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!

EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY IS SUCH FUN!

There is a saying; "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"  Yesterday's assignment reminded me of this

. Because  I really enjoyed  covering a very special event held in Mississauga's Celebration Square, -it did not feel like work.
The event was the Mississauga Halal Food Fest 2014.  Great music, terrific entertainers and good food, made this event a huge success.  And for those who love to shop  (who doesn't?)--there were stalls of exotic merchandise   Ladies in equally exotic, colourful dresses crowded around , to examine the goods.
For one day, it was as if I was transported to an exciting, faraway land --without having to leave home.
I was in seventh heaven, capturing the colours, the action, the fun-----in an altered state, I would say, ----when suddenly I looked up and saw it………
There, high in the blue sky above us, was this thing…..this flying……vehicle. I was astonished . Did not know what to make of it!  It was not like any plane or helicopter I had ever seen before.(Flying saucers came to mind.) It was coming closer…..and closer!  It hovered a little while--as if to allow me to click furiously and capture some photos. Then, it disappeared, as fast as it came. I looked quizzically at one of the  VIPs in the audience's front row, just before taking his close-up. Seeing my bewilderment  at what I just saw,  he quickly put me out of my misery----by explaining that the strange object in the sky was nothing more than a drone,  with the mission of taking photos  from above.
Hah!  Can we photographers be soon replace by a machine?   Not a chance! ----and this is the lesson here;   Photography is an art---one of self-expression. Photographers endeavour  to elicit an emotion in the viewer. They capture a mood, not just record a scene or an event.  This requires the empathy and warmth of a human being who loves her/his job.

                                         …...and the celebration continued into the night….
                                       

Oh yes! …and how can I forget?   Ta daaaah!  Ladies and gentlemen, ---the flying saucer…….er…..I   mean……….     DRONE.

SEEING DOUBLE

For me, photographing a child is always fun,  but the other day, it was a little confusing too, --in a fun way.  I got to photograph Emma and Eva, who are , obviously, -twins.
Let's see if you are more observant than I . Can YOU tell who is who?  The first photo will have their names underneath for reference, after that, -you are on your own.

                                             
                                   Emma is on the  left (in pink), Eva  is on  the right, (in blue)

                                                               

  Here, the girls are playing dress-up. Can you tell which is Emma which is Eva? 

Our cheeky little model was keeping me guessing.

 Well, this is easy. I just had to refer back to the first photo;

This is Emma, -I know, because she is wearing pink.

Did they switch clothes in the dressing room to fool me? 

Nah! It didn't occur to them. Thank goodness. 

   My photoshoots are never dull.  Each shoot is filled with  fun and excitement.

I wouldn't have it any other way. 

A JOYOUS WEDDING -----photographer,--Moi

A week ago today, I photographed the wedding of a delightful couple , Dorothy and Chris. I felt honoured that they chose ME for the job of capturing their very special day. As most couples nowadays, they wanted formal photos, as well as informal, photojournalistic ones . So, sometimes I would help with posing and body language (as in the formal shots) Other times, I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible , capturing the action, the mood, from farther away, but getting wonderful close-ups with my telephoto lens zooming in on the couple's happy, loving expressions e.g. at crucial moments during the ceremony as well as throughout the evening. There were great unexpected moments too--such as a group of Ukrainian dancers, wearing colourful costumes, strolling by us at the hotel. They gave us a short, impromptu performance, and the entire wedding party joined in the dance, hamming it up. I of course, had the time of my life, clicking away, for all I was worth. At this point I was thinking; this is so much fun, ....and I am actually getting paid for this? Unfortunately, the weather was not in a festive mood, --it rained cats and dogs---so our photography was mostly confined to the interior of the splendid Old Mill. But since someone pointed out that it is actually good luck to have rain on one's wedding day, no one minded it too much. (Great photos can be made even in the rain, and umbrellas were at the ready, but the wedding party was just having too much fun indoors and soon it was time for the reception. ) At this point my engagement was over and I bid the happy couple adieu. I found post-production on the photos enjoyable , as I got to relive Dorothy and Chris' happy day all over again, while optimizing their images. Here are just a few;

NEVER ON MONDAY!

It started out as a beautiful day, so I thought I would take in a few photography exhibitions, because May is going fast, and CONTACT, the annual photography festival , will soon be over. I had in mind to see the Arnaud Maggs photo exhibit, at the Ryerson image centre. ( I met Arnaud  long ago, during my modeling days.  He was already known as an eccentric ---and I noted that he had this most extraordinary, huge collection of  porcelain dolls. He received high honours as a photographer, --unfortunately posthumously. ---He died about a year ago. )  I took my little Yorky with me as I often do. He is great company, plus he needs to walk as much as I do, now that it's warm out. We sat in the shade on Gould St  by a hotdog stand, and shared a hotdog. So happy! Both of us. But that was to change;  we walked to the door of the gallery.....it was closed!  It was then that I noticed the hours. Monday , the gallery was closed!  So, off I drove, by way of Queen Street.   Workman Arts was on my list, at 1001 Queen St.  I parked ---and as I attempted to buy another parking ticket, I realized that I must have left my Visa card in the parking meter, at the previous location!  Oh nooooo!!!!  I phoned and cancelled the card. Crossing the street, I began looking for street number 1001. No such thing. But this is CAMH territory, --and I was just about ready to be admitted. Especially after I passed one guy talking loudly to himself and then yelling in my direction;  "You're a  f......ing  liar!!!!!"  (of course I did not say a word! )   Anyway, after getting quite a runaround, I finally located the makeshift structure that housed the photography exhibits. Guess what, -----it was closed!
Bad luck runs in threes,--I heard, --but I was determined to see SOMETHING,  so I would not feel I wasted the day. As I continued west along Queen Street, I had a great idea. Why not check out the Gladstone Hotel?  They usually house photo exhibits during the month of May---photography month. So, for the 3rd time, I bought a parking ticket, ---cash this time---no Visa, remember? ----and entered the Gladstone, my tiny dog in my arm.  ( It was too hot to leave him in the car.)  Hurrah,  Monday or not, the exhibition  was open!     But;   the guy at reception took one look at us --me and Rexy---and turned us away.   Fortunately, the manager came by, and............offered to hold onto my killer 5 lb. little  sweetheart, long enough for me to take a peek at the portraiture displayed upstairs. So, I saw impressive  portraits of the likes of Pierre Trudeau,  a black and white portrait of Albert Einstein-made in 1948,  and current celebrities e.g. Justin Bieber-blowing a huge bubble, Scarlett Johannson  etc, from  Macleans magazine's extensive archives.  ( I took a couple of images just on my I Phone, --but I am not sure if I am allowed to share them here.)
Well, I thanked the hotel's manager profusely, his kindness turned my day around. All the same, --I will never again attempt to go to art exhibitions on a Monday . Like hairdressing salons, galleries --at least in Canada,- are closed that day. So, I'm just letting you know folks , remember; NEVER ON MONDAY!
As for the Maggs exhibit, I'll just have to make another trip. I am sure it will be worth it.

                                                                                   
                                                                ARNAUD  MAGGS