photographer

Aug 30 2012

My new Nikon 24-70mm Lens doesn’t make me a better Photographer

I have been wanting this Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens for a long time. It is supposed to be one of the best for portrait and event photography. Well, I finally got it today after ordering it through my local camera shop.

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Earlier in the day though I was looking through photographers in the NWT for Tourism purposes and I came across Benjamin Lamarche’s Flickr Stream. I met this guy at a photography workshop back in March. While looking through his photos I can just tell this kid has talent. You see he is still in high school and probably can’t afford the nicer lenses but his photos are still coming out 10x better than mine.

It proves the point that the gear doesn’t make the photographer, being creative ultimately does. Sure you can learn a lot of stuff from books and courses but I firmly believe it is the natural talent within someone that makes them a great photographer. I am not one of those people.

But I like to pretend.

Apr 03 2012

James the Photographer

James MacKenzie is another long time Yellowknifer I have come to know over the years. He is still early in his photography carear but if you look at any of his photos you know he will do great things.

One weekend in February 2012 we both ended up at a mutual friends cabin out on Hidden Lake. The skies were clear and the aurora were promising to be good, so naturally I brought along my camera. Of course James did as well. I don’t think he strays more than 5 feet without his.

It was the first time I had gone out and shot the aurora with another photographer and I was thrilled. It is one thing I read up information on the Internet, it is another to be able to bounce ideas and information off another phtotog who is right beside you.

We have many conversations that weekend about photography, which is what was happening when I took the below portrait. My settings for this shot were: 1/200sec, f/1.8, ISO 200, 50mm and -2/3EV.

I used the natural light coming in the window to the right of me to brighten up James’ face but also had to compensate for it as I wanted to show what was around James as well. That is why I have the Exposure Compensation at -2/3 and even still it didn’t seem like enough.

In addition to the settings of the above shot I think it displays who James is. Smiling while reviewing his photos from earlier that day.

Here is another shot of James in action at the Long John Jamboree:

Nov 22 2011

KyleWith: Photographer Dave Brosha

[podcast]http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53888dece4b0b0e91301d66b/t/55b33513e4b001a5c2015aae/1437808010254/kw_davebrosha.mp3/original/kw_davebrosha.mp3[/podcast]

Click here to download or listen on an iOS Device

Dave Brosha is one of the photographers I have always looked up to. I taught me the basics of photography; knowledge which I use everyday. So why I find he such a great photographer is not only that he is a great photographer, but also that he is willing to teach those who want to learn.

Dave’s adventure started in the Resolute Bay, which is in the Canadian Arctic, where he wanted to started taking picture to showcase to his family back home. His photography slowly progressed and he also moved to Yellowknife, NT. He realized it was a passion and his and wanted to pursue it. He slowly took on clients and built up his name while still having the stability of a 9-to-5 job. Finally he took the plunge one day and quit his job and started doing photography full-time, he hasn’t looked back since.

Nowadays, Dave isn’t limited to Yellowknife, where he and his family lives. He has traveled as far north as Alert, as south Australia and has been to Egypt twice. He has traveled to these places on writing assignments for magazines or to document a friend living an adventure. He makes the point those that he is very fortunate to have the opportunities that he has had.

365 Project / A Year In 5 Minutes from Dave Brosha on Vimeo.

We go much more into detail about how his business grew and where he has been in the show. Dave also shares with me what is in his bag and who inspires him. So be sure to listen.

Be sure to check out his website and his blog and is ever-growing Facebook Page.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to Subscribe on iTunes or by Email here.

Don’t forget if you know someone doing something interesting (or another photographer or yourself) send me their info, I want to talk to them!

Nov 03 2011

Northern Photographer Mittens!

We have all experienced it, we take our mit off to take that great shot and in the mean time our hold had freezes. Well what if I told you I found a solution that only freezes your trigger finger. Wouldn’t that be great. Well the good news is, I did find a solution.

Photographer Mittens are what they are called and I will tell you how to get a pair. First thing you need to do is print off the blog post I linked to below. It is the instructions, yes you need to get these made. The second thing you will need to do is find your Grandmother, Mother, Aunt, Wife, friend, child, a knitting group or a slave. Once you have secured said person, force them to read the instructions – oh and I would make sure they knit before you force this upon them. They might start to protest, but simply start dropping hits like “they’re for my birthday” or “Christmas is coming soon, I wonder what Santa will bring?” Those should win them over. If not ask…. nicer?

Knitting and some more – free patterns: Photographer mittens.

I thought these were perfect for those of us in Northern Canada. Although you may need to make them a little thicker for those all night Aurora adventures. They are from Norway so you should be fine. If anyone tries this, please let me know and share how they are.

Oct 19 2011

KyleWith: Photojournalist Pat Kane

[podcast]http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53888dece4b0b0e91301d66b/t/55b334f6e4b0b8cfa458a5b9/1437807958525/kw_patkane.mp3/original/kw_patkane.mp3[/podcast]

Click here to download or listen on an iOS Device

Pat Kane is an Editorial Photographer for the Yellowknife based UpHere Magazine and has been for the last 6 years. He tells me he comes from an artsy family, but it wasn’t until in college that he really got into photography. He was in college to become a reporter with the hope of writing for a magazine when his interest in photography came about.

After getting an internship with a Sports Photography company and later taking a job with them, Pat moved up to Yellowknife to work with UpHere Magazine and now has seen most of the Arctic. Depending on the assignment, Pat has gone to different communities to document the people and the culture. He calls him self a generalist photographer, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing great photos, and says his favourite type of photography is probably editorial portraits.

Recently Pat is working on a project with Yellowknife filmmaker Jay Bulckaert. It is a documentary and photo essay on the famous Range Street which is located in Yellowknife. They plan on showcasing the Photos and Film for everyone to once they complete the project.

Other links from the show:

Be sure to check out his website and like his page on Facebook.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to Subscribe on iTunes or by Email here.

Don’t forget if you know someone doing something interesting (or another photographer or yourself) send me their info, I want to talk to them!