Category Archives for environmental portrait

Don Ross and Brooke Miller @ the Lantern Folk Club

Brooke Miller and Don Ross

Brooke Miller and Don Ross

Don Ross

Don Ross

Brooke Miller

Brooke Miller

Don Ross and Brooke Miller

Don Ross and Brooke Miller 

Don Ross and Brooke Miller performed at two events in Calgary this last weekend.  the first, Friday night, was a house concert, in a friend’s home. Dean gathered a small group of friends for this wonderful evening. During the first part of the evening the sun was streaming in the window, putting the faces of the two performers in the shadows, then during the 2nd half of the show, we had two living room lights to light the room.  Needless to say both lighting situations had their challenges for photography, and the reason for black and white images.

Don Ross and Brooke Miller are touring together,  and saturday they performed at the new Lantern Folk Club, in the Lantern Community Church a beautiful old brick church that was made for music.  Stay tuned, I will let you know when the Lantern is holding their next concert.  Images from Saturday’s performance in the beautiful old church are posted on my photoshelter site, and at this time they are unedited.

Eyelash Extension Technician at work; Environmental Portrait

Eyelash extension technician at work

Eyelash extension technician at work

Getting eyelash extension is the fashion rage right now. It seems every girl I see these days is following the trend and sporting beautiful long, thick eyelashes. Individual eyelash extension are glued to your individual eyelashes and the process can take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. and they last 2 to 3 weeks before you need a touch up.  A touch up is when the technician fills in the areas of missing eyelashes.

I loved working on this Environmental Portrait, trying to create an image that shows the work that is being done.  The technician was working in a dark room, with a bright light shinning on her hands and the work area, as you can see she is wearing a small magnifying glass type glasses to see what where she is to place the next lash.  It was really interesting to see the process.

Environment Portraits are interesting way to learn about different job that people do.

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in store love and street reflections_IMG_7925

wondering the streets of downtown Calgary, I am always watching the shop windows and the reflections that appear with the display. Sometimes the reflections add to the story, sometimes it doesn’t. This time the two inthe window, look as if they could be standing near a tree in the park, the creature in the left of the image watching them closely.

Rock Balancing, English Bay Vancouver BC; Environmental Portrait

Rock Balancing, a stone stacker on English Bay Vancouver BC.

Rock Balancing, a stone stacker on English Bay Vancouver BC.

Rock Balancing, or Stone Stacking, here the portrait features the art more than the artist.

This young man was busy at work, we were out for a stroll along Vancouver’s English Bay, that is the seawall in the background, and helps to eliminate  any distraction and isolate the subject. Stone Stacking or Rock Balancing is considered a performance art, and if you visit Flicker you can see lots of pictures of rocks that had been stacked in nature. Rocks are balanced on top of one another in various positions. There are no tricks involved to aid in the balancing, such as adhesives, wires, supports, or rings.

This young man was completely absorbed in the task, and I am guessing that for some the activity would be meditative, I was reluctant to disturb him to get a name and or more information about how long he has been stacking stones.  I guess I will have to go for another walk, this time to have a conversation.

Master Craftsman, Waterford Crystal; an Environmental Portrait and my goals for 2013

Master Craftsman, Waterford Crystal, Environmental Portraits

Master Craftsman, Waterford Crystal, Environmental Portraits

Each year begins with new dreams and new goals, this year is no exception. But before I set new goals I spend a little time reflecting on the past year. What dreams and goals did I have; did I achieve them; what process, tools or resources did I use and were they effective, and most important what did I learn that I can take forward into this year to help make it successful.

The photo above is one of my favorite environmental portraits. As a Master Craftsman at the Waterford Crystal Factory, this man work takes years to achieve this level of skill and success.  He keeps his tools sharp and close at hand and despite the clutter picture the tools are well-organized. The designs for each piece carefully thought out and drawn up ahead of execution. This master craftsman and the work he does is a good example of how planning, understanding your tools, and learning to uses your tools effectively are important to the success of each project he undertakes.

Photographing someone at work; learning about their craft, and their passion, their skills, and watching them work is a rewarding part of what I do.  One of my goals for 2013 is to do more Environmental Portraits.

Flamenco Performers, Auburn Saloon Mar 16, 2012

flamenco performers, auburn saloon mar 16, 2012

More of the wonderful performers from the flamenco show friday March 16, 2012 at the Auburn Saloon.  The guitarist on the rightt is Michah Turchet from Caroline Alberta. We were invited to sit with his parents during the performance and learned a little about Micah and the flamenco community in Calgary.

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