90s Punk Rock Collaboration

   

Model: Lesley Pickering of Infinity Management

Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)

MUA: Ashley Dormuth  

 

Feels almost as long ago as the 90s since this gathering happened. I know that I've been behind in posting, but this is ridiculous. As much as I'm not Facebook's biggest fan, it is where everyone is, communicates and collaborates. To not use it for these purposes would be to miss out. Each year of organizing Help-Portrait is no different. It's a good platform to efficiently reach a lot of participants. Unfortunately, those requiring updates by other means are either an afterthought, or another consumption of time that isn't always free. As a result, social media has seen more attention than my website.

   

 Model: Kealy Cheyenne Heeg of Infinity Management

Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)

MUA: Caitlin Wiklun

 

I was given a late invitation to this shoot. Had it been sooner I would have happily helped in the planning, though the organizers did a great job. I left the little hall in Clavet, Saskatchewan, feeling like it was in the top five best times I've ever had. And that included the downside of fighting the cold I had at the time. A weak voice from my cold was gone for days after directing with all I had over the excellent music, curated by Sean.  

   

Model: Kymm Wright of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)MUA: Caitlin Wiklun  

 

I believe it was that cold of about 12 days, with the cough lasting over a month, that kept my sleep poor and my head in a fog, this long. My productivity is returning, I've participated in another collaboration, that those of you who follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, will know about, and I have planned more UV and themed shoots. The momentum continues, to my satisfaction.

   

Model: Lesley Pickering of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)MUA: Ashley Dormuth  

   

   

Model: Lori Cherkowski of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Laryssa ScottMUA: Ashley Dormuth  

 

This Monday will be another UV. Next Saturday is an informal shoot the breeze, each other and still life, along with any questions and conversations that arise. Following that, I'll see where plans go. It all seems so much easier since I've had such an opportunity to network and meet some great people in the industry.

   

Model: Sean Arcand of Infinity ManagementHairstylist: Laryssa Scott  

 

As mentioned, there will be a number more UV shoots, but my preferred makeup artists, who have the right skills and makeup, are busy. Booking early should solve any availability issues.

The themed shoot coming up involves a little digital work before and after the session, and this will be my first time using this method. However, as I learned in the past, if I apply the theory that I've learned as I have with past techniques, the results will be very predictable and that's what I'm hoping for. If they are not, I know I will have no problem adjusting while we shoot to make certain we get the result we want. It might be a little bit trickier because it requires the preparation, the shooting and the postproduction to all play nicely together. I'm pretty sure I am well prepared, though.

 

   

Model: Lesley Pickering of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)MUA: Ashley Dormuth

 

I realize I haven't said a whole lot about the talent of this 90s punk rock, but I am very grateful to have been included. Working with such energetic people who absolutely fit the theme and enthusiasm made the day great. I'm glad I didn't give in to my cold, but pushed through to produce some results that went straight into the portfolio.

 

   

 Model: Kymm Wright of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)
MUA: Caitlin Wiklun

 

I believe that there is a value to consistency in the appearance of your final images, but I wanted to apply processing to the photos that would fit the person, their outfit and the lighting. In some cases that was very edgy and with high contrast, in others it involved more softening of skin and textures. I was happy with the results and most definitely found my job to be a whole lot easier working with these professionals. That said, there was still room for me to direct and communicate what it was I was trying to make happen.

 

   

Model: Kealy Cheyenne Heeg of Infinity Management

Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)

MUA: Caitlin Wiklun  

 

I wouldn't have minded having the opportunity to change backdrops a little bit, but we were absolutely maximizing the space available to us in the hall that we had. We had five people shooting in a space not more than 20' x 40', at most. This included tables and space for the makeup artists and hair stylists, as well as an area for people to mull about when they were taking a break. There was a pool table in a lower area, that I couldn't get to. It had some character and I took a few shots from a distance but they just didn't stand out enough for me to share them. The basement had a lot of character, but the narrow staircases leading down there were not going to be friendly to me, even though they would've made superb backdrops.

I'm not upset because I feel like I made great use of the one wooden door I had to work with. Sometimes constraints produce the best creativity and results. 

   

 Model: Raylyne Jensen of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Laryssa Scott
MUA: Caitlin Wiklun

 
Model: Nikki Marie Larson of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Laryssa Scott
MUA: Ashley Dormuth

What you may have noticed is that there were a greater number of photos of Leslie. I didn't plan this, but her outfits and her look reminded me of a friend from my past, ironically significant in the 90s. This, combined with the photos I had found ideas and inspiration from, made for her spending the most amount of time in front of my lens. I don't think I realized all of this until processing the photos, thinking about the results, listening to the same music we listened to that day and finding memories, themes and feelings resurface from that decade in my life. The subconscious can be a very interesting and powerful thing.

