as part of the canon cinema caravan we have been creating a series of tutorials to help illustrate the techniques that we use and the equipment that helps us convey the stories we tell.
from chicago, to the grand canyon and hoover dam, we really traveled far and wide to put this one together. tilt/shift lenses can be a rather technical set to wrap your head around so please be sure to leave any questions here and we will be happy to help out.
dana // before 9 am
hearing dana (aka dairy) chat about the importance of her family and the house she was raised in while we were all in fort mac planted a seed in my mind.
instead of showing up to begin photographing as the girls arrived at the salon, i showed up at her farm at 5:30 am. in fact, it was me who actually woke up her family on the day of her wedding, with a smile on my face and a camera in my hand.
during the next 3 hours i explored their farms, watched the sun rise, played with their many dogs, stood in the rain, socialized, admired old family photographs, and above all, focused on capturing the feeling of being home.
- justin
to trash the dress or not? some can’t bear to see their wedding dress be ripped to shreds, but for others, it’s a statement of commitment to their spouse. we were recently asked to participate in a ttd debate that’s being held online this coming wednesday, june 23rd, between 8 and 9:00 est.
the debate will be open to the public at 8:35, so anyone – brides, grooms, photographers, cinematographers, parents… let’s hear your thoughts. we’ve had some or our brides jump into some pretty crazy places and others that decided to preserve their dresses perfectly intact. so i have a feeling there’ll be some differences in opinion!
msn lifestyle has posted a small gallery of ttd images, and asked to feature some of mine! i feel particularly honoured since msn was only choosing the top 13 images, and they chose to feature 5 of mine!
check it out! msn lifestyle.
and if you’d like to join the debate, please rsvp here.
-amina
dan // i just fit
instead of a trip to the mediterranean, veronica + dan bought a 70’s winnebago and took a road trip across canada. they love cats, live in port credit, enjoy a good bbq, and play silly tricks on each other. they also laugh a lot. i’m pretty sure that makes us twins.
- justin
last week, justin and i posted some photos from a recent portrait session we did in fort mcmurray, which is in northern alberta. we went up with stu and dana in a helicopter and got to shoot some aerials as well as land in some pretty amazing places. to see those posts, click here for my perspective, and here for justin’s.
i wanted to share some personal shots i took of the amazing landscape. some are from the ground and some are from above. it’s such a unique place with trees as far as the eye can see, but it’s contrasted with some major industry that changes the landscape drastically.
-amina
the subtle smoke in the background makes its mark on the natural landscape
water that has turned orange as oil from the sands seeps in
this is one of my favourite images of the whole trip. it’s so grim, yet somehow, i am very drawn to it. i guess you can find beauty in anything if you just look a certain way.
dana // north
i have a mild obsession with exploring canada. usually my explorations involve a roadtrip of some sort. i’ve done the cross country drive, several trips to northern ontario, the east coast, etc, but never have i been as far north as fort mcmurray. more so, never have i had the opportunity to see canada by helicopter. that is, until this past weekend.
after spending saturday with rachel and cecil in san jose, amina and i boarded a plane on sunday and flew to fort mac to spend a couple of days with dana and stu.
the original plan was to visit the city, see the surrounding areas, and take photos of dana and stu in their natural environment. as their future in fort mac is still undecided, we felt it important to document them where they currently call home.
what we (especially me) didn’t plan for was a helicopter ride. had this been a year ago, i’m not sure i would have accepted the invitation, as me and flying previously didn’t mix. now, after being on as many flights as i’ve been on the last couple of months, i’m enjoying my time up in the air, and gladly accepted the invitation to see fort mac from the sky.
after seeing the city, the oil sands, and acres and acres of trees, we found our own private island to land on. it just happened to be shaped like a heart.
- justin
to see amina’s perspective, click here
in fort mac, people go floating.
in dana’s defense, it was really warm outside … :)
a few weeks ago, justin and i were invited to fort mcmurray to meet up with stu and dana for a pre-wedding portrait session. fort mcmurray is in the middle of nowhere in alberta – so immediately we jumped at the chance. justin and i would always choose nature over urban.
the first official day we were there we went out for a drive in the morning, with stu and dana as our tour guides. they showed us around the vast VAST forests, and took us to the oil sands. fort mcmurry is known mostly for its oil, which is harvested (harvested?) from the natrual white sand that can be found in northern alberta.
during the drive, stu said he has a friend who works for a helicopter company and wanted to know if we wanted to go for a flight. justin and i were JUST talking about that! so later that day, we hopped in and went for our very own adventure. it was amazing to see the town and its surroundings from such a height but to also shoot the two of them from above. it was also great because for the past few years, stu and dana had always wanted to go up in a chopper, and finally, they got to do it with us!
at one point, i was strapped in by two seat belts, with the door open, banking left at a 45 degree angle…
to see justin’s perspective, click here
-amina
moving trees out of the car’s path
both stu and dana are wearing cowboy boots at their wedding.
our beeeeautiful ride. :)
good old ’swiss’. he seemed to have as much fun as we did!
in the background: justin, who has a fear of flying, trying to keep his composure as i try to convince ’swiss’ to let me hang out of the chopper
fort mcmurray and its surrounding amazingness
there’s our house!
the oil sands… not so great for the environment
the appropriately shaped island we landed on
our own little jessica is married! wow. can’t get over it!
yesterday, she and konga had a civil ceremony at princess point with 35 of their favourite people. but this is only part one. part two will be in september, when konga’s family flies in from egypt to participate in the festivities. part three – still in the works, may just be in egypt!
i wanted to get these two images up today, since jess is back to work tomorrow. but i’ll be blogging again (before part two) to share a few more. i’ve gotta say, their photos are gonna be bananas (as justin <and brett> would say)…
-amina
they’re here! the ‘Y’ experience 2.0 has been announced today as well as a new type of workshop that we’re really excited for!
the ‘Y’ will be held at the end of september – the 20th through the 23rd. the other workshop’s timing is tba by you!
for more info, please visit www.stillmotionexperience.com!
-amina
they’re here! the ‘Y’ experience 2.0 has been announced today as well as a new type of workshop that we’re really excited for!
the ‘Y’ will be held at the end of september – the 20th through the 23rd. the other workshop’s timing is tba by you!
for more info, please visit www.stillmotionexperience.com!
-amina
Awesome! It’s amazing how much that real boat looked like a toy boat. :P
For some reason I have the urge to go spend some money now… :)
you guys are amazing. this is awesome!