Cold

OK that's enough already! I don't mind a few days here and there that are cold but this is nuts. We never get it this cold for this long. After the pipes froze to the washing machine and having to wait three days before they were working again. Do you know how much laundry piles up with almost 4 year old twins? A LOT!!! It has been too cold to take the boys sledding. It has been too cold for them to play outside so we have been stuck inside. HEELLLPPPP And to top it off there is no indication in the forecast when this will end. Hopefully it gets better by Christmas so that the boys can see Grandma and Pappa for Christmas. Hope, pray, cross fingers, you know all that stuff!!

Weekend

What a weekend it was. After getting a bit of a blizzard on Friday night, I headed down to do Pets with Santa thinking that no one was crazy enough to go out in these conditions. After a few cancellations and postponements a few started to come in. We had 12 who had booked a time and ended up with 26 getting photographs taken.Then when I got home from that it was time to take my boys out to play in the snow for a while. After coming in and getting them undressed I discovered some spots on Williams upper body. He has very sensitive skin so I was unsure what it could be but gave him a bath and lathered him up with some cream. Sunday morning William woke up with a lot more spots and he was itchy. Thinking it might be Chicken Pox I took him to emerg where it was confirmed that is what he had. So there was half of Sunday, the rest of the day I put together new beds for them. They are bunk beds that will be separate until they are about six.
Kind of funny that they both wanted to sleep in the same bed. Oh yeah I am laughing right now!

Pets

This Saturday, December 13th I will be photographing Pets with Santa at Top Crop in Kimberley. If you haven't booked a time yet call Top Crop and set one up now! Last time I checked it was filling up quickly. It is always an adventure in photographic skills to have all the animals looking at the camera at the same time without being scared of Santa. Sort of like photographing kids with Santa except you can sometimes reason with kids. It is a very good fundraiser as all of the proceeds go to the local SPCA. That's right, I do this without compensation! But it is a good cause. More later, if I survive :)

2009 Events

Below is a list of events that Kimberley's Photo West intends to photograph in 2009, if you would like your event to be added to this list please let us know well in advance.

February 03 to 06--IPC NorAm Cup--Kimberley Ski Hill--Disabled Skiing
March 21--Bavarian Iron Legs--Kimberley Ski Hill--Combo Race
April 04 to 05--Spring Splash--Kimberley Ski Hill--Ski Hill Closing
April 11--Powder Pedal Paddle Relay Race--Fernie--Relay Race
June 13 to 14--Wasa Lake Triathlon--Wasa Lake--Triathlon
June 19 to 21--Sam Steele Days Slo-Pitch Tournament--Cranbrook--Slo-Pitch
July 06 to 11--KIOTAC--Kimberley--Accordian
July 17 to 19--Julyfest Soccer Tournament--Kimberley--Soccer
July 17 to 19--Canadian Bocci Championships--Kimberley--Bocci
July 19--Extreme Skateboard Race--Kimberley--Skateboard
August 10--Lakeside Event--Invermere--Handgliding
August 14 to 16--Cranbrook Pro Rodeo--Cranbrook--Rodeo
August 21 to 23--Championship Dog Show--Fort Steele--Dog Show
August 29 to 30--International Music & Dance Festival--Kimberley--Music & Dance
September 21--Cranbrook Summer Sound--Cranbrook--Music

As mentioned above if you would like to add your event to our coverage please contact us as soon as possible.

Event

Kimberley's Photo West is starting to offer event photography. Now I guess everything that happens that requires photography could be called an event. Therefore weddings are an event, family portraits are an event, unveiling a new commercial product is an event, sporting tournaments are an event. So I guess what I am saying is that Kimberley's Photo West is an event photographer. No matter if you are hosting a sporting event, having a wedding next year, need professional photographs of your new product for advertising, we are your choice. As such we have set up a separate blog dealing with just event photography here. Have a look as we will be updating this spot with upcoming events. Want to add your event to our coverage then drop us a line.

Volleyball epilogue

Well I am now almost recovered from last weekends volleyball Provincials and it was a lot of work, a lot of hours, and not many orders on site. Hopefully the on line orders will make up for it. There were three of us photographing and one working the computers.
It was definitely a learning experience and there are a few things that we would change next time. It was fun!

