Raising the Bar

The first day I met Bar Morgan at the NAC, while shooting for the orchestra, I knew she was different. Different in a down-to-earth and nice way. (which in my opinion is the best way to be different) She has a calmness about her and a disarming quality which immediately puts you at ease. While we did our recent project shooting portraits of various groups of musicians, Bar was the one who helped make sure all the musicians were where they needed to be when we needed them. (which is NO easy task) ;)

Bar has a beauty about her that is much more than skin deep, it's also how she handles herself with kindness and sincere curiosity. And I believe it's this quality that allows her to do her job so well for the folks at the National Arts Centre - they are truly lucky to have her, as I am to have her as a new friend.


© Dwayne Brown

Morning Inspiration

Yeah I know........another shot of a café drink. A tasty café drink though. :) Why a shot like this? I guess because as I set my green tea latté down I noticed just how beautiful the bubbles were, and thought "could someone actually be inspired by the beauty of bubbles on a latté?" I think so! They're so random and perfect, and the color is so pretty. I hardly wanted to drink it.

It reminded me of a concept I believe strongly in. That we can find beauty almost anywhere, if we look close enough. If we pay attention and keep our eyes and heart open. It's all around us - it's a face, a smile, an architectural detail, an abstract reflection in a window and yes even in the perfect and randomness of the bubbles on top of a green tea latté. It can be inspiring if you let it.

Rainy Mondays

I love rain. Not sure exactly why, but I do. It changes things, it cleanses, in envelopes and it inspires me for some reason. And rain in the winter is especially nice, not just because it's a better alternative to snow, but because of the lack of leaves. I also love what it does to architecture - it somehow darkens and pronounces it.

Rain......it's nice.


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown

A Weekend of Firsts

Sometimes I fear that my blog is getting to be too much like a commercial marketing tool and not a personal voice. I also ask myself the question "why do we really do what we do, other than for our kids?" And I don't mean to make a living to feed them, but to give them opportunities and experiences.

Yesterday Alex and I went to the NAC to see a concert, then made pizza from scratch, and today we skated on the canal for the first time (and yes we definitely had a couple of Beaver Tails). Our time on the canal wasn't perfect - both our feet hurt, we got tired, Alex fell a few times, but he did want to hold my hand while we skated. (I guess it was perfect)

Why am I sharing this on my blog? I guess because I can ~ and because I'm proud of my son and I'm proud of the relationship we have together. I feel so lucky to of had a weekend like this one. Thanks Alex!


© Dwayne Brown

Saturday Morning Espresso Intelligentsia

Enjoy the perfect Saturday morning espresso.

I really like this little movie (originally posted by my dear friend Kathy Mene, any thing Kathy posts is always great). It would inspire even someone who doesn't like coffee to try a cup of espresso. And it certainly makes me wish I lived a little closer to Venice Beach where this café is located. (and now I know they have one in Chicago too)

Enjoy your Saturday morning - with or without a coffee!

The Fulcrum et La Rotonde

Yesterday we did a playful shot of the two official newspapers of the University of Ottawa, with the editors reading each others paper. Easy enough you say. But we also did it on a super busy Friday afternoon at Café Nostaligica on campus. With the help of the great folks at the restaurant and some patient patrons, we wiggled our way into a relatively quiet corner and did our shot. (shhhhhh, Brent and I also had a delicious St. Ambroise stout after the shoot, after all it was Friday afternoon.)


© Dwayne Brown

Thanks to Emma Godmere from The Fulcrum et merci Maxime Goulet à La Rotonde.

The Last Dance - A Super Big Thank You!

We finished the last shot for the National Arts Centre Orchestra project this afternoon - maybe the most important shot (and maybe the most rushed).....the cover. We unfortunately didn't have too much time to set it up as members of the orchestra where rehearsing in the rehearsal hall where we were supposed to be setting up our lighting and approach, so Brent and I did a little pre-planning and sketching backstage in the green room while we waited. Then quickly set up our lighting and cleared the room (with the help of the BSL gang and our clients Robyn and Bar) for the shoot like a chaotic yet choreographed dance. ;)

At the end of it all we got some really rich and wonderful shots, and the great Pinchas Zukerman played for us while we shot the cover. (what a treat) Wish I could share the images but we'll need to wait till the final piece is printed.


