SOB: Wind In Her Hair - Motorama
Sundays are weird. Its almost like the start of a week, but it's still considered a weekend. Usually I get all of my chores done on Sunday, and laze around. Maybe I'll make dinner if I'm feeling fancy, but if I'm being honest I usually wont. I will however, eat a 5 star meal of hummus and crackers with a spoonfull of peanut butter for desert. I will also binge watch some of my favourite shows on netflix, including some really terrible cooking shows like "Nailed it!" or some really great ones like "Chefs table". Which is ironic, considering. However, this Sunday was different. I did a shoot with Lee (one my pals over at the Blarney Stone). We decided to shoot Crab park near Gastown and near our stomping grounds. (Literally). It was such a nice day out, with some pretty harsh lighting, which always makes for interesting photos. I almost always try to shoot in soft lighting (cloudy), so this session forced me to push my limits and try to remember some of what I was taught over at NAIT many moons ago. (Not to shoot at 1 Million ISO, and that maybe having a bath with flour for a "cool photo" isn't a good idea after all)
Lee is such a fun and interesting character. Over at Blarney you can find him being the most energetic person in the room. I believe one of his quotes to me was "Well if I'm going to sweat, I want to make the crowd sweat with me". (I can personally vouch for this one) After discussing our gameplan, we started off in an empty parking lot with some city buildings in the background. Sometimes people are kind of awkward to shoot if they don't know how to pose, but this was not the case with Lee. He was a natural. He brought his guitar along as well which I believe he referred to as "his baby". (Cute, right?) After hanging out in an empty parking lot, we then ventured down to the water and to an empty playground. I saw some really interesting light on the ground under the playground, and asked Lee to squeeze his head under the playground platform. For a split second I'm sure he thought I was nuts, but then he quickly agreed. I think it worked out in the end.
I usually try and go the location early to scout out some cool spots for the shoot, so that's what I did for this session. I ended up finding this really cool patch of paint on the wall of a strange stair case. If you're reading this you will know the paint patch I'm talking about when you look at the photos. However, what you don't see is the dirty needle collection bin approx. 2 feet out of the frame. I think it's awesome these programs exist, although it still can be a little bit sketchy sometimes. But hey, it adds some character to the photos, right? I then proceeded to lead Lee to some "cool garbage bins" to shoot at. Writing this paragraph, im quickly realizing that im probably deterring future clients from shooting with me, but I promise it's really not that bad. MOVING ON.
Earlier in this blog post I was talking about how crazy and energetic Lee can be. This is my exact assumption of Lee before having this photoshoot. After sitting down for some Americanos at Coffee Bar, I learned about the other side of Lee's personailty. Lee is one of the most gentle, sensitive and kind people I've ever had the pleasure of hanging out with. Earlier in our session, he got a phone call from his daughter which basically was the most adorable thing I have ever witnessed. (To be honest, I was trying not to eavesdrop but I couldnt help myself) He was excitedly talking to me about when they went on a "daddy daughter" date. All I have to say is that her future partner has some serious shoes to fill. (Or they can just keep going on daddy daughter dates forever, which i'm pretty sure Lee would prefer)
Lee: Thank you so much for bringing the energy that you do to the Blarney Stone. It only makes me sing louder, and dance harder. Thank you for mastering your "screamo voice" that makes me cringe with pain everytime I imagine doing it myself. Thank you for that concert ticket to PVRIS (F*ucking awesome). Thank you for this photoshoot idea and bringing me to a sweet new location. Thank you for opening up to introduce me to a personality I otherwise would have never discovered.
I learned an incredibly valuable lesson through this photoshoot with Lee. Sometimes I can be quick to make assumptions on a personality based on its "cover" or "exterior". I already have the person pegged as a certain type, and can be stubborn to change my mind. (Stubbornness being a trait that many of you already know I possess)
I used to think it takes too much time and effort to really get to know someones "true self",
But as it turns out, all you really need to do is sit down for some Americanos and listen.
Get out there and enjoy the sun!
