Impressionism in Photography
Must a photograph be “tack sharp” to be considered a professional-quality image or piece of art? My answer is a resounding “No”. I often hear photographers say that a photographic image must be what is coined “tack sharp”, meaning that an image must be in sharp focus to be considered acceptable or professional quality. Or [...]
Some colour to start off 2011
Toronto winters tend to be long, and rather grey. And so far in 2010-2011,… mild! This is the warmest New Year in years. I thought I’d start off 2011 by sharing a new series of expressionistic, and colourful, floral images. They have just been added to the Image Archive, our stock photography catalogue. To view [...]
Darling, shall we go to the St. Andrew’s Scottish Ball?
Yes! Let’s go to the St. Andrew’s Scottish Ball. Mingle with friends and families. Celebrate in our gorgeous tartan outfits. Eat a dinner befitting such an affair, dance the night away, and have our “Regal” Portraits done. What a ritzy gala! Photographing such a variety of lovely people in one evening is a lot of [...]
Original and Final: Before and After
Professional photographers generally don’t show images directly out of the camera without doing some sort of image correction or enhancement beforehand. Myself included. There are many reasons for this (but that’s for another blog post). However, I’m going to show one example so you can see the difference, which applies to this image only. Every [...]
The Brides’ Ballet: Tell Us Which You Prefer and Win a Fine-Art Print!
Which do you prefer? The colour or black & white treatment of The Brides’ Ballet? I personally can’t decide. I love them both. This image was created just a few weeks ago in the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada. We’re having a contest. Tell me which version you like best and why, by posting a [...]
Superheroes Galore! Central Toronto Relay for Life
Above: A smiling cancer survivor enjoys the Survivor’s Lap during the Relay for Life 2010 Central Toronto. Friday’s fundraising event for cancer research and awareness, organized by the Canadian Cancer Society, was a huge success. The Society’s event has become so popular there are now multiple, same-day locations in Toronto: Forest Hill Memorial Park and [...]
An Army of Brides: Giving Cancer the Boot in Downtown Toronto… a behind the scenes peek.
Above: “The Brides’ Ballet”. After the shoot for The Canadian Cancer Society the brides dance a lovely ballet among the water fountains of Yonge & Dundas Square, Toronto Canada. I was shooting again for the Canadian Cancer Society last Friday, along with the lovely ladies of The Brides’ Project. In the heart of downtown Toronto! [...]
Behind the Scenes: TV celeb, renowned dog trainer and author, Brad Pattison
Yesterday’s shoot with Brad Pattison and the awesome team at The Canadian Cancer Society was a hoot, so I thought you might enjoy a “behind the scenes” peek of this media event and book launch. If you haven’t heard of Brad Pattison, you may want to check out his TV Series airing on Canada’s Slice [...]
Conceptual Stock Photography and Managed Rights
Any photographer who produces stock photography knows that the stock world has experienced a massive shift. What was typically a resource of high end images has how shifted to a goulash of mixed quality. One would suppose that may give a new meaning to the expression “The media is the message”? But I digress. Microstock [...]
"Local" – a magazine for the Beaches and Leslieville neighbourhoods of Toronto
Sitting down with a good cup of java while pouring through magazines is one of life’s simple pleasures. Local Magazine is available in the Beaches and Leslieville neighbourhoods of Toronto. Editor Sarah Dann is the brains behind it, and I think it’s great. I contributed one of my Winter Series Beaches neighbourhood images to the [...]
Over 15 new images added to the Big Island of Hawaii archive!
Exciting news! Over 15 new images has been added to the Kona (Hawaii) Image Archive, for a current total of 50 originals. They’re all full resolution, 45mb files. These images are geared more towards traditional stock and commercial usage. Many, but not all, of the images added prior have a fine art approach. These images [...]
Vegging Out on The Big Island, Hawaii
The tropical ecosystem in Kona is outstanding. I was so impressed I found myself carrying my camera everywhere to capture the beauty surrounding me. You may feel the same way once you take a closer look at the following sample of images. For those that follow this blog regularly, you’ve already seen a larger selection [...]
Available Light in The Big Island
The light quality of The Big Island is spectacular. Sunrise and dusk are incredibly beautiful. Here are some of my favourite early morning and late afternoon images. Click on an image to view a bigger version, and for more information about it. Click here to view all my Hawaii images, and to learn more about [...]
Mahana Bay, Hawaii
ABOVE: Part of my Hawaii trip included a drive and hike to Mahana Bay. It is located just north of the southernmost tip of the United States, Ka Lae (South Point) on the Big Island of Hawai’i. It is a beach full of green sand. In order to get to the beach one must walk [...]
Sneak Peek: The Big Island, Hawaii
My trip to the Big Island (Kona) in Hawaii was spectacular. I’m still feeling a bit jet-lagged, so consider these 12 images a sneak peek. They’re part of our growing Image Archive, where we offer images for personal and licensed use. For example, you may download an image for your desktop computer or order a [...]
Found! Budapest, Hungary
Back in 2003 I visited Hungary, and travelled all over the countryside visiting wineries during one of the worst heat waves in European history. Wow, was it hot. It was also one of the last times I photographed using 35mm film. Back then I only shot for fun. I’ve been reviewing hundreds of images to [...]
Toronto Cityscape at Dusk
Downtown Toronto is starting to look a lot like Times Square in New York, especially at Yonge and Dundas, next to the Eaton Centre. This image of the Toronto skyline, captured just before dusk, with the CN Tower in the background, shows just how busy our downtown core is. Wouldn’t this photograph look great in [...]
New! Winter Series in the Image Archive
Super-excited am I. Yes, I am. Winter is coming. As much as I grumble about terrible driving conditions, blustery winds, sleet and ice during our Toronto (Canada) winters, I find the coldest season of the year very beautiful. Especially in The Beaches neighbourhood, where yours truly currently resides. For the urbanites out there, there is [...]
Headshots and Portraits for Business
If you’ve been considering having your headshot or portrait done, or updating the one you now have, this article will be of interest to you. Recently I’ve been asked to create headshots and portraits for various types of companies. Franchisees, law firms, big insurance co’s, creative outfits, actors, authors, public speakers and more. Depending on [...]
Image Archive: Stock Images now Available
With quality stock images now available from a variety of online outlets, many photographers find it makes better sense to self-distribute their Stock Photography Images available for business and personal use. Large organizations such as Getty charge pretty high fees to image buyers, and take large commissions on image sales. Unless the photographer’s images are [...]
Canadian Cancer Society: Relay for Life – Scarborough
It was impressed upon me early on during this weekend’s Relay for Life the difference in personality, compared to last weekend’s event. Toronto’s multiculturalism really shone through. It’s poignant to witness people of diverse backgrounds working as a team – in one location – all night long, full of hope. It’s an evening where the [...]
Canadian Cancer Society: Relay for Life: Scarborough
Friday, June 19th I’ll be photographing again for the Canadian Cancer Society. If you’re participating in the Scarborough Relay for Life, come say “Hello”. I’ll capture an image of you! The final tally isn’t yet in for the Central Toronto Relay for Life, but as of today the event has raised close to $250,000 for [...]
Serious Business!
Thank you to Daniel, René and Chris for a fun corporate shoot yesterday. After we wrapped, we continued shooting. As you can see from this capture, it was serious business!
Is it time for your Portrait?
I enjoy creating portraits of people, whether it’s a family portrait, executive portrait, actor headshot. Portraits can be done on location or in studio, formal or candid.
