Summer Street Shooting for Umoro

After all these years, street shoots are still alive and well. When you need to switch it up and need a real challenge, the streets will always provide you with ample stress. When summer hit’s here in Toronto, I do my best to take advantage of the good weather. The summers aren’t too long and the weather is perfect to explore all the nooks of the city. It was Canada Day, so the city is mostly dead. This would be the best time to explore the University of Toronto without getting in trouble. I am old now and I don’t think I can pass as a student anymore.

Street shooting is all about wondering and letting locations and scenes open themselves up to you. On the drive in, an alleyway caught my eye. After shooting near where we parked, we ventured into that alleyway. There we found many textures and interesting light to work with. Slow shutter work is always risky, but not every image needs to be sharp. This particular jacket has a unique tear away zipper. I was trying to convey the action of opening the jacket.

When it comes to street shooting, I pack very little. The only item really is the camera. I don't bring lights or reflectors. I intend to move quickly and get as much variation. I also know we aren’t always welcome everywhere we choose to shoot so the smaller the footprint, the most likely no one will bother you. Instead of lugging a flash (although I would love to) I hunt for good or interesting light. I am no longer afraid of hard light when I find it, with the Fujifilm GFX50S, there is forgiveness in the highs and lows.

Speaking of light, the best time to shoot would be the evening or early morning. Everything from the colors to the long shadows from the low angle of the sun really changes how everything looks. At this time, I’m usually in a rush to get as much as I can be fore the sun dips or gets too high. Speaking of street photography, I have to plan a solo shoot and really try some new techniques before the summer is over.

Model: Mark Gallardo

Shot for: UMORO

Samantha Tan - BMW M2

Jumping into the deep side here. Automotive cinematography is in a while other class when it comes to the actual shooting. This video is a combination of handheld, stabilizer and hanging out a car window. We wanted to tell a story with this piece. Samantha Tan is a racer driver and we wanted to show that she isn’t the average enthusiast. We wanted to make this a longer video but with limitations of time, we did our best. The most challenging aspect of this shoot would be shooting while hanging out of another sports car. It feels like you are activating all your muscles to stay steady. The Nikon Z6 did its best to stay focused and track the car. Overall, many lessons were learned while shooting this. One of them would be getting a minivan as a chase car.

Value Village + Rethink Reuse

We were commissioned to cover the creation of an art installation for Value Village. The art installation would be set up in Graffiti Alley in downtown Toronto over the course of a day. We were asked to shoot as the project unfolded with uploads periodically sent over for use on social media. Our challenges on this gig would be both logistics and the ability to shoot in a small area for two days, while capturing a fresh perspective each time.

The point of the installation is to raise awareness of the amount of water wasted for the production of new clothing. I am all for reusable and renewable products. It was amazing to see the piece come together over the 8 hours. It was cold and wet, and when the sun finally made its way into the alley, all of us, both video, sound, and photo, did out best to soak up some vitamin D.

We worked with an amazing team that catered to the content that was needed. It’s a wonderful feeling to see our work be posted as you shot both on social media and the website. I am not completely sure where else the images went, but when work is showcased, nothing else brings me more satisfaction. Back when I started, I just wanted my work to be part of something bigger. Working closely with Kae, we were able to edit and send images for use almost immediately. As time passes, you learn that you can’t do it alone, it takes a team. More perspectives honestly produces better work.

Basketball Under a Freeway

It will always be a compromise, use a DSLR for the autofocus and speed or go for the medium format and get more detail, colors and depth. When it comes to speed, nothing beats a DSLR, the autofocus is lightning fast but, it falls short with it comes to color and dynamic range. I chose the Fujifilm GFX 50s for this shoot. When it came to action, we had to redo it multiple times, but when you grab that shot, it's all worth it. 

