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.

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.

Tristan Thompson Launches the Amari Thompson Fund in Partnership With Epilepsy Toronto

Let us just say right from the start that working with NBA star Tristan Thompson and his family – mother Andrea and youngest brother Amari – was a complete pleasure. Recently Tristan launched the Amari Thompson fund in partnership with Epilepsy Toronto to provide support to those in our community who aren’t fortunate enough to have the advantages that Tristan’s family does in terms of financial support and the access to medication and services that they might find they need to not only live, but to live their fullest life while managing epilepsy.  You can learn more about Tristan’s initiative here and watch his video here: 

We came away from the shoot that we did with the Thompsons with a very real admiration for not only Tristan – who immediately upon finding himself able to give back, did just that – but for his mother Andrea, who is clearly very much responsible for the huge heart and the strong character rooted in Tristan.

Amari has been through a lot in his young life. He is one of the 1 in 100 in our community who live with Epilepsy every day. With the generosity of those who have already contributed to the fund in its first week – and those of you considering making a donation soon – it is a very real possibility that all the OTHER ‘1 in 100’s in our community will have the opportunity to access services they need regardless of their circumstances. That’s a pretty awesome possibility.

As Tristan would say “Let’s do this”.

Inside the New Holt Renfrew Yorkdale

One early morning in July we spent a few hours photographing the interior of the newly renovated Holt Renfrew store at Yorkdale Mall. Our objective with this shoot was to capture the lighting and the way it illuminated and complimented the merchandise in various departments.

Although we were surrounded by a plentiful selection of this season’s top fashions and timeless classics from a variety of designers we decided not to take the opportunity to browse – or look TOO closely – at the pieces on offer. That was probably a good choice, as the temptation to do a bit of shopping while we were there might have just been too much.

The New – and Very Fancy – Fort York Library

 

At the end of May a new library opened in the neighbourhood of Bathurst and Front St. at Fort York Blvd. This new branch not only lends out books, DVDs and other material, but also includes a computer lab and multi-media rooms within which programs and classes are held.  It is very modern and is a central spot for the residents of the newly named “Library District” to gather and learn.

The lighting is another key point, especially the strip of light under the massive staircase that leads to the second floor. We shot the library for Salex, one of our clients and the company responsible for designing the ‘look’ of the lighting and choosing the fixtures to achieve this look.  The library itself it airy and bright, the lighting matches this perfectly.

See for yourself – above.

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?

Head Shots and Portraits In Support of Art of Fashion

This past week we donated our time and skill over the course of two days and produced a LOT of head shots and portraits as a fundraiser for Art of Fashion, an organization that supports up and coming fashion designers in their efforts to build their careers and their collections.  Next week we will share with you some of our favourite frames from the 45 sessions we completed.  The sessions were open to everyone – some people needed photos for corporate profiles or business use, some for more creative endeavours, and some people like Anna, above, just thought it would be cool to help raise money for a good cause and have some fun in the process.

Anna came in late on Monday – she was the last person we shot that day – and we were SO happy she decided to participate. After a 12 hour day she brought so much fun and laughter to the room it was incredible.  We are big fans of Anna now, we may even have found a muse, and given that she ended our day so well on Monday we thought we’d share this photo of her to end our week on Friday.

You will (we hope) be seeing even more of Anna on our blog pages in the future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

Wishing all of our clients and friends a very happy new year. We’re looking forward to new collaborations, creative partnerships, and good times in 2014.

Look! Fireworks!