Kerr Photography - Victoria, BC, Professional Photographer » Photography

The End of the Season – Movember

Matthew — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:00:28 +0000

I know, I’m a little behind the ball here. In any case, it doesn’t make a difference whether I post this now or later. This past Movember was the most successful Movember to date!
First off, I’d like to thank all the donors who helped me raise over $200.00 towards men’s health and prostate cancer:

Adriana Durian
Cathy and Bruce Kerr
Liz Kerr
Phil Jolley
Eve Ouradou
Brianne Hauff
Courtney Fiala
Suzanne Ives and Rolf Ludwig
Grant Schwartzentruber
Kris Klusmeier
And a few other anonymous donors

THANK YOU!
Second, to all those people around the world who helped raise over $111,000,000.00! And especially in Canada, we helped raise over $39,000,000.00! That’s about $160.00/moustache. Those are some expensive faces out there. All of these totals can be found by going to the “Mo Money” page at the official Movember website.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Matthew — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:59:03 +0000

As I stated on my Google + profile the other day, I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and Japanese Jiu Jitsu (JJJ). I’ve only been training for 5 months, however, I already have seen and felt the sense of community in the dojo. That is to say, when someone is testing for their next belt, it stands to reason that you go and support them. Above is one of the instructors, Dan, who is performing a helicopter sweep right in to an arm bar. If you don’t know what that means go check out Submissions 101. This is a technically challenging move that to my eyes, Dan pulled off flawlessly. After Dan passed his purple belt test the white belts who were testing for their blue belt lined up and began a rigorous warm up that was designed to wear them out.
Above is them demonstrating some moves to their sensei and the other blue belts during their test.
If you’d like to know more about Martial Arts, and you’re in the Victoria area, drop by Fierce Studio and watch a class. More pictures are available on the Facebook page (the link is in the side bar).

Olympic Sailing – Victoria, BC

Matthew — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:00:43 +0000

This morning I got the opportunity to photograph Canadian Olympic Hopefuls Hannah Meers (skipper) and Erin Flanagan (crew) as they practiced in the cold waters off Oak Bay. We started the morning by getting the boat ready (I drank my latte) at 7:45 and we were on the water by 8:20. The air was frigid, the clouds were dark and the sun wasn’t fully awake yet. It started to rain. Thankfully, the rain did hold off for the most part, but it was still way colder than it needed to be. I think we were on the water for about 2 hours in total while the girls trained (Hannah with bare feet). It’s been a while since I was on the water when it was this cold and photographically speaking, my hands were too numb to fully grab my lens. Not to mention that my knees are bruised from being bounced around the zodiac, I’ll remember to bring knee pads next time.
They sail the international 470 dinghy in the women’s division. The 470 first became an Olympic class in 1976, and is one of nine types of sailboats raced in the Olympics. Both Hannah and Erin grew up in southern Alberta and thus, their team name is Wild Rose Girls. You can find them and follow them on Facebook here or follow them on twitter with @Meers_Flanagan. The two are on their way to Miami in the following weeks to continue their training.

Another 4×5 Experiment

Matthew — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:16:45 +0000

These are the “lost” images that I was referencing on twitter the other day. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but they eventually made it home. The thing is, I loaded the film in hopes of shooting it in the summer of 2010. I then traveled down to Australia and New Zealand without the film, came home, made it through the rest of winter and then rediscovered it. I couldn’t remember what I had loaded. ISO, film type, colour, black and white, negative, positive, none of it was ringing a bell. Since I only had 2 speeds of film I averaged that it would be about 300 ISO and started my guessing there. You see, with my 4×5 camera that I built out of wood, I don’t know quite what the field of view is. So I have to guess. I do know that the aperture is somewhere around f/216. I also know that my light meter works, so I can tell what the exposure time will be at f/16. Taking that into account, I use this handy chart that I made to calculate my exposure time for the pinhole.

As you can see, as soon as it’s about an f/8 day, I’m up to a 5 second exposure on the camera. Approximately, that is. I also find I have to be a lot more selective with my choice of composition because of that whole guessing my field of view thing. It worked out well in the end. And, not to toot my own horn, but they were pretty well educated guesses.
What are your thoughts? Comment below.

Is it Jujitsu or Jujutsu or Jiu Jitsu?

Matthew — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:29:01 +0000

In any case, I’ve starting taking some classes that a friend of mine has been going to for years. It’s at Fierce Studio where they do Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, Kick Boxing, Yoga and a bunch of others. The image below is from there old location where during a BJJ class you “roll” with a partner to try out your new moves that you learned.

The guy on the bottom here is Alan, my friend who is also featured here on my flickr photostream.

Expiration

Matthew — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:36:53 +0000

So, I was over in Vancouver a couple weeks ago (not for a hockey game) and was able to spend the morning with my lady and a friend of her family-friend who oddly enough went to the same photography school as I did. We wandered down to Granville Island and had some lunch in the market and then cruised on over the bridge. I, for the first time (just before the wedding) took my Minolta out to play. These are two of my favourite shots from that trip.

