MONGREL UNLEASHED: Montreal Improv's Newest House Team

Brace yourselves. Montreal Improv’s newest house team is here. According to their Facebook page, the Mongrel improv comedy troupe is here to tap into our souls and steal our hearts. The pack is made up of six loveable mutts: D.J., Paul, Jaymie, Mark, Taylor, and Alex (not me unfortunately). And they’re coached by this guy:  

With a coach that glorious you know they’re producing quality performances. (That shot was taken during my Faces of Improv project).

We had a photo shoot in the Mile End. The gritty part of the Mile End that is, and with their regular clothes and makeup they fit right in with the environment. Our initial plans for the shoot included fire, but logistics (and maybe legality) got in the way. Like they do on stage Mongrel were pros and brought the fire in their performance in front of the camera.

In case you’re not familiar with the house teams in Montreal Improv, each member is selected into the troupe following auditions. According to the rumours, the gruelling audition process lasts 48 straight hours and involves starvation, a hot coal walk, vaseline, and it's what inspired Suzanne Collins when writing the Hunger Games trilogy. These are just rumours I heard though, so it’s probably all true.

Now don’t be fooled. Despite their recent union, Mongrel already has the chemistry to produce hilarious energy-packed performances. Your face hurts walking out of the show because of your smiling and laughing. So there you go. Mongrel joins Room Service, Helmut, and Doreen, three other wonderful house teams who haven't had a photoshoot yet (wink wink wink, hi there). They’re featured during the House Team nights at the theatre (among other performances). Their next show is Sunday August 2nd, 6:30 at Montreal Improv.

And in other news, I’ve just sent out my first Postcard from my email newsletter Postcards from Alex! I’m really excited to share more stories and photos, you should sign up and join the fun!

See you next time!

Marcher la Région: A 3-Day Pilgrimage Across Montreal

We’re walking across Montreal! For fun! (Sort of!) This weekend Claudia and I will be walking across Montreal, starting from good old Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and ending in Verdun. The tour is organized by the non-profit Marcher la Région (Walk the Region). It's the second straight year we're doing the tour, and we’ll be discovering Montreal's hidden corners, learning about the history of different neighbourhoods, and camping along the way.

The tour is semi-guided, so we walk at our own pace to predetermined pit stops, where locals (or one of our three Marcher la Région knowledgeable hosts) talk about the story of the neighbourhood. The evenings are also fantastic. After a full day of walking in the sun, kicking off the shoes and relaxing is the best thing. Last year we concluded one day with a pool and some ice cream, and we finished the next by cooking a massive meal together and spending the night around a campfire in the woods.

Some join this pilgrimage because of their interests in urban planning, others want to discover more of Montreal. Some just want to walk and meet interesting people. And of course there are those like me who see it as a great opportunity for a photo walk. And I’m packing light this time! Only the Fuji x100 will be coming along with us.

One lens, one camera, 2 pairs of shoes. That’s a weird packing list for me. I also just got back from MEC and geared up for the walk. If photography equipment lust is my number one weakness, outdoor gear lust follows it very close behind. Holy crap it’s amazing to see those walls of hiking backpacks, tents, sleeping bags. Heck even the water bottle or carabiner walls look super attractive. Am I the only one who gets this rush of excitement upon entering MEC every time?

In any case, I have overspent and here I am now overly prepared for this walk. It’s going to be fun and lots of pictures will be taken hopefully. And if you’re subscribed to Postcards from Alex, who knows, maybe one of them might come from this walk! Make sure to check it out here!

My Photography Equipment List (Which Lenses I Use and Why)

Here’s an updated equipment list of the current lenses and cameras I use and why.

If you’re just starting out, realize that today, you can’t really buy a bad camera. It’s just a matter of knowing which features you want. Canon and Nikon are considered the best options for DSLRs - I just happen to be with Nikon because it was on sale when I bought my first camera. Note that non-DSLRs are becoming more and more of an option now, especially with Fuji’s resurgence. Let’s start with a quick list of all the gear. Then I’ll break it down below.

