had to post these! In my line of work I am generally required to have an assignment or session planned out and pre-visualized so that I can get the shot that an editor, art director, or client is looking for. Once in a while I will do my own work which still requires that a fair amount of planning and pre-production. So when I get a couple of wild kids in the studio for an all out - "do whatever you want" type of session, it is a breath of fresh-air.

It is so much fun letting these guys do what they want, it keeps them focused and releases the tension and boredom that is usually associated with family photos. An added bonus is that with fast studio lighting, I can shoot between the fun ones and still get classic relaxed keepers that parents are going to want to look at forever.

Kids are so much better when you can let them be themselves.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Wrong Criteria

So a few posts back I mentioned in a news article that I had been asked to send in a few samples of my sports work to be possibly selected for the Mayors "where Sports Meets Art" Breakfast on the 30th of September. Well last week I recieved an email stating that my images where of "extreme sports" and did not fit the criteria for their exhibition (not generic enough). I told them that was fine but I would still leave them in for the judges to see. And what do you know? Last night I got another email informing me that one had actually been selected for the Mayor's display and if I could bring in a framed version for the public showing. The image selected is below.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Fresh New Light

Had to post this image tonight. I just recieved two more strobes to match the previous two I had, now the backdrop light syncs up nicely with the portrait strobes.

Once in a while I have to use the kids for shot tests and generally the man-cub doesn't like sitting for too long. But once in a while he pulls some pretty funny stuff. I don't think I was ever this funny when I was 8 years old.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

What Goes On The Wall

Sometimes I have to stop a session to change things up, or change gears if you will. Actually I am going to make a point of doing it more often. I mean, how hard was it as a kid to sit through family portraits? Ah, oh yeah, I too had ants in my pants and I wouldn't expect any kid to sit through any formal session without wriggling about like a fish out of water. Kids need to use their imagination and I find they are focused even for a second when they can play or use their imagination. Yesterday was just the same, and for just a brief moment, these guys got to relax. The classic family session resumed and their images look fantastic, but I could look at this shot all day.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Take A Year Off From War

Of course this is just a figure of speech as these two are not in the military. Our couple however has decided to take a year off from mission work to focus on their marriage. Good for them.
Yesterday we were in St. Albert to witness this cute couples' vows but I was also there to capture the day in Photographs. They are both overseas missionaries working for a North American organization and a great referral from one of my weddings from last year. Even with all the smoke from B.C. we were able to get decent light and the Glendale Golf and Country Club was a nice spot to shoot.

Monday, August 16, 2010

**Quick Shot** News

Last week I was asked by the Calgary Sport Council to submit 5 images that they will pick from to be displayed at the Mayors Sports Exhibition at the end of September in calgary. Some of these images are displayed a various stores and coffee shops around Calgary and area and it is exciting to get the exposure. I will post the winning image once I hear back from the council. Thanks to Tara for the link.

Friday, August 13, 2010

No Gain All Pain

It can be a little frustrating to not complete something you had set out to do, especially when it's your body that fails you. I guess I need to be realistic though, I knew I was hurt going into this but I didn't want to jam on a new climbing partner.

While I was waiting at 7500 feet for Brad to attempt to solo the second half of the climb, I had seriously considered giving up the big mountain climbs and just stay to the front ranges. Brad eventually got blown off about a third of the way into the ridge and we headed down. I had a lot of time to think about it as we had a long way to go. We had earlier hiked a very steep trail to get to the col (saddle), which was roughly the equivalent of hiking up Kicking Horse Mtn by itself. We had cranked up 4000' feet of vertical in just 4km of trail in 2hours and 30 minutes.

By the time we were in the parking lot I had resolved that I just need to be more prepared on these demanding climbs. I was hurt because I had taken two months off from training. Being an active person is not enough for someone recovering from 10 years of chronic pain. It's work but suffering on a long trip in the back country is more than enough reason to continue to train.