Happy Thurday,
Ab
Sundays are weird. Its almost like the start of a week, but it's still considered a weekend. Usually I get all of my chores done on Sunday, and laze around. Maybe I'll make dinner if I'm feeling fancy, but if I'm being honest I usually wont. I will however, eat a 5 star meal of hummus and crackers with a spoonfull of peanut butter for desert. I will also binge watch some of my favourite shows on netflix, including some really terrible cooking shows like "Nailed it!" or some really great ones like "Chefs table". Which is ironic, considering. However, this Sunday was different. I did a shoot with Lee (one my pals over at the Blarney Stone). We decided to shoot Crab park near Gastown and near our stomping grounds. (Literally). It was such a nice day out, with some pretty harsh lighting, which always makes for interesting photos. I almost always try to shoot in soft lighting (cloudy), so this session forced me to push my limits and try to remember some of what I was taught over at NAIT many moons ago. (Not to shoot at 1 Million ISO, and that maybe having a bath with flour for a "cool photo" isn't a good idea after all)
Lee is such a fun and interesting character. Over at Blarney you can find him being the most energetic person in the room. I believe one of his quotes to me was "Well if I'm going to sweat, I want to make the crowd sweat with me". (I can personally vouch for this one) After discussing our gameplan, we started off in an empty parking lot with some city buildings in the background. Sometimes people are kind of awkward to shoot if they don't know how to pose, but this was not the case with Lee. He was a natural. He brought his guitar along as well which I believe he referred to as "his baby". (Cute, right?) After hanging out in an empty parking lot, we then ventured down to the water and to an empty playground. I saw some really interesting light on the ground under the playground, and asked Lee to squeeze his head under the playground platform. For a split second I'm sure he thought I was nuts, but then he quickly agreed. I think it worked out in the end.
I usually try and go the location early to scout out some cool spots for the shoot, so that's what I did for this session. I ended up finding this really cool patch of paint on the wall of a strange stair case. If you're reading this you will know the paint patch I'm talking about when you look at the photos. However, what you don't see is the dirty needle collection bin approx. 2 feet out of the frame. I think it's awesome these programs exist, although it still can be a little bit sketchy sometimes. But hey, it adds some character to the photos, right? I then proceeded to lead Lee to some "cool garbage bins" to shoot at. Writing this paragraph, im quickly realizing that im probably deterring future clients from shooting with me, but I promise it's really not that bad. MOVING ON.
Earlier in this blog post I was talking about how crazy and energetic Lee can be. This is my exact assumption of Lee before having this photoshoot. After sitting down for some Americanos at Coffee Bar, I learned about the other side of Lee's personailty. Lee is one of the most gentle, sensitive and kind people I've ever had the pleasure of hanging out with. Earlier in our session, he got a phone call from his daughter which basically was the most adorable thing I have ever witnessed. (To be honest, I was trying not to eavesdrop but I couldnt help myself) He was excitedly talking to me about when they went on a "daddy daughter" date. All I have to say is that her future partner has some serious shoes to fill. (Or they can just keep going on daddy daughter dates forever, which i'm pretty sure Lee would prefer)
Lee: Thank you so much for bringing the energy that you do to the Blarney Stone. It only makes me sing louder, and dance harder. Thank you for mastering your "screamo voice" that makes me cringe with pain everytime I imagine doing it myself. Thank you for that concert ticket to PVRIS (F*ucking awesome). Thank you for this photoshoot idea and bringing me to a sweet new location. Thank you for opening up to introduce me to a personality I otherwise would have never discovered.
I learned an incredibly valuable lesson through this photoshoot with Lee. Sometimes I can be quick to make assumptions on a personality based on its "cover" or "exterior". I already have the person pegged as a certain type, and can be stubborn to change my mind. (Stubbornness being a trait that many of you already know I possess)
I used to think it takes too much time and effort to really get to know someones "true self",
But as it turns out, all you really need to do is sit down for some Americanos and listen.
Get out there and enjoy the sun!
Happy Thurday,
Ab