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.

Island of Dolls

In the middle of the Aztec created canals of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City, is this ominous sight.

Hung about by a local in order to ward off the spirit of a girl who had drowned in the canal and was haunting him, the dolls were fished from canals and dumps until he died of a heart attack.... in the same spot that the girl had drowned.

You can also get giant Corona bottles and chili cheezies, as we did. Washroom is 5 pesos.

MADE IN CHINA at the cre8ery

We at f/action have been slowly and quietly working on our next art exhibit over the past year and a half, and we're very excited to finally be soon approaching our gallery showing here in Winnipeg. In about three months, the fabulous Cre8ery art gallery will have our much-anticipated photographic art series on its gallery walls, complete with an opening reception on June 3 and the following 5 days for viewing.

The four of us will be each presenting our own photo series based on the popular "Made in China" phrase. I'm in the editing/prepping for printing phase of my project, and I've included a sneak peak at my series below. We hope to see you all there on June 3rd!
Posted by f/action member, Gabrielle Touchette.

Keeping it in the Family

One potential problem with being a photographer, is that amongst all the shooting and editing, it can be easy to neglect photos you just took for plain old fun. Before I "officially became a photographer" I took my camera EVERYWHERE and took photos of EVERYTHING. In fact, I think there is fantastic photo-documentation of my life... right up until the point that I started taking photography more seriously! Another problem is that once you acquire all kinds of gear, which can be heavy and awkward, not to mention expensive... you aren't always keen on bringing it with you on your day to day travels!

Clearly it took me more than half a year to edit these beach shots from the summer time! However, I had such a fun time reliving the fun I had with my adorable cousins in the summer. They were so cute and full of life... with nothing more than a plastic cup or a single shovel for hours of entertainment. I've realized I need to get back to capturing more of the great moments of my OWN life and family!

Have a great day... smile! *click*

Posted by Dallas Ludwick

The Golden Hour with The Terribles

I shot the Terribles promo stills recently for their upcoming release. The band is based out of Winnipeg and will be debuting their first recording some time in the new year. It was the golden hour, creating the perfect light for the perfect location.

Posted by Ailsa Dyson

Light

There's something about windows that makes me stop and look twice when I'm walking by - especially when I'm walking by with my camera in hand. First of all, natural light is to die for when it comes to portraits... and getting a gorgeous spot with mid-day light emanating through glass - definitely worth a stop and some shooting. What I also love doing is shooting towards my source of light, and exposing for the shadow side of my subject (as in the first shot below).

Shooting towards a source of light is nothing new to me. It was an instinctual (yet clumsy) habit of mine when I first started experimenting with a camera. At the age of 13, I got a plastic point and shoot and for some reason, I loved experimenting with shooting towards the sun. Not easy when your point and shoot decides your exposure settings... but nonetheless, it's a technique I still love experimenting with (and I am no where near done figuring it out!).

Light. Photography wouldn't exist without it (and neither would we!). So maybe it makes sense that its intricacies always escape what we can fathom.



Posted by f/action member Gabrielle Touchette.

Her rose folds

I am featuring images I took of Melissa McClelland at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg seen on guttersnipeconcerts.com. They will be one of many series' f/action will have on display at The West End Cultural Centre this month, starting Wednesday February 3rd at 7pm for Melodies on Mercredi--a monthly showcase of music and art featuring local creative talent; this month along side the photography of f/action, the music of Brett Nelson and Kipp Kocay will be featured. f/action is very pleased to have been asked to take part in the first ever performance/opening for the event this Wednesday, only $5.
We really hope to see you there!
http://www.wecc.ca/site09/performers/mom_feb3.html
Posted by Ailsa Dyson

Packing Light

Anyone with even a mild interest in photography eventually has one gruleing question to face....

What gear should I bring on my trip?

Backpacking was what spurred my interest in photography, originally. There is a certain quality of awareness when you are in unfamiliar surroundings. Every little detail is new and different and demands your attention. Creativity is everywhere.

Like every amateur photographer I planned and re-planned what equipment I was going to take. Everything was adjusted around how, where, when and with what will I shoot. Clothes, toothbrush, itinerary, accommodation... trivial details when it comes to my gear.

There is always the temptation to take everything 'just in case', though I know from previous experience that this is a bad idea. I like to pack light. I like to be able to go anywhere, even long distances. Walk around for four hours, tag along with people I meet and keep up with whatever they're doing.

Which isn't to say this is how everyone should be, it's just my personality. The disadvantage is that I can't take every shot that I want. My telephoto lens didn't make the size requirements so there will be none of those shots on this trip. Does that mean my creativity will be inhibited? Can I still fit all the stories that I want to tell within the two focal lengths I am bringing?

I guess that's the challenge. I don't know that I can, but I can't wait to try.

Henri Cartier-Bresson barely used two focal lengths his whole career. Neither did Robert Capa or Lee Friedlander. None of the legendary documentarians ever refused to take the shot because they didn't have the right gear.

So here's a shot of what did make the cut (minus the lithium and NiMh chargers, and the film). I also bought the tiniest day pack I could find (in the background). There's only enough room for one camera and one lens so I've got to make all my storytelling decisions before I leave the hotel for the day, and stick to that. Get to know 24mm inside and out one day, then really learn what is possible with a 50 1.4 the next.

