Genuine Interest.

Dear Friends.
Today I came upon an article that echoes my sentiments perfectly. I just wish I had said it all first.  I am copying this  (including the photo) from a newsletter I received from TriDelta Financial.  See if the message resonates with you too.  I would love some feedback.   For sure, I will listen!     (I would like to think that this, above all, is the extra something that I provide my clients that not all photographers do.    The sympathetic ear, the friendly helpfulness, the genuine caring, the extra time,  an attitude that is not strictly and heartlessly all-business,-- cookie cutter  sessions.
Read on;

"In this fast paced and multi-task world is anyone really listening anymore? With the bombardment of electronic media – it is becoming increasingly rare to find what I call Genuine Interest. When last did you just sit back without the TV on, no cell phone buzzing or music and just

focus on the person with you? This is one way to nurture relationships by really listening and not be distracted by other stuff. If we truly care about others, we should take notice, develop and display 'genuine interest' towards them. There is a big difference between simply listening to people and listening with deep interest. To show you really care it is important to really listen. Think how good you felt when friends showed a real interest in you and what you've been up to. They look you in the eye, ask questions and really connect. How often do we do this to others?" I'd like to think that I do!   Hope you do too. The above applies to photoshoots too.  A successful photography session is one in which the client feels comfortable and relaxed, - photographer and client are genuinely in sync. Only then, can the photographer achieve her aim of capturing the true personality of her client.

Photographing Olga's Birthday Party

Juan threw a terrific party for his wife Olga, on her 50th birthday. With their closest friends, they ate, drank, sang and danced into the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Though hired to capture the fun as a photographer, they also made it clear that I was to consider myself part of the family.
Here are a few photos from that memorable night;

                                         
                                                        Olga enters and sees all her friends.
                                         
                                       

Amid all the hugging, the women's' bracelets get entangled

Olga's cake

Juan wishes his wife a Happy Birthday

A slide presentation begins

Watching the presentation intently.

Feeling all romantic.

Candlelight adds to the romantic mood

Olga's tender moment with son

Spanish guitar music elevates the mood to another level.

Juan unabashedly joins in.

…and the dancing begins, -with a spontaneous  conga line.

NOTE:  Besides having great technical skills, the attitude of the photographer is also important.  A cold, detached strictly-business attitude would not be appreciated.  I truly enjoyed the event, loved the people, and was having fun alongside them. It showed, and thus, I was readily included -as family. This made for good chemistry all around. 

Having a Ball !

Last Thursday  night's spectacular event was for a very worthy cause ---Sick Kids Hospital. This sexy and entertaining Venetian ball, featured beautiful dancers,  acrobatic dance performers, belly dancing and percussionists. There was also an auction of beautiful works of art  and other items --and a silent auction. Here are a few photos from this colourful and memorable event .

Items in the silent auction 

Artist Tibi Hegyesi with his beautiful works

Exotic works of art abound in this gallery where ball was held the House of Moments

Tip; When contemplating photographing an event such as this, make sure that the Focus Assist infrared light is working on your camera, as these venues tend to have dim lighting.  On my Nikon D700 camera, this light only comes on if I choose the middle focus point from among the many. Weird, but true. 

A Photographer's Dream. A Very Special Event.

What luck!  This year, I get to celebrate Halloween-- twice.
Tonight was great fun, of course, but last Sunday, I took part in a celebration on a grand scale as a hired  photographer,  covering the Toronto West Halloween Fest, in support of St Joseph's Health Centre.
The street festival included free costume parade and live entertainment. A live performance by Canada's Queen of R & B Jully Black, capped off the celebrations.
The day-long event, was a photographer's dream. Take a look and you'll see why;

Tip;  When covering events such as this, take along lenses of different focal lengths. e.g. a 28mm-80mm lens  and a telephoto lens such as 80-200 or better still , 80-300mm so you can zoom in for those close ups. Just keep in mind that the shutter speed you use should match the focal length of the lens. e.g. if you are shooting at the 300 mm focal length, the shutter speed should be at 1/300th of a sec. at least, for the pictures to be sharp. This, assuming you are shooting hand-held. 

Event Photography in Low-Light

I had the pleasure of photographing a very special event last night. Bonnie Crombie -candidate for Mayor of Mississauga- on the campaign trail,  made a presentation  to the Hispanic community there.
As Bonnie says, she is passionate about Mississauga and its people, their  welfare and happiness, and this is easy to see in the animation and expressiveness evident in these photos of her.

The event was held in a lovely restaurant. The only problem was  (for a photographer),  that the lighting was very dim. Under these conditions,  focusing becomes very difficult and the camera can just refuse to fire. Since this scenario is not uncommon, (for example, wedding photographers encounter this often) I thought I'd address it here.  

With a Speedlight mounted on your DSLRs hotshoe,  change your focus mode to AF-S (Single Servo/ Single Area AF). Now half press the shutter release and you'll see the red lights on your Speedlight activate.  A red beam will project onto your subject . This will allow your lens to focus. Problem solved. 

Had a great time photographing this joyous annual event.

Formerly called Caribana, the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival  is the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. The festival's grand parade yesterday, was, --to quote The Toronto Star, "a colourful party of music, glitter and dazzling moves"  People of all ages united "in shared exuberance and pursuit of boisterous fun."   I had the pleasure of witnessing, and photographing,  the behind-the-scenes activity as the parade participants were getting ready to strut their stuff.

                                         Adding last-minute touches.

 
                           Last minute check to see that there is enough bling.

                                               
                                                   

The guys were not to be outdone!