22 MINUTE Adventures

Good Tuesday from Prospect.

Okay so last night I attended the Halifax Media & Entertainment Industry Night at 22 Minutes. It was basically a closed taping of episode 17 of the 20th season.

Terri McCulloch, 22 Minutes publicist, with the girls from NSBI behind the desk

For those of you who don't know I spent 8 weeks working on set at CBC Halifax for This Hour has 22 Minutes as assistant graphics with John Hencher (Lead Graphics for 10 years plus)

Shaun MCing after the taping

I was working there as filler, on top of working on private projects, and I still produce PR/Communication pieces for the publicist, Terri McCulloch and her assistant Rebecca Gadsden.

Cathy Jones on set before a live skit

I've been in the print industry for a long time and this gave me an opportunity to look at another field with-in the graphics/photographic industry. I'm always looking for other avenues to broaden my horizons and this one seems interesting.

This Hour has 22 Minutes has been on the air for 20 seasons (this being the 20th). I am honoured to be a part of it and I hope this great Canadian comedy stays the course and entertains us for decades to come.

We need shows like this to push our Canadian outlook on life. Especially when it comes to our politics. If we don't laugh at it we'd go mad. We are proud of being Canadian, even if we apologize for it now and again.

Susan Kent, Shaun Majumder, and Mark Critch
getting lessons from special guest
PK Subban (ep 01 season 20 opener)

One thing I'll say about this cast, Cathy Jones, Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder and Susan Kent,  they are hilarious, with the exquisite direction of the writers, producer, director and all the crew.

Yup I said it, great shows don't sustain them selves with a single star but, at least in Canada, it's the effort of the entire organization that makes it work. Sure the talent in front of the audience can make or break it but it's the group that makes that happen.

Today, I've included a couple of photos from last night and two episodes from the season starter and episode 8 (my first and last episodes as assistant graphics). As you'll see they have just as much fun making the show as we do watching.

Enjoy, Derek

Susan, Shaun, Mark and PK Doin' the Jolie

Susan Kent, special guest Jian Ghomeshi, Mark Critch, Cathy Jones and Shaun Majumder 

episode 08, season 20

Note: All images on this post are copyright, all rights reserved, and cannot be reused in anyway.

Re-establishing the basics and moving

Good Wednesday from Prospect. 

Today I'm going to throw a hint at my recent projects. I'm also going to show a little how to.

Canon 5D mrkII, 85mm f1.8  at f8, 125sec 100 ISO

I've recently been following a photographer by the name of Zack Arias out of Atlanta Georgia. Great photographer. 

I probably follow him, not so much for his work, although I'm a fan, but because of his attitude to the business and his open attitude to share. He's been sharing his "One Light" philosophy with all of us. Thanks Zack!

Many photographers know this is a tough business to make a living. You gotta love it or forget it.

Personally I'm somewhat fortunate in that I have a background in the printing business and studied design and photography in college. 

I am able to put two hats on to feed myself but as the gear I use to create images matures I find myself forging ahead with shooting more and more. 

With the gear becoming mature, meaning you can rely on it, I can start forgetting about the gear and mega pixels and concentrate on what matters, getting the picture. 

Now it's back to basics for me. I went off on a tangent and forgot about getting the usable shot right away. Kinda blaming some of it on inferior gear I was using, but not all of it. I'm re-establishing composition and light in my head. Instead of cursing because the camera didn't fire because it was too slow to focus. Now I just set up and shoot, sort of. Well close enough in comparison to the hoops I had to jump through.

It's been said over and over, It's not the gear that makes the shot. Well to an extent thats true. It's just how much work you need to do after the shot to get it up to snuff. Instead of saying, "I'll just fix it in photoshop" why not just shoot it right. 

Well some cameras aren't up to that task (learned that the hard way). Between not being able to see the full frame you are composing to the camera over riding your set-up to awful noise at low light and failure to fire due to slow focus, it was becoming a burden to shoot and my confidence was failing. I mean could I honestly rely on myself to get the frame I was after. You don't get second chances when the moment is gone.

Anyway I started writing this blog and went off on a rant I don't need to get into so I'm deleting that part and carrying on with something positive, my new work.

The reason I started this blog was two fold. I wanted to share a "One Light" set-up on seamless with you and let you know I will be moving to my new site, Blog and all, to derekmasonphotography.com. It will be all fresh and new in about a week. Gotta finalize a few new images going up.