Camera body: Nikon D700 Lenses: 28mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 70-200mm 2.8

Camera Body

Nikon D700. Nothing much to say here. When I press on the button it takes a picture. It’s great for photographing low-light environments, such as wedding receptions or inside a whale. (I also went through the Nikon D40, D90, and D7000)

Lenses

1. Nikon 50mm 1.4G: portraits, weddings, lifestyle, low-light, close-ups, blurry backgrounds, everything really.

I use it for pretty much everything, from low-light indoor spaces to non-macro nature and detail shots, to portraits that show a bit of the environment the subjects are in. I use it a lot while travelling or just documenting everyday life. When I photograph groups of up to 5-6 people, I try to use this lens to avoid distortion. It’s a versatile standard focal length that is neither too wide nor too telephoto. And because it has 1) a wide aperture, 2) not too wide of a focal length, and 3) can focus relatively close to subjects, I often use this lens to create soft, blurry backgrounds.

When I only carry one lens with me, this is usually the one (it’s thus the first lens I’d buy if I were just starting out). Note that I’m not referring to the 1.4G specifically. Its predecessor (50mm 1.8D), which I also used a lot before upgrading, is almost as good. It’s smaller, and (relatively) ridiculously inexpensive at < 150$.

2. Nikon 28mm 1.8G: group shots, architecture, indoors, environmental portraits, some landscape

I’ll mostly use this lens when the 50mm isn’t wide enough. For example, if it’s a large group, and I don’t have enough space to back up and take a group portrait with the 50mm, then I switch to this one. If I want to show the entire church architecture at a wedding ceremony, I use this lens. But I also like to use this to show a bit more context in an environmental portrait. It’s also used a lot in events when I need to photograph people interacting with each other (cocktails, conferences, people around a dinner table, etc.). I get in close and sort of “join the circle” so that I don’t just see the backs of heads.

Wider lenses include more in the frame and it’s therefore harder to exclude distracting elements from shots. They also have more distortion, so I try to avoid having people placed on the edges of the frame when using this lens. Camera manufacturers often associate wide lenses with landscape photography, but I prefer doing the opposite and using telephoto lenses to compress the background.

3. Nikon 85mm 1.8G: headshots, tight-portraits, beautiful blurry backgrounds, landscapes, outdoors

I love this lens. It can create even creamier backgrounds than the 50mm, but you need space to use it. I mostly use it for headshots and tight portraits now, and it does a great job at it. When I started out and photography was still just a hobby, I bought an 85mm and sold it shortly after since I wasn’t using it much, but it’s now back in the regular rotation. I also like to use this lens to isolate elements within a landscape. As a carry-around every day lens, it's a bit too long (telephoto). It can be used a lot outdoors, but indoors it may be too tight.

4. Nikon 70-200mm 2.8G: things (usually people) that are far away 

A massive and expensive lens that I hate to carry around, but it's great for what it does. I only use it when I really need it, when I want to photograph something far away and can't get closer. Most of its uses for me are in weddings and events, when I need to capture someone's face/emotion/reaction from far away. This is also the lens I use when the random raccoon climbs up on the neighbour's roof.

Let me know if you have any questions!

In a follow-up post, I'll talk about the photography equipment that REALLY matters to me: lighting equipment!

Talk to you soon!

Montreal Artists: Meags Fitzgerald

Here’s a brief intro in case you don’t already know Meags Fitzgerald. She’s an illustrator, designer, and comic book artist. Her beautiful work can be seen here. Her first graphic novel Photobooth: A Biography got her the Doug Wright Spotlight Award and she was featured as one of Cult Montreal’s “Best Cartoonists / Comic artists”. She has long red hair and soon, we’ll all have the chance to have Long Red Hair as well. She also does ambidextrous illustrations - check out this one she did for a (Dutch) T-Mobile commercial. And hey speaking of commercials is this post starting to sound too much like a Meags Fitzgerald commercial?

Needless to say I was thrilled to have an opportunity to photograph her working in her studio in the Mile-End. Her workspace is amazing - no wonder she’s productive and creating all this great work. There’s lots of window light, a little balcony, and the entire space is beautifully decorated in a way that reflects her artistry. It’s hard to explain but everything from her art to her studio and even her clothing fits together so congruently, yet effortlessly. She lives and breathes her art and I’m jealous. Even the color scheme in her bedroom matches the color palette of her graphic novel.

Speaking of which, I’m halfway through Photobooth: A Biography and it’s a captivating collection of personal stories mixed in with the history of the photobooth. Jonathan Goldstein from Wire Tap and This American Life even described it as a love story between Meags and photobooths. So what you should do is obvious. Go to Drawn and Quarterly, first, because it’s an amazing shop, and second, while you’re there, get yourself a copy of her graphic novel to support our local Montreal Artists.

