stephen j edgar photoblog

What a trip, what a trip! One little day off and off the races tomorrow for part 2. Exhausted, but feeling fine. No malaria, no more altitude sickness, no montazuma…..

We set a torrid pace for week one. Took three flights to various regions in the North and the East, down in the rain forest. Quite a change in climate from La Paz. Places we went to had been badly affected by flooding a month ago and the water has yet to recede in some places. Villages have been cut off from any help or food or medical aid and their crops have been ruined -not good. But there are folks willing to help. Rode with Oxfam, World Vision, Save the Children, and even the Bolivian Air Force. Very inspiring to see such an impressive mobilisation of support -many of them volunteers! So there I was roving around the country side with all my gear going here and there and taking meetings and sitting in on lectures -shooting the whole time of course -whew….it has been a job

Go here to see a little gallery I put together of week one. They are in no particular order I’m affraid…have had no time between taking pics and shooting video and then tagging ALL the shots…up late many a night organizing and editing things down a little -tonight being no different. Anyway, no time to write this thing so i appreciate all your patience!

Last night did pop out with the gang for a little walk about around La Paz. What a marvelous city! There was an all night museum tour that was just spectacular. VERY well attended to boot.

gotta fly! up early and still have yet to pack -YIKES!!!!

s

An unbelievable cab ride from the airport to city centre JUST as the sun was breaking marked my introduction to La Paz Bolivia. The airport at El Alto is at least 1000m higher than La Paz. Driving down a big curving road you have an almost birds eye view of La Paz and the astounding Mt Ilimani. The sun rakes across the buildings that cling to the side of the canyon. A sight to behold and an beautiful photo op to boot -but not this morning. After a sleepless night all I could do was gaze and smile. An interesting fact about the airport. It’s the highest airport on earth and because the air is so thin, the airplanes need a 5km runway to land and to take off. Man, did we come in FAST this morning! Any craft flying out of La Paz will burn so much of it’s fuel that a refueling stop in nearby Santa Cruz Bolivia is essential. I couldn’t figure out why there were no flights direct to Miami…and that’s why for all you interested.

As we trundled up and down through rush hour La Paz we dipped into shadow and ascended into orange morning light, I wondered why I had not heard more of this place: it’s BEAUTIFUL. Winding cobble stone roads, colonial architecture…I thought of her history and specifically how (and why) in the hell anyone would’ve seen the potential in building this high up…what forsight! Obviously Captain Alonzo de Mendoza convinced the right people and those people had friends who bought in…..GOLD baby. Yup, those Spaniards of the 1500s sure had a nose for it. Apparently the River Choqueyapu (or CHOKE as it’s now known) was full of the yellow stuff……today it’s full of a different yellow stuff…

Checked into my suite and crashed.

Woke up round noon and spent the remainder of the day bombing around in another taxi cab shopping for shoes. Here I grew even more enamoured by the ups and downs and twists and turns of the city. Imagine San Francisco but with steeper hills all cobble stone…and now replace all the Americans with the Cholita (the colourfully dressed ‘market women’) -trust me it’s nice. here’s a snap.

quaint isn’t it? But don’t get me wrong. There are lots of deisel fumes, lots of stray dogs, lots of homeless folks….it’s South America, whadaya expect!?!?! But really, all in all, a very well kept secret.

gotta fly, assignment starts tomorrow.

hugs

Well folks, here I am at Miami International Airport drinking it all in. Peeps of all shapes and sizes from all over the Americas are wandering around aimlessly (none more so than myself!), or lining up at the various troughs for consumption, or corralling their brats, or watching CNN, or just staring off into space….

it’s truly unbelievable how jam packed this place is.

Anyway, I’m here awaiting my connecting flight to La Paz Bolivia. Only 5 more hours to go…Yup. It’s finally happening. I’ve been meaning to keep you abreast of the pre production aspects of this assignment but it’s been tougher than I thought and I’ve had little time left for my lovely family let alone this blog.  All in all it’s been a little different than what I’ve been use to. Emotionally speaking, I feel as though I have hit every hill and valley of my very being during this exercise. Ah, the details aren’t important, so I’ll sum up the experience with the help of an old master:

Bottom line is that part’s over and now it comes down to what I do best. So I’m happy.

Here’s the gig as I understand it so far: 9 consecutive days of flying and driving around Bolivia with a writer and a translator. Priority number one is Stills. Priority number two is Video. I’ll traveling with my Nikon D2x for stills and a Sony V1U DVcam for vids…sounds good, doesn’t it? The joy I’m feeling now is because I successfully got through customs and was able to carry-on all my essential camera gear without any hassle whatsoever. I even got myself a bulkhead seat!

and now for the flight to La Paz….I depart for that storied region in mere hours….and hours.

