Nick and his Drums

F1.8, ISO 50, 1/200

I apologize for not posting as much lately.  I have been working on launching a new website to display a variety of photographs organized into galleries etc.  This blog has served me well but I think I'm long overdue for a proper website.  I hope to have it up soon so please check back;)

Nick has become a very good drummer and we thought it would make for some great portraits of him.  A simple black backdrop and some strobes setup in various places created some dramatic and interesting portraits.  Again, like my last post, I was able to get some creative shots with my new 1.8 lens.  Take a look and see the difference 1.8 can make with sharpness vs blur.

Mom and Daughter

F 1.8, ISO200, 1/100th sec handheld 50mm Prime

Hello!  Although the weather is starting to warm up now, a few weeks ago it wasn't very nice.  I met with Clare and we had planned to be outside and take a some fun photos of her and her daughter in the snow and playing outside.  Unfortunately we were in the middle of a cold and windy snap which left us to decide weather to re book or go for it!

As you can see, we made the best of things and were able to get some great photographs of them together and especially some portraits of her daughter with her little teeth ;)  Take a look and enjoy!

Christmas Family Photography Sylvan Lake

I met with Tammy Fish and her extended family on Christmas Day for a quick photo session here in Sylvan Lake.  If you can remember, it was -25 without the wind outside which made for a fast session that required some pre planning.  Tammy had some great ideas and props for her photos.  Will all of her family on board we hammered them out one after another... haha!  It was fun though, very festive and warm smiles helped us forget about the temperature.  In order to work quickly, I shot without external flash (ambient light only) and used a single lens (my "workhorse" 24-70 2.8L).  It proved once again to produce superior photos that are crisp and colorful.  With the setting sun as our backdrop,  I was also able to keep a nice warm feel to the photos which should help everyone forget about the frozen torture they had to go through!  Thanks again to Tammy for being so organized.  I had a great time meeting all of you!

Bower Ponds Family Photography

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  Mine was busy trying to squeeze in last minute photo sessions for families that were gathering over the holiday season.  Sometimes it isn't easy getting everyone together after families grow up and move apart.  Fortunately,  I am usually available during holidays and other unusual times such as weekdays so don't worry about having to squeeze your pics in during an already busy weekend ;)

Keely and Brad met me with their cute kids at Bower Ponds a few weeks ago...

Red Deer Newborn Photography

This little guy was only 12 days old when we did a studio photo session in his home.  Newborn photography can be a challenge and is usually best done when babes are just that....new!  When you see those classic Anne Geddes photos of babies all curled up, they are probably only days old.  This way the babe is very manipulative and does a lot of sleeping ;)  However, any time is really a good time to capture photos of your new baby.  They grow so fast and it's important to mark those moments.

Deanna and Ben | Plus White Balance Cool vs Warm

Last week I worked with  Deanna and Ben to get some fun outdoor winter shots.  The afternoon was quite cool but the setting sun and broken clouds provided nice warm light at such a cold time of the season.  Here are a few pics from that shoot with a comparison of two specific photographs that use different white balance editing.  See below...

Tartine: A Photo Essay

Tartine is a pleasant hole in the wall nestled into one of the many cultural districts of San Francisco.  Friends and I were fortunate enough to visit the bakery in person after only hearing stories, reading their infamous cookbook, and tasting their bread recipes handmade by our friend Tyler.  The visit was most significant to him, however the rest of us quickly learned the caliber of bread baked fresh by the local artisans for 4pm daily.  A line up of needy gluten aficionados waited almost impatiently for their bread as Tartine shoveled them out of the ovens as fast as they could wearing work gloves to avoid self injury from the intense heat still attached to the loaves.  It wasn't long until what seemed like rations was gone again for another day.

I was invited to step behind the counter as the first loaves were brought out from the oven and took a few photographs.  Here are a few of my favorites I would like to share with you.  I am pleased with them even though I had to use such a high ISO (3200) and slow shutter speeds (1/60th was common).  My aperture was also blown open at 3.5.

Destination Wedding Photography Cypress Hills

1/50 sec F4 ISO 1600 Hand held @10mm on Canon 40D - photo by Christal Stenberg

Wow! Have you been to Cypress Hills Provincial Park yet?  Very nice.  Medicine Hat also impressed me with a lot of old growth trees that line the residential streets.  That city has a lot of character.

Darrell and Lindy's wedding was beautiful and set in Medicine Hat for their ceremony and Elkwater for their reception.  I have an unreal amount of photos I could share from this wedding but knocked it down to a chronological flow (I hope).  Here are a few bunch of favorites.  Please check them out and read the captions for insight as to how the photos were taken.

(PS credit goes to my wife for the wide angle aerial photo of the ceremony.  Thanks Christal!)