A quick photo update

I've not been that busy photographically over the last 6 weeks or so,,, concentrating instead on how to make some money, which seems to be sensible. But here's a quick 'what I've been up to'

James was a lovely young man... all angles and long face but very keen, very astute and quick to come up with ideas.  We did a lot of stuff but in the end I liked the grainy - Michael Cainey stuff more than anything else. Not sure why these shots felt like Alfie to me (James didn't) but somehow that's the mode that I got into.

Everyone who takes pictures has a shot on a railway line and as I live right next to a railway line it would seem remiss of me not to take a pic or two down there. This was for 'stylist Tristan' and a series of shots that he's doing with colored tattoos and monkey masks.

These guys I love to pieces. They're great fun, alway show up on time and want to do a shot again and again until they nail it. Nothing is too much hard work, nothing is too much to ask and nobody is looking at the clock at any point. 


The kind of shoots that I just love doing - easy, breezy, beautiful... etc.

Sam has always had an extraordinary face.

What struck me about him this time was just how his body had changed.

He put it down to Hindi push-ups

And veganism.

And living alone.

I think that it's hard work, discipline, genes and youth.

He could (and should) go far --- people want to work with him and it's easy to see why. I still owe him a shoot that's as good as he is.

Guiseppe is one of those people

who look totally different on

camera to the way that they 

do when the walk through the

door.

Another lovely guy, who took the 

bus down from Ottawa for a few

headshots - he was another who said

"Oh, okay" when I'd throw on a snoot,

shine a too bright light at him and ask 

him to don a hannibal lecter mask

Hurrah for cool people

I shot Julian in his own place

It was amazing 

As is he.

He makes hula hoops for a living

And gives hula hoop classes

Oh and he does yoga

And models

And makes great tea

Accompanied with unusual but delicious jams

When I grow up I want to be him

Until then I'd be happy to shoot him every day

The Viles are great.

The make clothing

And accessories

Have the coolest kids

And endless ideas

Again I'd love to shoot and shoot and shoot with them

But I think that I might have to get better first

Andy was about as Canadian as it's possible to be.

And all the better for it.

He grabbed props.

Made shots

And moved on

All I had to do was click and click again

And we were through

Got some nice headshots too

It would be too easy to fall in love with Cristelle.

She's got great energy, a really good portfolio and she knows how to move... 

Which helps a lot.

Maybe I'm a sucker for a French accent, maybe it's that bubbly enthusiasm or it could be American Apparel underwear, I'm not sure but this is a shoot that had a very good clicks to hits ratio.

Smart, 

Arty, 

Willing to take things off in the cold

Stefan was a joy

And he knows his art theory

Which helps

Especially when the photog wants to hide smart 'easter eggs' in his images.

So that's it. Not a huge work rate... but you get the picture(s)

Neeeeeee-ooowwwww-mmmmmm

So as we sit and have breakfast here we're being serenaded with the high pitch whine of formula one cars warming up for a race that starts in a couple of hours.

The good burghers of Montreal love their F1 - and the fact that it disappeared last year has only made the appreciation grow. There are street parties, 300,000 tickets to see practice and the race sold, Ferrari hats, shirts and bags everywhere and, miracle of miracles, the promised rain has held off.

I've been taking it easy on the party front but I will be off out a little later and have some Fringe tickets tomorrow night - for something that's part work / part pleasure. Let's hope it's more of the latter.

This is a busy week. Have a Curation Session in Toronto, a first 'what can you do for us?' meeting in the same city, a presentation (or a third of one) in Jakarta and then back to organize a 'wine tasting and ideation' session; expect tetchy and knackered posts ahead