grace

(saturday)

Awoke at 7:05 to a dog sniffing my face.

Not a usual occurrence, but I'm house/dog sitting for my parents this week. Roxy is used to getting her breakfast at 6, and her stomach decided it was time I got up.

The sun was beaming, Spring finally deciding to make herself known. After a solid half day at the office, I joined my brother and neighbour in landscaping the strip between our houses, transforming it from a muddy slope into a usable walkway; no longer will I ruin a pair of shoes simply by exiting my house.

While sweating and shoveling, I got a text from The Girl:

"What best describes me?
Graceful
Funny
Sweet
Happy
Sexy"

Not the first time I've gotten a text like this from her. She's doing a quiz, and wants my input (even though she almost never uses the attribute I chose). I reply "Graceful"

Beat.

"Shut up"

See?

I was serious though. Grace is one of those characteristics that seems rare today. It's one of the reasons Audrey Hepburn continues to enthrall me; whether in Roman Holiday, Sabrina, or My Fair Lady, she epitomizes grace. Poise. A sense of worth, satisfaction, comfort in and knowledge of who she is.


(sunday)

Sitting in a cafe after church. It's that time of year where her schedule is filled up with various bridesmaid-related duties, mid-terms and lab reports, while mine is packed with work and an ever-expanding library of yet-to-be-realized photography projects, not to mention this oft-ignored blog.

So we sit, her with her books and highlighters, me with my camera and computer.

Old men find themselves drawn to her. It's hilarious to witness as these silver-haired gentlemen approach and comment on her books, her hair, how she appears so much smarter than the guy sitting opposite her. She flashes her smile, chats with them, laughs at their clumsy (albeit well intentioned) jokes, and leaves them feeling like they've still got It.


Sweet is endearing, Happy is enlivening, Funny is desirable and Sexy is alluring, but I'll take Graceful any day of the week.

22.3.09. Slightly increased contrast.

salomé

This was the photoshoot that almost didn't happen.

I went to high school with Sharla*, and through the wonders of Facebook, reconnected over a shared love of photography. Now that her daughter is a little bit older, Sharla was moving into doing photography more seriously and was looking for some portraits of herself for her own website.

First we talked about it, then let it sit for several (read: many) weeks before finally setting a time to do it.

Then I got the date wrong, and sat waiting in the Blenz downtown, a week early.

Then the next week, Sharla's car wouldn't start.

Rather than cancel again, we changed the location and went up to Mission Hill Winery, right above her house. The only other time I'd been up there, we'd gotten kicked...rather, 'politely escorted out'...for taking pictures, but I guess they relax a bit in the off season.

Most of my favourites from this shoot ended up in black and white, which wasn't really my intention going in. Milanna's little houndstooth coat had a lot to do with it; the textures and patterns just looked so much better in b&w.

I'd purposefully avoided shooting kids thus far, simply because I think they're done much better by other photographers. Milanna was a breeze though; she's obviously spent much time in front of her mother's lens.

I was really happy this shoot actually happened. I'd gone through a bit of a dry spell, and it felt great to be shooting again. And Sharla was stoked with the results, which is always a boost to the ego.

Oh, and Sharla also shot some of me. I'll be getting those soon, and you can guaranteed they'll be plastered all over the Interwebs. I am looking f-i-n-e.

1.3.09. Slightly increased contrast and black clipping.
1.3.09. Cropped to 3X5, slightly increased contrast and black clipping.

*fun factoid: Sharla and I were co-emcees for our grad formal*.

**this has nothing to do with photography, yet seemed important for context.

love is blindness

My friend Sarah approached me several months ago with a photo project. She'd been to a restaurant in LA that featured gigantic closeups of eyes and lips on the walls, and she wanted to re-create the picture. Not just with anyone though - she wanted her own eyes on the wall. Was I interested?

Are you kidding me? Heck yes I'm in.

We did the photoshoot one Sunday evening at Sarah's house, and I was initially a little worried that I hadn't gotten the shot. The concept pictures I had been working off of had really clean lines, and no matter how I photoshopped, I couldn't get it looking like what I thought she wanted. In addition to my efforts, I gave her the raw files and invited her to give it to others to try; I figured she'd have a pro manipulate it a little better than I could.

Turns out she liked my version the best.

She had the picture blown up to about 5 feet long, and printed on canvas. I stopped by to have a look after work today, and I was completely taken aback.

It was huge. It was stunning. And it was my work.

This was the first time I'd really been taken aback by my own picture. I don't think I can adequately describe how it felt to see my handiwork so large on someone's wall. It was surprisingly emotional...and the smile hasn't left my face all evening.

I've been printing a few of my pictures now that I'm in my new house, and I've been wanting to blow one up large (maybe five feet long or so), but I've been nervous about the quality. Needless to say, I'm now convinced it'll be worth it.

Once I get a few more printed Sarah agreed to host a showing of my work at her place. My first exhibition.

17.10.08. Edited and manipulated in Photoshop CS3
3.2.09. Taken with my iPhone (please excuse the quality)

the ground beneath her feet

Selective colour is a technique best used sparingly. Essentially it involves removing most colour from a photograph or film, except for specific aspects of the frame. In a portrait it may involve leaving the eyes or lips in full colour while the rest of the face is monochrome. This effect serves to draw sharp attention to specific details in the picture.

I've only used this technique twice, mostly because it often looks tacky. It isn't really that hard to do, and has been made easier by improvements in even the most basic of digital post-processing software. The result is a glut of ill-concieved pictures with terrible execution.

In my ongoing campaign to reduce the number of terrible pictures in our world, I determined only to use these technique when it truly makes the picture better.

This is a case where I know the choice to leave the sash on Chelsey's dress in colour was the right one. The white lacey dress, white shoes and red sash just pop next to the clean lines of the black suits and shoes around her. It's striking, and mysterious.

Two things that perfectly describe her.

12.19.08. Cropped to 3X5, most colour removed, exposure slightly increased.

silver and gold

Grey Cup Sunday is pretty much a sacred day for Canadians. Unlike our beloved Coupe de Stanley*, the Grey Cup is guaranteed to remain in the True North**. For 96 years running, this trophy has been fought for, and your attendance at a Grey Cup party is pretty much required.

This year, I was a bad Canadian.

My Grey Cup Sunday was spent in an art gallery, surrounded by models and lighting gear as I assisted on a photoshoot for a local salon. The photographer is one of the most sought after in Kelowna, and I have the good fortune of working for the same company as he. It only took me several months of working literally outside his office to get the courage to volunteer as an assistant.

I learned I have much, MUCH more to learn.

For one, although I knew this instinctively, I realized I always see the world horizontally. When I picture what a scene will look like, that scene is always horizontal. Yet the photographer shot the entire day vertically. I simply could not wrap my head around it. I've made it my mission to start shooting vertically, even if it feels horribly wrong.

I didn't really shoot much. I moved lights and fans, organized models, fetched coffee, swapped lenses. Once in a while I tried it out.


And I learned that, despite what little knowledge I have, I'm doing just fine.

24.11.08. Cropped to 3X5, slightly increased exposure, slightly increased highlights.

*Which hasn't been in Canadian hands since 1993, when Montreal won.
**The only exception being in '95, when Baltimore took home the prize, only two years into the league. How embarrassing is that?!