The 7th Annual Insurance Institute Battle of the Bands

For the last 7 years (well, skip 2-3 years as I missed a few), I have been the photographer at the Insurance Institute’s Battle of the Bands charity fundraiser. I don’t consider myself that much of a band photographer (as much as I am a documentary photographer) but I do have a somewhat vast history in music, bands and performances and thus bringing my documentary eye to this brings me a great amount of joy.

After years of having crazy loud speakers blaring in my ears, on the advice of a good friend of mine, I ended up purchasing industrial ear plugs. This saved me from those crazy headaches I’d get the day after the event or the ringing in my ears during.

Photographing in the Blarney Stone presents some crazy lighting challenges. I have in some cases opted for flash (mainly if people want the occasional portrait group shot) but 99% of the time I’m using the existing lighting that is there… and there HAS to be lighting or else… well, how are you going to see the band? Haha. I’ve opted for very fast lenses and shooting at much higher ISO’s (like 1600 or 3200 sometimes), but I’ve found that the best technique is waiting for the rotating strobe lights to illuminate the person at the right time. My style of documentary photographer isn’t simply just blasting away frames with no consideration. I concentrate, wait for the composition, observe, breathe, move to a different angle if I’m getting nothing, feel the flow of the music, observe the rhythm of the strobe lights (they tend to operate in set sequences) and wait for it all to light up and then… click, click click! …

The first image looks like the girl is holding a cigarette and a pack but it’s actually a pen and a stamp button (I think). I do like the “classic” feel of the image and the pose. As you go further into the band photos, you’ll see my tendency to get up close. For a majority of this event, I shot with just one lens: the 24mm F1.4 lens (on an APS-H sensor). That meant I was most likely 2-3 feet away from the people in order to get the closer shots. In some cases, there guitar was right in my face, the speaker-monitors were blaring right in front of me and a whole gaggle of guests were dancing and having a great time behind me. 

Wedgewood Hotel Wedding Style Photoshoot - Behind The Scenes

So I recently I got to take part in a wedding style photoshoot project with main photographer Juliette Nguyen of Ivory + Gold that was featured on Fab You Bliss (link here)! A majority of the photographs featured belong to the amazing eye of Juliette and, of course, her amazing team of set designers, graphic designers, florists, hotel staff, the model, jewellery and dress designers, hair and makeup artists.

So what exactly was my role there?

Regardless of whether it’s a model, a family, a bride and groom and their friends, a little cat or the people of Chinatown, I shoot documentary photography.  It’s my passion and forms a major part of my vision and how I see things. Even on a styled shoot such as this one with lots of posing and a professional model, there’s a lot of storytelling behind the scenes that I desired to convey…So my role was that of telling the story that was going on behind the entire project.

Huge thanks to Ivory + Gold (Juliette) for letting me be a secondary and documentary photographer on this one, Kristin Linkletter (model) and the amazing team behind the scenes for allowing me to photograph you all!

A Brief Reflection on 2015 - Documentary Moments

As a documentary photographer who photographs many weddings, I’ve had the opportunity to observe people through the emotional tides that arises from a wedding day and it’s such a privilege to be able to be with brides and grooms in this amazing time of their lives. From anticipation to the sense of relief of having completed the ceremony (without tripping or losing the ring!) to the sense of celebration and exuberance at the celebration in the end, a wedding day is full of moments that are easy to miss in the hustle and bustle of things but are there. I’ve always focused on getting those genuine moment and telling stories through them.

As I reflect back on 2015, I want to share some of my work that expressed my passion for documentary moments. More to come in 2016 but in the meanwhile, here's a brief overview of what 2015 looked like.

This was the CJF Event that occurred just after the election. Amidst the people was a microphone that would be later used to take questions for the panel (behind me) to address. My major was in Economics so a bit of the political talk was over my head... also, I was focusing on photographing so earnestly that I didn't hear much of what was being discussed

From one of my documentary photosessions this year, I photographed Danielle and Stephen (and their cat Misto). While we did have a more "directed" photoshoot later on, this photo and many others I took on this day were completely natural and I did no directing. Just observation.
Here, I love how Misto the cat enjoys being both cradled and petted by her owners.

I got a chance to work with the clothing store Dynamite for one of their Fall events (ponchos were in, by the way).

A quick frame from the Dynamite event. Many bloggers, writers and youtubers were invited to try on the new Fall lineup and get a brief on the direction of where Dynamite was going (#iamdynamite ... if you're curious).

