This is one of those jobs that gets all the pieces involved: pre-production meetings, location scouting, talent scouting, wardrobe approvals, prop approvals, etc. It’s also one of those productions that I think shows how truly talented our internal and local production peeps are in finding everything that you and your client are looking for: need a young, caucasian high jumper with long hair, who’s capable of multiple takes over the course of the day? Check. Need a venue that will host you for the day at a moderate rate? Check. Need to get this shot within a tight timeline and on budget? Check, check.

So with that in mind, I produced a time-lapse of each shoot, from set-up to take-down, to show, in part, how much work goes into these productions. Here is our high jump shoot, shot at the Variety Village facility in Toronto:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I had the pleasure last week of photographing the newly minted CEO of Research in Motion, Thorsten Heins, for Bloomberg Businessweek magazine.

Located an hour and a half west of Toronto, the RIM campus is an extensive complex, spanning many city blocks in the outskirts of the city of Waterloo. We had a quick ten minutes with Thorsten, who at 6’6″, is a big gentle man for a person on the go. We talked photography a bit, tried two lighting set-ups, a few different lenses, and our time was up. Nothing beats the quick portrait session for really trying your creative mettle.

Below is the spread as it appears in this weeks edition. I really love shooting for this publication, as they have a real creative vision for me going into each shoot, which keeps me focused, and ensures that I deliver what they’re looking for. The type treatment and design is a winner:

Written by Felix Gillette, the article is on newstands now, or if you like, read it online here.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the immense pleasure for shooting for the inflight magazine for Porter Airlines, re:porter. It’s printed on a matte stock, the design is crisp, and much like the Porter flying experience, it’s smooth and professional.

For this issue I shot a cover piece profiling the Jackson-Triggs winery, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year. Built by the award-winning practice of KPMB Architects, is a stunning and functional hub for the winery in the picturesque countryside of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Known primarily for its ice wine, Jackson-Triggs has recently narrowed its focus, concentrating on the varietals, like Sauvignon Blanc, which head wine maker Marco Piccoli thinks can be most successfully grown in Niagara.

Marco and I spent a few hours touring the facility, highlighting many of the facets of Jackson-Triggs winemaking. The facility is a real marvel; from the contrasts of the Douglas Fir beams and the stainless steel vats in the wine making area, to the intimacy of the underground barrel room.

Be sure to treat yourself to a Jackson-Triggs Summer tour when you have the chance, and gain a renewed respect for Southern Ontario wines.

This month’s issue of ESPN The Magazine is dedicated to sports rivalries, and for this issue I was asked to feature part of the long-standing rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s a rivalry that’s as old as the NHL, and the atmosphere in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena last month did not disappoint. Working as part of a three-man photography team, I was commissioned to shoot the Blackhawks pre-game, and capture the Detroit and Chicago fans throughout the game.

Working at the Joe is a thrill, as it’s age only amplifies and concentrates the intensity of the spectacle. The fans feel it, the players feel it. It’s glorious.

Here are two of the spreads (the opener, and the image of mine that was run). I love the juxtaposition of the new and old photos:

Back in late September, my friend Myles McCutcheon, Photo Editor at Sportsnet magazine, asked if I’d be interested in shooting their first feature in a series on legendary hockey arenas across Canada. Now many of you know, our could surmise by some of my recent posts, that I am a big hockey fan, and I truly love covering the sport from its cultural corners. Hockey taught me a lot growing up, and still continues to so every Monday night at St. Mike’s Arena here in Toronto. So naturally, I was pretty excited to take this on.

The arena that I was commissioned to photograph was the Si Miller Arena in Cornwall, Ontario. It was slated to be torn down a few days after I shot there, so I’m glad that I was able to get there in time before it caught the wrecking ball.

