Candid Beach People - Street Photography

Street Photography... what streets?!?

I don't know if you can call this street photography, as there are no streets really... so what do you call beach people photography?  I guess I'll stick with street photography, since to me that definition basically says, that these are candid photos of people.  Just the setting is a bit different from a street.... it's a beach.  Anyhow, now that we got this out of the way, let's continue. I really enjoy photographing people.  I am normally the biggest introvert you'll ever meet, and going out among people and taking their photo, scares the crap out of me.  I'm usually the creepy creep, training my lens on you, from far away :)

Candid Photography

When people are not aware that you are taking their picture, they behave as they normally would.  The moment they spot a camera pointed at them, their behaviour changes instantly.  They either hide, give you a fake smile, or just pretend to ignore you, but their natural behaviour, that moment, vanishes with out a trace.  This is why I try to use either a very wide angle lens, or a long zoom.  The wide angle is perfect for hip shooting.  What I mean by that is, you pretend to adjust settings on your camera, and without raising the camera to your eye, you take a photo.  Or you carry the camera nonchalantly in your hand, and point in the general direction and hope for the best.  Wide angle lenses are best suited for this, as it is hard to miss the subject.  Other lenses require lots of practice, to know exactly where to point to get that awesome image.  Changing from a 17mm to a 35mm lens had disastrous effects, as none of the hip shooting images came out.  I just didn't know how to aim the lens properly.  So my tip to you is... try hip shooting, or find some balls and don't be afraid of people :D

Here is some examples of beach street shooting, enjoy!

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People in the Mountains - Candid Photography

While making images at tourist destinations, you will always run into people.  I always try to catch a few shots of them, while they are not paying any attention to me.  This makes it easier if you are carrying a small camera, that makes almost no noise.  Enter Sony NEX line.  I have one of those and coupled with a 24mm f1.8 lens it's perfect for street/candid shots.  Just carry the camera by your side point it in the fight direction and snap.  The shutter is nearly silent, and the whole system is very discreet.  There is always a chance that you might miss the action, but by not raising the camera to your eye, the people you want to catch, act natural.  Here are some candid images I captured... but the last were posed portraits of the family.  HDR too. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday - The Happy Birthday

So the day has arrived.  Time to get the cake out of the fridge and present it in all it's glory :) .  A nice quiet party for the 4 of us.  Oh, and the cake was quite good, if I say so myself.  Even the birthday girl liked it.  Success number 2!

Portraits of a Photographer - Danielle Lucier

I had a chance to meet Danielle quite a while ago.  We did some portraits for her website.  Also I was honored to do a family photo session with her beautiful family.  This time we met at Edmonton's Whyte Ave, to try out some lenses.  Here are some test shots from that meeting, done with then almost brand new Fuji X-Pro1.  Enjoy!

Lifestyle Photography - Girl in the Orchard

After the cold session of Sensual Portrait of a Girl in the Rain, I've decided to give the model a bit of a break, and just shoot a natural lifestyle portrait session in the garden.  It was a little windy, but I thought that this would bring a bit of life to the images.  The session was bordering on boudoir, but I wanted to approach it differently.  I wanted more of a natural fun in the garden portrait session.  I think I captured it.  Enjoy!

Walking with a big fish

During the last Scott Kelby's World Wide Photowalk, I decided not to sign up, but I still met up with my buddy Randy Pond, and spend a nice afternoon walking around and practicing street photography.  I decided to make this walk a little more challenging, by taking only one lens with me, the fish-eye.  I really like the results of this experiment, hope you like these too.  Enjoy!

Trudy

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Relaxing time in your own home.... there is nothing better.  Trudy allowed us to capture that time. Enjoy!

Spring on the streets of Edmonton

The spring has finally arrived, or at least I hope so.  Temperatures are finally above the freezing mark, and more often the sun is peeking through the clouds.  Thus a lot more people are on the streets, just enjoying the warmth after a long and cold winter.  I thought this would be a perfect time to try out my little micro 4/3 to minolta lens adapter, on my little panasonic GF1 camera.  I have to say, that manual focus on a LCD screen is not easy.  None the less it was a great experience it I think it worked out quite well.  Here are some street shots from Edmonton.  Enjoy.

Family session with Olivia Kovios - Part 3

Here is the last set of pictures.  I hope I get invited to do this again.  It was nerve racking, but a lot of fun at the same time.  Enjoy.

Family session with Olivia Kovios - Part 2

Here are some more photos from Olivia Kovios family session.  Enjoy.

Family session with Olivia Kovios - Part 1

Olivia Kovios is a great family photographer, so I was a little nervous when I was invited to photograph her family.  She has three wonderful kids, that are as photogenic as their parents.  It was a lot of fun, but nerve racking at the same time.  Alsways having the thought in my mind, how these snapshots are going to be received by a fellow photographer.  It was a success.  Enjoy.

Back to Normal

Wow.  It's been almost a month from the last post.  I have been rather more busy lately, with work and all kinds of photo shoots.  This means the collection of pictures waiting to be posted is growing and growing.  So with out further ramblings from me, lets get this started, shall we? Lets start with my extended family.  These were taken during a supper that I was invited to with my silly cousin way back during the time were leaves were still green on the trees.  Enjoy.

Art on the streets

During our visit to the market, we walked around the Whyte Ave, which I think is the only avenue in Edmonton that actually has any pedestrian traffic.  It's always jammed up with people. No surprise, when you have cafes, open style restaurants, bars, and vendors (mostly art) lining the avenue.  Since I was hip shooting, I did manage to capture some vendor's art.  Enjoy.

Hip shooting the market

The other day, I took my family to one the of the farmer markets.  I thought it would be a good idea to test my strength by taking my Canon 5D with one lens.  I took off the battery pack, and the only lens I took was a 100mm f2.8 macro.  This is an old lens, and it doesn't focus fast, which made me miss a few great opportunities.  Next time I know to take either the 85mm or 50mm.  All the photos were shot from the hip.  Just let the camera hang using the Black Rapid R-Strap .  Just had my hand on the camera, and basically moved it, pretending to avoid hitting people with it.  Because the lens was so slow at focusing, I missed a few great opportunities, but still managed to come out with a few good shots.  At least I think so :) Enjoy!

Being childish

Yes, it's been a long 2 months. Long and slow recovery, but everything is getting back to normal. I've been trying with different cameras, and finally a few days ago, I started with my old big cameras. I've been doing all kinds of photography, but mostly I was concentrating on candid shots. I have to say that after using the Panasonic GF1 at the beginning, because it was small and light, it was a big pleasure to be able to hold my Canon 5D. Panasonic GF1 isn't a bad camera, but having a non-electronic view finder is such a beautiful thing. First are pictures taken at local playground with the Panasonic. Enjoy!

Sailing on the Great Slave Lake – The Portraits Part Two

Yep, we even had a band on the lovely sailing boat.  There is nothing better than sailing and having two very talented musician provide a perfect balance of guitars and voice to a perfect day.  Huge thanks to Amanda and Melvin for making an already perfect day, even more perfect.  Of course huge thanks to Michele and Jeremy for taking us out on this wonderful cruise.

Sailing on the Great Slave Lake - The Portraits

Now what would a sailing adventure be without great people.  So I present to you a few of the portraits/candids  I managed to snag along the way.  I have to say that this is one of those trips I will remember for ever.  Enjoy.