After photographing the groomsmen at the Italian Cultural Center, I went over to the bride's house. This moment was the moment when the bridesmaids saw the dress for the first time. Their expression is priceless. A few second prior or a few seconds later and the moment would've been lost.

As the bride was getting out of the limousine, I saw this moment come together very quickly. I took two quick frames and this was the better of the two compositionally and also the expression of the bride. She was looking just behind me to the bridesmaids.

I love how the sunglasses on the groomsmen contrasts with the sky blue dresses of the bridesmaid and the bride in the center of it all.

This photograph came out of a group photograph that Josh Bowie was trying to do. We always think of group photos as being clean and polished but this honest moment has a life of it's own. Of course, after, we did get the group photograph :)

We wedding photographers work in very difficult light situations. In this specific situation with the groom (on the right) and his groomsmen hugging him, this was a basement with very little lights other than a few ceiling spot lights and a door. I could have used flash to brighten things up but decided that staying true to the lighting of the scene would (a) not draw attention to myself (if I fired my flash, people would instantly know I was there) and (b) allow a truer representation of what it felt like to be there.

I was actually holding the door with this gentleman while the bridesmaids were making their way down the aisle. One foot (or hand?) on the door and the other hands on my camera trying to get this moment composed properly. In the end, it worked out and the bride and bridesmaid were able to make their way up the aisle.

One of my favorite moments of 2015 :) We had just finished a request for a family group photograph and I saw these two starting to light up a cigarette. As I was walking towards the door, I quickly aligned my camera settings, set focus and clicked the shutter JUST as they saw me taking their photograph.

Smiles and expressions really make for a great telling of moments. Here, the groom is smiling while in conversation with some of the other guests. The preliminary stress and nervousness can be daunting for a groom and a bride so I love finding moments like these to show the feelings of the day and hopefully allow the bride and groom to recall these moments.

While I was photographing the groom inside the ceremony/reception area, I was keeping an eye on the door down the hall to see if a limousine would pull up. Eventually, it did and I was able to head out to the front door and document this moment of the bride making her way out of the limousine.

In some scenes I photograph, there can be a few things going on. I intentionally keep all these elements in the photograph to give a broader view of what happened on a particular wedding day. I see the mother of the bride holding the bride's hand while the flower girl is led by her mother (?).

I saw the groom crack this smile as he was signing the wedding papers and quickly grabbed the moment. Just a millisecond prior he was not smiling. The smile really made this photograph.

I do keep some time for more "formal" photographs of the bride and groom but it's usually very short. Bride and grooms hire me to capture honesty documentary photographs of their day and that is what I focus on. That being said, for those more formal times, I just encourage and direct the bride and groom in a certain way so that even though they are being "posed" they're still having natural moments between themselves.

I very rarely use ultra-wide lenses as I think it's easy to misuse it and make things all distorted but in this case I felt this really worked and gave a wider view of the scene and the architecture of Hazelmere.

Wedding day moments are about the bride and groom but also about friends, family, children, the service people, etc. While I focus on the bride and the groom, I also keep a second eye on situations happening around the room and capture these moments as they happen.

I'm including this image in order to show my love for not only prints but also for INSTANT FILM! There's a certain magical beauty in having a print develop right before your eyes (or in this case, in my jacket pocket) and then seeing the smiles and amazement of the bride and groom as they hold the print for the first time.

There were a lot of stories that I got to tell in 2015 and there's actually a number of personal projects that I have backlogged that I still need to share from 2014-2015 (continuing the Chinatown project, potential Downtown Vancouver Street Photography book, a book on Japan) but at this point I'm very happy for what happened in 2015. THANK YOU to all my clients, fellow photographers whom I worked with and all my friends and family for believing in me and supporting me and, in some cases, teaching me things. I am truly blessed to be able to do this and I look forward to doing more in 2016. 

Yes, it's a day or two late but whatever...
HAPPY NEW YEAR /  XIN NIAN KUAI LE / AKEMASHITE OMEDETOU GUZAIMASU!!

Hazelmere Golf Course - Keith and Jeanine Get Married

That morning, as I woke up, I noticed that the sun was out. This was amazing.  It was November. In Canada... on the Pacific West Coast. Just days prior, when I went to check the wedding site, it was pouring rain. That weather was expected. The sun was not. But there it was, gleaming and shining in all it's glory!

However, it was really cold. Frost was still in the air and as I made my way down to Hazelmere Golf Course, where the wedding was taking place, I could see steam clouds rising from the ground as the sun melted the cold morning dew despite the chill temperatures. Regardless, the sun was great to have that day and made for a great day to an already beautiful wedding for Keith and Jeanine.

