Dinos, and Monsters, and Bears! Oh My!

Last week I did a great shoot for a friend of mine. Kendall Malchuck is a fashion designer from Montreal. Her rave inspired clothing and accessories are some of the coolest things I've seen. Most of her pieces are made in part from recycled clothing as well, which makes them that much better. Hit the jump for more photos.

Return

It's been a while since I've updated, and I apologize. I've had a busy few months, but I am hoping to catch up to my blog once again. Some exciting things have been happening, though, and I'm excited to start sharing them! Near the beginning of the year, I got a job offer in Toronto. Since then, I have been working alongside  Matthew Filipowich as a product photographer and assistant. It's been a great experience so far, every day I learn something new. Here's a taste of what we've been up to lately, more after the jump.

Josh by the Lake

I spend the majority of my free time with my closest friend and older brother, Josh. Because of this, he has consistently been the test subject for a good majority of the photos I take. I am pretty grateful to have such a close bond with him.

Fire Uptown Waterloo

I try to bring my camera with me everywhere I go, just in case something photo-worthy happens. The majority of the time, it sits in my backpack all day. Yesterday, however, was one of the few times that I was very thankful to have my camera with me. While biking across town, I saw smoke coming out of a building. It wasn't long before emergency crews started working on it. As the smoke got thicker, police blocked off that entire section of King. I stayed for about an hour, and the fire was still going when I left. I am not sure what the damage was like afterwards. Hit the jump to see more photos.

Anthony Damiao at the Boathouse

I almost missed Anthony's show on Wednesday. Thankfully, I wrote down the wrong work schedule and unexpectedly had the night off. Anthony performed an amazing set, especially when his friend Sarah sang with him. The two of them sounded beautiful together. You can listen to/buy Anthony's album here. More photos after the jump.

Little Bean

I went to open mic night at Little Bean Coffee Bar last night. My brother was playing, as well as an old friend of mine, Brittany Kane. Here are a few shots from the night, more after the jump.

Welcome Home

I guess that goes for both of us. Josh here just returned to K/W from an unexpectedly long stay in the frozen tundra of Iqaluit. Wow. As for myself, I have returned to Kitchener after living in Niagara for four years. While sitting on a sixteenth floor balcony overlook the area, Josh picked up a guitar and started playing. I couldn't help but nab a few shots.

Unstable

Between working full time and moving in a week, things have been pretty hectic for me. I haven't had time to shoot as much as I would like, so today I checked out the abandoned stable right beside my work. I spent a good deal of time composing just one shot, and I am pretty happy with the result.

It was a fun shoot to do, despite this being the first thing I saw: http://instagram.com/p/Nhm4QJv0Yj/

More from Jackson Triggs

After shooting all of the food, they asked me to shoot the wine. Hit the jump for some of the pairings.

Food for Thought

For the last month-and-a-bit, I have been working at a couple wineries in Niagara on the Lake. Jackson Triggs is the one I work at most often. They have a cool little food and wine pairing thinger called Flights and Bites. Essentially you get three wines paired with three foods. The photos below are of the white pairing. Served on a little wooden plank is:  Roasted asparagus and confit shallot salad with goat cheese mousse, roasted red pepper soup with icewine cured bacon, and a lobster salad with gomes tomatoes in a toasted bun. I am hoping to be able to do some more food photography at JT and Inniskillin before I move!

the Bends @ S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival, 24/06/2012

This was my first year at S.C.E.N.E. Why it is only my first time, I do not know. Apparently I had no life up until the past year. I would have tried to get a media pass, if I had known that such a thing existed prior to watching the pros go backstage to shoot. I mainly went to shoot the Bends, and the media pass wasn't necessary at their show. They played a fantastic set (as per usual) at Cache, and it was a blast to shoot. Here  are some highlights from the show.

the Bends @ Mansion House, 09/06/2012

the Bends played at the Mansion House last Saturday. They played a great set, as always. Despite the stage being flooded with some horrible green light, I managed to get some good shots. Bad venues really teach you a lot. 

Here are a few shots from the night.

Check them out at http://www.the-bends.com/! 

Award Winning Work

My photograph, Late Winter Night, won an award for Best in Photography at my school board's annual Graduate Art Show. I'm feeling pretty great about it!

Battle of the Bands - 05/23/2012

I had the pleasure adventure of shooting my high school's Battle of the Bands on Wednesday. It was, a learning experience.

Winning band, the Bends had some tricks up their sleeves.

The show was great. All six of the performing bands played great sets. Hit the jump for a few more shots from the night.

More Abstract

I love shooting this kind of stuff. Really interesting to watch and edit. These are photographs of milk being dripped/poured into water. More after the jump.

Making a Mess

My hands are stained blue and red from the food dye I was using.

This shoot was more of an experimental shoot than anything. I have not worked with high-speed photography of water before. I plan to revisit this shoot sometime soon with a better set up and such. Anyway, here are some of the better frames from the set. Enjoy.

Obsessed...

... is what I have become with these photos. I can safely say this shoot is one of the most interesting shoots I have ever done. Editing the photos is as much fun as taking them was, too. The hardest part was deciding which images to edit, and which edits to post. More after the jump, enjoy!

the Bends @L3 Night Club

I had the pleasure of shooting some great local talent, the Bends. It was a great set, fun and upbeat. I am really looking forward to shooting these guys again in the future. Hit the jump for a few more shots from the night. Enjoy, and if  you have the time, head over to their site.

The Smoking Tea Cup

This shoot changed a lot from the beginning. Originally I had planned to shoot a tea pot and cup with some nice steam flowing out of both. Unfortunately, the steam was not visible enough for my camera to pick up. Solution? Light a cone of incense and make a smoking tea rather than a steaming tea. Then, after much time spent being indecisive and re-arranging my set up, I finally finished off with a smoking tea cup rather than the whole pot. I thought it might make an interesting wallpaper or something. I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to hit the jump button for an extra treat.

Guerilla Printing Launch Party

My art teacher, Mr. Azzopardi, let myself and bunch of students know about the Guerilla Printing launch at The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery in Toronto last night. The event was put on by amazing artist and all-around great guy Lamin Martin. Most of the artwork featured was from artist Mike Del Mundo, seen signing some of his work. The gallery was packed, and everyone had a great time. Thanks to Lamin for putting it on, to Mike for displaying some great art, to Mr. A for letting us know about it, to Ben for driving me, and to everyone else who helped put this experience together.

Alex, Ben, Lamin and Mr. A below. More after the jump.