Today’s image of model Keira Jade was taken in Kensington Market in Toronto last week. It was very hot and fairly crowded, but we were both struck by the continued politeness we encountered, as passersby made every attempt to stay out of the shot, either by stopping and waiting, or going behind me, all the while saying “Sorry.” Sometimes the stereotypes are true!
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 150mm/f4 lens, Tri-X at E.I. 1000, developed in Diafine 3+3)
When I take portraits, it’s all about the eyes and expression, and I love the expression worn in this image (taken on the way to PAB 2012) by Adam Gratrix, an extremely bright and creative podcaster from Surrey, BC. His energy really come through here I think!
(Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR, 50mm f1.4 lens, Tri-X @ E.I. 1000, developed in Diafine 3+3)
Today’s image is from a recent shoot with the very talented Emily Decoteau. Although mainly a black and white shoot, I did shoot one roll of colour: some Fuji slide film, using a Nikon FE 35mm SLR, and a Nikon 105/f2.5 portrait lens (a classic lens that I got a steal of a deal on!). Although this is a colour shot, it is dominated by red. I had mentioned to Emily how well the red hair, dress and nails went together and she said, “you’d almost think I coordinated it this way!” and I realized that my alter ego Captain Obvious had struck again 🙂
To me, it seems that part of what defines the feminine is time: the onset of the monthly cycle of fertility at puberty, the ticking of the biological clock until its end at menopause. In addition, for many women independence and self-actualization involve transcending time, and refusing to be imprisoned or have one’s self-worth shackled to this definition.
Today’s image (NSFW, so just a link), explores this idea, the struggle against being the prisoner of time. The model is a powerful, strong and independent woman who will not surrender to the passing of days.
I love it when models come to a shoot with ideas — a good shoot is always a collaboration, and Miranda came not only with some amazing props (such as the broken garnet jewelry) but great ideas for unconventional poses (she was shot from above in this image).
One item of note: this is the second post in a row where I have featured a digital image (taken with a Nikon D90 camera). I wouldn’t call it a trend, but in this case, being able to show Miranda the shots immediately helped spur the creativity and refine ideas, which is never a bad thing.
Today’s image is of Miranda, an actress and musician from Hamilton. This image is from a shoot for my “Broken” project, for which she brought a long a great broken pearl/bead necklace. The vase was a great garage sale find — 25 cents! If you look closely, you’ll see me 🙂
More expressions, this time from Natasha Henderson, a Toronto comedian and actress, whose strong personality and presence made for a lively and fun photo session combining a retro film noir look with poking fun at old attitudes regarding the role of women. Natasha’s enthusiasm was great, and as a result she created a memorable character!
See Natasha in action on Youtube. She is the host of Comedy Thursdays at the Starving Artist in Toronto.
Every now and then, I’m lucky enough to capture an amazing expression in a portrait — one that has complexity and subtlety, and in this recent image of model Julia Lewis, the expression she created is really quite something. Every time I look at this image, I see something new and different in her expression. At the end of a rather iffy week photographically speaking (models not showing up, weather-related shoot cancellations, technical screw-ups), getting this image made for a very positive end to a not so positive week. 🙂
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, developed in HC-110, dilution H)
Today’s image has a touching story behind it. Caitriona the model (who is also an artist) had messages me saying she had to be a bit late for the shoot, due to an unavoidable issue. When she arrived for the shoot, she told me that a close friend of hers had passed away that day. I asked if she was still up to shooting (and would have understood if she wished to cancel the shoot) but she said her friend had also been an artist, and would have wanted her to keep going, keep creating. When I showed Caitriona the first images from the session she remarked that doing the shoot definitely helped her out.
(Photograph made with Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80 mm f2.8 lens. Arista 200 Ultra film, developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 1o minutes)
The term “Lomography” refers to using old/cheap cameras such as Holgas to create images that may suffer from technical defects (light leaks, vignetting, out-dated film), but achieve a certain style and mood as a result. I have a new term, “Blowmography” for when I blow it technically, but the resulting mess looks interesting. Lomography is on purpose, Blowmography is accidental. This image (from the shoot with model Caroline in downtown Toronto) is an example of Blowmography — I developed the film (Polypan F) in the wrong developer (an extremely low contrast special purpose developer meant for another film, Adox CMS 20) and got a very muddy, thin negative. I cranked up the contrast on the scanner, and got this. I thought the colour shift artifacts, and the emphasis of some surface defects on the made for an interesting vintage shot.
My Third Eye 