July Recap
July was a hectic month, and I'm glad that it's over.
But it was also really fun, with a lot of awesome shoots.
This month I also started a new job with a lot of hours, which has severely lengthened my (already kind of long) turnaround time. Hence why this post is coming over a week into August. But hey, at least it's done.
A lot of cool work came out of July though, so I'm not going to complain. Here are a few of my favourites.
Nathan and Sandra's Wedding - July 3rd
My baby cousin recently had a baby, and then decided to throw a beautiful wedding in my mom's yard out in the county. It was a wonderful, informal ceremony that I'm still in the process of editing. But the shots that are completed so far are ones that I'm happy with, especially considering this was my first ever solo wedding shoot.
The groomsmen engaging in some pre-ceremony preparation
Sandra and Jonathan during the registry signing
Empire Muscle - July 11th
Sometimes I like to just take my camera places and see what happens. This day at Empire Muscle turned out to be excellent for that.
The tire featured in this shot weighs 1,040 lbs, and prior to this day I had only ever seen one person flip it, and he only got it over once. Its outrageous size is was ended up relegating it to impromptu gym sign, but it was always still technically available for use by gym members.
THen Jeff Vanco came along, and this former pro strongman competitor flipped that bitch seven times across the parking lot before placing it back against the fence. Ridiculous, but I'm glad that I was there to grab the shot.
Windsor Riverfront - July 11th
After my adventures at the gym I headed down to the riverfront to hunt for Pokemon and see what other interesting shots I could find.
At the west end of the park, near The Ambassador Bridge there is a set of steps that lead directly into the water, and this area is notorious for being full of obnoxious, asshole Canadian Geese. This day however, there was also a crazy number of swooping and swarming seagulls mixed in with them, which was actually a little odd to see. The animals mixed with the people down there at golden hour made for a nice photo op or two, though.
Elsie Binx at The Token Lounge - July 17th
I've shot this band a couple of times over the last few months, but this was my first visit to The Token Lounge in Westland. It was a pretty neat venue, with better lighting and effects than I expected, which is always nice to find.
E.B. was opening for Stitched Up Heart from Hollywood that night, but unfortunately the headliner played a rather short set (I suspect technical difficulties) and I was unable to get my life together (read: finish my drink) and get to the stage before they called it a night.
Drummers aren't the only ones capable of amazing faces
Power Yoga at Empire Muscle - July 19th
Back at Empire Muscle for a planned shoot, it was super interesting shooting a yoga class. I've done some sports before, including the Empire Muscle Strongman competition, but yoga was a totally different beast.
A bunch of people doing weird, coordinated poses makes for some interesting shots. I also took a fair bit of video at this event, the end product of which should be available soon.
This little guy dropped by to show everyone how it's done
E.M. owner Andrew loves this photo. And in this case, it really isn't what it looks like.
Warped Tour - July 22nd
I won't get too much into this one, as there's already a monster post about this event, but it was an awesomely sweaty day that resulted in way too many photos.
Less Than Jake
Masked Intruder
Reel Big Fish
Good Charlotte
Yellowcard
State Champs
Teenage Bottlerocket
The Story So Far
Bullet For My Valentine
Sum 41
Kim and Kelley's First Anniversary Photo Shoot - July 23rd
This gig was one I was very happy to get. These two were married last August, and made a post on Kijiji looking for a someone to take some commemorative photos for their first anniversary. My mom forwarded me the listing, and they were awesome enough to give me a chance at it.
They had some great ideas for what they were looking for, and were excellent to work with from the initial planning stages right through to the shoot itself and into final delivery.
I'm certainly pleased with the way many of these turned out, and they seem to be as well.
Congrats Kim and Kelley on the first of many years!
Soul Asylum - July 30th
At the end of the month I made my way out to Sterling Heights for their annual music and arts festival Sterling Fest. The perviously mentioned Elsie Binx was opening for Soul Asylum, which I was super excited for. I still remember finding one of their CDs at a St. Vincent de Paul for $0.25 when I was in high school, so I was totally thrilled at the opportunity to see them live.
I had my camera just in case, as I wasn't sure whether or not I would actually be able to get any shots at the event. I had previously applied for a photo pass, but never received an answer.
The outdoor stage ended up being low, and un-barricaded, so I was all like "fuck yeah, let's do this," and started grabbing shots.
Unfortunately I only made it about two songs before the tour manager came over to tell me that I "can;t take photos with that camera." My first instinct was to tell her that actually yes, I can, as that's what it's designed to do. But not wanting to be a dick won out, so I jut put it away and went to enjoy the rest of the show from the beer tent.
Still managed to get a couple ok shots, though.
