schram portrait one | Vancouver Photographer

“The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.”

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

A camera has a powerful effect on people. At least when they know it’s pointing at them.

Some people don’t mind this way or that, but they are the exception. Most people react fairly strong to having a camera pointed art them. For some, its equivalent to pointing a gun at them; they freak out and run away. Others act as though a spot light has just been turned on them and they are immediately compelled to get into character, pose, and perform.

Others can’t keep a straight face and start giggling…

Between all that, and the technical requirements of actually talking the picture, there’s a lot to consider as a photographer. Between all that who do you “…put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.”

How do you get to the core of the person? I wish I could make a “Top Ten Ways to Do That” blog, but I can’t. And neither can you as far as I’m concerned.

I guess my point is that as a photographer you can spend a heck of a lot of time preparing for a shoot, conceptualizing it, plotting it out. You can buy and rent gear, hire models, build elaborate sets, etc. And that’s all good.

There is something though that happens so often while shooting which is spontaneous, unplanned, and organic. Preparing is good because it will make you ready when those moments come. And in portraiture, those moments, which are often really seconds if that, are brilliant. The way I see it is that those are the moments when your subject lets their guard down and reveals them self to the camera.

Alan here is a complex man, if I may be so bold.

He is thoughtful, he is smart, and he is an all around good man.

And, he has this other side to him that I particularly like. It’s the side that makes me feel like we’re toddlers playing in the sand box.

(See images at end of blog for visual)

I loved shooting Alan because when I put my camera in front of him this was the side of him that simply escaped out of him.

Even though he had worked in the cold, pouring rain all day, and even though he must have been just exhausted, he just couldn’t help himself.

And the best images from the session had a child-likeness, a playfulness, and an innocence that I absolutely loved.

Thanks Alan

Driving in Circles | Vancouver Phoographer

Trying something different today.

Entire blog written and uploaded from my iPhone*.

This won’t be a long one.

I’m editing an engagement shoot from the other day. Real classy people. Any way, here’s a couple iPhone exclusive pictures of the couple and one of the locations.

I like the iPhone picture taking.

I forces me to think more about the photo.

To Engage my suroundings in a creative way

And, Chase Jarvis is right, the best camera is the one that is always on you.

Loewen out.

*Almost entirely from iPhone. Needed a little help in the image sizing department. I am a fraud and you have caught me. Please be kind to me.

Jeff Portrait | Vancouver Photographer

“A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, be the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was.”
-Philippe Halsman

Timelessness.

There are certain things photographers care about that no one else in the world will ever care about as long as they live. In fact, most people will never realize there was actually something to care about in the first place. This is probably true with everyone and their passions. They are the things that people, nit-pick over, obsess about, ‘nerd out’ on.

And photographers are infamous for this. But I think I have an idea as to why this might be. I was reading some photography book last night and the author pointed out that throughout history, specifically the ‘Enlightenment’ era, Science and Art had a very special relationship, and it’s true. In fact, there was a time before Modernity when the different disciplines did not compete against each other, but rather harmonized with each other. There was not the same sort of compartmentalization that we see today.

It was a Big Tent back then…

But I digress. The author said that Photography was finally the discipline that married both Science and Art.

That was a light bulb moment for me. Photography is really as much a Science as it is an Art. Photographer’s are Scientists of a sort. Experimenting, documenting, manipulating, hypothesizing, etc. Dont you think a Dark Room is really much more like a Laboratory than an Art Studio? Think about it.

Where am I going with this….

RIGHT! The things that bother Photographers. Well, lets just say the things that bother me. I’ll keep it general.

Like in music, fashion, and everything else really, photography has ‘Fads’. Thing that are cool today, but even lamer tomorrow. Like I said, most normal people probably wouldn’t even be able to recognize what a photography Fad would be, but rest assured, they are real, and they are out there. (Think 80’s Glamor Portrait… really cool in the 80’s….not so cool anymore).

Classic portraits are Timeless. They have a lasting quality to them. They no not buckle under the pressures of current trends. Now, that’s not to say they are not influenced by them, just that they are not the point of the picture. They are the seasoning of the image. Just like a good soup does not taste like salt, but rather the salt does make a soup taste good.

alicia | Vancouver Photographer

“Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or anything else, is always a portrait of himself, and the more he tries to conceal himself the more clearly will his character appear in spite of him.”

