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:: Maternity Shoot with Philana & Albert

Today I did a maternity session with a lovely couple expecting their first child. Philana and Albert were the winners of my facebook launch campaign contest and I was very excited to work with them. Philana was approximately 7 months old and this is great stage in the pregnancy to do maternity sessions as you’re “popping” enough, yet you’re still able to move around and pose without too much discomfort.

Often when working with clients I’m flexible with the location where we do the session. Sometimes they prefer a studio, on location or the comfort of their own home. This session was done at their apartment and wanted to do some editorial style maternity photos in addition to the traditional keepsake style poses. They were very accommodating with my requests including moving furniture around to create the best lighting and environment for the scene. Here’s a few photos from the session:

Congratulations Philana & Albert on the new baby and all the best on this exciting new chapter of your life!

Absolut Mandrin

:: Constructive Critique

Today another photo of mine “Absolut Zest” was one of the featured images critiqued over at www.slrlounge.com. Click here and skip to the 0:50 mark to see what they had to say about it!

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:: Sun, Sand & Surf…

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There’s nothing quite like taking a stroll down the beach during sunset feeling the sand between your toes…

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Absolut Mandrin

:: Absolut Zest…

This photo is a concept ad I did for Absolut Mandrin Vodka executed in their typical marketing style. It was shot in a studio with a white backdrop and a strobe with 3′ softbox overhead. I used some large black and white cards to the left and right side of the bottle to reflect the “colour” back onto the bottle to enhance the frosted look while creating more dimension to the shot. I did multiple exposures with the camera on a tripod using trigger release in order to have all of the elements such as the lid, seal, label, fruit be evenly exposed while maintaining as much detail as I could. I used a 70-200mm F2.8 lens @ 102mm to create a bit more compression in the shot and to minimize any distortion to the bottle and props. In post production I chopped it all together to create the final image:

Absolut Mandrin

:: Post Production Work

Recently a client asked me to do some post production work on a photo that was taken at his wedding covered by another photographer. During the first dance, the guests surrounded the couple on the dance floor and lit sparklers. He loved the mood of the image and asked me if there was a way to enhance the glows of the sparklers and make the photo more “epic” so that he could print it in a large format. Epic was what he wanted so I used the RAW unedited file and I increased the effect of the sparklers, enhanced the shadows to isolate and bring focus to the couple and finally, did some colour treatments and removed some distracting components of the scene. Here is the before and after of the photo after I finished post production.

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:: Leader Of The Pack

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The past weekend we had a quick winter getaway to Whistler and while we were there we went dog sledding. It was an amazing and educational experience! The dogs are absolute darlings… they get soooo excited when you tether them to the sled that they start barking excitedly and jump on the spot ready to roll. The dogs are also very sneaky… they look back check to see if you have the brakes on and would bolt any time they see you with your foot off it! It was so much fun being hands on in the process from harnessing them up to actually being the Musher who drives the sled. Savannah on the other hand had the best nap during the whole time and she was all bundled up as snug as a bug in a rug!

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:: Humbled…

Today while browsing through my usual websites I was shocked (initially) and then humbled to see my photo of the Okavango Delta on the front page of www.slrlounge.com as part of their photo critique session. Check out the link and jump to 9:25 to see what they have to say about my work. I’m extremely humbled to have such good feedback from a photographer whose work I admire so much! See the video here:

:: Okavango Delta

Here is a photo from an archive I was going through from a trip with my wife to the Okavango Delta, Botswana back in 2006. It was an amazing trip where we got to experience the landscape and animals in their purest form. It was definitely a great experience being that close to nature in the wild. The canoes in the foreground were dug out of a tree trunk and was our only mode of transportation through the delta. We camped for 3 nights and carried all the food and water we needed in the canoes while we experienced everything that the delta had to offer.

:: Happy 1st Birthday Savannah – Smash The Cake