A Couple Photos

I always get a little nervous before even the simplest portrait shoots. Most times, it’s just my mind shifting gears and focusing on the work ahead - ejecting all the extraneous thoughts and daily blah blah blah and leaving (hopefully) only the person(s) and the photography.

But on a few rare occasions, the slight buzz comes from photographing another photographer. Is there a photographer that doesn’t find that at least a little intimidating? After all, they’re privy to what we think, how we work and they’re uniquely qualified to assess what we’ve done.

This was the case recently when I photographed Dwayne Larson and his fiancé April, in advance of their wedding (which they paid me the honour of photographing). Dwayne and I have worked in Winnipeg and known each other for years and although we’re different in style — he’s cool and I’m not, let’s not mince words — we both have devoted our lives to photography. What an honour to have him specifically choose me, and my style of working, to make images of this very particular moment in the life and he and his life partner.

Meeting up at the unsung gem Langside Grocery all my nerves were quickly put to rest. Here were two people who made others feel as comfortable as they clearly did in their own skin. Best of all for this photographer, here were two people who are so obviously at ease and great around each other. Great subjects, great location, great light — it was the kind of portrait session I always hope to have!

<<Technical Notes>> My remote trigger stopped working almost immediately upon arrival, so on the fly I was switched to ‘available light’ mode. Thankfully, the late afternoon sun was perfect in Langside Grocery (did I mention how fantastic that location is..?) and so the shoot went on. I used the magical (no other word for it) Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 on my 5D Mark IV, with a few EF 50mm f/1.2 images thrown in when the moment was right.

For more samples of how I photograph people, take a look at my People section on this website.

The front counter at the wonderful Langside Grocery, avec April and Dwayne.

Casual Fridays

Winnipeg has always been known for a thriving music and arts scene, but it’s only very recently that we’ve been able to start returning to that again. The pandemic, and most people and businesses adhering to lockdowns and other measures to prevent the spread of it, had put a night out on ice for well over a year.

Happily, high vaccination rates and businesses having a credible process to screen at the door have created a bit of a springtime in late autumn for live music.

It was this that allowed me to photograph a live performance this weekend by the newest jazz group in the city, the Jazz Casuals. It was a terrific way to end off a very long week, and the fine offerings by the venue, Little Brown Jug, was also very welcome.

Walking into the venue, I was greeted by a terrific space but a terrific space in near-total darkness. Certainly great for ambience, but not so great for photography! It was then that I was reminded of the difference between photographers who know lighting and those that don’t. One gets useable pictures, the other walks away with excuses.

I spent a lot of years in newspapers, and had the mantra of ‘available light’ drummed into me for literally decades.
However, if you believe photography is about telling stories, I’m afraid you can’t tell very many when you’re literally in the dark.

We live in a pretty amazing time for technology in making photographs, and one of my favourite is the advantages in lighting now. I’ve been a very satisfied user of Godox flashes for a few years now, both for reliability and how quick and easy it is to use their lights. Having something quick, easy and reliable makes it so much easier to just focus on creativity and that’s certainly been the case for me, whether in a dark jazz club or a bright outdoor location.

Setting up 2 small lights unobtrusively allowed me to create a mood and a feeling that fit the story, and not interfere with the musicians working or the audience enjoying the show. And, I didn’t have to make excuses — win/win/win!

Follow the Jazz Casuals on Instagram for news of upcoming shows.