Let Me DeBrief! My day with Joe McNally

I'll start by saying this probably won't be a brief debrief.

My head is just spinning with all I've learned and excitement to put some of it to use! Or maybe its the Tim's double-double I just chugged on the drive home. My body has been crying out for coffee all day, ever since the first one I bought got left behind in my car when I switched to the work vehicle. Oooops...Ha!

But wow. That workshop was awesome! Joe McNally is a blow-your-mind amazing photographer with years of experience and an incredible portfolio to prove it. He is well-known for his years of work for National Geographic, among other huge clients. I've been in awe of him since I first discovered his work almost 2 years ago, and it was basically a dream come true to learn from him live. We even shared a moment, a little smile and then an awkward moment that should have been where I told him how much I admired his work and his instruction - but instead I lost all ability to communicate and magneted my eyes to the carpet. Yeah...its not really a secret that I'm not the best with strangers. When you heap on a fair amount of celebrity onto that stranger my social skills are basically non-existent.

However, for a day where I shared very little human interaction (which, for a "blue" personality like me is basically a write-off) while surrounded by strangers, I had an incredible time! I learned a lot and laughed a lot, as Joe is a pretty good entertainer on top of his other skills. The fun thing about live demonstration is that things can and will go wrong, wonky, or crazy, and laughing about it with a room full of people is pretty heart-warming. I came in at the last minute and had to sit in the front row (on the side), which ended up being where the models and crew sat, so I felt very close to the action. And sometimes like I should be holding a tri-grip and not sitting on my butt lol!

But lets get serious. I learned a lot by watching Joe work about how to put my equipement to better use. It was really encouraging to realize that I actually posses enough to re-create some pretty cool set-ups. I don't have a lot, but what I do have can definitely be enough!

The most valuable thing I learned though, was about confidence. Watching everything happened I realized that I get it. I am starting to really feel like I understand how lighting works. Flash photography is a beast that can't be fully tamed, but gaining confidence in how to work with it is invaluable! I feel like realizing that a complicated lighting set-up is not scary has opened up a new world for me. Because I get it, and because I know I can begin to use it to really be in control of my photographs, I feel like the next time I stand before a model I can leave some of my second-guessing behind. Its hard to describe, but I feel much more capable of being confident in a shoot. Seeing Joe McNally finagle lights and set-ups and model poses made me realize that I don't have to come to the table and know exactly what I'm doing. I just need to ACT like I do, ha! But it does mean a lot to know that the pro's aren't magical beings who produce only gold with their cameras. And I feel that much closer to being able to produce a few bits of gold with my own camera! Even though I shoot with a lowly D7000. Ha!

Be sure to check out some of Joe's Work (all photo's from joemcnally.com):

Thanks Joe! I am so grateful that you make it a point to teach and pass on your experience!

Another year ends...in Whistler

I just realized that I've spent the last week of almost every year of my life, in Whistler. Hokey dinah I'm lucky! 

Someday, I'm told, when the cabin passes from my grandparents hands, we'll have to sell it on account of the property taxes. Its unthinkable to me that my kids won't grow up driving the sea-to-sky and sleeping in the loft every available school holiday! That "cabin" as we call it, has been my second home and probably holds half my heart. Ok maybe not quite half, but...

It squats contentedly on Drifter Way, dwarfed by the new huge chalets that have sprung up over the past 5 years. It used to be just one of many its size, but every year it looks smaller and more retro. A few of our neighbours have managed to hold out as well, and I feel a kind of comradarie with the other little slope-peaked cabins on the block.

My times at the cabin in the winter follow a particular pattern. We're usually not the only ones there - Christmas is family time, and rarely is it rented out - there are always at least a few Griffioen families filling up the living space. The unmarried folk (kids) and junior marrieds who lack seniority pack into the loft and make our beds out of stacked foam mattresses. The senior couples get the bedrooms or semi-private basement floor. We wake up every morning to grandma and grandpa shuffling about below until we hear grandpa practically hollar "Whats that mum?" as they make their breakfast. Still, we stay in bed until its really not possible to pretend to sleep any longer...that or we smell the bacon. 

Days are spent lounging and reading, playing passionate games of Settlers of Catan or scrabble, walking in the snow (with my camera of course!), visiting the village to pretend we have money to spend, and relaxing in the hot tub. In the past couple of years my uncle has brought up a TV and my grandparents ordered in the internet (both for hosting during the Olympics), but we still resist the draw of technology - for the most part. If the snow is good, we'll drag the (antique) cross-country skis out of the closet and ski around Lost Lake in the dark. Or go sledding. Neither of those things happened this year, even though we did get some fresh white stuff. Oh and of course, at least one family ski day up the mountain, which always begins with "so...Whistler or Blackcomb?" And then a debate about the merits of taking the peak-to-peak (since its been built anyway) half way through the day in order to ski BOTH mountains. 

