Winter action shots!

Winter is now in full swing and that mean lots of action shots. Skiing and snowboarding are by far my favourite subjects. I guess it's just something about being outside, up on a mountain on an epic day and trying to capture that feeling of charging a powder line, or launching off a natural feature that gets me fired up. The New Year hasn't even started yet, and I feel like I have had a great season already, filled with lots of pow turns and some incredible photo shoots. I managed to squeeze in a trip over to Revelstoke for opening day and a quick trip over to Whistler to visit a close friend from back east...and my home mountain of Sun Peaks has been receiving its healthy share of snowfall.

I am very stoked for this winter for a couple of reasons:

1. I am shooting for Sun Peaks Resort, which will see me up shooting in the park and all over the mountain.

2. New camera gear

3. Shooting the Subaru Freeski World Tour in Revelstoke from January 6-10

4. My good friend and fellow photographer Dan Stewart scoring an incredible gig shooting for Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing in Revelstoke. I'm super pumped for him and all his success...and I'm crossing my fingers in the hopes that I get the chance to go for a ride in the heli this winter.

5. Watching Shaun White clinch another gold medal at the Olympics

Recently I have had several people approach me while shooting in the Terrain Park ask me questions about how to take better photographs of their friends and family (skiing and snowboarding). I love it when people do this...usually a parent will ski up to me and say something like “sorry to bother you but...why are you shooting from here or what settings are you using”. I love these questions and I am always happy to answer.

I usually explain to them that it has less to do with your camera and more to do with how you set up the shot (the composition). With a few simple rules to keep in mind, you can easily improve your action shots of friends and family on the slopes this winter.

1. Try to shoot them from the front. An image always looks better when you can see the front of your subject...instead of their backs. This seems simple enough for skiing, but keep in mind that snowboarders can be either regular or goofy footed. This means that you need to be aware of what stance the rider is, and position yourself properly in order to capture the front of the rider.

2. Keep the sun behind you. Action shots require a fast shutter speed and without adequate light you will be forced to use a slower shutter speed which will blur the action.

3. Don't zoom in too close. By giving your subject more space in the frame and including some of the natural features (mountains in the background, a jump, or some trees) you give the image more context. This also extents to taking pictures of jumping. If the subject is hitting a jump, try to include the take-off and landing in the image to help give the viewer a sense of size and space.

Like I said...very simple rules, that have very effective results. But like all rules...don't be afraid to break'em!

That's it for now. I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years and I'll see you on the hill.

Keep shooting,

Andrew

Long Hard Haze live @ The Loft

This past saturday night I had the chance to watch my good friend Dave Harder and his band The Long Hard Haze play at The Loft above Oronge. It had been about a year since last seeing these guys play and I know they were on a bit of a hiatus for a while, but they are back in full force again. 

For those of you who haven't been to The Loft...imagine having 80-100 people crammed into a small apartment with no ventilation.  Despite the sauna-like temperatures, the show kicked ass and the crowed was loving it. I heard someone at the show describe The Long Hard Haze as something of a cross between early Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime...I would have to agree. I felt like one minute they had the crowed swaying and bobbing their heads with funky, ska quitar riffs, then the next minute they had the crowed jumping so hard I thought the floor might give out (like at the end of "high by the highway")

This was actually my first show at The loft, and to be honest I had previously avoided going to shows there because I had heard that they don't serve alcohol (who wants to go watch a band "sans beer"?). But immediately after arriving it became apparent that most people were discretely drinking booze they smuggled in with them...what a great idea! So a quick run to Sergeant O's (thanks Steph) had me sipping Heinekens in no time. 

Great night, great show, great friends...the only downside was the parking ticket that was waiting for us at the end of the night....DAMN YOU IMPARK!!!!!

 

Fall Colors

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Fall is the best season in kamloops. We get to do all the fun outdoor activities of the summer, minus the insane heat. As an added bonus we also get some amazing colors in the trees down by the river. Couple that with some late afternoon sunshine and you have the perfect receipt for making amazing photographs. 

This past week I was busy doing shoots with families that really wanted to take advantage of these colors while they lasted...and the results were amazing! I had such a great time meeting new people and working together to create some really special images.

I had quite a few families contact me about doing their family portraits, but were unsure about doing them outside. I hope that the images I post with this entry will be enough to convince you that outdoor family portraits are THE BEST! There is just no way to duplicate this color and light in a studio.

We still have a few weeks left before the leaves are all gone, so if you have not had your family photos done yet, give me a call at 250-574-1558 and we will work out the details.

Special thanks to Mike and Lorna for being one of the nicest and most laid back family I have had the pleasure of working with. And an extra special thanks to my girlfriend Stephanie (A.K.A. my Assistant) for helping out.

Jon and Brittany

Just finished up my shots from last Saturdays engagement photo session with Jon and Brittany. The weather was fantastic and we all had a great time taking some really fun pictures down around Riverside Park. 

Thank you Jon and Brittany for being such  awesome couple to work with and I can't wait to shoot your BIG DAY!

You can check out the rest of the Jon and Brittany's shots at davidandrew.ca

Great Weekend

What a weekend! I love the fall weather here in kamloops. On saturday I went mountain biking with a wicked crew of people and did some much needed trail cleaning on the Knutsford trail. Armed with a shovel, hoe (the garden tool) and a chainsaw we cleared most of the fallen deadwood off the trail. Special thanks to Scott Horley so bring the chainsaw, and actually being able to ride with a chainsaw strapped to his back. 

I was actually super impressed with Scotts riding. For a guy that is NOT a mountain biker and hasn't ridden in years...he was really throwing down. He even  re-rode a few sections so I could take some action shots...

which resulted in a pretty hillarious bail. 

But I have to hand it to Breen. The guy rode most of the day with a hoe across his handle bars and managed to only wipe out once. 

The best part about riding with a new group of people is being shown new areas that you haven't seen before. At one point we came to some of the biggest trail jumps I have ever seen, nestled into the tight little valley. This place was amazing. As a photographer, I was in heaven. All I could see was the incredible potential for some killer shots. Then to my amazement, Breen and Sam started to session these jumps. So I was scrambling all over trying to get the best angles before they hiked back up to hit them again. 

All in all, it was a great day of riding. With a great group of people that are stoked on life and riding. 

DWC Golf Tournament

Just finished shooting the Developing World Connections golf tournament over at beautiful Sun Rivers Resort. Had a great time! All the teams were having so much fun and the weather was great for taking photos.

DWC hooked me up with my own golf cart so I could roam the whole course and catch as much of the action as possible. I got the chance to talk with a lot of the volunteers...and I have to admit it was really inspiring. Each of them is so passionate about everything Developing World Connections does and has so many amazing stories. I will definitely be going on one of there trips in the near future.

Special thanks to Wayne and Cam at DWC for having me and for being all around cool guys. And thanks to that team from Kelowna for buying me a beer on the 14th hole.

First Blog Under new name

So here is the first post after changing from Blueprint Photographer to David Andrew Photography. After doing some reading and researching and learning from more experience "signature brand" photographers, I felt like I would better off having people associate myself and my work with my real name rather than a business name.

More to come....