Circus Performers – Vintage Wet Plate Style

The collodion – or wet plate – process was developed in the 1850s and was a popular yet somewhat inconvenient way for photographers to produce portraits. This form of photography required the photographic material to be coated, sensitized, exposed and developed within the span of about fifteen minutes and this inconvenience was probably one of the reasons that the process was largely replaced by dry gelatine emulsion in the 1880’s.  Nowadays the look originally achieved by this process can be replicated  by skilled photographers using a digital darkroom.

At the end of August we shot a number of performers over the course of one afternoon.  The photos were lit to help create the wet plate ‘look’ that would be further enhanced in the digital darkroom.  Circus is an age old form of entertainment and the performers that we shot are some of the best in the world… they are the type that, in a different century, might’ve made their living travelling the world entertaining people young and old.

This is the way that we envisioned their ‘promo’ posters might’ve looked back then, developed using the collodion process.

 

 

 

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.

One Way to Stay Cool in May

So way back in May just as we – and the rest of the city – were digging out from that intense winter and were beginning to enjoy the warmer temperatures, we began working with the City of Mississauga.  The first assignment that we shot for them was, as it happened, the cover and some interior shots for the City of Mississauga’s Fall/Winter Active Guide.  So essentially on the first really warm day in May we went into a giant freezer and didn’t come out for 6 hours.  Why not?

Two of the models that we used for the shoot – the two you see above – are children of a client we worked for at Downsview Park. We had used these kids for a few projects at the park over the years, and in all honesty they are two of my favourite kids. They were really patient and tireless skating around all day to produce the shots we needed. Awesome kids. When all the necessary shots had been captured we did portraits with each of them – and as it turns out they might end up being banners in the arena, we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m hoping if I ever go back into an arena in Mississauga I see my two favourite kids up there on posters – larger than life.

 

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.

Jo Lalonde – aka Toronto’s Chalk Chick

 You might not recognize Jo Lalonde – aka Chalk Chick – but if you spend a lot of time in downtown Toronto you have probably seen her work. Jo is an established artist who not only works with corporate clients (you can see a list of past clients on her website here) but spends time out on the streets doing her part to make the city of Toronto a little more colourful.

Believe it or not the portraits of Jo that you see above were taken after she took a break from her latest masterpiece and got ‘cleaned up’. She’s awesome. This is one artist who gets RIGHT into her work and isn’t afraid to get dirty.

Just the way it should be.

Scenes From Toronto’s Waterfront

Well summer is finally on its way.

After the winter that we all just endured the weather has finally warmed up and people are out and determined to enjoy it. One of the best places in Toronto to enjoy the summer weather – complete with cool lake breezes – is the waterfront.

During the Doors Open festival in May we shot some material for the Waterfront BIA, capturing images of people enjoying the first warm weekend we’d had in a long time. People were out running, biking, walking all shapes and sizes of dogs, and generally partaking in all the waterfront has to offer.

Some of those fun-loving people (and their dogs) even made it into our blog.

 

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?

Totally Waisted! by Katrina Mior: Photos by Light Monkey Photography

Once in a while – as a photographer – you are lucky enough to work on a shoot with a group of people who not only bring out the best in what you do, but are also a lot of fun to work with… such was the case with our shoot earlier this week during which we teamed up with Toronto fashion designer Katrina (Kate) Mior to shoot some promotional material showcasing her incredible corsetry.

Kate’s business – cleverly named ‘Totally Waisted! Corsetry’ – has been in existence for eight years and she is at the point in her career now of building a solid online presence for her designs. When construction on her website is complete you will be able to see samples of Kate’s corsets and contact her easily to place custom orders. Until then you can visit her Facebook Page, Pinterest, or Tumblr accounts to see the heirloom quality, hand finished, high end pieces this fabulous designer is capable of creating.

Kate herself is a fascinating person, she is a true artist and an established performer who tours the world for a good portion of each year.  She sources the best – and in many cases, antique – material for her one-of-a-kind corsets and painstakingly creates the perfect finished product for her high-end clients. Each piece is art in itself (witness the black and white swan corsets above, featuring real feathers!) and we – with the help of models Ari, Miss Fine Lines, Helen, and Stephany – did our best to showcase it in the very best light.

Clothing Design/Styling and Hair Styling: Katrina Mior

Make-up: Aisha Chacha – Chacha Cosmetics

Models: Miss Fine Lines, Helen Davis, Ariel Lunansky, Stephany Garcia

Location (Loft Space) Owner: Meghan Curtis

New Work for Salex Lighting

Over the past few weeks we have been working on an ongoing project with Salex Lighting, a lighting company that provides lighting solutions to many of the cities new and existing architectural projects – some of which you might recognize in the photos above.  The right lighting can add so much to the aesthetics of any landscape or architectural project and as photographers – who are always looking for ways to use light to manipulate the way a subject is portrayed – we’ve found it a new and interesting experience to have stepped back a bit to focus simply on the light itself.

 

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??   🙂