 

   

Model: Lesley Pickering of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Taylor Froese (Taylorfroesedesign)MUA: Ashley Dormuth  

 

As I said regarding the space, we made due. But, I think it might be my turn organize something again pretty soon and I have a few other places that might be a little more accessible, more spacious and only a little bit more costly than this hall in Clavet, and it was pretty cheap for the day. We talked about a few themes for the next one and I actually might need to take some time to watch a few movies, listen to some music and see if I think it would be the right theme. If I do, I'll confer with others and start inviting people to be a part of it.

 

   

 Model: Raylyne Jensen of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Laryssa Scott
MUA: Caitlin Wiklun

 

Until then I will continue to try to keep the balance between processing current work, planning future work, planning social gatherings and informal shoots, and trying not to get too anxious for spring and the spontaneity of dropping a post on Facebook to say I'm going shooting somewhere and seeing who shows up.

   

 Model: Nikki Marie Larson of Infinity Management
Hairstylist: Laryssa Scott
MUA: Ashley Dormuth

 

On Smart Phones vs Real Cameras - Also Some Lily Photos

Our lilies were in bloom and it was time for me to make this year's photo of the pink ones. The orange lily photo will be made today.

Unfortunately, my setup was postponed by the much needed rain. No complaints here. It gave me more time to think and execute it. Did you know that shower curtains love to float? I sure didn't until I tried to line Fiona's pool with one to serve as my enchanted pond. Thankfully, I had enough attractive stones and glass ornamental stones around to weigh it down and complete my photo. I was a little concerned about the weight of all that water and stones sitting on our patio table, but it held up. It wouldn't be necessary were I able to get down on the ground to make the photo. Thankfully, this worked.

Now, I know that a current smart phone can make some pretty excellent images. I also know they have their limitations. There our technologies being developed that may, one day soon, allow them to trigger flashes or other external light sources. You are still stuck with the fixed focal length, a screen that's difficult to see in bright daylight, which makes composing and exposing correctly much more difficult, and there is no compensation for a larger sensor size and the appearance it can provide.

I say this because I've seen a fair amount of content online from both sides. One insists all you need is a smart phone, but I argue that they are not able to produce the image below that I was able to with a DSLR. The other side demands high resolution photos not from a smart phone. I don't know exactly what the definition of high resolution is but mine has the same resolution as most current mirrorless DSLRs. This camp that I am thinking of, Lac Pelletier Regional Park who is rebuilding their website, has requested photos from visitors. I would argue that the resolution needed for a website is minimal and that a properly exposed JPEG from a phone would be perfectly adequate. This is especially true because they probably are looking for scenic photos, not shallow depth of field portraiture.

This is irrelevant to me, though, because all they are offering is photo credit, no remuneration. If you were considering contributing, I urge you to demand a proper licensing fee. You are worth more than credit. Credit will not repair your camera, replace it, pay the bills or feed your family. But, I digress.

My point was that the second shot I made of the above behind-the-scenes photo was actually quite nice. But it certainly was nothing compared to the final product as seen below.

 

  Enchanted Pond Lily by Jay Scott on 500px

I have been teaching a couple of young people to learn to use their cameras. This also includes using their smartphones but it emphasizes the difference in the capabilities between tools. A phone still does not have any variance in the available focal length, without adapters that will greatly degrade the quality of the image, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its place.

I was complaining earlier about not being able to get down on the deck to make the photo above. Countless times, in order to get that nice lower perspective, all I have had available to me has been my smart phone. I argue that the better angle was more important than impeccable image quality, especially if it were simply a photo to be shared online. Certainly there are times that I've made the effort to get my DSLR down where it was necessary to make the wanted photo and also make it with the best quality available.