Below is a view from 7500 feet where I left Brad to attempt the solo. The highway is about 500 feet below the trail you can see to the far right (middle) of the image. I have never been in this kind of an environment before, with two massive glaciers above us. There were cascading rivers everywhere, and old growth forest broken up by huge boulders left from the last retreating ice age. all you could hear was the crashing flow of melt water along every trail and stream-crossing. It was amazing, and I'll be back. I am not done yet.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Nothing To See Here

Sometimes as a photographer I need to remember that there is "always something to see"! Far too often we have so much going on up inside our head that we fail to notice everything that really is going on around us.

Take this image for example. A few days ago I took the kids to a beach on the island at low tide to find some critters. Everything was grey and muted, no blue sky, and aside from a few pieces of driftwood, there was nothing cool to shoot. Then about an hour later a tiny red dot caught my eye, I stopped, and forced myself to get down close and look. There I found a tiny (the size of a pencil eraser) sun-baked crab shell quietly waiting out its final existence on the beach sand. The color contrast was perfect, nice bright and red against the dark sand. I set my Canon Point and Shoot to macro and got really close in order to get as much detail as possible.

Sometimes we need to make ourselves less distracted. Maybe even train ourselves to have an internal alarm when we feel totally stressed. An alarm that triggers us back to a moment of reality where if we are quick and disciplined enough, we can stop and look around at what is really happening. We need to remember what life is really about, what is important (as opposed to urgent), and enjoy the fact that we are still ticking.

Mark Twight is an accomplished Alpinist and writes a lot about fear and talks about how he programmed his internal alarm. During training for a major ascent on a mountain range he would take one of his carabiners (for clipping safely into the rope and anchors) and open the gate and let it snap shut while focusing on relaxation. He did this over and over again until the sound of the carabiner's gate snapping shut made him automatically relax. I think we would have one more tool for getting back to reality if we all worked on our own stress alarm.

What will yours look like?

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Sutra On Fire


Last night we stopped in Salmon Arm for the last time as this was the final day of our trip to the Island and back. When we were about 3 hours from town Steven called me and gave the heads up that our buddy Sutra would be giving a fire dancing demo at the mall around sunset. Needless to say I wanted to get there quick as this would be a great photo opp and an excuse to get my gear out for some fresh air.

Little did I know that Sutra had an interest in this and has spent a lot of time practicing and understanding the art of fire dancing. He is a pretty eclectic guy and very good at things he is interested in so this was no different. I shot some test images at the mall during his last show and afterwards we decided to meet at the skate park to get a real night-time look at his craft.

I just can't leave my strobes at home as I am not finished finding new ways to pump up the light and color in my images. I love this type of shot and shooting with so many cool and interesting characters gives me more and more energy. In this photograph I simply used two optical slaves (ETTL) and split Sutra right down the middle with them 180 degrees apart. Simple, yet dramatic with just the right timing of the flaming (monkey) fists.

Awesome!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Tofino

I finally got the chance to surf.

I’ll admit I thought I would have no problem figuring it out and after a few waves I would be riding them in. In reality though, surfing is very hard to figure out on your own and I found my progression would have been faster had I done two things. One obviously would have been to take a quick lesson, and the other would have been to rent a bigger board.

Eventually I got up on the board and actually did surf but I also spent too much time getting pummeled by the tiny Tofino waves at Chesterman Beach. Being out on the ocean was fun though and another great experience. The family had a great time and for our first big driving holiday to the island, we are getting to see a fair bit.

We are now in Sooke and it sounds like my Brother-in-law wants to take me diving for crab (read dinner) this afternoon. Tomorrow relaxing for a few days before a Phillips Brewery tour and some street luging in Victoria.

Driving from Port Alberni
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Friday, July 30, 2010

Night Ride

Last night in Salmon Arm I took in a group ride put on by my cousin Steven and his buddy Sutra (from Skookum Bikes). I don’t do a lot of Downhilling in Calgary but anytime I get together with Steven, I get a DH bike and a personal guide on some of the best DH mountain biking lines in all of B.C. The trails we ripped up last night were no exception, and some of the best riding I have ever done.

