Ian shoots for one of the top Realtors in Western Canada - Robert Mcleod

I had the pleasure of working with Robert McLeod of McLeod Project Marketing on one of his current listings "Trademark Condos" today. Robert is one of the top realtors in Western Canada and asked if I could come in and do a feature shot of his show suite in Trademark. This newly renovated apartment condo conversion is unique in it's design. Situated in the Oliver area it is no wonder that this 14 unit complex is selling fast. It features granite counters, stainless steel appliances, in floor heating with modern tile floors and pre-engineered hardwood in the living room and bedrooms. Not hard to capture a show stopper when you have great design and materials to work with.

I look forward to capturing feature photos for his newest listing called "Chinook Condos". Situated in Strathcona, a block off of Whyte Avenue, Chinook Condos design features a West Coast theme. Not only will this be another opportunity to work with Robert but he has also purchased some of my West Coast fine art. Large gallery wrap prints are being produced for the show suite walls. Wow two birds one stone - isn't life great being a photographer. Watch here to see the images taken at Chinook within the next couple of weeks.

Road trip to Calmar - Wahoo!

A fellow photo colleague (Corey) and I decided yesterday to take advantage of bluesky winter weather and head out into the countryside and see what we could find to shoot. With no agenda in hand we decided to just drive to Calmar. I remembered seeing a Ukrainian Orthodox Church out that way and thought it might be interesting to shoot late in the day. So two commercial shooters trying to shoot an Orthodox Church in the snow – same approach, creative thinking and exact same images captured – not. It was actually quite interesting to see the different approach that each of us had in capturing this majestic lady on the open prairies. As the sun continued to set we collectively decided to head to Pigeon Lake to see what else we could find. Low and behold we were in for a treat – hoar frost on the trees and miniature icebergs on the lake – we could not have scripted better weather. Thanks Corey it was a great afternoon of just shooting whatever grabbed us.

Pre-Dawn Barn

Ever had one of those nights where you can’t sleep? What do you do? Well if you are a photographer our medicine is to get up and go shoot and that is what I did. I had no idea where to go so I just headed back to my hometown and travelled some of the back roads that were part of my childhood. I happened to come upon an old famiiy friend’s barn. I had not been there for years, in fact the last time I was there I was the 14 year old city slick trying to help throw square bales into the loft. I was glad to now be there in my element taking her picture. The pre-dawn sky was aglow from the lights nearby in St. Albert and I thought that she looked pretty majestic against that glow. Eventhough she had long since been retired she still had a presence reminiscent of her early days against the vacant lot and spruce trees. All I had to do was to put my camera in place and shoot her portrait.

First ever photography road trip

After 25 years of shooting commercially I figured this was the year to take a road trip. I had never taken one before by myself, so I decided it was time to just go and shoot what I wanted, when I wanted and who I wanted. I managed to get three great days of shooting on Vancouver Island up at Tofino. The weather was perfect - a mix of everything - providing me with a variety of conditions to shoot in. I was up early in the morning to late at night shooting, pushing myself and my camera trying new things that I never tried before. It gave me the recharge that I needed (only a photographer can understand) and I managed to come away with some images that reconfirmed my passion for photography. It really is a place that everyone needs to go to once in their lifetime. I have pulled a few of my favourites for you to see. A more comprehensive gallery of what I captured is on the Stock side of my website. Enjoy.

Edmonton's new downtown jewel

The Art Gallery of Alberta is our newest addition to the downtown core and what a magnificent building it is. It has so many features to photograph. I had a vision in my minds eye of capturing the west side right after sunset letting the broad western sky illuminate her curved and rolling skin. As the light dropped her exterior lights came on adding another dimension to her exterior. I simply waited for the western light to drop and then pushed the button – what a life – capturing images of well designed architecture.

Edmonton's Bell Tower comes to life at dusk

Had a chance in October to trial my new Architectural Camob WDS camera with the P45+ PhaseOne back and see how it responded to photographing office towers. I managed to find a nice vantage spot just west of Staples to set the shot that I wanted to take at dusk of the Bell Tower. It was just a matter of “waiting for the light” as we say. It proved to be an evening with perfect light. As the sun set the eastern sky remained clear and I watched the building came to life with the open western sky illuminating her silvery face. Her exterior lights turned on voila, I had my shot – enjoy.

Ainsworth launches new PointSix product using Ian's images

I have had the pleasure of working with Ainsworth for many years now. They have had me travel to Vancouver, Minnesota, St. Louis, Barwick Ontario and Grande Prairie. This last spring was no exception. They called and wanted to have photos taken of a new product they were launching called PointSix. This new product they expected would revolutionize the OSB market. Simply put, it addressed the age old problem of OSB swelling at the joints when it gets wet during construction. Their simple but very effective solution was to bevel the joint edges so that if swelling occurred the joint would return to a normal flat state when dry. They were in need of images for their new PointSix product launch in San Diego and we traveled to Grande Prairie and Barwick, Ontario to capture new images of the product line. Having come from a construction background and worked with regular OSB under inclement conditions it was fun to participate and create new images for a new product about to be launched to the market. See more of their images on my website under the "Industrial" category

CEDA Rebranding Itself With New Photos

I have had many opportunities over the last 25 years to travel to the resort town of Ft McMurray and capture images for a variety of clients. So when an old client called, who is now working for CEDA, and asked me to go to Ft Mac, I was excited. There is nothing like being out at Syncrude or Suncor when it is a balmy -25 degrees Celsius. My luck turned though because when I arrived to shoot a warm front was locked in overhead and the temperatures rose to a nice -10 degrees Celsius. There’s nothing like an Alberta winter day when it's sunny and -10 degrees Celsius. I spent two days capturing a variety of locations both inside and out. All captures were people related, it was interesting to have a chance to capture the breadth of services that CEDA provides. You are welcome to view more industrial images in the Industrial section of my website.

Change of Guard at Fire Rescue Services

The City of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services has been a long term client of mine. I have photographed a lot of their graduating classes over the last 10 to 12 years. Recently they had a change of guard with Chief Randy Wolsey retiring. Ken Block was appointed their new Chief. I had the honor of capturing Chief Block’s headshot and a group photo with his leadership team.