Volleyball

This weekend is the British Columbia High School Junior Volleyball Provincials being held in Cranbrook. Myself along with two other photographers and one computer desk person will be photographing, selling, and printing photographs for participants and parents. There are twelve teams involved and should be a very, very busy weekend. One of the main challenges will be cataloguing and organizing all of these images in a way that searching for images will be smooth. We have worked out a work flow that should make this all happen very easily, as I hold my breath. Hopefully it is also a fun weekend. Stay tuned.

Flickrmeet 2

I was able to make it into Calgary for yesterday's flickrmeet. Although the group was small at 6 it was quite enjoyable. The weather was great and the conversation was good. It is always nice to get together and talk photography. I hope to be able to make it into town for more of these.

Wedding 2

As promised here are a couple of photographs from last Saturday's wedding.

Wedding

I could not have asked for better weather for the wedding last Saturday. It was absolutely beautiful and we were able to take a lot of outdoor photographs. I am still editing and prepping them to be posted online and will post a couple here in a day or two. It was a long but fun day.

Halloween 2

It was a perfect night to take the boys out for Halloween. Buzz and Shrek had a great time and would just walk into houses when the door opened. It was a lot of fun.

Halloween

Well I am just about packed for tomorrows wedding. The weather is not looking great but at least it is not raining yet. We shall see tomorrow.
In another hour or so I will dress my boys up and head out for some trick and treating. It is undecided yet as to who is going as whom. We have a Buzz Lightyear and Shrek costume which they both like to try on and then switch so halfway through the night I might be changing their costumes. Never a dull moment!

Ready

Just starting to get my gear together for a wedding this Saturday. The weather forecast is for rain and 11C but you cannot control the weather so we will make the best of it. We do have backup plans in case we cannot photograph outdoors. Jennifer and Jordan are a really nice couple from Lethbridge who are getting married in Cranbrook. It should be a fun time and I am looking forward to creating memorable images for them. Stay tuned!

flickrmeet

After many months of trying to get to one of the Calgary flickrmeets I might actually be able to attend the one coming up in November. Of course the weather might say otherwise but I am going to give it my best shot (pun not intended or maybe it was). These guys sound like they have a lot of fun at these meets and it would be fun for me just to do some mindless photography. Stay tuned, as they say. Whoever they are???

Fall

As I watch the leaves change colour outside my window I know that snow is just around the corner. It seems to be coming earlier this year but there is no way to control when winter peeks around the corner. Thoughts turn to taking my boys out on Halloween and hoping that William does not take his costume off this year and throw it at a friends house when I take him there. Thoughts turn to starting my Christmas shopping and what to get for everyone. Then once we are past Christmas it is planning for a wedding showcase in early February and on to next years wedding season. Judging from the number of inquiries for 2009 it will be a busy year with key weekends either booked or inquired about. It is never too early to book a photographer for your wedding in 2009. All of a sudden the Christmas season will be upon us and life gets very busy. By booking your photographer now you can cross one more thing off of your list.
Don't wait until the last minute or you might be disappointed.

NEW

The new website is up and I don't think there are any bugs in it. But if you spot something please let me know. It will evolve as most sites do and there will be additions to it as I go. BUT for now have a look here.

Weekend

The madcap Thanksgiving weekend is over. It flew by so quickly. My sister, brother-in-law and niece from Edmonton came down to Calgary for the weekend as well so my parents condo was packed. It was a lot of fun but took a lot out of the boys so today is a recovery day.

William

William and his Uncle Jim

Thanksgiving

This weekend a road trip is planned into Calgary for Thanksgiving weekend. This allows my boys a visit with their grandparents and Aunt and Uncle from Edmonton. It is unfortunate that this weekend is also the Dirtbag Film Fest in Kimberley. I went to this last year and it is a terrific show. It is amazing the amount of photo and film talent that is in this small region. You can see more of it here.
If you are in Kimberley or area this weekend the Dirtbag Film Fest is a must see!

Rain

Yes it did rain a bit during last Saturday's wedding, but it let up enough to take a few photographs outside. It was unfortunate that we were unable to utilize the wonderful fall colours more but that's the way it goes.





As far as being the second photographer, it was great! There was no pressure to get the "must have" images and I could concentrate on the behind the scene images that add to the main images. In short, it was fun!!

More

There is more information on the Orphan Bill here.

