#671 Photo Exhibition Success

Posted on August 19, 2011 by admin

Tonight at the photo studio we hosted a photo exhibition by Ottawa photographer Blair Gable after a visit to the World Press Photo of the Year Exhibit at the War Museum.

Blair Gable photojournalism presentation and photo exhibition

We had a packed house with people in the back hall and lobby craning necks to see Blair present recent photojournalism work including photos of Stephen Harper, the Queen, Obama, Ferraris and other excitement.

Blair Gable photojournalism presentation and photo exhibition

Approximately 60 people passed through the studio over the evening. Many questions and smiles ensued.

Guests included other photographers, past workshop students, hobby photographers and one very cute dog. Some of the guests included:

Ashley Fraser – news photographer
David Kawai – news photographer
Dave Andrews – printer. Not to be confused with…
J David Andrews – stock & landscape photographer
Steven Darby – staff photographer at the Museum of Civilization
Younes Bounhar – travel and landscape photographer

… and many others.

Ashley Fraser - News Photographer

The show & presentation was one night only however the show remains hanging in the studio for at least a couple of weeks – if you missed it a viewing can be arranged – just let us know.

Blair Gable - photojournalism presentation

photojournalism presentation and exhibition

A big thanks to Blair and everyone that made the event a success!

photojournalism presentation and exhibition

photojournalism presentation and photo exhibition

#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!

#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.

#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

#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!

#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

#646 Where are they now?

Posted on July 14, 2011 by admin

I met Hagen Hohn almost two years ago when he signed up for his first photo classes based in Ottawa. He was keen. So keen that he enrolled in our ProProgram.

Hagen Hohn photography

He took to the program well – taking many classes, meeting regularly for sessions to discuss his advancement and pursuing some shadowing with others in the industry. Hagen quickly developed good skills and followed his passion towards cars and photography. He graduated from the program in 2010.

Hagen Hohn photography

We still connect regularly and I recently asked him to share what he is up to now. He answered, below:

“With the start of the summer ‘car’ season, I’ve been pretty busy trying to get as much face-time with as many people in the car enthusiast world as possible. That means hitting as many of the show-and-shines, car shows and events as possible. And there are a lot of them: 33 car clubs in the Ottawa valley and some special interest groups adds up to an average of 8 events each week. I’ve also made several presentations to local car clubs, on how to improve their own car photography.

Hagen Hohn photography

Building my portfolio and continuing to develop my style has also been a focus through the summer. In addition to the print portfolio, I am working at continuously evolving and changing the content and photos on the web page.

Finally, the printing business I have targeted towards photographers, has done fairly well, and from the feedback I’ve gotten, clients seem to be happy.

Hagen Hohn photography

Overall, the summer is tracking to my 5 year plan: two large weekend long jobs and a few individual clients have allowed me to ensure I am tracking to client and market expectations.”

Visit Hagen’s site and blog and join us in cheering for his passion and business!

Hagen Hohn photography

#645 Bike Race Photo Safari in Ottawa

Posted on July 12, 2011 by admin

Tonight we had a good turnout and great weather for the Bike Race Photo Safari in Ottawa.

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

We had a wide range of photographers – some have taken our photo classes before and some are newcomers. Our mission tonight was to cover a criterion bike race like the one we shot in June.

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

Cyclists race a closed course of about 1km ensuring to give ample opportunity to try new photo skills. The pack comes by about every minute!

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

I doled out challenges and the photographers ate them up – I was impressed with the results I saw quickly at the safari. Stay tuned – we hope to show some of the student successes on the blog soon. And judging from the smiles at the end of the night the photographers enjoyed the adventure!

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

And a big thanks to the organizer, Ross, who made this all possible!

Ottawa Bike Race Photo Safari

We have another photo safari coming up fast – the ‘Fire-Breathing, Unicycle-Riding, Flaming Juggler Photo Safari!‘

#642 New Ottawa Photo Classes Announced

Posted on July 6, 2011 by admin

We have some new photo courses coming online this fall – from low tech to high fun.

• Creative-Exploration Through Photography with Dominique Larocque

September 21, 24, 28, 2011. $375

Join us for a photo journey to greater creative outlets. Break through and explore!

Creative Wheel Centre - Creative Exploration photo workshop

• Landscape and Wildlife Photography with J David Andrews

September 28, October 1, 5, 15, 19, 2011.

We ran this course for the first time in the spring and received great reviews. Back by popular demand!

Student photo - landscape and wildlife class

Student photo - ANne G - landscape and wildlife course

• Intro to Film Photography and Darkroom Skills

October 18, 22, 25, 29/30 2011.

Also a new addition to the photo class line-up this spring. And again, feedback was positive. If you missed your chance at shooting film grab a camera and meet us this fall.

Film Photography and Darkroom Course - Ottawa and Gatineau

Film Photography and Darkroom Class - Ottawa and Gatineau

Join us!