Pam and myself want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth at the Urban Wedding show in Vancouver recently.
The boutique allowed us valuable one on one time with some of Vancouver's beautiful brides who came looking for quality wedding services.
It also gave us the chance to catch up with other wedding professionals and exchange different ideas and views.
We wanted to offer our future clients a beautiful 16" x 20" mounted enlargement and we look forward to meeting you in the not too distant future.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Mike and Connie's Engagement
Mike and Connie from Edmonton had commissioned me to shoot their wedding next year but had actually met in Lake Louise and wanted me to shoot them in Lake Louise.
The couple had come down from Edmonton specifically for the shoot and I had flown in from Vancouver Island, so despite the unsettled weather, we were both committed and determined to make it happen.
The other big problem we faced was tourists.
Inclement weather or not, the sheer beauty of one of the Rockies greatest crown jewels couldn't keep the hordes of tourists away.
As a well seasoned photographer, I had always tried to plan my shoots, but, as they say, the best plans of mice and men had taught me to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
And so we arrived on the tourist swollen shores of Lake Louise under a threatening sky of grey cloud.
Nevertheless we set up and shot.
I'm a great believer in keeping things simple and in order to keep things flowing I shoot with on -camera flash and minimal direction for my couples.
The idea is to just let them be themselves, enjoy the moment and have some fun.
The couple were great.
Both sharply dressed AND for the conditions, it wasn't long before we got over the initial awkward stage of the shoot and things flowed like butter off a hot knife.
Both young and in love the resulting images revealed a couple who are simply meant for each other.
The light though initially somewhat dull actually brightened up during the shoot providing a lovely enveloping quality of light that complimented Connie's beautiful features.
They were awesome to work with.
We moved about the grounds shooting on the fly and throwing about ideas.
Pointing the camera in a particular direction and using a long lens for selective focus minimized the tourist problem.
The gods had smiled upon us and by the end of the shoot the fog rolled in and the lake had all but disappeared.
The couple had come down from Edmonton specifically for the shoot and I had flown in from Vancouver Island, so despite the unsettled weather, we were both committed and determined to make it happen.
The other big problem we faced was tourists.
Inclement weather or not, the sheer beauty of one of the Rockies greatest crown jewels couldn't keep the hordes of tourists away.
As a well seasoned photographer, I had always tried to plan my shoots, but, as they say, the best plans of mice and men had taught me to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
And so we arrived on the tourist swollen shores of Lake Louise under a threatening sky of grey cloud.
Nevertheless we set up and shot.
I'm a great believer in keeping things simple and in order to keep things flowing I shoot with on -camera flash and minimal direction for my couples.
The idea is to just let them be themselves, enjoy the moment and have some fun.
The couple were great.
Both sharply dressed AND for the conditions, it wasn't long before we got over the initial awkward stage of the shoot and things flowed like butter off a hot knife.
Both young and in love the resulting images revealed a couple who are simply meant for each other.
The light though initially somewhat dull actually brightened up during the shoot providing a lovely enveloping quality of light that complimented Connie's beautiful features.
They were awesome to work with.
We moved about the grounds shooting on the fly and throwing about ideas.
Pointing the camera in a particular direction and using a long lens for selective focus minimized the tourist problem.
The gods had smiled upon us and by the end of the shoot the fog rolled in and the lake had all but disappeared.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Basic Photography Classes
Interested in learning the basics of photography or lighting techniques.
Stay tuned for updates on photography seminars......where,when and cost.As we move into the winter I will be endeavouring to offer some basic courses with tips and tricks highlighted on my blog.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
THE VALUE OF A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
I grew up in the seventies and eighties with such things as the walkman and disco and .....film.
Back then I remember that you weren't a professional photographer of any caliber unless you were shooting with a medium format camera the likes of Hasselblad, Mamiya or a twin lens reflex Rollieflex.
Photography then was truly an art, the craft of visual professionals who understood the quality and play of light upon their subjects and the varying attributes of each film type that manifested their visions on that wonderful emulsion covered celluloid.
Producing a visual masterpiece took time and planning and patience.
That "image" was produced at the time of firing the shutter, the culmination of thoughtful planning, film choice, experience and engineering excellence brought together in a split second of exposure.
Yes I lament those days.
And I still hold fast to the idea that film was a medium that had "soul".
Of course, things have changed these days.
And I have had to change with them.
Sadly it's a time when anyone with a little imagination and a mediocre camera can "snap" a reasonable photograph and massage the hell out of it in Photoshop to produce something stunning.
Or a poorly produced image can be touted as the product of "artistic licence" .
