This past month I had the privelege of photographing the first 10 SCION xB's to land in Canada. Currently not for sale, only for promo use - these hot cars will be officially hitting the streets and dealerships across the country sometime this Fall.

This past weekend I had a fantastic shoot with Isle of Thieves in an abandoned factory! Check out the fun behind the scenes footage below:

Attention bands and photography enthusiasts! Just a quick update to let you know I will be hosting a live photography seminar at Durham College as part of the 10th annual Reel Music Festival - March 27th 4-6PM in Room #i110

RSVP: http://reelmusicfestival.com/RMF_Registration_Form.pdf
Facebook event: HERE
Info on more events: http://reelmusicfest.tumblr.com/

Hope to see you out!

Topics will include:

• The pros and cons of going “pro”
• Essential equipment and software
• On Location vs. Studio: tips & advice
• Techniques that turn Good into Great
• Photography’s role in the music industry
• The power of good image and marketing
• Developing the right image for your music
• and more!

This past week was definitely one for the history books! Each year during Canadian Music Week there literally really seems to be a buzz surrounding the city as some 700+ musical acts congregate in virtually every bar and live venue around the city. This year I had the priveledge of covering some very special events, with limited access - including Slash's new record listening party with Universal Music Group! (see all photos HERE)











I also had a great time shooting the Independant Music Awards at the Royal York Hotel. I took a limited amount of photos because this year I really wanted to focus on living in the moment and enjoying it all - mission accomplished. Some highlights include photos of The Midway State, USS, Marianas Trench, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Danny Fernandes giving/receiving various awards. The presentation and production of the 2010 Indies was phenomenal, I thought this event was absolutely amazing!

Last summer I was lucky to meet an awesome band out of Burlington, ON called Beauti at a small local show in Hamilton. Honestly, from the first note I knew these guys had some serious talent and promise - they blew me away. Finally they contacted me to do a photo shoot, and of course I said... HELL YAH! So a couple weeks ago we had a lot of fun shooting in an old refurbished building - formerly a night club now converted into a youth church - which had super grimy walls and all the mismatched furniture you could ever ask for. The shoot was very special in that they were preparing to launch brand new songs, and a brand new name. Now known as Tonight Tonight, they're set to take the music scene by storm. Make sure you check out their crazy new MySpace and infectious tunes! As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a more exciting up and coming pop rock band in Ontario right now, so keep your eyes on these guys!







Also, be sure to catch them on tour with Hometown Beatdown this Spring!



Side note on MySpace design: It's such a breath of fresh air to see someone do it right because the integrity of my photography is often at the mercy of the graphic designers who either bring it to life or totally kill it. Kudos to Shane Stuart for doing such a great job on the Tonight Tonight page.

Wow!! What an awesome experience, I had such a great time chilling with everyone backstage. Really great to see some familiar faces. It was also great to see Much Music is FINALLY acknowledging that this tour exists and attending the event, maybe next year we can expect to see some proper video coverage. Many of the bands were disappointed with the venue's super tight security policies and crappy dressing rooms, but this isn't really anything new on the topic of the Phoenix. Another major set back was the fact that there was a mandatory coat check, this slowed down the flow of people coming in the door to hear the first band and unfortunately There For Tomorrow really got the shaft and many of their dedicated fans missed their performance, which is kinda sad because they don't come up to Canada very often. I really hope next year the Take Action crew can book a better venue.

Below are some shots I took throughout the night, enjoy! (click for full image)

We The Kings promos & live shots taken backstage:














Mayday Parade promo taken backstage:


There For Tomorrow promo taken backstage:


You can also check out some fun backstage vids I shot on my blackberry HERE on my youtube page.

Last week I had the chance to work with a great band out of Kingston called Chase the Light. Taking inspiration from their name, I really wanted to get a shot that expresses something about LIGHT. After some thought I came up with the idea to shoot in the Toronto subway system, maybe if I'm lucky I could capture the band in front of a train passing behind - and if I'm really lucky - the lights on the train will create some sort of cool effect.

So we braved the cold (minus 10 degree Celsius) weather and headed down under Union Station. I thought the best area to shoot in the system would be near the outskirts of town, east or west of the downtown core - where it would be less populated and we'd be less likely to get in trouble. We decided to head west toward Islington Station and I think we ended up stopping to shoot at Lansdowne Station.

Not five minutes after unpacking all my gear and starting to set up, a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) officer approached us and asked for my permit. He was a big guy, dressed in baggy unmarked clothes and had camera and a clipboard with him. Later we all joked he looked like Denzel Washington.



What are the chances - out of the dozens of stations, the one we choose has security just waiting to bust us!? I responded to the officer, "I left it in the car..." but he didn't seem to care if I had an answer to his question and before I knew it he was on the phone with head office noting our location and telling us to leave the premises. He said due to recent "terrorist activity" that security is tighter than usual. I still have no idea what activity he was referring to. Anyway, he left us alone walking up the stairs and outside to get on a bus. I guess he was on patrol looking for people like us disrupting the fragile balance of the public transit system...(?)...I don't believe that 5 young guys and a photographer could seriously be considered a threat, but he's just doing his job.

The band didn't drive here all the way from Kingston to be sent home without the photos they were promised, so like any dedicated photographer would, as soon as security left I quickly set my gear back up and told the band we had to hurry. We might only get one or two photos before we need to pack up and leave with security hot on our heels! Trains only came once every 2-5 minutes so there was very little room for error, not much time to practice or to adjust my lighting. We anxiously stood in place waiting for the next train to come down the freezing cold tunnel - all the while keeping an eye and ear out for our friend Denzel. Finally a train arrived, zoomed past behind the band only a foot or so away and I managed to take a total of 4 shots. Below is the favourite.

For the rest of the afternoon we joked around imagining security chasing after us through the various stations and trains, bursting through walls and crowds of people with fire axes and stuff... Funny enough, the Book of Eli advertisements had just come out and were plastered all over the place with - you guessed it - life-size images of Denzel Washington! His watchful gaze was always upon us! Haha ;) Thanks to the band for being such a great group to work with! Moral of the story: always break the rules for the sake of art.


Click for larger view.