The shoot was a great success, and has helped garner a corporate sponsor to facilitate a five part series on “Canadian Cathedrals”. It looks like it’s gaining some traction, and the magazine has put together a little video introducing the series, featuring the stills I took that day at the Si:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think the magazine has done a bang-up job introducing the series. Here’s their print magazine layout:

Get your copy on newstands today, or check out the article online:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/magazine/canadian_cathedrals_parti_si_miller_arena/

Out this week in ESPN The Magazine is some portrait work I did with Jimmy Howard, the starting goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings. We shot on location at the historic Joe Louis Arena, in downtown Detroit, the home ice arena of the Red Wings. It’s a real throw back arena, with tons of character. If you’re a hockey fan, it’s worth the trip to see a Red Wings game at the Joe:

My assistant Jeff and I arrived early to scout the arena for a few locations, as we were going to try for three location shots in the hour that we were to have with Jimmy. The arena is full of age and heritage, so the three locations come to fruition quite quickly. Here are some location shots taken as we scoured the arena:

The visitors bench.

Visiting team's tunnel to the ice.

The Red Wing locker room entrance way.

Jimmy arrived and we got right to work. He was in a good mood, following a great performance the night before against the Phoenix Coyotes. Here’s a selection of portraits from the various locations we settled on:

It was a lot of work getting those three set-ups complete, but in the end, I’m glad we got all of them in. By the time we were finishing the last shot, the Zamboni driver was anxious to get on the ice, as he needed to get the ice cleaned and ready for an immediate Red Wings practice.
The article is out this week in the magazine, with my photos on the Table of Contents, and the NHL PLAY page.

There is a small group of NHL players that have maintained their indomitable status long after their active duty: Messier, Yzerman, and Clarke are some of the most notable. But the leader of that group, in my humble opinion, is Gary Roberts. “Scary Gary” (as his teammates affectionately called him), has long maintained his tough-as-nails persona through his gritty play on the ice, his extensive playing career, and on into his new career as an elite hockey trainer & nutritionist. He is one of those rare players that is revered by fans in every city he played in. Here’s some great You Tube proof of his toughness and longevity:

Young Gary:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Older Gary:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was one of those rabid Gary fans when he played in Toronto. He had an epic game winning goal, scored in triple overtime, during the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs for the Leafs, which cemented my, as well as Toronto’s, admiration for him. Here it is, for your pure viewing pleasure:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In fact, after that goal was scored, my family and I went out for a long hike in the woods on a new piece of land we were just discovering. During that hike, we found a little secluded lake. With Gary’s goal fresh in our hearts, we named it Roberts Lake. I couldn’t help but tell Gary the story, and he got a kick out of it.

I was commissioned to photograph Gary for a dry land training regimen for hockey players that he had developed for Nike. Our shoot was in a older arena here in Toronto, which we used as an authentic backdrop in some of our other set-ups. Nike needed a gritty, off-season location, and we found it in a seldom used community arena in Toronto’s west end. Here’s a shot of our on-site portrait studio which we used for the photo at the intro of this post:

On newsstands this week, just in time for a winter’s blast here in Toronto, is a cover I shot last week for a feature story in The Grid. The cover story, written by Danielle Groen, is a confessional tale of the stigmas faced by smokers every day in Toronto, and what it takes to finally kick the habit. To illustrate the commitment of a winter smoker, we enlisted a hardened smoker and slapped them with a fictitious -15˚C blizzard. See the video below to see how we pulled it off.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There was a fun interior shot as well, where we really loaded up the wintery crud on our model. I love the art direction on this spread:

And finally, the cover as it ran this week:

Scratch one off the magazine bucket list!

Very pleased to say that I have an image in this month’s Dwell magazine. Featured on the last page, the shot (above), features the airy remodel of a Tudor-style Toronto house by Levitt Goodman architects.

Here’s to a bright start in 2012!

Yes! It’s that time of year again!

My friends Jon & Geoff, principals at teehan+lax, asked me back in November to shoot one of their most ambitions cards to date. Their concept was simple and clean: shoot the two of them as a dimensional representation of their logo. Blue figures, sitting on blue chairs, on a white background.

Here’s their logo:

And here’s what we ended up with for the card:

How’d we do it? With a lot of blue paint, great prop and wardrobe help, two very patient models, and a little photoshop. Here’s some behind the scenes video and photos:

Click here to view the embedded video.