Shooting for The Star!

I was contacted recently about doing a shoot to accompany a couple of articles for The Star newspaper in Toronto. The articles concern the benefits of chiropractic care for the elderly. My first shoot was of an inspirational 92 year old gentleman who plays a round of golf 3 times a week and teaches a line dancing class. Mr. Stafford was a wonderful subject and I was in awe as I watched his fancy footwork during his class.

My second shoot for the article was with Dr. Natalia Lishchyna and her patient, Helen Evans.  Mrs. Evans is an energetic 80 year old and has been receiving treatment from Dr. Lishchyna for lower back pain. She was a delight and very kindly agreed to let me photograph her even though she had not been to the hair salon that day!

Dr Lishchyna

Helen Evans & Dr. Lishchyna

You can view the article in The Star at
http://www.thestar.com/sponsored_sections/yourbackhealth/2013/07/30/keeping-his-health-in-line.html

Beautiful Baby Porter

The summer has been flying by and I thought it was high time that I posted another blog. As you can see, I'm not the most dedicated blogger, but I just couldn't resist posting a few images of a recent shoot with little Porter.

He is such a beautiful baby - those big blue eyes are going to break some hearts when he's older! Congratulations to Jordan and Scott on a truly adorable addition to their family.

Some Experimentation!

For some recent coursework, we were given the task of illustrating shallow and deep depth of field and also the effects of slow and fast shutter speeds. Here are my examples. I hope you like them!

Fast Shutter Speed - just love his expression - he knows he won't come out of this one dry!

Slow Shutter Speed - poor little guy; left out of the fun.

Shallow Depth of Field - sharp football, blurred background. In 20 attempts he didn't once actually kick the football at me - very lucky!

Deep Depth of Field - sharp from front to back. I love the swooping curve leading you up through the image.

Winter Texture

Here are a few shots I took one sunny day one over the winter. I love the shadowy contrast and texture you can get from the black and white images when the sun makes hard shadows and bright highlights.

  

 

Winter was great, but I'm looking forward to some lovely warmth.

Oh foggy day...

For anyone who is worried that their photos will not be beautiful because the day is cloudy and overcast - fear not! Here are some perfect examples of how an overcast day can work in your favour to make the colours richer and to give a lovely moody feel to them. Thanks to the Dawrant family for letting me photograph a moment of their life in Canada before they move back to the UK. Good luck with your move and enjoy your images!

 

 

A new little life...

Congratulations to Lena & Jamie on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Abigail. What a wonderful moment, and I feel so lucky to have been able to capture her in the first few days of her life. Lena, you were so calm and relaxed throughout the whole session and little Abi was a dream subject - she slept at the right times and even managed a few wide awake shots near the end :)

I know how stressful life can be in the first week or so after giving birth, but it is well worth the effort if you capture timeless memories like these. Here are a few of my favourites.

 What a beautiful photo with Nanna. Totally besotted.

Simply beautiful...

You don't always have to travel far to get some gorgeous portraits. Sometimes the simplest backdrop is the most effective - just in your own home or backyard for example. That way you can really focus on the person without becoming too distracted by the surroundings. Often the places we are the most at ease are the best because they produce the most relaxed portraits - especially if you are shy or uncomfortable having your photo taken.

This beautiful series of images was taken at my client's home. Case in point. Gorgeous.