The Tour

Last night's NAC dance performance with Saburo Teshigawara was pretty amazing to say the least! It border lined on dream like and bizarre, yet ethereal. An hour long one man show with Saburo moving his body in almost machine like precision, and just a really cool crazy soundtrack. It was one of the most intense hours of performance I've ever seen.

Before the show we had a full backstage tour along with some other bloggers from around town. The tour included the Theatre, the labyrinth of backstage hallways, a backstage explanation of the unique stage construction for the performance, then a wonderful and informative conversation with Cathy Levy (the NAC's Dance Producer). Cathy is truly the heart of the NAC's Dance Program, she is so passionate about dance and the artists that she is bringing to Ottawa.

When I told Cathy Levy that I was still learning about dance, she said "don't worry, you'll be addicted soon".
I think I'm fast on my way. :)






All images © Dwayne Brown

The Symbiotic Relationship of Social Marketing - Responsibility 2.0

I'm super fortunate to be invited to participate in another NAC blog event tonight, and it looks like such a cool evening of dance ahead! It's a performance by the Japanese artist Saburo Teshigawara.

As I've already confessed on my blog, I'm definitely not a 'dance aficionado'. But because of my relationship with the National Arts Centre I've been able to see some wonderful performances. It's also been fun and interesting to participate in a little social marketing with the NAC, but it does remind me of the responsibility involved as well - obviously a responsibility to the NAC to share and blog about my experiences, but also a responsibility to myself to pull as much from the cultural experience as possible. (a super fun and easy challenge)

To be honest I had no idea that Cathy Levy and her team bring so many cool artists to Ottawa (we're super lucky). Fingers crossed I get to shoot and see more! :)


© Dwayne Brown

Unlearning and Keeping it Simple.

Just got back from the Algonquin Student Photography Grad show. It was a pretty good showing of work and they had a packed turn out. On my way back to my car I noticed the simplicity of this single large brick smoke stack against the sky and I was struck by the irony of imagery. All of these students have worked tirelessly to get to the point of showing their year's work. They've learned everything from lighting to Photoshop, and have shed tears along the way I'm sure. Oh yeah.......the irony - they've spent one or two years learning stuff to do their best to create imagery, now they need to unlearn a bit of it to open their eyes to the simplicity of what's already around them.

I've spent tons of years learning photo stuff and I still need to remind myself to keep things simple and focus on what's already in-front of me. Maybe irony isn't the best word, but I do know that you do need to learn the rules so that you can break them now and again - hopefully the profs have prepared the students to a bit of unlearning too. ;)


© Dwayne Brown

Jelly

Could a dog's face be anymore interesting and lovable? I've always wanted to photograph an English Bulldog, so when I saw this one out for a walk this weekend, I figured it was time. And I just love her name......... Jelly :)


© Dwayne Brown

Weekend Free Download - Springtime in Cabbagetown

This Weekend's Free Download is a small spring detail I shot last night while on a walk through the historical Cabbagetown neighborhood in Toronto.

As I was doing this walk I was texting with a friend who asked me "do you shoot everyday?" All I could think of as an answer is "doesn't everyone?" ;)


© Dwayne Brown

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

The Word on the Street.

I went for a little walk on Parliament Street tonight in 'Cabbagetown' Toronto, and found some fun words on the street to shoot. And yes I do now know why they call it Cabbagetown, and sure enough it does have to do with cabbages. ;)





All images © Dwayne Brown

Drive

I love technology! With the help of a camera phone and an internet turbo stick, I was able to shoot an image, manipulate it, then upload it to my blog (all while being a passenger in the back seat of my car on my way to Toronto). Coolio!


Somewhere between Perth and Peterborough. © Dwayne Brown

BAMbu 4 Fifty

Yesterday was a fun and delicious day shooting for Clare Brennan at Fifty. It was a day of food photography for an Asian food client of theirs called BAMbu. I don't do a lot of product or food shooting, but it's such a fresh change from photographing people on location. The food rarely squirms or moves around. You don't need to be overly polite to it. You get to be in the comforts of a nice studio. And if you haven't mucked around too much with it during the shoot, you can eat it when you're done. ;)


© Dwayne Brown

Backstage Pass

Last week I was lucky enough to spend a few hours backstage with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as they rehearsed for their opening night of Moulin Rouge at the National Arts Centre.

I don't have a lot experience around dance, so it was such a cool afternoon. And as I mentioned in my last week's post, the NAC folks and all of the RWB dancers were so welcoming and accommodating. Such open access allowed me to capture images and an intimate backstage perspective that even the most loyal dance fans would rarely get to see.

