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Testing, Testing…

We’ve all heard the guy with the microphone testing the system before he speaks. Preparedness limits problems, or so the philosophy goes, so know your environment before you enter it. A musician always practices before a performance and so must a photographer for a shoot.

I had an idea for a creative image and went out to capture the effect I had envisioned. My first few attempts did not give me the result I was looking for. The materials just weren’t cooperating and the location was not at all what I had expected! But fortunately for me I wasn’t with a client. 

The day of the shoot is not the time to experiment with new ideas. Had we taken a client out in an attempt to do this on the spot it would have made us look like amateurs and lessened their confidence in our abilities to produce quality images.

Moving forward, as we do, we learned from what had happened and set about to solve other issues with our environment like lighting and composition. Our new Co-op student Madison was with us, as acting model, and we ended up with some fun shots anyways. But I can’t stress enough the importance of practicing before you perform!

My Slingshot...

This summer I managed to get out a few times to visit family and friends and even spent a week in Blue Mountain, Ontario. It was very hard to leave there, as the beaches of Georgian Bay are stunning! I also got the opportunity to shoot outdoors a lot and using natural light has always been my favorite. One of the problems I used to have with shooting on location outdoors was lugging around my gear. I have my rolling suitcase, which is great to carry all my gear in "civilization", but when I’m trekking through the woods and fields I need something a little more portable and light. So now I have a Lowepro Slingshot 350! It has room for all my essentials yet not too big that it's heavy or awkward. The shoulder strap allows me to swing it around to the front for easy access. I can reach all my gear without having to even take it off! Love that!! And when the pack is in front of me, it acts as a table if I need a steady hand. And when I’m done, I just swing it back around. 

Kitestring's Christmas Spectacular

Friday night i went to Kitestring's Christmas Spectacular and i gotta say... IT ROCKED! This is the 3rd annual Spectacular, and it's been the best one so far. This is a charity event put on by the very talented folks at Kitestring Creative Branding Studio, to bring after school arts programs to Hamilton kids. Even though it's only the 3rd year, this event is getting huge! The place was packed... and i mean really packed! The place, by the way, was The Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. There was a killer candy buffet, a pageant with all sorts of performers, tons of door prizes, an after party with a live band called The Greasemarks (who were amazing, btw!) and lots of funky, merry people! 

Chris, the imagination behind Kitestring, interviewing one of the Rollergirls. Lee from Double Barrel Studios, who I just met that night and seems super fun, is filming. 

This is the crazy candy buffet. Need I say more....?

Here are the performers from that night. It was a nice surprise! Hamilton has some serious talent!!

The Rollergirls giving out door prizes

Gorilla Cheese was there and they gave out Grilled Cheese sandwiches to EVERYONE! Yum!

The Greasemarks playing at the after party. Love their sound!

Way to go Kitestring! Once again you put on an awesome show. Go big or go home, right? And what a great cause too, thanks for lending a hand to the people in our neighborhood! 

A new little girl

Say hello to Lily, a new little addition to our world! As cute and cuddly as she is, it almost makes you want to have another one…! She has a ‘little big-brother’ who is so gentle and careful around her, it seems as though they will grow to be great friends. What fun it is to photograph someone so sweet and warm. Welcome home, Lily!

Baby Gabriel

This baby's wonderful parents have been my clients since they hired me to photograph their wedding back in 2007, and 2 babies ago (that could be a measurement of time!!) And ever since then I have seen their family grow and have been photographing them about every 6 months. What a treat to be a part of their childhood and watch them become little people and evolve into whoever they will be! And for them, 20 years from now, they will look back at all these photos and it's going to be like finding a treasure every time they see them... These are the things that make my job so special.

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra

I photographed some of the musicians from The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra a while back and it was such an interesting experience. The portrait part of the photo shoot was done in the warehouse of the Imperial Cotton Center in Hamilton which is where my studio is located. I also got a chance to photograph them at Hamilton Place while they where having a rehearsal. My favorite part of the shoot was getting a chance to meet the Maestro, I'd never met a Maestro before! If you're looking for some entertainment, you must go see them play! It is such an amazing experience...

Kristy & Quinn's Engagement

This is Kristy and Quinn's engagement session. Can I just say that although the weather was fa-ree-zing (that means super cold) we had a great time! We would shoot for 2 minutes, then run in the car and warm up for 5 minutes, eat some granola bars and run back out! Kristy and Quinn were real troopers and braved the weather always in good spirits! I love their chemistry and the way they interact with each other, and with me. Photographing their wedding is going to be a blast!! Can't wait!!