The end of my trips follows a pattern too. I stuff my clothes in my bag (these days, I stuff while Dwayne folds and carefully packs) and pull out the vaccum cleaner. We Griffioen descendants are intimately familiar with the cabin cleaning routine. Dad asks "are both bathrooms done?"

"yup"

"upstairs vaccumed?"

"yup"

"fridge wiped out?"

"yup"

"ok, everyone go to the bathroom one last time!"

and then we're off, back into the vehicles and down the road, waving goodbye to another fantastic year-end at the cabin. Ahh nastalgia. Whistler, Je t'aime. 

 

(walking through meadow park by the River of Golden Dreams, gazing up at both Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains).

2011 Print Design Favourites

 

Here is a small collection of, as the title image says, some of my print design favourites from 2011. They are all Insights magazine covers or spreads, and only a smidge of what I got up to this year!

This top image is all of the 2011 magazines, minus July, which never went to print because of the postal strike (still not over it, thanks a ton Canada Post).

 

2012: A New Year

I know, Duh right? I confess, I didn't put too much thought into the message . . . today I was exploring hand-drawn (then vectorized) type. It feels ridiculously good to sit down with a pencil and graph paper!

"No Place Like Home"

all the possible captions I came up with (I couldn't choose):
"Take Risks! Be Brave! Try New Things! ... all from the comfort of your own home."
"Don't be a chicken."
"Afraid to get your feet wet?"
"Why stop at wings? Water wings are where it's at!"

Narrowing it down

Are you a "goal" person? I sure am NOT. I've never been good at them. People ask me to create goals and I can't come up with anything better than: "work hard and do a good job." I think it relates to my difficulty with decision making, because I just can't commit to a future plan that I "want."

We can argue about the wisdom of making future plans that leave no room for God to move, but I think that my lack of goals is just as bad as having too many! God gave me passions and gifts to USE, and being effective requires some forethought.

I lay awake at night sometimes wondering why I do what I do (don't we all?) and what the future holds for me. I am a sucker for comparison and often beat myself up for not being as good as "so and so" at "such and such." I've always (since elementary school) wondered why I could be so good at so many things but not the best at ANYTHING. My journey through life has led me to realize how selfish and misguided these ideas are. Not only am I choosing to find my value in the opinions of others (and myself!), I am ignoring the incredible value I have in being a child of God, and being ME. Its like when I look at myself all I see is a bunch of little packages that don't amount to much on their own, and fail to see what an amazing package they make bundled up together (like a gift basket)! No wonder I feel too insecure about myself to actually commit to personal goals - I'm always trying to be someone else.

So. Lately I've been working on it. Stripping away the evaluating and comparisons and trying to narrow it back down to ME. What I am good at, what I like, who I am.

• I love to take photos and learn photography
• I love to create full-colour design that engages people
• I love working with type, and designing around a typeface personality
• I love the crispness of designing for the screen, but even more the crispness of a print piece gone RIGHT
• I love to DIY and craft! It refreshes me and builds me up. It seems to relate more to people than my design work, which is something not a lot of people can understand in regards to the work I've done
• I really like creating multiple pieces with a cohesive theme
• I'd love to connect with more "professional creatives" since I often seem to be on my own 
• I'd like time to create personal work - its the only way to really discover and refine "my style"

What does this amount to? Someday I'd like to be able to do it all. All at once. To have some kind of work environment that facilitates me being able to pursue and excel at these things I love! And to be confident that these things make me who I am professionally, which is a true reflection of who I am personally. Me, myself, how God made me.

How's that for a personal goal?

Fog and frozen fingers

This past weekend I did a secret photo session with some cool people. I don't want to spoil anyone's christmas gifts, so I'm only going to post my nature shots, sans-people. You have to see what kind of GORGEOUS morning we had to work with! I will confess, I've been itching to take some photos in the fog on each of these frozen mornings we've been having on my way to work, and I was quite happy to get my chance :D

 

It was a dark morning, which was a challenge, but we definitely got some winners! We finished just before my camera got cold enough to call it quits, and I think that can be said of the rest of us as well lol. I'll post the actual shoot someday after christmas... :D