Shake That Thing

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!

What is a Photographer?

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.

Splat

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?

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.