Feature Artist: Shelley Brookes

Posted on April 6, 2018 by cecile

My feature artist this week is Shelley Brookes. Over the past few months I have been working with Shelley taking photos of her paintings. She is from North Vancouver and her work speaks to me.

Most of her paintings are finished with a super, high gloss coating. While this makes for tricky photography the gloss creates a unique style rich in colours, depth and vision. In Shelley’s paintings, you will find hidden faces, both human and animal. Some are easy to spot while others take some imagination. But, it’s the ones that find you that are special – an energy, or force if you will – that speaks from the painting. I’m not sure how Shelley is able to tap into this but she does and it’s really cool!

The unnamed painting above is one of my favourites. It can be whatever you like but to me it speaks of Genesis. Life and death. Heaven and hell. A beautifully textured painting with deep orange and yellow hues. This piece took a while to photograph as I kept getting too much specular reflections off the wood and branch pieces in both the upper left and lower right corners. While some highlights are necessary to give us a visual cue that the painting is 3D, too much of it results in washed out colours and lack of detail. To compensate for this, I had to shoot in total darkness, and continuously adjust the angle of my studio lights and filters to minimise the reflections for an accurate representation of the painting.

Shelley will be exhibiting her works at Art! Vancouver from April 19-22, 2018. I encourage you to head to the show. I guarantee you will lose yourself in her paintings finding all sorts faces, shapes and forms!

I use professional equipment that is regularly maintained by Nikon Canada. Both my monitor and camera have been calibrated to achieve accurate colour representation. Artists receive a high quality TIFF file and I continue with the artist right through to the printing stage to make sure accuracy has been achieved. When printing, I recommend a professional lab. I use OPUS Fine Arts – they offer archival papers and inks and treat each file manually. I personally go to the North Vancouver store – the staff there understand the printing process and they are great to work with.

If you would like accurate, high quality digital files of your paintings or sculptures please contact me. Having your work digitized allows you the possibility to create fine art prints for sale, as well as having a record of your work for your portfolio or website.

Skinning with the Kids!

Posted on February 13, 2018February 14, 2018 by cecile

No, this isn’t a click-bait article and we did in fact go skinning with the kids this past weekend. It was our first time skiing in the backcountry as a family and as the term skinning suggests we skinned up and we skied down.

Before we got ourselves into trouble though we decided to hire a guide because we like our lives. Neither my husband or myself have our avalanche training so we played it safe. Our guide, Jean-Francois of Coast Mountain Guides, was friendly, knowledgeable, great with kids (he’s got two himself) and he speaks both French and English! As well as guiding us he also educated us on safety, snow packs, contour lines, weather and beacon training throughout the day. No wonder my little one didn’t want to go to school Monday morning. He most likely learned more in the 7 hours we were out over a week of school.

Backcountry skiing is something my husband and I had wanted to do for a while but had to wait for our children to be old enough. We like the idea of being able to go where few people do, surrounded by snow capped mountains and skiing in pristine powder. Our youngest is now 8 and our oldest is 10. They both ski very well and have no issues on single blacks at Whistler Blackcomb. Jean-Francois catered the route towards the kids to keep them happy so they would want to go again. Both kids were enthusiastic. Annnnd then we had lunch when our oldest decided to bust out the rescue shovel to create snow-furniture so he could sit properly to eat his lunch and our youngest – well – he just decided to dig a hole in the snow at the edge of the lake and dangle his feet in the slush. Ugh.

After lunch we skied out of the valley and towards our final climb of the day which would lead us to what JF affectionately called ‘Moon Rocks’. This would take us into our final descent out of the backcountry and into Blackcombs’ in-bound ski area. This is where ‘mommy-dearest’ fell one more time proving that I really suck at steep, narrow shoots. Let it be known that on Sunday, February 11, 2018 my kids have officially become better skiers than me. And for the record, I’d like to blame it on my skis that are 10cm longer than what I’m used to.

