When film was popular, most photographers had it easy when it came to getting photos printed. With the exception of photographers who had their own darkroom, we all took our photos to a lab, asked for a specific size, and left the rest to the experts.

And up until this decade, slides were the standard way to provide photos for many competitions as well as inclusion in printed publications such as this one. If we shot negative film, we might be able to submit the prints produced from it. We didn’t send unprocessed negatives; we wouldn’t know what they looked like, and nobody would want to deal with processing someone else’s photos. (more…)

As part of a larger project for Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit for the Olympics, I photographed RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bud Mercer. While the pea green walls give their conference room a really modern look they don’t make the best photographic backdrop. With little choice I went ahead knowing I could address the issue with Photoshop in post.

To change the colour from green to blue in the backdrop (more…)

Summer is over. That’s not to suggest that our days of outdoor shooting are over for the year. But for most of us, daily routines are changing; we spend more time at home on fall evenings and more days indoors as the days become cooler and shorter.

This is shooting downtime. But don’t spend it watching more TV or surfing the Web! One of the best ways to make use of it is to better ourselves photographically. Of course, photography club meetings, shows and lectures are common ways to keep the ball rolling, but more importantly, we should treat our downtime as an opportunity to review our work, consider options and decide where we want to go as photographers. (more…)