DeFazio Biscotti

DeFaszio Biscotti.

Last week, or something like that... (the past few weeks have seemed to all blend together in a mishmash of work) I shot some product images for DeFazio's tradeshow booth. They are one of Canada's leading gourmet biscotti makers and you can (or could find their product in various coffee houses across Canada including second cup chains)

When Angela the owner inquired about a shoot she informed me that everything they do is handmade, and she took a lot of pride in that fact. So when I was planning on how to shoot, I knew I didn't want her images to be over styled only to be lost in galaxy of props. I wanted to keep it simple. Technically I wanted to have the images really sharp to show every detail of the handmade product when enlarged 6-8 feet tall.

We also shot some of the baking process as well.

(What I love about this picture is his fingers.His fingers suggests he is being respecful towards the product)

Which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed shooting this because it was so authentic. Carmine (Angela's husband) was the main baker.

(Carmine measuring the dough)

Carmine is an old school Italian. No messin' around. He went about his routine and did his thing.  He  made me work for my photographs. There was no setting up shots, no slowing down his work.  There was no mistake I was in his house. I kind of felt like a kid who was meeting a girlfriends old school Italian dad for the first time; respectful and cautious.

I didnt dare ask him to stop and re do something for the photograph let alone smile while working 

But I liked that. I feel like the photographs from the process are very real. Setting up lights and recreating the process just wouldn't have worked in this situation.

(hand dipped...)

Technically lighting the scene may have worked, but I think too often photographers fall on technical skills to create a photograph rather than capturing life unfolding in front of them. I think had I light this series the photos would have felt contrived and forced.

trevor setting up some additional product

Anyways enjoy!

C

Directing TV commercials

For those who dont know, in addition to photography I also freelance direct tv commercials as well as other film and video projects.  I have been doing this for quite some time. I find television when done well little more complex than photography, you have to work well with people because crews are much larger.  However when done right its a very gratifying experience.

(Shane watching for continuity, I'm watching the scene, Jamie on camera, MKM art, copy and accounts in the background)

We just wrapped two days shooting commercials for Integra Tire Yesterday (produced by original productions and MKM). Without question Day 1 was one of the most difficult shoots of my career.  

(Jamie raising a lighting concern with me)

The technical side of the shoot was not difficult, but the environment we were in made life very uncomfortable.   

(Jamie freezing his knees.)

On Day 1 we shot two commercials over the span of 14hrs  on a cold hockey rink. Because of the tight shooting schedule and to say on budget, we basically couldn't leave the rink to warm up the entire time. (with the exception of a 15 minute break at noon)

(Jamie, Myself and Mike from MKM)

However our crew was simply awesome. It consisted of Jamie Coutts (DOP/CAMERA OP), Nathanael J. Sapara (Key Assist), Jesse (sound), Shane Turgeon (assist), 3 MKM agency people and of course myself.

(Nathanael and Jesse)

I had a clear vision for the on ice spots. It consisted of a moody hard light.  Lots of shadows and contrast with deep blacks. I wanted a lot of mood and emotion while Meaghan (our talent) skated.

(explaining to Meghan that im on a close up shot, so she doesn't have to worry about her feet)

My vision was approved by the art director over at MKM, which basically meant we were both on the same page. This simple mutual agreement may seem small, but its a huge plus when two creative minds agency and director agree.

(Jamie asking me for the second time if im sure its a good idea to film right behind the net as Meghan shoots pucks)

It makes the shoot fun, and run smoothly. Having fun onset is not something that's easy when you start at 5am and end at 7pm... spending pretty much that whole time on a cold ice surface. 

We elected to shoot with a bunch of HMI lights. This allowed us to have daylight balanced lighting as well as have enough power to light alot of the rink, while still keeping a lot of it in the shadows.

(Our talented bunch of actors waiting for us to light the scene)

 I decided to post some of the production stills that Nathanael and Shane took during the day.

Enjoy.

C

10 mins with Michelle P

Here are some test shots of Michelle Potvin. Michelle is a fantastic talent who came into the studio today to test for a campaign image series for a restaurant chain here in Edmonton.

She basically came in and allowed me to shoot her with no hair, no make up and just a little black dress.

