Humber's Portfolio Show 2012

Humber College is having a Portfolio Show at the North campus (student centre) April 18th, 2-9pm where all the 2012 Creative Photography Grads will be putting their work on display for you, so come check it out!

RSVP AT THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/160523217315690/383870381647638/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_activity#!/events/406230942738153/

Finally a "Professional"

This year was the first time I ever submitted any of my work into any competition and I'm proud to say I was accepted into the PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada) show.  Today I was listening live for hours and it was kind of intense hearing what the judges had to say. When they reached one of my submissions (image below) I couldn't help but feel surprised as the word "accepted" was announced.


Go to this link to listen live as they continue the rest of the portraits being judged tomorrow:
http://www.ppoc.ca/audio.html You can also view the images while they are being judged live.

Although, some of the classes (categories) are not going to be judged live, I will keep you guys posted as to what the result is to the rest of my images I submitted (4 in total). I submitted in 1 portrait, 1 pictorial, 1 fashion and 1 wild life.

This image means a lot to me. It was my very first creative photoshoot that I did with two Taiwanese girls I lived with on campus last year. Angela and HsuanYun came in with their own traditional outfits, chinese fans and the traditional umbrellas. Their make up was done by Mary Beatty who also does a lot of modeling for me. When I shot this image I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was trying to show off the make up or maybe I was bringing out an innocence that Angela seemed to have? Overall, I seem to have good feedback on this piece of work and it is definitely one of my favourites.  Goodluck to the rest of you!

I called this image "A Peaceful Elegance"

The Green Living Project

On Wednesday I completed my last commercial photoshoot assignment, also known as the "Green Living" assignment. At first I was a bit worried how my concept would turn out because it did involve a lot of post production work, 1 assistant and a hand model, but with the help of a photographer/friend Tyrone Mitchell and my hand model Connie Wong, the overall image came out a lot better than I had anticipated. 

I started off taking a picture of my hand model holding the water bottle up. I used a green gel for the background, a fill card and 1 soft box (main light). The second image was taken of Connie pouring the water out of the bottle. We had to do this twice to get it right but afterwards came the tricky part. We took the water from the bowl and threw a nickel in the water until the splash came out looking like water was actually being poured with subtle waves. The last image was the globe which I pen tooled out and placed onto the shot I took of the background with the rest of the images. I threw in some text and presto, it was fini.

Camera: Hasselblad, 120
1 backlight (green gel)
1 main light (soft box)
1 fill card

2 full waterbottles
1 glass bowl
1 nickel
1 globe
1 hand model
1 TOWEL!!!

Project: Water Droplets

Before I was back to school in the beginning of September I was in the mood for shooting but as I recall, the weather wasn't so great. I had just moved back on campus and there was nothing to do. I grabbed my Nikon D300s, a desk lamp, my tripod and my SB900 flash and set up a mini shoot in my kitchen (which sadly has no windows in residence). I carefully placed small water droplets of different sizes ontop of a CD and this is what I got. It was until today that I found these images on my external hardrive. Enjoy!

I balanced Flash with Tungsten and took longer exposures with my camera on a tripod.

Twist Gallery: Ubiquity

I'm proud to say this is going to be my first gallery where I can show off my photography works to the public. My theme will be Nova Scotia. Hope to see you all there! For more information, read the description below.

Twist Gallery requests the presence of the public and media for the opening reception of Ubiquity by Humber College. Ubiquity is a collection of personal photographs by students from the graduating class of the Creative Photography Program at Humber.

The students were as...ked to create images referencing their passion for photography and visual communications. With these photographs, the possibilities of people, places, and life, are explored and examined. From simplicity of line and form, shades of black & white, to exploring human emotions with rich colour palettes, Ubiquity is a diverse and eclectic collection. This exhibit celebrates personal photographic work, by Toronto’s next generation of professional photographers.

The show will run from Tuesday April 3rd to Friday April 27th, 2012 with an opening reception on Wednesday April 4th, 2012 from 7-11pm. Please join us for drinks, appetizers and music while welcoming these emerging photographers into the art world.


View Larger Map

Update + Sneak Peak

As I mentioned in my previous post this will be a double post for today just because I've been so swamped with work and assignments I haven't had the chance to share any of them with my fellow readers/followers. There will be plenty of new stuff to post in the month of March but all I ask is that everyone just be patient with me. I already have three photoshoots going on tomorrow and here's a hint as to one of them!