I won't abandon this one since I like the connection through Google, but I will be showing off my focused, professional work through the new one It will be more of an add on showcase while this one will be as it has been. Life in Nova Scotia, my own editorials so to speak.

Comments on both will be much appreciated to help me see what people like most. Don't worry, I'll add a link back to here from there.

For this post, here's an example of what one light, and a couple of reflectors, can do for an image.

This was on site for some corporate portraiture I did on the weekend. (In the board room with a 9 foot ceiling)

My set-up was one strobe set on a boom with a 48 in soft-box above the subject blowing slightly past so to throw some light on the white seamless, one 36" round reflector to lower stage right, for chin fill, and one 42 x 72 inch reflector to back stage left for soft back light. I also turn that big reflector around to shield a second strobe when going full white on the seamless, it doubles as a v flat or cutter to keep the second light out of the cameras frame and kill light flare (though that would be a "two light" shot wouldn't it?).

Here I had her lean slightly forward over a desk, we used as a prop, to get that spot light look on her eyes
Canon 5D mrkII, 85mm f1.8  at f8, 125sec 100 ISO

Once the shots are finalized and delivered I'll share some of those results. In the meantime, this is my wife who I dragged along as assistant. My daughter has taken up the challenge of assisting but had a minor medical procedure that stopped her from coming along. You may have seen her in my "Doin' it Seamless" blog a while back.

Enjoy, Derek.

A little beauty on the Halifax Waterfront

Good Wednesday from Prospect. 

Today I'm going back a bit in time, September 26, 2007 to be exact. I was shooting a Pentax K10 with an smc Pentax 12-24 f4.0 This camera was a C-size, CCD sensor at 10 mp. I think I had it for a year or two before I sold it.

CSS Acadia on the Halifax waterfront  f8.0, 1/125, ISO 100

Anyway, I was hired to produce some Interpretive displays for the HMCS Sackville by the ships trust. The Sackville is the only surviving Canadian Corvette from the second world war. She has been painstakingly restored and stands as a floating museum here in Halifax Harbour.

After my initial meeting I made a point of shooting her and the ship that is berthed just down the Harbour in front of the Maritime Museum, the CSS Acadia. (If you're interested in these two vessels you can board the HMCS Sackville when she is open during tourist season and the CSS Acadia is part of the Maritime Museums exhibit.)

I wanted to be dramatic with these and accentuate the length of these hulls. So I brought out my ultra wide for the job. I thought the fisheye would be way too much and I wasn't interested in the curvature that that lens would have produced. As a matter of fact these are shot at the 24mm end (36mm in full frame).

I just wanted to capture all the vessel without getting too far away. Yes, I probably can go into Photoshop and pull the Acadias bow forward, but what I wanted is what the camera saw through that lens. Could have grabbed a 50mm and stepped back in the parking lot too, but once again I wanted to get up close and personal with these.

They were both shot in the early afternoon. One of those beautiful first days of fall, here in Nova Scotia, and the start of our Indian summer. Sometimes the weather is nicer here in the early fall than all summer and, if you are a photographer, the light is beautiful this time of year with the fall foliage putting on it's best colours for the show.

Although these are shot around 1 pm, the sun has dropped enough to give me a little longer shadow for depth, since, after all, it is September.

I shot these with a slightly warmer white balance and a 2 stop ND to cut the bright sun off the hulls. But it was bright enough to hand hold the camera. Although I think you're allowed to use a tripod on the waterfront I'd recommend against it during the busier times of day. The Halifax water front can get pretty hectic from June to the end of October.

Until then...

Enjoy, Derek

HMCS Sackville on the Halifax waterfront    f8.0, 1/125, ISO 100

MEGA-MEGA PIXELS?

Pentax 35-105 f9.5, 1/2000, ISO 800 (manual settings including focus)

f11, 1/500 ISO 800 Pentax 18-55

So here I am once again. A little later than usual, but here none the less.

I was a little short on content today, not sure why, just a block I guess. While looking for things to share, without giving next week away, I started looking through my archives from 2005. 

Brief history: I took the digital step in 2005. Put my film body away and bought my first DSLR. Since I was shooting Pentax at the time it seemed like a logical step so I bought an istDs (6mp) with the 18-55 f3.5-5.6 kit lens. I already had a great 35f2, 50f2 and 200mmf4 I was using for film and thought I'd stick with that for the learning curve.

