#658 Back from away – Upcoming photo classes and work

Posted on August 11, 2011 by admin

We’re back from away – we took some family time to visit Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick.

“So where are the photos?!”

I get asked this all the time – I was on vacation which means time NOT taking photos for H! I took a few family snapshots and was asked to teach a very casual Creative Fundamentals Custom Course… by my wife who wants to take more family photos!

We will be back in the office on “catch-up mode.” Here is a look at what is coming up soon at Harry, Inc.:

Blair Gable’s Photojournalism presentation and the World Press Photo of the Year Exhibit – Starts at the War Museum followed by Blair’s presentation at our studio – Thursday, August 18th – 6:30pm: War Museum visit; 8pm Presentation at OttawaStudioWorks.com

Blair Gable - Ottawa photojournalist presentation - Aug 18

Natural Light Portraits Photo Course – one of our most popular and longest running courses. Three parts: August 24, 27, 31.
Handing in our latest wedding to K&K – a very fun wedding north of the city. Stay tuned for a few photos in the next few weeks
Creative Fundamentals Photo Workshop – our FIRST and the most popular photo class. Starts in September.
Continued shooting of an editorial feature – very fun for Harry
Summer is fast disappearing – we still have work on a current Art Project that will be exhibited in 2012.
Announcement of Scanning and Lightroom classes.

Portrait Photo Class - Ottawa

Stay tuned!

#657 Art Exhibition

Posted on August 9, 2011 by admin

We popped in to the Anderson Gallery the other day and discovered some fine work by Dutch/Canadian photographer Mariette Roodenburg including her new book, “West Ironbound: Portrait of an Island.”

Worth a visit if you have the time to go.

Art Exhibition

#656 Assignment Spotlight – Family Portraits

Posted on August 7, 2011 by admin

In July we did a three generation portrait of women at Ottawa Studio Works. We also included a portrait of the full family.

Ottawa fun family portraits

The session went well. There were initially some reserved smiles but the family opened up as we got underway. I like making the sessions full of fun for all!

We’re on a few days of R&R as we gear up for August work including a fun editorial assignment, photojournalism presentation at the studio with Blair Gable and our Natural Light Portraits Workshop in August.

#655 Ottawa Farm Photo Safari

Posted on August 4, 2011 by admin

Probably most of us have heard of Canada’s national anthem, national parks and national sport, but did you know Canada has its own national horse?

It’s true, the Canadian horse was brought over from France in the 1600s to help the people of the new colony. It’s a smaller breed, known for its resilience and endurance (sounds pretty Canadian to me, eh) and in 2002 the Government of Canada recognized the Canadian horse as the national horse of Canada.

This Canadian horse is just one of the breeds you’ll have access to on our new Farm Photo Safari.

The safari gives you the opportunity to document life on the farm while receiving expert photo tips to make your work more compelling and technically sound. The safari suits photographers of all levels and equipment.

We ran a similar safari in May and it was super successful so we’ve decided to offer it again.

Find out more about our Ottawa Farm Photo Safari

#654 Assignment Spotlight – Executive Portraits

Posted on August 2, 2011 by admin

We recently did some work for an Ottawa lawyer looking for some portraits a little different from a traditional executive portrait.

Ottawa executive portrait

John is writing a book and teaching the art of interviewing. The portraits are effectively to support this project – effectively some directed stock photography with a specific purpose.

Ottawa stock photography - executive portraits

We do a fair bit of this kind of stock work directed to a certain end usage – past clients have included private schools, lawyers, camps, government and business.

Goals are discussed and scenarios are created to provide the desired final product.

I handed the work in recently – John was very pleased.

Ottawa executive portrait - stock photography

Consider our Natural Light Portrait photo course coming up later this month

#653 Ottawa Fire Breathing, Unicycle Riding, Flaming Juggler Photo Safari

Posted on August 1, 2011 by admin

On Friday night we descended on the Ottawa Busker Festival for one of our photo safaris for a night of fun.

Photos below were shot over two nights including the photo safari event:

Photo Safari - Ottawa

Photo Safari - Ottawa

I scoped the action Thursday night to prepare the group for the most pizazz possible. My eyes popped at some of the action – contorted lady in a box, fire swirling Australians, bicycle-on-pole-sitting-flaming-baton-juggling-comic – these performers are featured in our photos.

The photo safari participants loved it.

So did I!

Busker Photo Safari

Ottawa Busker Photo Safari

Stay tuned for a Farm Photo Safari in September!

#652 Custom Photo Classes – Student Success

Posted on July 28, 2011 by admin

We regularly get calls from people who cannot make it to our regularly scheduled photo workshops in the Ottawa area.

Soooo, we offer most of our photo classes as Custom Courses allowing people to learn the material offered on our workshops at a pace and schedule that suits them.

Recently we ran two sessions for individuals that wanted to learn about specific elements of photography.

Daniel is soon to be a new father and he missed an opportunity to learn about photographing children so his wife sent him on our Custom Course tailored to his soon-to-be new duties as baby photographer!

We put him through the paces of our Creative Fundamentals geared towards photographing babies, newborns and children and we brought in a special little cutie for the final part of his session:

Baby Photography Workshop

Baby Photography Workshop - silhouettes!

For the second session Bernadette asked us to cover Creative Fundamentals and an intro to macro photography. She is only in Canada for a month and contacted us to help her. We set her course based on her photo wishes – she wanted to learn about landscapes and close-ups:

Landscape Photo Class

Landscape Photo Workshop - Ottawa

Well done people. Please cheer for our students!!

