Retro seems to be a word thrown around alot these days, so I looked it up:  “Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again… It generally implies a vintage of at least 15 or 20 years.”

I just hope corduroy does not become the fashion again!  It seemed like forever ago my friends and I were going down to RollerRoyce rollerdrome to play Galaga and Pacman and strap these clunky wheels on our feet.  The only way they are going to be remotely  in my life again however will be in a photoshoot on a stellar (retro phrase!)  model like Katya.

The disco ball brings it all home… after all,  it was the John Travolta Flashdance era.   I really love shoots with themed colors… makes them look planned.   In reality the socks actually had blue stripes, but you can spend a day looking for matching socks or a few minutes in photoshop solving that problem.

If these shots look familiar,  it’s probably because they are from the banner of the front page of my website… If you guessed correctly,  come collect your free photoshoot at Bryan Ward Ph0tography Ltd… Just kidding!

The headshot was a reversed closeup of this shot,  did you catch that?   My backgrounds came from  vector art  of two wallpaper styles from Istockphoto.com…  I should probably revisit the last shot and add it in.

I sure hope you are regularly backing up your data!  For years i had thought CD’s were a safe choice to keep my important files.  Back then we were led on that this was the best choice.   Not until years later after backing up data to a raid array did I discover that certain brands of CD (Ridata for one) had high failure rates (5 discs / 100) starting to show up after 4 years.  Two more years later it was 7/100.

Now everything is safely backed up on a Raid array… or so I thought!  One day when two computers simultaneously accessed the same file… Boom!… Lost the Raid.  It took three months and two data recovery companies (Was going to cost me $3K) before i realized it was unrecoverable.    I though using a raid with a hot spare drive kept me safe with an archive of dvd’s as backup.    Now there are three raids on premise all mirroring each other… maybe overkill but better than then lose all those years of hard work… keeping my fingers crossed we don’t get that big solar flare but we’d all be screwed at that point anyway.

I have never been comfortable with shipping my info into cyberspace to backup companies (icloud)  and i did not like how Time machine kept filling up my entire hard drives.  I have tried so many backup programs that have fallen short.   At a recent seminar i was turned on to Chronosync… I tried the demo software and was impressed enough to buy it… and write about it!

It’s really impressive how much control this backup software give you.  One really great feature could be backing up your data to a laptop from your tower,  taking the laptop home and working on files, then the next day ChronoSync will update your laptop files back onto the tower, keeping everything current.

For my own situation with Raids topping 3 TB of data,  doing a full backup literally takes 6-12 hours.  ChronoSync intelligently looks for ‘Changes’ between files update and can  delete them from your backup drive to mirror you master drive.   The first time pressing the ’sync’ button was scary and I tried to call the company to make sure all the settings were right… sadly they have no phone support.  I diligently  read the manual a few times… not that this was a difficult process, but when it comes to this much digital info, you really don’t want to make a mistake.  In the end it was easy and I was impressed that it could scan  two 3TB raids,  disseminate file differences and do a  50 GB backup all under 30 minutes.

The program is $40… heres’ the link:

http://www.econtechnologies.com/pages/cs/chrono_overview.html

What an amazing app for the phone and Ipad.  So many times i have had to work with existing lighting that was not quite where i wanted it.  You start by either finding your current location (GPS) or searching for a specific location.  The one downfall i have noticed is when you move locations on the map by scrolling manually,  you must remember to hit the ‘update’ icon or your values will not be correct… hopefully that will be fixed in an update.

The Yellow line is the angle the sun rises in the morning, the red is the current sun angle/elevation and the blue is where the sun sets.   You can manually scroll the sun throughout the day to see where the elevation and angle is at for specific times of the day.  In the example below i was trying to figure out what time to shoot on the roof of the building below  (along the linear skylights)  for the sun to be at my models back…  approx 8:40 pm which was very close to sunset.