At that time I was shooting slide film and using them for layouts as backgrounds for everything from brochures to Pop-up displays (7 feet high). Yes the images were that sharp. I shot 100 and 50 ISO only.

Now remember, this was when 6 mega pixel was "WOW". I was pretty content. I got my shots in my little hands right away, so to speak, and off I went.

Pentax 35-105, f9.5, 1/1500 ISO 800

First commercial endeavour with this camera was the summer of 2005 (got the camera in May 2005) shooting the production process of a pottery studio for the interpretive panels I was designing.

I shot the whole thing as RAW and processed in Aperture 1.We reviewed the shoot on my laptop on site.  All new and all COOOOOL. All went well. I may post photos of the store sometime in the future.

Since then I've used K10s and K20s, sticking with the Pentax philosophy, to achieve what I needed and invested moderately to heavily (I don't think you can spend just a little money on camera gear, not possible).

Now back to what I thought I'd talk about. Recently the buzz has been about lots and lots of mega pixels. I myself, have just switched over to a full frame 21mp body and a set of superior glass. No it's not Pentax, if you haven't guessed it's Canon. Time for my leap and start playing with the big dogs.

I have a good friend that just ordered the Nikon D800. He's been shooting a D70 since about the same time I've got the istDs. 36 pixel heaven he calls it.

So as I said, I was looking through my archives of 2005, and came across some early personal stuff I'd like to share. 

Pentax 35-105, f6.7, 1/4000, ISO 800

One being my first Superbike Nationals in Shubenacadie, NS. I'm a bit of a gear head and had fun but was no where near prepared for what I'd need to shoot. I had my 18-55 and a full frame film lens, Pentax 35-105 f3.5 macro (manual focus I picked up second hand). This is a 52-157 on the C size sensor of the istDs.

Got there and watched the experienced sports guys in action with the monster 3 and 400's still shooting film. Good thing I was there to watch the show and not shoot for money. Definitely a no go. The other subjects, I'm showing, I was a little bit more familiar with, boats and my kids.

Pentax 18-55 f16, 1/180, ISO 200

Pentax 18-55 f13, 1/180 ISO 200

All this is simply leading to that discussion of mega pixels. For the average guy that wants to shoot for fun, who needs 21 or 36. My friend needs 36, he says, because he wants to shoot landscape and print BIG. So he's got a point. I shoot to profit and for the love of it. I can't afford to miss that money maker.

But 6 or 10 or 12 should make most every body happy, with good glass of course. The ist Ds is now in my son's hands and the K20 in my wife's. I expect them to be happy for quite some time.

PS, I may go back this year and try my hand at it shooting the bikes again, now with a few more digital years under my belt. Maybe I can drag my friend along with his new acquisition, if he ever gets it (lots of orders ahead of him I'm afraid).

Hope you enjoy these. Comment if you wish. Have a good weekend.

Derek

The Holiday Island shoot

Wood Islands, PEI

Good Thursday from Prospect. If you've had the chance to browse my new ibook you may have noticed a section entitled "There & Back on the Holiday Island" from 2011.

Well, those are from a trip on the Holiday Island ferry from Caribou (near Pictou), Nova Scotia to Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island. I was on an assignment for Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL) shooting from the Ferry for some promotional material I was also designing.

I met, the then marketing and sales coordinator for NFL, April Ennis,  on the ferry, April, has lived on the Island most of her life, and brought me in on the project. She also came to make sure the upper deck was clear for our shoot.

The trip started at about 9:30 am, on the Holiday Island, with the second crossing of the day. The first was at 6:30 am, no light for my purposes, on an overcast and cloudy day in Pictou. Since the shoot was only on the Ferry to Wood Islands and back I didn't need to load the car and left it on the Nova Scotia side parking lot.

10-17 fisheye from the upper deck towards the bridge

The day looked like it was going to be a bust with the weather chilly, overcast and looking like rain. Hard to get great shots from the open deck of the Ferry in that. Although this was the fourth of June it felt like March, brrr.