- Samuel Butler

In my last post, I talked about how a portrait of a person is not just showing what that person looks like, but rather who that person is. This is part of what makes good portraits so compelling. They are windows into that person’s life, stories about them.

The Victorian author, Samuel Butler, shows the other side of this coin. He points out that a persons work, in this case creating images, becomes a portrait of that person. They leave an imprint of themselves on what they do.

So a portrait not only shows you who the subject is, but also who the artist is.

And this is nothing new. I can’t help but to think about how even God created man in his image, leaving His imprint on us. Everyone has a style, which is really the truth of that person seeping out. And it happens whether you like it or not.

That last part reminded of the lyrics in the Thom Yorks song The Eraser.

"The more you try to erase me
The more, the more
The more that I appear
Oh the more, the more
The more you try the eraser
The more, the more
The more that you appear"

I doubt my application is actually what York is talking about, but the point is the same; you can’t run from who you are.

So I wonder… looking at my work, what does it say about me? Who am I?

Little alarms are going off in my subconscious…

When I look at the portraits I’ve done lately I’m actually shocked that so much of myself is revealed in them. Trust me, this is not intentional. But it seems that it is inevitable.

Have you ever thought about this? How is your work a portrait of yourself?

cheers.

man portrait | Vancouver Photographer

“I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.”

- Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali has always been one of my favorite artists, and I think this is a pretty thought provoking quote.

I’ve been thinking lately about why I’m so drawn to portrait photography. In a way, they are just pictures of people. But there is so much more to them, and I think that’s what Dali is referring to. Portraits go beyond the image; they invite you into a story.

Sometimes I will see a a great portrait and I will immediately connect with it, even before I understand why (if I ever do!). Sort of like our heart, or soul see’s something that our mind cannot. Or at least doesn’t see it at first, which means portraits can make you think.

I absolutely love these portraits of my buddy Tony, and if you knew him you’d know why. We all have side of ourselves that we show the world and sides that we don’t. To much of the world Tony is the loud, fun loving, sometime obnoxious,  funny, in your face, kind of guy. He has an opinion, and he shares it! He’s the life of the party where ever he goes, and people love hanging out with him.

But there are many other sides of this man, or any man… on any one really.

We project to the world what we think the world wants to see like success, happiness, intelligence, etc… But deep down we really just want people to see who we really are.

I just saw Avatar the other day and I thought the Na’vi greeting was brilliant. They would say “I see you”. One character explains to  another that this greeting does not simply mean I literally see you standing in front of me, but rather I see who you are. Being seen, truly seen, speaks to a deep longing of the human experience. To be known fully, to be validated, to matter. And I think that’s what makes a good portrait. Not just a picture of what a person looks like, but a picture that lets you see who that person is.

I should say that I have upwards of a hundred other shots of Tony, in true form, totally goofing off. And maybe I’ll post a few of those later. But these were the pictures that I think dug in a bit more.

Tony, you are an onion. Thank you for letting me peel layer after stinky layer off of you

Cheers

PS: Pairing them made them painfully small, so give them a click to see them bigger.

portrait of a family | Vancouver Photographer

I know some people who vacationed over the holidays in Palm Springs. Others, who went to Mexico. I imagine you all probably know one or two people who traveled to some warm, vacation spot over the holidays to get away from the cold. Personally, I chose to vacation in Vancouver.

Yes. I live in Vancouver.

My wife’s family rented a few rooms at a hotel in down town Vancouver for 3 days after Christmas. We all basically live in Vancouver and the surrounding areas, so no one journeyed too far. I have realized this is what they call a ’staycation’.

It’s very In-vogue I’ll have you know, all the celebrities are doing it (not a fact). But, it is very Eco-Friendly, or as the kids say ‘Green’. No ozone killing plane rides, or sea polluting cruise ships for us thank you.

Of course, I’m not sure if that fact occurred to any of us. It was a matter of convenience, almost everyone still had to work, so being downtown made that relatively easy.

Anyway, I took pictures. I’ve been reading up on some of great photographers of the century, particularly people like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andre Kertesz, and Dorothea Lange. I think all the grainy black and white pictures have rubbed off on me, as you can see.

Alright, well, I’m gone for the weekend. Probably post some more stuff monday.

Cheers

new borther portrait | Vancouver Photographer

Hey Brother.