I’ll try to keep you updated. I have no idea whether there will be any connectivity in the areas I’ll be shooting but something tells me it’s gonna be a little dicey. PLEASE get in touch with me. I’d love to hear from you…

hugs

whoa.

had an excellent experience while on a last minute gig last night. Got the call at the eleventh hour to and shoot a university hockey game…but not just ANY university game, a SEMI-FINAL university play off game…not just ANY University Semi Final play off hockey game but WOMEN’S University Semi-Final play off Hockey. and you know what else? The game was won in a thrilling end-to-end over time that had me riveted. Just a shame I was only one of a handful of spectators.

Serious hustle. Serious skills. Serious Fun. I loved it. And listen, I’m a hockey fan, big time. But like many Hockey fans ’round these parts, I’m feeling major LEAF-fatigue. With all the Trade deadline crap going on I’m just about ready to throw up. Millionaire hockey players ENOUGH. What perfect timing the gods have sending me to shoot this game. Must admit as well, I’m one of those guys who, while I’m quick to give huge heartfelt props to the gals on Canada’s Olympic squad, I’ve never really paid too much attention….Things change baby, things change.

Hey, another thing I must admit, I’ve never shot a hockey game (other than my son’s) before. It’s tough work!! Hats off to the guys and gals who do this regularly. As a Nikon shooter I’ve always felt a little behind the Canon set when shooting sports. Canon’s auto focus is lightspeed faster than Nikon’s. No contest. And frankly, that’s fine. I tend to photograph things OTHER than sporting events…however last my trusty D2X’s autofocus system was put to the test -these gals were Flyin’!!!  I had to really pay attention, utilising not only my YEARS of photographic experience, but also my hockey prowess (ya right!) to keep up with them.

AND in the end, at about 2mins to go in overtime, it all paid off. I was right there with Lauren Barch (no.77) as she swiped home the game’s only goal, the OT winner!

Read the story in Monday’s KW Record.  Hey! and while were on the topic of hockey, my number one son has a goal per game streak going!  I’m so proud!!!  He’s at 4 games now…Keep it going Devlin!!!  and don’t forget to play defence!

Anywho, back to the Oscars.  I’ll report on THAT mess 2morrow!

s

HI there!  Seems like my Lunar Eclipse shots were well received.  Thankyou for all the feedback!  I even got a little nudge in WIRED magazine’s science blog.  Check it out here.  Apparently I live in a  ‘far-flung place’.  Yahoooooo, it’s something I’ve always aspired to!  Snowing again.  Shocker .  Will spend much of today shoveling.

wow. what happened there? I kinda like, doped off for a couple of months….

Let’s recap: It won’t take long.
Christmas: got sick and skipped off much of the holiday. Shoveled snow. Managed to make it up to 705 land for some family time with the folks. Very Nice. Shoveled snow.
New Year’s: stayed home and recovered from flu and continued to shovel snow.
Went away to Clearwater Fla to visit with the inlaws for a couple of weeks in January. Was there for the Tom Cruise Video Release Party. A real blast considering Clearwater is Scientology Central. VERY Strange atmosphere in Elrond Hubbard’s HQ. It’s like watching a game of lemmings….all these folks wearing similarly tailored shirts and slacks, wandering around in groups….there seems to be a hierarchal identity thing communicated with various combinations of blue shirt with beige pleated pants, or white shirts with blue pleats…and then there are the pagers. Now sure, we see this stuff everyday in corporate North America. Lemmings are the groove and pulse of many downtown sectors…but something is amiss here. Maybe it’s just the auspice of SCIENTOLOGY that creates this weirdness. However there’s more and it’s tough to explain. Was it their frozen smiles? The ‘hundred-yard stares’? Or was it the fact that on many occasions when I attempted to follow these gaggles of sheeple, I would go to check my watch, or check out my reflection, or whatever…I’d go to resume my sluething and they’d be GONE! It happened more than once, I tell you! One second, there…the next second, NOT. Poof!

Now as I am a photographer, you’d think that I’d suit up and take to the streets in pursuit of this scoop…but I did not. No, I was content to just check it out with my eyes and leave the Brownie at home. Also, I have to admit, as interesting the Tom Cruise video was, and as messed up as I think Scientology is, part of me was feeling a little sorry for them. I mean, not to get all philisophical and deep and thoughtful on this but, judgment and persecution of religious practices that don’t mesh with our own personal beliefs is a little F’d up. The group Anonymous is all over Scientology. They point out some VERY disturbing facts about their practices -business and recruitment techniques ya da ya da ya da. Personally, I think there are WAY bigger and badder things going on out there in our little world. Things much more worthy of our attention than this organisation/cult.

