3 of Mississauga’s Master Triathletes

Back in May we spent a day at Mississauga’s Clarkson Pool photographing three triathletes who, in their master years, showed us what fitness is all about. These three were a lot of fun to work with – so many laughs were had – and when it came to keeping up with our demands i.e.: swimming back and forth over and over…and over to get JUST the RIGHT shot, they were patient and they were tireless.

The photos that we eventually captured will be used for promotion of the facilities and programs available to Mississauga’s older adults and these three could certainly inspire the population to come out and participate, their fitness had me questioning why at two decades younger I don’t have nearly the energy that they do!  If I were a Mississauga resident perhaps I would be looking into ‘doing whatever they’re doing’ because they seem to be doing it right.

As it happens Marta – the powerful looking lady in the blue swimsuit at top – has a son who, as a linebacker, has won two Grey Cups in his CFL career.  We would like to shoot Marta and her son together one day – he may have trained hard over the years to earn those rings, but we’re pretty sure he could still learn a lot from his mom about staying strong, healthy, and active into his senior years.

We probably all could.

Emmanuel Belliveau: Founder and Creative Director of FLOROHome

In September we began working with Marketplace Events – the company responsible for bringing Toronto the very popular Toronto Fall Home Show each year.  This year one of the main features of the show was the Casalife Feature Home designed by FLOROHome Creative Director Emmanuel Belliveau and Project Manager Maria Perketa.

While shooting promotional material for media before the opening of the show we spent a couple of  hours in the design space and during that time shot a few editorial portraits of Emmanuel, above.  Note the custom built kitchen island in the first shot – just one example of Emmanuel’s design and build creativity.  You can see more of FLOROHome’s work on their website: check them out.

Our Weekend with Cory Joseph and the Larry O’Brien Trophy

At the end of the NBA season last year the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat to win – for the 5th time – the NBA Championship and take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. What was different this time was that after the celebrations ended in San Antonio, the trophy – ‘Larry’ as it is called – went on a bit of a tour. For the first time, members of the winning team were allowed to bring the trophy home and share the celebrations with the family and friends who had supported them through their early days and saw them through to securing their place in history as NBA champions.

Earlier in the week we had covered the celebrations as Cory took Larry to his high school; on that day the school retired his number 5 jersey. The energy was running high as local kids got the opportunity to see, touch, and covet the trophy, a symbol of goals reached and success achieved – hopefully encouraging them to pursue their own dreams.

The weekend, however, was reserved for Cory to celebrate his stardom with those closest to him… and well… for some photography with Larry.

We spent quite a bit of time with Cory’s family, with his agent Fara at Klutch Sports Group, and of course with Cory himself – who remains humble despite his accomplishments.  Lovely people.  I guess no matter how big of a star you become on the court, if you started your life with a couple of older sisters they will never let you forget that you are STILL their younger brother… and just as the shutter clicks on a family photo, one of them just might instil some humility by pulling your ears.

What an awesome family – they have taught Cory well.

Pirates Invade Toronto’s Waterfront. Sort Of.

Last weekend all across the city, the doors to architecturally, historically, culturally, and socially significant buildings usually closed to the public were thrown open for the 15th annual Doors Open Toronto. Down on the waterfront Doors Open turned into Gangways Open as ships usually not accessible to curious by-passers welcomed crowds of happy locals and tourists alike onboard to discover these ships.

Over the course of the weekend plenty of pirates – presumably drawn to the area by the lovely new boardwalk, the numerous restaurants and retail outlets (including the amazing new Amsterdam Brewhouse), or by the sandy beach at H2O Park complete with cozy muskoka chairs – were found roaming the area. After all, what pirate wouldn’t want to take some time out from their busy plundering to relax in the cool breeze of the waterfront?

At the end of the day we had a few minutes to grab a few of these pirates, quickly set up lighting onboard the Empire Sandy tall ship, and in between the mild chaos of setting up the shot, corralling those happy locals and tourists into areas of the ship NOT in the shot, and managing the breeze that threatened the shooting umbrellas, were able to capture this photo above. It tells the story of the day: blue sky, puffy clouds, a tall ship… and some rogue pirates.

In the end, what else would you want from a weekend on the water?

Promo for Pyros

One of the things we seem to have become known for – and in fact Mark has inadvertently become quite an expert in – is fire photography. It takes a specific understanding of lighting and fire, not to mention very precise timing to capture fire the way he does. When we covered Toronto Buskerfest at the end of August we were reintroduced to Pyromancer (David Bolee), one of the world’s best fire breathers and a fantastic performer. He wanted some new promo to showcase the funnier/whackier side of his fire show and so we collaborated to come up with some ideas on how to bring this side of him to light.

We don’t want to toot our own… oh, never mind… but we think we managed to bring out a bit of that fun in the photos above… what do you think??   🙂

Much Music Video Awards – Milk Showcase

Next in our series of impromptu portraits is this photo above – a human statue-type performer painted and posing as part of the Milk Showcase at the Much Music Video Awards earlier this month. We were shooting the lead up to the big event and the opportunity to create this portrait just seemed to present itself.

Free Waterfront Shuttle in Toronto

Recently we started working with the Waterfront BIA.  On Victoria Day they launched a new shuttle bus that will service the waterfront area until Thanksgiving, shuttling passengers between five stops from Union Station to Ontario Place and back again, free of charge. Above is one of the promotional photos of the new shuttle bus that we took for the launch.  This photo is now being used in local media to advertise the service.

The ‘We Love Aussies’ Series: Bendy Em

As I wrote in my last post, we really enjoy BuskerFest each year partly because we always wind up meeting the nicest people over the course of the festival. Each year Scotiabank BuskerFest brings street performers from all over the world to Toronto and at the end of the week we usually find that we’ve made at least one new friend from – Australia. This year we were very fortunate to have made a number of new friends from down under; one of them is Emma Kerger. Otherwise know as Bendy Em, Emma is the contortionist whom you might have seen this summer on the BuskerFest stage or at the CNE cramming herself (skillfully) into a 16 inch perspex box that is balanced on a 7 foot aluminum stand.

There is a lot more to Em though than her contortion show, so we thought we’d try to uncover a new side of her.  Em is a fantastic model, we think she might have a future in it, and we also think we did a fairly good job of bringing out her dark side – just ask Orbax, the pained looking fellow (from the Monsters of Shlock) whom she is laying waste to in the middle shot!

Underground Fashion Shoot in Oakville

Yesterday we shot some promotional material with Idea Workshop for one of their clients, Mapleview Centre. The Mapleview Centre is a mall in Burlington that recently underwent a major renovation. The  shoot took place in the Oakville GO station and we took a few minutes with Tarik (the sole male model at the shoot) to capture him in the belly of the station – the tunnel beneath the tracks.

True North Climbing – Toronto’s Newest Rock Climbing Gym

This past Wednesday we shot some promotional work for a new rock climbing facility in North Toronto.  True North Climbing is the newest addition to Downsview Park’s Sports Centre.  We spent a half day there and shot some staff portraits, photos of the bouldering walls for the facility’s new brochure and even captured a few portraits of some of Toronto’s youngest climbers.