Impact

The US just passed the Orphan bill. This means that unless images have a watermark on them when posted to an open viewing site such as flickr they could be downloaded by a third party and used without permission. So, for example, a company could download one of your images to use in an advertising campaign instead of hiring a photographer to take the image and then claim that they could not contact the creator and were able to use this image because of the Orphan bill. The impact of this is worldwide not just in the US as everyone uses flickr or some similar type of site for posting images for the world to see. I am not slamming any of these photo posting sites, it is up to everyone posting to make sure their contact information is embedded in the images along with some type of watermark is visible on the image itself. It is indeed unfortunate for those of us trying to make a living at this wonderful business that a bill like this can be slipped in while everyone is waiting to hear about a billions of dollars bailout that died on the floor. It will impact us all!

Summer?

This weather we have been having lately is unreal. It feels like summer. I would be happy with this until December 24th but alas this will not happen. It would be nice if it stayed until this Saturday at least as it would be wonderful in Fernie with this weather and the leaves changing colours. So, where ever you are get out and enjoy the nice weather while it is here because before you know it we will be shoveling snow dreaming about when the nice weather will return.

Further

To add to the wonderful day of free shooting done last Tuesday in Fernie and area. The friend who I went with sent me this image last night. It was taken while we were scouting locations for a wedding that he is the main photographer and I am the secondary. This should be fun as I have never been the second shooter at a wedding before.

OK so I need a haircut and I have to stop frowning!

Grilled cheese

So I am standing here making grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit cocktail for my boys to take to daycare tomorrow. It is my one day of the week to get stuff done that cannot be done while they are at home. Usually I will go for coffee with a friend and we will talk photography for a couple of hours. But lately I have been really cutting back on my coffee intake and I have found that it has really calmed me down. I used to drink about a pot of coffee a day and some days I could actually see my hands shake (not good for a photographer). Now I find I am much calmer and more aware of my surroundings. Oops gotta check on the sandwiches! OK they are fine in case you were wondering. I have also been thinking about my photography. Last week I went out taking personal images with my coffee friend. See below post. And I loved it. Some of the shots are on my flickr site.

I need to do more of this type of photography. I also enjoy the commercial work that I do and would like to do more of it. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy photographing weddings but there are so many photographers in this area who will photograph a wedding for next to nothing to get the exposure, not thinking long term which investments that are needed to maintain equipment.
I am sure I will figure it out by the time I am too old to do this anymore.
Oh the sandwiches are done!

Imagine

Just imagine for a moment that you have hired a professional to photograph your wedding day or a release of a new commercial product. You are now looking at a video of one of the above. You pause the movie and say "I would love to have that photograph hanging on our wall." or "We could use that image on our packaging or website or brochure" But this is video and the quality of video stills is horrid. No longer! The technology is currently there to give professional DSLR quality from video. 12 megapixel resolution from a video camera. So you can have the best of both worlds as early as next year. Not 5 or 10 years from now, next year. And I am not talking about what Nikon and Canon are playing with with their new crop of DSLRs that happen to offer a bit of video, I am talking about RED.
All this means is that a new name for these camera operators. Will they be called phodeographers, vidotographers, or if they are also journalists will they be called phodeojournalists. I am sure that someone with way too much time on their hands will think up a new name for this new era.

Fads and Trends

There used to be a time in wedding photography when the posed formal portion of the day was just that, posed and formal. Everyone would line up assembly line style and the photographer would just snap the photograph. Then came the stylish poses, such as sitting on a fence or posed over an old tractor in a field with mountains behind the subjects but it was still posed. Then black and white came back into vogue and wedding were mainly photographed in black and white with maybe a bit of hand colouring. Clients starting asking for more, they did not want their wedding photographs to look like their parents wedding photographs and photojournalist wedding photography was born. Now almost every wedding photographer lists their style as photojournalistic, which begs the question what is next as far as style of wedding photography?
A current up and coming offering in addition to the usual wedding coverage is a Trash The Dress session which takes place after the wedding day. Brides are no longer cleaning and packing their wedding dress for their daughter to use so what else do you do with the wedding dress? Trash it! The sky is the limit as far as what can be done during this session. Jump in a lake, jump on quads and head for a mud bog, roar down the street on a motorcycle, you name it! The web is assisting in this style becoming more popular, with a flickr group devoted to it. And there is a dedicated website to Trash The Dress. Is it a fad? I don't think so. It is just another option that couples have when designing their wedding photography coverage.
So what is the trends in wedding photography? If almost everyone is doing a photojournalistic type of coverage then in 15 to 20 years is the trend going to revert back to a more posed formal type of photography because the couples who will be getting married then going to be sick of the casual style used now? I guess time will tell but right now I love doing to current style. But I have always been adaptable with my photography and look forward to trying new things requested by my couples.