There were a total of 9 riders and the three runs we got in had everything from steep rocky technical descents to open flowy burms overlooking the Shushwap. So much fun and so fast, I was in the zone and felt better than I have in a long time. The best part of the night though, was riding in the dark!

That’s right, our last run was super late so by the time we got to the last 2km section in the trees, it was so dark you could barely see the trail. At one point I was cruising around an open section and dropped into an 8 foot wide path with grass on either side of the trail while still booking it. My mind started screaming warnings to my hands, “BRAKE NOW” but I couldn’t resist the pleasure I felt from just letting go and hitting the snaking trail at top speed. Green patches just outside of my arms reach started to appear and blurr back and forth, moving side to side with the trail. My body felt motionless only for a split second while everything in the world around me just vibrated like a shaking wet oil painting. And as fast as it came on, this dreamy tunnel snapped away as I burst through trail opening and skidded to a stop with the other riders on the logging road, grinning and for just a few more minutes, extremely satisfied.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Salmon Arm Section

Arrived just in time for dinner last night at our cousin's place just outside of Salmon Arm. The trip was relatively uneventful aside from the man-cub spraying (read - puke) an "as of yet unknown" purple liquid all over the van and back of my seat just minutes after we picked him up from camp. I waited to see if his head would spin around and then we were back on the road.
Today I am looking forward to going out with the locals for some DH mountain biking and taking a few shots while we are out. If I can get to a wireless point in town I will post some images.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

On The Road

First thing Wednesday morning we will be heading out on the road for a 10 day trip that will take us to the island. I have been looking forward to this for some time now. We will be stopping in Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Hope, New West, Nanaimo, etc, etc... It will be nice to spend some quality time with the kids and to finally try a few things I have always wanted to do. One of those being surfing on the west coast.

I will do my best to update the blog every day and post how the trip is going. Please keep checking back and make a comment when you can.

Below is a shot from my second Off Camera Flash Workshop last spring.
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Monday, July 26, 2010

Very Interesting

I received a call from the editor of AirdrieLIFE magazine this weekend for a last minute assignment for the upcoming fall issue (fall already?). The story is on a local pumpkin grower who apparently can get them to over one thousand pounds. Unfortunately it is early in the season and to make matters worse, this is a transition year. Needless to say, I didn't get to see any giant pumpkins.

Eddy (our pumpkin wizard) did however give me a fairly detailed introduction to pumpkin pollinating and some insight into the genetics of pumpkin breeding. Pumpkin breeding? I have to admit though, it was very interesting.
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Sunday, July 25, 2010

One Last Blast

I thought maybe the peak of the storm season had passed but every couple days we get something new popping its head out from the NW of town.

Tonight was no exception. My wife and I were on our way back from the inlaws place in Airdrie when we spotted this beasty making it's way from a pounding in Didsbury. A few backroads later we stopped to take this photograph near RR 290 and 795 (mountainview County). Maybe we are not done yet.
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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Test Peice

Mark and I decided to take a quick rip up a local peak in the Bow Valley. Both of us had been up Door Jamb Mountain (6,805')in the past but we had just enough time to make it to the summit of Loder (6,878') and get back down.
This is a fantastic ridge exposure just above the Graymont Plant near Exshaw, Alberta. 70 minutes up is not a bad time for something this elevation. Blue Bird day to go with it. Nice!
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Friday, July 23, 2010

Real Characters

Well I was west of Carstairs today to shoot a client and her horses. I have to say, these guys (horses) were hilarious. I had no idea horses could be so funny. I just had to post this shot. My clients are so fun!
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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Mountain Top Wedding

I have to say, today was one of my funnest weddings to date. It is so easy to work with clients (friends?) when they have a lot of their own energy and are naturally just fun. Not too mention the JP was a riot, it was easy to see he loves his job.

