In the studio

My buddy Paul "Fabio" Fournier just go back from a month spent crewing on a yacht from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta. He looked really rugged after that, with a big beard when I ran into him yesterday, so I asked him to stop by the studio and we'd get a few snaps of him before he shaved it off.


Lesley-Anne is a really old friend of mine from way back in the day who spent the Canada Day weekend with Joyce and I here in Whistler. I grabbed her for a couple of quick portraits before she went home.

Tech Stuff
Very simple lighting, a 22" beauty dish on a single Alien Bee head. The wall of the studio is painted 18% grey, so it has a nice dark tone to it when you don't light it, not quite black, but dark enough to get the subject to pop out. Perfect for B&W.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8 (Paul), AF-S Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 (Lesley-Anne)
Lighting: Alien Bee B1600 with a 22" beauty dish reflector.

Bard on the Beach

Actors Alessandro Juliani and Dean Paul Gibson from the Bard on the Beach production of Falstaff in the cast dressing room.
This week we're doing a story on Bard on the Beach, the classic Vancouver Shakespearian theatre that runs through the summer at Kits Beach. The actors are the best the city has to offer, Alessandro Juliani is a veteran of the Vancouver filmed Battlestar Galactica, many of the others are well known from local TV and film production, and the productions are lush and well staged. Definitely a must see for the summer in Vancouver.


Actor Dean Paul Gibson looking pensive.


Bard on the Beach Artistic Director Christopher Gaze.


Assistant stage manager Samara Van Nostrand checks the prop swords back stage.

Tech Stuff
This was a difficult shoot, as the subjects are busy guys who aren't, in my experience, tolerant of having their time wasted. As they were being interviewed by Urban Pie editor Alan Forsythe, I scouted the locations and set up the lighting so it would be ready for them to step in. The session with Alessandro Juliani and Dean Paul Gibson lasted less than 5 minutes, and I was able to get three usable photos from the session. A well timed dirty joke from one of the actors got a great expressions from everyone.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8
Lighting: Alien Bee B1600 strobe with a 22" beauty dish.