Finally!

The Tulip Festival is winding down - finally! Now I get to photograph the tulips as they are on their last legs. They look so beautiful as they're in the final stage of their life. Perfection in inperfection! There is a beautiful randomness to how their petals curl, fall and open, almost like a creative unveiling ballet.


© Dwayne Brown

Weekend Free Download - Regina 205

I shot this 'weekend's free download' east of Sandy Hill today - it's a lovely entrance way to an older apartment building on the way to Vanier. Please use the link below to download it. :)


© Dwayne Brown

Please use this 'link to download the file'. Feel free to print it, frame it and enjoy it - just please don't use it for any commercial applications without written permission.

Technology and an Awesome Team at Home

I'm lucky enough to be working on a fairly large project for McMillan right now with a technology and people focus, but really for me the fortunate part is that I get to work with such an awesome team. We did our first shooting day on Friday and sometimes it's easy to find yourself wrapped up in the creation of the images, but then you remind yourself that you get to work with a large team of really wonderful and talented people - Alain and Karen from McMillan, Carolyn our producer, Samantha doing hair and make-up, great talent from Models International and beyond, and of course Brent my assistant. Can't wait to keep shooting this coming week! :)


© Dwayne Brown

Tulipfest

We're deep in the throws of Ottawa's beautiful International Tulip Festival. I've always been much more interested in the extreme close up world within a flower - it's so interesting and so beautiful.


© Dwayne Brown

Adorable Education

I had some fun earlier this week hanging out and photographing adorable kids at Counterpoint Academy. Awesome classrooms with loads of light, great kids and inspiring teachers! Thanks Counterpoint! :)






© Dwayne Brown

Greater Than

I think one of the blessings and/or fun benefits of being a photographer, is we get to see and capture stuff that others might pass by and not notice - seeing beauty in the abandoned or neglected.


© Dwayne Brown

Offering

I love finding treasures, some of which are items overlooked. These treasures are simple yet special, perhaps all great treasure is like that.


©Dwayne Brown

Still Facing West

Looking out over the Ottawa river from the most special spot – it is and will always be my favorite direction to face (west). Imagery helps us so well celebrate and commemorate emotions and the significance of time and place!

© Dwayne Brown

Happy Accidents

Brent and I were out yesterday location scouting for a cool upcoming corporate gig shooting custom stock photography, and we were exploring the new addition to Algonquin College - what a cool building! I couldn't resist shooting some images with my 4S - I just love the random results from some of the photo apps - delivering some really cool happy accidents. :)


© Dwayne Brown

WEEKEND FREE DOWNLOAD - Infrared Angel

Maybe fitting for an Easter Weekend - I captured a beautiful old angel monument in a small town cemetery this afternoon. I love the mix of apps used to create this image, including an infrared film. :)


© Dwayne Brown

Please use this 'link to download the file'. Feel free to print it, frame it and enjoy it - just please don't use it for any commercial applications without written permission.

Keturah Johnson

I just got back from an unexpected last minute treat - Keturah Johnson playing a quick set at Raw Sugar Café! Keturah's a genuine artist and has such raw talent. Thanks Brent and Lindsay for the invite! :)


© Dwayne Brown

Junos Awards Gala

Brent, Lucia and I had an awesome shoot and experience Saturday shooting at the JUNO Award's Gala. We were hired by XMC (a sports and entertainment marketing agency out of Toronto) to photograph nominees, celebrities and music industry executives against a TD and JUNO'S branded backdrop - then to produce finished prints for them by the time they finished their award's dinner. I know the exciting part of the story should be getting the shoot cool music folks, but for us the true cool story is that we had a very tricky needle to thread - shoot a large amount of high profile people in a short amount of time, then turn a large number finished prints around in a record time for them to take home.

Sonia Houle and her team from XMC were such a class act to work with and the people we got to photograph were so amazingly nice! The icing on the cake for us was to hang out and shoot more music folks at the end of the night, and to hear how appreciative everyone was to get a finished printed memento of their evening at the JUNO Award's Gala. It was such an awesome day! :)


© Dwayne Brown

The Hunger Game

We had a long day shooting a project for Cardel Homes today out in Stittsville, and the last shot of the day reminded me how helpful hunger is in this business of commercial photography. Hunger for business and great clients is so helpful - it keeps us humble and respectful. But it's more about a hunger to create really good imagery, that not only helps to tell our client's story, but imagery that keeps us creatively challenged. By the time we did our last shot of the day, we were most hungry for that short moment in the day when the outside light turns that vibrant and oh so lovely indigo color - a moment well worth the wait. :)


© Dwayne Brown - shot for Cardel Homes Ottawa

WEEKEND FREE DOWNLOAD - War Memorial

I shot this Weekend's Free Download this afternoon downtown at the Canadian War Memorial - using an interesting app on my phone which gives the coolest and random abstract results. Super fun! :)


© Dwayne Brown

Please use this 'link to download the file'. Feel free to print it, frame it and enjoy it - just please don't use it for any commercial applications.

A Brent Shout-Out

What a better blog post to make on a Friday night than a quick but well deserved shout-out to Brent - the best creative assistant in town! He's so much more than an assistant, he's an awesome balancing force with our studio - handling all creative and technology challenges with a positive and forward thinking mind. I'm lucky to have his support and his ever positive outlook! :)


© Dwayne Brown

The Unexpected

The unexpected and/or perhaps chasing the unexpected, is so important and vital in this business of capturing and making imagery. I make my living from creating strong creative corporate and commercial imagery (which in many cases is fairly expected), but I fuel and hone my creativity by chasing the unexpected. I've just spent the past week with my son in NYC, not just for spring break, but for the opportunity to be more exposed and surrounded by the unexpected! :)


© Dwayne Brown

Upper West

Our trip to New York City has drawn to a close - time to head back to Ottawa shortly. It's been a great week of exploring and lots and lots of walking. Alex and I have done loads of shooting, more than I thought we would. The coolest part of the trip has been Alex's continued enthusiasm to create cool imagery and to learn about apps and editing processes. It's so fun - as he learns, I learn! :)


© Dwayne Brown