kevin vyse photography

Lorraine & Rachel: Engagement session

Lorraine & Rachel, these two are so much fun, so laid back and so in love! 
    Due to a slim window for shooting and scheduling we split their session over two Sundays to accommodate two separate locations that had significant meaning in their relationship. Session 1 : Goderich Ontario beach! Honestly, I had only been to Goderich once before on a photo drive with another photographer, it was winter so I missed all of it's beauty. Goderich is Beautiful! The town is small and built around an massive round about which I thought was brilliant, the people are friendly and the beach is beautiful sitting on Lake Huron. 
     We started out at the far end of the beach doing some beach walking shots, close to the water, holding hands and kissing. Time of day was not ideal, the sun was high, shadows deep but I'm use to shooting in those conditions so we just rolled with it. After a bit the sun started to disappear behind some clouds and the "good light" was allowing me some great shots. There were a set of rocks where Lorraine had proposed to Rachel so we definitely wanted to incorporate that into the session. With the wind blowing we had to make sure we were watching the water because at times it was splashing so hard on the rocks there was a high chance of getting soaked... did they get soaked... wellllllllll .... lol.. not soaked but there was one good splash that landed a few drops on their backs. 
    While walking along the board walk, we found another little gem spot where the trees opened up there was some sand and a tree that had fallen over, it honestly looked like we were in Mexico or the Dominican, so we had to get some shots there. Light was a bit tough as this spot was all shade, but the water and sky was bright so balancing was a bit rough... OH.. and the unexpected rouge wave that came in out of no where and soaked Lorraine and Rachel lol... honestly.. we didn't even see it coming in. 

Location 2: St.Mary's Ontario. 

The second Sunday we were off to St.Mary's Ontario at 8am.. the sky was a bit iffy, cloudy.. a bit chilly to start.. we wern't sure how this was going to go as they were calling for rain, but we lucked out and it held off for us. No rain, but there was bridge construction on one of the bridges St.Mary's has to offer and that meant they needed to drain some of the water out of the river. Usually there is water rushing over the dam in the middle of the river but on this day.. no such luck.. water levels were low.. so, change of plans.. no splashing and waterfall shots but, with the low water levels we could take advantage of getting out further into the water. St.Mary's is a beautiful town, small, and very old with a ton of history. Buildings were stone and looked like castles almost, it was very clean and quaint, I like that place. Over all the shoots were fantastic, these two are great clients, up for anything, so bubbly and cuddly with one another, they made my job very easy as I don't even need to pose them, they just cuddle up as soon as raise the camera. Can't wait to shoot their wedding in September. 

  

Goderich Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017

St. Mary's Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017

Rise Against Cancer 2016

Rise Against Cancer is an amazing charity concert held once a year in Woodstock Ontario. Cover bands from the Woodstock area come out to put on a concert to raise money for Cancer. The band Sweet N' Innocent are the founders and also the headliners for the event and what a show they put on! Not only is there a concert but there is also a silent auction, pizza and  lots of alcohol! 
I was honoured to be asked to photograph the event by fellow photographer Rachael Little, who has been photographing the event for the past few years. Rachael was unable to photograph the event this year so she set me up with Scott from Sweet N' Innocent so he could see my work and bring it to the band so they could decide if they wanted to have me photograph their event. 

These bands were amazing.. the covers were dead on, the lighting was fantastic and the crowed was pretty big, I was blown away. Everyone was having a fantastic time, singing along to old 80's covers from sweet n' innocent, and a variety of covers from other bands. 

This years line up included: 
 

SWEET N' INNOCENT

BLIND DOG JOE

SOCIAL STONE

ECHOING CONCUSSION

Mom and Daughter Fashion shoot

You will see a lot of these two from me, they are my best friends and we're always doing shoots together. It's Labour Day weekend, it's still summer and warm out, so there's still time for some outdoor photoshoots. We had talked about doing a shoot but weren't to sure if the weather was going to cooperate, but we were hanging out anyways so we played it by ear. The weather actually ended up working perfectly, it was too hot for the most part, especially when we went down to the trails in the woods. 

