August 2008
The Archives
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08.27.08Interactive Photo FeaturesI think this will have to be a regular little feature here on my blog. More and more, we're seeing great uses of photography and audio online. A constant innovative authority on the interactive feature is the New York Times. Their features are extremely current, and exceptionally produced. Check-out this panorama of the Convention for Hillary Clinton's speech last night. Be sure to click "Full Screen".
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08.24.08Chemical ValleyIn March 2008, I was commissioned to cover a story for Chatelaine magazine on Sarnia's "Chemical Valley", and the people who are helping to raise awareness of the city's toxic chemical neighbors. Sarnia is a lovely little town, which is set by the side of the St. Clair River, along with the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, and overlooks the St. Clair River and the city of Port Huron, Michigan. Unfortunately, Sarnia's other neighbor is a series of 46 chemical plants that emit a very large amount of greenhouse gasses, and toxic accidents from time to time. This area is has been ...
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08.21.08Mullets & Spandex!Back in the Spring, I got to work with my good friend, Director Chris Hutsul, on a commercial film shoot for a big soft drink company. Chris needed stills that were to be used in collaboration with the video he was shooting. These portraits are of the characters from the campaign. Unfortunately, the campaign never actually launched. It was a total drag that the campaign got canned. As you can see, the wardrobes were hysterical, and the casting was done mostly through craigslist, which added a huge layer of creative honesty. The mullets weren't real, but damn they looked authentic.
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08.18.08Interview on Shoot! The BlogHad a great email interview with Rachel Hulin, the blog stewardess, at Photoshelter's Shoot! The Blog last Friday. Her blog is a constant insiration, and always a great read. If you're interested in keeping-up with the greater photo community, be sure to subscribe and check back often. You can read our full interview here.
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08.14.08Dean Fisher, Resomation Technician[caption id="attachment_71" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Dean Fisher, Resomation Technician"][/caption] Back in the Spring, I had the great pleasure of shooting Dean Fisher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for the Guardian Weekend Magazine. Dean is a Resomation Technician, which means that he uses water, potassium hydroxide and steam heat in a large, metal chamber to dissolve human remains. There are not very many of these in the US - there are a few for disposing large animals - but the one that Dean has at the Mayo Clinic is really the first of its kind for humans. The interesting part about ...
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08.11.08Vincent Laforet at the OlympicsWondering where to go for a great read on a photographers experience at the Olympics? Well look no further. As a member of Newsweek's Photographer "Dream Team", Vincent Laforet's Olympic blog is informative, fun to read, and gives us a real "look behind the curtain" of a photographer's life on the road, under immense pressure, and having a blast along the way. I especially like his daily recollections of conversations that he has with security guards, managers, volunteers, and other authority figures along the way to getting the perfect shot. The insight that he offers into what we do as photographers ...
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08.10.08Sturla GunnarssonA few months ago, I had the opportunity to photograph Canadian film director Sturla Gunnarsson for Toronto Life. Sturla had just finished promoting the gripping documentary "Air India 182", which he wrote, directed and produced. Sturla is one of Canada's most prolific directors, and if you have the chance, please rent the documentary "Wrath of Gods", which documents the intense and incredibly difficult conditions Sturla and his cast and crew endured while filming "Beowulf and Grendel". What was supposed to be behind the scenes footage for the DVD, it quickly became a gripping documentary showing how difficult the production of a ...
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08.01.08Nike SPARQ TrainingMy new Nike SPARQ work featuring the Ottawa Senator, Daniel Alfredsson, has just launched. We had a lot of fun working with him (even though I'm a Maple Leaf fan), going through a series of drills with new SPARQ gear. Shots are being used for Nike online, and nationally in SportChek retail stores. See the full site site here: www.niketraining.ca
