Stepping Outside - Photo Shoot with Flo

I did a photo shoot recently that stretched the comfort zone again for me and allowed me to challenge myself. The shoot was done outdoors and it was a chance to try some key shifting or at least to balance the ambient light with the single flash that I was using. One catch though, the infrared wireless trigger that I was used to using in the studio was not really working as well in wide open spaces and it was really critical that there was line of sight to the flash from the camera. Luckily I had an off camera flash cord so instead I shot with the camera connected to the flash that was mounted on a tripod with a softbox. I would later on place my wireless trigger on the end of the off shoe cord and have it aimed at the flash and this worked really well except that I always needed an extra pair of hands. For this session I got to work with Flo again whom I have shot before and this time she brought along makeup artist and stylist Sharley. We had about four different outfit changes and started late in the day when the sun was already going down but this session below is the one we finished with after the sun had completely gone down. I'll have some of the other shots as well in future posts. The location for this series was completely improvised. I think the backdrop and the colors from her dress work really well along with the hair and makeup. My favorite set from the entire shoot.

More Night Shots

It was another night without rain for a change and that prompted me to go out and take a few more night shots. This time I chose a location just east of Granville Island called False Creek and took some shots of the Vancouver downtown skyline. As you can see the density of the downtown core with all of the residential highrises is pretty crazy. Vancouver has turned into a very expensive place to live and so many people want to live downtown so they just keep building more and more condos. It seems there is just no end to it. Anyways here are a few shots from tonight. Sure enough just as I was packing up I felt a rain drop.

Book - The Moment it Clicks by Joe McNally

Last November Joe McNally was in Vancouver and I had the opportunity to listen to one of his lectures and see some of his amazing images that he has shot over the years. At the time he mentioned a book he was working on that was coming out soon and I knew I had to get it when it came out. Well today I finally got my copy of that book entitled "The Moment it Clicks" and I have to say that from just the quick flip through it I already feel inspired. I encourage anyone who is interested in photography and wants to learn from a real pro to get this book.

Night Photography at Granville Island

Last night our photography classes from Vancouver Photo Workshop gathered at Granville Island for some night photography. We practiced our long exposures, flash photography and proper white balancing. We also dabbled a bit with some "painting with light" and that yielded some very interesting results. I quite enjoyed tonight's outing and I know that I'll be doing a lot more night photography in the future and will try to throw in some creative twists to it all. Here are some shots from that night.