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!

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.

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…!

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.

As part of our morning ritual, we get a round of Tim’s while I bring a pair of Starbucks Frappucinos.  They’re great energy boosters throughout the day.  Great, that is, until Neil decided to spill it on his shirt.  Wedding veterans know, always keep a change of clothes in the car – lucky, we had a spare in the boot. Snapped this while we were still driving.

Families can often get really big – so our latest thing is comandeering vehicles to shoot from.  It’s in place, it’s already open, and we can catch everyone before they scatter.  Win-win situation. I like how SUVs have the sunroof we can stand out of now.

Here’s one more – showing one how closely we often have to work with videographers.  Usually, they’re pretty easy-going.  Some, however, totally get in your way.  I’ve shot wedding video before – a totally different game than photo – and I can understand where they’re coming from. I’ve found a smile and diplomacy usually work out well for me.

It was a great wedding. We had loads of time to take photos both before the ceremony and during the “park” part.  I think this is the first time the kids really warmed up to me…

Congrats, again, Matt and Elaine!

It was mid afternoon when Elise and her agent arrived – they chatted with the editor of the mag while we made sure everything was still good to go.

It would seem, one of the perks of being a photographer is being able to take pictures of your kid with anyone famous who comes by the studio.  Peyton hit it off with Elise right away:

You’ll note how unphased Peyton is.  Future professional lady’s-man.

It was a good shoot where nothing really went wrong. Elise was great to work with.  I hope we can get her in the studio again sometime.  Here are a few of our favourite shots – I’ll be throwing some into the gallery section.

Yeah. Jumping shots. They’re always lots of fun.  I’m glad I borrowed that mic – I think it’s something like $500.  Ouch.

Somewhere along the way, we decided we absolutely had to do some jumping photos. Definitely.

Actual photos in the next post!

We shot two shots for each model – a portrait shot at the head of the runway and a full body shot for the obligatory pose at the foot of the runway.  We had decided prior to the shoot that we’d later compose these so we could get an interesting look book going.

Here are a few of our favorite shots (the text in the image is the name of the “look” one of the managers gave – we thought we’d run with it):

If you were a part of the fashion show and would like to get prints, files or otherwise, give us a shout and we’ll hook you up.  I started an email list, but it was never returned to me.

We ended up setting up every single light we brought – even the backups.  We figured that other people would be taking photos other than Neil and I, so we had to put everything on Pocket Wizards to stop them from popping at every point and shoot gawker.  Since we used our backup lights, we ended up having to rent a few pairs to cover those as well as the spare camera bodies we’d be using.

A setup shots for the curious:

Our lunch:

Our Gear:

We’ll post pics after the show!