#651 Reader’s Photo of the Month

Posted on July 26, 2011 by admin

It’s that time of month – where we agonize a bit on the Reader’s Photo of the Month. Only one photo wins. And that’s the problem. We get some good entries – more should win but there can only be ONE winner per month in our contest!

This month Morina Reece cam out on top with this entry:

Reader's Photo of the Month Photo Contest Winner - Ottawa's Morina Reece

Morina supports her photo saying:

“Kristine asked me to do a photo shoot of her in both dance and yoga clothing. She specifically asked for a “light and airy” feel.

I decided to bring some props to help achieve this feel – scarves, feathers etc. Kristine also brought some interesting props too. Firstly, I decided on a white background for strong contrast and a very clean look. In this photo we chose the turquoise scarf to contrast and brighten up her darkish clothing and hopefully bring an airy feeling to the picture.

It was a little awkward at first as I didn’t quite know how to have her pose with a scarf that would look natural. We tried a few different positions with the scarf but it wasn’t achieving the look I thought she wanted.

It suddenly struck me that “music” might be the answer. We chose some energetic music and instantly she transformed into a dance teacher with lots of expression and fluid movements that matched the scarf’s flow. This pic captured a fun, light and airy look.”

Nice work Morina – some last minute inspiration made the day!!

For her hard work Morina receives a subscription to Canadian Geographic Magazine. Many thanks to Canadian Geographic for the prize!

Canadian Geographic Magazine

So, some of you may ask “Why didn’t MY photo win?!”

There could be many reasons. We look for the following criteria when picking our short list and ultimate winner:

Good solid photo. Technically well shot – good exposure, in focus in the right places, etc.
Good composition – an obvious focal point and well laid out
Something different, something new
Some accompanying text that tells the story of your shot – we’re not as fussed with camera info and shutter speed. We’re looking for inspiration and creative process.

Please keep trying. Send us your photos and accompanying text! We have another fine prize for next month’s winner – a premium print by renowned printer Dave Andrews. Dave is not just a printer – his work is displayed in Museums and Galleries across North America by artists who come to him for his lifetime of printing skills.

Dave Andrews - Ottawa Printer

Need some help with your photography to help win fame, fortune or our prizes? Consider a photo class or workshop!

#650 Photojournalism Presentation in Ottawa

Posted on July 24, 2011 by admin

Blair Gable photographing Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Photo by Jason Ransom)

We are so excited to announce what’s coming August 18th to Ottawa Studio Works.

Blair Gable, independent photojournalist and all-around interesting guy, will be giving a presentation, showing his work and sharing his experiences.

Blair specializes in political news coverage, professional sports and environmental portraiture. He’s had inside access to federal politics that has enabled him to photograph some of the most powerful presidents, prime ministers and royals in the world. (He was recently assigned to cover Prince William and Princess Catherine while they were in Ottawa!)

Photo of Blair Gable with Chief of Defense Staff

He regularly shoots for Reuters News Service, Macleans Magazine, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and National Post newspapers and his work has been featured in Ferrari, MORE, Zoomer, Profit and Canadian Business Magazines.

I hope you’ll join us on the 18th to hear Blair talk about his 10 years of shooting as an editorial photographer – from community newspapers to international news wires. His photo work will be exhibited as well.

Photo of Blair Gable with the pack by Justin Van Leeuwen

When: Thursday, August 18th, 2011; 8:00pm

Where: Ottawa Studio Works, 160 Preston St. Ottawa

How much: Presentation is by donation

RSVP appreciated!

About Blair Gable

Blair’s career started at 18 while he was shooting for his high school year book. Blair went to Loyalist College to study Photojournalism. Between college terms he worked as a photographer/reporter/page designer for the Goderich Signal-Star newspaper and immediately after graduation began an internship at the Ottawa Citizen followed by stints at other local newspapers. In 2005 he accepted a staff position at the Ottawa Sun leaving after only two and a half years later to work as an independent photojournalist.

Plus – World Press Photo of the Year Exhibit – Group Visit

Preceding the presentation at Ottawa Studio Works we invite you to join us for a group visit to the World Press Photo of the Year Exhibit at the Canadian War Museum. This is our third year attending as a group and the exhibit has wowed our crowd!

World Press Photo Exhibit

World Press Photo Group Visit

When: Thursday, August 18th, 2011; 6:30pm

Where: Canadian War Museum, front doors, 1 Vimy Place, Ottawa

How much: Exhibit is free

#649 Bike Race Photo Safari Review

Posted on July 21, 2011 by admin

Last week we ran the Bike Race Photo Safari – we had a good turnout and people were challenged by the fast paced fun.

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

Participants learned about isolating riders full frame (and in focus), stealing facial expressions from speedy cyclists, accentuating the speed with some panning and telling the story from the start/finish line.

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

Applaud the participant’s photos in this post – they did really well! They also sent their safari thoughts:

“Harry’s many tips (focusing, exposure, ways to capture cyclists) were so simple and easy to understand and yet made a huge impact on my images!” Sarah

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

“Harry, you are constantly coming up with innovative workshops. This Safari was brilliant! It gives us seasoned photographers opportunities to shoot something different and brush up on our skills. (ahem… exposure).

Thanks so much for being Harry. You are always so consistent with making sure everyone understands the concept and getting it in our cameras. I have been to a number of workshops and the instructor is just busy getting his own shots, really. You are the best instructor out there.” Cheryl (ed note: Cheryl makes me blush!! Thanks Cheryl)

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

“I quite enjoyed it, it was the perfect race for a safari and I picked up some good tips for achieving manual focus. You have an excellent teaching style and will definitely take more courses from you in the future.” Jeff