labels | Vancouver Photographer

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

– Oscar Wilde

For a couple of months I had been planning a shoot with my friend Tony. He needed some pictures for an Easter sermon he was preaching. We had come up with a fairly elaborate idea, but when that day came to shoot, it all fell apart. There was a whole slough of reasons it just wasn’t going to work out like we had planned it, some good reasons, some bad. But it didn’t really matter anymore, we just had to come up with something new.

We sat down on the day of the shoot and started from square one. We decided to start with the premises of making the shoot a realistic endeavor, using only what we had at our immediate disposal. And it actually became one of those situations when the limitations of the situation became very freeing and we had a great shoot.

I haven’t shot a lot of conceptual photography before but I hope that will change. It was such a great way for me to re-engage my craft and push my own limits. And I love what the outcome was. Let me know hat you think.

Cheers,

film and humility | Vancouver Photographer

“You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.”

– Oscar Wilde.

Everyone is watching the Oscars right now except me. I have cable, but no TV.

Go figure.

I watched some of the Red Carpet stuff over at my mum’s place. It must be weird to be a movie star. I mean, we obviously glamorize that sort of life, but when I really think about it, I dont think I would like it at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the fortune, and I wouldn’t even really mind the ‘Fame’ in and of itself. I just think I would rather have the sort of fame that like, I don’t know, Bill Gates has. I think Bill Gates could walk down the street without being mobbed by a pack of screaming and crying fans.

I mean, windows 7 isn’t that impressive.

But still, he’s respected around the world. The movie star kind of fame is something different all together. At its core it’s a fantasy. We look at them like a little piece of utopia. The most beautiful, the richest, the most talented, the most famous, etc.  And the implication is that this is the ‘Ideal’, the good life, happiness.

But come on…

It’s why we’re so shocked when they turn out to be bad parents, drunks, cheaters, etc.

We’re shocked that they are just like you and me.

Anyway, who cares? I’m rambling, conceited, and probably a little jealous. Oh, and a hypocrite. Cause honestly, I’d probably never turn down that life if it was offered to me.

moving on.

Some of you might have heard me recently talk about how I’ve been playing around with a Holga toy camera. It’s been a lot of fun for me. I started out shooting film back in the day, spending hours upon hours in my high school dark room (which I blogged all about a while ago in “The Dark Room Series“). But it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.

The Holga has been a great way to get out and just have fun shooting. Remembering what its like to just be completely creative for creativity’s sake. I love the grainy, vintage, crappy plastic lens look that it gives. But I have a lot to remember/learn about shooting film, which I’m looking forward too doing.

these are just a couple portraits of me and my lovely wife.

To be honest, most of what I’ve shot thus far has just not panned out.

The back popped off for one roll, another roll got jammed/ruined, another one just sucked all around.

needless to say, it’s been very humbling.

But this roll had a few keepers. There is a whole lot of trial and error going on these days.

But now that I’m starting to feel some traction, I’m excited to keep shoot with it.

Any other Holga shooters out there? Here’s a great resource for shooting and modifying your Holga.

Finally, there was some interest over on my twitter about a personality quiz I came across based entirely on picking colours that make you feel good. You can give it a try here if you want. It only takes a couple minutes, but the results are pretty crazy. In fact, they were down right creepy for me. Try it, you’ll see what I mean.

Cheers

olympic peninsula | Vancouver Photographer

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”                     – Robert Louis Stevenson

I had been wanting to do a trip for about two months. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, I didn’t want to be gone long, and I didn’t want to go far. I didn’t even really care where I was going.

I just wanted to go.

Not to get away from anything, but I just really felt like I wanted an experience. I wanted to do something different, I wanted quiet, time to think, reflect. And of course, take pictures.

I decided to go to the Olympic Peninsula, a gorgeous national park on the west coast of Washington State Park. Part of the experience was the road trip. It turned out to be about an 8 hour trip one way, all things considered. I loaded my Golf up with camping and photography gear and set out at 4am last Wednesday. And it felt good to drive hard for 8 hours.

Another part of the experience was camping. I used to camp a lot, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I had been before this trip. Proud moments included:

1. Setting up the tent all by myself (and in under an hour!)

2. Starting a fire from mostly damp wood

3. And going mano e mano with a cheeky raccoon the first night.

All in all, it was a great trip. Sometimes just giving yourself the time to think long and hard is the best thing you can do. Now, I’ve just started editing some photo’s from the trip but here’s a taste. I also shot a few rolls on my Holga which might make their way up here some day

This shot was from the first night, on Ruby Beach.

It was cold as a cucumber, but quite pretty.

And as serene as this picture might look, it was sheer chaos behind the lens.

Every second the light changing

Every moment the tide moving further out.

Constantly adjusting settings, moving, composing and re-composing.

Being caught off-guard and getting drenched by a rough wave.

Hand shaking and shivering , lips turning blue, toes going numb from the cold.

And finally realizing its pitch black… and you can’t remember which way you came from.

So you gather your gear, and start singing old hymns at the top of your lungs to warn the cougars and bears, (that you’re praying aren’t really there) as you run back to where you think you parked the car.

Cheers

Adam

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

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 🙂