It's all about circles and cycles these days.
If you haven't heard of Marty Kolls, well, you will.
I call this post Mighty Marty because she is a mix of a million talents that most people wish for. She sews, cooks, travels extensively, is extremely creative, writes music... you get the idea. But most of all, this girl has vocal chords and like no other, while playing guitar, piano and the ukulele.
We took some shots in a bowling alley for her upcoming album. Bowling was random enough of a location to make no sense, and therefore perfect sense, for the shoot.
I don't want to say you heard of her here first, but if you did, consider yourselves lucky.
So here she is, this is Marty.
Have you noticed how heavily the word 'Diva' is being used nowadays? It's all over the place, up there with 'Green' and 'Documentographer'. (tee hee) Sometimes it's annoying because Diva is such a special word, and should be used with care. So, I'm always pleasantly surprised when someone actually fits that bill. And Julie Nesrallah most certainly does.
She's an outstanding opera singer. Opera with edge. As she describes it, if Carmen was alive today, she'd be her. Well, ladies and gentlemen, she's here today, and you'd best keep your eye out for her. She is changing the face of opera, and just might go down in history as the Diva that she is.
This is one woman who owns that word.
Special thanks to Maureen Greenstein for her amazing amazing make-up job. (If any brides-to-be are reading this, I recommend you contact this woman for your make-up. woah!)
I knew journalism school was good for something. Just kidding, it was good for lots of experiences, opportunities and employment. However, thanks to my time there, I got to meet Ann Rauhala, and begin to take photos for a book she was creating about adopting Chinese babies.
Here's Ann:
And here's the book, fresh off the press:
This month, five years in the making from concept to concrete, "The Lucky Ones" book is hitting the shelves. And it is really GOOD! 22 authors, writers and journalists write about their amazing and diverse experiences about adopting their children from China. Writers include iconic Canadian names such as Susan Olding, Sonja Smits, Havard Gould, Patricia Hluchy and many more, including a forward by Jan Wong. Some stories will make you smile and laugh out loud. Others will make you shake your head in disbelief.
I feel fortunate about being able to meet so many of these families, and take some portraits to represent their lives together. Here is a collection of the pics I took. Some in the book, some out-takes from the printed selections.
If you are interested in purchasing this book, it is $19.95 and available at any major bookstore. As well, proceeds from the book will go to FCC-Toronto's charitable fund and Children's Bridge charitable fund, both of which direct money to orphanage kids.
Who would get inside their refrigerator? Only a Farquharson.
Who would think of getting inside a refrigerator? Only a Farqharson.
That's why we're, well, a rare breed.
But those of us Farqs around do have some good ideas, whether we are in the same family or not. Take journalist Vanessa Farquharson (no relation) for example.
Every day for the last year, she has been removing an element of her life that is environmentally unfriendly. One by one. And face it, to be environmentally friendly, you just can't have a working fridge. If you are thinking, "gosh, what would that be like?" check out her blog and find out: Greenasathistle.com It's a very entertaining and impressive journey she's been on. Great reading.
You might think she's crazy. But she must be onto something, as she is getting quite the (shall we say Cult) following...
In fact, a book is coming out next year, based on her writing and experience.
For said book, some pictures needed to be taken. And that's where this Farquharson came in.
Hit "continue reading" to see some more of today's session.
Shhh, don't tell. This is a surprise. A covert mission.
It's Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned's birthday tomorrow. For his present, his wife had me photograph their three-month-old baby.
This might sound easy, but Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned works from home, and his wife, on mat leave, is also at home.
Luckily, the Neighbours-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned are out of town, and it's Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned's job to feed their cat. So, the other day, I met Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned's wife at the Neighbours-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned's house, hoping that Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned didn't see out of his window.
How she explained the length of her absence, is classified information. As far as I know, it went off without a hitch. Tomorrow, Someone-Who-Cannot-Be-Mentioned will wake to a couple of these pictures on his office wall, and the story will go public.
You never know when fun photos are going to arise. That's what I love most about my job. You just never know.
Monday mornings in the beginning of February are rarely considered the most inspiring time for anyone, let alone photographers.
But then, things start happening...
This morning my friend came over with her daughter. When she put on this sock-hat as they were leaving, I had to grab my camera. Can winter look cuter?
When I asked the two-year-old if I could take a photo of her in her hat, she said, "of course!" and gave me some hilarious little poses.
I like to think she was so obliging because I had already wooed her with paints, candies, a pop-up book and a cat. But the truth is, her mom is a fantastic photographer, and, well, who wouldn't want to snap pics of this dumpling all day?
Happy Monday.
Promotional portraits often involve creating images for different purposes. For web, a variety of media, and for unknown future promotional use. I always aim to capture the essence of people in their portraits, no matter what the purpose, but I make sure to come up with a variety of "looks".
Most recently, I photographed the Clickgreener.com entrepreneurs. They have created an online portal that online shoppers go through when making purchases. Just by going through their site, money is donated to charity (at no cost to the consumer). They wanted casual pictures of the three of them, which only made sense to do in a "green" environment.
Continue reading "The photos behind the men behind clickgreener.com" »
Recent Comments