How the hell do you spell dyptich anyway?....

Two separate nights, one involving hookah smoking and the other involving Touch The Universe science museum, happened to be on the same memory card. Instead of posting them online separately I thought I'd pair them up.

Also check out these rad diptychs by Michael Schmelling while you're in the mood.

posted by f/action member Duncan McNairnay

Jason Collett, Bahamas and Zeus, all under one roof. Yes!

Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre was alive with music this past Saturday (as they often are) with amazing talent and great music. This weekend's show-goers were treated to some awesome musicianship: a mélange of talented artists blending music, songwriting and singing all in one. Jason Collett headed up the show with his friends and (I believe?) former bandmates: Bahamas and Zeus. An all-around great night at a venue I never get tired of going to.

Exploring large format

Large format cameras are kind of in a league of their own.

Not a better league than, say medium format or digital photography, just different.

I have noticed that, after a grasp of how a 35mm SLR works, I was able to basically figure out how to operate

most other cameras out there... except for this one.

Sure the basic concepts of photography still apply, but this is a different machine, with a different interface, operating system and, most importantly, different capabilities.

Looking at ground glass is one of the most enchanting moments I have exper

ienced as a photographer.... like a live still photo. Its hard to go back to looking through a viewfinder after experiencing this.

All those dials and shafts and knobs in the photo up top are the reason I bought the camera. Each one controls the lens plain and the film plain independently. This allows for in-camera distorting of the image (like to correct converging lines, or to exaggerate a shape) known as 'tilt-shift'.

The effect that I love is a 3D control of the focal plain axis. I can control the angle at which the depth of field cuts through the frame. Add this to the fact that dof can get a lot shallower on such a large format with such long focal lengths and there is a whole new world of dof.

The trouble is with so many possible creative

effects in-camera, it takes a good 5 minutes for me to set up a picture. This slows down the work pace and leads to a deliberate, methodic way of photographing. Completely opposite to SLR shooting.

In coming posts I will show what I've come up with as I try to get a handle on this type of photography.

post by f/action member Duncan McNairnay

Every once in a while...

We shoot and we shoot and we shoot and we shoot, and every once in a while the mother of all shots happens for us. I photograph live music more than anything else these days and I captured one of these shots the other night while shooting Toronto duo, USS [Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker]. The image is of Jason Parsons [aka Human Kebab] turntablist extraordinaire. USS played to the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg on March 23, and have won the honour of being my favorite new band. Here is the link to their myspace so you can listen for yourself!
http://www.myspace.com/ubiquitoussynergyseeker
Posted by f/action member, Ailsa Dyson

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