16 MINUTES/3 SETUPS/94 FRAMES

Went to shoot John Manley, ex-Deputy Prime Minister and now
president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. A busy
guy. We got 45 minutes to set up and 15 minutes to shoot him.

Now, I’m not sure what other fotografers do in tight situations like
this, but I love to shoot options. Options for expression and options
for setups. I think that my client expected one, maybe two setups,
but I like shooting three.

To do three setups in such a short time frame what you have to do
is, you have to find different backgrounds that are close together.
That minimizes the movement required from one to the next. It also
really helps to have the shots pretty much lit and blocked out before
the subject arrives.

The other thing that I think is necessary is to keep kool, not panic.
Typically I’ll have a chat with the subject before we take the first shot.
And, as weird as it might sound, I actually move more slowly when
under time constraints. That way everyone keeps calm and the work
can proceed in a much more organized fashion. (When I have all the
time in the world to do a shoot, I prefer to get a bit sideways in order
to allow for happy mistakes and the bit of improvisation that only a
slightly disorganized approach allows.)

Anyway, did 3 setups, all in the same room. Took 16 minutes. Shot 94
frames. My client ended up running all 3 shots.

BURTYNSKY AT CUAG

Everyone’s seen Ed Burtynsky’s photos. Probably mostly on the web,
maybe in a book. I got a chance to see some of his giant prints up close
at The Carleton University Art Gallery, where a bunch of his images from
China are on view until February 7th. (Curated by Diana Nemiroff.)

E. Burtynsky’s work at CUAG

A couple of things came to my mind……

One is that, for me, I see a direct correlation between his work and the
work of Ansel Adams.

-Both are famous inside and outside photo circles.
-Both show nature in a Wagnerian way (albeit, in Burtynsky’s case, it’s
as much about human nature, as “pure” nature).
-Both take photos that are fairly obvious, in terms of how we might (be
supposed to) react to them……with awe.
-Both are master craftsman when it comes to technique.
-Both are highly influential in the artfoto world (tho, to be honest, Ansel
Adams work’s influence is well past it’s due date).

Funnily enough, whilst I pretty much despise A. Adams work, I’m totally
taken by E. Burtynsky’s. Go figger.

The other thing that struck me was how much Burtynsky’s prints looked
like photographs.

I think that the prevalent modus oparandi amongst many up and coming
recent foto skool grads (at least here in Ottawa) is the impulse to over
produce and over post-produce photos.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Burtynsky’s chromagenic prints from
scanned negatives, while absolutely beautiful to look at, contained many of
the good old optical and analogue “imperfections” that many others would
have “corrected”.

So, while his images and prints are perfect in so many ways, he still allows
the history of photography to seep through, by not embracing too closely
current technology’s ability to fix shit up.

E. Burtynsky’s work at CUAG

TINY TIMS- revisited

Like I mentioned before Xmas, I shot a bunch of child actors
who were auditioning for the role of Tiny Tim in the National
Arts Centre production of A Christmas Carol. Shot ‘em for
Guerilla magazine.

The issue came out before Xmas but I only laid my hands on
a copy yesterday. As usual Art Director Paul Cavanaugh did
a bangup job. Most respectful to the content, he is.

Cover foto by Sarah Schorlemer