Photographing Jamie Coutts in Southern Alberta

This past week I was working with Jamie Coutts from Original video in southern Alberta. The project was for Growing Alberta and encompassed a 4 days shooting taking us from Fort Macleod to Acme Alberta.

During our four day shooting schedule I photographed Jamie himself in Drumheller located in the badlands of Alberta. The badlands are the home to the most extensive and spectacular displays of dinosaur skeletons in the World.

We visited the tourist center to get some ideas of where to shoot Jamie. This is where we stumbled upon a brochure advertising these cool looking mushroom-capped rock structures called the hoodoos. So we decided to shoot there.

Once we arrived at the location we were quite disappointed. The hoodoos themselves stood only about 8 feet tall, a stark contrast to the brochure photo that made them look like towering formations standing a least 20 feet tall.

We decided to shoot at the hoodoo location regardless… but in the photographs we didn’t include the hoodoos.
Enjoy.

New Style of Photos

(Don Iveson - Avenue Magazine)

Here are some new images from I style I have been shooting lately which is lacing all pages of major US magazines and AD agencies.

(Miner for Gordon Group AD agency Ottawa)

I knew about it back in November but a few months ago I finally figured out how to land these "new" images, which I am confident, can be used for my commercial and editorial clients.
(Tiger Taekwondo Demo)

Although this look seems to be more for editorial purposes, I think it could add a certain feel for specific commercial projects, which need something a little surreal.
Basically for the past few months I have been "sneaking in" some of these images, when I provide my final images to my clients… the response has been very positive, but I have yet to see these specific images on any billboard campaign or editorial shoot.
(Nick Carlson - Photographer)

Keep an eye out for the September issue of Avenue magazine perhaps I may have "convinced" the art director to use this look in the story I shot of Don Iveson. Either way I think it’s a really cool style of shooting, it’s a little more complex but the results are very unique.

(miss canada competing for Miss Galaxy)

Take care,
C

New Photographs from the Yukon

What has been going on lately? Quite a bit.

Last week I was I was in Whitehorse Yukon. Here’s what I found on my trip in the Yukon. The landscape is simply breath taking and well worth a trip, however the town of Whitehorse not so much.

Amongst shooting some wonderful stock landscapes you can see above, while on a hike with the Zawrony family, I also shoot some very cool photos of OJ, Killer, Jeff jumping off a 45-foot cliff into the icy cold Yukon River.



Simply crazy. I mean this because they just looked down, and rationalized that the river “rose 15 feet”. This seemingly reliable info came from Dimitri who is OJ’s brother.


Now keep this in mind Dimitri is from St Paul, Alberta. Not your most reliable tour guide in the Yukon.

OJ went first and once he survived, Jeff and Killer decided to jump. Dimitri was getting married the following day so it would have been unwise to do this, but you could see he really wanted to.

Needless to say I didn’t jump.


Why? because it was REALLY HIGH. And I’m not Crazy.

enjoy and feel free to pass these along!

c

Travel Photography In Coba Mexico

This past week I was photographing in Coba Mexico with Jamie Coutts of Original Video productions.

(taking a break shooting Coba ruins)

Coba is a large Maya city of the located in the state of Quintana Roo. It is located about 2 hours east of the Maya site of Chichen Itza and about 1 hour west of the Caribbean Sea and Tulum.

(the main pyramid at the Coba site)

It has been reciently connected by a modern road making it more accessable, but it still has not been popularised like Chichen Itza.

(Jamie Coutts checking out a large monument in the small city)

Infact they are still excavating parts of Coba. Its still surrounded by lush jungle forests the site is built up in an area which extends over some 80 km².

(me shooting a monument in between cites at the Coba site)

This meant that Coutts and myself took quite a bit of time to shoot Coba.

Enjoy!

C

Portrait Just Because

Hey everyone,

Often I am so focused on creating an image for such a specific purpose whether it be for an editorial piece or commercial photograph sometimes I forget about the world around me, which constantly offers images that touch the soul.

Today I was shooting some images of children for the Hudsons Bay Company. So we had this little one come with her Grandpa and Grandma.

Once I finished shooting the little one I decided to ask the Grandfather if he would mind sitting in for a picture. He wondered why I would ever want to take his photo… I had no answer, so I replied, “I honestly have no idea, and something tells me I just have to take your photograph.”

I’m glad he let me. I think the image speaks for itself.
Rafael Rodriguez is 90 years old. He has 9-month-old great granddaughter.

TOM GILBERT OF THE EDMONTON OILERS FOR NIKE VISION

Just before the end of the Oilers NHL hockey season Jason Gregor from Just a Game Productions hooked me up with Nike Vision to shoot Tom Gilbert of the Edmonton Oilers.

The idea I had was to shoot Tom outside in a cul-de-sac in an old street hockey type setting wearing the new Olympic Nike sunglasses.

So basically the night before I scoured the whole neighborhood looking for an old beat up street hockey net, well worn gloves and an old tennis ball, which would be beat to shit.

The problem was I couldn’t find a really old beat up wooden street hockey stick because all kids use now are one-piece sticks, even for street hockey. So I brought the worst stick I could find.

Anyways we end up shooting at Toms place, which is actually Ethan Moreau’s house. So just before we were about to shoot I see in Moreau’s garage an old Sherwood hockey stick! Wow what luck.
So we end up using this stick which looks like its been through a war in the shoot. Tom and the Nike Rep were great they gave me as much time as I needed to shoot this, and I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. So were Nike Vision, Tom and Gregor.

CANADIAN OLYMPIC TAEKWONDO EXHIBITION ONLINE

Hey Gang,

Well my photography exhibition of the 2008 Canadian Olympic Taekwondo Team opened up today at the Junior Nationals in Calgary. The exhibition website (where you can see the full exhibition) is also online at http://www.photographyexhibition.net/

Unfortunately I was only had the chance to be in Calgary for an hour. I had to race back home for another shoot. However the designer of the exhibition Kevan Morin is in Calgary all weekend overseeing the exhibit.

(Here is a sample board from the exhibion. It shows various images Karine our current world champion and Olympic hopeful)

When I returned home from Beijing last month I was a little nervous at how it would all come together. I knew I had several fantastic images, but I there was this creeping uncertainty if my images could tell the story I wanted it to.

I was particularly nervous this morning when going to Calgary to open the exhibition.

(eva snuck a pic of me loading the exhibition into the car, you cant see it but im really nervous)

Even though I really liked what Kevan had done with everything all photographers get a little nervous when they are about to exhibit their work to the public.

But I have to say once the exhibit was up I immediacy received plenty of positive feedback from viewers which put all my concerns to rest. “whew”

(Another sample board from the exhibiton. Here we see Ivett who competed at the Athens Olympics at age 17, now she aims her sights on gold in Beijing in August 2008)

I hope you all enjoy this particular exhibition and please feel free to contact me or give me feedback if you like the exhibition. You can check it out here one more time if you want at http://www.photographyexhibiton.net/ Hope you enjoy!

C