Peter Gowland RIP

Though most people probably never heard of him, photographer Peter Gowland died this past week at age 93. Here's an excellent obituary in the New York Times.

He was a great photographer most famous for his pin-up shots (some of which aren't family friendly) but I first heard of him because he designed his own cameras. If you want to buy something for someone you know who has everything then get them a Gowlandflex camera. But be warned that they ain't cheap.

As the only (non-copyrighted) image I could find suggests: Peter Gowland started life as an actor. In fact he appeared in 'Citizen Kane'! How cool is that?

A Seminar From Jeff Vespa

I missed this when it first hit the internets...my old buddy Jeff Vespa doing a seminar on how celebrity photographs are retouched. You didn't know they retouched those things? Yes, it's true. And there is no Santa Claus. Hate to break it to you.

If you're interested you can also see some of Jeff's very own celebrity images.

Michelle Quance Rocks

Yes, sometimes I still shoot film (remember film?) and this week I dropped by my friendly neighborhood black and white lab here in Toronto, the conveniently named Toronto Black and White. There was a great print on the wall and I asked, Who did that?

Michelle Quance was the answer.

This was actually the second time I'd asked about a cool print at the lab, and the other time it had been done by Michelle Quance as well. I'd even looked her up on the interweb that other time and seen there was lots of fine work on her site, but after that I forgot the name. As anyone who knows me can tell you I have a terrible memory for names. I can remember the scores of Blue Jays' games from ten years ago, but names? Nope. It's a bad habit I admit. I'm sorry about it.

Anyhow, this past week after visiting Toronto Black and White and re-learning the name I googled up Michelle Quance again, and what did I see, besides her (still very impressive) site? A just-posted review of Michelle's work by a disgruntled consumer, saying she was bad, bad, bad, extremely bad, possibly a member of Al Qaeda and really just generally bad. The review was on several sites but always worded exactly the same way and so clearly written by exactly one person. A person who didn't even have the courage to post a name and was complaining just this week about work done three years ago.

That's unfair.

No one likes the internet more than me, especially all that music I illegally download (whoops, ignore that). But when someone posts anonymous ancient complaints it's awfully suspicious. Of course I can't tell you the circumstances of a photo shoot done three years ago by someone else however I can tell you that photographers don't go around inquiring about other photographer's work very often. Especially not twice. Consider that if you read the complaint about Michelle's work somewhere on the 'net, and consider that this is coming from a potential rival. Except for the weddings part, because, well, I don't do those. They make me cry.

And please don't mention to anyone about the music stuff.

Taking Photographs of the Olympic Flame

So apparently they had the Olympic flame in Vancouver incarcerated in a prison camp-like compound and now they've fixed it so you can get a picture. I personally think there's a much bigger problem with this flame design, namely that it looks exactly like something from the Fortress of Solitude. Does Superman have a copyright infringement attorney? Anyway, the flame imprisonment hasn't even been the only problem in Vancouver, some are saying it's the worst Olympics ever, and the ratings have been poor, with NBC's broadcast of the games actually losing to American Idol.

In the hope that these problems can be turned around in the remaining week or so of this year's Winter Games, and that future competitions will run more smoothly, I humbly offer the following suggestions:

1. Anything with judges is not a sport. I know a lot of people like figure skating and stuff like that, but athletic competition is about winning, not about looking as if you've won. Did anyone ever say, "Favre has thrown a touchdown that could have won the game, but the judges awarded him only five points because he threw off his back foot!" Or that Gretzky didn't deserve an assist because he didn't spin the right way? Get rid of all the judges. The only exception would be the snowboarding halfpipe, because, let's face it, that's cool.

2. All the skating events should be full contact sports. This way you can keep figure skating, the competitors can do whatever fancy moves they want but there will always be one other skater or pair on the ice at the same time who get to knock them down. Whoever's still standing at the end wins, and that's how you know who won, no confusion possible. Imagine how great speed skating would be with full contact, especially in the distance events where they cross over from inside to outside once per lap. They should be able to whack the hell out of each other at that point. All of these changes would be sure winners for TV ratings.

3. You know that weird sport, the biathlon, where they ski and shoot at targets? That's good as far as it goes, but it should be modernized so the competitors also carry hand grenades and use them to completely obliterate the targets after they hit them with a rifle shot. Mortars wouldn't hurt either.

4. VANOC? In case you don't know that's the acronym of the Vancouver Organizing Committee of the Olympic games. Who thought of that exactly? It sounds like the name of a military junta in Myanmar. Change that. It's Vancouver, the west coast, right? How about The Olympic Organizing Dudes, or TOOD. As in, we have a really relaxed TOOD.

5. The Olympics is all a sham, we all know that, none of the athletes are amateurs at all, they're paid by their country or some corporate sponsor. There's nothing wrong with that, but if it's going to be pro sports, let's make it pro sports. You should be able to trade Olympic athletes just like you trade guys in hockey and baseball. Some of our winter athletes aren't cutting the mustard? Trade them to Djibouti or Kenya where no matter how bad they are at winter sports they'll be the best in the country. In exchange Canada gets some middle and long distance runners for the summer games. It's win-win. Plus it advances the mission of the Olympic games to foster international understanding and will allow greedy sports agents to get involved, which is always fun to read about.

I don't see a downside to any of these suggestions. Write your MP today. Flood them all with emails. You know what to do.

