Didn’t bring extra flashes or umbrellas this time around as I was in Toronto predominantly for work and had to pack accordingly. I stuck with a fairly light setup of one SB900 with flash bounce card and rented a canvas stand and “vintage” backdrop from Vistek. Putting it all together was a breeze, maybe five minutes tops with some help from two tall peeps (curse of a filipino) to raise the stands as high as it can go. There were a few close calls with the backdrop falling on people but that was because they stepped backwards onto the stands hehe.

An interesting situation happened – my two flash cards were nearing maximum capacity about half way throughout the night. I had to switch from camera RAW files to FINE JPG to squeeze out the last fifty or so photos. I’m not sure what the arguments are for having the photos compress directly to JPG but I was unimpressed with the results. It looks just a bit more washed than I would have liked but I will have to re-test for my next event so I know it’s not actually my post-processing that’s affecting the quality. Still, it was a great option to fall back to when the only alternative was to pack it in.

Till next time.

Shooting dancers is a heck-a-luva lot easier than non dancers – they already know how to have fun and enjoy themselves. I shot famous Toronto lindy hoppers Dan and Stephanie a month or so back at the old Distillery District in Toronto on a “cloudy with a chance of rain” afternoon. The shoot was to commemorate their engagement and total lunacy for each other. I’m not going to lie, I get squeamish with P.D.A. but not this kind. It’s like their in a movie or something.

Tien is here in Toronto for the week for work and we’ve been geeking out on our old photos and analyzing the way we have been learning photography – which more or less has been trial by fire. One of my goals in the next coming while is to actually curate the photos that we have taken and actually make a nice viewable and breathable page out of it rather than a cluster of photos all together. With that in mind, I have remove the photo section of this site so Tien and I can get our hands dirty in the next month or so and pretty much go through our bazillion on edited photos and try to find some decent ones to showcase. This is gonna suck (read: time suck) but sometimes you gotta get make a mess to motivate yourself to actually clean it up.

Oh ya, I’m moving to Montreal at the end of the month so expect some fun debauchery en francais soon!

Peace,

FreshRandy

So I’ve been gobbling up photography books and making sure I do my homework on popular photoblogs and what all the experts say is that I should build a rapport with my subjects to make them feel more at ease when taking shots of them. The problem is, this only works if you are less awkward than your subjects. You see where I’m getting at here? So I thought of a new tactic tonight while shooting some class photos for the Toronto International Academy – basically be the “barely-there camera button pusher man” and let the subjects do all the work themselves.

Ahh… to be a paid “professional photographer” is a sweet, sweet job.

I think that the most consistent theme that Tien and myself had this year was never actually publishing pictures that we have taken. I don’t know about Tien but I love taking pictures… and then going back to dancing. So I have folders upon folders of pictures that all have some sort of event name attached to them that is stuck in the netherworld that is Lightroom. Perhaps my 2011 resolution is to actually learn how to take photos in order for me to take fewer of them. Does that even make any sense? Ah well, here are a bunch of photos that we like :)

Shot some flamenco dancers at the Spanish Cultural Centre.

Tien: Speaking up this year, it has been a heck of a year, probably for the both of us. The start of this year, was the end of my time in Toronto and most of the Eastern scene as I migrated to the west coast, for the sushi, to Vancouver. This was also the year where I started fresh and really committed myself to training and shaping up all the dances I have done; In order of training magnitude: Blues, Salsa, Lindy, West Coast Swing, and Hip hop.

2011 is going to be a hell of a year maintaining this path. I’m just glad Randy has already been down this road, so he’ll understand this upcoming year of complaining, right? ;) The above photo is still my favorite photo I have shot this year; the Solo Jazz competitors all huddled in impromptu just before the music starts at LindyBout IV in Vancouver.

In keeping with our annual tradition photo recap of the past year after the year’s end, here are the photos we love, cherish, holds some sort of meaning, or stashed in our Lightroom closet of the past year.

Here is part one of our favorite photos of 2010 (we split it up in parts so we don’t kill your browser).

Randy: Attending BluesShout the past year in Austin, Texas was a very significant time period for me. Not only was it the first time I have ever been to Austin, but it was also the first time I have ever woken up next to animals in my life. I’ve always been a big city guy, my idea of “roughin’ it” is staying at the Holiday Inn instead of the Sheraton.

When I went to BluesShout for the first time in Chicago, I was not really sure whether blues dancing was really something I really wanted to get into. I was already involved in various dance styles and dance troupes in Toronto and there weren’t even any actual blues dances in my city. What I did know was that I wanted to go to the workshops and learn as much as I can. It certainly did sway my decision making process when Porter Airlines started offered trips to Chicago and had them at a ridiculous promotional rates (btw Porter is the best dance travel airline from Toronto). This time around, the feeling that I had while at BluesShout in Austin was a sense of belonging and purpose – that this dance and this event was for me.

Tien: How could I ever forget one of the memorable and fabulous dance of the year where my pants literally wanted to fly off my seat? Summer in Vancouver is one of the best times to go out dancing in the city. Capitalizing on the success and party atmosphere of the Olympics, there was dancing in the streets on Granville St. The sun shone all summer long and the Company B band tore it up in the finale (along with my pants).  http://hamfats.ca/lindy-hop/dancing-your-pants-off.

Randy: I still believe that Kevin Sue’s small one room studio on Yonge & Bloor is one of the greatest things that could have happened for the lindy hop dance scene in Toronto. The first picture above is of Bees Knees Teachers Mandi, Jasper, and Shannon POSIN’ while teaching a free introductory class. It cracks me up every time I look at it. The second picture are some pictures attached to the wall outside of the studio taken during the Nuit Blanche swing debacle.

Tien: My first opportunity to shoot since returning to Vancouver in 2010, and without owning a camera myself (Thanks Kane!). Swedish instructors Daniel Heedman and Åsa Palm in Vancouver to teach for Rhythm City Mess Around, along with Seattle’s own Mike Faltesek & Casey Schneider.

Link: http://hamfats.ca/lindy-hop/vancouvers-rhythm-city-mess-around

Randy: I’m not a live music photographer – it’s too hard. You have great music playing and you can’t dance and bust-a-groove unless you wanted everyone in the bar/club staring at you or having your camera equipment stolen. I do like these photos though.

Randy: Taken at the first blues dance we held at the Yonge & Bloor studio this year, it is still my go to picture when I’m making fliers and pamphlets for blues dancing.

Randy: TUX – the Toronto University Exchange – is in my opinion the best lindy hop exchange we have in Toronto. How awesome is it when the best exchange is run by volunteer university students. For TUX3, I set up a photo-booth for the friday dance and had a blast letting dancers be themselves. This picture are two of my favorite asians in Toronto – Kevin and Greg.

Link: http://hamfats.ca/photos?album=3&gallery=60

Just a few photos of the shenanigans that happen at work..

So I’ve been experimenting around with taking photos is horrible light conditions the past couple of weeks. A typical scenario would either be [very low light + crazy neon strobes +fog machines] or [super low light, weird lamp bulbs in a corner of a room, sweaty room]. Worst. I know. The funny part was that a year ago I was all obsessed with being a “strobist” and attaching flashes to every crook a rubber band or clamp would allow. Now, it just seems like too much work to lug them around with me.

The picture above is of my co-worker, Taylor, and his band Tea and Coffee. They headlined last night at Rancho Relaxo, which is what you would call a more intimate venue than most rock bars in Toronto. My SB900 flash would have not only blinded the band, but most likely the entire crowd as well (note: yes I still don’t know how to dial down ;). Click here for a higher res photo sample.