Pin ups might just be the pinnacle of entertainment for photographers and models alike.  Fun from start to finish… collecting cool retro props, hunting thrift stores for vintage clothing, researching hairstyles and makeup, then throwing a ‘pin-up party’ and setting up a mock studio right in your home… wait… what?

To Ayaka (right next to me, bottom right in picture above) - My thanks goes out to you for throwing this party, inviting such cool girls, and really getting into the spirit that goes along with this.  You see - in pinups, many things are important, the styling of hair and makeup, the posing, the light, the props… but I swear.. in the end.. it is ALL about your facial expression and your ‘fun’ factor - and every single one of you ladies just nailed it.

I think this is a smashing ‘girls night’ idea - Bachelorette?  30th birthday bash?  Just because?

I’ve got a good collection of props, a mobile studio, and resources for poses and ideas.  Just add you and your friends - it’s fun, it’s rewarding, it’s you looking most fabulous.

It’s a “Pin-Me-Up” party.  This was a first…. if you should like to be the second, and make history, I’ll give you a screamin’ deal… and your party will be one to remember!

Last week I met with model Gary Allen for our first shoot together.  FOR ONCE I had arranged an indoor space to shoot in - it could have offered some good shots - but something else was in the cards for us that day….

I often ask that a model bring inspiring pictures to a shoot, and that in some way, we can achieve a better balance of each others visions for the final product.  This is especially helpful on a first meeting, and can spark conversation and ignite ideas!

Gary had brought an image with a ‘marine’ feel to it.  Laying back on a wooden boat.  In the morning sun.  It’s 3:30pm, getting towards dusk at this time of year, and oh, it’s snowing.  Big.  Flakes.

But I have some affinity for the path less traveled… and Gary was up for the challenge.   We headed down to the snow covered docks, found a few neat locations, I set up my lights, Gary nailed some great poses, and the Port Authority came down to close the docks shortly after.   Whew!   Worth it!

So, when Joe McNally was at our workshop, he demonstrated a technique that simulated sunlight.  I wanted to keep our workshop attendees, myself included, on the high we were riding, so I set out to challenge the group to try the technique that Joe demonstrated.

On a whim, I contacted my friend, Fira, to see if she’d like to be my subject for the challenge.  She obliged, and we got a great image from our little experiment.

Fira & WonderWoman at the kitchen table.

This was shot at night (pitch black outside), but the ’sunlight’ is subtle and believable… a great trick to have up my sleeve.  Bad weather?  No light?  I’ve got you covered.

Enough said.  Well, for a photographer, that’s enough said…  but for those of you wondering, Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed photographer and has a shooting style that I have always admired.  If you asked me what my favorite photography book was, I would tell you it’s his book.. “The Moment It Clicks”

So can you imagine my shit-eating grin when he said he’d stop in to one of our workshops in Vancouver?  Yeah.

Just a casual drop in to our workshop, while he was running a 5-day course in town.  There’s a guy committed to the art, and the art of inspiring others.  Joe small-talked with us, gave us a look at some previews of his new book project, and even did a demo with our model, Cindy Fay.

After we all got over ourselves, and Joe left the building, we did what we do best - shared a lot of great tips and tricks, did some shooting, drank a few cold ones, and pulled off this great camera-nerd-group-shot up on top of Pacifica Studios.

Photo: Wayne Mah

Big shout out to Andrew Strain who had planned this meetup and secured the studio for us.  What a posh setup.  (last meetings were parking garages or under bridges, to give an idea!)

Shout out to Vancouver on Joe McNally’s Blog: “Again, Thanks”

More kind words from Joe about Vancouver: “Greetings from Vancouver”

Got a lil’ more action from the last photoshoot with Checkmate & Concise, in the form of a promotional poster/flyer.   They’re throwing a release party for their album down at the Plaza.

Hailing from Vancouver, B.C. come two of Canada’s premier emcee’s with their long -anticipated debut record, “African Kings”, the first of seven installments from West Coast legendary rap duo, Checkmate and Concise a.k.a. DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH. “This record is a culmination of events…it’s everything Concise and I have been waiting for… a diverse, well-written and produced album, featuring some of the best rappers and beatmakers we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with in our short recording careers…”. For more information regarding Defenders of the Faith, Checkmate and Concise, and “African Kings” the album, please contact us at: www.myspace.com/defendersofthefaith

I’m going to do my best to make it down there for the party.

Album is available on iTunes on November 11th - so you can make sure you’ve got all your moves down, before it goes down.  =)

My friends at Hired Guns Creative have been focusing their talents towards wineries as of late. Their classy designs are well suited for this kind of work, and to compliment the design, they needed equally classy photographs of the wine offered.

Rocky Creek Winery is a small boutique winery in the heart of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.  If you are to try only one of their wines, give the blackberry port-style wine a go… unique, delicious, and can be savored in so many ways.

These bottle images, photographed “on black” are carefully crafted - each highlight on the bottles is intentionally placed to show shape, colour, and separate them from the background nicely.  The mirror ‘effect’ is no effect at all, those are the true reflections of the bottles.   Always a challenge.   Although with some good photoshop skills a reflection like you see here could be added to an image (as is quite popular these days), a discerning eye can really tell the difference.

I believe, even if you’re not looking for the details, the entire image can make an impact on a customer’s perception of quality, attention to detail, and how much you care about each aspect of your business and marketing.

I look forward to working with more vintners in the future - typically very friendly people, gorgeous locales, and of course, a little challenge in creating clean, bright and beautiful product photographs to compliment the time spent on their craft.