Synchronized Swimming

This was a first for us. We've never shot anything remotely similar to synchronized swimming, so it was definitely a challenge. We'll be investing in some longer lenses in the New Year in time for the Spring Watershow. For us, it's all about getting facial expressions and not being able to do much of that really pushed us to come up with compelling images. That's probably a good thing because it forces us to shoot better.

Thanks to our awesome sports-mom friend Jody for inviting us poolside. Her beautiful daughter Maddie is a talented swimmer.

From SW

From SW

From SW

From SW

From SW

Catherine+Touchan's Beautiful Family

I know it's been awhile since we updated our blog. It's been an incredibly busy two months.

We've relocated to Thunder Bay, Ont., as of Nov. 2. So lots of packing+unpacking while getting used to our new surroundings. It was a little rough for a bit as changes are never easy especially with a big family in tow. But things are settling down just enough for us to relax now and again.

Recently we did a couple of sessions – the first was a family session with Catherine+Touchan and their beautiful children. The second was an event, a first for us. We covered a synchronized swimming show and it was definitely a challenge. We'll be posting images from that very soon.

Just a little update: We are beginning to work on an exciting new project that involves a lot of multimedia work, so be sure to check back for images/videos from that. We'll be working on that over the next couple of months with completion slated for Jan. 31, 2010.

In the meantime have a look at some images from Catherine+Touchan's family session :)

From C+T Family

From C+T Family

From C+T Family

From C+T Family

From C+T Family

Melissa+Family

We did a session today with Melissa Plett and her lovely family. Everything about our surroundings allowed us to shoot in more of an editorial style. Muted colours and having to shoot indoors, albeit a beautiful location, forced us to use our Alien Bees. Not that we minded one bit. It gave us a chance to exercise our lighting muscles.

From Pictures

Our Approach

We like to direct our shoots a lot. We tell people where to look, how to sit, when to smile, where to move. Not because we're control freaks but because we want to provide the best possible images to people who put faith in our work.

Lani+Jeff will be getting married next spring and we're honoured that they chose us to photograph their big day. It will only happen once and we aim to provide the best we can. Our talented friend Brent 'shot and chopped' (we borrowed that expression from him because it's pretty cool) this video of us 'in action.'

Lani+Jeff from Dale+Joy on Vimeo.

Lighting Technique

You can probably see how I lit this close-up of my sister. I was trying to figure out how to do a high-key lighting portrait with one studio light. So take two large white bristol boards for bounce and one overheard studio light and voila! High key lighting close up head shot. I bumped up the exposure quite a bit to get rid of all the skin detail while retaining the eyes which clearly show the two boards on either side of her. I shot through the two boards.

And thanks to my Logan for holding one of the boards and to Joy for holding the studio light in place for a long-ish time. She's tough ;)

From Pictures

One Year Later ... Darion+Logan

What a difference one year makes ... wow!

My sister and I have boys that are close in age and they've pretty much grown up together.
I took the first photo just one year ago ... and now ... well introducing the beginning of teenage-hood.

From Darion+Logan

From Darion+Logan

Rowan's Session

Our fantastic friend and multimedia wizard – Brent Wesley – videotaped a couple of our sessions last week. I think he did a great job of showing how we shoot.

Rowan, whom we blogged about previously, spent the majority of our session watching her parents as they did their best to make the little beauty smile. She gave a few appreciative smiles for all their efforts.

Enjoy the video and big huge thank you to Brent for all his hard work and talent.

Baby Rowan from Dale+Joy on Vimeo.

Lani+Jeff

September 22, 2009

We did an engagement session for Lani+Jeff this evening. They'll be getting married next spring. Lani's parents have a fantastic home which gave us a lot of options for images. We had a lot of fun with this beautiful couple :)

Beautiful Rowan

September 20, 2009

We had our first little baby session today and Rowan, who is now 2 months and 2 days into the world was truly wonderful to photograph. She's definitely a charmer and we had a really great time with her. Proud parents, Patty and Steve made our long-ish session a lot of fun and kept their little baby girl very happy.

