I have decided to give my new “Daily Commute Shoot” project its own blog:
http://dailycommutephoto.wordpress.com/
I’ve put everything I’ve done so far over the last two weeks there. I think it makes sense to give it its own space. 🙂
Grace I: Expression
I have said before that a successful portrait/model shoot is part dance and part acting: dance skills allow for relaxed and beautiful poses, and acting ability allows for expression and emotion to flow unhindered from the subject. Grace (with whom I worked with yesterday) has both, and I think we got some good results. All I had to do was suggest a scenario and she found an inner dialog and a real expression to go with it.
Nikon D7100, 50mm/1.8 AF-D Nikkor lens
Post processing in Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
Tree Blur
Despite what Rob Ford might have claimed at a debate recently, subways can indeed run above ground, and portions of Toronto’s TTC subway are above ground. I like what my Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Note 3) does to the trees it passes on the Bloor/Danforth line.
Full Disclosure
On the bus coming home from work today, a gift from the photo gods: a visually very interesting individual, and some great light. Â I took the image with my smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Note 3) but a no-smoking sign behind the individual was very distracting, and there was no way to take the image without it being there. So in post I photoshopped it out. Even though I am being upfront about it, I still feel a bit queasy when I have to do that for this kind of photography; is the image less honest?
Less Is More II
Here is another “Less Is More” image from the Beaches this past weekend. I like the metal texture.
Rolleicord Va, 75mm/3.5 Xenar lens
Tri-X developed in HC-110 Dilution B for 7.5 minutes
Less is More?
Another Beaches image. I believe the quiet and calm of the early morning hour yesterday lends itself to a minimalist approach to an landscape image.
Rolleicord Va, 75mm/3.5 Xenar lens
Tri-X film developed in HC-110 Dilution B for 7.5 minutes @ 20 C.
Toning adding in post
By the Water’s Edge
This morning about 7:15 am, by the shore of Lake Ontario on a beautiful day. It was a yoga class, but with arms outstretched it seems like so much more than that.
Rolleicord Va, 75mm/3.5 Xenar lens
Film was Tri-X, developed in HC-110 Dilution B
7.5 minutes @ 20 C.
My New Project
I spend a lot of time on the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission for those outside of Toronto). On average about twelve to fourteen hours a week. I actually prefer it to driving: I can read, close my eyes, listen to music. And, I can practice street-style photography, using my Smart Phone. So I am starting a new project called the Daily Commute Shoot: one photo taken and posted every workday during my commute either to or from work, , taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone. You can see the results here. The image below is an outtake from yesterday. (I am three days into the project at this point).
The Toughest Audience
It has been said by many performers that children are the toughest audience you can have: it is hard to get their attention and even harder to keep it. Last night Janice and I attended the 2014 Toronto edition of Dusk Dances, an outdoor dance festival. Many children were in attendance, and one particular performance (involving synchronized swimming in inflatable wading pools!) really grabbed and kept their attention, as shown in their faces below.
Nikon D7100, 18-200mm Nikkor lens
Post work in Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
Behind the Screen
Taken at the recent Matsuri Japanese festival in Toronto, this is an image of a performer backstage, preparing to perform. The bright sun made her visible behind  the backstage screen.
Nikon D7100, 18-200mm Nikkor lens
My Third Eye 