Fall is clearly the best time of year to be a photographer, so I was really happy when Jessica called me to ask if I'd do some grad photographs and group shots of her and a few of her friends who are in their final year at U of G. We picked a day and time that happened to be not raining and warm enough to enjoy wandering around campus and got some great shots. You can check out the entire gallery by clicking on the image above... or go to http://gallery.dbdPhotography.ca
Forest creatures
This red squirrel thinks all the food put out for the birds must be for him. At Hilton Falls Conservation Area in Milton, Ontario.
Help-Portrait
I participated in a Help-Portrait shoot a couple of weeks ago. This organization helps people and families who would have some kind of barrier to having their portrait taken in a traditional studio setting. There were tonnes of volunteers from the Milton area, and it was a privilege to have worked with this dedicated group of people for the day.
Chickadee
I wouldn't say these little guys are exactly brave, but when the hand is offering a tasty treat, they are not about to refuse a little human contact.
Chickadee posing on a handful of treats
Macro Spider, Man!
Playing with my macro lens, and this little spider became my model for quite some time while I dialed in some settings.
Kelso Open Water Swimmers (KOWS)
Nancy and Derek allowed me to photograph them at the opening session for Kelso Open Waters Swimmers (KOWS) as part of a project I'm working on. Believe it or not, Nancy was afraid of the deep end of a pool only 10 months ago, and now she's competed in a triathlon race swimming in an open lake. Her friend Derek has been coaching her to help reach this goal! Congratulations and thanks for letting me tell your story!
Amy
This is Amy, a young graphics illustrator who I photographed in the studio last night. She was quite shy in the beginning but soon warmed up an we captured some lovely expression. Her light complexion provides for some nice contrast between the model and background.
Sheridan students Becky & Rob working in the glassblowing studio
If you're every feeling particularly chilly on a fall or winter evening, I recommend taking a stroll down the hall of the AA wing of Sheridan's Trafalgar campus. If you're lucky, the furnaces will be fired up and you'll find some students from Sheridan's glass program working on some glassblowing projects. I always feel energized in this hallway, which is a literal beehive of activity with shops for glass, woodworking, fabric and photography, and probably others that I haven't discovered. On a recent evening, I found Becky and Rob working on a glass vase, which seems to be a delicate balance of man-handling the molten silica and using kid gloves (thermal ones to be sure!) to coax it into the shape of a vase, Becky and Rob, who are 3rd year students of the glass and ceramics program, were kind enough to let me capture some images of them as they worked on their project.
Kev Morse Trio at Manhattans Pizza and Music Club in Guelph
I joined my musician friends Kev Morse and Jeremy Giesbrecht on Saturday night at Manhattans Pizza Bistro and music club in Guelph, Ontario... to see a performance by the Kev Morse Trio. They sounded great, playing a mix of Kev's original tunes mixed in with a few covers of familiar favourites that ranged... in my estimation at least... from folk to rock and even a gospel tune. Here's a collage of pictures from that concert, but you'll just have to imagine the music... at least until they release the new CD that they're working on for next year. Thanks for inviting me to hang out with you and the band Kev!
Ashwurks Kitchen Accessories
While I was in Halifax wandering around the historic Seaport Farmers Market, I came across a booth with beautifully intricate cutting board designs that immediately caught my eye. I struck up a conversation with the artisan, Donna Hopper, who told me that she began her craft after being alarmed that the scraps from her husbands furniture making business were simply going to waste.
Donna is a very hospitable vendor who very generously filled me in on some of the history of the market as well as her journey to becoming part of it. I summoned up a bit of courage and asked if she minded if I took a few photos of her and her booth where she tastefully displays the boards which are all made from scraps of ash.
She painstakingly lays out the raw material, glues it, slices it up, sands and polishes it, and at the end of 3 or 4 days, has some finished pieces which she first started selling at the market a few years ago, and now ships all over the world!
It may still be impossible to make a silk purse our of a sows ear, but now I’ve seen first hand that with a little imagination, a lot of determination, and the right amount of talent, Donna Hooper is turning what otherwise would have been scraps of wood into functional art pieces for your kitchen. Check out her website at www.ashwurks.ca, where you can read more details about her business and maybe order up a new "green" board for a kitchen near you!
Punjabi Sikh Wedding - Part 4 "The Maiyan Celebration
After the preparations are made, the bride-to-be comes into the room accompanied in this case by her father and brother, carrying the supplies she will need for the ceremony. They consist of: a container of vatna, a paste made of tumeric, flour and mustard oil; the fatti which is a rectangular board where she will place in front of her and rest her feet; and the dupatta, a scarf that will be held above her head by four family members during the ceremony
Punjabi Sikh Wedding - Part 3 "The Maiyan Celebration"
After some tasty food was served and consumed, the children, teens and women started preparing the decorative tapestry made by arranging colourful beads arranged semi-carefully on a hand drawn template. There was a great deal of excitement and plenty of advice as the tapestry was poured and nudged into place. A design incorporating the initials of the bride and groom was created before our eyes and served to mark the stage for the ceremony that was shortly to follow.
