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What can you do with a model in half an hour inside a small concrete room with a dirt floor?

Lisa had emailed me a while back to see if we could set up a shoot for when she was going to be in Calgary next time (she’s from Ontario) and after checking out the awesome work in her portfolio I was happy to make the time. Lisa was excellent to work with! Very professional and easy to get along with. We worked so fast in this little area and Lisa went through such a cool variety of poses. The grungy concrete box as the sun went down really lent itself to a dark kinda vibe in the photography and, even though that is a bit of a departure for me, I went along with the feel of the place and got the photos below. The last image is creepy, eh? It’s the shadow of one of my assistants holding a bit of wood we found on the ground, shaped like a knife. It’s a bit of a nod to a Joe McNally shot I liked. I’m only posting my seven favourites, but I actually got 29 photos in 32 minutes, with various lighting setups.

This year we were fortunate enough to be able to have some of my family from Australia come to visit us here in Lethbridge. Actually, they came right before Christmas, but close enough that we celebrated together while they were here. Last year my mum and dad came over at the end of autumn. This year my mum, sister, and my sister’s kids visited us. Lucky them, they came right at the beginning of the cold snap we had where the temperatures plunged to down to -50℃, with the wind chill. Considering that when they flew out from Australia the temperature there was around 28℃ that’s a bit of a difference! So we stayed inside a lot. It was simply too cold to spend more than a couple of minutes outside at a time, so most of the photos I took were fairly candid ones inside with natural light, though I won’t post those, because mostly they’re just people eating and playing games and stuff. And they’re fun images, but they’re more personal-type stuff for our own memories. I did get a few quick posed images inside though, just to have them. On the warmest day, when it got up to around -24℃ we took the kids tobogganing for a couple of hours at the Sugar Bowl. I’ll put a few of those images up.

So, happy Christmas to everyone! And, starting with just one image from when my parents came last year, here are a handful of personal snapshots from this year.

I had Mandy, Craig and their two kids booked in for a family portrait session, but when the day came it turned out to be one of those very windy Lethbridge days. The wind was howling! So we went into an empty barn/storage area kind of place in Coaldale for most of the session. Actually, I’m really happy that the weather let us down, because I loved it in there and I’m always happiest when I get to explore something new—new places, new ideas, or whatever. The space really lent itself to a modern, grungy sort of look, though with my lights I was able to control the existing light for almost any kind of look I wanted. I went with a low-key feel for most of them, just because it felt right.

When we came outside I spotted a wrecked old truck, with peeling paint and rusted metal and we used that as a prop for some quick, fun images. Mandy and Craig were very easy to work with and their son was especially happy when he got to play around in the leaves outside and throw them at me. Ah well. Whatever it takes, right? Here are some of my favourite images from their session.

Grace is a local model and a really fun person to have on a shoot.  Take a look at the photos and you’ll see what I mean!    I did this shoot with Jessica, whom I will be introducing on this blog very soon.  Grace was awesome to work with!  She was really naturally talented and hard-working, too.  I love how she was able to add her own flair to create something that really suited the clothes and environment.  It was more like she took on the role of a character and acted it out than just simply posed.  Very cool.  Check out the crazy clothing she wore when we hit the alley downtown!  It was so funny; she turned so many heads when we were setting up and shooting that scene.    One car actually drove past us, then stopped and reversed so the people in it could stare at her.  Lol!  That’s the first time I’ve had that on a shoot.  Hmm.  Perhaps if I dressed like that I’d get it more often.  What do you think—should I borrow that outfit for my next wedding? 

Jaylene is such a natural in front of the camera. I think I even asked her if she had done any modeling, which is hard to ask and not sound like a creepy old guy. Lol! But, seriously, we work with all kinds of different people, from models to people who’ve practically never had their photo taken, and I have to say that I’ve never had such a natural to work with as Jaylene. We’d be setting up and I’d be ready to tell her how to pose and I’d say, “Just turn a little . . . oh! You’ve already done it!” I love it when people make my job easy. 

We did some studio-style work first, though I’ve pretty much entirely phased that out in favour of on-location photography, and then we hit up the Henotic and a few other local locations here in Lethbridge. I’ve been going through a bit of a Henotic phase!     It’s quite nice in there, but I’m giving it a bit of a break for now so I can keep diversifying. Lethbridge doesn’t have a wealth of different locations to choose from, but I do try to do something different every session. I can’t stand to repeat myself! 

Jaylene was such an natural to work with and also a really easy-going person. Here are some of her photos.

I have something a bit different this week: photos of us! After over six years of marriage without ever having our photos taken we finally had some done. I had been thinking about this for some time and when we had the opportunity I called Dave from DQ Studios and made a time to get ‘em done. Well, I tried to, anyways. But between our schedule, winter, and Dave and Quin’s crazy flying all over the world schedule it took a couple of months before we made a date that stuck.

It was weird being in front of the camera for a change. And it was especially weird not being in charge! I had to follow directions instead of telling other people what to do! But Dave and Quin are a fun couple and I had confidence in their exceptional photography abilities, too. If anyone could make me look good it was them. It was actually a great experience being on the other side of the camera for a change, because it’s been so long since I was regularly a subject instead of being the photographer. So it’s given me even better insight into how our clients feel when we take their photos.

When I first made the appointment Dave asked me, “How do you feel about junkyards”? He’d recently met someone on a flight who owned a wrecking yard in Calgary and so he was all fired up for a shoot at this new new location. I’d never done a shoot in one either, so I was definitely interested. I’m always up for new things.     I brought along my guitar—that’s what you do at wrecking yards—because I think it’s can be cool to have some kind of props that show an aspect of who you are.  Apparently, the aspect of my personality I showed was that I take musical instruments to strange places.  It was good to have though, and it probably made me less self-conscious, because it gave me something to do.  That’s a hint to potential portrait clients. 

Dave and Quin were really easy to be subjects for and I’m glad we chose them.    On a more personal note, it was great to spend the time with Sherri and I think the photos and the photo session managed to bring us even closer, somehow.  I think looking at the photos and seeing yourselves from the outside looking in can give you a new perspective on your love for each other.  It was an unexpected benefit of the whole experience.  Here are some photos.

Do you like live comedy? If you do you’ll love today’s blog contest. Calgary’s very talented and funny comedienne Lori Gibbs is giving away four free tickets to one of her shows at the Comedy Cave and The Laugh Shop. All you have to do is come up with a caption to go with one of her photos below. Just post your captions in the comments at the bottom of this blog post and Lori and I will decide on the winners. I will notify the winners by email, so make sure to leave an email address, too.

Lori was a real blast to take photos of!  She was sweet and funny and she encouraged me to misbehave.  Yes, Lori, I hold you responsible for everything.    She came down for some headshots for her portfolio and we did some fun ones as well as a normal one.  Well, the photo is normal.  Anyway, I’ll leave being funny up to the professionals and post some photos.