Jeez, some recap. Forgive me. I HAVE been busy with photo shoots and designing stuff and taking lots and lots of meetings. And there have been a great many world events since we last spoke. But so much snow shoveling tends to eclipse all else….D’oh! I almost forgot; there was a Lunar Eclipse last night! WOW, very very pretty. I hope you appreciate the snaps! Damn near froze my ass off! It kinda caught me off guard…heard about it moments before it was to start. Otherwise I would have found a better lens for the moment. As it was, I had my 200mm on and managed to get just enough detail in the moon’s hilights while earth’s shadow slowly swallowed her up. During the height of the eclipse had to REALLY slow down the shutter speed and REALLY up the ISO. For any of you Nikon D2Xers out there, you know that means NOIZE galore….Regardless, it was still a beautiful sight to behold.

Isn’t that sweet?

Speaking of Eclipse, did anyone see Chris Bosh manhandle Dwight Howard and the Magic last night?! WOW!!!! Go RAPS!!!!

greetings to all you folks trying desperately to find the time to get all that shopping done.

Just a few notes to pass on to the hordes. Had a few fun family shoots over the weekend that went off beautifully. Since then have been fighting like a madman to fend off the wolves…those being the cold-bug, the flu-bug, the strep-bug, the blues-bug etc etc etc.

here are some shots from the weekend!

it was really a make lemonade outta lemons kinda day. Had a shoot cancel cuz of a little cold sore, and was stuck with a wonderful studio facility and no one to shoot! Called up some pals, booked a few last minute deals, had an old friend happen by and viola! Some pieces for the portfolio and heirlooms for generations to come.

Wanted to touch on the man and his best friend. Lucked out really. There was a knock on the studio door, took a look outside and before i could even see who it was I saw the sky -WOW! and then I saw little Magnus and his big pal Andrew. Grabbed the profoto with the beauty dish and …really wasn’t rocket science. Awesome location and very patient clientelle didn’t hurt either…oh and 15 plus years of experience…oh! and I forgot the $20k worth of equipment…
Balancing the light. Always a pleasure. Shooting with strobes and dragging the shutter for the BG is an age-old technique that I just cannot get enough of.

Can’t keep my mind off TJ Ford today. OOH did he take a swat to the face and then a blam off the floor…right on the back of his head -check it out here. Didn’t get up….off the court 10 very unsettling mins later on a stretcher. Talk about air being sucked outta the room. It was the last 90 seconds of play in a game the Raptors had one handily. Atlanta rookie Al Horford was the culprit.

Gotta Fly. But before I do, I must leave you with a very sobering article on global warming. check this out.

hugs

stephenjedgar.com

hello and my apologies to all two of you for my little absence. All my blog savvy associates are kicking my butt saying that I’ve got to do this thing AT LEAST twice a day (!?!??!)

Fer REAL?

I’ll admit, things photographically have been a little slow for the photographic genius (uh, that’s me) so I’ve not been too inspired to tell you what I’ve been doing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am VERY busy (and behind) on all my processing, image management, marketing, conceptualising, accounting, drinking, etc etc etc. So you get the idea. For all of you who think we photographers have ultimate dream jobs and are 24 hour party people, yer only Half right. Nope, I’m a Dad, and a husband too… Baby, I’ve got real life responsibilities to take care of! Plus I’ve got my Toronto Raptors to cheer for, and my Harry Potter books to read, and…yes, I know I know, I KNOW! C’mon, I needed a light read and now I’m hooked. I’ll make it up later with some Anthony Robbins (ya, Personal Power!!!). Kidding. But maybe not. Saw him on The HOUR and he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Truth is, he reminds me of my younger (and much bigger) brother….but I’ve digressed haven’t I? I’ll leave that for my therapist’s blog.

