Foss // Vakker

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On a cloudy day in late May, I had the pleasure of making photos of Foss in her apartment/workspace. Foss is a floral designer who creates the arrangements for Clyde Common and Olympic Provisions, amongst other places. 

I spent a couple of hours watching her arrange bouquets for her clients and shooting 7 rolls of 120 as well as a pack of FP-100C through the Hasselblad. One of the arrangements included peonies and I might have gone overboard with the photos, but I have no restraint when it comes to peonies.

I'll be sharing more images from this session in the next few weeks. In the meantime, check out Foss' Instagram stream to see her more recent arrangements!   

Mamiya C220 + Mamiya M645
Portra 400

⎨Alexa Stark, Pt 2⎬

One of the coolest things about a live-work space is choosing how and when to work. Alexa told me that she liked sewing at night on her bed, where she's surrounded by handmade pillows. Her assistant also comes up to her bedroom on the mezzanine to work alongside her. When I visited Alexa, she thought I should see the upstairs where she spends so much time working. She had a quilt to work on so I made a few photos of her sewing while she told me about her work habits. It's times like this that I wish I carried a tape recorder so I could share what she told me about her work habits and her space. 

⎨Alexa Stark, Pt 1⎬

A few months back, I met Alexa through Kim who invited me to Alexa's store opening on Alberta. A few days later, I asked if I could photograph her for my artists and artisans project. At the time, the project was in its infancy -- I had only photographed Betsy at work and wasn't sure where to take the project from there. For a few weeks (er, months), Alexa and I put off the shoot until I ran into her at the Art Museum last week and we decided to get together the next day. I hauled half of my film gear across town and spent a couple of hours in her ultra modern, light-filled live-work space and these photos are (part of) the result. I went a little overboard and shot two & a half rolls of 120 (mostly on the C220) and 2 rolls of 35mm on the 1N. You'll see Alexa's face (and her beautiful curly hair) in the next installment. 

Diptychs: Canon 1N & some Ektar, some Superia 400
Square: Mamiya C220 & Portra 400
Last: 1N & Superia 400

⎨Alexa Stark -- Sneak Peek⎬

I spent an afternoon making photos at Alexa Stark's clothing store last Wednesday. I have many photos to share soon, but in the meantime, here are two of my favorites. 

Diptych: Canon 1N //Kodak Ektar

Square: Mamiya C220 //Portra 400

⎨Studio Time⎬

Those photos are from three different days and sessions, with very different light situations and different films, but they all reflect what I've been doing lately and who I've been working with. Now here's my corny moment: I could never have found what I want to be shooting without the two wonderful people in this post. They've given me the opportunity to try portraiture and the confidence to keep doing it. 
I still have a lot to learn and I'm so excited about it. I'm at a great place where I can honestly say I love the results I've been getting but I see where and how I can grow and that's what I'm the most excited about. This weekend, I'm doing some theoretical learning that I'm looking forward to putting into practice next week. 

Mamiya M645 // 1-2 : Fuji 400H
3-4 : Kodak Ektar
Minolta x-500// 5: Ilford HP5+

⎨T o m a s z⎬

The Mamiya and I had the chance to make photographs while Betsy was posing for sculptor Tomasz Misztal a couple of weeks ago. I'd never seen a sculptor at work and I am so glad that I was able to observe the process. I'd seen Tomasz' work in the studio before countless times because he'd lent Betsy and I his space by the large windows, but had never met him, and I never even thought that I'd be lucky enough to see him work. See, Tomasz is kind of a big deal: he's had work in many exhibitions and his sacred art is displayed in European and American churches, as well as the Vatican museum. He's also an incredibly kind and cultivated man, and I'm very glad to have met him. 

Mamiya M645 // Ektar pushed 2 stops