Home sweet home

Last week I did a photo shoot for Canterbury Homes, a custom builder in Sherwood Park. I have to say that these are some beautifule homes and in an amazing area too. The lots here are huge, and provide nice privacy from the neighbors. This first home, at a mere million dollars, is high on my wish list.

Fastest shooter ever!

Well, I knew I was good under pressure, but just how good surprised even me. After getting a last minute call about doing some team photos, we decided the only time we could do it was just before the game. So I drove into the parking lot at 4:30pm exactly, and unloaded my gear, went inside, found the coach, set up some lighting that would make the tiniest and plainest dressing room look cool, shot 15 kids, then went out to the field and got the entire team photo, repacked all my stuff up, and loaded it into the van. I checked the time, 5:00pm. This is a cross lighting scheme I used on the players to make the photos look cool and separate the players from the background, and I knocked down the ambient light to mute the boring change room out somewhat. There is a softbox for the main, acting like a beauty dish to light the front of the kids.

Upcoming wedding

I did an engagement shoot earlier this week, in fact, it was last weekend. (where does the time go) Ben and Michelle came by and we stayed in the studio due to the brisk weather outside. Here are some of the images.

Family Day fun

Although I met with some clients today, it was not all work for me on the holiday. I took the kids to the community hall to partake in the Family Day fun event we had planned. There was tobogganing, hayrides, skating, and even some bread making on a stick, over an open fire. So being the social director for the community league, and a photographer is kind of handy. I got a few images to use in the newsletter, and post on the website. Here is what was going on in Yellowbird this fine day.

Ring Flash

Ahhh, the ringflash. This is fast becoming a favorite fad in the photography world, and there are about 50 posts on the flickr strobist group on how to build your own. I happen to have the Rayflash version, and I was using it to do something other than on axis fill. I was using it as a forground element to frame the photo with. Now this only works when using a really wide lens, such as the 15mm fisheye I was using, and even then, I had to pull the flash as far forward as I could in order to get the entire ring in the frame. I discovered this little idea on my Mexico trip, and I really like how it looks. Sure you could make white circles around an image in CS4, but something about doing it right there in camera is satisfying. These are a couple of shots of me and my wife goofing off in the studio with the ringflash.

On the set

I went with my daughter to her first acting job yesterday. She was playing the role of a child in the back seat of the mini van for a PSA for Alberta Traffic Safety. What I found to be most interesting, being from a similar field of work, was the number of people on the set. There were about 20 people there. From the director to the cameramen, the prop guys, the talent coordinators, the AV guys, and people who I didn't know what their job was. Regardless, I found it quite interesting. I am amazed at how much goes into making things look just right. As a photographer, I too am faced with the challenge of making everything and everyone look just right, however this difficult task is compounded by the fact that we are usually working alone, or with a very small crew. I feel a bit more enlightened, and proud of the fact that even though I usually work by myself or with one assistant, and there is a crazy deadline or the event is taking place on the fly, the quality of work looks like there was a team of people on it. Photographers rule!

Edmonton Wedding Photographer

This is Darwin. He is a fellow wedding photographer and member of the PPOC. We were on a conference in Mexico last week, and Darwin and I were roommates. We spent some time shooting between seminars, and these are a few of the images I made for him. I also discovered a new technique for using a ringflash which I plan to experiment with a bit more.