We flew out of Alpine Helicopters in Canmore early this morning only to be greeted on top of the East end of Grotto mountain by a nasty storm. It was looking like we would have 5 minutes to get the money shot so of course the pressure was on. We did get a little wet but the storm blew over and as overcast and windy as it was, everyone was having a good time.

Our JP was an ex-National Parks Warden named Rick Kunelius who is based in Banff. Great guy, Rick is very safety conscious and loads of fun while trying to keep the ceremony the way the clients want it. Rick works well with Alpine Helicopter, and I highly recommend anyone who is planning a Helli-wedding or taking a tour through the Bow-Valley check them both out.

Dez and Remi where awesome to work with. Dez couldn't keep her eyes off Remi (the only hard part about the portraits) and the both of them made the day more fun than just a session. The classic military couple though as Remi leaves soon for a tour in Afghanistan. I wish them all the best in their new life together!
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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Session In The Country

Found this nice little town that has buildings from around 100 years ago, the place is amazing. Tonight we took Shay out for a quick Grad session. The conditions and light were awesome and I am just loving the simple one-light.


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Monday, July 12, 2010

Live Airport Runway

Last night I took an old client out to a local airstrip for a new lifestyle session. We left Crossfield around 7pm and on the way we got hit by rain and it looked like the session was done for.

You see I had originally asked this local airport if I could get on (a few weeks back) and when I called them this week there was no answer at their office. I drove around on Sunday afternoon looking for a plan-B but I just couldn't get this vision of the runway out of my head.

Well we arrived around 8pm and found out we had our access so we pulled out onto the runway just as the storm was moving past to the east. It was amazing and great timing, wet pavement and the sun setting directly to the west of us. A few lights from the east and we had it.

Magic!


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Thursday, July 1, 2010

Happy Canada Day


Last night I had both P.O.'s out for the second half of our web assets shoot. Here are Jeff and Sheleigh after a long day of handing out driving violations on the 1A.

Taking off for a few days for Canada Day weekend. Have a great one!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Local Peace Officer


Finally met up with the local PO to get a nice head-shot. Originally these images were going to be for the new Crossfield Website but the session was put on hold for too long.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Personal Therapy

Shot out to K-Country this morning with a two other like-minded individuals for some serious hill-bombing (that's me in the yellow). I now have the two street luges and when riding, it's always better when there's more than one. I am guessing we got up to about 55km/h because the guy running the followup vehicle couldn't keep up at 50km. Can't wait to go again.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Another Lifestyle Session


Early this morning I met a cool couple out at Gap Lake in the Bow Valley to crank out another fun lifestyle shoot. This time our guy was Tom who is very serious about fishing. I really wanted to shoot Tom out on the water so last Monday I drove out to the mountains to check out some locations.

This was a good spot as I was able to set up my AB 800 strobes on shore and walk out to him on the boat. Thanks to my buddy Tim the night before, as he offered me his neoprene hip waders.

This is the kind of work I could see myself doing all the time, spending time taking photographs of people living out their passions, awesome.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Referals Are Great


Referrals are awesome, especially when they come from another photographer. On Thursday night I got a request to shoot a band who would be performing at Beer Fest 2010. Sounded like a good job but I new it would not pay well. Usually the terms, "band" and "pays well" never go together and I've known this for many years now.

The Referral though, came from my good buddy Sergei Belski in Airdrie. He is an amazing photographer and was in the middle of a tournament shoot so sent the band my way. I guess they liked what they saw on my site as they were pretty excited to have me come down and shoot. I was pretty excited about the fact that I could squeeze in a quick Friday night job and have all the free craft-beer I could drink.

The guys ended up being quite talented and I actually liked their music. We did two sets and I got about 400 usable images for them to use (and a 3 song demo disc). It may not seem like a good trade-off for me but you always get something extra when doing these kind of jobs. At the session I met the editor for two big Calgary magazines who is interested in my work, and a guy who is in the communications dept. at the CBC. It could always turn into something else.