We started off in the backyard, there's a neat little shed back there that kind of has a rustic look to it which I felt would be neat for a background. I put a flash on a stand up in amongst a tree hoping to have some of the leaves and branches cast shadows down onto the shed for a little more drama in the scene, plus I love shadows. 
    From there I told them about a place I know of where there's all these trails down through the woods and a big lake, which I thought would make for some good images, I've shot down there quite a bit. We walked a few of the trails but didn't go to far, the sun was out in full effect and with these trails being incased by trees there was zero air flow, so it was getting quite hot and muggy and the mosquito's were treating us like a buffet. 

for these images I was just using one flash, up high on a stand, no umbrella or soft box, just hard light, which is weird for me because I hate hard light. To carry a soft box, stand and flash plus the camera down there, for an impromptu photoshoot was to much so I decided to restrict myself and see what we could come up with. Over all the shoot went pretty well, I'm still not that good at mixing flash with ambient light, I get the concept it just isn't something I've done a lot. For the most part, i've been an ambient light shooter, only in the last 1.5 years have I been tackling flash, so I'm happy with the images and so were the clients. Here's to a great day with two people I love more than life, a good shoot, and summer. I'm going to miss these summer days/nights, but it's the price you pay for living in Canada!

Images below 

    - Shutter Click. 

 

These trails were a little dark and kind of creepy, so we decided to have some fun with it and do some hard lighting to give that dark, moody, shadow feel to the image. 

She was getting a little tired of shooting and wanted to do more cuddling, so, roll with the punches and use whats presented to you.. 

using a flash far back shooting through the trees, I was able to cast some shadows down onto the shed to give that " late in the day, hard light " vibe. 

These were some of our fav pics from the shoot. Out in the woods with a tunnel of trees, the light was nice as it filtered down through all the leaves. 

A another image of pyper running into her moms arms after she was getting tired of walking and just wanting to go home. 

Pyper didn't want to do pictures anymore, she was getting tired. As the wind blew, she decided to walk off set. Sometimes the best images are the unplanned, quick shot images. 

Shoots can be tiring for little ones, especially on hot summer days. Always wait for that moment when a child decides walking is overrated and wants to be carried. Once the parent picks them up, you can get some good candid, real moment shots. 

These trails can get pretty dark and seem a little creepy. Pyper thought there were packs of wolves in the forest and kept yelling out "pack of wolves". We decided to use this to our advantage and do a creepy, dark woods image using hard light to cast shadows amongst the trees.

RAWartists: PANORAMA showcase

June 19th, 2014 I was a part of the RAWartists network in Toronto On. displaying my photography. RAW is a group thats all about art, all forms of art (painting, live performances and music, photography, jewelry making, drawing etc... any art form). They come together all over the world allowing artists to apply and show off their work and network. You can sell your work at the show and they do not take a commission, which is pretty awesome of them. If you're interested in becoming a RAWartist or simply just want to read up on them to see what they're about, here's a link to their site: www.rawartists.org 

I wasn't to sure what to expect from RAW.. I was new to it, had only heard about it through another photographer on Facebook from my area a few weeks before I decided to go for it. I'm a quiet, shy kind of person, I don't do well in large social interaction, but 2014 for me was all about stepping out of comfort zone, putting myself and my work out there, meeting new people who love what I love and RAW showed up in my path, so why not jump in?! 
   Let's skip ahead to the night of the show. I had to be in Toronto by 2pm to set up my display, it was a 2 hour drive, but I got there fine and on time, actually about an hour early. I went inside and saw the fencing where I was going to be displaying my work, excited, nervous, anxious and a little tired as I didn't sleep much the night before... I took my work out of the box I had brought it in and started to place my work. After an agonizing 15 minutes, my work was up and looking quite good if I do say so myself! 
    I took a minute to check out the work that was hanging to the right and left of me and on my right, who's work was hanging there? None other than Tina Picard - Toronto based fashion photographer! I was blown away because I just found out about Tina maybe 3 weeks prior to the show and fell in love with it right away. I couldn't believe that my work was displayed beside hers, I was pumped but also feeling a little unworthy. I want you all to check out Tina's work, it's outstanding: TINA PICARD: FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER 