You can also move the calendar ahead days, months and years (if you do lots of scrolling).  It’s a simple app, only a few $ and for those times you need it totally useful.

Heres an image from that rooftop pictured in LightTrac:

I don’t even begin to know which portfolio to post this shot… maybe it’s time to start a new category.  What was interesting about this particular image was that between the angle of her body and the fact that she was looking head on at the camera,  I was able to mirror the image exactly.

My father once told me that there was a series of images shot of Marilyn Monroe that were then mirrored using the left side and right side of her face.  Apparently one side mirrored appeared much more beautiful over the other… relating to right and left brain influence.  This may be one of my next concept series for fun.

Genetically speaking,  symmetry is the truest definition of beauty… something to think about.

I have not worked on many personal creatives lately.  On this day I had a last minute cancellation leaving my makeup artist and myself to some dark imaginings.  With Teal as a willing subject we were able to explore a concept that I have long wanted to do.  Brieanne Zellinsky  did a great job with bringing my ‘pale face’ bloody nosed concept to life.   An authentic top hat from nearly 100 years back made of the fine fur of Canada’s emblem… the beaver complimented my evil creation.  Faux fur would not have readily added equally to the horror.

At Bazaar Novelty in Vancouver I  discovered fake blood that coagulates .  It’s about 4 times more expensive than standard fake blood, but for a nosebleed is perfect.  Teal’s natural fair complexion was further paled using hue/saturation in photoshop and pulling the saturation down (95%) in all colors but red (reduced 45%)  The natural Catch lights in the eyes are created by a large disc reflector  reflecting light from my downward aimed 10′ octobank set high and behind me … I love how the lover catch lights make her stare more evil.

This shoot has peaked so much interest that i have decided to explore a ‘dark series’  stay tuned for more to follow!  It’s very subtle but did you notice the coke on her nose?   {no it’s not real}

Well its’ been a banner year with studio rentals… I think i had my favorite last week when Danny Glover and Bruce Greenwood were in shooting covers for their new movie ‘Donovans Echo’.  In the hopes of getting more of these projects I thought it was time to update some of the studio images.

As you may have read in a previous post,  the studio has had a major sound upgrade including a sprayed ceiling and sound insulated walls.  Not only have these products proven to be very effective,  I think they give the space a great ‘aesthetic’. (click above image to enlarge)

It was hard to give up my gym,  but let me introduce you to the new media room.  This space is adjacent to the studio and makes a great multi purpose room for an additional makeup station, change room, meeting area, or to simply hang out.  You are also able to connect your peripherals to the monitor for presentations and access the internet.

Above is the south facing view as you exit the studio with the media room to the right.  At the end of the hallway is an additional common area which is  just off the entrance of the building… another great multi-purpose room with a kitchenette attached.

This is the north facing view looking into the studio  giving a glimpse of the newly renovated bathroom.  Custom rubber backed matting eliminates  sounds from those hard soled shoes during audio recording, and just looks good when you’re walking in for a photoshoot.

Here is my most recent photoshoot for Rosebud magazine taken at ‘Granville Tattoo’ downtown Vancouver.  I was having a heck of a time finding just the right location for this shoot.   My original pick was ‘Next’ tattoo, but their bad attitudes and simple lack of professionalism kept that from being a possibility.  Granville Tattoo ended up being a great locale for the shoot and they are simply a great bunch of guys.

For fun I added another tattoo to Pinky (digitally) with the impression that she did it to herself.  If you’re not familiar with the process… no, the tattoo guns don’t smoke in real life.   BTW, the chair she is sitting on is 300 lb!!!!!  I’m not kidding.  I saw the chair when i first scoped the shop and thought it would be great to shoot on.  Come the day of,  I seriously thought it was bolted to the floor it was so heavy.  It had to be moved clear across the room.

photoshoots are always full of surprises!

