resistance to persistence

i had an exciting sunday afternoon. a friend of mine is a fashion photographer and i’ve been looking to learn more about studio photography. i volunteered to be her “photographer assistant” so i could help out and at the same time see the process and learn more about studio work. it was very cool to work with a full team of people. i showed up to be greeted by a model, a stylist and a hair and makeup artist, as well as the photographer. we set up 3 different “scenes” with different backgrounds and setups as well as lighting. this allowed for 3 different “look changes” where the stylist changes the makeup and wardrobe.

i learned a lot about directing the model, setup and teardown of lightling and setting up the studio as well as the fine are of holding a fan to keep the model’s hair flowing nicely. it’s harder than you think.

i’m looking forward to doing a few more shoots like this.

i did my best impression of paparazzi, along with a few hundred other people, and snapped some shots of stars at the toronto international film festival. i went to the gala opening of “Bobby”. it has a huge cast which includes Anthony Hopkins, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Slater, Demi Moore, Elijah Wood, Emilio Estevez, Heather Graham, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, Joy Bryant, Laurence Fishburne, Lindsay Lohan, Martin Sheen, Nick Cannon, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy and others.

Several of them attended the premiere. I got photos of Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Sharon Stone, Christian Slater, William H Macy, and Emilio Estevez. Definitely not my best photos as I had a full zoom going, with lots of shake trying to dodge other people standing in my way. Next year I’ll be closer.

View my photos from the premiere, by clicking the images below.

stars at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2006

I didn’t see the Emmys, but I heard the opening was very funny. Conan didn’t disappoint…

clockwise from top right, Bif Naked, Moka Only, Matthew Good, Jay Miron

While I was in Vancouver the past Labour Day weekend, I spotted some local celebrities and I wasn’t even looking for them.

• Bif Naked - she was filiming something in the near the seawall at Coal Harbour. She was talking into a cellphone and said “Have a great time in Viet Nam”.
• Moka Only - he was walking along Robson street. I noticed him at first from the hot Nikes he was wearing and then looked up to see who was wearing the shoes.
• Matthew Good - I spotted him in the Vancouver Airport on the way home. He ended up on the same flight as me, sitting about 10 rows in front of me.
• Jay Miron - BMX superstar, he was sitting on the patio of the great little pancake restaurant, De Dutch that we went to for breakfast.

these tvs were overhead the full length of the traincar. about 10 tvs

on the ride home yesterday, i was shocked to see there was tv screens showing the news on my train. i think it’s a trial run and it’s not in all trains yet. i think the tvs did make it a bit quieter though…maybe it’ll keep people from talking on their cellphones.

Here’s my favorite application on my Nokia 6682 phone. Frozen Bubble For Series 60. If you’ve got a Symbian Series 60 phone, you have to install this game. It’s addictive and free.