Lizzz video

Here is a mini video slideshow of Lizzz I put together on Animoto this afternoon.

Soundtrack: "One More Day" by Pure Dream Ladder.

Video and all images within © Mike Wood Photography, 2009

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

The Path

The Path, 2009

Miss Lizzz walking down a path leading from an abandoned quarry near London, Ontario. June 2009.

I don't often do long shots like this as I prefer to have the beautiful women I am lucky enough to capture up close, but the trees framed her very well.

At 8:25pm, it was really beyond useful light for hand held amongst all these trees. The sun was now on the horizon and behind clouds.This was just about 20 mins after The Quarry #4, 2009 in the previous post. The Path, 2009 was 1/80th sec, ISO 800, f4.0.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Lizzz's Quarry

The Quarry #4, 2009

My beautiful friend Miss Lizzz. Shot near dusk in an abandoned, partially overgrown quarry near London last month.

We arrived so close to sunset, and we wanted some shots with these lovely wild flowers at the far end of the quarry while they were still in the sun. We barely managed to get some before the golden light was gone - hence the varying light temp in the shots. And too quickly the sun disappeared below the thin ridge of clouds on the horizon, and then below the edge of the quarry - despite my shaking my fist at Copernicus and his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. ;)

Aaaanyhow, she also wanted to spin around in the flowing skirt that she procured specifically for that purpose. And the skirt was selected perfectly for that. Very fluid and can-can like. Would have only been better with more wind under her sails, but we managed some cool film we both enjoyed. :)

The Quarry #3, 2009

The Quarry #2, 2009

The Quarry #1, 2009

The Quarry #5, 2009

Always a treat to work with Lizzz. Her enthusiasm knows no bounds, and sadly we don't hang out enough anymore. Which is pretty much my fault. And with results like these, I'm not sure why we don't.

Makeup by Missy Costa.
Skirt borrowed (ahem) for its twirlability.

Part 2 to follow later in week...

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

40 years ago there was one ... giant leap...

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two humans to land on the moon 40 years ago today. At 10:56PM Eastern, Armstrong stepped off the ladder of Apollo 11's LEM Eagle and said those words everyone knows.

These nine or ten minute videos on Youtube are Walter Cronkite's coverage of the event for CBS. The shots of the ship during the descent are CBS animations used at the time. If you were watching it back then, this is what you would have seen. I was only two and a bit years old, and my brother just over a month old when this happened. According to my mom, we stayed up and watched it on TV, but I don't recall it. Watching these videos today as I added them to the blog was quite cool. Not exactly Bruce Willis landing on an asteroid, but imagine watching these in 1969 live on TV? Must have been something. Still is.

Forty years on, we have a reusable shuttle docked to an orbiting space station with a total of 13 astronauts on board, including two Canadians - with one of the 13 being the 500th person in space. And NASA announced on Friday that the recently launched LRO has just imaged the landing sites of all but one of the Apollo missions.

Part 1:Eagle descends to the surface



Part2: on the surface
Skip to about 7:15 in this video for the descent down the ladder.



Part 3: Stepping off the LEM.
"Live from the surface of the Moon"



Part4: Out on the surface and collecting samples



Part5: Both Aldrin and Armstrong outside on the surface.



Part6: moving TV camera from LEM to surface.



Part7: LEM seen from the surface & how to walk



Final Video: More on Surface
& Pres Nixon's call to Aldrin and Armstrong

**Videos wont be visible on Facebook, so check them out on the original post on my blog.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

NASA Remembers Walter Cronkite

From the NASA's YouTube page, a 6:23 video with Cronkite discussing the coverage of the landing on the Moon, 40 years ago today. The way it was.

I will post a little later a series of videos from CBS coverage of the Moon Landing.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Jane's Addiction wants your copyrighted photos

If you are a photographer and shoot concert images for Jane's Addiction, they want the copyright to the photos “…I hereby grant, transfer, convey and assign to you all right, title and interest throughout the universe in perpetuity, including, without limitation, the copyright…”

As Rob Haggart put it, why would anyone bother shooting the band's performances if you can't even use the images or publish them.

Pretty lame for publicity. I think Navarro and pals are a little addicted to being in control freak land. Too bad they can't keep their band together long enough for it to matter much.