It was a challenge lighting the room.  I was hoping to get some daylight through the front windows for a brighter background, but it turned out into a dreary typical Vancouver fall day.  I went the opposite direction (low key) and focused all the light on Pinky .  An ambient  light bounced off a wall in the background but this did not seem special enough…  I added a blue gel to create separation of her from the background and that gave me the look i was after.

I love mirror shots, I just don’t like the extra retouching

Sheena Marie did most of the styling on this photoshoot.  I made her push the limits into ’sexy’ from what she normally works with. When we went back to the studio I was aiming for a decidedly ’sexy fashion’ look.  Props to her stylish ostrich dress on the final shot, and a special thanks to Sylvery Grey for fashioning the sexy red bikini.

The following image was a 2 part overlay.  This image was first first converted to a standard B&W…  The layer was duplicated and set again to B&W but with ‘maximum blacks’ set.  This gave the ‘tanned’ and shiny appeal to the skin but made the cape too dark.  The top layer was set to 70% and masking was done with the airbrush tool around the cape and some darker areas of the skin which created this alluring image.

Yup,  can’t do a studio shoot with at least one of my signature shots

I’d like to send a special Thanks to Granville tattoo for being so helpful, friendly and generous with their space and time.  Thanks Steve for getting up so early and letting us in the shop.

If you walk through their doors,  remember to say ‘Bryan sent you’.

In my earlier ‘Precious’ post was the complete Music video filmed at at the studio.  I filmed some behind the scenes on my own camera and finally found some time to piece them together.  The quality does not come close to the Red Cam original, but you still get a good idea of what went on off camera.  One additional note,  The audio represents the studio before all the sound baffles were installed.

Life is never boring.   On this day we had a ventriloquist, ‘Dumb’ Blonde, bodybuilder and wrestler vying for a spot as the new Yamaha Representative bringing their owns sets of special skills.  I’m saying this ‘tongue in cheek’ as this was the the theme of the latest Yamaha Commercial.

This was the first rental since all of the sound upgrades and we received two enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ on the sound quality from their audio engineer.

Originally a half dozen Yamaha bikes were coming on set.  Considering they had a 35+ crew and 2 grip trucks, it probably worked out better scrapping that idea.

Thanks to my gracious neighbors for giving up their parking lots for a makeshift outdoor restaurant.  I’m surprised how much better dinner is from these catered food trucks most restaurants.  P.s.  Thats my dog Nena.

Welcome to Vancouvers best soundstage!  I have put a great deal of effort this year improving the studios sound absorbing abilities and sound barriers.  One of the big challenges has been getting rid of the echo of cinderblock walls in such a large area.  The Monoglass on the ceiling made a huge difference in echo reduction but there was still a subtle reverberation in areas.  It’s a challenge when you have a big open area without carpets and soft furniture to block the waves.  I looked to a studio solution with sound absorbing walls.  These materials were quite expensive and had to be shipped from the US ($$$).  I quickly learned that even mattress foam can be packaged and marketed as a ’sound wall’.  I decided to create my own custom solution and specialty ordered my own foam design to spec.  Most of the products out there are only a medium density foam cel and none had any fire rating.  My panels are fire rated, one of the highest density foams, and 40% thicker than most of the options i found online.   More density = better sound absorbtion.

It was notable that the minute the bundles were brought into the building that there was an immediate ‘buffering’ of the interior noises.  I was getting excited to ‘hear’ and ’see’ the placement on the walls.

Each panel was sprayed with ‘Super 77′ as well as the wall where it was to be placed.

The panels are turned alternately to best ‘capture’ the sound waves from all angles,  that plus i think it gives a great aesthetic!I wrapped the whole perimeter of the studio from the ceiling down 8′,  excluding the cove.  I would have brought it to the floor but that was not practical within a working space, that and the fact that people would probably be touching and tearing them (human nature sucks).   Each 10′ section between the pillars (24 panels) was  $720 ($30/panel).  If you would like any of this product for your space, feel free to contact me.