Although no matter what the weather did at the lodge, we knew the company would be great if we skied or not. My friends from VentureWeb were sharing their staff weekend with me so there would be humor abound.

The forecast was not inspiring on arrival but the beer and excellent food shifted our thoughts from skiing to social relaxing. I made the pleasant discovery that my phone had been left in the truck, so even though there is wi-fi available, I didn’t have to check email, facebook, or any other annoying digital distraction for a whole weekend.

Loading the cat in the morning we found a slight chill in the air and some snow falling. An unexpected turn in the ever changing forecast. As the cat climbed the mountainside in zero visibility with the guides in the cab looking out and pointing around, we all started to wonder. We might actually ski today. We might actually ski on snow. We might actually ski on fresh snow…. In disbelief, getting out of the cat in a gale of cold wind and snow the expectations of the entire weekend began to dissolve. Each person emerging, frantically grabbing at there goggles to stop the stinging cold blowing snow, confused by what they were seeing, tightening boots and snapping on skis, one by one we started to realize that something good was about to happen.

After our fist run we all gathered at the cat with big smiles. The weather wasn’t photo fantastic but the skiing was great. After about 15000 feet of vertical we made it back to the lodge for another killer dinner by Gail, a few beers and a hot tub. By 10:30 it was all snores all around.

The next day was even better.

Thanks Reg, Cathy, Jay, Conny, Andrew and Gail at Backcountry Snowcats.

Always a good time.

Cheers.   

This is the time of year that anything can happen at any time. Budgets are finished. Budgets are starting. It is time for spring promotions of every kind. Annual reports, new development projects and fiscal year ends.

Unfortunately, this is the time of year that waits for weather, good weather. Any location work is on permanent hold until we get a window of sunshine, then it hits the fan, 5 projects and one day of sun. The days are longer, but not long enough.

With any luck, it will clear up sooner rather than after deadlines.

Here are a few shots of late, both commercial and some personal.

This past week brought a bit of everything. I found myself in the rain on the West coast of the Island for a couple of days after a meeting in Victoria. From there I came back to some commercial jobs shooting everything from paper warehouses to brand new show homes for development companies, while making time in the studio to capture my growing boys.

Finding a job with more variety would be tough…

An old friend called up recently and asked if I would be interested in shooting a boxing event that he was promoting. Trying to remember when I had shot boxing before, it came to me. The same friend called me up close to 20 years ago to see if I could shoot some promo and a match for him. I was pretty green  back then and would have shot anything anyways. So how could I say no this time? With a few more years experience and some new technology I thought, let’s have a look. I am always looking for something new or different to shoot and I always love the challenge of fast action.(even in poor light)

The lighting was as shitty as I remember it. Fortunately now, the exposure latitude of my full frame digital has a bit more range.

I really enjoyed shooting this, just goes to show, change is good.

Thanks for the call Greg.

All shots from the 90′s were shot with a Pentax MX with Tmax 3200 pushed to 6400.

Recent shots were shot with a Nikon D700 at iso 3200 1/400 at 2.8-3.2

Greg early 90′s

Sorry Greg, promo shot from the early 90′s

I have 2 amazing boys, one has just turned 4 and the other is almost 1 and a half. They couldn’t be more different. After a studio shoot, I decided it was time again to shoot some new photos of the boys to satisfy the grandmas and friends. As they were sitting there it struck me that I needed to shoot them in a way that would capture their differences.

I would love to take credit for what happens next. Turns out I didn’t have to do anything. Just point the camera.

Sometimes you have to be “good” to get lucky.

My boys.

Lately I have been lucky enough to work with a few great local companies that are withing a stones throw of the office. Tsawwassen Springs is a new development that is  building up a significant property and golf course in Tsawwassen. (I have blogged about them before) They have the course open and just recently added some show homes to the mix for the next stage of sales. Having done several shoots for them now, I was happy to get the call to come and shoot the almost ready show homes for their marketing team. With the weather this fall it didn’t take long to get there for an early morning of architectural photography. The quality of the buildings in this development is impressive.

On a slightly different note, I also shot some photos for the Go Fit Gals and their new web based health and fitness business. We shot this all in one day with only 2 locations and several wardrobe changes. Good thing the girls are so fit, or we may not have made it through the day. Thanks again PJ and Risse.

Here are a few grabs.

This assignment was one of my favorites. Great River, Great Friends, Great Whitewater and some wildlife.

I pitched this one to BC mag a few years go, partially because I had never run the river and heard so many great things about, and also this would be the best excuse to go and make it happen. So I gathered some raft guide buddies together and we made the plan.

Here are the results in print.

Also, here is a link to a gallery for BC mag

This was my 3rd journey down this river in 3 years. The first time I was lucky enough to have my Dad along for the adventure. Then last year,(exactly one year later) I was on a ridge overlooking an amazing glacier lake covered in icebergs on the satellite phone finding out that my Dad was going to die of cancer. This year,(exactly one year later again) I wanted to go back, so I did.

Thanks Dad.

Thanks again everyone.

Enjoy the view.

My wife and I were finally able to sneak out of the house for dinner and a movie while my fantastic mother-in-law looked after the boys. After a great sushi feed, we head out to the car as the seldom seen sun came out. My wife looked at me and asked me if we should can the movie and gamble on getting good light in Steveston instead. She knew I would have been squirming in my seat if there was any chance of me getting these shots done while watching a movie.

As I was shooting the fading light, I seemed to have an audience. People shooting over my shoulders with their phones and point and shoots. Just as I was packing up after the light was beyond capture, a guy runs up with his camera frantically shooting to no avail. I thought to myself -  ‘I hope he enjoyed the movie’.

Thanks Meg.

It paid off this time.