Cornerstone Physiotherapy

Joon Nah - Founder, Cornerstone Physiotherapy

One of my new favourite people in the world, Joon Nah is one of the two founders of Cornerstone Physiotherapy conveniently located near Yonge and Carlton in downtown Toronto. Turns out I am not the only photographer to have suffered some damage from years of lugging heavy equipment around and standing in weird and body stressing positions to get the shot I want, not to mention the whole sitting at a desk retouching for hours on end part of the job, which apparently is really not good for you either.

My husband (who can now play golf again...at least it's physically possible) had raved about his experience with Joon, and thus, during a particular period of unrelenting pain I called and made an appointment. As I type this from my fabulous new ergonomic chair (who knew what you sit on could matter so much?!), I am struck by the relative lack of pain compared to a few months ago. Must remember not to sit here for such long stretches, though...excuse me a sec...

O.K., I'm back...

I wouldn't have known what to expect, never before having been to a physiotherapy clinic, but apparently I totally lucked out. Not only was the ambiance bright, warm, friendly, professional and calmly energetic, but the staff was, conveniently, in need of new headshots for their website. Joon knew right away he wanted environmental portraits (as opposed to a flat, more conservative, corporate backdrop) which would be more in keeping with the clinic's personality. I am a big fan of environmental portraits when they make sense. There's a sense of depth achievable with a hint of an out of focus room that simply isn't with a piece of fabric.

So, I got to meet almost all of them. What a super nice bunch of people! When I heard they were actively searching for a new office manager I actually fantasized briefly about how nice it would be to wake up and go to work there every day. I shot only the "Our Team" photos on the Cornerstone website as the rest of the site was already complete. As always, not everyone could be there on the day, so we may be doing a make-up date at some point. But if you go to their site before that, see how quickly you can spot the one portrait that doesn't quite match.

And now, time to do my exercises again!  I'm sure the motivation to do my 'homework' is enhanced by the feeling, in the face of such generosity and commitment, that failure to do it would amount to nothing less than total betrayal of someone who really deserves compliance!

My New Portfolio!

During the last some-period-of-time I finally stopped showing my old portfolio which one 'friend' lovingly said looked like a 'crypt,' and I started showing my book on an iPad. Great as that worked in some ways, the limitations became obvious, pretty much instantly, so I am excited to announce the publication of my new hard bound portfolio. Such was the combination of my vast technical knowledge (amassed over the past 30 years spent learning my craft) and the handy online tutorials of which I availed myself, that although this was my first personal foray into custom CMYK conversions, it appears that I got them right! (Usually I leave the prepress to my expert partners and will continue to do so...don't you worry!). Anyway, woohoo! Please e-mail me if you'd like to see it!

Hurricane Hazel by the Hurricane Herself!

 This was another cover shoot I was really excited about. A political icon, at least in this part of the world, Mayor Hazel McCallion is 93 years old and has been the Mayor of Mississauga for 36 years. The list of her accomplishments and contributions is really, really, really long. She has been voted the second most popular mayor in the WORLD. And the thought of the knowledge, experience and wisdom she has amassed during so many years in a high profile, highly demanding job, as well as so many years of life, while remaining whip sharp, strong and committed to this day, is kind of overwhelming to contemplate. I'm in awe. But I had a job to do the day of the shoot, so as impressed as I was (and am) I had to focus on the task!

This shoot was yet another occasion upon which I was vindicated for almost always being the uncool first one at the party. We were told we would have exactly one hour to set up, do hair and make-up, shoot and tear down. That sounded challenging, but doable to me until I found out that the editor wanted variations. There wasn't an opportunity to scout the Mayor's office (thankfully I had, at least, snapshots to look at), but I did make a test trip just to figure out the logistics of parking, unloading gear and getting it to the right place as efficiently as possible. We also asked if we could come early to set-up. Yes, half an hour. So we arrived closer to an hour early and very politely asked if we might be able to start early, if the Mayor was not in her office anyway. As I suspected, she was not, so we got in!

Once Mayor McCallion arrived, we asked if she would mind sitting down with our make-up artist Christine Cho, and she agreed without hesitation. There had been some question as to whether we'd even be allowed to do make-up but we came prepared, and Christine set-up in Her Worship's spacious bathroom. We set up in the office as planned. Christine did a fast and really lovely job, and we did the shoot. 

We even had time to do a second set-up in another room.

More about this book at  HarperCollins.ca. Hits shelves Oct. 2014. This is another one I'm really looking forward to reading!

Let's Start a Riot by Bruce McCulloch

Who knew when I was a photography student at Ryerson being blown away by this hilarious new comedy group called Kids In The Hall that one day I would get to meet and photograph the incomparable Bruce McCulloch?! What a trip! I have to admit I was very slightly intimidated, given his accomplishments since those early days, but Bruce was generous, gracious and not surprisingly, totally professional.

Our somewhat shy little butler was making his modelling debut and came through with a perfect performance. (See my earlier post re photographing children.)

I can't take credit for the suburban oasis in which the writer and his little servant find themselves. I think it's actually a painting combined with my photography thanks to the book designer's digital artistry. The book hits shelves October 2014. See more about it at HarperCollins.ca. I can't wait to read this one!

