Mushrooming with Leiah Luz

Posted on 12th October 2017 in lifestyle, micro adventure, wandering

I asked Leiah Luz (previous posts, instagram, fb) if she would go on a Micro Adventure with me through North Vancouver, and she agreed. It was hard for me to really explain to her what I was interested in shooting, since it’s much different than a regular shoot. Leiah’s so rad though, she’s always been keen on shooting if she’s around, so she was pretty easy to convince I guess. At that time, I wasn’t calling them micro adventures, more a hang-out-session-afternoon-walkabout-thing. Like a romantic date filled with adventure. Instead of deliberating over clothing choice, we deliberate over where the most interesting location would be to adventure to.

Adventure was what we wanted, through the great outdoors. We wanted to stick to the West Coast theme, that much was clear, and wanted to try and capture all of the elements: earth, air, water, fire. We literally captured this by traveling on the Sea To Sky highway. Oh, and we found oyster mushrooms. I have been looking for them for a long time now, and we just stumbled upon a whole bag full of them without even trying. A good omen?

tech specs // Sony a7 / Super Multi Coated Takumar 28mm f3.5 / Super Takumar 55mm f1.8

Leiah Luz - Micro Adventures in North Vancouver - Ned Tobin Click here to read more.. »

Personal Trainer Jannette Brodersen of JB Fitnez

Posted on 23rd April 2017 in lifestyle

Working inside of a gym is usually a fun experiment. Most gyms are made to be rugged and indestructible, with each different piece of equipment laid out in a grid to maximize space. Some are made well lit, many have zero windows, and most have mirrors everywhere.

Jannette Brodersen (fb, instagram), of JB Fitnez came to me and said she had a private gym of a new apartment building to shoot in with an eager client, Federico (instagram), to work with. Awesome. Yes. I’m game.

Curious, I asked her for photos of the room, and when I saw the floor to ceiling windows I knew this was going to be a well lit shoot, if nothing else!

Jannette is a personal trainer, yoga instructor and flamenco dancer. For this shoot, I had Jannette take Federico through a workout.

tech specs // Sony a6 / Super Takumar 55mm f1.8

Jannette Brodersen of JB Fitnez - Ned Tobin Click here to read more.. »

Tyna and the Butterflies

Posted on 13th March 2017 in lifestyle, micro adventure, wandering

I like those days where we just get in the car and go. Where you plan a bit, with maybe some water and fresh batteries and destination, but the rest is serendipity.

Tyna Kottová (IG) and I picked the Butterfly Gardens just north of Victoria, BC.

Everybody is different, some of us plan for everything – my mom has always been notorious for having the biggest basket of toys heading to the beach, while others let plans go with the wind and hang on for the ride. I’m definitely of the former, though I like to tell myself I only plan the framework, the skeletal of what’s to come.

Can you guess what type Tyna is?

tech specs // Sony a7 / Super Multi Coated Takumar 28mm f3.5 / Super Takumar 55mm f1.8

Tyna Kottová at the Butterfly Gardens - Ned Tobin Click here to read more.. »

Spinnin’ | Brenda & Amanda

Posted on 27th December 2016 in lifestyle

Brenda Holmes (aka. Ms Blenda, fb, instagram) asked me to shoot her, then she said she has a friend, Amanda (instagram), with a place that would work great to do a shoot in, and that Amanda also wanted to shoot. Then she said they wanted to shoot together! So, naturally I was very excited for this shoot.

When I first walked into Amanda’s place, I could only see large windows everywhere – a photographer like me dreams of locations like this. My job is then to find the angles that work, of course. Not only the big windows attracted me to her place, but her neighbor had a brilliant herb garden I should have taken clippings from to add to my dinner later.

I love shoots like this: when I walk in and the model(s) has the clothing we had brainstormed already out, paired, and awaiting review. Brenda also happens to be a clothing designer and Amanda has a fashion boutique Supercolour, so it was pretty damn easy work for me to ‘approve’ clothing choices. In fact, I suspect I probably said something like: “You two got this thing! You don’t need me here.”

So, I busied myself doing a bit of re-arranging to make the photographs magical.

tech specs // Sony a7 / Super Takumar 55mm f1.8 / Super Multi Coated Takumar 28mm f3.5

Loungin' with Brenda Holmes & Amanda Click here to read more.. »

In a Stereo | Alex Mei

Posted on 31st October 2016 in lifestyle

When I go into a shoot, I have learned to drop all ideas of what I had planned, and leave what comes next as an open slate for magic. It usually works out pretty good because expectations can lead to stress and ignoring the flow. When capturing souls that’s not too smart, if you ask me. Alex Mei (prev shoots, soundcloud, fb) didn’t disappoint me. I love going into people’s homes to shoot them because when you’re in your own home you have so much more of a wardrobe to pull from.

I realize that the next step of my evolution as a photographer is to start working with more of a team. People to help me see the things that I miss and help in ways that I am not so strong. I had a stylish friend lined up to help me out with this casual shoot, hoping we could play off one another and find common ground, but an unfortunate series of events led me once again to show up by myself. However, Alex had a friend who prided himself as a particularly stylish fellow, and also a chef, so things worked out alright I’d say. Though I must admit, it’s not too hard to put me in a good mood with olives and cider. It was a bit funny for me since I don’t eat animal based foods anymore (not because I do not like animal based foods), because when I showed up, he was making two huge plates of deli meats and cheese. It was hard for me to stare such delicatessens in the face.

Alex is a musician who regularly kills it in clubs and at festivals. After the shoot we jumped in her car to head to the liquor store and everywhere I looked inside the car was some kind of sticker from a festival she’d played at. She said sorry about the mess and told me how she had just returned from a festival a few days earlier and her car had basically been her living room for a few days. I know it’s hard after festivals like that to return back to city life, the beat of festival life still coming in waves.

tech specs // sony a7 / super takumar 55mm f1.8 / super multi-coated takumar 28mm f3.5

 

Alex Mei by Ned Tobin Click here to read more.. »