© Dwayne Brown

Now that the gig is officially over for us, I'll use this post as an opportunity to thank everyone involved. Thanks to Robyn, Bar and Natalie from the NAC, Pinchas Zukerman and all of the wonderful and patient musicians, the very helpful backstage folks (especially Michael), Véronique and Tim from BSL, and my assistants Brent, Lindsay and Sandie.

Youth Services Bureau - Very Cool Kids!

Occasionally you get lucky enough to have a really cool project come your way. A project with loads of creative freedom and one that makes a difference. Today we've been shooting for the Youth Services Bureau Foundation, a non-profit agency that helps youth with a wide variety of challenges. Lindsay and I had the fun task of photographing portraits of a handful of kids who the agency have been lending a hand to.

I know these kids have experienced challenge in their life, but I have to say they were some of the most interesting people I've photographed in a while. Super smart kids, and very mature for their years.

Thanks to the folks at Banfield Seguin for the opportunity to get involved!


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown


© Lindsay Ralph


© Lindsay Ralph


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown

Grow Light

I was driving down Carling tonight and couldn't resist the magnetic glow of these government greenhouses.


© Dwayne Brown

Monday Morning Planning

Just doing some planning for the day and upcoming week. And appreciating that I can do that in a downtown cafe and that I'm not tied to an office. For some reason the busier environment helps me focus. :)

The NACO project is almost completed and delivered, so now it's time to move onto to some new projects and challenges. I'm most excited about a project/relationship that I'll begin later this week for the Youth Services Bureau Foundation with Banfield Seguin. We'll be shooting various profile portraits of a handful of teens that the foundation has lent a hand to. I feel strongly that teens need strong mentoring, respect, and inspiration to help them navigate the trickiness of adolescences. I hope I can help the YSBF tell some success stories through these portraits.

Also on the immediate horizon is the Bank of Canada's annual report and more shooting for the University of Ottawa. Lot's of creative and fun challenges ahead. Have a great week!


© Dwayne Brown

Breaking all the Right Rules

I've talked about rules before, and in photography we tend to have a bunch of them. But sometimes it's okay to break a few, especially if you break them intentionally. I love the softness of this portrait because of it's lack of sharp focus and the movement. It just seems to add to the reflective quality of Natalia's expression. I was initially shooting with my DSLR and getting really tight sharp focused shots, but opted to switch to a point and shoot and just use available light, letting the camera use a slower shutter speed to help create this subtle and soft movement to the portrait.


© Dwayne Brown

An Unexpected Dessert Treat

I was kind of thinking that the blog was starting to feel a little too much like a marketing piece (which of course it is) - but felt it needed a little softening up with a personal observation.

Brent and I went out last night to see some jazz at a small place called Café Paradiso on Bank which was really cool. But we had our real treat when we dropped into the Umi Café after for quick dessert coffee. They had this awesome young experimental band from Montreal. The Umi Café is a small quirky - friendly café on Somerset. Good fair-trade coffee, great desserts, free wireless and now I know..... really cool music on Thursday nights. (and yes that is an artist working on a painting while the band plays) Fun!


© Dwayne Brown

The Last but Certainly Far From Least

It was a pretty light day. A little catching up on emails and production this morning and then shot the last of the portraits for the NACO gig. Again, it has been such a fun project. Great folks to work with! And the fun has come from being able to let each musician just be themselves. I know that sounds a little odd or cliché to say, but many projects tend to make people fit into roles or situations that they don't always comfortably fit into.

With this project it was integral to the success of the portraits to not over pose people, but to just let them be themselves. This allows, no matter how subtle or obvious, each musician's personality to rise to the surface.


© Dwayne Brown

Early Morning Back Stage - another LUCKY day at the office

As other folks busy themselves in office meetings and chatting around the coffee machine, I find myself so bloody lucky. Lucky to have an ever changing environment to spend time in - to do business in - to capture life in. It's easy some days to get too busy and forget how cool this photography thing is. A project like this one for the National Arts Centre Orchestra is a gig that sharpens the point on the pencil, to help remind me just how lucky I am.




© Dwayne Brown

As I'm writing this post, I'm sitting entirely on my own in the concert hall watching - listening to the orchestra rehearse. The music they just played was so emotional it helped remind me also how fortunate I am to have such great friends and family in my life. It's cool how music can evoke such emotion & reflection, and at the same time it's just as cool that we have the technology to be able to share these sentiments.