Sioux Excursion

September 19, 2009

Every once in awhile it's good to get out and just randomly look for images. Being able to 'see' in different ways enables us to appreciate places and things we drive or walk by every day.

Brent and I spent a couple of hours this morning exploring one small part of Sioux Lookout. Given our shared appreciation of photography, I was more then happy to walk around with him when he suggested the idea.

When I uploaded the images and started looking through them, my son Logan, who was standing behind me perusing the images too, asked me where the pictures were taken. I smiled and told him 'Sioux.' His reaction told me I'd accomplished my goal: find new perspectives in a place I've lived in for more then 10 years.

The images below were taken on a small stretch of land that hugs Pelican Lake. I shot all of them using a fixed 50mm lens. I kept my depth of field shallow – between f1.2 and f2.8 – to create a more minimalistic look.

Dear Rose

September 9, 2009

Granny Rose passed away Sept. 1 at the young age of 86. Rose was definitely a free spirit, filled with a 'life is too short to waste' attitude. I'm sure she saw all of us gathered to pay our final respects and I'm real sure we made her laugh.

I haven't seen a lot of my dad's side of the family for many years. We haven't kept in touch like we should and I was very happy to see them all. Losing someone like Rose reminds me that despite some difficult personal hurdles – it all boils down to family ties. It's in family that you're reminded we're not alone in the world.

Below is my awesome beautiful aunt Janet, my dad Robb and sweet aunt Maggie. I've got more group pictures that really show the diverse nature of our family and I'll be posting those soon.

Preserving Mother Earth

September 5, 2009

Joy and I spent two fantastic days covering an Elder's gathering on Animiki wadjiw (Mount McKay) in Thunder Bay. The gathering brought together Elders from across Ontario to discuss ways of conserving energy and preserving the Earth.

First Nations Elders who follow both Christian and traditional teachings and Métis Elders shared and made recommendations to Ontario First Nation leaders and delegates on what needs to be done to help preserve Mother Earth.

The two-day discussion took place in a traditional lodge and included sweat lodges, a shaking tent ceremony and gospel jamboree. The event was truly inspiring.

Our New Logo

August 24, 2009

We're super excited to have our new logo. It's an 'aaahh' moment. We're proudly using it as our blog masthead and incorporating into our website soon.

Big, big thank you to our wonderfully talented beautiful friend Grace Winter who designed it for us. I was super charged when I saw the feather because I immediately saw the outline of two people. So big long twirly hug to Grace.

Embracing Old Traditions

August 21, 2009

As long as I've been a photographer, the mere idea of shooting weddings has terrified me. There are probably many reasons why but I think the main one has been not wanting to mess up. After all there are at least two very important people – the bride and groom – counting on you to record and produce beautiful keepsakes that will be passed on generation-to-generation. What a spectacularly huge task :o

So throughout the years, whenever I was approached to shoot a wedding, I'd react physiologically:

1. Increased heart rate
2. Sweaty palms
3. Queasy stomach

I guess I almost developed a phobia. So fast forward a few years. One of my awesome bff Brent asks me to shoot his wedding. Well the physiological reactions had a new layer to them.

Let me explain.

A friend and former colleague of mine told me that at least once a year he takes out his wedding photos intent on organizing them. But each year, he stops, shakes his head in disappointment and puts them away.

He told me he'd wished that I had been the photographer for his wedding. I remember smiling and wishing I had been his wedding photographer too.

So back into the near past – so when Brent asked me to photograph his wedding, I had a more layered approach to my initial reaction:

1. Increased heart rate mixed with excitement
2. Sweaty palms and anticipation
3. Butterflies in lieu of a queasy stomach

Moral of this particular story: Strong fear of doing something usually means you'll put more heart into it and do it to the best of your ability.

So given my newly acquired confidence, we've developed a rate sheet specifically for weddings. Again we're reasonably priced because we want to be accessible to everyone looking for a photographer. You can download our rate sheet here: Dale+Joy Wedding Price List

Brent+Kanina loved their photos and that makes me very happy.