As I’ll be finishing her book in the next few weeks, Meags will be touring with a comedy troupe called Quest For the Dragon King (yeah she also does improv, and teaches improv too). If you wanna try and keep up with Meags and her different quests in life, make sure to follow her blog.

Thanks for reading and click here to check out the gallery with the other Montreal Artists I've photographed!

Graduation Pictures for Bryn on McGill campus in downtown Montreal

Cue the bagpipes and picture this. Alex walks towards the tent on McGill University campus where the convocations are set up. He’s wearing a slightly fancier gown than last time since today he’s graduating with a M.Sc. The tassel on his cap is swinging and hitting him in the eye. It’s raining and every single step he takes in these shoes require full concentration otherwise he’s going to slip and fall in front of everyone. I made it folks! Without even slipping/tripping/embarrassing myself! But this post isn't about me - Bryn also graduated - her convocation was just a few hours after mine. She contacted me a few weeks ago to have portraits taken after seeing an old post where I took pictures of Amélie’s graduation (on McGill University campus as well).

Bryn wanted some pictures with her family and boyfriend to immortalize this important day. As the students poured out from the tents, Bryn and her entourage snuck away from the big crowds to meet me in a private extremely top secret spot on campus (just kidding - it’s on the side of Otto Mass).

The photo session was pretty quick. Taking pictures for graduations is relatively easy - everyone’s happy, supportive, proud, and it’s all smiles. And having someone like the high-energy Bryn as the main focus doesn’t hurt either.

It might seem a bit weird to suddenly be thrown in someone else’s big day as a photographer. But whether I’m taking wedding or graduation photos, people are always extremely thankful and nice. I get glimpses of very personal and important moments and I’m very grateful for it. I make it my obligation to capture these memories the best I can.

While this is only the second time someone hires me for graduation pictures, for the past years, I’ve been present for many of my friends’ convocations at McGill. Here are a few of my favourite graduation pictures taken all over the campus.

I had a really great time and would love to do this more often in the future. If you or anyone else is graduating and would like my photography services, let me know!

What to prepare before a headshot or portrait photo session

Here's a quick guide for subjects / models before a photoshoot.

I thought I’d share what I usually tell my subjects when they ask me how to prepare before a headshot or portrait session. Who knows, maybe one of you out there is about to be photographed. Or you can just keep this link somewhere and refer back to it when needed. These are just my general recommendations - you’re more than welcome to break any rule in here if you think it would work for you.

What clothing to wear for a portrait / headshot session

1. Simple clothes: For typical portraits, I recommend clothing without any typography, graphics, recognizable brand logos, really vibrant colours, or distracting patterns. Feel free to bring different sets of clothing if you’re not sure what to wear or if you want multiple options. For headshots especially, when bringing alternate clothing options, think of bringing clothes with different necklines.

2. Ironed clothes: Think of what you want to wear a few days before the shoot to make sure that it’s clean and ready to go the day of. Don’t forget to iron your clothes. Wrinkles can make portraits look unprofessional and can be tricky to remove in Photoshop. (I have an iron at home if you don’t!)

3. Coordinating clothes as a group: If you’re to be photographed with others, make sure you discuss coordinating clothing beforehand. You don’t all need to match - just make sure you don’t end up with five people wearing black and one wearing red (unless it’s intentional of course).

How to prepare hair and make-up

1. Make-up: Generally, for headshots, corporate or promotional portraits, light natural make-up is worn. But I’m leaving this up to you. If you’d like a make-up artist for the shoot, they would be available at an additional cost - let me know.

2. Lips, nails, hands: Make sure you have some chapstick to avoid dry / cracked lips. Gloss photographs well, but make sure it’s not glittery. Make sure your nails are clean and your hands not dry.

3. Hair & facial hair: You should come hair-ready, but bring hair ties / bands if you want to try out different looks. You should also bring a brush or comb if your hair is as out-of-control as mine is when I wake up. Shaving mid-shoot to change your facial hair is possible, bring a shaving kit if you want.

Accessories to wear for a photoshoot

1. Glasses: You’re not sure whether you should wear glasses or contacts? Bring glasses! That way we can do variations with or without.

2. Jewelry: Bracelets, necklaces, and earrings can be distracting - if you decide to bring some, keep it relatively simple.