Punjabi Sikh Wedding - Part 2 "The Maiyan Celebration"
I think it must the contrast that pulls me in to this image and makes me wonder about this woman's story. In a sea of smiling faces and laughter, she sits quietly at the table. When I asked to take her photo, she strikes a pose. Is it sadness or quiet content? Does she withdraw from the celebration around her because she is from a different time, or because of circumstances in her life? Whatever the case, time has no doubt altered but in no way diminished her striking physical features.
Punjabi Sikh Wedding - Part 1 "The Maiyan Celebration"
This summer I had the pleasure of taking photos at the Sikh wedding of Preet and Rahman. The festivities and traditions take place over many months and intensify in the period just before and just following the actual wedding ceremony. (Having recently been involved in my nephew's wedding I guess this is also true these days for western style weddings... but perhaps I had a heightened awareness in this case since EVERY aspect of these festivities was unfamiliar to me)
My first function at this wedding was the Maiyan ceremony for the bride. If you are ever fortunate enough to attend wedding festivities from this culture, I guarantee you that the first thing you will notice is the vibrant colours of the clothing.
Family Photos
My friend and photographer Amanda Zulauf (amandaleephotography.ca) invited me to take some informal family poses in their back yard a couple of weeks ago. She brought out lots of ideas and props, so we were able to get lots of fun shots like this. I always think it's great when the family forgets about the camera and interacts with each other. Thanks for asking me to stop by Amanada!
Katie and Ben
If you live in Milton, you may know Ben from his many appearances in local newspaper as a highly successful runner for Bishop Reding High School, or Katie for her work with local theatre groups. But I know them as the kids across the street. In fact, I've know them all their lives and our families have grown up together on our sleepy little street in Milton. I caught them with my camera in hand just as Ben was about to depart to compete in the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine where he represented Canada. With a little mild arm twisting, they agreed to pose for a farewell photo.
Kayla & Dan "Just Married"
After we took our shots together with the family and the wedding party, we slipped away and got some pictures of the newlyweds. The beautiful landscape had lots of mature trees and plenty of options for getting some great pictures.
Of course you know what ended up happening with that bouquet! Later in the night I was fortunate to capture this shot as Kayla threw her flowers over her shoulder to all the eligible ladies. If you look carefully over Kayla's right shoulder, you can pick out the excited expression on the face of the lucky recipient!
Kayla & Dan Bridal Party
It's always great if we can generate some lighter moments! They help keep everyones spirits up, and help to replace those forced smiles with genuine ones. This shot was taken shortly after the ceremony, and everyone was ready to relax a little bit. We got a few more traditional shots too, which may end up being the ones that get framed, but I think Kayla & Dan will want to remember having lots of fun on their wedding day too!
A Lost Visitor
When we looked out our back window this morning, expecting to see the usual flock of sparrows and cardinals, instead we found this big guy who had moved in and cleaned up the leftovers from yesterday. Cathy noticed the ID band on his leg and we were able to capture all the information, and it was off to the internet to find out how to report a "found" homing pigeon. After a bit of digging, the band pointed me to a birder in Michigan, so I decided give them a call.
Now I had in mind more of a Readers Digest amazing adventure story where the kindly home owner (that would be me) would act as an intermediary in reuniting a frantic pigeon trainer who had given up hope on a wayward bird. Instead, after passing the screening test ensuring I was not a telemarketer, I got through to a farm lady who said something like "Oh... 0338 again... yeah, someone else in your area found him and they called us a few weeks ago. I guess he got away from there too. He must'a flown the coup from here when he was young...happens! Maybe you can find a local birding group who might be interested" O well... dashed are my dreams of appearing on the cover of 'the digest'... but, for a pigeon, he's pretty cute, very hungry, and seems pretty smart overall! Maybe he'll decide to stick around here for a while.
A peaceful piece of our heritage
I would love to photograph a wedding in this church that time seems to have forgotten, St. John's Anglican, just a few short steps away from busy Guelph Line near Campbellville. Established on this site in 1844, and this structure first built in 1870, busy would likely not describe its early surroundings. If you block out the road noise and turn your back on the nearby race track, casino, metal scrap yard, and close your eyes to the overhead utility wires, you can really get a sense of what Canada might have looked like during its very early days.
Today, I'm just another commuter whizzing by a few feet from its beautiful red front door, but it always makes me smile and reflect on the values and determination of those that have nurtured this place for through the entire history of Canada.