stories2

Faded Rose Goes to Loan Collection!

Just got the notice from the Professional Photographers of Canada that Faded Rose was also judged as Loan Collection worthy. This means it will be part of the travelling Loan Collection for a year. I think it might  also be going into a book of this years loan collection. It is a very selected collection of images that recieve this honour.  

Aren't 'They Cute?

Ok, don't these  little guys just melt your heart? We did them on location then processed into this art effect.  We offer the same effects, well different effects but with the same cool results in our regular prints.  These fellows are a family, I can't recall how young but pretty young. They  were fairly unimpressed by the whole shoot, this was the most animated they got. But they were still so much fun!

Yup, I am a Calgary Photographer

I have had a few questions about where we are based. It’s Calgary, Alberta. Yup we are a Calgary Photographer. Now we do travel a lot, with patrons hauling us even over the pond as the English call it, always enjoy leaving a cold Calgary winter for a few days of photography in a warm clime.

We have a special web page, reached at CalgaryPhotographer.ca, that tells a bit about our hometown background nestled in the Rocky Mountain Foothills of Alberta.

Waiting For Your Cat To Bark

This is something new from some old friends, the Eisenberg brothers. Their new book, Waiting for your cat to bark, it is a wonderful book on the changing paradigm of how people accessing emerging media in a way that the prevailing mass marketing models are now being dodged. This enjoyable read takes the view that customers are behaving more like cats than conditioned dogs.

Take a look at this insightful view on a changing marketing landscape.

Desperate Divas raises $33,000 for Canadian Breast Cancer

We are so thrilled at the success of the Calgary City Centre Progress Club. Each year they hold a special fundraiser that is the Girls Night Out. For over 5 years of their 9 year history, we have been a major sponsor, each year they raise more than the last. It is always a lot of fun for a good cause. We consider our selves lucky to be part of this generous event.

This year they raised the bar with $33,000 for Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  They put in an amazing amount of high energy and polish to this event. If you missed it this year watch out for it next year, it is always a sell out.

In addition to the full roster of auction items, their is some very engaging entertainment (boy can a room full of women cut loose!) and some of the best food the Calgary Westin Hotel can put on.

Plan on being there next year!

Nude Wedding portraits a Chinese trend

Wow, is this surprising! Of all the cultures that might embrace this approach, I never thought it would come from China. Apparently this expanding trend started about 2 or three years ago. Initially it was a wedding portrait request from clients in larger mainland cities in the south. This concept bloomed from white-collar workers who had had contact and thus influence, from western cultures.

No less than The China Radio International news is breaking the story, complete with photos. All tame and tidy images though; classy comes to mind.

This trend began appearing in Chinese wedding portraits about two to three ago.  Originating from white-collar working class in the cities. Initially it was felt the bride and groom were influenced from their western culture contact. So wide spread has birthday suit attired photos become that a survey was done to find out how many and why.

No surprise, it’s the younger couples who are gleefully seeking out photographers for their nude nuptials portrait. They are reported as wanting to record their bodies “in their physical prime”. Couples are also looking for something fun and novel. It adds a lot of unusual excitement to their event.

Now it should be noted that this images are an add-on to the more traditional wedding portraits that shape the official album and gifts to parents and family. They usually come into the photography studio the after hours for their private portraits.

These are not some tacky slick magazine effort either; they have not lost their decency or class, just their clothes. Plus, although it started and remains strong in the major cities like Beijing and Chengdu, the request has spread into small centers too.

So just how popular is it? Well the survey found that only 10% of wedding couples are requesting a package that includes stylish nudes. But China is a big place with 9,000,000 weddings annually (serious, its on record), so 10% puts it at nearly 10,000 couples booking the packages including the informal nude wedding prints.

A reflection on how popular this is, is that Chinese couples report they are spending up to $3,000 Canadian on this package option.  Who woulda thought!

Lighting Your Wall Photographs

How to best light that amazing photographic portrait on your wall can be tricky. What looked breath taking on the Studio presentation easel, suddenly looks flat on your home wall. Here is how you can fix that.

Dean Proctor, founder of the London based Art, Design, Installation company shares his insights.

Proctor maintains flexibility is the key when choosing lighting. ‘You’re likely to want to rotate your collection and there are as many solutions as there are problems,’ says Proctor. ‘Obviously, natural light is best. So if possible, avoid using a glass frame, as it dulls the image – even non-reflective glass doesn’t always work.

