My new camera has a list of features that I love that’s about a mile long. One of them is that I can do video with it with the same level of control that I have over my still images. These are a couple of quick experiments with it, capturing a little bit of the personality of my boys. With the one of T, I shot more stills along with the video and put them together. It’s something I can see myself doing more of in the future.
This is Chantal. She’s an adorable six week old that I had the opportunity to take pictures of a few days ago. Like a lot of infant sessions, this one had a little bit of everything, smiling (just a little, before the camera came out), sleeping, crying, pooping. It was a lot of fun and we got some great portraits. I love her expression in the last picture.
My new camera arrived today! It’s a Canon 5D Mark II, and it’s beautiful. I’ve known for a while that it was going to be the camera that I would move to but I wasn’t sure when I was going to get it. The timing worked out for me to order it last week and it arrived today. I try to buy things to fill a need rather than just to have them. I’ve had my 20D, now relegated to backup duty, for 4 years and am closing in on 30,000 frames shot with it. The step up to the 5D was really starting to be necessary. I’ve recently been noticing some of the technical limitations of the 20D more and am looking forward to finding out all the 5D can do.
P was excited to be my first subject so this is IMG_0001 shot with my new camera. The first of tens of thousands. I also grabbed a few shots of my gorgeous wife Sherrie. T didn’t get a session today because he was sleeping both of the times I had the camera out.
I had a great time doing this session with the Hideibs on the weekend. We’ve been getting to know them over the past few months and have loads of fun whenever we get together. I think their amazing personalities come through in these shots. They’ve wanted a family picture done in front of this sign since they moved here. It was really interesting for me to try and make the background more of an element of the picture while maintaining focus on the subject. The other place we went was down around the old cotton mill. There are a lot of great textures and colours there to work with. Enjoy!
I’ve already posted some pictures from my sessions from my recent trip to Saint John. This post is to share some of the other pictures I took while I was there. I was able to get out a couple of times to do some of my Through the Viewfinder shooting around the city. I’m used to shooting when it’s gray and foggy there but both evenings were bright and sunny. It almost transforms the old city into something cheerful. I almost wrote ‘old girl’ there but that’s probably just because I still think of the city as a wood and bricks extension of Elsie Wayne.
Our boys enjoyed the time with my parents. P had his 3rd birthday while we were there and was delighted with the cake Nanny made for him.
My session with Joanna was my third of this trip to New Brunswick. I was supposed to have another family session today but the weather had other plans. It’s been raining most of the day and absolutely pouring for the last few hours. Not helpful for pictures at the beach. Other than today’s weather cancellation this trip has gone really well. I’ve been really busy but I’ve had a lot of fun.
I’ve been looking forward to meeting Joanna. I did some Great Books classes with her brilliant parents at St. Thomas. Neither of us are living here in NB but our traveling schedules happened to overlap. Joanna is absolutely adorable and didn’t mind me snapping away at all.
This is Kai (and his dad). I was back out to Quispamsis for this session last night. Kai is a sweet little guy who is so bright and alert. He wasn’t overly impressed with having to model for me but we got some good pictures nonetheless. I love doing these baby sessions because each one is so different. Each session progresses a little bit differently and it’s fascinating to see how early signs of different personalities emerge.
I’m in the middle of a trip to Saint John, NB this week. It’s been great so far. I had a really fun session on the weekend with the Esteys. We went to Ritchie Lake Park in Quispamsis (There are some tongue twisting place names here.). I’ve known Andrew and Erica for years, but this was the first time I got to meet their little girls. They’re absolutely adorable. I hope these captured a piece of the their vibrant personalities.
A couple of weekends ago I had the fantastic opportunity to experiment with Through the Viewfinder and toy camera techniques throughout the course of a whole wedding. Louisette and Cory were extremely gracious to let me be there with my TtV contraption. Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, it was a beautiful wedding. The main photographer for the day was Clifton Saulnier. He’s a fantastic photographer and a genuinely great guy. The whole day was a lot of fun and it was a really valuable learning experience for me. This post is both to share some of the images I got from the wedding but also to sort out some of those things that I learned.
The rise of digital photography has made everyone more aware of and interested in photography. Clifton and I arrived to find cameras covering just about every flat surface in the bridal suite. Everyone takes pictures. I think it’s great. It challenges me to get better and better, to create images that are consistently high quality. It also makes clients more aware of what they want, which makes it easier as a photographer to deliver images that they are satisfied with. It also encourages me to try and incorporate a unique style into my work. The images that I was able to get at Louisette and Cory’s wedding affirmed for me that Through the Viewfinder is a workable style for weddings. I don’t think that anyone will look at these pictures and be confused whether it was me or one of the guests who took them.
The reason that I think Through the Viewfinder can work for weddings is the special place that weddings have in our memory. For the bride and groom it’s a life-changing day that stands out as the beginning of a part of their lives. The feel of TtV images fits with this, because the nostalgia that is built into the final image makes them feel like you’re looking into a memory.
It’s also really fun. I love explaining TtV to people who ask what I’m doing. There’s always a bit of a eureka moment when they look through my bottom camera. The blend of digital and analogue technology also keeps some of the pressure off. Getting a nostalgic look while also having the instant review of digital is a great balance.
All that being said, I also don’t think it is necessarily best for the entire wedding. It’s great for certain moments, especially the preparation time and capturing some of the unique details of the day. There are certain technical limitations that make it less practical as a full coverage style (Sorry for the flash directly in your eyes Cory!). I have ideas for overcoming some of these and have a much better sense of how to incorporate it into a balanced wedding coverage in the future.
So, thanks again Louisette and Cory! It was invaluable for me to be able to be there and figure some of these things out. I hope Vegas was as fun as your wedding.
This is Keegan. It was really fun for me to take pictures of him because he’s so close in age to my son. They’re just a couple of days apart. The whole time I found myself comparing different milestones. Even though it wasn’t the best time for those new smiles that Keegan has plenty of, it was a great session. Enjoy the pics:
