As I said earlier, our first photo contest went well. The weather didn’t really co-operate, but that hardly seems like a valid complaint considering our position here… way out in the North Atlantic.

Everyone finished up after about an hour or shooting, and we were discussing the techniques used to deal with the weather obstacle. The most common strategy (and perhaps the most commonly abused trick in the digital photographers handbag) was performed in post – just Photoshop the hell out of the thing. The second, and perhaps more clever trick, was to simply go inside to shoot. Granted, that was not an option for some, depending on the lens choice (although reportedly, one of the participants was unaware of any such rule and was “changing lenses like a bastard”).

Anyway, please review the pictures and vote below. Click on the image or caption for a larger version.

[poll=3]

George Street Rejection

Music and a Muffin

No One

Retro Pool Hall

Stand Pipe

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Tags: photo competition

We headed out early this morning and officially shot the first “not-so-naked-and-definitely-outside-of-the-house” photo competition. It was snowing soon after we started and the light basically sucked ass, but we stuck it out.

I was a little more snaky than the rest of the group – I went inside for most of my shots while they stayed out in the cold and snow. :) Hey, the rules didn’t say anything about not being allowed to keep warm!

Anyway, the resulting shots will be posted here tomorrow, so your participation in the form of voting for the best shot will be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that the winner gets to humiliate the looser, ala one of my current favorite TeeVee shows, Kenny vs. Spenny.

I can’t really post anything from today’s outing, so here are a few more pregnancy pictures that I did for Aldena and Corey.

I’ve been thinking for some time that I’d like to do a friendly photo competition, ala Fashion Televisions’ Naked in the House, but never really got around to pursuing the idea. I’d always thought an updated version of that contest would be fun – maybe all digital competitors, with a one or two day turnaround, as opposed to months.

Perhaps it was the recent activity over at nlphotographers.com (notice the top winning banner from the last competition, she said proudly) or the announcement of Battle Snap, but I started thinking aloud the other night when one of the other fotogeeks dropped over to pay us a visit.

We had been planning another road trip, but were a little undecided on the location. One of the guys had suggested a trek to the Ferryland Lighthouse, but it looked as if the weather was going to be an issue there. Anyway, after many obscene email messages back and forth, we managed to get a little competition going for tomorrow.

Here’s how it works….
A group of us will head out early to shoot (weather permitting of course), all at the same general location. The only rules for the competition are;

1. One camera, one lens.
2. The photo has to be produced within a defined two hour period – everyone starts and stops at the same time.
3. Only a “normal” amount of editing can be done to a photo.
4. No voting for your own photo.

Each photographer will be selecting one favorite image from the shoot. Those photos will appear here, numbered and unmarked, on Monday morning, where the visitors (you guys) will be able to vote on a favorite.

Oh yea, there won’t be any hot naked women in our competition. Just our usual scenic stuff… sorry guys.

Anyway, it’s calling for snow, so we’ll see how that goes…

Here’s a few shots of the staff at the Martini Bar that I did for the Current. They’re a very co-operative and attractive bunch.

The cover should be out… sometime. I have no idea when.

Tags: Current Magazine, Martini Bar, photo competition

These are the last few shots from our Bell Island road trip.
I popped out around getting some pictures while the rest of the crew stayed in the car to contemplate lunch and wait for the return ferry crossing.

The Fotogeeks btw have a few good shots from that trip as well. Those guys tend to shoot more scenic stuff and jump out of the car to go running in that direction, while I often head toward any people that I see in the same area, so that site can give an interesting alternate perspective on the same trip.

Tags: Bell Island Ferry, boat, ferry workers, lobster traps

Pretty self explanatory – the final few from my walk last week along Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s. These are from Pollyanna Art & Antiques and Liyver’s.
(if anyone can find a good URL for Liyver’s, let me know… mine sorta sux).

Tags: antiques, Downtown Shops

This stuff is from a fun little shoot we did a few days ago. It’s also an example of the first time (and likely last time) that anyone will be allowed to smoke in my house.

I had been chatting back and forth with the model on how we were going to pull off the 50′s style thing that she envisioned – and I was racking my brain and poking around on the ‘net for examples from the period. Not until a few days before did we decide on what objects to use, and even then, some of them were not accurate for the era. It’s one of those take-what-you-can-get situations for props really – you can sorta get away with it as long as they originate from before the concept date… but not after.

Angela had done some modeling before, and it was easy to see. She looked the part, and acted the part too. We had her smoking, crawling around in heels, contorted on the chairs and floors – and all without complaint.

The light just happened to be good in the front room that evening, so I finally got a chance to use that “damn non-working” antique piano that I bought on eBay… and the minion was saying the other day how it was basically just a massive weight on the floor. I fooled him, and I know where his logic failed him too – at 600 pounds, he never suspected it would be just set decoration. _evil_grin_ Even that “old” phone (working!) came in handy.

In reality, the playing cards are all I’m out – less than a buck. The other shooter (the “new” girl, Eileen) happened to have some smokes!

Come to think of it, the non-studio stuff tends to lean more 20′s / 30′s than we had envisioned. I know I’m being overly critical, I figure that’s the best way to nail it the next time ’round.

A new Gallery, Number 8, has been added over on the wedding site. With that addition, an old one has been removed. The shots below are previews from the upcoming Gallery 9.

It’s interesting to see how the wedding stuff has evolved over the last three years. The galleries largely have recent photos now, but there are also a few from the first weddings we covered

This evolution in style is not something that happened without purpose or direction. We made a decision early on to focus on the natural moments, and it’s been a relatively smooth transition since. I say “relatively” because, in practice, ensuring that you can shoot exclusively in a particular style is a luxury that requires some difficult policies and decisions. It starts with the initial consultation, and perhaps the most intricate step – selecting a client.

I’ve learned that a customer screening process has to be handled delicately and with compassion. Most clients understand that you simply want them to have a photographer that is most suited to what they’re asking for. If someone points out specific shots that they want to reproduce, for example, I know that they may not have a total understanding of the process we use.

Anyway, when you’re given the freedom to do it right, the resulting photos should tell a story and, ideally, each shot should say something unique. And I think this can be seen in the newest additions to the site. Avid visitors will have seen some of these shots before, but to most, they will be new. Basically, they’re from weddings that we covered in the first half of the 2007 Spring / Summer Season.

You can check out all the galleries from… you guessed it, the gallery page.

More from that run along Duckworth I did a few days ago…

I popped into Liyver’s for just a minute and asked if I could take a few shots. As usual, the shop keepers were extremely kind and obliging, although exceptionally shy. This gentleman took one quick look at me and promptly moved away.

The time span on these shots is literally just under 30 seconds.

I can understand why he may be so shy though – I think it’s Jack Layton’s brother.

Tags: Downtown Shops

We were driving by an old house on Bell Island when I saw these two cats on the porch.

I’ve always seen shots like these in calendars and stuff, but thought they were staged. Not necessarily I guess.

Tags: cats, tractor