Getting married in '09

A few dates have already been booked for 2009. So if you are getting married next year now is the time to start looking for a photographer. Long weekends usually book a year in advance and already August 1st is gone for next year. Don't wait too long and don't have a family friend or relative who happens to have a nice camera take your wedding photographs.

A perfect day

Yesterday was spend traveling around Fernie, British Columbia taking in the nice weather and the start of the fall leaves. It was relaxing to just photograph for the fun of it. It recharges ones batteries by doing this once in a while. A few of the photographs can be seen on my flickr site. I will add more in the next few days.

Commercial Samples

Weekends still available

Are you getting married this summer or fall? Have you not booked a photographer yet?? I still have some weekends available. Check my website for samples. Currently July 19th and 26th, August 02nd and 30th, September 6th are available. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are getting married in 2009 it is never too early to start looking for a photographer, I already have a couple of key weekends booked for next year.

Manfrotto stuff gone!

The manfrotto backdrop set listed below for sale is now sold. The lights and the Off The Wall stuff is still for sale and I am very receptive to reasonable offers.

Wedding Samples

Wedding Samples

Lower prices on used equipment

I have lowered the asking prices on the below listed photographic equipment. The Off The Wall props listed below for $2000 I have lowered to $1500. The Visatec studio lights listed for $1200 is lowered to $1000. The Manfrotto backdrop setup listed for $800 is now $600. As before email me at: photo_west@shaw.ca if you have questions. Payment by cash or certified Canadian cheque only.

EK Photographers

I have started a website to showcase photographers in the East Kootenay region. This allows viewers to see the immense talent that is available here. If you are a photographer that wishes to be listed here send me an email with a few samples of your work to receive an invitation to join. To view this site please click here.

***Photos of Off The Wall sets***

This is the Off The Wall Timeless set.













This is the Off The Wall Urban Chaos set

Off The Wall props - and maybe camera!

I have the Off The Wall Set-To-Go Timeless and Urban Chaos sets. Unfortunately Off The Wall is no longer solvent so I cannot direct you to their website. Off The Wall manufactured outstanding backdrops and props for photographers. The Set-To-Go series was just as the name suggests, ready to go and very portable. Each set consists of a two panel flexible backdrop, support stand, flooring and small props. The Timeless set is high key, sort of Greek theme, with three risers, cloth flooring. The Urban Chaos looks like a back alley and has a manhole cover prop. I paid $5500 for both these sets and would like in the area of $2000 for them. NOW $1500! One set, with backdrops, stands, flooring and props, fits into a hard travel case and will fit into the back seat of a Chev Cavalier.
I also have a three rock set from Off The Wall. These rocks are waterproof and are easily transportable. I paid $1100 for the three rocks and will include them with the Set-To-Go set if I get my price.
I will post photos of the above items as soon as I can. These props are of a fair size, although not overly heavy they are large as a group and therefore local pickup is the only option. I can deliver in my immediate area. For more information contact me at: photo_west@shaw.ca




If I am able to sell enough equipment to allow me to pick up a new camera I will be selling my Nikon D100 with grip. Stay tuned!!!

Visatec lighting system for sale

In my continuing quest to simplify my equipment I am selling my studio lighting set up. As I become more portable in my equipment I no longer need studio lights for the type of work I am doing right now. I would like to sell everything together and not split up the package. My studio lights are Visatec, if you unfamilar with this brand they are made by the same company that makes Broncolor and more information may be found here.

Replacement cost values obtained by B&H's website found here.

So here we go:
Visatec Solo 1600B - 600 w/s - replacement cost $568.50Visatec Solo 800 - 300 w/s - replacement cost $428.95

Note: Both strobes have burnt out modeling lights, I will include replacements with the package I just haven't had time to replace them. Also spare flash tubes will be included.

Visatec Umbrella reflector - replacement cost $72.50Visatec Standard Reflector with Barn Doors - replacement cost $81.90

Visatec Soloflex 60 softbox with Visatec/Broncolor speedring - 60cm x 60cm
replacement cost $104.50

Lightdome Multidome Large with Visatec/Broncolor speedring - 36"x48"x25" with interior baffle. - replacement cost $419.95Note: The Multidome that I have is an older version than the above photo and does not have the reversable gold/silver panels shown on the above photo.

