Fun day shooting Chloe as she modelled Joy Couture’s latest designs.  These shots were at Joy’s new location and she hadn’t really settled in yet so trying to find space to shoot was a bit of a challenge. To make things even more challenging, Joy overlooked the ‘seamless paper ‘detail and the room that was to be used for studio space didn’t even have a spare wall that could be used as a back drop. Anyway we ended up shooting mainly in the hallway and the rooftop and good thing I brought most of my lighting equipment to combat any situation. The hallway was challenging not only in space but with ambient spilling in all directions. The first and last image above were a two strobe set up (beauty dish as a main and umbrella for fill).  I also used an SB800 to help kill some ambient in the background.  The lingerie shots were a two strobe set up (soft box for main and snoot for some rim light). The second image on the rooftop was shot mid day and I used only one strobe (beauty dish) to overpower the sun that was directly above Chloe.  I think the bigger challenge shooting on the rooftop today was having the fans from McDonald’s next door blowing the smell of french fries in our direction. Anyway, I think we got some great images today.

Thanks to Val from VDH Makeup Artistry and Hairstyling and to Joy for setting up the shoot.

It was a little slow work wise this week and like a true junkie I just had to get my fix.  So…back to Edwards Gardens for some creatives with my macro lens. Yes there were signs of life and colour on this day and I was lucky enough to get a couple of keepers. The black and white shot was done by shooting at a pair of sunglasses that reflected the scene.  No post work except for converting the image to black and white.

Soundtrack to this day included albums by The Frames.  I love this band and just recently rediscovered their earlier albums now all remastered.  Get them!!

After shooting some portraits at the beach, I continued on to Edwards Gardens to shoot some creatives.  The light was so perfect that I felt I just needed to keep shooting regardless of the subject.  For many of you that follow my blog, you know what a special place Edwards Gardens is for me and I also seem to leave there with at least one shot.  This one was the keeper and pretty much the end of my stay at Edwards Gardens as it started to rain pretty hard.  I’ll be back soon.

Music on this expedition was Gregory Isaacs’ greatest hits album.

Well it worked so well on Friday, Colette and I thought we would try shooting at the beaches again.  This time at Ashbridges Bay and this time at 8am.  Yes 8am!  The light was unbelievable at this hour and you really couldn’t go wrong shooting.  This shot was at the end of a dock that was somewhat dilapidated (and so was I at 8am) and we were careful not to fall in the lake (actually I was worried more about my gear). Anyway we made it without incident and this was the best shot of the morning.

Fantastic afternoon shooting the talented and beautiful Colette Stevenson at Cherry Beach.  Even though it was a bit cold and windy it was a nice change from the usual studio shoot and definitely a nice change from last week’s photographic duties.  We were thinking a portrait type shoot but ended up with a more editorial fashion type shoot.  I really like how the images turned out and these are my favourite four.

Tech note: I used my Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens and all I can say is never again!  I probably should take the lens for calibration (again) but it just hasn’t performed near to the perfection of the Nikon 70-200.  Even at it’s working best, shooting at 2.8 is unacceptable.  Also all images were shot with an SB800 off camera triggered by a pocket wizard.

Finally got some half decent sleep as the first runway show on the last day did not start until 6pm.  This also gave me some time to continue with my edits and to take a more detailed look at some of the shows I shot during the week, performing the usual selection and edit process.  I was shooting jpeg all week thus far (client output was for web only) and I was quite happy with the images.  There were only a couple of times where I wish I’d shot RAW where highlights were concerned but overall the jpeg images held up quite well.  I did shoot one show on this day in RAW and the final output exceeded the jpeg in colour depth but only slightly. But for what the images were going to be used for, it was really unnecessary for me to shoot in RAW (I’m sure I’ll hear about this from other photographers).  I also thought again about using the D300 but changed my mind at the last minute.  I definitely want to rent a 300mm 2.8 lens for the next time I shoot LG Fashion Week.

I was also lucky enough to shoot the last show right beside George Pimentel.  People moved around and several photographers were absent on the last day so in I slipped right beside the man.  We had exchanged a few words during the week but we did not say one word as we shot the last show.  Regardless, it was a moment for me to shoot beside someone I respect and used to watch on t.v. years ago and it was a nice way to end the week.

So there you have it.  Another season shooting LG Fashion Week and in many ways I loved it.  I met many great photographers and reconnected with photographers from last season.  I also noticed more politics this time around and for this reason it made it less fun.  No details I’ll just leave it at that. Anyway, special thanks to all the photographers especially Raymond, Ron, Steve, Sean, Allan, Kevin, Rocco and Don for your generosity, conversation, and overall great vibe to make the week more fun.

Images above are from the Line Knitwear show, my favourite designer of the day.

All images from Klaxon Howl can be viewed here.

All images from Amanda Lew Kee can be viewed here.

All images from Line Knitwear can be viewed here.