Went back to the same spot as the last shoot, only this time with another model - Sarita Mielke, and Tim Beer from last night. We started there for continuity’s sake, as Everett wants to create a narrative of sorts with the images.

It’s astounding how many great locations there are within these few small blocks. I had discovered another one while scouting about a couple weeks ago - this great set of iron stairs and bright blue doors and trim.. we hit that spot up, and got some really unique shots!

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Here’s the surprise bit though - as we were shooting behind this ‘closed for the night’ business… lo and behold.. the blue door opens.. “what ARE you DOING? This is my home!” We had been shooting for a few minutes, and all the flashes going off must have really been confusing to her inside! We explained what we were doing, and she was SO kind - “oh! well then! carry on, and have fun!”. I’m going to make an effort to get in touch with her to show her the results. We had tried to get permission for another location from another business around the corner as well, but they were closed, and we decided to move on. This one was more open and seemed ok to shoot at - but I suppose we were both surprised!

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It was a blessing to work with these two models - Tim did a great job maintaining the character from the night before, and Sarita threw some magnificent poses. I had to ask if she followed the series “America’s Next Top Model”… and she did! I watch it too - there are great tips on posing and lots of ‘behind the scenes’ kind of stuff to show model/photographer interaction. You just have to deal with listening to Tyra Banks talk once in a while… she should have stayed in still pictures! hahaha!

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oh no - rain on photoshoot day - - but wait! It’s PERFECT!

Did some fashion/editorial shots for Everett Wong last night - he asked for a filme noir/50’s style - I added a touch of Frank Miller(Sin City) to that - and we were off to the races! I love, love, love these shots… and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

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Here are a few more to check out:
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Quite a few new portraits to report in on.. and finally a chance to meet the publisher who is behind offering me this opportunity in the first place! She is pictured at the top here, and her name is Dorothy Jeanne Engst. Hi Dorothy! (I know you like to check in on my blog, and I Thank You!) I met Dorothy and her friend Mary down at the Crow & Gate Pub in Cedar. We enjoyed a quick beverage, and then shot some pictures next to the pond. Mary even had her dog jump into a few shots - he had spent the day in doggie boot camp and was all smiles.

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So, rewind a little bit that day, and you’d find me stopped in Ladysmith for a shoot with Carolyn James who is the Advertising Representative for True Blue Spirit. We had a really great shoot in some pretty neat locations in the downtown area. The main street was closed for a couple blocks to have a weekly farmer’s market, the sun was shining.. can’t beat the life here, I tell you. Oooh… back into the hot car… zoom zoom.. off to Chemainus!….

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In Chemainus, I met with Tiffany Abram, one of the Editors for the magazine, and daughter of Dorothy.We met at their character home set on a streetcorner in downtown Chemainus. It was a very quick visit, but Tiffany was (as her mom proudly boasted on the phone the night before) naturally great on camera.I met her husband Ben as well, who runs a company called Creative DigiWorks, and has a short film premiering in October called “Footprints of Inspiration” - you can find out more on his website.All in all - a wonderful day meeting several fine people.Watch for the True Blue Spirit Magazine on shelves soon!

I made a visit last night to a magical shop in Duncan called “Wishes”. There, I met Erin and Jacquie, who had just closed shop, but still had a couple young shoppers in there just captivated by the plethora of items this shop contains. I echoed their curiosity!

The store is just jam-packed with beautiful goods, but somehow still feels like there’s a sense of order… It’s funny how one can see so many items, yet still be pulled in from afar by a particular item, however small. I was attracted to one of the many trays of jewellery, and in particular, a nice pendant of turquoise that had a bolt of lighting shape naturally strewn across it.

We would be shooting for a magazine that should be published in the early fall season… a very exciting project that I am proud to be participating in! These ladies are considered crystal specialists, and as such, will be writing a column pertaining to that. There wasn’t an item in the store that I had interest in, that they didn’t have a wealth of knowledge on!

