Art and Grieving

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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.

Caitriona

(Photograph made with Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80 mm f2.8 lens. Arista 200 Ultra film, developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 1o minutes)

An Interesting Accident

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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.

Interesting accident

Power

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Today’s image is NSFW, so all I can do is add a link

The model in today’s image is striking in her power and intensity. Although nude images often imply submissiveness and objectification, in this image the model makes it very clear that she is in the image on her own terms, and is definitely not submissive!

Glowing Shadows

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Today’s image is of Kaitlin, a model I worked with recently. I really went wild with the post processing on this one, to get the heavy glamour glow I like. The background is an old curtain I got at a thrift store for about $5.00 sometime back; I love its pattern and texture.

More Kaitlin

Young and Old

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Today’s image of a new young model is from my Vintage 35mm project — using old rangefinder cameras for portraits with a vintage feel. For this photograph I used my 1939 vintage Leica IIIb body, with a 50mm Summitar f2 lens. As I was using a very slow film (E.I. 20 Adox CMS 20 film) even though it was a bright sunny day I was shooting wide open at f2, for a nice swirly effect in the background.

naima 034

Built to Last

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This picture was taken last week in Arizona; I used my Leica IIIb, with the Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm/f4 super wide-angle lens. This picture was taken sometime after I had dropped the camera by accident on a rather unforgiving pavement. Ouch. Luckily, either than a bent filter ring (which I can likely fix), the camera survived just fine. I can’t help but think that if this had been a modern day plastic camera it would have broken into a number of pieces.

Pardon the cliche, but they don’t make them like the used to!

JW Marriot complex in Scottsdale Arizona

A Happy Exception

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In the past, whenever I have been asked to shoot a wedding, I have politely declined (while resisting the urge to run away screaming). It’s pressure I don’t need, and the modern day wedding for many people has been turned into a spectacle bordering on an ordeal — a display of conspicuous consumption and bad taste, from the stretch SUV in the morning to pulling off the garter at the reception. Add an overwrought bride (often referrred to as a “bridezilla” in the business) and the recipe for disaster is complete.

The wedding I shot yesterday was a happy exception: the wedding was low key but beautiful, with the service just as (if not more) important than the reception.   Just two people obviously very much in love, and very happy. The air was filled with a quiet joy, and I am glad I made an exception when it came to photographing this wedding.

From the first wedding I've ever shot

Details

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While in Arizona for the week, I was fortunate on the business outing yesterday to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West Complex, his winter home and architectural school. I took many images, mainly film, but did take a few digital shots, including this one a of a detail of a sculpture near the main entrance. Everywhere one looks in this Complex, there are amazing lines, both on large and small scales. It was a truly unforgettable experience!

Metal sculpture at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West Complex

Accuracy

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This week I am in Scottsdale, Arizona and it is hot even for this time of year: over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, 40 C every day. Today’s image is the view I get when I step out of my hotel room, captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app and “infrared” film. The “wrong” colours actually capture the feeling of being in this spot better than accurate colour rendition ever would.

Outside my hotel room in Arizona

Hidden and Magnified

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This is Danielle, a young model I had the pleasuring of working with in downtown Toronto last weekend. We were shooting at an abstract sculpture near Roy Thompson Hall, and she suggested shooting through some holes in one of the panels of the sculpture. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but now I’m pretty happy with the results, especially this image: the fact that so much is obscured really seems to focus what we can see of her eyes and expression.

Danielle through spaces