Of course he is referring to open or ambient natural light, never place an image where direct sunlight can strike it and eat up the emulsion.

Here is more of Proctor’s advice:
1)    If you are moving into a new place, draw up a template of the paintings on the walls and then fit the lighting around it, rather than slotting art into the room at the end of the process.
2)    Avoid spotlights. They cast a ‘hot spot’ which creates a glaring reflection on a photograph. Spotlights also need a lot of maintenance.
3)    While traditional picture lights look great in certain surroundings, they only light the top third of a picture. Opt instead for ceiling track fitted with dimmable wall washers. Favored by many galleries, they cast a soft, circular light.
4)    If you are lighting a picture with no frame, downlighters are the best solution.
5)    A light too near a thick frame will cast a shadow across the picture, so use-ceiling lights positioned in the middle of the room, instead.
6)    Opt for half-silver bulbs. They throw a more circular light and create less of a reflection than regular bulbs and don’t get as hot.

Considerations When Hanging Photographs

Some basic rules can enhance your aesthetic instincts on hanging your wall Portraits. Photographs in the home tend to be hung to o high, usually to make space or furniture. Ideally you should aim to have the middle of the image 1.7m about the ground- that is eye level for the average adult.

Next comes the hard part; hanging your photographs so the ‘feed’ off on another. Don’t feel bad about the challenge. The Vice Chairman of the annual art show, Art Fortnight London receives so many requests for help that they organized seminars hosted by British interior designers David Linley and Nina Campbell and American interior designer Jamie Drake.

“How your hang your photographs is crucial,” Says Campbell, “You have to deal with it and getting it right can take a long time.” They all agree that photographs, art, are the key to bringing the inside of a home to life. It injects it with character. But they are emphatic that art must be hung with the whole home in mind, rather than on a room-by-room basis.

Drake says,” Art moves your eye around a room and crates a dialogue between everything that’s in it.”

Here is more of their advice:

1) Hang by content rather than colour. Lay al your pictures out on the floor and try to find a common thread. Then decide what you want to hang on its by itself. Large or dramatic images work best.
2) It’s fine to put big works next to small one and verticals next to horizontals as long as the middle of each picture is aligned.
3) There’s nothing wrong with mixing old and new – putting your favorite single portrait with a delightful older family portrait. As long as the scale of each is different. The same goes for mixing mediums- putting BW with color with a canvas. it can create nice contrast.
4) Never try to match your wall colour with one of the colours in your photographs. It won’t work. Instead, focus on the room or space as a whole.
5) Wall fabric provides a good background for most types of hung art. It’s softer and more interesting than paint and easier to work with than wallpaper.
6) Never line up the edges of a picture with the doorframes, bookshelves or any other bits of furniture. It will look stiff and contrived.
7) Classical or Formal pictures look great on a dark background. Conversely, contemporary pieces look better on a more neutral background.

Photographer slows at 91

I just love this. Bob Haig of B. Artin Haig Studios started his photography back in 1926. He is now 91. Artin is easing into retirement by having a younger photographer (that is relative since his choice has been a photographer for 30 years) come in to help him grow his fine art portrait photography.

His new helper is also speeding up his transition into the digital medium. Just another evolution in photography for a man that has adapted to all the past incarnations photography has gone through.

I have encountered other photography heroes, like Richard Avedon who started his photography in 1944 and died at 81 while on a photography assignment in Texas.

I find this gives me so much scope of where I can go and how long I can indulge my passion of portraying my patron’s inner beauty.

At the Calgary Women’s Show Again

Next weekend, Oct 22 and 23, we will again be at the Calgary Women’s Show. We have a shared history with them, we have been at every show they have put on, right back to the 80’s when the first started. That first booth was a little tiny one that won the best booth award. In past years we collaborated with Bedrocks Hair to create a makeover fundraiser for the Samaritans Purse and the Kidney Foundation.

A few years ago we even brought a little baby lion and Elle to the main stage to talk about our wild kingdom sessions. The audience was so wrapped up with Willy’s and Elle’s antics I don’t think they even noticed me!

This year we will just a few booths from the main stage with some brand new images up on display, showcasing some of the neat new things we can do. Please drop by and say hi!