Photo Inspirations

Molly & Chris, June 12, 2010

2010-06-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you Molly & Chris for reminding me of everything great weddings can be.

.....and thank you Nikon for the incredible tools that helped me capture it all!

Maddi by the Pond

2010-06-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that keeping up with a full post on a daily basis is not in the cards for this blogger, however adding a daily image is much more realistic.

This one is of the daughter of a favorite client shot yesterday at their secluded estate. Nikon D3, 70-200 f2.8 lens. Puuurrrffect!

A Walk in the Forest

2010-05-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday the weather was dismal. Indoors all day. Kids were stir crazy. I hit the gym for a couple hours. Half soaked between the van and the door. That was my outdoors time. Dismal.

That night I told my wife that we would be going outdoors Sunday come hell or high water (seemed the high water was much more likely). It wasn't raining Sunday, just threatening. After dragging them kicking and screaming from video game and television, we bundled the kids appropriately and headed for the forest.

Golden Ears Provincial Park is a short drive and within a half hour of our departure we were feet on trail. My five year old son set the pace, his stride a quarter of mine. He meandered all over, determined to climb everything in sight.

Soon, the canopy engulfed us. The smell was wonderful. Always is in the forest after a rain. We started seeing pictures. The camera came out. Light and composition forming images in an alien landscape far removed from the everyday. We worked quickly, faced with impatient little people.

The quality of light in the forest is dreamy. The light. The shadow. The texture. The form. The lines.

It was therapeutic. It was thirty minutes from home. It was cloudy. Threatening. So easy to stay home and dry and warm and safe. So thankful that we chose not to. Instead we headed into the rainforest and it was a reminder that from that rain we tend to curse comes a beauty that most will never know. We know, and we're determined to pass that appreciation down to our children.

We live in British Columbia, and it is a beautiful place. Rain or shine.

Launch the Dragonfly

2010-05-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the soft launch for our new venture, Dragonfly Print Media Solutions. Our Dragonfly was hatched from it's nymph to serve the Vancouver business market with affordable printing, quality design, and of course, exceptional photography. Quality printing has always been an elusive animal in our fair city. Competitive pricing even more so.

A previous post talked about my love of fishing, and features one image of a series I captured of Dragonflies at Island Lake last year. I fell in love with the little creatures and decided to name the new venture in their honor. They are very fast, can move in six different directions, and can mate standing, flying, or hovering. Cool.

See the Dragonflies at http://www.kevinjamesday.com/

Mention the blog and receive 10% off your first order. Cheers!

The Allure of Flyfishing

2010-05-25T21:47:00.001-07:00

I tell people that I love flyfishing. They look at me warily. Especially the city slickers who have never seen a fish out of market. Perish the thought.

Many would be surprised to know that it isn't all about the fish. It's about the solitude. Waking up at the crack of dawn to the haunting cry of the resident loon echoing across glass-calm water. Mist dances across its smooth surface, broken only by a trout jumping, then gone in an instant leaving only the telltale rings that spread in perfect diminishing circles until the surface is glass once again.

Grab the gear and get out on the water. Six a.m. and no coffee on board. Up late the night before sharing drinks and stories around a crackling fire. Wide awake now, no coffee necessary. Slide the pontoon boat into the lake and head out. Flippers and oars. Silence. No roaring gas motors. No smell. Rig the line and let out a long lead. Wait for the telltale tug and set the hook. A good trout will play it out for several minutes. Leaping. Diving. Running into you faster that you can reel in and slacking the line, then turning hard and kicking away in an effort to break the line and disappoint. Get it alongside and bring it up with the net. Remove the hook and thank it for the good fight before sending it on its way.

The camera always close at hand, I usually spend more time shooting than fishing. These trips are a feast for my visual senses, so far removed from the everyday back home. Flora, fauna, landscape, clouds, reflections.