Through a set of interesting circumstances, I got in touch with Keith and we discussed about the wedding day and expectations. Soon enough, there I was in the midst of it all, documenting the moments of Keith and friends and family decorating the room while I kept an eye on the door, looking for the limo where Jeanine would arrive. 

I think it's important to photograph an entire story. In all the images that I took during this wedding, I had in the back of my mind the idea of a story. Some photographs were taken to give a time and a place, such as the first image giving an idea of the crisp morning light when I first arrived. For the most part, I was focusing on emotions, different characters in the story and the documentary moments happening. I focus on a flow of the imagery as well so you get a sense of a "timeline". All these elements, all while balancing shooting film (if I am), composition, lighting and making great photography and the considerations of everyone in the room make the documentary approach quite a challenge but one I find fun and, many times, thrilling. 

The day went well and it was really great to spend a day with Keith and Jeanine. Friends and family came and hugged them, many had their photos taken on an Instax (Yup, I think Keith invested in an Instax camera and film to have pictures of guests in their guest book - what a great idea!!) and much laughter and socializing occurred. 

This time, I'm including some "listening" music to play as you look through the photographs :) Hope you enjoy the experience! Being a musician also, I'm quite picky when it comes to music and deciding on a sound track to match the feeling of the day is a very difficult process for me as I always feel like it has to match PERFECTLY. It adds another dimension to which I'm hoping you'll enjoy :) Courtesy of bensound.com via Creative Commons Licensing.

The Canon 1D Mark II N And Roberta Olenick

I was in the market for a camera as I was looking to make use of the digital Mastin Lab film presets to bring my digital images closer to the way I wanted them to look (like film) and I was also considering a digital full frame that could shoot in demanding circumstances. The type of work I had been doing and the type of demands asked of me made me consider a camera upgrade. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Leica and my Pentax 645 and Pentax digital cameras but there was a gap that needed to be filled in my line-up.  In all honesty, I could probably use any camera to take a photograph but in practice I have found that some tools are much better than others when it comes to certain assignments.

Crowds line up for buses close to the Broadway City Hall Skytrain Station - Taken with the Canon 1D Mk II N and a 50mm F1.4 EF lens.

After some meandering and considering of various cameras (Fuji X Series? Nikon? Wait for the Pentax Full Frame? Other mirrorless?), I found myself at Beau Photo and fell upon the Canon cameras. As I was considering the 5D (we had rented one for a photoshoot at Whytecliff Park), I was looking for one in good condition (still am) but my eye caught this big chunk of a camera sitting in the back of the other Canon cameras. Closer inspection revealed it to be a Canon 1D Mark II N in very good condition and the price was within what I was looking for too. As I investigated it closer for any major scuff marks, the gentleman at Beau noted that the dirt marks on the grip may have been from “her using the camera on the ground”. Her? Ground?

Night and Day - Taken with the Canon 1D Mk II N and a 50mm F1.4 EF lens.

When I happily took the camera home, I looked into the box and found a little note on one of the spare focusing screens. It was a pink little sticky that had the name “Roberta” on it and a number. At this point, I came to a realization that I was very intrigued about all the evidence mounting and became ever more curious about who the previous owner was. At this point, all I knew was that she was a woman, used the camera on the ground (probably for wildlife) and her name was Roberta. Would she think I was weird for calling her up or contacting her?

Through some “googling” of things, I found a website (www.neverspook.com) called “Never Spook The Animals Wildlife Photography” and found a photographer named Roberta Olenick. I sent her an email explaining that I may have purchased her camera. After a few brief email exchanges, we decided to meet up and met for the first time at a local Starbucks.

Roberta Olenick is a wildlife photographer and has a great respect and passion for nature and animals. Her images of wildlife exude a sense of playfulness and character. The animals look alive and active and interesting. She shared many stories about the camera and also about her experiences and adventures. Prior to this, we had a brief email exchange:

As part of an email, I wrote: “ Thank you for the kind words on my work. I have seen your work on the website and they are amazingly good nature photos! They have such character and I feel like the animals are very much like people :) “

She wrote: “Interesting that you feel like the animals in my images are much like people because when I was looking at your images of people, I was thinking your people were much like animals. Your people were often doing interesting things as though they did not know they were being watched and that natural behaviour is exactly what I try to capture with the wildlife I photograph. A lot of people photos don’t have that ‘wildlife’ quality, but many of yours do.”

