Politically Motivated

Doug Routley is the New Democratic Party's member of the legislative assembly representing the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding. He also happens to love cycling. It just so happens that I love cycling too. So small talk is no problem for us. But when he starts to talk politics I usually have to plead ignorance. I just don't keep up with everything that is happening. So politically motivated I am but in terms of taking interesting photos of politicians. Why? Because politicians stir emotion in many of us. They make us angry if there are budget or service cuts. They make us happy if they create new jobs or give us a tax break. And they tend to be in the public eye so they are recognizable.

I met Doug at his Nanaimo office to do a series of headshots, some against a pure white background for easy use on websites or publications, etc... And then I did some photos against this darker backdrop that I love to use. The portability of my studio gear is a real blessing for work like this. I think set up took about 15 minutes and tear down about 10. That includes both the white and denim backgrounds.

We left Doug's office to take in some shots that would tie into who he is and what's happening in his riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith. The first stop was this new housing project in the south end of Nanaimo. Phase one is open and has residents, while phase two was under construction while we were there. I had my lights set up on the driveway here which was a bit nerve racking as there were cars coming and going. I need to get some traffic cones or something really high-visibility to make sure people don't run down my lights...

Next stop was the old coal town of Ladysmith. This place has so much character, there are just endless possibilities for photos.

Doug had his bike with him and we wanted to get some shots with it so I put this shot together. He is actually using my phone as his was back in his car. I guess he was so excited about getting photos with his bike that he just forgot about the phone. The reason he is chuckling in this photo is because I noticed something funny happening in the background and told Doug. I have more photos of this scene without the gag in the background so no worries :)

This alleyway actually had a fair bit of traffic so half of the time we were just waiting for people or cars or dogs to get out of the shot. It was fun to see people walking by stop and watch for a while.

I ended the shoot with Doug and his bike on one of Ladysmith's more inclined streets, against an interesting old building.

While politics is going well for Doug, taking photos of politicians is about as motivated as I see myself.

kurtknock.com

Adding some spice.

Some things are just not very exciting. You walk or drive past the same building every day. And it is just another building. That is, until you are commissioned to photograph it which is what I was asked to do last week.

The contractors who built the Island Savings Credit Union head office were looking for some photos of the building for their website and portfolio. I know the building well - It is across the street from Coffee on the Moon where I get my caffeine fix every day.

This worked out to be somewhat of an advantage for me. I knew the orientation of the building and when it would look good in the natural light. I was just unsure what lens to use as this would have to be a wide angle shot. So I snapped this photo below one cloudy afternoon just to try one of my lenses:

This lens was not going to do. I was going to have to use a wider angle lens. And if you compare this test photo to the first photo (up top) which is the finished product, you can see some difference (or at least I hope you can). This is not all photo shop. This is setting the camera to do what you want it to do, taking advantage of natural light at the right time of day and adding supplemental lighting to accent the building. Had I gone with the test shot as my final product I would not have been proud of my work and I don't know what the client would have thought. I think a little extra effort goes a long way.

The end result was enough to make my client happy and I now I'm looking forward to more architecture photos!

kurtknock.com