For equipment, we outfitted ourselves with brand new miss-drilled skis – David’s were 50% off the ticketed price – and backcountry style bindings with pins. All my gear were misfits as well – miss-drilled, miss-used and near misses. But, they were on sale. We found used rental boots, also on sale, and they didn’t stink. In fact, I don’t believe they were used more than 3-4 times as there were very little scuff marks. For our youngest we found a pair of new 2016 boots online. This was the last pair and on discount. We also hit the Whistler Blackcomb Outlet Store in Squamish and found a pair of used Atomic powder skis for the kids – fairly light and fat. For the bindings we bought new from Hagan – a small Austrian based company selling backcountry equipment with a US distributor. The bindings are relatively light, and versatile – fitting smaller boot sizes with a DIN from 2 to 7. We should be able to get 2-4 years before they out grow them.

We had an amazing time. My husband will be taking an avi course and I will follow up with mine soon after. This was an unforgettable experience that the entire family enjoyed. It doesn’t come without dangers though. Safety and experience is essential and not something to skimp on. If you don’t know your way around the back country than hire a guide. That’s what they are there for!

See what I did there? I put in that sentence about dangers so that you don’t attack me in the courts. I told you, and you read my post.

Interested in documenting your adventures or vacations? Or, having that unique family portrait that isn’t staged? I’m good at this. Let’s talk.

Bikes ‘n Brides and Action!

Posted on February 10, 2018 by cecile

Lately, my photos have taken on a new twist. That is, not a twist of the throttle – something I’m used to but one where I have been shooting more bridal and portraits in settings outside my norm.

For me, photography is an amazing experience as it allows me to grow creatively. Some times though, I wonder if I’m cut out for this and if my work is actually worth looking at. Aside from parenting, photography is hard. It’s hard finding clients and finding people who appreciate what I do and are willing to pay for my services as a professional photographer.

It takes time to create an image and I take each one of my opportunities seriously. I thank you all for your confidence in me. I am proud and beyond stoked at the images I have been able to create with you.

Braving a cold, damp, snowy, and foggy winter day typical of coastal BC we took longer than expected to wrap this shoot because the light and conditions kept changing. Each photo was as beautiful as the last and vastly different. We couldn’t of asked for better weather.

Make Up Artist – Desiree Ellis

Model – Ling Chen

Equipment – Nikon camera and Elinchrom Lights and Modifier

Sking with the Udovic family in Big White, BC. Accommodations for action photos? Heck ya! Sign me up. Perfect March break getaway as we loved our stay and all the kids got along. Perfect scenario for families with young kids as they more or less kept themselves occupied giving the parents some much needed adult time. Well…perfect until we gave them popcorn…but that’s another story.

Equipment – Nikon Camera with 70-200mm lens

Another very wet but beautiful month. I was lucky enough to explore some amazing mountain bike trails and share them with some very special pups as I needed photos for an article that was being published in Mountain Bike For Her Woof!

Equipment – Nikon camera and 70-200mm lens

Our family trip to Garibaldi Park was on a whole other level. It was one where I saw my boys grow stronger mentally and physically. The sheer vastness and grandeur of the park was a reminder how small we are in on earth yet how much of an impact we can have on her. I still can’t believe that we saw a handful of people the entire 4 days. Canada is truly an awesome country.

Equipment – Fuji XT-1 with kit lens

From winter like conditions in BC only a few days before to hot, summer days in Quebec. I had the opportunity to spend two weeks riding off-road motorcycles while photographing for Traction eRag during the inaugural Woods Runners trip.

Equipment – Nikon camera, 24-70mm and 70-200mm lens

Five river crossings, and close to 50km of riding. We took our boys mountain biking to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday in style. There was a bit of heckling at first as not all uphills were liked but in the end the boys had a great time. Thanks to Troy of Tyax Adventure for safely guiding us through grizzly country and navigating some fast, and deep water.

Equipment – Fuji XT-1 with 35mm lens

Just because we couldn’t get enough of our spring trip into Garibaldi we decided to hike our spring route backwards. This time instead of snow covered fields we saw plains of lava as history unfolded with each step we took. The boys liked this trip just as much except for the mosquitos.

Equipment – Fuji XT-1 with 35mm lens

With cold rainy days ahead we moved indoors for a photoshoot. This time with professional model Coco. The studio was booked for three hours and we three different outfits we made excellent use of props and walls going for two different looks – formal and edgy.