We didn’t just go over for Granville Island market food, we actually went over to see the musical Wicked. If you ever, ever get a chance to see it, I recommend it with the highest of all recommendations.

I like this. Thoughts? Post them in the comments box!

Photogaphers vs. The Picture-Takers

Matthew — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:28:50 +0000

How easy is it to take a picture, run it through a quick editing program and then share it with the world without taking a step. 10 years ago, it would have been impossible. Today, however, with any common mobile phone, you can take a picture, add an effect with Photoshop Express or another similar App and then upload it to Facebook, Twitpic, Flickr, or any other choice of image sharing social media sites. I say image because I find that over 80% of the material on the web today is a relay of information. It’s an easy way to tell someone about a cool bench to eat lunch at or, show off who you just met.

Since we get bombarded with images every day, does that make us more sensitive to art? Or are we desensitized to this form of art because we may just pass it off as “another image to digest”. It’s a good thing that these image sharing sites are as accessible as they are. For example, a website like Flickr has been used by thousands of amateurs who want to get feedback on their work by other, like minded amateurs or professionals, who use that service. And they have received feedback. Getty now offers Flickr members the option of licensing their images, which not only helps amateurs who take amazing pictures get noticed, but also acts as a deterrent for thieves who want to “use” an image without paying for it.
This hasn’t only affected online sharing tools. It’s affected the way camera manufacturers are bringing out new products. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus all have had to step up their game in the amateur SLR division so they can stay ahead. The accessibility of cameras has sparked an interest in so many people that they too want to be photographers in their own right and the platform of manufacturers and websites has allowed that to happen.
So, have we been desensitized? I don’t think so. I use the vast amount of images on the internet to build up a library that I can use to reference to for inspiration of myself, or a model. I can send a link to a model and ask them to have “that look” or in the style of “this picture”. Without the mobile devices we have today, it wouldn’t be possible to bring these up in the middle of a shoot. We have to remember that what distinguishes a photographer from a “picture-taker” is the ability to have someone want to hang your photograph on the wall. I think that photography as an art form has grown and continues to grow. I also think that photography as a communication tool to share information, and pass on a cool locale where you can eat lunch, has grown and continues to do so as well. After all, a friend of mine said to me, “a picture is worth a thousand words, but try saying that with a picture”.

Old Town

Matthew — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:53:42 +0000

When I was in Sydney this past October, I spent one afternoon wandering around The Rocks. It’s the oldest part of Sydney (or Australia) in terms of European views. It was also the day of the Melbourne Cup. The streets were crowded with people celebrating the race, and they were all dressed to the nines. Below is one of my pictures from this afternoon.A simple door that led to a patio. It used to be a General Store, now it’s a museum. The door doesn’t work (I tried), but I’d like to think that the deliveries came through there from the back ally.

Photos By…

Matthew — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:00:22 +0000

One photographic aspect of my life that I’ve been struggling with for the past couple weeks is my editing. That is, narrowing down which images are the best, worst, alright, etc. I have been trying to decide on a couple of pictures for the “Photos By…” competition that the Victoria Boulevard Magazine hosts each year. It’s purpose is to focus on more personal images, rather than professional work. In that case, I’ve chosen to go with some images that speak as to what I’ve done over the past year.
The first image (shown above) is something that I worked on very early in the year. I was inspired by my 4×5 work that I had accomplished in school, and having a 4×5 film holder with no camera was getting me down. So I made a camera and produced the above image of the Victoria Skyline. The next two images were taken while I was in Australia and New Zealand respectively.
The first image is from Cape Byron, on the east coast of Australia. The picture was taken looking southwest from the most easterly point of mainland Australia. The closest we were to home (via longtitude) since we arrived in Cairns. It points at the journey ahead; beautiful, rugged, and raw. The second image is from South Island, New Zealand. In an area known as Fiordland. The view is of Eglinton Valley and the Earl Mountains. A peaceful serenity. It was the end of our trip and in less than a week from taking this picture, I would be back home in Victoria.

(click on images to enlarge)

Graduation Photos!

Matthew — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:22:26 +0000

Are you graduating this year? Know somebody who is graduating this year? If it’s high school, college, university or kindergarten, pictures of this special occasion are becoming more and more popular.Booking starts now, and it’s as easy as emailing contact@kerrphotography.ca and requesting a quote. Prom package pricing starts at only $60, packages can be found here. Don’t want a package? Not a worry, just email with the pictures you want. It’s my belief that your pictures should be fun! Not a boring, sit-in-front-of-a-lame-library-backdrop shot, but rather an expression of who you are! Among the prom and grad promotional pricing you’ll also find wedding packages for spring and summer of 2010 and family portrait packages.