Last evening I was at a show opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto at the invitation of a friend. The building is an old factory, and still has that vibe; he showed me a stairwell that went nowhere and I thought it was the perfect spot for a portrait, so out came the iPhone.
I met up with my friend Yuri this morning. He is an amazing photographer who can find something interesting in any setting.
Normally one tries to avoid hard shadows in portrait photography. But last Sunday, sitting by a window in coffee shop on a brilliantly sunny morning, I decided to go with the hard shadows, and go for an affect of anonymity.
I was at a coffee shop yesterday (for a photo print exchange event as it was), and this person was sitting near a window, and the light was perfect. The goalie mask in the background was a problem. I ended up with an “Alas, poor Yorik” moment.
The Hasselblad does not have a reputation as a great camera for available light shooting, and this portrait shot indoors on Ilford XP2 film is not technically perfect, but I like the expression.
Hasselblad 500CM, 80mm/f2.8 Planar lens
Ilford XP2 film
Black and White photography by definition is a reductive exercise, just by stripping away colour, to focus on light, shadow, tonality and texture. In this portrait, we go even further; only the eyes and hands are unobscured, but even so the model packs a lot of expression into her eyes and hands. On of my favourite portraits of 2011!
Picture taken with Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens with 25A red filter, Ilford SFX Infrared film. One shoot through umbrella to model’s right.
At lunch on an island, a local hanging around the restaurant posing for photographs and getting free drinks. This image for me distills the experience.
My Third Eye 