messagio galore take vii

messagio galore take vii, Ottawa

Maple Tree Literary Supplement #8

Issue 8 of Maple Tree Literary Supplement is out and live at http://www.mtls.ca/
For the first time MTLS includes a film section. It features fiction, poetry, essays and drama and more writing; interviews with Giller prize-winning author, Annabel Lyon, and Don Oravec, executive Director of Writers Trust; Simon Dardick of Vehicule Press, Film Directors Kaare Andrews and Michael McGowan; Toronto International Film Festival’s Theresa Scandiffio; actor Noah Reid and Bruce foster, Paper engineer for the Harry Potter series.

Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light (1/9)

video of Richard Avedon via youtube.

Tearsheet - Children's Aid Society

Where does the time go? Lately as you see from my recent blog posts, I am just getting around to showing some recent photo-related work of which I am really proud. From July to September 2010 I shot about twenty portraits for a great client, The Children's Aid Society (CAS) of Ottawa.

It was my second year working with them to provide some photographs for their use. This time around they had created a I am your Children's Aid campaign that involved my photography for print media, their annual report, a calendar, and online banners (shown below). All the the subjects depicted were involved with the CAS on some level - from staff to volunteers to parents.

Their goal was to show the inclusiveness of our population, choosing from members of the GLBT, aboriginal, and multi-faith communities. Quite a huge and diverse population. Primarily, my shooting location was out of their head office in Gloucester. I also got to shoot at other locations for some subjects - either in a personal residence or another office location. To that end I had to keep the lighting gear to a minimum and make the setups very efficient. Lugging 75 pounds of several sandbags up a flight or two of stairs wasn't the most fun thing to do in the dog days of August. Since safety is key on location, sandbags go on all light and background stands.

My task was to light them all similarly against multiple coloured backgrounds. I used my 85mmm set to f/5.6, as some of the photos had two people in them, and lit them with one softbox with my SB-800 and another snooted flash to light the background. Keep it simple and dramatic. Composition and exposure had to be similar to achieve consistent results no matter the location and ambient lighting.

What also helped the process of shooting was having a laptop to immediately show the client and subject the photos in real time. This really sped up the selection process. Model releases where then signed and the process started over again. Like all corporate/client-related work it was important to get the shots right from from the get go without much time warming up with the talent. However, being such a fun and personable guy to be around there was absolutely no issues in that department.
Hehehe ;-)

Here are a select group of photos they used online:

Ottawa magazine November 2010

Five photos that I took over the course of a few years at various literary events held at St. Brigid's appear in three pages of the November 2010 issue. Thanks to the Ottawa Int'l Writers Fest for allowing me to photograph at these events, Jane Corbett (AD), and photog Tony Fouhse who put my name in her ear.

Tearsheet: Canadian Running Magazine

a photo that I took at the 2010 Ottawa Race Weekend appears in the "Canadian Running Magazine" January/February 2011 issue.

original photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/4660077120/in/set-72157624058353663/

(Thanks goes to the great team at Run Ottawa for the media access! Everybody should realize that it's access that really makes a photo. Without access - you can't get the picture you want to make. Without the picture - it's hard to get published. I just want to share the appreciation when it's due. Sure the photographer takes the photo, but it's really a collaboration with behind the scenes preparation and prior communication. Then there's the follow up to get the photo out there in front of eyes of the art directors and photo editors who like the work enough to put it in a magazine. Thank you!)

Intel Visual Life - The Sartorialist

Those who know of "The Sartorialist" aka Scott Schuman will appreciate seeing this video doc. Certainly, I am a fan of his work and aesthetic.

video Intel Visual Life -via The Sartorialist

Copyright PSA - "Cloned"

"Cloned" - A Jenkinson/Goode Production via youtube