Category: Portraiture

Twilight Portrait

· Leave a comment ·

Today, one of the film images from the session with Jennifer this past Saturday. This shoot marked the first time I used a recently acquired Helios 44/2 lens (58mm, f2). This lens is a Soviet Russian era copy of a Carl Zeiss Biotar, and has quite a cult following in certain circles. The fact that its focal length is slightly longer than normal for a “normal” lens makes it great for portrait work. In this shoot I had it mounted on my Yashica TL-Electro. The lighting was not bright, so I was shooting wide open at 1/60th of a second, on Ilford HP5+, pushed to E.I. 800. I like the gritty, documentary look I got: it is a good match for Jennifer’s intense expression. She is a master at bringing emotion into a shoot!

Candle Portrait

Portrait of the Artist: Ashley

· Leave a comment ·

Today’s image is part of my ongoing “Portrait of the Artist” series.  Ashley has actually appeared in my blog before, but behind the camera, as the make-up/prosthetics artist in the Jennifer Gears Project, here and here. She is holding an airbrush of the kind that she very skilfully used for that shoot, and she is truly an artist in that regard.

While her vocation in a sense is “behind the scenes” she also has the instincts of a performer, and feels at home in front of the camera as well.

DSC_6147 - Version 2

 

(Nikon D7100 DSLR, 18-105mm Nikkor lens, Post-work done using Colour Efex Pro 4) 

Out of Control

· Leave a comment ·

Another from my Guild Wood shoot with Arnika this past Sunday. This time, I used the negative from a Fuji FP-100C instant colour print. the black backing is removed with bleach, and the developer “goop” from the emulsion side is gently cleaned off with lukewarm water. I like the colours this process gives me: retro, but with a raw intensity, not even pretending to be accurate.

Scan-130903-0001

Match Made In Heaven

· Leave a comment ·

Yesterday I had a great shoot in Guild Wood Park with frequent creative partner Arnika Autumnstone. This shoot was the first time I used Rollei 80s film for female portraiture, and I am hooked on the results —  I just love the skin tones I get with this film! It will be my go to film for this kind of shot from now on!

Joanna in Guild Wood

(Pentax Spotmatic SP, 135mm/3.5 Super Takumar lens)

 

Story

· Leave a comment ·

Since the importance of the story was a frequent point of discussion at VoxPopCon this past weekend, I thought this image would fit well. It is from a recent publicity shoot at High Park with Angela Saini. (If you click on the link you an see her new official publicity shot that I took. You can also see it on her Facebook page). Even though she is barefoot, we thought leaving her shoes in the image would be a good idea, to add more of a sense of story to the image.

Angela Saini at High Park

Hamilton Art Crawl

· Leave a comment ·

I am in Hamilton, Ontario this weekend for the inagural VoxPopCon conference. Last night after the conference opening we checked out the Hamilton Art Crawl: a great street festival, with an amazing vibe! Lots of positive, creative people on the street, including this guy:

DSC_3044

 

(NIkon D7100, 18-105 lens, ISO 5000, post-processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro)

More Than Looking Pretty

· Leave a comment ·

I’ve mentioned on more that one occasion how I like working with actors, musicians and other performers, as well as models who understand that it’s not just about “looking pretty”. Young model Julia MacKenzie (who has also had some acting experience) gets it. During a sequence a photos we came up with a story/scenario, and Julia was immediately able to immerse herself in it. More than just looking pretty.

Left Alone

 

(Nikon F, 85mm/f1.8 Nkkor lens, Ilford Delta 400 developed in Microdol-X 1:1,
negative scanned and post-processed with Nik Efex)

Swirl

· Leave a comment ·

Today’s image is from a recent shoot with my friend Marla at Guild Park in Scarborough. I used my Canon 7 35mm rangefinder, with my Leitz (Leica) Summitar 50mm/f 2 lens. This lens is known for its swirly bokeh when shot wide open. Not everyone like the effect, but I do 🙂

Swirly

Communication

· Leave a comment ·

Much is said about communication in Social Media circles, specifically in the context of audience. When I use old film gear, like I did for this image of Rebecca below, I feel in a way that I am also communicating with photographers who have gone before me; holding an old film camera, I feel a connection to the history of photography that I just don’t feel with a digital camera, almost a ghost in the machine kind of thing.

Scan-130625-0036

 

Canon 7 Rangefinder camera, 50mm/f2 Summitar len, Ilford Pan F film)