A clarinet player rising from the sea
Some time ago an idea for a portrait, that could be used in advertising, started brewing in my head. The basic idea was to shoot a musician in an unusual environment. I almost immediately decided that I wanted it to be someone who played a classical instrument. And that's where things could easily have stranded, as I don't really know anyone that plays a classical instrument. That is to say, not here in Victoria.
My next hurdle was which instrument would be ideal for the shoot. Piano was kind of out the question. I'm not hauling one of those up to Mt. Douglas - at least not yet. Same thing with percussion (I was thinking a wide variety of big ones). Then I realized that I've always enjoyed the sound of the clarinet. So I started googling for local clarinet players, and very soon the name Rebecca Hissen came up.
Rebecca Hissen, clarinet player. This is my absolute favourite photo from the shoot.
Rebecca is a professional clarinet player in Victoria, a member of Music Corner, musical storytelling for young children. She has performed regularly with the Victoria Symphony, among other things, and will soon start playing with the Naden Band, Canada's Navy band on the West Coast.
I got in touch with her, told her about my idea, met her over a cup of coffee, and the idea evolved from Rebecca playing her instrument on top of Mt. Douglas, or in a forest setting, or sitting on a stone by a brook or a waterfall, to her being halfway submerged in water. A few days later we were on Willows Beach in Oak Bay, with two waders (one for Rebecca and one for Carrie, who assisted me) and the necessary photo gear. On a Monday morning, no less. My wife's niece tagged along to see how a shoot like this was done, and was more than willing to shoot a few behind-the-scenes frames for me.
We were very fortunate with how the weather turned out, as we were able to see Mt. Baker quite clearly. That made a huge difference for the final outcome.
Rebecca brought her own outfits, while I brought the waders which I had borrowed from a friend. She got into the rubber waders and almost ran into the water, happy enough to stay dry the whole time. Carrie, on the other hand, wore neoprene waders, which meant she got wet and a bit cold. As you can see in one of the photos below, Rebecca didn't have to go too far out, but instead she knelt down, so that the surface of the water was around her waist.
We didn't shoot for very long, probably less than an hour, as I didn't want anyone (meaning Carrie) to get too cold and consequently sick.
All in all it was a fun shoot, and the whole process reminded me yet again that if you don't ask, the answer is always going to be 'no'.
A mock ad for a fictional concert.
Rebecca flashed me her beautiful smile after she was finally let out of the water.
One of the outtakes from the shoot.
Another outtake.
Carrie assisted me, getting cold and wet, while aiming the umbrella at Rebecca.
Carrie helping Rebecca into her waders, while I make sure my gear is intact. Photo by Sigríður Björg Þorsteinsdóttir.
Me and Rebecca waiting for Carrie to get into her waders. Photo by Sigríður Björg Þorsteinsdóttir.
Me kneeling on the beach, having given up on trying to stay dry. Photo by Sigríður Björg Þorsteinsdóttir.
Self-pouring Coca-Cola bottle
For the past few days a photo idea has been brewing in my head. My portfolio has been lacking product shots, and that's something I'm working on fixing.
I went to Canadian Tire and bought a very thin fishing line (.20 mm), a glue gun and a bottle of Coke. After that I went to London Drugs, where I bought some different coloured poster boards to use as a background. That was the extent of my shopping spree.
When I got home, I set up some lights in my living room (one of them being a snooted flash under the dining table), clamped a red poster board to a backdrop stand, taped and clamped a broomstick on half a table (don't ask), tied a piece of fishing line just below the Coke bottle cap (having already glued a length of copper wire to the bottom of the bottle) and put a glass on the table.
After some time practicing the pouring of the Coke, I put ice cubes in the glass, unscrewed the cap, and started shooting.
And just to make it look like an ad I placed some silly text on there as well.
My mock ad for a self-pouring Coke bottle.
Food photos from Nautical Nellies Restaurant
In the spring of 2010 I was working on my graduation portfolio. I had decided to shoot food, and my instructors (Andrea and Mitch) mentioned a few restaurants that I might want to contact. One of them was Nautical Nellies Restaurant. They graciously let me come in to shoot, and prepared eight different dishes for me. I used three of them, and they then got the photos for their own use. A win-win situation.
One of the photos even ended up traveling around Victoria for a few months on the back of a bus.
Fast forward to November 2011. I'm back at Nautical Nellies, and this time shooting at their request. Five different dishes - and a big portion of the two sushi dishes got eaten afterwards by me and Carrie, who was my assistant for the assignment.
If you ever get a chance to eat at Nautical Nellies, don't waste that chance. The food tastes as good as it looks.
Steak, crab cake and jumbo prawns with prosciutto wrapped asparagus, roast garlic crushed fingerling potatoes and shiraz reduction.
This seafood tower contains smoked oysters, crab claws, sushi rolls, steamed mussels, clams and more.
Lobster sushi roll with Atlantic lobster, baby shrimp, tobiko and scallions, topped with warm unagi and avocado.
A different view of the lobster roll.