NEWF'N'LAND
Many moons ago in early 2015, this started as just a few boring (but pretty) pictures for a new coffee table book that I wanted to self publish. The path from that point has been something I could never of dreamt of (I’m sure some will attest). I have literally lived a lifetime since then and many things in this book have been important (or not so important) restorative moments. Newfoundland is quite a place, and things have certainly never been dull. I put together some of my better pictures and more interesting anecdotes(anecodotae?) and It is this...Somebody said to me once “It will be a big chapter in your life”. Well, ... it got it’s own book!
BACK TO WORK
It’s been a busy end to the year, and I feel like I am definitely back to work! Loads of shoots, plus all the design and marketing stuff, I feel like there are not enough hours in the day. I have promised myself that no matter what I will dedicate more time to myself and making my creative personal projects. It makes me a better photographer, but more importantly it makes me a better human. I am the first person to say that every person NEEDS a creative outlet to release stress. What ever you love to create... do it. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. It doesn’t matter if it makes money. All that matters is that you enjoy being part of your process of creation.
NEW PORTFOLIO
There are so many things I seem to be working on simultaneously. One project that I have been putting off for ages has been a new printed portfolio. I haven’t really had a portfolio update in years and there is so much new work that it has been really a huge undertaking deciding what is to be included. Every time I bid on gigs and go for commissions, I throw something together last minute. Although always great and showcasing what I can do, It is not the folio I have been dreaming of. That has all changed this weekend as my new forty-eight page pro-folio started printing. It looks fab and will really stand out at any meeting. ... what next?
NIGHT WATCHER
I have been loving my new MEAD® Telescope! Night skies and Optics are a guilty pleasure. You can buy a great telescope for a fraction of what it costs to buy a pro camera lens and you definitely don’t enjoy a fraction of the fun. It’s quite a challenge to shoot images of the stars even with the best of gear. The learning curve is steep and environmental conditions are always a gamble. Maybe that’s what I like - it’s all about the luck. I have been shooting the moon with a huge megapixel camera, and I can see each and every crater. It’s is incredible... problem is I can spend hours tweaking the scope when I should be editing my back catalog!
FLEA 4 FUN
It’s been a while since I picked up a camera and went somewhere to just make pictures for fun. So for a nice Saturday adventure, the BP and myself popped in the car and headed down to the flea market. Interesting faces and even more ‘interesting smells’! It was fun and we found a few treasures. I never really thought about it before, but I now know where cameras go to die. I have never seen so much 35mm gear just strew all over the place. Sad to think about the memories those cameras were a part of and now disposed of. I know they are just machines, but each one was a member of a family..
CONCERT CRAZY
Since returning to the West Coast, I promised myself to try and see as much live music as I can. Great thing on this side of the country is how many great bands come to play. So many awesome musicians that I actually listen to have been coming to play and I always try to sneak a camera in and get close. Makes me think I need to shoot more Bands and Musicians. Sadly I don’t ever get the calls for that type of work anymore... but if any Musos are reading this, I would love to make your pictures. I was beside myself happy to see the Future Islands just the other day, and from the front row!! The images were beyond fabulous, but how could they not be!
LAST MINUTE SELFIE
You know that feeling when you can’t seem to get a hand model last minute? I never thought I would be able to identify with that question... that is until today. I needed to shoot a corporate image for Fiat of Vancouver that would be used to design an Online “We are Hiring” advertisement. Normally I would be able to find someone to pose...either a professional, friend, family or anybody who works for coffee! That wasn’t the case today, so it became a selfie. Shooting wide open at f1.4, I did manage to get the image. Perhaps I can selfie all my corporate shoots ;)
IT'S A RECORD
It’s an understatement to say the Real Estate market is hot in Vancouver. I was lucky enough to shoot a property for Cathryn Lawrence, a Realtor with Western Canada’s largest integrated Real Estate Firm - MacDonald Realty. I photographed the property on a Wednesday evening, had the images edited and uploaded by first light the next day, the listing went up and within a few hours...SOLD! What makes it so interesting is that the place was just a hair over 900 square feet, cost nearly a million dollars, and sold to a buyer who only ever saw the photos (never viewed the property). We all laughed that my images were really,really good.
DIS·CONN·EC·TED
There is something that has been so disquieting to me lately. Everywhere I turn, people are so disconnected from the moments they should be part of. Heads are buried in phones living in a digital reality. They pass each other on the street... they sit at tables... they lay in bed. I am amazed how close I can be photographing in personal space, and yet go completely unnoticed. In these amazing times of being the most connected human beings, there is a serious disconnection. Almost feels like real life Zombies, and it will be quite a photo series
EUROPEAN FOOTSTEPS
It’s been such a long time since I just wandered the streets of Europe. I suppose what I love most is that I walk in the footsteps of some of the greatest street photographers of all time. As I walk, I try to do justice to the masters of the 20th century... Brassaï, Markéta Luskačová, Eugène Atget and of course the genius Henri Cartier-Bresson. Some of these very streets were their inspirations, and it is easy to see why. The Human Condition surrounds me here, and allows my images to elevate themselves.
VANCOUVER STREETS
I don’t have very much time in Vancouver - just a few days. So I decided to spend a little time walking the streets I used to shoot twenty years ago. Vancouver is such a beautiful city, but is now a city for the rich. It was heartbreaking to wander and see hundreds of human beings who don’t “fit” with Vancouver’s image of it’s future and itself. There is an obviously huge problem here and the dichotomy of the us and them syndrome seems to be everywhere. I witnessed a number of dehumanizing moments. I took a number of pictures...but I don’t have the heart to edit most of them :(
OHHHH GIULIA!
Wow...and more wow! What a day! I am now making images of some of the most beautifully designed automobiles ever made! Looking very forward to working with Alfa Romeo of Vancouver to be their “photo guy” and shoot their stunning inventory of gorgeous cars. Iconic names like the Spider, Giulia and the awesome Quadrfoglio will present themselves in front of my cameras. Today the 280 Horsepower Giulia Ti that does 0-100 kph in five seconds. Amazing.... and it is in Red with a Crema interior. Wow :)
CANADIAN DREAM
I have been so fortunate to have transversed Canada not once, but twice! This latest drive from East to West - St. John’s Newfoundland to Vancouver, British Columbia, has been filled with stunningly rugged landscapes and the most eccentric, interesting people! Although I was on a time crunch to not miss my flight to UK, I still managed to do the trip in 16 days and make hundreds of fantastic images. From landscapes of the ‘Great White North’, to George and his ‘Bone Pile’... let’s just say there will be more editing then I can handle!
MEXICAN FACES
It has been an amazingly introspective visit to Mexico. As I slip into the mindset for the next couple of years of travel, I walked the streets of the city of Tepic and allowed myself to become immersed in the honesty of these Mexican streets. Tepic is not a place swarming with ‘Gringo Touristas’, and I wandered with the proud people of this place, gently making pictures as I went. So many lovely faces and moments... and a fantastic warm-up for things to come.
TRAVELER
My Time in Newfoundland and the East Coast of Canada has come to an end. It’s been quite a journey filled with pivotal moments, interesting people and fantastic images. Now I continue along my path. A quick trip to Mexico, then back to St.John’s and then drive 8000km to Vancouver. I’m there for 5 days and everything will go into storage and I’m off to spend the next year on a ‘working holiday’ in Europe. Iceland, Russia, UK, France, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal...etc :) I’m looking forward to ‘EuroUrban’ once again and my trusty Rolleiflex 2.8f will be at my side. You only live once, and I couldn’t wait here any longer.