So, yes; a photographer’s -even the photographic genius’- life can get a little mundane occasionally. Thank GAWD for “FEIST“. Holy smokes is she COOOOL…and pretty cute too. My true love, Nadia and I finally got to go out on a date last night to the Feist show at Centre in the Square in Kitch WAt. Jeez, she was good. You may recall a few entries ago, entitled ‘printing‘ I was preparing to hit up the photo editor of the little local paper for some side-work (he hasn’t called me yet but he insists my book floored him….I’m suspicious). Anyway I bugged him and bugged him and bugged him to get to shoot the gig and it didn’t happen -man, was I pissed! Nadia was quite relieved to hear that I’d wouldn’t be abandoning her for the show…and, ya, it was super cool to be with the girl I love for such a beautiful evening of music. Must give props to the GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS, who opened the show. These guys are currently my favorite canadian band. I’ve been playing the shit outta them on my ipod. Their most recent album, Ongiara, is so goooood, so beautiful, so ethereal…. They are actually the reason, initially, I was there. ‘Nuff said; Check these guys out LIVE on Stuart McLean’s Nov 4th Vinyl Cafe.
and now I’ve got a little beef about this show, no, the venue…sorry, i cannot let it go. The Centre in the Square is a really nice concert hall with amazing acoustics. The sound last night was really really good. BUT not a great place for public engagement. Feist had her work cut out for her to bridge that gap between she and her adoring fans. It must’ve been tough to keep energized up there on stage…
for me things were tough before the show even started. Where do I start… The Centre is completely annexed from ANY place close to have a drink or a bite to eat before the show. Yes, they have some kind of cafe and a nice gallery but for some lame-o reason they’d closed it for the eve!!! So Nadia’s and my date (first in months!!!) started about an hour before the show, stuck, without a place to sit down for a drink! There were bar facilities there. I ordered a gin (beefeater yuck!) and tonic for about $8…the bastards didn’t even have a slice of lime. Unforgivable in my books. Next, the poor service staff are stuck wearing the same horrible maroon jackets that must’ve been the code when this place opened back in the early eighties. GET WITH IT, PEOPLE! Finally, the lighting in this place MUST be addressed. I’m talking in the hallways where we were stuck waiting for the show to begin. They have these bare multi-bulb sconces EVERYWHERE that, when you look anywhere near them, yer stuck with residual light ghosts messing with your vision…try looking away and you inevitably land on another one and on and on. For those of you who, like me, are unlucky migraine sufferers, this lighting ‘design’ isn’t just ugly, it causes cold sweats that, in themselves, could cause a World of PAIN…y’know I could go on about this place but….
I’ll say it again, Thank Gawd for FEIST. You Smoke…..I think I love you….but the photographic genius is taken!!!
sorry, no pics this time but if you’d like some eye candy just visit my sites, stephenjedgar.com and celebrations

hello world! this is a test

hey folks, Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans reading this! Happy Grey Cup to all you CFL fans - you are a strange lot (check this and this out)!
Wanted to lay down some grub about photographing weddings. Wedding photographers get no respect, do they!? Not from the purists anyway. Nope. For years and years I turned my back on this much-maligned niche. I diss’d it! Laughed at those who chose to do it! Occasionally I shot friends’ weddings reminding people all the while that it was a favour and that I was, in actual fact, a “commercial pro”.

But there was a dirty little secret just itching to come out: I was actually good at weddings…and worse, I kinda liked doing them.

But, with my ego on the line, I suppressed and denied and hid…until finally it was just no USE! I had to let THE BEAST out!!!!

Photographically speaking, weddings are a real challenge. One MUST be on his toes, with finger on the trigger. Your surrounding elements are constantly in flux and you really never know when someone might, just might…blow a gasket! So it’s a little like venturing into uncharted territory…THIS is what get’s me goin’ I am there as an unbiased observer…and fleet-footed dancer, a story-teller for the generations. I am there when two worlds collide and become one.

Baby, it ain’t no tea-party!

Over the course of this blog (yet more uncharted territory!) I’ll touch on my experiences both as a “ligit” commercial shooter, and as an enthusiastic wedding photographer. Can I be both? We’ll see, won’t we? Personally I think it’s a necessity not to limit myself….oh whatever.  Check these out:

Graham and Monique got married at the Eglinton Grand in Toronto.

What a couple!  What a party!!!  This was the perfect job to walk the line between hired gun and honoured party guest.  I loved it!  Being a fly-on-the-wall/paparazzi and enjoying the treats.  Photographically this job was a challenge;  multi-coloured, moving spotlights, lighting an otherwise moodily lit (ie dark) venue meant I was constantly changing settings from shot to shot.  And the way I shoot, baby, this was a second by second occurrence.

Steve and Kate got married at the Festival Theatre in Stratford Ontario.

Again, Beautiful couple and Excellent party as illustrated here in the couples’ impromptu reenactment of Shakespeare’s great tragedy, “Macbeth“…or was it “Midsummer Night’s Dream“?  “Merry Wives of Windsor“????  I’ve forgotten and, for better or for worse, so probably have they.

Another photographic challenge in any case.  This venue was lit beautifully with nothing but white T-lights wrapped around 6 foot branches suspended from the ceiling…very moody!!!  Steve and Kate decided to have my “photo booth” as a part of the festivities which gave them and all their drunken guests the opportunity to try their hand at being thespians even if for just a moment or two.  A standing ovation to you all!

Anyway….that’s it for now.

check out my wedding site

www.celebrations.stephenjedgar.com

hugs

s
Technorati Profile

s