Regarding a phone's ability to work close-up, you can get a pretty decent close-up shot with a smart phone but the technology has yet to make it capable of a true macro photo. Below are examples of pushing macro to the limits. That photo above? This is the same flower's stigma, stamen and petal. No, the image quality isn't perfect because of the amount of glass and adapters involved, as well as the laws of physics limiting the clarity of light at this scale. But it's still pretty amazing to see something that magnifiedhim.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Stigma by Jay Scott on 500px

I was hoping to use this combination of tele-converter, telephoto lens, reversal ring and backwards 50mm lens to photograph Mr. Spider but after realizing how razor thin your depth of field is, and how precise your focus has to be, I don't think it would be possible for me to make happen. Maybe if I find a dead insect, that won't move, get away or bite, I might give it a try.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Stamen by Jay Scott on 500px

Now that our pink backyard lily has been photographed it is the orange lily's turn. I feel like the result of the pink one was better than anything I've produced with lilies so far. Here's hoping I can turn the orange lily photo into something that will be tough to beat, next year. Keep your eyes on the site for that photo in the next few days.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Petal by Jay Scott on 500px

Winter Photo Drive

Most of my favorite work is done in a controlled environment, with auxiliary lighting and highly preplanned. Sometimes, though, you just need to get out, photograph what you can see and enjoy the process along with the satisfaction of using the technology at your hands to create something nice.

Unfortunately, much like the arbour above, I don't get to see much at this time of year, with this much snow. Even the roads plowed at the forestry farm were a little bit deep if you got just slightly off the cleared portions. I did leave the plowed parts, in the interest of getting the best angle possible, and was very grateful that I had my winter tires on the van this year. They sure can chew through a lot of snow.

Speaking of snow, it was a nice day when I made these photos but there was something ominous in the forecast. After this little photo drive I met some friends for a meeting of the minds. It was at Moka Coffee Bar in Briarwood. Paul and I each parked in the handicapped spots in front of Shoppers Drug Mart, about a 75 meter wheel on cleared sidewalks to get to the shop. By the time we were done our meeting the snow was coming down heavy and the wind was blowing hard. The last 20 meters was blocked by deep snow banks thanks to a gap in the buildings and the wind whistling through. We plowed as far as we could, got stuck, but thankfully a nice little old lady, using a walker herself, was inside the drugstore, saw us struggling and sent the staff out to help.

Normally I'm not too concerned about getting too cold, being that close to my vehicle, but my thumb actually hurt for a few hours afterward because it got wet from pushing while we were stuck in that brisk wind for just a few minutes. I got pushed to the van and let my ramp down only to realize that it settled on yet another snow bank and, because of my wet rims, couldn't get up onto it. Once I was on my hill climbers would have made sure any progress I made was not lost. The one employee popped back out and got me onto the ramp. Otherwise I might've been a bit of a quad-sickle.

It was nice to just get out and photograph whatever I can find without too much forethought. I decided to do that again following week but, surprise, surprise, we got another huge dump of snow that started just hours after I was done shooting on my second winter photo drive.

Those photos will be coming soon. I hope spring is not too far behind because I'm feeling that ready-to-be-done feeling with this winter.

Aged Tenth Anniversary Roses

 

  Aged Roses - 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

As Angie had said before, roses just don't last as long as most other cut flowers. They certainly smelled nice and were beautiful but one week was definitely the extent of their life. The last two that looked half decent were the subject of these photos but I'm glad I took the opportunity to shoot them one more time before they were time to be disposed of.

 

  Aged Roses - 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Most of the time when something starts to have areas of being less attractive it's the macro lens and close-up abstracts that tend to look the best so that is what I aimed for. Also, going against my natural tendency, I just used a few reflectors to light these photos. I have nothing against that, it's just that the sun moves quicker than you might think, especially when lighting is so precisely planned out. One five-minute delay to respond to an e-mail and you have to re-position to reflectors to get the same look you had previously.

 

  Aged Roses - 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

I don't think this will be the last bouquet I buy this winter. It's a pretty affordable and enjoyable thing to purchase to brighten up the home and give me something beautiful to make a photograph with.

10th Anniversary Roses for My Sweetie

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Last week was our 10th anniversary. We both have no idea exactly how it came up so quickly. Counting milestones such as building a house, getting a dog, Angie beginning working from home, Fiona joining us, along with numerous other smaller things, seem to all blur together into a significant portion of our lives lived together.

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

Because of this it was about time I bought my wife some nice flowers. I don't do it often enough. I guess we are just both so practical that flowers don't often rank high on the list of priorities. More often we are likely to buy each other a treat from the store or something consumable like that, if it's going to be something that has a temporary life.

At any rate, I did enjoy photographing them and had considered purchasing flowers to photograph for long winter weeks. I guess this time I got the best of the best as a bonus for buying them for my dear Angie. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as she has enjoyed looking at and smelling her roses.

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

I Miss Summer

Granted, it's between 15 and 20 degrees above normal, and I have no problem with this reprieve as I'm sure we'll get more winter, but it's just not the same as actual, jacket-free summer.