A big part of the shoot and/or the collection of this kind of imagery for the NAC is to share it on the NAC's flickr stream to give their patrons and fans an intimate glimpse into the backstage experience.
















All images © Dwayne Brown

The Perpetual Movement of Time.

When you have children you always have the constant reminder that time is perpetually moving forward - never standing still. My son Alex very graciously turned 11 this week, thus reminding me that yet another year has passed. Time is different for 11 year-olds than it is for us adults, it tends to move slower for them. Each year - an eternity for them yet a fleeting blink for us. Do you remember how long a summer holiday felt when you were a kid, it seemed like it went on forever.

The big reminder for me as I look at this photo of the two of us, is even though he thinks he'll be a kid forever, I know he's wrong. And that I need to appreciate every moment I'm with him - to enjoy all of the innocent, goofy and curious moments that an 11 year son can present.

Happy Birthday Alex, and thanks for being such a cool kid!

Symbiotic Street Smarts

I spent a bit of time at the Youth Services Bureau downtown drop-in centre today. (I'm trying to regularly do some work for them to help them tell their story). They do some really great work, helping teens who find themselves in a variety of difficulties - some without a home, some with addiction problems, some needing help finding work, some in need of food, and all in need of friends. The YSB drop-in centre is a safe place where these kids can find friendship, resources of all kinds, community, and maybe most importantly respect. I strongly believe it's this respect, that helps these kids find their footing.

It's interesting, I had posted these portraits and thought that these kids all have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with each other without even knowing it - then I thought I also have a similar relationship with them, but a creative one. I get creatively jazzed by shooting such honest and compelling faces and the YSB in-turn gets to use some strong imagery to help them tell their story so they can continue to help more kids. Either way....if I can shoot some imagery that can help some kids, then I'm in!






All images © Dwayne Brown

'Feet First' with Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Today was such an amazing day! It's not every day you get to hang out and spend the afternoon with such incredible artists and athletes. I had the fun opportunity to spend a few hours with Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, while they warmed up and then rehearsed for their opening night at the National Art Centre, performing Moulin Rouge - The Ballet.

The tricky task is to decide which images to share, so I thought I'd start with some images capturing the dancers most valuable part of their body - their feet. A dancer's feet are like instruments, or part of the instrument perhaps. They balance, they poise, they propel. And they take an amazing beating I'm told.

I've also been told that the RWB is one of Canada's most talented ballet company (and I have no doubts that's true), but from my experience today I'm also certain they're Canada's nicest as well. For such preminent dancers, they were also incredibly friendly and welcoming. They are a group of dancers who not only put their feet first but evidently also their hearts. :)






All images © Dwayne Brown
Many thanks to my friends at the NAC, Chris and Ingrid as well as all of the dancers with the RWB!

Rebirth.

I stopped for a quick walk in a park this afternoon to grab some snaps of Spring and it was so nice to take the time to look really close at what was sprouting. I'm always going on about taking the time to look closely at what's around us, but I don't spend enough time in green spaces.

I'm so glad I did today, it's a time of so much rebirth.





All images © Dwayne Brown

At what point?

At what point does someone start to call themselves a photographer? And I'm not talking about commercial photography, that's a whole other thing. I guess I mean a photographer who captures images seriously to help convey emotions and ideas or a perspective. Maybe that's the answer - when that person starts to seriously and intentionally capture their own point of view. Is it a question of quality or content? I vote more for content and intention.

I wanted to use this weekend post, to share some images that aren't mine. They were shot by a good friend of mine, Pam Avis. Now Pam isn't a full time photographer, she's way too busy for that. She's a full time high school teacher and a full time mom, two extremely important and time consuming jobs, but she still finds time and makes opportunities to get out and search for images to shoot. And she pulls off some pretty nice images, like these ones. So in my opinion my friend Pam should definitely start calling herself a photographer, somewhere just after 'Mom' and a bit before 'teacher'. :)




All images © Pam Avis

Polarémi.

Tonight I checked out a photo show by a friend, Rémi Thériault. A show of Polaroid instant photographs. The show was called Instant Stories and is on at La Petite Mort Gallery in the market for a few more days. I had a feeling I was going to like the stuff, so I went down before it opened to be the first to see it. It was the right decision because I really liked the imagery, especially the triptic below of some random vegetation - not so much for the subject matter, but for the cool happy accidents of the expired emulsion. When Polaroid emulsion is either old, too cold or too hot, it can do weird and wonky things, which I really love - so much that I bought the series of three. (I just love how the three work together, and I'm super anxious to frame them)


© Rémi Thériault