Sure I'll be groaning sooner or later that I don't have this and I don't have that, but if I can pull it off, not only will my shoulders thank me but I'll be able to pack lighter during my professional work, confident that I have only what I need.

And if not.... there's camera stores in Mexico City.

post by Duncan McNairnay

Having some fun in the studio

I'm super excited: I am now renting a photo studio in Winnipeg's Exchange District! 2010 started on a good note because of this, and recently I had a chance to round up some friends (and brother) and have some fun in the studio. This is a small sample of what we shot over the course of the afternoon - some fun shots on a white background. Makeup was graciously done by my lovely friend Melissa Finch. Thanks Mel!

Posted by f/action member Gabrielle Touchette.

Melodies on Mercredi!

We just wanted to officially let you know that f/action has another exciting art opening coming up next week! The West End Cultural Centre (http://www.wecc.ca/) in Winnipeg has asked f/action to help them launch a new program of monthly collaborations between local music and art!

As many of you know, we love music and we love collaborating with musicians, so... next Wednesday, we will be teaming up with local musicians Brett Nelson and Kipp Kocay for a great evening of music and art at the West End Cultural Centre! The program, called Melodies on Mercredi, involves bringing new artwork into the WECC on the first Wednesday of every month. The first Wednesdays will be the official art opening for each month, and the artwork will remain on display inside the WECC all month long for concert-goers to enjoy.

We are so pleased to be involved in the debut of this series! For those of you that missed the INTERVALS exhibition in December, some f/action members will be displaying their Intervals series again. And in the spirit of the venue, Ailsa and I will be showing many photographs taken of live acts right at the WECC! My photo of Ida of the Magnificent 7s (posted last week) will be among them.

We hope to see you out at this unique event - set to become a great WECC tradition!
Here are all the details:

Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Doors: 7:00 pm
Shows: 7:30 pm
Location: West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
(If you don't know where that is... well, you should!)

www.wecc.ca/site09/performers/mom_feb3.html

Posted by f/action member, Dallas Ludwick

Top 10 Concert Photos of 2009!

Hi f/action followers, sorry we have been a bit slow on the posts lately... we've been planning two exciting upcoming exibitions! The first one is right around the corner - more info to follow soon!

One of my favourite things to with my camera is live performance shooting. I've been lucky enough to team up with http://www.guttersnipenews.com/ - a vancouver-based online entertainment news and reviews site - to check out and document many great local and visiting bands here in Winnipeg. Our local concert reviewer, Eugene Osudar, is the animated dancing machine many of you have no doubt seen in action out on the music scene. Eugene is known for his free-flowing, lyrical style reviews of live shows - any many muscians are beginning to crave a write-up for thier CDs and other publications. Check out Euguene at www.guttersnipenews.com/author/eugene-osudar !

Eugene teams up with several local Winnipeg photographers (since none of us can keep up with his crazy show-going schedule!), and we colour the review with images of the live act. A couple off weeks ago, guttersnipe announced thier top 10 concert photos for 2009... and I was very excited to see that a Winnipeg image made the cut! My image of Ida, of local Winnipeg band the Magnificent 7s, was listed among the top 10:

To see all Top 10 images, click on:
www.guttersnipenews.com/2010/01/10/best-concert-photos-2009/

An HAPPY (belated) NEW YEAR to everyone!

posted by f/action memeber, Dallas Ludwick

Photography as a Social Activity

I gotta say I typically avoid classic Manitoba socials, mostly because people avoid making them interesting. So for my sister's wedding social I wanted to add something different.

I have actually seen and heard about a 'photo booth' being at lots of parties, like weddings and fundraisers, but had never seen one at a social, nor operated one myself. This particular social proved to be interesting because the themes of the party were 'cheezy' and 'retro'. With an 80's, Johnston-school-portraits-style laser backdrop, plastic flowers and a few wedding dress/jackets as props, people had no trouble getting into it, which made it a blast for me.

Technically speaking it was easier than I had thought as well. A soft box (camera left) and one speedlight (back right, set to optical slave, with a flag attached to prevent spill on the backdrop, keeping it black) were enough to make it look nice but still uncluttered so that no lights were knocked over by people who were having a little too much fun.

To present the images to the inebriates as I was shooting I tethered my camera to a laptop and used Sofortbild, a freeware program which imported them to a desktop folder that was being watched by Lightroom. After about 15 seconds the shots would come up in Lightroom, but with the 'lights' dimmed, so it just looked like a slideshow. I also had the images go through a post processing preset before they popped up, making them look quite finished. The added benefit was that I could easily batch rename the photos to each sitter's name so that

I could identify and e-mail them out a couple of

days later. See it was also a fundraising tool- two bucks got you a few, low res, cheezy-but-better-than-you-could-take pics of you and your friends goofing off at a party. You know, profile pic stuff...... but better. Not everyone was loose enough to give it a go, but those that did had a better night for it.

I learned that photography applied to anything equals fun times!

posted by Duncan McNairnay