 

  Watermelon Slice by Jay Scott on 500px

Digging through the archives, I found a photo made this past summer that never got posted. We eat a lot of watermelon in this house when it's in season. We're working on a mini watermelon right now, but it's nothing compared to the splendor of the seven or eight the two of us ate this summer.

Delynne, Mark, Jordy & Josh

I had been bugging Delynne for a long time (like, 18 months) to let me do their family photos. We finally got serious about it and found a time that would work with their family's busy schedule. I think it was the results from my session with Paul and family that made her want to get the family together to get it done.

 

  December Family Session 6 by Jay Scott on 500px

Unfortunately, because of unexpected events and having to push our shoot date back we missed out on the temperatures and scenery that make for the nicest photos. It's not that we couldn't have ducked outside for a few shots but it was a cold, windy day and we were dealing with two quadriplegics, here. On a day like that just ducking outside briefly would have had the two of us chilled and shivering for the rest of the day, not to mention the time needed to bundle back up for those brief minutes.

 

  December Family Session 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Thankfully, the new health sciences building on campus is just a delight to shoot in. Excellent light and a beautiful mixture of old and new style. Some very modern brushed metal and some very old, deep dark mahogany-like would all surrounded by classic textured stonework.

Some barriers have been broken down in recent years by the likes of people such as Joe McNally, David Hobby, Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias, and Peter Hurley, to name just a few. These photographers have freely shared many of their techniques, tips and methods and have taken away the gnosticism of the past, held close by many photographers. 

That information was what set the photographers of old apart and kept their business running. With the freely shared information and affordability of digital camera technology, their need to find a new way to stand out is not unlike musicians needing to find new ways to generate income with the prevalence of piracy of music. I'm not condoning it, just making the comparison based on my observation of the success of those who have tried fighting it and those who have tried finding new ways to work around it or work with it.

 

  December Family Session 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

Each of the boys arrived with a prop, Josh with an excellent new Fedora and Jordy with his guitar. I wasn't entirely sure how to best portray them before the shoot because, honestly, I don't know them that well. But when they showed up with those items I knew it was going to be a breeze to make something that represented them well.

 

  December Family Session 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

 

  December Family Session 5 by Jay Scott on 500px

Delynne brought her usual genuine charming smile and piercing eyes.

 

  December Family Session 4 by Jay Scott on 500px

Even Mark, like most men, who are there but not the most fond of being in front of the camera, posed for an individual portrait. He didn't seem that comfortable when I suggested it awhile prior to this shot but I'm really glad that I got him to sit down and do one of just him by himself. He really brought it and should feel confident in how comfortable he looked before, during and after I made the photo.

 

  Bortis by Jay Scott on 500px

I had to do something with beautiful angle light coming in near the back of the building. This session was potentially an album cover for Jordy so Josh was my first choice to put in this light since I was aware of the disproportionate number of photos of him. The last thing the little brother needs is to see his big brother, once again, getting more attention than he is, right?

Delynne was impressed that I managed to get some real smiles at him. If he's anything like our one nephew a genuine smile and a photo is a true accomplishment. Too many years of being told to say "cheese" trains kids to produce a lot of unnatural smiles. Here's a pro-tip: try telling them to say "cheek" next time. It will look a lot more natural.

 

  December Family Session 7 by Jay Scott on 500px

I know that my typical style is not always the extremely bright, overly flattering, very common photos that most people want. Of course, I don't want to bring out the most dramatic and darkest parts of the people I'm photographing but I also think that a tasteful edge is quite possible while still flattering your subjects' appearance.

Case in point, my favorite shot of the day. Jordy doesn't look menacing or threatening, just sophisticated and confident. That's the same location as his dad's photo from above and just 5 meters away from his brother's photo. I'm just grateful that the fun personality each of the members of this family has gave me an opportunity to produce both traditional and slightly edgy photos of them. It was one of those sessions where I had no idea how much time we had spent and I could've continued shooting but they had scheduled activities before too long so we had to get going.

 

  December Family Session 8 by Jay Scott on 500px

It was a great day and I hope that Delynne, Mark, Jordy and Josh will choose me again to help preserve memories of their family on a regular basis in the future.

Sunset at the Saskatoon Zoo

It has been my intention for some time to go to the zoo at sunset with the plan to make a photograph off of the dock overlooking the pond. I'm not talking about the fishing pond but the one tucked way off in the corner that most people don't know about. Unfortunately, the path leading to it is made of a very fine clay or gravel and not very wheelchair friendly unless we have had a long stretch of heat. In addition to that, the access to the dock was down a pretty sharp drop that was manageable without a camera bag on my lap but with that bag, and possibly a tripod, it was going to be something I would need a hand with.

