Shannon is a hideously awkward jumper and happy to admit it. It took a good 50 or 60 jumps to get this one, which looks pretty good. Next time with Shannon: a different wig (she has a collection).
I don’t see very many sunrises. But when I do, I always make sure I have a pretty girl to stand in front of them. This pretty girl is named Randall, and she’s the best model I know for a couple reasons. One, she met me at the beach at 5:45am even though she lives 45 minutes away. Two, she got chest-deep in Lake Ontario for me even though it was freezing. The air temperature was 12 degrees that morning when we started shooting!
This shot here was at 6:19am, well before we got in the water, and just slightly before the sun started peeking over the horizon. I’ve never seen anyone so chipper at 6am as Randall was. She was bouncing around, jumping up and down — frolicking, if you will. She was so excited and so cute doing it!
Tech details: Nikon D200, f/5.6, 1/125 with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. Sunrise in the back, Alien Bees 1600 with standard reflector in the front. Or maybe with a shoot-through umbrella. I can’t remember!
Oh Samantha, how I love thee. And it’s a good thing she loves me back, otherwise our photos together would suck. I picked up Sam at Hooters in Whitby and we braved the rush hour traffic to make it to the downtown ferry terminal. We had a long walk to the beach at Hanlan’s Point after getting off the ferry, so we had to scramble as there was only about 20 minutes of sunlight left. We fired off about four different looks until it was too dark for the camera to even focus on Sam’s lovely face. The shot above is early on, before the sun went below the horizon.
Tech details: Nikon D200, f/2.8, 1/60 with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. Natural light. Cold water.
A bonus shot from the beach:
Last week I photographed not one, not two, but three lovely young ladies in one afternoon. Like Shannon in the post below, Stephanie here is also not a model. But dig that crazy strawberry tattoo! This was her first time, so Steph was suuuuper nervous before the shoot. We had a smattering of spectators at our little beach in Oshawa, but she did just fine.
Tech details: Nikon D200, f/1.8, 1/1500 with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. My aforementioned 70-200mm lens was pissing me off too much with its soft results at the long end, so I shot fairly exclusively with the 85mm lens instead. Although I’m a lover of the soft, warm light at sunset, some compromises have to be made when I’m shooting three people in one day. Stephanie was photographed at about 3:30pm when the sun was still fairly harsh. For this shot I just turned her away from the sun and spot-metered off her face for a decent exposure.
Shannon is not a model, but we worked out a deal a few weeks ago. I got to photograph her in swimwear as long as she got to wear an afro wig. Ridiculous? Yes. That’s how she rolls. Shannon’s sister Theresa is a model and was none too happy that I skipped over her to photograph Shannon. All in due time, Theresa, all in due time.
Shannon’s an aspiring photographer, so go check out her Flickr feed.
She also thinks we’re best friends.
I did my part to increase the ridiculousness factor by shooting this with a 10mm lens, hence why Shannon’s left hand looks a fair bit big and distorted since it was closer to the lens. Other tech details: Nikon D200, f/16, 1/125, with an Alien Bees 1600 strobe to camera right. I love the depth that the sand has in this photo.
From late September 2008, in the waning days of summer. Brandi and I have been partners in crime for nearly four years now, and this was by far our best photoshoot… until recently. I had the opportunity to photograph Brandi on the beach at sunrise a couple weeks ago and the results were stunning. Stay tuned to the blog for some of those!
Tech details: Nikon D200, f/5.6, 1/250 at 200mm with a 70-200mm lens. Lighting was mid-day sunshine to camera right, and an Alien Bees 1600 in a shoot-through umbrella to camera left. As Brandi had climbed up a few feet in the air, I had to extend my light stand as high as it would go, which made it extra wobbly in the wind. Luckily, Brandi’s boyfriend, race-car driver James Hinchcliffe, held it steady for me and was a great all-around assistant.
Swimwear: the awesome Mayra Collection.
From August 2007, this is Kelly, in what’s probably my favourite swimwear shot I’ve ever taken. The lifeguard boats matched her swimwear so well — it was a lucky find! Kelly was none too happy with me this day, as we parked at the end of the beach and walked a crazy long time to get to this spot. Her feet were killing her, and the handle of her bag broke too. I think it was worth it though! Kelly looks a bit different now than she did then, so hopefully we can get out to the beach again one day to capture her new look.
Tech details: Nikon D200, f/2.8, 1/320 at 200mm with a 70-200mm lens. Lighting was the final rays of the sun just as it touched the horizon.
Blog readers, meet Sara. Sara, meet blog readers. Would you believe this is Sara’s first time modeling? She was a natural, not to mention incredibly fit and eager to shoot.
Nikon D200, f/5.6, 1/125, at 105mm with a 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR lens. Lighting was open shade (sun was setting behind a ridge) combined with an Alien Bees 1600 in a shoot-thru umbrella to camera left.
September is upon us in five short days, which usually marks the beginning of cooler weather here in Toronto. So in an effort to stretch out summer for as long as possible, how about a new swimwear shot every day?
Today’s photo is of Samantha (seen here before), shot back in June, on a tiny little patch of sand near the Toronto Beaches neighbourhood.
Shot with my trusty Nikon D200, f/4, 1/640, at 180mm with a 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR lens. I’ve discovered recently that this lens is fairly soft at 200mm, which is really disappointing. I don’t know if it’s been this way since I got it or if it’s developed over time. Still need to research and test that out a little more.
I’ve been good friends with Samantha for about a year now (she’s only 20) after she contacted me on Facebook about modeling. She has a major obsession with bikinis and owns about a bazillion of them. Best of all — I get to shoot her again tomorrow night, one last time before summer ends.
We go way back to 2005 for this image of Jeanean, shot with my trusty Nikon D70.
It was a dark, rainy day, but the sky cleared just before sunset when we shot this.
Jeanean is pregnant now, due in the next couple of weeks. We have a long, storied history together (as she does with everyone, in fact). Most recently, though, we discussed baby names: Peyton and Maple were among the possibilities for her future daughter. Maple is an odd choice for sure and apparently I was the only one in favour of it out of her circle of friends and family. Think of all the possibilities for a middle name! Leaf, Syrup, Donut… it’s endless, really.
Peyton won out. Sadness.