- via A Photo Editor


Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Walter Cronkite 1916-2009

CBS Image

Walter Cronkite has passed away at the age of 92. Right on the eve of his now historic coverage of the moon landing 40 years ago - where the never speechless Cronkite was misty eyed and in fact speechless. More from CBS News :

At one time, his audience was so large, and his image so credible, that a 1972 poll determined he was "the most trusted man in America" - surpassing even the president, vice president, members of Congress and all other journalists. In a time of turmoil and mistrust, after Vietnam and Watergate, the title was a rare feat - and the label stuck.

This was in the era before the blow dried hair talking heads who cant pronounce a foreign country if its not spelled out phonetically, and are not for the most part, reporters. They just
read the news.

NASA recalls Cronkite's coverage of the Apollo landings here.

"And thats the way it is..." won't be that way again. A passing of a journalistic legend.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Gun Range

Thats me yesterday on the 100m range at the East Elgin Sport Shooters Assoc. shooting a Czech made Vz.58 firing Warsaw Pact ammo from 1970.

That was the first time firing an assault rifle on a range in quite a few years. But after the first couple of rounds, I was like 'I remember that smell. Not much different than an FN..."

I managed to hit the target 'gongs' at 100m a few times once I got dialed in. I would imagine with a bit more practice I would be back to my old self. Later we went to the indoor range and I shot a 40cal Sig, a 9mm, and also a 357Magnum. First time firing a revolver too. That is some beast... :P

Managed to dispatch several pieces of paper which were threatening me. Thoroughly ventilated they are.

Thanks to Ian for inviting me and letting me fire off a few rounds from his weapons. Great stress reliever. :)

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

TANSTAAFL - the GWC edition

If the truth is often seen, 2008.

Ok I debated whether I was going to post this and I sat on my hands for a couple of days. But here goes. With grown up language too for those sensitive....

If you want my help or advice or hints or tips or tricks when it comes to photography, its not free. I don't mind helping some of my friends now n then. But regularly people - photographers and those who are GWCs (guys with cameras) - I meet online who are all 'where's this location, where's that location?' 'Can you give me some advice on how to shoot nudes?' 'Can I tag along and watch you work' 'Whats your secret to meeting beautiful tattoo'd models?' 'What do you think of my 50 photos here and any suggestions to improving them?' 'Any idea how to make a photoshop effect for (fill in the blank)?' ...

The answers are Not Telling, Shoot Some, No, Talking to them, Not much & shoot more, and Yes I do.

You know what? Do it yourself. Try this: Go for a fucking walk for three hours, get mosquito bitten, or soaked feet, sun burned, or frost bitten, and find some location you can call yer own. That's how I do it. I have spent a shit load of time walking, hiking, and used up tanks of gas driving around scouting locations. Going down side roads or off the beaten path from here to the BC interior, to the top end of Newfoundland and back. And not to mention all over the local London area.

If you can't find anywhere else in the city to shoot pics except for that alley downtown everyone and their mother has shot someone in, then you have two options. Shoot there, and your client's or model's friends can go something like, "Suzy, isn't that the alley Mike Wood shot photos of Maggie in?" And your model can then be bummed cuz you didn't bother to find a special unique place to take her photos that could be their spot. Option two is you can tie up the laces on yer Converse kicks go find some spot of your own.

I have found some really great nooks n crannies to shoot in - and several no longer exist. Some, such as the abandoned pool most recently, were completely flukes to find. But I was the one to find the spot and not you. I am sure you all have cool fav buildings, walls, dirt roads, parking lots, farmers fields, rooftops etc of your own - and I am not saying that completely sarcastically. You want to trade something I would remotely find useful for some information then we can talk. But really, I'm not getting much out of the deal so I probably won't bother.

I'm not your photography teacher, travel guide, or model agency. There are people who get paid for that. I don't. And frankly I don't have the time for it. I'm all for you having some deserved success - if its deserved and not because you have a golden horseshoe up yer ass. And not because you couple your mediocre skills with being well connected.