Hockey Confidential by Bob McKenzie

This had to be one of the craziest shoots I've done yet, at least with regards to timing. Talk about a test. We had what I figured was reasonable amount of time to get to the Mattamy Athletic Centre, set up a preconceived shot (I'd location scouted a couple of days before, and a rough layout was devised so we knew what we had to do), and shoot Bob McKenzie when he arrived at noon. But little did we know as we finished locking the camera into position, getting tethered to the laptop (now mounted on its own stand) and almost finished securing the light stand to a spot that wasn't wide enough to accommodate three spread legs that we would be told there was going to be a press conference right where we were set up so we would have to pack up and move.

What a scramble. We were shooting in the bleachers and not all sections were alike or would work in our layout. But we found a similar enough spot and humped all the gear over to the new spot, set up all over again, and were ready to go at 12:00 sharp! But where was Bob? Bob, it turned out, was stuck in traffic. No problem. The designer and I headed over to the other side of the rink to scout another possible spot for a second, alternative shot. 

Still no Bob. Apparently, according to the editor who went to greet him, he is now being stopped by fans. But eventually he arrives and we shoot and we get the shot!

We now have approximately half an hour to take whatever gear we will need to the other side of the rink for shot #2, but we can't get into the penalty box, where we will be shooting, until the players take their ten minute break, at which point we will have exactly ten minutes to get the gear in there, set up the camera (have to use a tripod because of the shutter speed), tether up, set up the light, shoot and get out. The buzzer goes and we leap into gear and as Bob is moving into the penalty box a player who recognizes him skates over to chat. I am briefly trapped behind him. But we get through and set up as fast as we possibly can. Someone yells "Zamboni!" and we spin the light (which we have on a boom out over the ice) out of the way so it doesn't get clipped. Almost as soon as we start shooting my assistant yells "shoot to card!" The capture software on the laptop has stalled. Thankfully I have an empty, formatted card in the camera just in case, so I yank the tether cable out of the camera and have shot maybe a dozen frames when the buzzer sounds and the players are at the gate. We have less than a minute to get out of their way. 

Not for the first time, once I get back to the studio to review the images, I find myself really liking one of the very last frames we shot, from the set-up that was 'just an alternative'. I know as I write this, of course, that they didn't go for that second shot for the cover, but I'm happy with the select. The book is out Oct. 2014. Read about it at HarperCollins.ca.

Simple and Summery

When Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin were interviewed for the Globe and Mail by Susan Krashinsky for an article entitled "Motherhood or career? A dynamic duo's case that women can do both" published June 6, 2014, one particular line in the piece really resonated for me: 

"Parents often develop greater patience, empathy, and coping skills. Those are traits bred out of necessity when faced with a tiny, screaming, irrational being, all while sleep deprived. But they can also be valuable in a work setting."

I have photographed quite a  few children over the years, both before and after having my own child, and I have to say, I really do have a different perspective now as a result of my own experience. One might say "well, duh" but I had some very smooth and happy shoots with babies, toddlers and children, before. I loved working with kids. Except for one brutal shoot that I will never forget. If only I could go back in time. 

Anyway, a few years ago I did a quick personal test shot of my son, never intended to be shared, and without much attention to detail or concept, but which had elements about it I really liked. I looked at the test print on my bulletin board every day for a long time and finally decided, with my now 10 years-in-development (parental) perspective, it might be worth redoing, with the same bright, simple feel, but with some planning, and a point. 

I knew the model I wanted to use, a certain little girl I knew to have a bubbly, slightly mischievous, but charming, independent and spirited personality. So I went in knowing full well I was really just going to have to let happen what would happen, within the somewhat loose (maybe not all that loose) framework I had created. And what happened? We shot over 200 frames and this little five year old girl was the most well-behaved, cooperative little trooper ever! (Note: she is not a model. But she could be!) What happened!?

The floral arrangement, which could not have been more perfect (thanks to a highly intuitive, and, really, spot-on interpretation of what I was looking for), was the work of my new friend Maija Reisenauer of the whimsically named Midge Flower Boutique. One of the newer creative tenants in our building, Maija brings ten years of experience (coincidentally the same amount of time I've spent experimenting with parenting!) to her art. The multi-talented Maija has also founded a successful line of cosmetics, and sells unique and lovely gifts in her boutique. How handy!

One final note: I realized going into this project that once again I was creating an image that doesn't really fit seamlessly anywhere in my current portfolio. Last year I 'threw out' a ton of images and made a concerted effort to define my vision more precisely. But honestly, I'm not interested in doing the same thing over and over again. One of the great things about being a photographer is that one can play with light, and play with subject matter, and create completely different images based on the way one combines those elements. That's what I love doing. And I'm going to keep doing that as long as I can. 

Do I shoot video?

Select Components of Wolfpack Night Vision System

Do I shoot professional video myself? I was going to say "no, not really," but I think it would be more accurate to say simply "no." Although if you could clearly see the reflection in the lens of the piece of high tech imaging gear in this video frame you would see me, as well as the guy holding the gear. So I did actually shoot this. (And no, we did not use this take in the final cut.) But I am not going to shoot your video.

I am, in every other instance, a big believer in bringing a high professional standard to any work I do and, probably to my detriment as a professional photographer I've never been one to say "Sure, I can do that!" if I had no idea how to do it. Richard Branson

"If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes - then learn how to do it later!" 

would not be impressed.

But who says he's right? What about Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours (ref. Outliers, Penguin Books)? If I am not going to be an expert until I put in 10,000 hours of practice I need to find someone who's already done it. And I have! In truth, I've known this very well established film and video producer for a really long time.

So if you need a high quality corporate video, by all means call me! I've got Dave and Dave's got the talent, the skill and way over 10,000 hours!