Cant Hurt To Ask

Back home and off again.

Just got back home from northern Alberta (yesterday), and am now packing for a trip to shoot in cabo-san lucas Mexcio.

I can't really show any of the editorial works I shot on this recent trip with the exception of one photo. I promised myself I would be more dynamic and take more risks when shooting in 2011.

An opportunity arose on Friday when I was shooting Dr Hugo Sutton of Alta Vision Plus. We were shooting Dr Hugo (an eye surgeon) for an editorial piece. We ended up shooting the with the conservative portraits cover option and the technically well light run of the mill staged mock scenarios.

The shoot was all but over. I was happy with the results, but I wanted to make good on my promise to myself to "take more risks when shooting".

So I asked Dr Hugo is he would pose for a quirky photo with some large squishy eyeballs.

In addition to being a respected eye surgeon he is also a respected academic. So naturally I was a expecting him to politely decline my asinine suggestion to have him pose with squishy eyeballs. But to my surprise Dr Hugo not only accepted, but played it up for the camera too.

When you least expect it...

Obviously I travel a lot for my job. So naturally I end up staying in a lot of different hotels. Because I almost never book my hotels more often than not the accommodations I am booked in are average and consequentially never become a memorable part of the trip.

However every and then I end up being completely surprised by my accommodations and end up posting a blog on a hotel I am staying in. Last summer I posed on the Pastana hotel in London, after that was the Monaco hotel in San Fran and now the Platinum Hotel…. Where is it? Read the blog and find out. 

I arrived yesterday evening to (_________ _________) , and proceeded to this new Platinum Hotel with the expectation that it would be the average run of the mill pre-approved 4 star accommodations.

I was stunned at first when I entered to see purple trendy lights and a huge Alice in wonderland chaise in the front entrance. Things only got better as I entered the front lobby.  Chic design, trendy furniture, cool lighting, off the wall color palates fancied my senses.

When I entered the room, I was literally blown out of the water. Hard wood throughout, clean white paint, track lighting, zebra influenced tables, the kitchenette was encased in reflective white cabinetry, topped with grey granite. Bedrooms (two) had custom headboards, high thread count sheets, tiger accent pillows, and there was funky art hanging on the walls.

I guess had this hotel been in SanFran, Paris or somewhere in Rio DeJaneiro I would have been pleasantly surprised, but this hotel is smack dab in the middle of Fort McMurray Alberta. – I am here again for a 3 day magazine shoot.

Like I always say, “Your trip is what you make of it, but if you get to stay in a cool hotel your trip is always a little bit better”.

Gritty Heros...

For the past few months the Canadian economy has been picking up steam, but Alberta trumps all other provinces. The past 6 months has seen me get call from large public and private companies I haven't heard from since the crash in 08'.

Finning Canada was one of those clients who called. They have always had a go to photographer who shot pretty much everything for them. However recently they decided to change things up and vary up style.

Finning's CAT equipment has a heavy presence in the Alberta oil sands. Consequentially last week I shot over two days a fantastic collection of images to be used for a recruitment drive. Further proof the province of Alberta is once again on the upswing.

With this collection I wanted to show the workers as "Gritty Heros" if you will. The Finning team gave me pretty much carte blanch which allowed me to really light the way I wanted to. the only challenge, which is quote coming when shooting up in Fort McMurray is time.

We really only had about 10-15 minutes to light and shoot each person because we simply pulled them off of their work duties.

*Me standing behind a 767 truck.

Hope you enjoy.