Model – Coco

Make-up Artist – Desiree Ellis

I had the opportunity to work with Shelley Brookes – an extremely talented painter. This is the largest painting I have reproduced to date. As I checked for colour accuracy I was amazed at the different layers and images I could see inside her painting – hidden deep in contours, and colours I saw faces, animals and people.

Artist – Shelley Brookes

I’m hoping 2018 will be just as exciting and creative. If you have a project you’d like photographed please consider me. It’s what I love to do.

Trials and Tribulations

Posted on December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by cecile

This is Brandon S. He’s young and he isn’t afraid of sending it. I spent the last two days both riding and taking photos at IOCO, BC. This is a trials bike only place and there are lots of big rocks and trees to hop up and over. Stuff that I can’t do but love seeing others do.

Just a few days before I was with Ron W. Ron, is a self-described ‘Old Trials Guy’. At 68 years young Ron puts the majority of riders to shame as he rides with precision meticulously placing the front wheel where it needs to be and not falling. We arrived at IOCO mid-morning and were treated to cooler temps, frost and fog. Lots of it. The rocks were particularly icy. Any wheel spin caused the frost to melt under the tire and immediately ice up. If it wasn’t for the non-smooth surface ice skates would have been a better choice.

The weather began changing and I wanted to head into the forest as I saw the fog started to shift. Rays of sunlight filtered in through the canopy of trees. It was magical. Riding became secondary as the priority was to photograph this beautiful light. Less than 30 minutes later the magic had disappeared. I put my camera away and spent the rest of the morning riding.

Documenting the back country with 4 young kids

Posted on July 2, 2017July 2, 2017 by cecile

I woke up to temperatures cold enough to freeze the melting ‘snow rivers’ underneath our tent pad. With the kids locked in a deep sleep I enjoyed a moment of silence and soaked in the cool, fresh mountain air. Bliss. How lucky we are to be here.

Just a few weeks prior my friends Nicolas and Natalie had a crazy idea and proposed a 28 km backcountry camping trip into Garibaldi Provincial Park, BC spread over three nights and four days, and one mountain pass with four boys aged 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Wooohooo! I’m in.

No need to ask the kids…they’ll love this!! Backcountry camping, big heavy backpacks, long arduous hikes, steep uphills, and sore feet…what’s not to like?

Six hours before we left my biggest concern was how to get all this gear into my 60 litre bag, and into my boys two 30 litre backpacks. Wool socks, Moon Cheese, camp fuel, bear spray, tent, sleeping bags, Thermarests, clothing, and lots of food among other gear.

This trip quickly established itself as both a mental and a physical test of strength and will for each child as they struggled on the first ascent with loaded backpacks, and a steep, rooty up hill path. While I carried the heaviest gear theirs were busting at the seams and weighed in between 10-15 lbs. I am sure this added to the many stops and drops along the forest floor as little bodies screamed in distaste at the sheer steepness of the trail.

But with lots of coaxing, breaks, a few needed temper-tantrums, and snacks we prevailed and reached Helms Creek campground 9 hours later. Annnnd luckily my husband had already found and dug out the tent pad from under 2 feet of snow. Thanks David…love ya!!

The next day we saw Black Tusk standing stoically in front of us. We looked up with jaws open mesmerised by the sheer beauty and vastness of the landscape. No one complained. No one talked. The fatigue melted with the snow.

With blue bird skies and a hot mid-day sun we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Stopping occasionally for water breaks, and lunch we trekked on for 9 km ocassionally breaking through the snow. Progress was slow but only because of the soft snow. No more complaints. In fact, I truly believe that this day was a game changer for the boys as they realised the benefits of hard work.

Our final campsite was Garibaldi. Our feet were cold and wet, and our stomachs empty. But our spirits remained as high as the mountains surrounding us. Once more we had to pitch our tent in close to 3 feet of snow but the experience was worth it as I saw all the boys grow and accomplish tasks they never thought they could. Whereas, I always knew they could they now believed it!

Dog Gone It. That was a Fun Ride!