I've met many "weekend warriors" who barely know the basics or are aware of any of the technical attributes of their cameras and leave their cameras on "auto" mode and fix their images later on a computer.
Don't get me wrong.
Freeing oneself from the technical constraints of photography certainly can leave you to concentrate on being more creative and I know a number of photographers who produce fine work this way.
But the mystique of the art, and the hard work and technical expertise that produced professionals like Jousef Karsh, Ansel Adams and Byron Harmon seems to have disappeared with ever increasing technology and along with this, the falling value of a professional visual artist.
Having said all this, I'm the first to agree that the new digital technology has indeed helped me personally to realize more of my creative talents and expanded my control over the final image.
Of course, as humans we are all resistant to change wanting instead to cling to the things that we hold dear in our past.
As professional photographers we need to embrace technology and move forward with it seeking to better our craft and answer the ever changing requirements of our chosen industry.
But there are somethings that should never change.
And that is the value of a professional photographer.
I'm a strong believer in the axiom "that you get what you pay for".
Twenty years behind the lens has proved this to me.
I've had potential clients have "Uncle Bob" shoot their wedding only to have them come back to me asking if I could fix their half removed heads, arms and legs, correct poorly exposed or grossly blurred images.
When it comes to weddings, not every couple can afford the services of a professional photographer and the value of his / her service is generally commensurate with their experience.
But whatever a clients budget may be, I cannot impress upon them enough that of all the services commissioned on the day of the wedding, there is only ONE service that perseveres well after the day has passed and keeps giving, generation after generation.
Of course that service is that which captures arguably the most pivotable day of ones life in all its intimacy to be relived time after time, generation after generation.
This is the service that only a professional photographer can provide........... a passionate, creative, technical............professional photographer.
Well worth the investment.
Well worth your most precious memories.
Well worth the value of a professional photographer.
Back then I remember that you weren't a professional photographer of any caliber unless you were shooting with a medium format camera the likes of Hasselblad, Mamiya or a twin lens reflex Rollieflex.
Photography then was truly an art, the craft of visual professionals who understood the quality and play of light upon their subjects and the varying attributes of each film type that manifested their visions on that wonderful emulsion covered celluloid.
Producing a visual masterpiece took time and planning and patience.
That "image" was produced at the time of firing the shutter, the culmination of thoughtful planning, film choice, experience and engineering excellence brought together in a split second of exposure.
Yes I lament those days.
And I still hold fast to the idea that film was a medium that had "soul".
Of course, things have changed these days.
And I have had to change with them.
Sadly it's a time when anyone with a little imagination and a mediocre camera can "snap" a reasonable photograph and massage the hell out of it in Photoshop to produce something stunning.
Or a poorly produced image can be touted as the product of "artistic licence" .
I've met many "weekend warriors" who barely know the basics or are aware of any of the technical attributes of their cameras and leave their cameras on "auto" mode and fix their images later on a computer.
Don't get me wrong.
Freeing oneself from the technical constraints of photography certainly can leave you to concentrate on being more creative and I know a number of photographers who produce fine work this way.
But the mystique of the art, and the hard work and technical expertise that produced professionals like Jousef Karsh, Ansel Adams and Byron Harmon seems to have disappeared with ever increasing technology and along with this, the falling value of a professional visual artist.
Having said all this, I'm the first to agree that the new digital technology has indeed helped me personally to realize more of my creative talents and expanded my control over the final image.
Of course, as humans we are all resistant to change wanting instead to cling to the things that we hold dear in our past.
As professional photographers we need to embrace technology and move forward with it seeking to better our craft and answer the ever changing requirements of our chosen industry.
But there are somethings that should never change.
And that is the value of a professional photographer.
I'm a strong believer in the axiom "that you get what you pay for".
Twenty years behind the lens has proved this to me.
I've had potential clients have "Uncle Bob" shoot their wedding only to have them come back to me asking if I could fix their half removed heads, arms and legs, correct poorly exposed or grossly blurred images.
When it comes to weddings, not every couple can afford the services of a professional photographer and the value of his / her service is generally commensurate with their experience.
But whatever a clients budget may be, I cannot impress upon them enough that of all the services commissioned on the day of the wedding, there is only ONE service that perseveres well after the day has passed and keeps giving, generation after generation.
Of course that service is that which captures arguably the most pivotable day of ones life in all its intimacy to be relived time after time, generation after generation.
This is the service that only a professional photographer can provide........... a passionate, creative, technical............professional photographer.
Well worth the investment.
Well worth your most precious memories.
Well worth the value of a professional photographer.
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