You don't see Honda asking Nissan for advice on their instrument panel design. Or MAC cosmetics being asked by Cover Girl what their secret is to getting their products loved so much. What those businesses do instead is something called research. And a helluva lot of it. R&D budgets can be enormous. Mine is not. But for the time, money and effort I do put into it, the results should be mine to reap, and not yours to step in and harvest.

I am self taught. I didn't go to school for this.

I have shot well over 150,000 pictures in the last six or seven years I would imagine by now.

Thousands of hours editing and learning how to edit.

I learned by doing. And I keep learning everyday.

I found locations by exploring a lot.

I have sat on my ass till it was numb in front of my computer and researched online any number of aspects of photography to death: ideas, equipment, lighting, everything is out there.

Google does work. So does going to Chapters. Dummies Guides are not just for dummies...

Oh, and I met models by, guess what? Meeting them. Get out of your momma's basement and talk to someone instead of poaching someone else's contacts they have cultivated because its easier to do that. And yes, that's happened to me several times now.

Whether I am successful or not at this point with my photography, I desperately want to be. I am having serious long term doubts as to whether I will ever get the recognition and financial compensation I would like for what I have invested to this point in my art. Curiously, I would like to have some of your success, and not just have my carcass picked clean by vultures before they move on.

So GWCs wanting the easy way into shooting photos and making money doing it, and not wanting to put their time in and figure out on their own or in a class how shallow DoF is great for portraits or what the rule of thirds is, or an ISO is for that matter, or that RAW is arguably better than JPEG, or that shooting fast moving objects requires a fast shutter speed, or that Photoshop layers are great... can ask someone else for info instead. Maybe join a camera club.

Like Harlan Elison said, a lot of you piss me off when you want something from me for free. I know that sounds cold, and I think my friends out there will know that this is not directed at them, but when it comes down to it being either you or me making a buck of my work and efforts, I have more than a slight bias towards me.

In a very much not enlightened Buddhist like conclusion, I will get down to brass tacks here: If You are the competition, You are in My way. So don't expect me to help you.

TANSTAAFL.


Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Tony Pacheco 1971-2009

I only got to get to know Tony for a few years. First when we worked together at Teletech, and then later outside of work. He wanted me to shoot some promotional photos for his music website, and these shots are from that session back in June 2006. They were shot upstairs at the Arts Project here in London and really before I heard much of his music (you can hear some on his ReverbNation page). But even on that day when he was casually playing his guitar you knew talent was there.


I think at one point he sent me some tracks or linked to them and I was really amazed at his voice. Instantly thought of Springsteen. And that was probably what most people thought when he was singing or covering the Boss.

We started to hang out again a fair bit only really since last summer. He was looking to get some new photos done as the last ones were becoming dated, and we talked ideas on what to shoot and where. Talked about perhaps shooting with a model as his muse in an alley downtown, and also about some live performance shots at the London Music Club - something I should have done at the CD release party a couple weeks ago.


I know that over the past couple of years, circumstances changed for him, and challenges came up that were causing him some great internal turmoil. I thought that by talking with him, offering advice, kicking his butt now n then, and just being there as a friend, he might turn around. We had several long long talks in May and June and I felt that perhaps in the last couple of weeks he was on the mend and would be the old Tony again one day soon.

Sitting in the audience at London Music Club a couple of Fridays ago with my friend Missy, I never imagined as I sipped my free Grasshopper ale (and got mighty buzzed off it) that this was going to be the last time I heard him play. He was on fine form that night being accompanied - for the first time as far as I know - by a woman named Megan that I had never met before that evening, but since his passing I have had a chance to chat with her at length about Tony and his music. He was feeling energized after that performance and even before it happened he was nervous and pumped. I know he was starting to write more, and had done a fair bit recently.


Even as late as a week last Saturday, the day after the performance, Tony and I hung out in Gibbons Park for a couple of hours talking n well, girl watching... It was good fun and Tony was being positive and upbeat as he un-apologetically checked out the Rollerbladers and cyclists passing by on the path. At one point I suggested channeling his energy into writing a Springsteen like equivalent to Alanis Morrisette's 'jagged little pill' album. Awesome music can come out of tortured souls, and can be cathartic. He even said that he was going to take his guitar back to the park and sit and do some writing.