Celebrity Shoot Sneak Peak!

I know it's been a long long wait since today's post so I will make a double post to make up for lost time.

First off, I'd like to say that my celebrity shoots went surprisingly well. The day started off a bit hectic when Massimo arrived over an hour late at the exact moment I left the restaurant Mistura to shoot the Pigott Brothers. Oliver and Sebastian Pigott were very friendly and cooperative even after noticing my injury. Of course, Connie was there assisting me but once the shoot was over I headed back to the restaurant where I finished the photoshoot with Massimo and got a signed book from him before I left.


***The photograph of the Pigott Brothers standing with the Canada flag in the background was the image I submitted for my assignment and in the end, it was picked for display along with a candid shot of Will Farrell and Richard Simmons taken by my classmates!***

Here are some images of that day:

-------------- The Pigott Brothers -------------- 

  

-------------- MASSIMO --------------

Massimo Capra has an amazing personality and true character with a 

great sense of humor. Here's a video of him: 

 

___________________________________________________________________

Images (including mine) picked for display: 

Celebrity Shoots Coming Up!

I'm pleased to say that today I received two emails in response to my celebrity photoshoot. Although I didn't get my original choice Erin Karpluk (Erica from Being Erica), I did get a response from Oliver Piggott (Sebastian Pigott's brother also known as Kai from Being Erica and the Pigott Brothers band)

I'm excited to shoot the Pigott Brothers but it doesn't just end there. I also received an email from the famous Italian chef, Massimo Capra! Although I'm still working out the dates, I'm hoping to atleast get one of them free over the next two weekends. I've never met or seen anyone famous in my entire life and now I'm going to be having a one-on-one photoshoot with 3 celebrities in Toronto!

Can't wait to post the final images. Should be up by March 9th!

________________________________________________________________________________
** UPDATE: Both Photoshoots are scheduled between 12 and 2pm on Saturday March 3rd **

The Pigott Brothers

Massimo Capra

The Corvette Shoot

Thursday morning I went into the studio around 8am to shoot a collectible car. I played around with the lighting but overall I found these two to be my favourite. Despite my injury, I'm lucky to have the best roommates (Connie and Danny) who offered to assist me on the shoot. Without them, I don't know what I would do.

For the assignment, I have to photograph a landscape or street where the car will be placed to look as real as possible. I will post the finish product asap when it's been shot and edited.

Equipment: 
1 strobe light
1 softbox
2-3 reflectors
Hasselblad, 120 lens
Program: Phocus (tethered)

FINAL IMAGE

Illustrative Food Teaser + Final Product

Just a teaser for tomorrow's illustrative food photoshoot as I prep my fruit (models) in my kitchen. Stay tuned for promo pics coming soon!

can you guess which video game this might be?

_________________________________________________________________________________

THE FINAL PRODUCT: PACMAN! 

My photoshoot was postponed another day due to a power outage at Humber. Last year my first food shoot was delayed because of a snowday at the college. I guess sometimes luck isn't always on my side.

1 Soft Box
1 Backlight
1 Fill Light (reflector)
Hasselblad, 150mm
Fresh fruit
1 knife to cut the orange
Permanent black marker
Pins/paper clips to hold fruit together
Sticky tack

The Gentleman's Shoot

Today was another photoshoot. For the first time I got to shoot in the private L148 studio at Humber College and of course my roommate/assistant Connie and her friend/model Arvin and I had quite the fun time. Here's today's promo/behind the scenes:

My image made the wall!

Fit for the Job

Today I did a photoshoot of Brianna (a Humber fitness trainer/student) around the Humber athletics studio and gym. It was the first time meeting her and overall the photoshoot went great. I also had an assistant (Connie) with me and I got to admit, it was nice having an assistant for the first time ever.  We went to three different locations and the studio had amazing lighting. I only had to use one umbrella to light the model and the rest of the room was lit in window lighting balanced with tungsten lights in the room. What was good about this shoot was that the model was roughly the same size as me so I didn't need to stand on a stool to take pictures of her. The only difference was that she had muscles and I'm just skin and bones and kind of sore from carrying the equipment around for the passed 2 days.

Preview of today's photoshoot:

Current Projects

This will be my personal post for today. I just felt like letting you all know what I've been busy doing these days. My most recent assignment is developing a promo booklet of my recent works. I think promo books are amazing tools that photographers should all use to really get out there and have their work get noticed.