Fujifilm GFX 50s + 63mm - f/3.6 @ 1/100th/sec

For this shoot, I chose two Profoto B1s with midi octabank from Elinchrom and Profoto Zoom Reflector. We were shooting around 11:30 AM on a sunny day, but since the location is under a freeway, it was completely shaded. The light on the side acted as a natural rim light. The octabank was the key light for this shoot. A bit of flash goes a long way when it comes to separating your subject from the background. In the image above, there are two flashes, one camera left with the zoom reflector at its' lowest power and another in the octa camera right. Adding @drkev_hybrid in the foreground camera right really helps build a scene as well. Having someone playing basketball with a friend is more powerful in this context. This is my personal feeling, Kev did not object. 

Fujifilm GFX 50s + 63mm - f/2.8 @ 1/125th/sec

This shot took multiple tries. Moving onto an EVF (electronic viewfinder) has its pros and cons. A DSLR is a real-time image produced by a mirror, an EVF is a screen and when you consider all the processes needed to create that image, there are some delays. I am sure with practice it will become easier, but for now, it is still a little challenging to nail shots like these. Since I am using flash without the Profoto TTL remote, I am trapped at 1/125th/sec which isn't the best for freezing action unless you press that shutter at the moment of inertia. It took a couple tries and a missed shutter clicks on my end, but in the end, we came away with one useable shot. 

The lighting set-up for this shot is a little different. Adding more rim light wouldn't benefit this scene, there was plenty to be had from the sun. Instead, I opted to bounce light off the ceiling with a Profoto B1 with the Zoom Reflector. This helped reduce the exposure and retain some of the detail outside the underpass. Flash also aids in freezing action, something I needed desperately. There is an octabank camera left as well to help separate the shooter.  

Fujifilm GFX 50s + 63mm - f/2.8 @ 1/125th/sec

If you can pose a shot, go for it. I start with the actual action and go from there. Considering that medium format cameras are slow, it's a must. Trying to capture this at its actual speed is nearly impossible or would take much longer. I am sure if you look, you can tell my light set up for this one pretty easily. Octabank camera left and the ceiling is a dead give away for the second light. If I could go back, I would have turned the power of the flash located camera right down just a tad.

These images were created for Myodetox. There was a book published and printed that I am waiting to get my hands on. Once I get it, I will update this post with some tear sheets of the design work. There are a couple of IG stories from the event I saw, it looks amazing. Seeing my work printed is why I do this. On to the BTS. 

iPhone X

Hunting for Good Light

Hunting for good light is basically want we spend our life doing as a photographer. We either hunt it or do our best to create it. With the Fujifilm GFX 50s, when you find great light, the results are simply amazing. These photos were shot with a friend Aleksandra, who toughed out the brisk winds with me. 

Look Up

It has been years since going on a street shoot. Street photography used to be my go to experiment with new techniques which I have read about. Everything from slow shutter panning shots to high DOF photos using a tripod to burn in a wide scene. I was asked to go shoot some architecture for Instagram and these were the few images created from a one hour walk around the financial district in Toronto. 

I have to admit, it was a pleasure to go out and street shoot again. It was a bi-weekly occurrence when I was learning techniques, and it should continue. There is always more to learn and more weaknesses to strengthen. 

Camera: Nikon D800 Lenses: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED & Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

Nikon D800 + Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 31mm

Nikon D800 + Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 24mm

Nikon D800 + Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm

Nikon D800 + Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm

Loding

Luckily, during a press day at Loding, I had the chance to set up some big lights and capture the works of art put forward by their patina master. We were the last ones for the day, so the little extra time allowed me to go the extra mile when capturing his portrait and one off works of art. 

Christian Guzman & Alphalete for Umoro

I had the pleasure of working for Umoro to shoot Christian Guzman's Alphalete collection for the upcoming season release. It was to be a quick and dirty shoot. Gear that day would be the Canon 5D MK3 + 50mm f/1.2 and the Profoto B1 modified with the beauty dish. On this shoot, I was entrusted with creating catalog images and editorial images which would be used for their instagram profiles and web store site.