The Paper Whale Spring Shoot
Posted by David on May 2nd, 2010
Our friends over at The Paper Whale asked us to do a shoot to kick off their new line of products that they’ll be offering this spring.
The venue was a property in Peterborough which meant that it would be another early morning so us night owls. With Starbucks in tow, we drove the endless stretch of the 401, navigated the confusing single-laned streets and foraged over the unpaved sections of road to reach the most scenic backyard I’ve ever seen. And by backyard, I mean acres of pristine wilderness complete with open grass fields, a forest and a river.
It was a very low-key shoot in terms of gear: we packed reflectors and a few hand held strobes just in case we needed them. We had picked times of the day that would avoid troublesome lighting to shoot in broad sun; and, for the times that would be troublesome, we would be shooting under the cover of the forest which meant that the trees would convert that harsh, unflattering light into a really beautiful glow.
We had the fortune of having an absolutely gorgeous horse with us for the shoot. I’ve never seen one in real life myself, so it was both sobering and awe-inspiring. I was told they get much bigger which is even more astounding.
I wish I could have taken it for a ride…
Thanks again to Matilda and everyone else over at The Paper Whale. Go ahead and buy some stuff from her!
JmS Shoot
Posted by David on December 12th, 2009
We were asked by JmS to do a pre-reveal / teaser shoot for his debut videos. Being a debut, he wanted to be in shadow to leave his audience with a sense of mystery.
No problem.
Originally, we lit the shoot with a lot more lights than we ended up going with. It was clean, but a bit boring and sterile. We killed some of the lights and when we took a look at the screen, we knew instantly that we nailed it. The result is a really moody feel that is reminiscent of those masterful portraits of jazz players, on stage in smoke filled clubs. Man, what I wouldn’t give to shoot in those days.
Do check out his YouTube channel and take a look — his videos are really quite well done.
Kano
Posted by David on April 15th, 2009
I’ve a confession: I’m totally a sucker when it comes to dogs. I don’t have one myself (I’m too busy to give it the attention it would really need and deserve) but Neil’s folks have one. I could sit in their stoop playing with him for hours.
Anyway, when one of my friends got a husky, I couldn’t resist but to go over and take some photos. Puppies grow up fast, so it would be a great chance to record that little slice of life. His name is Kano, a Siberian husky. He’s going to grow up to be really big.
What a little suck he is…!
Stuck – Veronica
Posted by David on April 14th, 2009
A few weeks ago, we were asked by Veronica Choi to take some “after” pictures of herself after wrapping shooting on a tv show that she was on.
The back story goes like this: Veronica was a contestant on the reality tv show Stuck (Season II) on the W Network. W Network’s show bio:
“Stuck (Season II) follows a group of diverse women, ages 23-52, who have decided to get ‘unstuck’ … to get their lives back. For all of them, fitness goals are the immediate symbol of their desire to reclaim their lives.”
One of Veronica’s anecdotes during the taping of the show was that when her and her brother would play on the teeter-totter as children, she would always be the heavier of the two – much to her chagrin. As part of the production, the producers wanted some “after” pictures to show how she’s progressed. We shot a few pictures for the show, and some more for her to celebrate her accomplishments.
Nikon D700 Tests
Posted by David on January 16th, 2009
We decided to give the Nikon d700 a test drive over the weekend. Pictures first; impressions at the end.
Impressions? I love the new full-frame format that Nikon introduced with the D3 (and now trickles down to its baby brother, the D700).
Full frame sensors have two attributes that matter to me:
- Super shallow depth of field
- Incredibly good low-light / high-ISO performance
There’s just something a little bit more magical about the images – it has a different look than images taken with a cropped sensor. Sort of like how 35mm film looks different than medium format film photos. Something you can’t really put your finger one.
If Fuji gets their act together and produces an S5 successor, I’m buying that. In the meantime, I’ll fawn over this.
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