7pm: It's show time! 
          Ok... so I was a little late for doors open ha! but you have to be a little fashionably late, right? Actually my buddy Jeremy and I took off down town T.O. to hit the Ripley's Aquarium and get some food, it took a little longer than expected because it was such an awesome place to look around and get some shots. We made it back, I went to my show space and hung out for a bit until Tina walked up :) .... eeeeek, we talked for a bit and then people starting coming in and looking around. Right away I was in deep, talking to random people I didn't know, asking all kinds of questions about my work and style but surprisingly, I did alright.. I didn't throw up on anyone which was my biggest goal of the entire night. 
            I was actually surprised at how many people showed up to the event, the place was packed. I lost track of time, but not to long after people came in and looked around our RAW presenter jumped up on stage and got the show started. We had: 3 live fashion shows, a hand full of live bands, a guy who spit fire all over the place ( which was amazing.. I could feel the heat on my face and I was about 20 feet from the stage)... such an amazing display of talent. 
 Anyways.. i'm sure you just want to see pics.... and to those of you who actually read all of this... you're an amazing person lol..... oh PS, the images aren't amazing... I was there to show my work not shoot the event.. I just took these shots to give you a little feel of the night.  - Shutter Click.

A model struts the runway at RAW displaying a hand made by Love, Poetry Corsets 

A warrior model comes out strong to strut the runway at RAW looking fierce 

Warrior model striking a pose with her sward on stage at RAW

Second Warrior model with her flaming sword striking a pose at RAW 

Male model sporting his warrior wear on stage at RAW

Fenyx Fyre on stage at RAW blowing out a huge fire ball! what an amazing act. 

Fenyx Fyre holding a fire ball on his chest live on the RAW stage. 

Fenyx Fyre displaying another fire ball, which he is licking on the RAW stage

Fenyx Fyre Blowing out a giant cloud of fire on the RAW stage.

Lucky Widmore rocking out on stage at RAW, these guys have an awesome sound. loved them.

Over all view from the top floor at RAW. So many people showed up, so many great artists... I had a great night and grateful to be apart of the RAW family. Moral of the story, step out of your comfort zone and do something that scares you, great things come from it and you will feel more alive. Life starts when you're out of your comfort zone. Thank you RAW!

Hair/Fashion/Glamour OH MY!

       Cans of hair spray flying, make up pallets blasting colour all over, dresses, shorts, shirts, bra's, shoes all around me. This was what it was like on set a few weekends ago in London, Ontario as I got together with Hair Stylists Cassidy and Jodie, jodie also does make up, to do a hair shoot for the Salon they work at. 
        Our goal was to set up some simple portraits to show case different elaborate hair styles so we can place some of the images in to hair competitions. But first, before we got into the hair shoot, we decided we would do a little photoshoot for Cassidy to get warmed up. We did the shoot in Jodi's loft which is gorgeous.. 13' high ceilings, crown moulding, all open concept, big windows and a rooftop with an old fire escape... as you can imagine it's a great location with endless possibilities. Due to living in Canada and it being winter.. the rooftop didn't work out for us because it was covered in deep snow, but it will be used this summer with out a doubt. 

         After Cassidy's shoot, the other model's ( Ellie, Alex and Shelby) showed up so we could get started on hair and make up, this was around 2pm. Alex and Ellie were up first, so we started shooting against my white seamless backdrop, shooting some head shots and some full lengths. It went pretty well, I found that the roll of seamless I have is only good for head shots.. it's only about 4-5' wide which doesn't work well for full body so we decided to move over to one of the walls in the loft and use that. Over all the day/night was a success, it was long ended up being about 11 hours.. but that was with breaks to change looks and change make up, change hair and lenses and lighting set ups. 

         This post is just a starter post for this shoot... Seeing as how these images are being entered into competitions I can't post a lot of them because we don't know which ones we are entering yet. The ladies are going through the contact sheets to select which images are to be edited for which categories, a lot of them I haven't even edited yet because I want to know which ones are being used instead of editing a bunch that we won't use at all.... Soooooo with that said, I'm going to use this post to show of just a few shots I did of Cassidy in our PRE shoot, and then i'll follow up to this blog post later after the hair images have been selected, edited and entered for competition. Hope you enjoy these images. - Shutter Click.

 

Loved the wallpaper here, made for a great backdrop and a nice neutral colour to make her hair and skin pop.

This was one of my favourite locations.. Here I had to brave the deep snow on the rooftop to get down to the landing on the fire escape, and shoot Cassidy as she leaned out the window of the loft for a fashion/glamour kind of look.

The bedroom was an outstanding space.. Huge King size bed with this amazing headboard and a giant window behind it making for an awesome amount of backlight to create nice separation and get that hair glowing.