As first, I thought that this was a strange comment to make but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense and I realized exactly what she meant.

The one and only Roberta Olenick (www.neverspook.com)

As my friend Neil, a fellow photog focusing on bird photography (Instagram: njdav), and I sat at the table at Starbucks with Roberta, we learned that the camera had “seen” many things. With a shutter count of about 61,000 frames, this was Roberta’s first digital camera (after previously using film to photograph nature) and it had been in various places in Canada from Vancouver to Newfoundland and on extended stints in Colorado. The camera and Roberta had witnessed bears and their cubs, playful foxes, birds of various types and many other amazing animals. She explained that she would often try to get up at “first light” to get the best images.

“As for what the camera has seen … that would be almost exclusively wildlife and a few landscapes, almost never people. So it is seeing very different things now than it did with me. It was an excellent camera for me as well. If I recall correctly, I used the MkIIN from 2006 when I went digital to around 2009 or so,” she wrote in an email.

Roberta realizing I'm taking her photo with her old camera.

Roberta is a spunky and social person and very friendly and very open to telling the stories of her experiences, adventures and her thoughts. She explained that she had two rescue cats (which she pointed out in our emails after seeing my own blog post on my own rescue cat) who are now respectively 12 years and 15 years old.

Little did I expect that I would gain a friend out of purchasing this camera. If anything, it has been very enlightening to learn where this camera has been and to give it a second life as a documentary and wedding camera. In the same way that the camera had seen the story of a vast plethora of nature’s animals, I am hoping it will capture the story of the many, many people in this world.

Roberta's current cell phone which excels at something that current smart phones don't excel at: punching in numbers and making phone calls.

Technical Note: The Canon 1D Mark IIN is actually an APS-H sensor (with a 1.3 crop factor, so it's a crop camera but not as cropped as your usual APS-C DSLR. So I didn't get a full frame camera per se but I find APS-H is more than good enough thus far).

Walter and Marcy - Seconding Wedding Assignment

Culture shock. That's the best way to describe it.

My day started at the Italian Center located on Slocan St and Grandview Hwy in Vancouver. This was actually my first time ever stepping into the Italian Center and it was quite an experience to be exposed to so much Italian culture in a short span of time. While photographing Walter with his groomsmen in the Italian cafe, there was ordering of pizza and cappuccinos, soccer (Italy vs... ???), a gelato freezer and an Italian flag hanging right in plain view. 

However, there was another aspect to it. Later on during the ceremony and reception, the couple stomped on the glassware (as a sign of the fragility of life), there was a blessing of bread by gentlemen wearing the kippah and at the end, there was the "hora" with the couple lifted up on chairs (there's an image of this in the gallery below). Italian songs and Jewish songs were sung all through the night (as any table that did the customary clinking of the plates/glass to get the couple to kiss had to sing a song).  Coming from an Asian background, the Jewish and Italian cultures were all very foreign to me but being able to document this wedding was a fantastic experience (culturally and photographically) that I do not regret having. To Josh Bowie Photography (the primary photog), thanks for letting me tag along on this one :)

Walter is a great guy with a big personality and Marcy is an amazing person. I got to talk to the flower girls about Avatar (The Last Airbender) too. In the midst of all this amazing-ness, I got to see two families come together in celebration a couple getting together to tie the knot and their lives together. 

Please allow a few moments for the gallery to load. Once done, it should flow pretty smooth :) Thanks!

A "Colourful" Journey

While I've heavily been a black and white shooter for a while, there's been a slight tugging to colour. I truly enjoy the tones and the mood that black and white images have. It forces you to look beyond shades of red, green, blue and straight into the geometry and also straight to the people's expressions and actions in an image. 

The truth is though, I enjoy colour too but... I think I'm really picky about it. It HAS to be right. It's so easy for us to just explode images with colour without thought or to get it wrong or inaccurate. Colours play an integral role in a photographic image and, believe it or not, also in black and white imagery.

Film for me gets colours right.

(And, with some tweaking, digital images with film presets).

Walking My Usual Route

I spend quite a bit of time by Canada Place in Downtown. With the summer season here, the place is bustling with activity as cruise ships bring people into the city. This area is kind of a tourist hub where you can visit the Convention Center, visit Canada Place and jump onto a hop-on hop-off bus to explore the city.

It's also a place where people in the Downtown core can go to relax and take in the sea-breeze. If I don't have a camera with me, I'm usually relaxing and taking in the fresh air and will usually grab some lunch. With camera in-hand, I go into documentary mode ... sometime with lunch still in my other hand!