Retouching in portraits and headshots

My goal is to make you look like you on your best day. For me, that doesn’t start with retouching in Photoshop, it starts with my choice of lenses and lighting. Some lenses stretch, others compress. Lighting can be controlled to go from harsh lighting with glare to a soft, even look. Shadows can be used to control what is visible or not. All these decisions are important and come before any Photoshopping.

Now here’s my stance on retouching. I do find it acceptable to remove skin blemishes and pimples that happen to be present on the day of the photoshoot. I am however against most retouching and Photoshopping that we see in magazines. It’s a wide spectrum and everyone stands somewhere on it. I think that as soon as the retoucher’s hand is visible in the photograph, it’s already gone too far.

I also think photographers should speak more openly about it with their subjects. When you come into my studio to have your portraits and headshots taken, we can go through a few of the shots together and you can tell me if there are some things you want me to take care of post-production.

Lastly, if we're having the photo shoot in my home studio

We have an iron, a lint roller, a bathroom, and lots of mirrors. There’s parking in the back! Let me know if you intend on using it, I’ll open the gate for you. Aaaand coffee or tea? :)

Montreal Artists: Jacques Gallant

I photographed a blacksmith and somehow didn’t even have to travel back in time. Jacques Gallant is his name and he wears many metal hats, from blacksmith to welder, metal fabricator to bike frame builder. Jacques is the fourth in my Montreal Artists series, in which I'm documenting the creative process and workspaces of various artists, artisans, makers, and crafts(wo)men in Montreal. Many years ago there was a pickle factory on St-Laurent street in Montreal. An Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Jacques' metalwork shop have since taken over that space. It's a huge space with two big skylights. There’s a wall full of reclaimed wood, another one covered with his arsenal of hammers. There are massive sharpening, drilling, cutting, and sanding machines that I should probably avoid if I want to keep all of my fingers.

These are Jacques’ hands after a workday. Still has 10 fingers, he's a pro.

In the shop there’s also a forge and a welder, which can reach temperatures of a few thousand degrees (Celcius I think, but Celcius or Farenheit, it doesn’t matter - if you touch it you'll regret it). Jacques could actually describe how it feels like to get your skin burned at different temperatures, ranging from the sharp burns where you jerk your hand back immediately, to those where your skin becoming foamy and sticky. Didn’t seem like much fun, so I took a step back.

His work, like his workshop, is full of character. He custom-builds everything. The first time I met him (at the Smart Design fair), he had brought small furniture items that combined steel and wood beautifully. When I visited him this time, he was building something for the Dispatch coffee food truck and had been working on a few bike frames.

I asked Jacques what was the quintessential item that represents him and his work. He quickly grabbed a particular hammer. It’s simple, rugged but with smooth edges. He made it from scratch, starting with a big piece of wood and a big piece of metal.

If you have a project in mind and need something made drop him a message, he’s super friendly. Check out some of his work at Solutions Gallant. 

Click here to check out the gallery with the other Montreal Artists I've photographed!

Montreal Artists: Carolina Murillo-Morales

This is the lovely Carolina Murillo-Morales, yet another artist I met through the 100in1day Montreal community. I remember reading about her proposed phone booth project and making sure I was the one from the media team to document it. In both editions of the festival, I started the day off by seeing her transform phone booths in her Belle project.

(Despite matching the booth, that kid was not part of the installation)

Carolina doesn’t spend all of her time in phone booths though. I visited her art studio at The Long Haul in Montreal a few times. If you've never been in an art studio collective before, you should, they're fascinating. As you walk along the slim hallways, a suite of closed doors tease you and invite you to guess what hides behind. If you get a glimpse, it’s like peaking into someone’s brain. Each studio is an artist’s microcosm with its own chaos and personality.

Carolina shares her space, so you don't see her art right away (you likely first notice the hanging taxidermied squirrel floating above your head). She’s been working in another art studio all day and is now back at the Long Haul after all other artists have already left. The radio quietly plays in the background, and the kettle is on. I can see her past art installations packed against the wall. This is her workstation:

She uses beads, thread, and needle.

What I love about Carolina’s art is the thought process and emotion that goes behind each piece. When I pointed out particular pieces, she wouldn’t just explain how she created them, she would describe what was happening in her life while she was creating it. Her work is very personal - each piece seems to have its story and reflects her thoughts and emotion during that time of her life.

