Like I promised here is more from my session with Christina from one of the most beautiful areas in Canada, Invermere and the Kootenays. Our family spends a good portion of time in Invermere with family and friends and it’s truly a wonderful and inspiring location. Christina is also a very inspiring person. She is currently in the midst of making a huge step in her life and creative adventures. We have something very special in common as we were both raised in Fort McMurray and both got started in the arts while there. And like the path I myself took, Christina is ready to make some international leaps in order to fulfill her need to grow and learn. As we met in Invermere for our shoot she was enroute to work and live Vancouver with family for a short while before heading to Italy.
It was such a treat to be able to spend the day with Christina. It’s always so enriching to be surrounded by people who follow their dreams and have such passion for their artwork and interests. It really reminds me of why I first started in photography and re-opens my mind to being creative and thinking outside the box. With each shoot I want to bring something new, something personal and something that makes people wonder.
We first started out shooting in this wonderful old church off the highway 93 close to dry gulch. We met with a woman that lived next to it and said that her brother was the last person to get married there. Inside the room shows signs of age and wear but it really spoke to us, and had so much character and life. I tried my best to convey that mood on to Christina.
Throughout the rest of the day we traveled through the area, stopping in Windermere, overlooking the tracks above the Eagle Ranch and then shooting in front of the Toby theatre which is a highlight for anyone stopping in Invermere.
I really hope everyone enjoys the images from our day and you may notice I added a texture on one of the shots. It’s not something I normally do but I just wanted to try something that would fit the space.
Have a great Journey Christina and please keep us all posted along the way.
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If you are ever interested in a session in Invermere please don’t hesitate to contact me. I don’t charge for any travel expenses as we spend a great portion of the year in the Kootenays.
For those who want to know a little about how the first shot was taken I wanted to show the difference between using lights versus natural light. These shots were about 5 minutes apart. Just turning Christina away from the sun and shooting towards it and metering for a more dramatic effect and a completely different feel. I was using a large softbox and a 1600 white lightening from Paul Buff along with the new vagabond mini. * note * use a sandbag if you are shooting solo as the wind in Invermere can pick up and turn your softbox in to a kite.lol
You could certainly use a a speedlight in this case however because the sun was so harsh and bright you’d probably want to go with a ND filter and shoot at near full power to get the same light which means slow recycle time, and even then it may be hard to fill a softbox from a further distance from the model.
For post production I created a lightroom preset that adds a little blue tone (I call it Urban City) and then using the Nik software I added a subtle vignette on the edges and lightened the middle, not a lot but enough to focus our attention on Christina and the awesome church. Over all I love the extreme difference between fighting hard natural light and creating something from my own mind.
