“Colour captures the story in an image; black and white captures its soul.”  I’m not sure who wrote this quote originally (maybe Ansel Adams?). To me, it is eloquent and accurate.

Because the majority of my work is used for multiple purposes, I shoot everything in colour. I then interpret the image and convert it with a black and white treatment in post production. Converting a digital color photo into black and white goes beyond simply desaturating the colours. A colour image can be made to mimic any of a wide range of looks created by using color filters in black and white film photography.

A lot of my photojournalism work, whether its weddings or family lifestyle shoots, can be interpreted in different ways. For this reason, I do all the post production work on my images myself. As the photographer it’s a complete circle for me as opposed to having another digital artist interpret the image. Conversion which does not take into account an image’s color and subject of interest can dilute the artistic message, and may create an image which appears washed out or lacks tonal range.

A week ago I photographed Diane, her son Zack, and their bloodhound / mastiff mix dog, Trigger. I took them to High Park on a Saturday morning. Diane really wanted something that captured the personality and dynamic of her family. I spoke with her in advance about what was important to her, and also gave her my advice as a photographer. When Saturday morning rolled around, we were ready to go.

After hanging out for a bit, I casually started shooting to get them comfortable with my big camera covering my face while I was speaking with them. I used a combination of available light and flash. I ended up with a large selection of images. I’m looking forward to creating some big, custom prints and gallery wraps of the images.

I’ve presented a couple of images here, both in their colour and b/w versions for you to view. What do you think of them?

Until next time, be well.

This Is It, released by Sony Pictures.

While I was making television shows for MuchMoreMusic, I produced a documentary on The Jacksons. I was intimidated when I took it on because the family has such a checkered history. I knew it would be difficult to tell their story without it being sensationalized, especially since it was going to be part of a series entitled Celebrity Nosedives.

I never thought of the Jacksons as a celebrity nosedive. Not in the least. Theirs is a unfortunate family story. And I think my documentary portrayed that. How many fluff pieces have you watched about celebs that is such an obvious attempt to make those involved money? Too many.

So when Sony Pictures announced a few days ago that the feature length documentary about Michael Jackson was now in theaters, I read some reviews about it. Not only was it produced quickly, it is supposed to be an intimate account of Michael and the rehearsals for his comeback tour which never happened due to his unfortunate passing away. All shot in high-def in real time, with a somewhat cinema verité approach. Roger Ebert gave it a glowing review which you can read here.

l’ll inevitably go to see “This Is It”.

A lovely moment between mother and son.

One of the things I love about photographing wedding celebrations is capturing the spontaneous, and often quiet moments, between people. This recent image is one of my favourites: Mother and son enjoying a moment while they dance at his wedding reception.

That's me as a baby. Look at that full head of hair.

On a recent visit to see my mom, I was so taken with how time has changed her. As we grow older the physical change is so subtle and over such a long period, we don’t notice it. Some people seem to hardly change, but trust me, they’re changing. Our first year of life we experience the most physical change – more than we’ll ever experience again. Mind you, I put on 6 inches in one year as a teenager; that must have come close! I was a bottomless pit. I could eat and eat and eat.

When I was digging through some old family stuff I discovered an old print enlargement that I was one day planning to frame. It’s a big photo of my parents, and me as a baby. WOW! How times and people change. A photo like this is irreplaceable. You can’t put a value on it. Seeing that picture, knowing that my parents were just starting out as a young family with me as their first-born, is pretty powerful stuff.

I guess being in the profession, a print like this really reminds me that life is made up of fleeting moments. Holding it in my hands, feeling it between my fingers! If you’re lucky, you’ll have moments captured in a collection of photographs, too. The longer you have them, the more valuable they’ll become to you. 

Heritage. What does it mean?

A quick look in the dictionary gave me this definition:

heritage |ˈheritij|noun [in sing. ]1 property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance.• valued objects and qualities such as cultural traditions, unspoiled countryside, and historic buildings that have been passed down from previous generations : the richness of our diverse cultural heritage | a sense of history and heritage.• [as adj. ] (of a plant variety) not hybridized with another; old-fashioned : heritage roses.2 archaic a special or individual possession; an allotted portion.• God’s chosen people (the people of Israel, or the Christian Church).ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French heritage, from heriter‘inherit’ (see heritable ).

But how does that relate to one’s own personal history? Or a family’s heritage? Or a business with a tale to tell about how it grew to where it is today?

One of the reasons I love photography is that it can mean different things to different people, and used for varying purposes. There is often a story behind the image. Sometimes light and fun, sometimes as a powerful document. 

I tell all my clients, from weddings to head shots to commercial use, that we’re telling a story with the images we’re creating. I really believe that.

Anyone who’s lost a parent knows how difficult a time it can be. When my father passed away it was very hard on me. His was the first funeral I’d ever attended.

When Tammy contacted me and told me about a hand written note she had found from her mom, I knew there was going to be a story behind it. She told me her mom had passed away recently. When she was taking care of her mother’s belongings, she came across a strip of paper about 4 inches long. A little worse for wear, luckily she saw it out of the corner of her eye, for written on it was a testament of a mother’s love to her children.

Tammy asked me if it was possible to create a large canvas from this small note. She wanted to display her mom’s words in her home, both as a tribute to her mother, and also as a heirloom that could be passed onto future generations.

Utilizing high end scanning, image enhancement in post production and fractals technology, we created a three foot gallery wrapped canvas. 

Thank you, Tammy, for entrusting my studio to create this for your family.