I love the stories I hear with each artist I meet, there's always something to take away. I sometimes get advice on how to live a creative life. I hear about their artistic journey - some had a clear vision that was achieved through sheer determination, others went through many detours to arrive where they are now. I always leave these shoots inspired. After speaking with Carolina I realized that many photographers including me are lacking a personal connection to our work and it's definitely something I want to work on. Check out her work here and stay tuned for more!

Click here to check out the gallery with the other Montreal Artists I've photographed!

New Marketing Materials and Brand Refresh

I had been meaning to do a visual identity refresher for a while now. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I was listening to a podcast about procrastination while procrastinating that I realized I was procrastinating about this. I’ll walk you through the changes one by one. Let’s start with the big one. New portfolio and website! If you look at your old work and start cringing… it’s a good sign right? It's now refreshed with more people, colour, lighting styles, and it shows some of my favourite portrait, headshot and lifestyle photos. Check it out here.

Then my wedding portfolio is back online. Because of my frequent travels during my Master's between Panama and Montreal, I had to put wedding photography on hiatus. But I'm back and ready to go now.

The third portfolio is a more personal portfolio that deviates a bit from the rest. It's a visual journey of my travels and documentary field science photography.

I hope to keep these portfolios evolving organically. Things aren’t 100% final yet, but I’m happy with how they currently look. As for my website, no huge changes, but it's cleaner, clutter-free, and mobile-friendly. What’s next?

New business cards! Mooooo. Holy cow, if you ever need business cards, moo.com is amazing. The packaging the cards come in is well thought out, the delivery is way faster than what they actually advertise, and I’m really happy with the quality. If you look closely below you can even see the texture on the cards. I opted for a business card with all the information on one side, and a clean design on the other.

After drawing a million bulbs I finally settled for this look. Why a lightbulb? I feel like all photographers at this point are using cameras or lens aperture blades as logos. I went back to the basics. Photography literally means writing with light, and the lightbulb to me is the simplest symbol that represents light.

And after that, new logo! I wanted something graphic - a bold, simple, and modern icon that could scale well up or down, and that wouldn’t be tied down to a specific colour. You should see my notebook. I must have drawn the letter A in hundreds of different styles. I finally found a lettermark incorporating the letters A & T in a way I found pleasing.

Since I didn't go to photography school I’ve always felt the need to hustle, consuming as many photography books, blogs, and podcasts as possible. If you’ve ever been in Montreal's Grande Bibliothèque and checked out the photography section - chances are you’ve found me somewhere with a pile of photo books. I've spent hours online learning how to code, watched countless Youtube videos to learn Photoshop. I’ve also taken an embarrassing amount of self-portraits to practice and refine my lighting set-ups. I’ve been doing this all of this throughout my degrees in biology. I’ve now just officially completed my Master’s and it’s an important milestone for me. The door for photography is open and I can finally devote my full attention to it. I can’t wait!

Montreal Artists: Ariel Harlap

This is the second of my recent series of Montreal artist portraits, where I’m documenting the work spaces and creative process of artists in Montreal. This one's about wood, wool, and lasers. Meet Ariel. Like Patsy, I met him through the 100in1day Montreal community. He was the resourceful jack-of-all-trades that you could always depend on whether you had a logistics, tech or creative problem. He gets credit for referring me to great podcasts including my favourite, 99% Invisible. He’s a maker and artist among other things. It barely surprised me when I learned that he created Zooratura. That’s not to say I wasn’t impressed! Inspired by the forms and symmetry found in nature, Ariel laser-cuts wood to create intricate lampshades and jewelry. His designs are based off of pre-20th century drawings of microscopic creatures. Some of his pieces are then meticulously painted with watercolour. In others, yarn is weaved in.

Now how does someone learn how to do this kind of stuff? For Ariel it was pretty simple. He bought a laser cutter and taught himself how to use it. I visited his home where he makes these pieces and had the chance to see him create one of his lampshades that he sells as a weave-it-yourself (WIY?) kit. After assembling the wood base, he delicately weaves the yarn through the notches in a fluid motion.

The result is a cool-looking kaleidoscopic lampshade. It’s designed so that you can weave it in different patterns and use different yarn colours when you want to change things up.

There’s no stopping Ariel’s creative brain, so of course he’s currently working on more projects. He’s currently experimenting with 3D printing and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

Click here to check out the gallery with the other Montreal Artists I've photographed!