Attached is a favorite of a dragonfly. Eight or ten of them danced around me for well over an hour. They are truly amazing creatures, with faces that have genuine character. They fascinated me, and my Nikon D3 with the 70-200 f2.8 rose to the occasion and captured a memory I will forever cherish.

For those who ask me why I fish.....

Shake That Thing

2010-05-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

I like a good party. I also like to shoot a good party. Did one last week for one of my favorite Commercial clients. It was one I looked forward to since they always pull out all the stops and a good time is had by all. And so it was. These people work hard and play hard. They know how to cut loose. That's just the way it should be.

Watching the party as a photographer is a different experience. People watching at it's very best. Gives you the ultimate perspective. As the evening wears on people become immune to the camera. They no longer look at me like I'm a dentist with a drill. They play for the camera. Out come the alcohol induced alter egos, and at his company gig they were a blast!

Cheers!

2010-05-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

You've all seen them Those typical baseball team portraits (or any sport for that matter). Kids looking at the camera, shoulders slumped, fake smiles from ear to ear. My kids got 'em too. I set out to do something different. To exemplify girls softball. Immortalize the sport. Capture the spirit. It could be any team, anywhere. It is every team, everywhere. It is anonymous, yet synonymous. It shows passion, excitement, teamwork.

No fake smiles here!

What is a Photographer?

2010-05-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Nearly everyone carries a camera everywhere they go. Camera phones. PDA's. Point and shoots. I can't help but take offense to hear them tout themselves as "Photographers". I wish their was a line of distinction. Just because one can put on a band-aid does not make them a Doctor. Use a calculator and you're an accountant?

Being a Photographer encompasses an array of skills including Technical, Aesthetic, Compositional, and an intimate understanding of Light. If photographing people, add in Communication. If photographing moving subjects let's not forget Reflexes. Today's Photographer also better be Computer Savvy to master complex editing, retouching, compositing, and archiving of their work. Let's not forget Business Skills. You can take the best pictures in the world but if no-one sees them you'd best find an alternate source of income.

The sheer volume of images being taken by consumers in today's market makes success in Photography far more difficult than in years past. The sad part is that consumers are taking far worse photographs today than they did a quarter-century ago. When film was the medium people were more passionate about photography, and there was a very tangible cost attached every time a shutter was released. You had to want it. The camera's and film were of exceptional quality, and the resulting images much more vibrant than the digital mud of consumer camera's people accept as the norm today. People don't take the time to create a pleasing image, and to make it even worse subsequently don't understand how to improve upon the results in digital post-production.

Photography is an art. Those of us who practice the art take our work very seriously. We don't take pictures, we create images. We translate what everyone else sees into our personal vision because we don't see things the way everyone else does. We use technology the way a painter uses a brush, the way a sculptor uses clay.

We have style.

End of an Aira

2010-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I know, you're thinking I can't spell. It's a reference to BC Place Stadium in Vancouver which, until last week sported the World's largest air supported roof. Over 10 acres of fiberglass reinforced fabric.

The roof was deflated last week and construction will now begin on a new retractable design. The Stay Puffed Marshmallow Roof no longer graces the Vancouver skyline.

So what? For people who make their living from photography in this city the implications are huge. Every photograph taken of our skyline since 1983 (27 years for the math-challenged) is now dated. Imagine the number of images that encompasses. Expo 86, Vancouver 2010. Millions, I safely assume. Few building projects have such a profound effect. One Wall Center, The Shangri-La Hotel, Science World, The Vancouver Trade and Convention Center. For professional Image Makers who rely on their stock images for income it means that they must re-shoot constantly to stay current as our city evolves.

When we see the city on a daily basis the changes evolve slowly. With some building projects taking several years to complete their significance is lost to the eye. It is only when we view photographs that the changes become punctuated. As I write this, I look across the room at an eight foot long shot of the Vancouver skyline taken six years ago and realize it's already dated. Looks like I've got more work to do!