By the end of April I should have my entire checklist fulfilled for this year:
[x] Business Card
[x] Logo
[x] Blog
[x] 4 Mailers
[x] Envelope
[x] Letterhead
[ ] Promo Book
[ ] Portfolio (hard copy)
[ ] Website
[ ] Facebook fanpage
[ ] Gallery in Toronto
[ ] PPOC submissions
[ ] Mural Image on canvas 
[ ] Humber Portfolio Show
[ ] Photography Job
[ ] 72 hours of internship completed

The Ultimate Self Portrait

I think we're all familiar with the 'Everyday Project' and how it's become a popular thing in today's generation. Basically, you take a picture of yourself every day for whatever number of years. But what happens when you try to merge 500 of those images into one?

Check out the article here and see the overall image:

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/500-self-portraits-combined-into-one-image

Now what age would you say she looks like?

Model Hunting

When you're a college student studying photography, it's all about finding locations and finding models. Having connections is a big advantage - not to mention a car too! Unfortunately, this is the area I am not so lucky with. Last year for my minimalist photoshoot I had not just my model but my back up model cancel on me the night before the actual photoshoot. I was a first year living in residence and I barely knew anybody in either buildings. I gathered the courage to go floor to floor and knock on door to door asking anyone who'd be willing to model last minute who owned any traditional outfit that fit the culture criteria for the assignment. Almost 2 hours of searching and I bumped into two tall African guys with traditional African outfits. They were shy but a little convincing and I had two models in two unique outfits willing to model for a complete stranger. At the end of the day, I had a list full of contacts of people who may not have fit the assignment criteria (at the time), but were still interested in general photoshoots.

This week I encountered a similar situation. This time I'm looking for someone with a career who'd be willing to let me take a picture of them on location at their work area. My original idea was a painter/artist at her studio but just like the lawyer I asked aswell, I was canceled on. I was turned down at the spa and the paramedics I asked had a schedule that didn't sync well with my classes at all. I hunted down firemen in our school and even asked the librarian. Currently I'm waiting for permission to shoot a student in radio at the Humber radio station and tomorrow I plan on dropping by the gym to find a gym trainer. All this model hunting has got me exhausted. I've never had so much difficulty finding not only a model but a model with a location and the time for someone they just met. My assignment is due Monday and I'm worried this might be the first time I don't get an assignment handed in on time.

The important thing is that I don't give up and I keep on searching, keep emailing, posting ads and asking strangers in the hall. The one thing I did learn last year is that sometimes the most unexpected things happen and the best photos will be the ones that you never had planned.

Celebrity Shoot!

Second week of school has finally passed and new assignments are piling in. I'm especially excited (at the same time nervous) about my 'celebrity' assignment for my location class. I don't know how I'm going to find someone famous in Toronto but I have a few Canadians in mind.

Since last year I've been thinking about this assignment and when it comes down to it, there's one Canadian actress I would be honored to photograph.  The beautiful, Alberta-Native, Erin Karpluk from one of my favourite shows "Being Erica" (which ended filming the last season in Toronto 2011). I think she would make an amazing model because not only is she gorgeous, but she has such an outgoing personality that I think any photographer would enjoy working with. I keep reminding myself not to get my hopes up but if anyone knows how to get in contact with a Canadian celebrity in Toronto that would be a big help. First person to help I'll take them along as my assistant - not joking!

Erin Karpluk 

Check This Photographer Out!

One of my favourite modern photographers would be Joe McNally because he has such a wide range of creativity in his work he produces and is always keeping his blog and website up to date.

Check out his website here:



http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/#p=-1&a=-1&at=0

Also, check this funny youtube video of Kelby vs. McNally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfTR3QtbDbU

Welcome!

I'm happy to say this is my first blog. Although it's a requirement for school, I am hoping to continue to update as frequently as I can. Any feedback or suggestions would also be very appreciated as I am new to all of this.I would also like to mention that the first week of school in the welcoming year of 2012 has never been so terrifying and I suddenly feel like the pressure is on. Graduation is approaching closer by the days and I'm still unsure of which field of photography I want to pursue. This is something I question myself every day of almost every minute. I like wedding photography and food photography but when it comes down to it, I enjoy nature and wild life more than ever. I'm hoping by the end of the month I can get a better grip on where I want to be and how to get there when the school year ends.

Feel free to check the 'About Me' section as I will try to post new stuff as often as I can.