But, since I was there, it's a 2 and a half hour trek from my house to the ferry, I thought I'd set up the gear to shoot. Maybe push it in Lightroom and Photoshop when I got back. One of the major shots I was after was a panorama of one side of the deck looking over the water so the tripod and pan head had to be set up. I had both bodies with me along with my 10-17 fish-eye, 12-24 ultra wide, 18-50 f2.8 (for the pan) and my 70-200 f2.8. Just incase we saw any wild life on the water. Minke whales are common in the straight. I ended up using it for some shore shots.

As we left the Nova Scotia coast the clouds started to part and the rest of the trip couldn't have been better if I asked for it. Sunny with just about the right amount of cloud and early day light. Even the water co-operated and remained almost picture still. Just enough movement to make it interesting.

I spent the entire trip shooting from the upper deck. Northumberland Ferries runs two boats through the in-season. The Holiday Island with the wide open upper deck, and the Confederation, which has more closed in deck and more inside accommodations and space for more cars. Only one of these runs at a time in the off-season, to allow for maintenance along with the fact that since the Confederation bridge between New Brunswick and PEI was built there was really no need for both of them year round.

To give a brief history, until the bridge was built, the only way on and off the Island was by ferry. As a young lad the ferry was part of the big adventure to our family summer vacations in PEI. You see PEI is a great summer spot with almost endless miles of beaches, golf courses and camp grounds and motels.

The larger of the two crossings, ferry and passenger wise, was in the same location as the bridge is today (near Cape Tormentine NB to Bordon-Carleton PEI) and was retired once the bridge was complete.

It looked like the end of the ferry for good. Fortunately someone had the foresight to keep the ferry running at this crossing anyway.

The Nova Scotia side that day

That trip is one you must take. Lasting 75 mins it adds just enough time for you to take that vacation breath (you know, the one thats says, work's behind me and I'll worry about it when I get back breath) to get out of the car and relax with the family or partner.

I know, this is starting to sound like a travel blog, which it is not, but I had to share the story. Oh, and I believe they are playing live music on board the Confederation during the on-season. Check the site to confirm.

Long story short, the shot went off without a which, got what I wanted, enjoyed the trip and made me realize not everything should be in a hurry as most things seem to be lately.

Here's a link to the ferries site so you can explore and book your trip to tranquillity. http://www.nfl-bay.com/

Oh, BTW, when I got back to Nova Scotia the clouds were still there and still chilly. Funny, and me with a slight sun burn from the unexpected warmth on the trip. Hmm, maybe it was a message. I thought my wife would never believe the story…but I had pictures, ha.

Enjoy, Derek.

My book is ready and so am I

Well here we are, humpday. Middle of the week and lots going on.

The one thing I want to share today is my new portfolio book. It arrived last week, along with my first ibook version.

The book is primarily a portfolio of my photographic work over the last 5 years. It includes some creative spec, some whimsical, some event and some commissioned works with published layouts.

In the past 5 years I have been fortunate to create works for a variety of clients ranging from Fox Harb'r Golf Resort & Spa, Boating Industry Magazine, ADesign Studio and Northumberland Ferries to name a few.

I was also lucky to be a part of the the Bay of Fundy's bid for the New7Wonders of Nature contest as Marketing Director and Staff Photographer (yes the budget had a limit). Through this campaign I developed and implemented the branding and marking collateral (votemyfundy.com).

As a Graphic Designer and Photographer I tend to fill in a lot of my own images when needed in my layouts, so my sense of imagery towards commercial use is quite defined. I really tend to understand how the story needs to play out and the design of imagery is just as important and typography. Mind you not everything I do has just my photography. I do use others work when it fits.

Until 2005, I've spent most of my career behind the scenes and shot only for personal pleasure with some work used commercially. But since forming Just That Communications I have pushed everything forward and strived to better my photo skills to a level of professionalism that satisfies the most discerning client.

View Larger Size

I have also noticed a shift in my creative work as well and have recently reintroduced film back in my work flow. Whether it helps or hinders only time will tell.

View Larger Size

Well, I hope you like the book. It's listed to the right of my blog page under links. Clicking the link will force the download and expansion to either your desktop or downloads folder depending on where you have your downloads configured. Once it's expanded just drag it to your Apple iTunes folder, add to your iTunes Library and sync with your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

If you like my work don't hesitate to contact me about discussing your next project. Maybe we can do something great together. Design or commissioned photo project, it's all good!

BTW, the printed version will be accompanying me on client meetings.

Thanks and enjoy, comments are welcome, Derek