HOT HOT SUN

Just a few weeks ago I was somewhere I never could have imagined being - very much south from where I spend the majority of my time (cold Winnipeg) in a really warm, humid and sunny country: the Dominican Republic. What a vast contrast to my hometown! I was shooting my friends' wedding in Punta Cana, and while I was there, I did a lot of strolling around with my camera. We experienced 4 days of rain in the week we were there (very unusual for that time of year), so I didn't take as many picturesque photos as I would have hoped. But when it was sunny and hot, boy was it ever sunny and hot! I hope I can share a bit of that with you guys through these photos...








Posted by f/action member, Gabrielle Touchette.

Panda Boots

My shots of Priya Panda of the Toronto hard rockin' band, Diemonds, made the 'Shoe Star of the Day' on Guttersnipe's blog on Tuesday for these hott shots of her white leather boots. Foot fetish friendlies beware!
Posted by Ailsa Dyson

The joys of a creative work life

There are a lot of things I never imagined I'd be doing at this point in my life, one of them being self-employed and being my own boss. Not that I like bossing myself around (I do have a weekly to do list that gets drawn up every Monday morning...), but it is nice knowing that everything I do is because I decided to do it and I believed it was a good thing. It's also really nice being creative in the work I do - being a photographer not only takes creative ambition as a shooter, but also in designing my own business plans and practices. Every day is different, every shoot is different, and every person I photograph has something new to offer and share.

Being inspired by the people around me is something I deeply appreciate and hope to never take for granted. For example, my fellow f/action cohorts have been a great source of encouragement and inspiration. It's been an amazing ride getting to know their work and seeing their creativity evolve and grow throughout the short years I've known them.

Another thing that I really enjoy about being a freelance photographer is the freedom I have to schedule my days. A really good friend of mine is a self-employed artist who spends a lot of time drawing and creating stories. Recently, she created these adorable little plush critters and has been selling them online. She needed photos of her work for her online store, so I had the pleasure of spending the morning with her, chatting, sipping on home-made lattés, and photographing her work.

You may have already heard of her, these wonderful little animals are from Natasha Boone's imagination. She's super-talented and is always entertaining on her blog. You should check her out!



Posted by f/action member, Gabrielle Touchette.

To Name or Not to Name

Do you ever wonder what to name a photo? When you see photography in a gallery or other public place, are you annoyed when you see "Untitled" below the piece? I have to admit, that I kind of am. I definitely appreciate a good name for a photo... however, it can be really hard to come up with one! For example, I recently had to think about naming the above photo and had a minor debate with myself over whether or not to reveal the location in the photo or not. In this case, I don't think that the name of the place has anything to do with the final image... and I don't think it improves the photo in any way to know where the photo was taken. That being said, I didn't want to go with something cheesy like "City at Night" or "Night Lights"... ahhh, naming. Suggestions welcome!

Posted by Dallas Ludwick

Baby with sync cord

I was in my studio the other day doing a family portrait shoot, and sometimes taking pictures of young kids and babies can be a little challenging. You want to capture some great expressions and genuine laughs - but with the attention span of a, well, 8 month old, it can get a little tricky. This kid, the very cute Judah, was no exception. Although he's probably one of the happiest smiley baby I know, he still has a curiosity bigger than himself and is always looking for the next neatest thing. Well, the next neatest thing happened to be my sync cord. (a sync cord plugs into your camera and studio lights so they can communicate)
Judah was sitting on the ground, in front of the lights and I was trying to snap some shots of him in his little prison-stripes but he kept slowly but determinedly crawling towards me, heading straight for my camera. Not sure what the big attraction was (sometimes kids are scared of my big lens), but his mom kept picking him up and turning him around to make him go back to his spot in front of the lights. He was relentless, and kept going for it - and I finally figured out what the big attraction was. He wanted the sync cord! So there you have it, baby with sync cord.

Posted by f/action member, Gabrielle Touchette.