Get Bent

The human body is an amazing thing. Well, maybe not mine in it's current condition but some are. I had the pleasure of doing photos for the Bikram Yoga studio in Duncan last week and it was a real eye opener.

The owners, Carmen and Paul were looking to get some photos for their website and other promotional material and wanted to include some of their students as the models.  

One thing about Bikram Yoga is that it is HOT yoga. Over 30 degrees Celsius in the room. Yes I worked up a sweat. I guess that means I was working hard ;)
I was a little concerned for the welfare of my lights and camera with that heat and humidity but no problems arose other than the flashes eating batteries a little more quickly.

I was lucky to have one good wall to use as the background. The other walls were either mirrors or had doors or corners creating problems. I even liked the colour of the blue when seen with the light brown floor. Nice and soft, very relaxing colours and that worked well with the mood I wanted to carry through the photos.

I can really see why people take up yoga. Just being there and taking the photos was very relaxing for me. Maybe if I had more time...

I found the wall of mirrors to be quite helpful in distributing the light. It just took a little playing around to get it the way I wanted it but in the end it made for a nice fairly even light (by my standards).
Enjoy the photos!

What more can I say? Yoga is cool. I mean hot. You know what I mean. Go try the Bikram Yoga in Duncan if you get a chance!

Proof that I was there.

kurtknock.com

Wined and Dined

For the past week I've been working on completing a project which will be on display at the Firehouse Wine Bar in Duncan. While I'm not going to show much of what I've been shooting at this point (still a work in progress), I can share this little story with you. 

I stopped by Godfrey Brownell Vineyards a few days ago to get a couple shots for my project. I didn't know the owner and he had no idea of who I was, other than some photographer coming to take his picture (And take up his time.). I was warmly greeted by Dave, the owner and he hopped in my van and suggested a good spot on the farm to take the photo.

I grabbed several shots, including the one above and that was it. I was happy. I got what I came for. And Dave was happy. I think he was a little surprised that it took less than 10 minutes of his time. 

Dave then asked if I'd like to have a glass of wine. Sure, why not! And then he asked if I'd like some gourmet pasta and omelets that his chef, Robert from Barcelona, had just cooked up. Yes, of course! This was incredible. I can't get over how friendly some of these people are that I get the pleasure of meeting! While enjoying the wonderful pasta and wine, we just chatted, Robert, Dave, Hayley and I, like we were all old friends out for a late afternoon lunch at a rustic gem of a vineyard.  

And Dave just had to get a shot with me in it. Thanks Dave! And thank you for such a great afternoon on the vineyard!

Almost forgot to mention - Shortly after I got home, Haley dropped by to deliver the grape plant that Dave had given me but I had forgotten. Talk about good people!

kurtknock.com

Community Service

We often get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget what's going on outside our bubble. I know this is true for myself. But once in a while I get a chance to offer my services to a community project that will benefit someone in need.

Yesterday I helped out at the Young Professionals of Cowichan car wash for charity. Although I didn't have much time, nor did I help wash the cars (Lame, I know!) but I did take photos that will help get the point across of what this organisation is doing for our community.

A strong visual image gets the point across. 'Nuff said.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to have their cars washed, even though rain was in the forecast!

And good on everyone who showed up, donating their time for a good cause!

kurtknock.com

Who would have known?

Some things just come your way by chance. Today I was going to set out on a little project I'm working on but plans were put aside when I was given a chance to do some portraits for Sheila Hobbs. I have to thank Shae at Outlooks for this! Nothing beats a direct client referral.

So I was off to meet Sheila at her house. It ended up being a little house I had driven by many times on my way to a local park. After ringing the door bell I was greeted like a good friend rather than a stranger who had come by to do photos.

Sheila is a wonderful lady who enlightened me with stories of her life, showed me her interesting collections of do-dads and nick-knacks and an impressive collection of trophies for golf, darts and shuffle board.

To top it off, Sheila has quite a strong personality, as one might expect, considering her past. Ends up that she has had quite a life, managing a business, then joining the Coast Guard and travelling to the Arctic twice, buying and selling real estate plus, Sheila is an award winning poet. And I'm sure I forgot something there. She's done a lot in her life. 

I definitely wanted to give her portraits a stronger edge to match her personality.

After putting up with my portrait session, Sheila was sweet enough to offer cake and coffee and some more fun conversation. How often do you get offers of cake and coffee at a portrait shoot? For me, not very often, so this was a real treat!

I have to give a big thanks to Shae for arranging this and to Sheila for making this one portrait shoot I will always carry fond memories of!

kurtknock.com

What is your intention?

I have to wonder why people take photos of strangers in public.

I personally don't do this for a number of reasons. Even though someone may look interesting, I can't bring myself to take a candid photo of someone I don't know without their expressed consent. It just seems creepy to me that people take "street" photos of strangers. I know this is the best way to capture a truly candid shot but what are you going to do with it? Whenever I sell a photo with a model as the subject, it has to be accompanied by a release form of consent. So "street" photos for me are also a waste of time (and money if I happen to be shooting film).

Recently, I was in Victoria with my wife and boys for a little day out and we were in China Town, about to head to a restaurant for dinner when I noticed a guy with a not so subtle DSLR taking photos of us. I didn't think much of it at first but after a moment I though about this guy's intentions. Maybe he just wanted a candid street shot. My boys were both looking pretty cute and I was, well, just myself. But I did have a cool Goorin Brothers hat on that I picked up at Outlooks For Men. That must have been it :) At any rate, it got me thinking. Would I have felt better if he had come over to me after taking the photo and explained who he was and what he was doing? Yes. That would have been nice. Was he some creep with bad intentions? Probably not but who knows?

Maybe I put too much thought into this. I just don't see the point of taking photos of people you don't know, photos that you have little legal right to sell, unless you are a paparazzi. But seriously, think about it before taking photos of children unless you have the consent of the parent. Otherwise you are opening yourself up to a lot of potential trouble!

OK, I'm done venting ;)

kurtknock.com

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