Posted on April 13, 2017April 13, 2017 by cecile

Dog Gone It! That was a FUN Ride with the pups!

Over the past few weeks I have been meeting and documenting some pretty hardcore 4-legged friends that can seriously shred the gnar. I’ve watched them hop, run, walk, play, eat, and even steal doggie treats out of my camera bag.

In preparation for an upcoming article with Mountain Bike For Her I turned to social media to find my eager models (2 and 4 legged ones). Riding again with a furry friend made me think a lot of our family dog when we used to take her riding. How she loved it. And how I loved watching her gracefully clear fallen trees yet aggressively tackling a tight turn. I marvel at a dogs athleticism…and their ability to find the route of least resistance. I’ve always said that if you want to win a DH race follow your dog. It might not always make sense but it’s fast.

These action shots weren’t easy to get and I cannot wait to show you the rest once the summer issue of MTB4Her comes out. In other words, can’t release the ‘hounds’ just yet. Get it? Anyways, I’ve got some real beauties and am totally stoked at the results.

Thanks to my new furry and non-furry friends for making this real. Your exuberance is infectious. Let’s go ride again!!

Woof!

Following the Udovics at Big White

Posted on March 19, 2017March 19, 2017 by cecile

I recently had the opportunity to photograph the Udovic family at Big White ski resort in BC, Canada. Following this family required me to be my best in moguls, narrow runs and all types of weather conditions as we endured fog, rain, icy conditions, wind and finally sun.

My focus was to get a few group photos of the family with the intention that they could print one to hang on a wall in their home. As well, as getting a few shots of the family in action.

Aside from a (few) bathroom breaks this family can SHRED!!! It was awesome to see both the almost 5 and 7 year olds rip down the hill with steeze and control. So good to see!!

Thanks to the Udovics for a great time on the slopes!! If you and your family would like photos of your family in action – ski, mountain bike, hike, snowshoe etc. – drop me a line. I would love to document your family’s adventure, vacation or day.

Cecile

The Winter Blues Got You Down? Trying Riding. It’s a Bonafide Cure!

Posted on December 20, 2016December 20, 2016 by cecile

Winter. It’s cold and it’s beautiful. And just because there’s snow it shouldn’t mean you should stop riding.

The Bike:

For snow…fatter is better.

Honestly, I had no idea that fat-bikes were a game changer until I tried my friends’ Rick on a wet-snow kinda day. I was squirrely riding down on my regular mountain bike and barely making the uphills. The fatter tires in comparison gave me stability, control, traction and renewed confidence.

As much as I’d love to own my own fat-bike my bank account says otherwise. And I hate cheap, heavy equipment. Call me a snob but over the years I have gotten used to quality. So I rent. I found Flying Spirit Rentals based in Squamish, BC. They have high-end rentals. I can also rent bikes at the Whistler Olympic Park. They have both electric assist and non-assist bikes. And don’t think that having an e-bike is cheating. Riding in snow is just as hard regardless of your choice of weapon.

The Clothing:

I layer. And I usually have a big honking backpack with me to carry both my camera gear, food and extra clothes. I like to wear my ski helmet and goggles on colder days. I also find the goggles provide better protection on sunny days with a high UV factor and brightness from the snow.

For my feet I have a pair of 45NRTH Wölvhammer winter boots. They are equipped with Shimano SPD’s. And they rock. Warm, waterproof, rugged and built for cold, winter days. If I’m on flats I use a pair of warm, waterproof winter boots. While climbing clipless pedals make the job easier I also like the freedom of flats. On warmer days snow can also ice up rendering cleats useless.

On my face I always wear a balaclava. This is mostly because I’m a wimp to the cold and hate having chapped lips. But the main reason is to keep my cheeks warm so that the air entering my lungs has been warmed up slightly. For asthmatics this is important. Wheezing is not fun.

Finally, on my hands I alternate between a pair of Pearl Izumi Lobster Claws and a pair of Black Diamond gloves which are water resistant and windproof. In my bag I always carry an extra set of gloves as well as an extra pair of socks. Just in case.

