Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Time To Change The Bio | Canadian Adventure Photographer

About a month ago I received a text from one of my editors (Meghan Ward) telling me congratulations on my Alberta Magazine Awards nomination. I was a little stunned and had no idea of the context so as you can imagine a little confused. Meg was good enough to send me the on-line link but I was teaching a class so I figured I could check it later. Once I got home I checked and sure enough one of my images run by Westworld Magazine had been nominated and was a finalist.


Well I am super stoked to say that last Thursday I got a tweet from one of the editors at Westworld that we had actually won Gold in Landscape, Still Life, and Architecture. Really an amazing feeling to win something like this and to be recognized for the work I have put into my lifestyle photography.

The image that ran in the winter 2014 issue.

Looking forward to adding "award winning photographer" to the bio, but in the mean time there are a few thank you's to go out.

My buddy Stefan Dalberg (Speed Specialists / SAIT) for being a great sport and letting me shoot him and his DN Racer at Sunset.

My good friend and photography-pro Paul Zizka for turning Westworld on to me way back when.

My editor in Vancouver David Claydon (Westworld Magazine) for running the shot and continuing to use my work in their world-class travel magazine.

And Kirsten Rodenhizer (Westworld) for accepting my award for me and keeping it warm.

The spot in the online version of the magazine can be seen here.



Now it's time to update the bio...

Monday, March 9, 2015

Great To Be On Top | Canadian Adventure Photographer

I always seem to suffer. Doesn't matter what kind of condition I am in, good or bad. I always suffer. Maybe it is the 30 extra lbs of camera gear I need to bring, or the lack of ski-touring I do. It doesn't matter.

David and Pierre enjoying the wide-open space below St. Nicholas

The suffering only seems to happen on my way up and I am happy it doesn't last for very long. Especially when I finally crest the top of the Glacier and see the boys setting up their kites in perfect wind, all suffering goes away.

This weekend our crew kited up on the Wapta Ice field for two days and the weather has never been so good. Saturday was a little over cast but still had good viz and steady 25 and less wind. Enough for the 12m kites we had brought up. I broke my lens while shooting at the start of our flight so I put the camera away, focusing on the riding and even managed to climb St Nicholas's saddle. The session ended about an hour before sunset so we skied down the creamy head-wall and took in an amazing feast of fine cheeses, prosciutto, oysters and wine. Wow, alpine hut stay in style with good company.

The crew parked and hunkered down (me, Patrice, Chris, David, and Pierre)

Sunday morning we awoke to high winds so I slept a little longer. Pat, Chris and Pierre decided to go for a ski then came back early afternoon to report blue-skies and wind. Once we got back up on to the ice field we knew it would be amazing. I left the kite in the bag and swapped out my broken lens for the 24-70 and shot straight for an hour. Incredible conditions but even though it may have been my last day to kite, I had to shoot. And I am glad I did. I managed to get some real gold.

Well worth the suffering for sure...

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Spindrift News | Canadian Adventure Photographer

Looking back on 2014 it is hard to believe I made it through with all the changes and chaos that happened personally and professionally. But now that I've had a rest and some time off, I'm gearing up for a busy and exciting year....

Over the last month or so I have had some time to develop new skills, do some serious study and introduce some new tools to my business. I have been working with video for two years now but decided to learn the production side and everything that goes along with it. This includes the writing and development of projects whether they are documentary or simple story. With this new knowledge I am planning to finish a few video projects that are in the que as well as add more corporate video work to the portfolio.

Last year was huge for my magazine work and I estimate I published over 70 images with the various local and international magazines I have been working with. Developing a tight working relationship with my editors has been important and recently that has paid-off with a nomination for Best Photograph (landscape Winter 2014) in the Alberta Magazine Awards 2015. Looking forward to hearing later this week if I won, and I have to thank Westworld Magazine for running my image of Stef Dalberg and his ice-boat. See the published page here: Link


Another on-going project is the work I am doing with a local outdoor clothing company called Spirit West. For a few years now I have been helping them with the occasional shooting of some product but now working year round capturing their new product line as well as testing some of the gear. It can be a long road to success for a lot of companies but if you are willing to stick it out for the long run it can really pay off.


Along with the various magazines I am also working on some upcoming projects that I can't really talk about yet. However I can say that it has allowed me to start testing outdoor gear with other companies as well and this is a bit of where I have wanted to go for some time now. Those projects I will be happy to announce about once they have been made public.

Recently one of our past clients (Eighth Avenue Place, one of the larger tenant services companies in Calgary) had asked us to become a Platinum Partner. What this means is we offer an exclusive availability to their tenants for both corporate and commercial photography. So far we are enjoying the partnership and ongoing relationship we have with their staff and management.


Another partnership we are proud to be involved in is the local sport shooting club The Silver Willow. Last year we started offering corporate packages where we come in and photograph their exec's and employees for team building and corporate events. We will be doing this again as well as updating the Silver Willow's website.


One last thing for now, I have been working on a new personal project called "Foothills Magic" that I am showing on a facebook page. Once I have the project running a long for a little while I will be creating a short movie that highlights the beauty of the foothills and the rich landscape we have along the edge of the prairies. The page can be found and followed here: Link.