So I got married the other day and inherited a new family.

Neat.

My new brother in Law, the fine look’n young man you see below, spends most of his time in the warm, tropical land of Winnipeg, Manitoba, otherwise known as ‘The Canadian Hawaii’. As such, I don’t get to see him a whole lot, except over holidays and summer. And since we just had one of those (holidays that is), I got the chance to hang out with him a bit.

On his last night Alicia and I had him over to our new place for dinner. The Dinner was really just the cheese to my trap so I could take his portrait. Really, he was all for it, a natural in front of the camera. In fact, I think he read my mind on more than one occasion….

The set up for this shot was almost identical to my self-portrait shot the other day. I think I bumped my aperture up a bit for this one.

Alright well, that’ll be all for now.

Cheers

Mustache Portrait | Vancouver Photographer

Oh hey there. Happy New Year! And it is a new year, brand new in fact. And I love it.

Personally, I rang in the new year with some good friends, great food, and a Mustache. What more could you ask for?

Naturally, I had to immortalize the the stache in a self portrait the next day. Taken in my swanky new home studio, which is amazing I’ll have you know.

Which brings me to my next point. I really love portraits. I’ve been realizing this lately. So, over the next few months, I’m going to dive into the deep end of portraits. Still figuring out what that even means… So look out for that!

These shots have a crazy ISO, like 3200 or something (Which the Nikon D700 pulls off beautifully!), shot wide open with a 50mm and 1 Studio Light bounced off a white wall behind the camera. I’m more interested in experimenting with these portraits than trying to do them ‘the right’ way. So I plan on failing from time to time.

You may not see those pictures….

But I love it. I’m looking forward to just goofing off, having fun, and being creative in this new home studio. Oh, and by the way, if anyone ever wants to drop in and have some fun getting their picture taken, drop me a line!

That’s all for now. We’ll talk more later.

Adam

ps: I no longer have the mustache, and am not as creepy as I look here… or as classy, depending on how you feel about mustaches

williams family portraits | vancouver photographer

So there I was, driving out to Ladner BC last Saturday morning, windshield wipers on full… still having trouble seeing the road. A typical day in Vancouver; overcast, grey, pouring rain, and no end in sight. In between hydroplaning and other near death experiences, I began to wonder…

Is this the kind of family that likes playing in the rain?

I had made a trip out earlier that week to scout out some locations and found this really nice trail by the marina. It was perfect. And the forecast was calling for sun on Saturday! It would be almost too easy.

As I took the exit to Ladner, that forecast seemed distant and malicious. I knew it was foolish to trust the weather report, but I dared to hope.

But lo and behold, didn’t the rain decide to stop for no more, and no less than the duration of the shoot! I couldn’t believe my good luck. We rushed off to the location for fear of getting caught in the rain, and ended up having a great time. And as I was packing my gear back into my car, the rain picked up where it left off.

Just unbelievable.

Williams, you are great people. I had an awesome time hanging out with you and taking your pictures. All the best to you and yours.

Cheers

Adam

caleb | vancouver photographer

cute

[kyoot] Show IPA adjective, cut⋅er, cut⋅est, adverb, noun

–adjective

1. attractive, esp. in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty: a cute child; a cute little
apartment.

2. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious: The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.

3. mentally keen; clever; shrewd.

 

I’m starting to realize how valuable family pictures are. Again, I think my own wedding photo’s tipped me off. There are a surprisingly large amount of ‘moments’ in life that will only happen once. And whether that moment is a kiss at a wedding, or the ‘moment’ in time that Caleb here was a baby. Life moves by so fast most of the time that its easy to forget how a year or two can feel like a moment.

I remember when one of my nephews finally had his bottle taken away from him for good. He was too old to still be using it, and it was a good and necessary thing to happen. But I remember how it was actually kind a sad moment because in a way, my sister realized that he would never be a baby again, it was over. And I was even a little sad too because he was a bloody cute baby. And even though he’s now a bloody cute toddler, the baby version of him will be missed.

Pictures help us remember.

Remember when my nephew held a bottle in one hand and his blanky in another. Remember that family reunion when my entire family made it. Remember the first time I kissed Alicia as my wife.

To be able to give someone a collection of pictures that captures these precious and fleeting moments in life just makes me happy.

So here’s Caleb the baby. Cute as a button, the way only babies are.