Oh Baby!

It looks like my photography is taking me in a couple distinct directions these days. I've been busy with weddings recently and I love that. There are so many great photos that come out of a wedding.
And now baby/maternity photos are going to be a significant part of what I do. And that is fantastic! I love the emotion that can be captured between a newborn and family. There is a lot that can be artistically too.
I've been doing a lot of maternity shots of Nina lately and baby shots of Rhys but now I'm partnering with the Cowichan Midwifery Group to do studio and outdoor shots for their (and my) clients at their great new location in downtown Duncan.
Kate and Selina (the owners of Cowichan Midwifery) recently purchased a fantastic character building and completely renovated it. It is honestly my favorite building in town. It looks great on the outside, being all-brick and quite classy, but inside it is just incredible. It is like nothing else in town. I will be using a studio space downstairs for maternity, newborn, mom and baby type photos. When weather permits, there is a very nice new garden courtyard for outdoor shots.
To top it off, Kate and Selina are two fantastic people (and midwives) to work with. They are super friendly and down to earth and they delivered my sons, Kole and Rhys so they are almost like family now.
For convenience, I'll be doing these 1 hour photo sessions on Sundays so most people are more likely to be available. There are also a number of great coffee shops within a one-block radius for clients to enjoy before their appointments.

Bookings can be made by contacting Cowichan Midwifery (Matraea Centre) at 250-597-0085.

kurtknock.com

It's the final countdown.

Yesterday Nina and I managed to get away for a lunch date. This was the first time in at least a month as she had been on bed rest for the past three weeks. Just last Sunday she was released from her bed rest confinement and now we can resume a more normal lifestyle. That is, until the baby does decide to show up.

So we headed off to Zanatta Vinoteca for an incredible lunch. Fatima da Silva is the chef there (when she's not busy at her own restaurant, Bistro 161) and she creates the most incredible food! The setting of the restaurant is incredible - a vineyard in the country, only five minutes outside of town, with rolling hills and views of the mountains. Not to mention, the weather was perfect - sunny, warm and a nice breeze.

I asked if I could come by later in the day to do some photos of Nina and Kole and was given permission to use the vineyards and farm.



I wanted to get one more maternity type photo shoot in with Nina since we don't know exactly when this baby is going to come out plus I wanted a nice summer look and to include our son Kole.

After lunch we came home and the weather changed. It became very windy. Actually the strongest winds so far this year. I was a bit concerned that this was going to pose a problem with blowing my lighting gear over but I was able to weight it down and all was fine. I have to give some credit to my light stand which was given to me from a friend at the local hospital. It is an old video camera tripod and it is incredible. I'll post pictures one day. It has a very wide stance which gives great stability. At least it was able to keep my speedlite and softbox from toppling over in the gusty wind.

Kole was having a great time running around through the vineyard. It was a challenge trying to keep his attention long enough to get him to cooperate for the photos but it all worked out. I just wish I had the energy to run around with him!

kurtknock.com

Work with what you've got.

When life is taking you in the direction it chooses go with it and make the most of it. As my wife is now released from bed rest, we had a routine tests at the hospital just to see how things are coming along. Lucky for us this time, we had the testing done in a birthing/surgical room. Right away I noticed these cool lights hanging from the ceiling. They pivoted all around and you could focus the beam of light from wide to super tight spot light.

So I went about playing with the lights. Really I was getting some more maternity shots as we didn't get a chance to do that while Nina was on bed rest. With these lights I had fun adjusting the intensity and came up with a couple shots I kinda like.

This room had a great '70's vintage look with these light turquoise tiles and this wall clock. Again, all the lighting in these photos is from these surgical lamps and have not been photo shopped or re-edited at all.

I came away with a new respect for continuous lighting. However, I also came away understanding the limitations, such as heat they radiate and the squint factor (having a light shining in your eyes).

What could have been just another visit for tests provided some interesting shots that I would have missed completely if I had not packed my camera. You just never know what opportunities you may stumble upon. 

A couple evenings ago, while Nina was still on bed rest, Kole and I snuck into the back yard for a little fun. I just wanted to play around with some lighting using a speedlite and my softbox and get some silly shots of Kole and myself. I know the photo above is a touch out of focus and I'm over-exposed, but who cares. The photo is about me and my son having fun together.

This was Kole's turn to be a star.

And my turn for a great facebook profile shot...

So what if you are in a situation that you might not think is optimal for pumping out stellar photos. Work with the situation and you will come up with something. And chances are, the situation will be unique and you'll have more interesting photos as a result.

http://www.kurtknock.com/

On a holding pattern.

Sometimes things in life are just beyond your control and you have to accept that. Getting stressed about things you think you need to do is just a waste of energy. You have to live for the now and accept each day as it comes. This is what I decided two weeks ago when my wife was admitted to hospital. She was starting to have contractions 7 weeks in advance of the scheduled due date for our baby. As a result she had to stay in the hospital for 5 days.

Unfortunately, the hospital isn't the most relaxing place to be. Far from a retreat from home or day-spa experience. The whole time Nina was there, her linens were never changed. Blame cutbacks to the health care system or nurses who just didn't deliver? Not for me to say... At least she's home now.

Now that Kole has his mom back at home, life has settled into a holding pattern type of routine. Nina is on strict bed rest. Whenever she stands up she has contractions so she hasn't even made it down our hallway since first returning home 9 days ago. At least I feel like I'm contributing to the experience. I've been doing all the household duties one might expect a family might need, albeit the floors are not as clean as they could be...

Top it off, last night Kole was sick and throwing up from 11:00-1:30. I had a long day. Lots of laundry.

One thing I wish I had was the dreamy pregnant mom and son photo shoot that Nina and I had been planning. Unfortunately life does not always go as planned and this is when you have to sit back and enjoy the ride and enjoy the experience.

I'm pretty sure our newest addition will be joining us in the next week or so. Hopefully we can hold off 7 more days so the baby can be delivered here, in Duncan by our fantastic midwives, Kate and Selina. Otherwise, we'll likely have to ship out to Vancouver... Yuck. Maybe some photos from the helicopter transfer...

At any rate, I'm not getting much chance to take photos. The first photo was taken yesterday when Kole fell asleep in the car while I was trying to get some groceries and errands taken care of. The second photo was on one of our visits with Nina at the hospital and the last was my favorite from the maternity photos that I did get of Nina.

I have managed to sneak out a couple times for photo shoots while Nina's parents have come over to keep an eye on her. This works well and allows me to get some work done. I have more weddings coming up soon and portrait shoots so all will work out. It always does.

http://www.kurtknock.com/

A work in progress.

I'm lucky to have a beautiful wife who happens to be a bit pregnant. Good time for me to practice some maternity shots. The shot below was taken two weeks ago and since then there has been a fair amount of growth so we thought it was time to get some more shots. Above is a shot from today and you can see the difference. I was also experimenting with some different lighting which gives a more dramatic look.

Maternity shots are actually not too difficult to set up. You just need to get the lighting from the right directions and at the correct output. Posing the subject I think is critical. This makes a huge difference in the feel of the shot. These are things you don't really want to be testing for the first time with a client. One needs to go in, get the pictures the client expects and get out in a timely and professional manner.

At any rate, it's great to have such a beautiful test model in-house who is willing to work with me to help me improve my skills!