This shoot has been in my mind ever since i bought this bike. As like many of you living in Vancouver i had my bike stolen. This summer i thought it was about time i replaced it and decided against spending thousands of dollars on another mountain bike which will never see dirt, i will by a single gear to cruise around town. By a stroke of luck and a little determination i found this clean simplistic white and brushed metal bike on craigslist and the vision started right there.

I scouted locations for a couple of weeks, trying to stay away from the beach as it has been done so much. When i came across this white series of buildings i checked the sun position and where it fell at different times of the day, how much the road was used and when vehicles are less lightly to be in front of it. This building was chosen because it doesn’t look like a typical Vancouver building being only one floor and small narrow slit windows. It gave me the feeling of being in Spain or Portugal with its white on white look and layered glass slats.

Once i had the location i found Winny Clarke, the perfect model for the shoot. Fun, bubbly and full of enthusiasm she made this shoot easy.  With the concept sorted it was just a case of putting them altogether. My original idea of lots of soft edges and sun flares taking over most photos was halted by a sudden end to the Vancouver summer and cloud cover. For a few days we thought of re-scheduling but with rain forecasted for the foreseeable future we decide to go ahead. I personally feel when you’re put in the situation where all your ideas in your head and the concept you wanted to achieve were thrown out the window,  you have to use your skill and vision to complete the new puzzle of the shoot in front of you. It pushes your skill and vision making you a better photographer and separates the pros from the amateurs.

Even with the cold Winny made no fuss and was a trooper. The final images turned out great  and achieved the look and feeling i wanted to get. Massive thanks to Winny and my assistant Kyle.

Check out all the shots on the milesclarkphoto facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miles-Clark-Photography/146933548724263

or  see the selected few that made it to the websites Portfolio here: http://www.milesclarkphoto.com/people/

Also keep checking back as in a few days the edit of the behind the scenes video will be up.

2 days after Christine Chou won the Canadian Nationals in Masters Figure Tall, i was lucky enough to organize a shoot with her.

Christine is an astonishingly dedicated and focused athlete who works incredibly hard to achieve the body she has. Months before her next competition her diet alters to get the most out her body and fitness schedule jumped up. Obviously what she does is working and i’m really happy to have had the opportunity to shoot with her.

The idea of the shoot was to show her physique in a more moody and grungy look than the standard oiled up smiling bikini look. The location was a dark underground car park chosen for it’s great textured walls. The image of Christine working out on her own using her own techniques of a set of tires and basketball gave the shoot the small story i was looking for.

The F.A.R.M. Fitness By Shawn Naylor
Well after a long time, thoughts, Gods guidance The F.A.R.M. has come into its own. While searching for the niche, the niche found Shawn Naylor. The niche that The F.A.R.M. serves is the elite action sport athletes, as well as those that desires similar levels of fitness and health. Shawn Naylor is a personal and team consultant. Offering product and services that promote longevity health and professionalism with the realm of sports and life. Working with professionals, amateurs, and functional health enthusiasts. The F.A.R.M. believes in training for a purpose and that the training translates into success in all area of life. Can I get AMEN!

“It is mastering the balance of sacrifice and pleasure the we can obtain our goals.”

Shawn is a close friend and this new company has a big future, so folks keep an eye on this one.

Follow on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_101527939934123

Also check out his video’s:

The Farm Workout

Every once in a while its nice to be able to organize a creative shoot just for the portfolio, no clients involved. It allows no restrictions and no pressure. I was fortunate enough to meet Jaime Halliday while photographing the fashion show held to raise money for WE CANADA (for more info, check out the earlier bog on WE CANADA)

Jaime mentioned that she used to kick box which then got my creative juices flowing and after a few coffee meeting found ourselves in Ironworks studio in downtown Vancouver. Not your average white walled studio this is bare brick and fenced window but was exactly the look i was after.

The team consisted or Jaime Halliday, Cloe Johnston (makeup artist extraordinaire), my trusty assistant Brodie and myself.

With a clear image in my head of exactly what i wanted to get out of this shoot we hit the ground running. A few moody shots, action photos and managing to get covered in climbing chalk was all part of the days work.

Geek Section: This is a bit of a hard one as the lighting changed a lot during the shoot. The camera setting stayed pretty much the same though. I was shooting at around f11 trying to give me a large depth of field, ISO 100, shutter speed 200. Flashes were 2 Alien Bee B800 and an Alien Bee B1600. Light modifiers were a beauty dish and two soft boxes. Although a lot of bare flash was used for harsh lighting and dark shadows.

One of the things i am looking to getting into is covering the days antics with video media giving the client an option of seeing the days shoot in action and show potential clients how myself and my team work.  Here is what we came up with:

Ringette…what? Yeah it was the first time i’ve been introduced to this sport but what an interesting sport it is. The speed and skill of these girls was incredible and their ability to change direction was intense. With it’s similarities to ice hockey it is very fast paced and skillful. For a non contact sport it was clear they get away with a lot of hits. From an outsider to describe it, it is like hockey but instead of a stick and puck you have a broom handle and a donut. A great spectator sport but be sure to wrap up warm and a coffee isn’t a bad idea.

Geek Section: Well due to the space needed to cover the Canon 70-200 managed to cover the whole ice with a little cropping on the long distance shots. It was used all the way open at f2.8 and shutter speed at nothin

g lower than 400 to freeze the action. Saying this when i switch to capture the bench shots i dropped to 250. Again this championship was shot using the Canon 1D mk3 because of its 10fps.

You can check out more about this sport at http://www.ringette.ca/content/splash.asp