On the drive down to Duncan, I had the idea of lighting a crystal in their hands, and after explaining what the result would be, they were very keen on the idea! We had a lot of fun doing the shoot, and I even managed not to break anything in the process! (It was hilarious manoevering my equipment around in the store!)

To Erin and Jacquie - thanks for a memorable shoot!

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Had a great shoot with Kay, in another beautiful backyard in Nanaimo - I am jealous indeed. This summer was supposed to be the one where I finish our backyard and get a deck installed… but I’ve been SO busy with shoots, there hasn’t been time! I do, however, gather cool ideas from all these other yards I visit!

Kay’s yard has even got a fruit tree with grafted limbs of different kinds of apples or pears.. on the same tree… totally cool… and a fig tree - I want!

I popped my studio out of my bag… got about three frames in, and said to Kay, I think we’ve got it… already! She was a very relaxed poser and was just a pleasure to have in front of the camera. We went on to do a few more illustrative/editorial shots around the yard, shared stories on other mutual friends I’ve met on this project, learned about Kay’s experience with the Crystal Skull that was recently on tour in Nanaimo, and just generally enjoyed an evening in, yes, a nice backyard… like mine will be.. one day.. one day…

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I’ve been looking forward to shooting this wedding for a while… Minnekhada Lodge is a beautiful venue for such an event!

 

I was to take some of the more ‘formal’ posed portraits in a session between their wedding and the reception. Her sister, Daisy, was capturing the day’s fleeting moments, and from what I saw, she’s going to have a great collection to share as well! It was nice to be able to focus on the formals, while usually I’ll have another camera/lens/setup hanging off one shoulder and be trying to capture both! Thanks also to Daisy for the assistance in organizing the people for all the shots, and your wonderful attention to detail!

 

Rod and Linda rolled up in their limo as I awaited in an upstairs window to get an illustrative shot of their arrival. It was the first time I had met them in person, and was immediately certain that we would have a lot of fun with the session, and get some great shots!

 

My congratulations to both of you… I really enjoyed the day, as I’m sure you did - and oh, if you’re reading this; Remember I was SO jealous that you had seen bears on the way in? I got to see them on the way out! A really kind photographer that I met along the country road there even lent me his lens for a few minutes to get an even closer shot!

A busy shoot schedule wasn’t going to allow me to get down to Cedar for the Mudgirls’ “Cob Circus” open house on Saturday, but I was able to go down there on Friday night before heading out of town.

They’ve made heaps of progress on Chelsey’s cob house! Despite the minor setback they had with a collapsed wall earlier in the day - spirits were high!

We shot a few group portraits, and a fun shot of Chelsey wondering what is on the other side of the door….

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Very cool group of people; Artists, Performers, Carpenters, Labourers, and more, packed into each individual.

Here are a few more images from the day:

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It’s who you know.

Got this gig through a good friend, who also came to the shoot with his lady to assist on set. Concise and Checkmate have recently broke off a 8-year stint with Double-Up Records to start up defendersmusic.ca - They needed some fresh new photos for their promotional materials and album that should be out real soon.

We scouted around downtown for a few locations before we met up with these guys at their downtown apartment. No shortage of hot locations downtown.

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We talked about a few ideas, flipped through a hip-hop photobook, and threw on some new ‘Defenders of the Faith’ shirts in all their gold foiled glory… Then we hit the streets.

Through another local friend (you see, it is who you know).. they were hooked up by LRG with a bunch of new gear for the shoot, and the LRG party they were hosting at Toronto’s Caribana - the hottest Caribbean-fest this side of, well, the Caribbean.

Having not worked with me before, I showed them the back of the camera after the first couple shots - and let’s just say they were eager to get in as many shots with me as possible before time ran out that night. There were a few shots we didn’t even have time for, but I’ll be back to get ‘em real soon.

Check their most recent video here.

The thing about this kind of work, is that it spawns more creative and higher-level shoots for me… and it shows these guys that their shoots needn’t always be on a white background to cut n’ paste as a graphic designer chooses. We can rock this right out of camera.