Thursday, January 27, 2011

Yucatan Sessions | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer



I just got back from a week of Kite Surfing photography in the Yucatan and I am pumped about the images we were able to create!. I had a great time near Progresso (Mexico) with two dear friends of mine; Andy and Loretta. I stayed with them on the beach and any chance we had good wind, we went out.

The first day of shooting I tested out a semi-decent waterproof housing and after a bit of modification I was able to make it work. Andy is an amazing rider and was able to switch up between many types of airs and tricks and only managed to (almost) take my head-off once. The work it took 100m out in the ocean was worth it for these shots.

The second shooting day we went to the Chuburna Puerto where the riders had good NE wind and could ride behind a wave break on flat water. I was getting some decent stuff when the sun started to set and the colors started to come out. After some dramatic sunset shots we mounted a strobe on the wave-break and captured Andy launching nearly 40 feet or more against the dying sky. Awesome.

The lifestyle down there is so relaxed and it was a great break from our north American winter. The whole trip was fantastic and our riders were the real-deal and put on a spectacular session. I am looking forward to going back!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

South | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer

This week I will be heading to Progresso, Mexico for a week of (photographing) kite surfing. I have a couple of good friends who moved down to the area last year and are now living the beach life and kiting everyday. The conditions for Kiteskiing here are rough anyhow so I am looking forward to a few warm days.

Here is a print that will be for sale at the AirdrieLIFE Photographer Exhibit that I will be a part of in May. Make sure you come out and support it!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Huge Weekend | Adventure Lifestyle Photographer


I just spent the last three days at the 2011 Calgary Motorcycle Show and what a blast it has been! It is good to be back as the show photographer (taking a break as an exhibitor)and it is so much fun shooting since this is just more of my line of work. What could be better than to cover a show centered on the motorcycle lifestyle and working with world class extreme athletes.

Laurie Paetz and the girls from the Canadian National Sportsman Shows have put on a sleek and solid weekend considering the temporary slow-down in the recreation industry. This years show had the Second Gear Club back with their trials riding demonstration, sharing a hall with Yamaha's Riding Academy for kids. Show stars included Biker TV's Heather Ireland, Daryl Makk, Tautu and Jordan and Amy Szoke.

And of course, the Calgary Motorcycle Show wouldn't be complete without the Freestyle Motor cross "Motor Madness" Show put on by Performance Promotions. Once again I had the chance to work with show announcer Doug Denance and the FMX boys including Reegan Sieg, Jeff Fehr, Chris Garwasiuk, and on the ATV this year; Jon Guetter.

It is an exciting start to what looks like a big year for Spindrift Photography and I am very thankful to be doing this as a full time career. I want to thank Laurie for having me back to the show, Doug DeNance, Wes Turgeon, Doug Bishop for allowing me to work so close with the athletes. The security at the Corral for full access and bringing up the lights without question. My Second Shooter - Satnam Sidhu, for chasing down images and second shooting. As well as everyone else who let me put a camera in their face while they were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Pays To Wait | Western Canada Lifestyle Photographer

For the last few days I have been reading a lot of books on landscape photography and studying work by Darwin Wigget. Darwin is one of Canada's best landscape photographers and if I ever learned anything from his work I am sure it would improve my work a lot and maybe increase my interest.

I have always been fascinated by landscape photography but rarely do any of it unless I happen upon a scene I can capture. I have found it frustrating in the past as I am a pre-visualizer and I generally know what I want to get when I go out.

Tonight I found a spot I had kite-skied past a few days ago and wanted to see if any of this new reading would come in handy. I waited and worked the shot for about an hour, applying techniques that the masters use. I actually had a good time and am excited about these new techniques actually working to make my compositions better. I could definitely do more of this.