Author: photosbymayflower

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I am a firm believer that the equipment is definitely less important than the person who is holding it.

But (of course there’s a but)… sometimes you need specific gear to get specific shots, like if you want some bangin bokeh, you’ll need a fast lens; it’s just how it is.  If I am going into a shoot where I am in control and can pose my subject, take my time and position myself where I am happy with my composition, I’m probably only going to use my 50mm f1.8 lens. 

The big reason for my choice in this lens is that the aperture opens up so wide (f1.8) letting all that light in so I can get better low light shots and a nice blurry background.  The drawback to this lens is that it’s a prime lens meaning that it is at a fixed focal length.  So if I am at an event, it isn’t the best because I have to zoom in and out with my feet. To avoid running around an event like a madman, I’ll opt for a zoom lens pretty much every time.

Although the ‘Nifty Fifty’ isn’t the flashiest, biggest lens – in reality it is fairly underwhelming compared to some other lenses –  it sure  does pack a punch and definitely has earned a permanent spot in my camera bag. 

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The biggest challenge for me when I first wanted to go out and try street photography was that I was afraid of how people on the street would react to me being out with a big camera and possibly photographing them.  What I learned very quickly was that people just don’t care about what anyone else is doing.  That being said I don’t shove my camera in their face but as I’m out shooting, people just tend to ignore me completely and go about their day.

The thing I love about street photography is how I can capture everyday ‘boring’ things in the most creative way I can and the moments that only last for a second and if I wasn’t there to capture it, nobody ever would have seen it.  I once heard urban street photography described as “the wild west of photography” because you never know what  you’re heading into and that truely is the case.  You can walk the same route every day and you will get different subjects and a different story every single time.

When I started out I was using a 55-250mm telephoto lens.  I now shoot with a 24mm, 50mm equivalent.  This is because I want to capture not only my subject but the environment around them to give my image more context and to let the story tell itself.  It’s easy to go out and snap boring pictures that don’t mean anything to anyone.  That’s why when I look at different scenes I look for something that catches my eye or looks out of place but also something that makes me ask a question or sparks an emotional connection with the subject or scene.

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Shooting events is always a great time but comes with unique challenges as there are so many elements that you want to control but can’t.  Lighting is a big one.

At any event you want to be invisible so I always primarily shoot with a longer focal length zoom lens to get right into the action but also be able to tone it back to get more of the environment in the shot as well.  At an event like Reclaim where there is a speaker and everyone else is trying to focus on what they are saying an engaging in prayer it is even more important to not draw any attention to yourself.

Now, at Reclaim one of the really cool things about the Emmanuel Mission Centre that they host the event at is the use of lighting.  The stages are well lit but the rest of the building is pushed into a quite dark setting.  This looks really cool to the human eye but to a camera sensor this can lead to solid black shadows and completely blown out areas in the same frame.

As I said before, I try to be invisible so I can’t tell people at the event to stop moving so I can bracket a shot and I didn’t want everyone in the building to know exactly where I am by firing my flash into the ceiling so there was a lot of back and forth moving and seeing what angles I could get to have a histogram that wasn’t empty in the middle.  

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Growing up in the Rockies I was exposed to landscape photography from a very young age (thanks Mum).  I’ve always loved hiking and obviously if you spend an entire day hiking up a mountain you’re going to want to take a picture or two once you’re at the top.

Landscape photography is amazing in the summer and early autumn.  The freshness of the air, the sounds of birds and soft breeze make for an incredible experience.  In the winter it can really suck.  So why do it?  Because the images are ssssooooooooo good.  When you get the sun hitting the rocks and snow at that perfect angle and you just gotta get that shot. There’s nothing like it.

Taking a picture of a mountain, next to a lake at sunset at about -20 degrees with a wicked wind, coming off the lake slapping you in the face, blowing over your tripod because you weren’t going to carry sandbags through the waist deep snow you had to go through to get next to the lake for the composition that you’re after is awesome. Especially when you have to take your gloves off to adjust your camera settings.

Alternatively you can go to Banff and whenever you start to get cold you can pop into any of the billion shops around, pick yourself up a cup of coffee and maybe even a beaver tail because why not?  Banff is great.

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Western Alberta, Canadian Rockies

You might be wondering, why up close ?

It’s simple.

I was without a telephoto lens.

This quickly became a nightmare. I was caught with gear to shoot mountains and ran into some of those mountain’s residents. I had to quickly work with what I had to get the best shots that I could.

There were several cars at a halt on the road as a herd of bighorn sheep wandered across the road and up a mountain; all of them looking somewhat lost. It was the first time my wife had seen an actual mountain too; and bighorn. Who’s to say I wasn’t trying to get the best photo of these goats just for her keepsake? I wanted to seize the opportunity to capture a few great shots of the Alberta provincial animal.

It may be the provincial animal, but it is not a common animal to see.

My initial reaction (like most people) was to grab my camera; I had a Canon 1500 D with me. My wife and I bought this camera for it being a great travel, lightweight DSLR. I was still in the car at this point, as the temperature outside was hovering around -20 degrees Celsius. I lowered the window and zoomed in as far as I could with my 55mm lens.

You could imagine my disappointment…

In order to get a close up photo of these mountain goats, I needed to get up closer. I jumped out of the car and hurried over to the herd. They seemed harmless; that was until I got too close to (what looked like) the leader of the herd. I knew that I had to hurry myself once he tilted his head (and horns) towards me, as though he was warning me to keep my distance before ramming.

I was able to snap a few neat shots, less than 1 meter away from the herd. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend changing your camera settings in front of a herd of wild bighorns, my only advice would be to always have a telephoto lens to avoid getting too close to any animal that could do harm to you.

It was a great experience, nonetheless, and my wife adores the up close snaps. It took about 48 hours after this experience for me to have a 55-250mm lens in my kit. Lesson learned; have gear for every possible situation and if you need to photograph bighorn sheep up close, wear a cup.

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Shooting in a music studio was like a dream come true.  I got to know the drummer of ‘Shores’ fairly well and we decided that his band and I should collaborate.  I don’t know about you but I believe that there is talent all over the world.  Not just in LA.

So the opportunity to shoot a bangin’ local band got me really excited because their style let me play with darker desaturated edits and the fact that the whole studio was absolutely blasted with band and concert posters made it such a cool environment to shoot in.  Also the first shoot that I was told I needed earplugs for.  Definitely worth the $2.

After a few hours of being in a fairly small room with these guys with their instruments and enough audio equipment that you could feel the whole building shake I went home to edit what we got with a few new songs stuck in my head and was surprised by my wife with a delicious curry (winning).

All in all, a pretty great time.