The agency concept calls for a would be a high fashion “who gives a fu*k” look. So I decided to get my inspiration from Mario Testino’s early work, which lent iself to a hard flat light.  

I also wanted a quick shot of Michelle in sunglasses, so I gave her my ray bans, and she kind of looked at me funny and said in such a polite voice “uuuummmm… Can I get my glasses from my car? They may look a little better, but if you want these that’s cool…”

Hmmmm do ray bans really suck that bad?

Anyways. Here is what the 10 min session produced. These images are clean out of camera no post.

Enjoy.

C

New Editorial Interiors

Some more interiors for the 2010 Alberta Ballet home and garden tour magazine.

This series was a home series photographed over 3 days and 6 homes. We needed to shoot 4-6 images for each home, and a cover option. Each photographs also needed to include a floral arrangement (in which collections were brought in by individual florists).

So on one level it made the project a bit challenging. However in the end it all worked out just fine.

Enjoy.

C

Pics that Never Made the Cut

This series was shot for Tomato Magazine for a piece on a new commercial kitchen renovation for Northlands.

The call from my editor was to shoot the interior but obviously while I was there I ended up shooting some of the Chef and his team doing their thing.

(After I took this I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian)

I quite enjoy shooting food related editorial images for Tomato. Mary provides some very unique stories which means I shoot in very unique places, so I am always excited to see what she throws my way.

Because of editorial considerations these images I am posting never made the cut.

Not because they were not strong enough, but because the story was about the kitchen and not the people who occupy it.  

I completely understand, and this is quite common when shooting editorial assignments,  but I really wanted to share them anyways because I quite like them, and if I don't post them here they will never see the light of day.

I just love the pig photo. Its so in your face. Its raw and real. But I can completely understand why a food magazine editor would cut this photo.

C

Period Dress

I have always been fascinated by period dresses and costumes. Not to the point of obsession, but I find them interesting to look at. So I set up a photo shoot with Larissa a few months ago and decided to post some of the images and process. I should have posted this a while back, but i have no idea why I didn't.

We shot this series on the Phase One. The out doors photo was taken with a couple Elinchrom ranger heads with a strip light and a can with a 45 degree grid.

In studio we shot against a wall with a trendy textured removable wall paper (not to easily removed). I lit Larissa with a pro photo ring flash I borrowed from my friend...

natalie leaving me with all the gear to pack into my car.

The ring flash was really cool and I am seriously thinking of picking one up. Especially because I heard that you can get one for the ultra compact Elinchrom Quadra.

   larissa having some fun during tests.

Medium Format KIT

As promised here is a breakdown of my medium format kit.

Digital Back

So what I have here is the Phase One P30+ digital back. Its a crop sensor digital back, which does slightly crop the focal length of my lenses, but it does allow me to shoot up to 1600 ISO. Although I rarely go above 800 ISO.

Body

I use the Mamiya AFD2 body. Its actually a not the greatest body to use, I am planning on getting the AFD3 body in due time. The problem is that the shutter sync on the AFD 2, gives me a slight delay which can be annoying, and the AF is a single point, which sucks. So at times I have to resort to manual focus. Not the end of the world but, annoying none the less.  

Lenses,

 I use the 35mm 2.8 which is like a 20mm in SLR terms. Then the 80mm 2.8, which is like the 50mm in SLR terms And I use the 210mm, which is like a 170 in SLR terms. For me this is a nice focal range that allows me to pretty much shoot anything I want.

Batteries

The Phase One backs really eat alot of Juice, so much so that I need to carry 3 batteries for a day shoot. So 3 batteries is a minimum. Alot of people dont realize this when getting into an MF system, and then are hit with an $90/batt price tag.

Light Meter

I rarely use a light meter when shooting SLR, but when shooting medium format its a must. I use the SEKONIC dual spot and ambient light meter.

Bag

I use a think tank bag, smaller but i find a little more durable then Lowepro bags. In it I always carry parking money, cards, a sharpie, AA batteries..

Memory Cards

For this kit I also use the 16gig sandisk 3.

Additional

When shooting MF I also use alot of things from my 35mm kit like "Pocket Wizards", Sunglasses, Lanyard, Color Checker, Polarizer etc...