I knew that they had rebuilt the dock, and the photos I saw online looked really good, but I had no idea what a beautiful job they had done re-landscaping it so that getting onto the dock was as smooth of a transition as there is. The path leading to it is still very soft after it had rained but before our trip there last Wednesday we had had weeks of significant heat and I trusted that the path would be dry. Irony defined, there was a bit of a rain shower a few hours before we went. I did not believe it enough rain to make the path impassable. Despite the heat, it was still a bit soft but nothing I couldn't manage.

 

  Zoo Pond HDR 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

The above photo was a simple HDR made through some trees while still on the path leading to the dock. It seemed a nice vantage point and Bruce made an HDR portrait of me while I was making mine of the pond. We were waiting for the light to be right so at this point we were just playing though I have no problem with the photo I made. It was nice that both Bruce and I have our typical techniques but it was nice to learn something from each other that we can both incorporate in our toolkit for the times that what we've learned is appropriate.

Seeing the lovely covering of seaweed and algae on the water, it seemed like a good time to continue my attempt at some abstract work. Like it, or hate it, I thought it was an interesting texture and contrasty subject.

 

  Zoo Pond Algae by Jay Scott on 500px

The first HDR landscape photo was facing east, this next one was facing north. If you click on the link below each photo that takes you to 500px, you can see the pinpoint location of where I was. From that you could see on Google Earth the aerial view of where we were, both for if you want to visit there yourself at some point or just to see the vantage point we had.

 

  Zoo Pond HDR 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

This next photo was facing south, overlooking a lot of the algae that was the subject for the abstract photo above.

I will admit that I had envisioned the dock facing a different direction. The winding path, combined by the 90° turn onto the dock had me turned around from which direction I was facing. The sky was still cooperative but I have other ideas for what I would like to see of a photo made on the dock with different weather conditions.

The operational hours of the zoo change based on the time of year. About the time of year that sunset is a convenient time of day is about the time of year that they back their hours off to closing at 7 PM, instead of 9 PM. That means for a few weeks each year you can be in the zoo after sunset. Right now is that time and I hope that I will have another opportunity to be there after sunset to try some twilight shots. However, as of the time of this posting, I expect to be photographing our baby and have little concern for scenery. It will come back, and I'm not going to give up great outings and opportunities but I have a feeling that there's going to be a captivating new little family member that will have the majority of attention of me and my camera for a long time.

 

  Zoo Pond HDR 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

Finally, and I know if this is not something everybody enjoys, is the piece I was most happy with. I've always wanted the opportunity to have some ethereal and moody photos shot after sunset. My ideas are numerous but my evening schedules, hatred of insects and lack of great places that are wheelchair friendly often dominate my motivation. I guess that's all the more reason to try little harder but I am quite pleased with the emotion my final photo from last Wednesday evokes. I would love to hear your feedback, whether it gives you the creeps, you love it, hate it, or whatever emotion it raises in you. I think the old ragged dock would've worked better, but whattayagonnado?

 

  Saskatoon Zoo After Dark by Jay Scott on 500px

Will These be the Last?

No. Of course not. Sorry. As much as I hate clickbait headlines, they work. At least I didn't include the typical phrase, "You won't believe what happens next!" The answer is obvious. But, until that baby is here to photograph, there may be a few more of Angie.

 

  Angela- 38 Weeks - 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

Saturday is the due date. Angie cleverly tweeted, "I wonder if punctuality is genetic?" We both hate being late and, if that's the case, it should be Friday or Saturday at the latest. We will see but expect that Angie's signs would need to increase quite a bit tomorrow or Saturday if that is when it's going to be.

 

  Angela - 38 Weeks - 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

I still have one more photo in mind that I would like to execute so after a few errands tomorrow, when the sun is in the right position, will see if the last photo can be made. I may also do one last of the series you saw in the last post for the final frames of the full process.

 

  Angela - 38 Weeks - 5 by Jay Scott on 500px

Until we find out, I hope you've enjoyed these photos from a few weeks ago at the University in the shiny new Health Sciences building. She may have said she felt tired but I still think Angie looked great!

 

  Angela - 38 Weeks - 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

Finally, my mom's favourite, the one in black and white. I chose to go black-and-white for this because of the texture and because of the lack of contrasting colour in the light sources, as there was only one light source. There's nothing wrong with that but I demand more of myself except for the cases like this where more would actually be less.

 

  Angela - 38 Weeks - 4 by Jay Scott on 500px