The One That Got Away

2010-05-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

As I rode the rails of my commuter train this morning I saw a beautiful picture. The waters of the usually turbulent Pitt River were still, offering reflections of distant mountains and shorelines that were near perfect. I have crossed over that rail bridge a thousand times, but never before seen it that way.

With the sun low in the sky and the train traveling at 50 miles per hour, the structure of the rail bridge and the safety glass window, it was not a picture that could be made. Even if I had cranked up the ISO on the D3 to allow a blazing shutter speed, shielded the glass to cut reflections, and timed the shot perfectly to avoid the iron struts of the bridge, I could not have got the shot. Certainly, I could have made a clear and sharp image, but not the image I was seeing with my eyes.

I have learned that sometimes a moment is meant to be appreciated in it's pure form; that a camera is an intrusion. I would have been disappointed by the result had I tried. Instead, I appreciated the moment for what it was, and when I close my eyes I still see it.

I have had many of these moments over the years, pictures recorded only in my mind. Some so profound that I can still see them clearly though they happened long ago.

One of the most important things for a photographer to learn is when not to go for the camera, just to appreciate and remember.

Today, I have only that memory to share.

Logo Madness

2010-05-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today I set about designing a new Logo for the website. Every time I design it's an exercise in frustration. Problem is that there are no limits. 16.8 million colors. Any size, Any shape. Four million images to choose from. A logo is supposed to say something about the company, but what is it that I want to say?

Something Artsy, but not too artsy. Don't want to alienate anyone. Can't use something too sexy because inevitably someone will complain about that. Not something too conservative because I'm not.

I settled on an image of the City of Vancouver that has been very successful for me. It speaks of where I call home, where I work, where I play. It makes a great backdrop and it's sexy without being too sexy so no-one will call and complain but it's not too conservative either.

Okay, got the picture. Then what? How about a little DKNY influence - the city within the text. It needed more so I dropped in the complete background image and de-saturated it, dropped the contrast, and voila! The city is continuous in the image, flowing through the text.

Several hours later.....

and Tomorrow is another day. Cheers!

Splat

2010-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

With a few minutes to kill before boarding my train, I went for a wander around the new Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre (that's center for our American counterparts). I found this unique sculpture there and had to get the shot. I pulled out my trusty D3 and mounted a 20mm f2.8 lens, lay on the ground and made the shot. Laying on the ground seems a common thing for me, thus the reason I prefer jeans to slacks.

I hung around and shot some seagulls frolicking in the updrafts then ran to catch my rails. On the train I pulled out my MacBook Pro and downloaded, adjusted the images in Lightroom, and exported them into Photoshop. The image with the sculpture needed something more so I comped in a seagull to complete it. I was done ten minutes before the train reached my stop.

Pleased with my efforts, I sought the admiration of my loving 11 year old daughter when I arrived at home. She broke out in laughter pointing at the screen.

"The bird did THAT !"

Oh My God, A Blog?

2010-05-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

I can just hear my Mother now, "Oh my God Kevin, what have you got yourself into now?"

I have a Blog, Mom.

"Well maybe the Doctor can give you something for that. I think your Uncle John had one and he lived to 92."

Generation Gap.

So a Blog is supposed to have a theme? I guess the theme will be Musings of a Photographer. Insights into my world, my inspirations, my motivations. Moments of sanity. Moments of not. I'll share some images, some ramblings, maybe some tips.

Blogging is foreign to me, but so was Digital Photography until 10 years ago, Parenthood 11 years ago, marriage 21 years ago. Shit or get off the pot. Do or die. You never know until you try it.

Are you allowed to swear on a Blog? Until someone tells me otherwise.....

Let's start off with a concert photo, shall we? Taken with a Canon G9 from too far away with a compact camera - but hey they may have stopped me if I had tried to enter with my Nikon D3 and a 300 mm lens. But it's The Eagles, one of my absolute favorite bands of all time. Amazing show.