Sunday, September 25, 2011

A Thin Veil | Canadian Adventure Photographer

Tonight I pulled out my camera for just a couple of minutes. I was at the ponds in Crossfield with 7 students that were taking my last lighting and creativity workshop and we were just lighting for the last few minutes of light.


As usual on the prairies in our area the skies were amazing. Another Chinook day and a little bit of wind to break up the water along the pond. I was a little sad as I shot this, knowing that we have had an even longer fall than usual and being spoiled by that, I knew it will be gone soon. Like a little gift as someone you have had the pleasure to get to know for the last few weeks is leaving but wants you to remember them until next year. It's been a beautiful fall here in Crossfield, and the romance of life has revealed itself even if just for a moment. More than enough to appreciate, for this moment, I am content.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Rundle On Fire | Calgary Adventure Photographer

This morning I left Crossfield about 4:15 am in hopes to get relaxed before shooting sunrise at Vermillion Lakes in Banff. Well I hadn't been there for 5 minutes (6:45) when I saw the sky beginning to light up and the fire-red highlights glancing the bottom of the clouds.


Normally I move around a bit a try something different but as the sun started to hit the horizon the clouds just burst with a brightness that almost looked neon. I just recomposed this shot and took frame after frame in order to get the fast moving clouds in the right spot. Love it.


It's great to have time for my personal work and even better when I can spend it with people who are just as passionate about photography as I am. It's been a few months since I last saw Paul Zizka but every time we get together it's like I never left. He pulls over, parks, says, "hey!" and runs off to start shooting, knowing there will be time to catch up later when we go for coffee. What a great morning!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Edmonton | Creative & Lighting Workshops

Our host, Tammy Deren during the last minutes of light on day two.


This weekend I spent two days in Edmonton with a handful of extremely talented photographers. And by handful I mean 10 very fun ladies who are not only bursting with energy but very creative and passionate about their business.


Tammy Deren (Smiley Eyes Photography) was our host as well as Hope Walls who provided a wealth of experience in the business of portrait photography. Tammy and Hope were a lot of fun and their circle of photog friends made it enjoyable to teach and work over the two workshops.


Although this will be the last of this kind of workshop, I look forward to getting back to Edmonton to work with the girls on other projects and potentially some other types of workshops. Thanks again guys for having me up there, you created a lot of beautiful work with your new mad-skillz!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Pure White | Calgary Adventure Photographer

Here a two of my favorite images from our trip to the salt. I have been switching my camera color space (in camera) to monochromatic when I am shooting in bright open daylight and I love the results. In this case I shot the bobber from behind facing out on to the speed track with some sky in the back ground at an almost natural exposure. What I got was a simple scene that relies on the limited tonal range and contrast between the pure-white sand and the bike and sky. It is simple and that's what I love about it. The image becomes a simple graphic with a simple story.




In this shot with the European team riding their sidecar back to the start area, I wanted something a little more artistic but once again, simple. I decided to drag my shutter a little to get some blurr out of the sand to show movement but I also over-exposed the shot by 2 stops. What you get is the blown-out highlights taking over in the frame and with very few mid tones, the white contrasts with the black. All this done in camera with no photoshop, it still makes a stunning image when it is so far from a natural color exposure. It is nice to still make an interesting image so far from the generally accepted technically perfect settings in camera.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Lightning | Canadian Editorial Photographer

Dana Tyrell and I at the end of our editorial portrait session.


Last night I had the pleasure of photographing Tampa Bay Lightning center Dana Tyrell for ArdrieLIFE magazine. Our original location had to be cancelled because of the rain so indoors it was. My buddy Maros Hana was able to come and help with the lights last minute and we had Dana finished in less then an hour.


I generally shoot what the magazine wants and then if I have time I will do some alternate setups so I get a chance to shoot my ideas. It's very cool when my concepts get used and my editors decide they want something that looks different. I had a new idea I have wanted to try for sometime so I did an alternate with Dana as well. Make sure you get the winter issue and see what we ended up doing. Dana is a cool guy, we had a lot of fun on the set and he was totally in to getting some funny shots for the inside of the mag.