Tokyo Camera Style

For those of you who like, love or are addicted to cameras (not that I would know anything about that), or if you'd like a look at a different culture where it's quite normal for folks to walk about on the street with big (film!) cameras around their neck, check the site Tokyo Camera Style. Literally it just shows images of cameras found on the streets of Tokyo. I'll have to admit that when I first found it I went through all forty-plus odd pages at one sitting. Yikes!

New iPhone App from Chase Jarvis

Super photographer Chase Jarvis, whom I've mentioned before, has just released an iPhone app that allows you to modify iPhone pics as well as post and share them online. This is not some kind of arcane app only for professional photographers, it's for anyone who likes snapping some shots on their iPhone and fiddling around with them. If this is you then check it out.

TIFF and the Paparazzi

Last night the Toronto International Film Festival got underway. That means ten days or so of flicks from all around the world and also celebrities, celebrities, celebrities. And with the celebrities of course come the dreaded and evil hordes of the paparazzi with their fangs, horns and fire-belching flash attachments.

At least that's what a lot of people think, and there's been countless portrayals in movies and on TV to make it seem like it has to be so. While I don't doubt that some paparazzi are indeed incredible jerks, I actually have met and studied them in their natural habitat, and I even know the official photographer of TIFF, Jeff Vespa, who started out life as a lowly paparazzi himself. And not only is he an excellent photographer, he's a nice guy, so if you see some paparazzi lingering about the city in the next few days, don't automatically assume they're all bad guys. Most are just trying to make a living.

I'll even confess that I've taken shots of celebrities myself. So now you've caught me!

Sears Portrait...Not

I don't want to pick on Sears, I have nothing against them at all, but I'm just feeling mean today and I really do dislike portraits with a staged kind of background. Even the family sofa or an easy chair makes for a better image, which is another reason I like real locations.

When I was little though I did dislike the school photographer who'd come every fall: he'd grab hold of my head and point it more at the angle he wanted. Do they do that to Brad Pitt when he's getting shot for a magazine? I don't think so. Maybe that's why I hate those backgrounds.

A Different Kind of Portrait

This isn't the kind of thing I normally post here (I know, I always say that) but here's a look at the work of one of the world's great photographers, Sebastião Salgado. It's rare to find more than one or two of his images posted on a single page online which is why I thought I'd share this.

The Touchy Subject of Kelly Clarkson's Retouching

It's all over the news so I thought I'd mention the extremely important controversy over the retouching of Kelly Clarkson on the cover of Self magazine. I can't legally show any pictures of her but if you want to see actual behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot in question you can go here.

I'll let you decide if Self went too far in this case, but it's true that photographers often touch up images, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. Usually it's to remove a skin blemish, that kind of thing, and I don't see what's wrong with that since a blemish is only temporary anyway. And the wonders of retouching allow you to look at the picture of me at right without turning into stone.

Kelly Clarkson, if you remember, is famous for being the first winner of American Idol, and while I really can't show any images of her, I can show the first winner of Canadian Idol, Ryan Malcolm, performing with a stripped down version of his band Low Level Flight in east Toronto.

Backstage at the El Mocambo

Here's a very different but classic look at singer-songwriter Marta after a performance. She's just pretending to look mean here (at least I think she's pretending) but when the light falls just the right way, a great shot is a great shot.


Don't forget to check her site.

Marta Live, Part II

Here's another shot of Marta during a performance at the Balmy Beach Club on the lakeshore. Her music has a distinct country feel and I tried to give the shots a sort of Johnny Cash playing a honky-tonk vibe.


Marta will be playing again on Canada Day Eve, Tuesday June 30, at the world-famous El Mocambo.

Portraits in Seattle

I don't do this very much, but here are some portraits worth looking over from renowned commercial photographer Chase Jarvis, a series showing one hundred cultural figures of Seattle.

Chase Jarvis, of course, also has a blog.

And he's funny.

Letting The Customer Decide

A few people have asked me why I allow the ads of other photographers on this site. I actually don't have any reservations at all about this. You should check as many photographers as you can before you shell out your good money. Pick the one whose work you like best and seems most suited to your styles and tastes. Information is everyone's friend. Think of those other ads as a public service!

How Long is This Going to Take Anyway...?

Generally you want to plan for at least an hour for most portrait sessions. It might take a bit longer if we're doing something really unique or complex...but the good news is I charge a flat rate for the session and portrait so if things do end up taking a little longer than planned it doesn't cost a penny more.

Some times it does take a little longer to get that perfect shot. Other times, boom! Something good happens in the first thirty seconds. C'est la vie.

A True Master....

I'm sorry I didn't notice this earlier, but if you want to see some truly classic portraits, be sure to check out the exhibition of prints by Yousuf Karsh at the McMichael in Kleinburg (which is practically Toronto if you look at a map). There are images of everyone from Churchill to Picasso to Jacques Cousteau.

Here's a video that tells a little more....

What the Other Guys Give You

Somehow I don't think that when Leonardo finished the Mona Lisa he did this:

It wouldn't have occurred to him to make an 8x10, 5x7, 6x4 and a few wallet-sized versions. Instead he made one version and only one.

School photographers and Wall-mart do package prints like this, and really there's nothing wrong with it if that's what you want. But if you prefer a truly memorable heirloom portrait that will still be valued by the family fifty years from now, the standard package of prints probably isn't the way to go.