The Fun-Factor:

The fun-factor is high. Very high. As is the sense of adventure and exploration. Skiing is fun too but the bicycle can take you places and it’s always an adventure. There are days when you can slice through powder and other days when the you get all squirrely. There are also crashes. But they usually don’t hurt.

So you see riding in winter doesn’t have to be scary. You just need to be prepared and have a positive attitude. Besides with a fat-bike you can ride anywhere you want, any time you want!

Letting Kids be Kids

Posted on November 1, 2016November 2, 2016 by cecile

I love how innocent kids are and I love watching them being kids and playing as they should.

My children and myself found a rather large patch of tall, dry grass and an abundance of rocks while on a modified hike atop Grouse Mountain. I say modified because we never made it to where we had intended to go but, instead, found laughter and fun as they began to play hide-and-seek, and tag. Seriously, why drag them into a hike when clearly they were having more fun here? And, without them knowing it, getting more exercise as they ran up and down the mountain side.

Within time, a young girl and her family came along and asked if she could play with my two boys. While her mother and I talked the kids played, laughed, shared, ran and jumped.

I grew up in an apartment in a rough Toronto neighborhood and to this day the most fun I had were those years where I did just what my children were doing – being kids. I ran up six flight of stairs and raced down them as fast as I could (elevators were boring); I climbed trees, we played British Bull-Dog, Cowboys and Indians, climbed trees, jumped our bikes over our friends and, generally, ran lots. I wasn’t involved in team sports, nor had a plethora of afterschool activities but I did climb school roof tops to retrieve tennis balls and I also clearly remember crumpling up pieces newspaper and lighting them on fire in our building’s underground garage (right behind parked cars no less). While perhaps that wasn’t the swiftest thing I ever did (and really hope my own children don’t do that) I also remember setting off the buildings outdoor sprinkler system to jump over the stream of water as it rotated. Hours of fun.

My point is, today children are taxied left, right and center. Whether it’s a music lesson, a soccer or hockey practice, gymnastics, swimming, or art clubs it seems to me that kids are no longer kids. A chance to laugh, play, be with friends, share, talk, run, fall, and cry. The chance to socialise and to make friends on their own terms seems to be lost. The opportunity to make up games, play make-believe and run for fun is disappearing and replaced by a generation with their heads stuck in their mobile devices.

Find a playground. Let your kids play good old-fashion games and join in on the fun. Cuts, bruises, tears and messes. It’s all good. And if you can find an old sprinkler system put a popsicle stick in them to set them off…and run away quickly. Tons of fun and great exercise too.

A 1962 Chevy Impala, a Cop and Two Busted Bikers

Posted on October 26, 2016October 26, 2016 by cecile

I cannot begin to tell you how sweet this car is. Not only was it beautiful to look at and to photograph it was also a real treat sitting in the passenger seat and feeling the rumble of the motor as the ‘pedal went to the metal’. Of course, it would have been even sweeter to drive the car but just sitting in it was a pretty cool experience that I will not soon forget.

My idea was to capture a few static photos of the car and some action shots. My husband ‘graciously’ offered (actually, he didn’t really have a choice) to drive our Subaru Outback along a deserted road as I lay sprawled out in the trunk with the hatch up taking photos.

Merrily clicking away I had just taken about ten shots when I saw flashing lights and that heard that familiar ‘whirp whirp’ sound.

Crap! Police.

I quickly jumped out of the car and explained to the nice police man that this was totally my idea and not that of my husband. As I explained what I was doing I noticed two young guys sitting in the back giggling away and realized that they were the riders whose bikes we saw being hauled out by a flat bed tow truck thirty minutes prior. I guess they picked the wrong night for drag racing as I had picked the wrong night for taking photos hanging out the back of a car.

Luckily I got away with only a stern look, and a verbal warning. To this I must heartily thank those two crotchet-rocket riders for taking up most of this very nice police man’s evening.

The shoot continued but this time I sat in the back seat and hung out the window with my seat belt draped around me. Nothing illegal there. Overall I’m pretty stoked at the shots and create some magic worthy of this awesome car.

In case you haven’t noticed…I LOVE taking photos of bikes and cars. Classic lines, colours, personality – they are shine at me. Interested? Shoot me an email and let’s talk!