Visatec IR Flash Trigger - replacement cost $122.95Vistec Padded Travel Case - replacement cost $199.95

Visatec Honeycomb Grid - replacement cost $128.50
The total replacement cost on the above package would be: $2127.70 not including the extra modeling lights and flash tubes that I am including. I would like to see $1200 for the above package. NOW $1000! This is also a difficult set up to ship and therefore local pickup only and I will deliver to my immediate area. I can be reached at: photo_west@shaw.ca

Manfrotto Equipment for sale

I am putting up for sale some of my studio equipment that I am no longer using. I would like to sell each group together and not split up the packages. I have listed the replacement value for the pieces along with a package price.

Manfrotto backdrop set:

Manfrotto Autopole 076 - replacement cost $139.95 X 2 units = $279.90

Manfrotto Autopole 032SPL Spirit Level - replacement cost $12.00 x 2 = $25.98
Manfrotto B/P Clamps 044 - replacement cost $129.95 x 2 = $259.90

Manfrotto Expan 046 set - replacement cost $114.95 x 3 = $344.85
Manfrotto Alu-Core 047-2 - replacement cost - $89.95 x 3 = $269.85
Each Alu-Core has approximately 1/2 roll of paper on it. 1-white, 1-18% grey, 1-black
Manfrotto B/P Counterweight 062-2 - replacement cost $49.95 x 3 = $149.85

Manfrotto Short Wall Boom - replacement cost $169.95 x 1 = $169.95
New replacement cost on the above equipment is $1500.28. I would like to entertain offers in the area of $800.00 for the package. NOW $600! Shipping of this package would be almost impossible, it would have to be picked up or I could deliver within the immediate area. Questions may be directed to me at: photo_west@shaw.ca

This year's Wedding Season

As I look out my window at the snow coming down it is hard to think about photographing this year's weddings. But if you are planning a wedding this year and have not booked a photographer then now is the time to do it. After the flowers have wilted, the cake has been eaten, the dress has been cleaned and stored away, it is the photographs that will bring back the memories of your special day. You shouldn't trust these priceless memories to just anyone who has the latest and greatest camera on the market, you should trust a professional photographer! Look around at the various photographers in your market area. Each photographer's style is different and the style of the photographer should be a reflection of you. No matter how good the photographer is, if his/her style is traditional and you are looking for more of a photojournalistic style then you will not be happy with the photographs no matter what the price is. Look at samples of his/her work, ask for references and check them, get to know the photographer. As a bride you will probably spend more time with him/her on your wedding day than with anyone else including your husband to be. You should have the photographs that you want, not what the photographer says are standard wedding photographs. Clip out photos from your favorite wedding magazines and present the photographer with a scrapbook of favorite images and see if he/she can replicate some of them.

You deserve the photographs that you want!

Recovered..........almost

I have almost recovered from the BC Winter Games. It was a tiring yet fun weekend shooting a bit of skiing, a lot of 'meet and greets' along with opening and closing ceremonies. A couple of my favorite images are here.
It was fun and I would definately do it again.

Wedding Photography

If you are getting married in the Kimberley, Cranbrook, Fernie, Calgary area please view samples of our work here.
You can also download a copy of our Wedding Photography Planner and Price Guide here.

BC 2008 Winter Games

I am looking forward to the Winter Games starting on February 21st and being held in Kimberley and Cranbrook. I will be photographing Alpine Skiing on the 22nd and floating between events on Saturday and Sunday along with photographing various meet and greets and opening and closing ceremonies. Should be fun and to see additional information click here.

Calgary Chinese New Year celebrations

I had an absolute wonderful time this past Saturday taking a few photographs of the Chinese New Year celebrations at the Calgary Cultural Centre. Images can be viewed on my flickr site. I went with an old friend of mine, Rick Osuna. I also played with some new photography toys at both Vistek and The Camera Store while in Calgary. It was a great way to recharge my batteries by photographing something fun without thinking of the paycheque at the end of the gig. Have to do this more often.
My favorite photographs are:

This weekend - Feb 01 - 03, 2008

This weekend I am going into Calgary to check out camera stores and take in Chinese New Year activities. I am planning on going downtown to photograph what is going on to celebrate Chinese New Year. It should be interesting and a completely different type of photography. I will be posting some of the images on my flickr site.