Celebrate the Women in your Life....

Yesterday I was lucky enough to shoot the AWHL (Assaulted Women’s Helpline) annual Celebrate the Women in your life fundraiser.   I normally just Web-Admin for them but they asked me to take photos after seeing some of my portfolio.   It was a great experience!! I went in trying to figure out what equipment I may need to successfully shoot the event.  I went in with all my equipment plus a couple of borrowed pieces, and a full stock of recharged batteries for flashes and my

camera. In the end I used the following: 5dmk2 body, 2x580ex2 flashes, 20+ GB memory, Canon 70-200L IS F2.8, 24-105L IS and several batteries.   Notice I left out my usual prime 50mm.  that’s mainly because there was another photog doing portrait type shots so I felt I could get away with the more versatile 24-105.  Not the most ideal lens would be the 24-70 but I don’t own one of those given what type of work I usually do. 

The day was long as I was helping out with the setup of the event beginning at 10am! By the end, 12:30am the next day, I was sore and could really use a relaxing pub with a pint.    The photography part was particularly tiring since I was holding almost 5+ lbs of equipment most of the night (the body + 70-200 combination).  I didn’t mind since I was in the moment but afterwards…wow what a relief to pack that away.  Overall the images came out amazing.  I have yet to go through all of them and process but I have a great feeling I have a lot of wonderful shots.  The processing will hopefully be done by the end of this coming week so I’ll post an update ASAP. 

My only regret would be not getting a photo with the host of the evening, CP24’s Melissa Grelo.  She did a wonderful job and I’m sure she had a very long day as well since I was watching her while getting ready to head downtown at 7am. 

Lesson learned:  Try to avoid having paper cuts while shooting all night.  The next day my hands were mighty swollen.   

All in all, a wonderful night!  Thousands were raised for the helpline and everyone had a wonderful time!



Canon Gangster...

I came across this video a while back when going through the blog of one of the photographers i follow. For whatever reason it happened to pop into my mind today and decided to get stuck there. As a result, i decided that i just had to post it up here.

In Print...

Well fortunately or unfortunately… I’m not quite sure yet, the image of myself, Deborah and Phil made it to the print version of Snap Markham.  My ridiculous hair is now in circulation at various locations throughout Markham… Wonderful. Once again the lack of a comb comes back to haunt me!

Snap Markham...

As a result of working the Paleterra Grand Opening, I was able to not only get some of my images in a wedding magazine but also have a few pictures of ME in a local Markham periodical called “Snap Markham” which features various events and local stores located in the city of markham.   One thing I’ve learned from this experience; keep the hat on or comb your hair. Poor Phil had his eyes closed though.

To see me in all my glory, I’m in a couple of the images on the Paleterra Piece done by Snap Markham here.



Palettera Grand Opening...

I was lucky enough to shoot the Palettera Grand Opening this past Saturday.  The event was heavily attended from start to finish and proved to be a challenge to photograph.  With so many patrons visiting and the owners wanting to try to get as many candid and posed shots as possible with the attendees I was quite lucky to work with someone on this event.  My partner in crime that night was Phil Pang, Photographer/Videographer extraordinaire!  

For the majority of the night we were stationed in opposite sides of the studio trying to get in all the action we could.  By the middle of the night however, it proved difficult to maintain this plan of attack as I was often pulled off to take more specific photos for the evening.  In the end I believe we captured a full range of photos; candid, artistic and posed. 

A few of our photos were submitted to the magazine WedLuxe.  WedLuxe is luxury wedding magazine in Canada that often does features on major trends and provides a wide rage of reviews on various aspects of weddings.  To check out some of the photos and the editorial used click here:  Palettera Grand Opening.

Now onto the event.  It was a fantastic event put on by Palettera with loads of food/snacks and wine flowing freely as guests were able to mingle and check out the large studio decorated with vintage writing/letter press items and furniture.  It began at 4pm and ended at nearly 12 and throughout this time the studio was a buzz with activity.    There was a steady flow of attendees congratulating the owners on their opening and taking a look  at the stationary and cards for sale that evening.  All proceeds for that evening went to charity.  The Grand Opening was a success and the studio is now official open for  business.  If there are any initiation or card needs in your future and custom cards are in the budget, I highly recommend Palettera, as they will tailor to your budget and ideas to create a truly extravagant custom correspondence.  

 

Congrats Palettera!