Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Vancouver Conference Centre at Dusk



This week I took a two day workshop in Vancouver on how to make money out of a home based studio (more on that later).  After spending all day Sunday in the air less Burnaby conference hotel, I decided to go for a walk along the Vancouver waterfront, and came across the new Vancouver Conference Centre.

Since it's so new, and it was a beautiful evening, I decided to grab a quick shot of it.  

Tech Stuff
The key to doing these shots is doing them while there's still light in the sky so you get detail in the building and sky.  This was about 20 minutes before total darkness.  I also always keep a tripod in the back of my car for these situations.

Camera:  Nikon d700
Lens:  17-35mm AF-S, f/2.8
Gitzo tripod


Three Generations



This is a shot from Amanda and Trevor's wedding in Vancouver recently. While I like to think of myself as a more candid wedding photographer, I do find that great moments pop up in even the most staged of situations. This shot was taken during the family 'stand up' photo session, which is usually a bit of a chore for both the couple and the photographer. I wanted to get a shot of the couple, along with Amanda's mother, and their new baby, but just as I was setting it up, the baby started to cry, so all their attention moved from having their pic taken to calming the baby, and it was just the perfect moment. I have to say, I really like this shot.

Tech Stuff
I'm really loving this new Nikon D700.  The clarity and detail is amazing, and with the full frame coverage, you get great separation between the subject and the background.  

Camera:  Nikon d700
Lens:  Nikon 28-70mm AF-S, f/2.8
Lighting:  Nikon SB-900 flash on a stand just out the frame on camera left


Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day in the Life, Fire Fighters


Members of the Whistler Fire Extrication team train for an up-coming competition in Portland, Oregon.

Another shot from the 24 hours in Whistler project.  This really was a lot of fun, and it's great to get back to my photo-journalistic roots.

Tech Stuff
It was a cool looking evening, so I wanted to use some flash to bring out the detail in the sky.  I had the flash in my left hand firing automatically from the SU-800.  I tried a couple of different angles, but the low one seemed to work best.

Camera:  Nikon D700
Lens:  Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S
Lighting:  Nikon SB-900 flash and SU-800 controller

A Day in the Life, Friends in a Hammock


Friends Sol Stuckes, Kate Ellis, Andrew Vella, and Cody Jurd, along with Missy the Dog, enjoy a hamock they just bought at the Re-use-it Centre.  Lost Lake Park, Whistler BC, Canada.


This is from a project we did last week for a supplement that's going to run in the Whistler Question newspaper, which was a lot of fun.  It's called 24 hours in Whistler, and several local photographers were involved in the project.  


Tech stuff

I was poking around Lost Lake Park when I noticed these guys trying to put up this hammock.  I started with a long lens shot, which worked okay.  When I walked over to get their names, all the friends jumped in, and I got this, which I think worked a lot better.


I just got the new full frame Nikon D700 camera, and it's a real pleasure to be able to use the whole coverage of the 17mm lens.


Camera:  Nikon D700

Lens:  Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S

Dead Pelican


Christmas on the Oregon Coast is mostly cold and windy.  We found the remains of this pelican on the Lincoln City Beach.

Oregon Christmas - Snowy roads

A snap from our Christmas Oregon trip.



Traveling through the States is fun, unless it's been snowing.  For some reason, the use of sand, salt, or even snow plows, is a frowned upon practice.  At least you get the road to yourself.

Welcome to my New Blog

Welcome to my new blog.