Life can be spontaneous. Embrace it! Sometimes plans are meant to be thrown out of the window. It’s in these times, that you have to rely on your instinct. My shoot with Demetria came together in less than 24 hours and after I finished editing the set, I knew I had images I plan on using in my portfolio. SCORE!
IMSA - Sports Car Challenge '19 /
Motorsport is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to follow. It’s exciting, tense, loud, fast, and the story-lines can become legend.
Take for instance the Ferrari v Ford battle that took place back in 1966 at Le Mans. How it has become a legend among American racing fans. How Ford got into racing after being thwarted in a board room acquisition of the Ferrari brand. Showing up to one of the most prestigious races, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and not just beating Ferrari, but finishing 1 & 2 to solidify their place among champions.
Fast forward 50 years to 2016, Ford announced that it would return to endurance racing with the newly redesigned GT. The program has been decently successful the past few years, but it was announced recently that the program would stop running races as part of the factory program. I realized that this might be the last chance I get to photograph the GT before it vanishes back into history.
So I packed my things and headed back down to Mid-Ohio for the 2019 Sports Car Challenge. Below are the final images I chose to share. I hope you enjoy them!
Crissa /
I’ll preface this post by stating that this was a shoot of firsts.
It was the first photo shoot I have done in over a year and a half. This being so, I was quite anxious. After meeting Crissa and exploring the space we were shooting, my mind was quickly put at ease. I fell right back into it. I had a vision for a few shots, but for the most part, we improvised most of the session. Once I got a few shots that we both liked, my confidence took over and I pushed on. I’m glad we did, because we ended up with so many nice shots. Deciding on the final images was such an arduous process for sure!
This was also my first shoot with my Fujifilm X-T3. The camera performed amazingly! I’ve gotten more comfortable with getting the camera set up to my liking and allowing it to make more decisions on its own. I set my exposure level manually and let the camera choose most everything else (within the parameters I set, of course). The colors and dynamic range coming straight out of camera were such a step up from my previous camera.
Check out the images below!ly
The Final Hullabaloo /
I had the honor to attend Yellowcake Shop’s last Hullabaloo. Hullabaloo is, in short, an event organized by Valerie Mayen, owner of Yellowcake Shop. There are vendors from different trades that show up to sell their goods and enjoy the fashion show that serves as the main event. The show consisted of 3 designers showcasing their latest outfits. The evening culminated in a fantastic show by a local high school band and ballet dancers. Confetti canons may have been used as well!
I’ve highlighted a few shots that made the cut, check them out below!
IMSA - Sports Car Challenge ‘18 /
Have you ever experienced something and thought, “I want to be around this sort of thing?” I would hope the answer to this questions is “yes” for many. If we’re lucky, we have many of these experiences throughout our lives. This allows us to fill a need to feel like we belong. I caught this feeling going to race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year. IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) holds a race a Mid-Ohio every year and some of the best compete as part of a season long battle for top spot in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship. Well, we’re back a year later and the race is set to kick off next week. So to get in the spirit of things, I wanted to share a few shots from last year.
I can’t wait to get back!
Toronto, ON /
There’s something I love about exploring new places. Not knowing what you’ll find, what you’ll see, or what you’ll do. Finding a way to accomplish all that you want to, with little to no plan in place. There’s a certain level of achievement I feel. That’s what I wanted when visiting Toronto last weekend. Even with these (lack of) plans, I still was able to make it out with a bunch of images that I’m proud of.
Starting the day off in one of Toronto’s many university districts, I began my day of shooting on Church St. The area was very arts focused. With many colors, interesting shops, and oddball late night bars. One observation I made was that there were so many dogs! People was walking dogs all over. From there I made my way west towards central downtown.
I found a few older gentlemen observing a construction site from behind a safety fence. They seemed very interested in a drilling operation that was going on, but they did shift their focus for a moment when I took a photo of them.
Moving on from there, I found myself coming across town. Along the way, I got shots of a crepe-maker in action. Side note, if you’re in Toronto, check out Cafe Crepe for an amazing breakfast! Speaking of breakfast, coffee stops while shooting all day are a must. I stopped in one of the city’s cafes and got the shot of the man’s silhouette hunched over his phone. Once I felt re-charged, I hit the pavement again.
I started towards Kensington Market. There’s so much going on there. First of all, there were loads of people crammed into a small area. The market is full of shops, cafes, and small restaurants as well. The sights and smells varied and so did the people I encountered. I took photos of people having lunch, birds taking flight, just normal people walking to wherever their destination was that day. This block had a little bit of everything!
The rest of the photos included in this post are from a Free Tibet organization and Toronto’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade happening in the same area. Two of my favorite photos came from this spot. There was this kid who was dancing with his hand in the shape of an “L” and his tongue sticking out, taunting the St. Patrick’s day onlookers. There was something so innocent, yet powerful about about that image. The other image I love is one where a woman had just received a compliment from a firefighter, who was in the parade. Her face lit up and I just happened to be ready to capture the moment.
Iren /
I love doing shoots with passionate and driven people, because I feel that it enhances the shoot. When both parties know what they want and pursue it. For me it is using my best shots to build a portfolio and brand. For this shoot, Iren was building a fashion collection and wanted to get shots of a few items in her line.
I’m always learning something new with every shoot that I do. One of the things that I took away from doing this shoot was learning to conduct a photoshoot in a very public place. The park we shot at was full of people. Both dealing with all of the attention and finding ways to isolate the shots. It was a challenge.
Rebecca /
Setting up a shoot can always be hectic. There are always so many things to plan, consider, and execute before, during, and after a shoot. That's why I always appreciate working with positive people who give their best effort. Working with Rebecca was a breeze, I gave a small amount of direction and she took over, that's why communication before the shoot is so important. We worked together on ideas and came up with a unique set of images, images that I was very excited to include in my portfolio!
Thanks for viewing. I've included a few of these images on my portfolio and can be viewed HERE.