Benjamin Disraeli wrote "Most people die with their music still locked up inside them." I don't think more apt words about Tony could be said. I just wish he had the chance to get that music out of his system and onto paper.

Tony, my friend, you will be missed by many. And I'm sorry you never got to be an assistant on one of my photoshoots. I know you would have enjoyed that a great deal. :)




Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Local camera store uses pics without credit for newsletters

A friend of mine asked me to confirm something on Thursday. He said a local camera store here in London, Ontario called Stan C Reade, used one of his Flickr images shot last year of the Stan C Reade Photo Day at the Elsie Perrin Williams Estate to illustrate a newsletter showcasing this month's upcoming event now called Digital Discovery Day. I compared the shot in the newsletter, to his on Flickr and they were the same. Initially I thought perhaps the shot of a model by a car could have been done by someone else at near similar angle (it's a feeding frenzy by GWCs at the photo day usually when it comes to models), but his post work was fairly unique and the odds of someone else doing the exact same thing on the same shot was low.

I suggested he contact Stan C Reade and see what they had to say. The store emailed back and said that they apologized for not having included his name on the newsletter as it was their policy for photographers to be "credited and or notified" when images are used on their site and newsletters. It was blamed on the person doing the final artwork. No mention of posted disclaimers about any photos taken on site could be used in the future by the store for promotional purposes or something similar.

One small bonus in terms of damage control was that once notified, the store updated the newsletter in print available in store, and on their site crediting a couple of the photographers listed. My friend was also given a small store credit for his troubles... But to this point, no public note from the editor indicating the omission on the revised newsletter or the site.

"Credited and or notified"? The cherry picked image was All Rights Reserved, not even Creative Commons. I would have liked to assume that a photography store that has been in business for over 50 years would understand that seeking permission prior to using a photographer's image and waiting for that approval is the way it's done. Not doing one or the other - or neither as was this case this time.

Ok. So blame the intern. Maybe permission was not sought out at the time. But doesn't the newsletter have an editor that proofs it before sending it out? As this was a one off, I decided out of curiosity to review the last four years of newsletters which are available on their site. With the odd exception - such as photo contest winners and some other images here and there- very, very few images are credited at all to any photographers.

Some photos are from rather impressive locations such as the Grand Canyon and in the Southwest of the US, locations around Ontario, and from other Stan C Reade photo days they hosted. To say that it's "always the practice" to credit the photographers is absolutely not true. They just got caught with their pants down this time.

Stan C Reade, your policy or lack there of in this matter, and the way you tried to handle it, while perhaps OK to the photographer who was slighted, is not good enough. Industry triple fee compensation and a public apology might have been a good start...

I will never go near your store, recommend it, or attend any event you host again. And given four years worth of newsletter evidence to date, anyone who goes to a Stan C Reade event better make sure they are aware that their images are fair game for them to use without permission, and you won't likely be credited for your time, work, or vision.

Anyone considering a purchase, or thinking of doing business with them should consider twice before signing on the dotted line. There are lots of other stores out there that understand copyright, and respect photographers for the hard work they do.

We are your bread and butter. Why you would take advantage like that, when it is so easy to rectify, is beyond me.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Canadian, Please

Totally not photography related, and pretty silly ,but it was Canada Day yesterday. :)





Song & video produced by Julia Bentley & Andrew Gunadie

http://www.myspace.com/jchbentley
http://www.myspace.com/andrewgunadiemusic

If looking at this on Facebook, the YouTube embedded video doesn't work, so check out my blog.

Mike

Mike Wood Photography

Canada Day 2009

I know I have done the past couple of years photos of beautiful girls some how Canadianified, but this time I decided to do something different.

When I met her back in the winter, Mallory mentioned that on Canada Day, the cemetery where she worked in St Thomas, Ontario placed Canadian flags with the markers, graves and headstones of all the known veterans interred there - in both the military section and also in the general plots in the old section. I thought at the time, that it would be a good thing to photograph. Veterans should be remembered more than once a year in my opinion.

I had intended to shoot a model as well - elsewhere and not with the headstones, but given circumstances this week, I decided that the cemetery shoot would be a better thing too do.

Happy Canada Day. Lest we forget.









Mike

Mike Wood Photography