Kelowna writer rising

I'm constantly inspired by other artists around Kelowna - and pleasantly surprised when another is recognized internationally. I recently had the honour of photographing for the Vancouver Sun a fiction writer whose books have become popular world-wide.

Alan Bradley, 70, writer of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and two more mysteries about a precocious English girl, 11-year-old Flavia de Luce. The series of books has been sold in 13 countries; the first of the Canadian books launched a week ago.

Similar to a common hangout for Flavia, an old church in Kelowna became an interesting background for the portrait of the Okanagan mystery writer. I hope local artists continue to be appreciated for their creative works. Some of my more recent creative works have taken life in a re-design of my website.

More news is good news

I hope people enjoy news about new developments in photography, with hi tech equipment continually adding to the digital evolution.
I've just added a news page to my main website with today's top story - the new spark in remote trigger technology.  Here's the new gadget's I've deciding between right now for when they become available in Canada for my Nikon cameras.

On the web again ...

Feels so good to be on the web again ! Everybody sing it now, like Willy Nelson. Feels so go to be on the web again.

I've been clicking my mouse more than my Nikon cameras over the past couple of weeks, doing a redesign on My Website to add new content, cleaner navigation all under a more attractive banner.
Here's a snapshot of one major page attached to the blog. However, to really appreciate it, you've got to visit the site and see how it adjusts with the browser size.
Keep tuned... there's more to come in future weeks as I renovate the photo galleries with hundreds of my images (including many award-winners). I just hope my cameras don't get jealous that my mouse is getting more of my attention right now.

Avalanche Dangers, again

With the dawn of a new year, thoughts return over the past 52 weeks and the memorable photos captured. Naturally, any recap has a logical starting point at the beginning of the year.
Coincidentally, the first news assignment I photographed in 2008 is coming back with a vegence again 53 weeks later.
A Vancouver daily newspaper called me up on a Sunday afternoon with word of an avalanche that buried people at Big White ski resort earlier that day. Could I get photos of the search that continues in the slide path inside the ski resort, asked the assignment editor.
Quickly, I grabbed the photo gear I thought would best fit the shoot and some extra gear to get to the site. Along with set of downhill ski gear, I grabbed my telemark skis and boots - just in case I'd have to do a bit of manual pushing on the flats or even uphill.
Fortunately, I arrived in time to catch a ride on the last chairlift ride of the day (for the general public) and arrived at the cloudy summit as the light was starting to dim.
From underneath my jacket, I attached my 300mm lens to my camera body and shot a few quick shots of the searchers visible from about 500 metres away. Staff guarded the roped off access to the region, making a closeup more challenging.
Bypassing the immediate approach, a few turns down another run led to a flat area of some 300 metres of pushing to get closer to the bottom of the avalanche debris zone. Good thing I put on the telemark skis - my downhill gear would not have served me well for this skitrip.
Profusely sweating, I arrived just as the searchers were starting to pack up to leave. The new location that took me at least 500 calories of energy to get to, afforded a few quick images of ski patrollers and their helpers riding out on snowmobiles. Not much of a shot usually, but the one who was clutching his search-dog on his lap made it more interesting.
The first grab shots of the searchers made front page of at least a half-dozen daily newspapers across Canada. What a way to start a photo year.
I'll revisit a few more shots in the coming weeks.
Here's a couple photos from the event.

What's in Santa's bag?

It's the time of year when kids of ALL ages start making their wish lists for gifts from Santa Claus. For some it's the latest computer game, others dream of a shiny new vehicle to race around the living room.
For photographers invested into the Nikon system, news just came out from Japan of a new beast to send a few extra beats into our hearts. Measuring in at a whopping 24.4 megapixels is the brand new Nikon D3x - a studio photographer's new convenient option to medium format cameras. With a shooting rate of 5 fps at full frame, or 7 fps at a cropped mode, it may even be seen as a decent action shooter.
Images released online so far show excellent image quality, now the question arises: is it worth the price? At MSRP of $9,500 Cdn, it's Nikon's most expensive camera ever - about $4,000 more than the 12 megapixel D3. Sure, that price is still far below medium format cameras or backs, but can it be justified in a tightening economy.
Do I need the extra 40 percent increase in resolution over my current model? Will my computer need replacement to process the huge 75 MB raw files? Will I start filling hard-drives as fast as I used to fill DVDs?
Will the camera be seen in Canada before Christmas?
So many questions ..... I'll have to ponder these things among others - like how long can somebody eat macaroni and cheese before going crazy? Just kidding.
After you look over the photo of this new camera, you can view many more images shot by a "lesser" model on my website.
Merry Christmas all.

Who is inspiring who?

Inspiration.
The fuel for artistic expression, the gas in the tank for the visual wonderment we hope our future images will reveal.
I received a dose at the most recent meeting of the Central Okanagan Photography Society, held at the Kelowna EECO Centre.
As the guest judge providing ratings and offering critiques of the photographs entered, I was both challenged and inspired by the process.
Congratulations to the many avid photographers who captured fine images worthy of praise. Kudos also to those who are early in the learning process - it takes courage to put your photos up on the same screen as the veterans of the group.
In the end, you can never really predict who will provide the others with the greater inspiration. I hope that I can inspire others through my feedback, plus my own images on my website - www.kelownaphotographer.com

Building up business

Recession? What recession?
Contrary to sour reports on all sorts of media recently, business has remained strong in Kelowna for photography in the last month. Providing quality photographs for clients in the central Okanagan has kept me from contributing to this web blog for a couple of weeks.
I'm certainly quite happy to be busy with projects - particularly with a large ongoing architectural photography project for an award winning builder in Kelowna. I have to commend Len Suchocki of Chriscan Construction for his acumen and perceptive vision - boldly moving forward with a strong advertising campaign to promote his new focus on commercial projects - added to residential construction.
The projects I've photographed in Kelowna and Westbank recently also shows that Len is an artistic visionary when it comes to fine architectural building and renovations.
Here's a pic from the REMAX head office for Western Canada located in Kelowna, revealing fine use of glass with wood and tasteful lighting. Enjoy. I certainly enjoyed photographing it.
While using an ultra-wide angle lens with very low distortion helps encompass a scene with impact, the photo really comes to life with careful placement of lighting - to enhance the glass while avoiding reflections that reveal your lights.
A challenge to execute, and a victory to relish.
More of my architectural photography is found online at my Kelowna Photographer website.