© Dwayne Brown


© Dwayne Brown

In Studio - Out of My Usual Comfort Zone

What's a comfort zone anyway? Dangerous territory perhaps. When you get too comfortable I think it can sometimes stagnate growth, and maybe even take away the fun. Today Lindsay and I spent the day in studio shooting a product for EMS, a local satellite communication company - and product photography, although
I've done loads of it over the years and I really enjoy it, it's just not what I'm known for or what I do a lot of.

So today was a day I spent out of my usual comfort zone, and it was a super fun place to be for the day. :)


© Dwayne Brown

The Third & The Seventh

This video is just so beautiful. Gorgeous cinematography and lovely music. It's totally worth the 10 minutes to watch it. It's really cool to see cameras, architecture and music blended so well together as art.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Backstage with the NACO

Just spent the day photographing more of the NACO musicians backstage, for a cool behind the scenes glimpse to not only the environment but also into the personalities of the musicians. :)

Again, it's such a treat to work with a great client on such a cool project. Thanks to Robyn & Bar, thanks to the folks at BSL, and a big thanks to Michael and the back stage folks!




© Dwayne Brown




© Dwayne Brown

Magic Touch

I'm just in the middle of doing a bunch of digital production for our National Arts Centre Orchestra client and I just had to share this image. I was just so taken with the graceful touch of the musician's hands. I'm typically taken with the face, but sometimes hands can just tell so much about a person - and to not only play beautiful music, but to also do it in such a visually beautiful way. Magical!


© Dwayne Brown

The Fast and Connected (head spinning) World We Work and Live In

I just had one of those moments that kind of made my head spin. A moment of awe and wonder. As some of you know, I've been doing this photography thing for a little while. I started at a time when you needed to choose which film to put in your camera - B&W or color, transparency or negative, slow film speed or high, 35mm or 2 1/4, and oh my gosh.....Polaroid for test shots.. It could literally take a couple days to actually get a finished image into your hands to look at.

Now I find myself sitting in a Starbucks cafe at 9:30 at night, working on a complex photo composite blending 3 images together for uOttawa. All at the same time as I listen to music on my computer, chat to people on MSN and Facebook at the same time, exchange emails with a client and an assistant on my phone, and then capture an image with my point and shoot then upload it to share with the world with a few of my thoughts (all in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes). It's all so cool!


© Dwayne Brown

I'm so glad I started at a time of patience and apprenticed craft. It gives me appreciation for all the toys and tools we have at our finger tips and the perspective to really enjoy those moments that make my head spin.

The First Free Download of the Year 2010

I thought it'd be nice to share another image of the series from New Years Eve for the first Free Download of the year.

As I sit here on I guess what is the last 'non-work' day of the holidays, I'm looking forward to a busy and creative new year. I look forward to it like this not because I have a crystal ball, but because I believe we all need to make our future happen, and to believe it will be what we want it to be.

There are of course certain curve balls that come our way and we all get them. But it's all about how we handle them - and to not perceive them as road blocks, but only as speed bumps. A good friend told me last night that when life gets challenging, it helps to be busy and to be kind to others. Wise words to help us not only smooth out our road, but also the road of others.


© Dwayne Brown

Please use this 'link to download the file'. Feel free to print it and frame it, or share it with a friend, just please don't use it for any commercial applications.

2010 - The New Year Around the Corner

A new year - new opportunities - new lessons.

As loads of folks meet in friend's homes and others in loud pubs, we went and did a cold night tour of the Parliament Building's grounds. And I was yet again reminded of the beauty of looking around the corner. Often we are attracted to what's upfront - in our face, or what is intended for us. Just as the Parliament Buildings are right now. The whole front façade of the Centre Block is drenched in vibrant colors and projected snow flakes. Pretty yes, and certainly impressive. But perhaps not as dramatic as the back end of the building.

As the calendar turns a new year and we all look forward to new experiences and opportunities, it makes me look back and appreciate the path behind me. It helps me appreciate all of the people I've had the opportunity to work with and spend time with, and all of my friends and family who have been there to help me with all of the challenges of this past year. I am truly the luckiest to have such friends and family.


© Dwayne Brown

I also want to use this opportunity to say thanks to all of you who follow my blog and support my photography. As we all peek around the corner, I hope all of you have a great first day of 2010, and that the year holds all that you hope for - and most importantly that it is a safe and healthy year for you and your families.

Happy New Year.

Dwayne.


© Dwayne Brown