In attendance were many of Lethbridge’s photography community including Hope Litwin, Rod Leland & Cody Belter. I had my new Canon 7D with me and was able to shoot some random footage to get acquainted with the camera in a low light setting for video. Here’s the resulting clip:

Scenes from a tweetup from Michael Warf on Vimeo.

Taryn came to me after seeing Steph & Brad’s wedding photos, what a great referral! Taryn and Jon wanted to include their dogs (which are like family) into their engagement set, so we got a few shots with their mix of doberman, rottweiler and chihuahua brood (who were very well behaved for the camera). Kudos to both of them as they braved the chill of a Lethbridge October evening to get some great shots. They are such a great looking couple, and naturals in front of the lens, they made my job easy.

I met Chris & Melissa less than 48 hours before their wedding. Their original photographer had to cancel at the last minute due to a family tragedy. News of their need for a replacement photographer spread like wildfire through the support of photographers in Lethbridge and the surrounding area, and ultimately Chris and Melissa put their trust in my work (simply through the website, before even meeting! Yikes!).

Upon meeting them both the next morning, it became very obvious that Chris was a lifetime football fan. I had scouted a local pond for wedding locations previously but really wanted to do something special for this couple to make their photos shine. I pulled a few strings with friends and within hours had security clearance to shoot at the new stadium, which is still under construction.

I don’t think this is the last time you’ll see this great location in Lethbridge wedding photos, but it feels great to be the first wedding shooter to be able to do so. I covered the morning makeup and hair sessions, while Kevin McCarthy – my second shooter who drove in from Calgary with 24 hours notice, covered the guys. The service was held at University Drive Alliance church, with a lovely reception in Coalhurst, Alberta.

Thanks for putting your trust in my photography guys, it was a pleasure to work with you both on your big day!

As a warm-up to the Lethbridge Streetwheelers show, I had the opportunity to light and photograph a fantastic Ford street rod – a consistent winner for “best paint” in shows around the country.

Having teamed up with Brien Gehring as a lighting assist, I was eager to photograph it – as I hadn’t professionally lit a car before (let alone a black one, the hardest of all). The landscape scene in the door is intentional, and I lit this car as I would a portrait for a human subject.

Kudos to Brien for his work on securing the location at the old Galt Mine #8 after hours. It really fit this ride.

Ian & Amber, our couple for the day were certianly easy to work with, what a great looking couple! My job was to hang back and capture candids with the long lens (wedding paparazzi) which was a ton of fun. I started the day at St. Pat’s for the ceremony (beautiful setting, lots of stained glass and pale contrasting tones) and then off to Henderson Lake and the Galt Museum for wedding party photos.

This was the first wedding of 2009 for me, and was a great warmup for some of the solo couples I’ve booked through the year. Ian & Amber are off to Thailand for their honeymoon, for a well deserved break.

I hope to work with Tanya again in this capacity, it really was low stress, high quality results.

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These two are naturals in front of the lens, needing very little direction to get some great material to show their parents overseas. Sugwon mentioned that they didn’t have photos previously, so I’m excited that this level of photography will be well received as they send electronic versions away via email, and commission a large print or two for themselves.

Here’s a few frames from our session at Lethbridge’s “Sugar Bowl” tunnel and walkway.

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A solid 20 year career was evident in the performance given by both Treach, and Vin Rock – currently touring to support thier new album.

A Quick Video Slideshow

Technology is driving the convergence of video and still cameras, and as a result – many photographers find themselves able to explore their composition and client skills in both mediums. New SLR cameras from Canon and Nikon ( and soon everyone else) are able to capture high-definition video that rivals many dedicated setups. Its a little unsettling at first to witness artists filming video with a still camera body, but as we’ve seen in recent movies (like “Slumdog millionaire“) – this gives the videographer an element of stealth. People react differently to a video camera than a simple still camera.

Do I feel still image photographers can make the leap to video? Nope. Its an entirely separate craft, which requires individual training – but many of the existing skills are transferable, so the learning curves will be short. Respected Vancouver photographers “The Bebbs” are currently offering workshops to help that transition after testing early release copies of Canon’s 5D Mk II.

Videographers are also adapting their equipment to maximize 35mm still lenses, and the result is amazing. One look at Stillmotion’s recent showreel is proof that innovation pays off in spades. We are in early times, and video on an SLR isn’t perfect (video requires manual focus, yikes!), but I look forward to what the next 6 months have in store. Its only a matter of time before Lethbridge sees quality like this!

[video://vimeo.com/2542789]

Little Joel has a pretty cool dad (Jeff King), who I’ve photographed twice for Calgary Indie Magazine “Beatroute”. It seems Joel’s dad is not only the guitar player for Lethbridge’s Endangered Ape (Beatroute, December 2008) – but also is the mastermind behind his own band Favour and indie record label (Beatroute, January 2009).

Retro Baby Portrait Time!

Jeff and his family brought Joel over to my home studio where we had a great time changing up his wardrobe, playing with my puppy and generating some great retro portraits in the process. I’m not sure if those eyes could get much bigger or bluer, but one thing is certain – Joel’s got some big shoes to fill for the future Lethbridge music scene. Good times were had by all, I’m posting a few of the processed photos to share with you.

What? Where’s the Wedding Photography?

I’m taking a break today from blogging about weddings, portraits, packages and pricing. Today I decided to grab a few items I had lying around the house and create some abstract images using smoke from incense sticks.

I grabbed some cheap incense from the local dollar store here in Lethbridge, and repurposed some of the items I had on hand for shooting newborn photographs (black velvet backdrops, reflectors, etc.) Triggering the flash remotely, I was able to light the smoke without spilling light on the backdrop. The snoot, speedstrap, and flag seen in the video can be sourced from honlphoto.com.

[video:http://www.vimeo.com/2647219]

Updated with Photo!

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