Intervalometer Meets Vancouver’s Skyline

Posted by Pete Jones on May 13, 2012

I’ve recently been upgrading my camera equipment for the purposes of creating massive, high-resolution images of Vancouver’s skyline (that, and I was way overdue for a hardware upgrade after over 5 years). The upgrades are quite expensive (even more so on my income), but well worth the investment! One of the things that I purchased with my new camera was a battery grip that included an intervalometer; a tool that allows me to program my camera to take a burst of photos (or a single exposure) at defined intervals over a specified frame of time… ‘time lapse’ in simpler terms. The problem with time lapse is, well… just that – the time! I find myself unable to allow the program to simply run its course and I end up interrupting the sequence to point my lens at different compositions etc. I thought I’d bring some reading material last night to keep myself entertained, but after over two hours… it only yielded 11 seconds of footage! Thankfully I had been out there for the sunrise that same day and had been impatient enough to get some good still images out of the deal. I’m really not impressed with the results (composition, exposure and duration) of my first test time lapse, but it was just that; a test. I put a fair amount of effort into this little experiment of mine; up at 4am for the sunrise, returned to the location at sunset, 30 km of total cycling with all my gear on my back, and at least 4 hours of post processing. It wasn’t all a waste of time though…. I made a few new friends on the seawall that morning and again that evening. Not to mention some good still images and the knowledge of what to do next time to get a grossly improved time lapse! Check out my results below (I put in a behind the scenes video too that shows the Stanley Park 9 o’clock cannon firing)…

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TIME LAPSE MOVIE (switch it to ‘high quality’ before viewing): http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151714454675361

BEHIND THE SCENES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzFN4AjWNwI&feature=plcp

Breath of Fresh Air

Posted by Pete Jones on April 28, 2012

Finally broke free from the indoor shoots! It was so nice to finally get back to shooting outdoors today. It was a little bit cold, but well worth it! Check out the results from today’s shoot in Gastown….

www.PeteJones.ca

Almost the perfect timing…

Posted by Pete Jones on March 27, 2012

Almost the perfect timing/lighting… I have one more image that might just do the trick… still editing… stay tuned for my final files coming soon!

Almost the perfect timing/lighting... I have one more image that might just do the trick... still editing... stay tuned for my final files coming soon!

Vancouver Skyline @ Night

Posted by Pete Jones on March 27, 2012

Here’s one edit just after sunset…

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Home Sweet Home

Posted by Pete Jones on March 26, 2012

There is a specific view of my city that I have always been fascinated by. I fell in love with that certain vantage point on the city at least a decade before I even knew that I wanted to take photographs myself.

It’s been a very long time (almost 2 years) since I decided to try and gain rooftop access to my favorite vantage point of Vancouver City. I moved myself within a 2 block radius of the area that I wanted to shoot from in order to canvas the streets, coffee shops and buildings hoping to find someone to get me rooftop! I had it all finally figured out in the winter of 2010 once I’d finally found out that you could simply rent a room at the top of the Holiday Inn near Broadway & Cambie – that’s where the other handful of pros had done it from! So I rushed up there only to realize that they were gutting and renovating the top 4 floors. The elevator buttons had signs on them indicating that there was construction in progress and not to go to those floors, but all I had to do was simply lift the sign and press the button! BINGO! I went up top and convinced the construction workers to pretend that they hadn’t seen me. I made my way to the suite with the pristine view of the city, only to see two massive construction cranes blocking the view from a new highrise that was being built directly behind the Holiday Inn!! Not only was the view ruined by the cranes, but now the view was about to be permanently blocked (probably why the hotel was renovating – they had to maintain some value to those rooms once the incredible view was literally stonewalled).

I had basically given up hope and after superintendent after superintendent had denied me from the roofs of the surrounding buildings, my only hope was to post my advertisements at the entrance to the buildings in hopes of being able to convince a penthouse owner of letting me up to their house (in exchange for a print of course). It was a hopeless task, but I became increasingly creative and resourceful with my pursuit. In the end, my persistence may have played a role, but none of my efforts made any real difference and it all boiled down to a random act of kindness! I ended up gaining rooftop access to the new building that is now blocking the view from the Holiday Inn. Not only did I gain access the other day, but rumor has it I’ll be able to gain access again!! Very few people have had the opportunity to make this shot happen and I’m very very grateful to Chris Collacott (the undisputed champion of this image) for finally making this dream of mine come to fruition: http://www.aVision.ca His images have unparalleled resolution and he’s clearly mastered the technique. Thank you Chris!

I managed to get 12-image panoramas that are still in the very early stages of editing, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. After having shot primarily models for the past year, I ended up on the roof a little out-of-practice and you only have about 5 minutes of that perfectly ‘sweet light’ before the perfect image eludes you. My final images aren’t complete, but I’ve posted a portion of the pre-sunset panorama and some other images I took last night down in the Olympic Village. Spring is here and I can’t wait to get back to my roots of city/landscape photography in this beautiful city!

I think I might have sorted out about 25% of the problems I’m having with this image (there’s hella light pollution to the right of the stadium and it’s creating plenty of noise and chromatic aberrations =( – I’ve just cropped it for the sake of this example…

Approximately 2/3 of the final field of view (my final image will be shown with the sun much lower in the sky and the city lights reflecting off the water)

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The full view:
My final image will display this same scene with the sun much lower in the sky and the city lights reflecting off the water

The very definition of ‘beautiful’ #2

Posted by Pete Jones on March 26, 2012

Had another quick shoot with Demi – I always get killer images with her!

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The very definition of ‘beautiful’

Posted by Pete Jones on March 1, 2012

Nothing like some new light modifiers and some beautiful new models to boost my portfolio…

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My Reputation Precedes Me

Posted by Pete Jones on January 26, 2012

Hey everybody! Just another quick update before I do a huge model shoot-out this weekend with my trusty MUA Cydney Aimee! (http://www.facebook.com/VancouverMakeupDesign) Her and I had the pleasure of working with Peenkay a couple of weeks ago and I’m STILL editing from that weekend! Working with Peenkay was a great opportunity for me, as I don’t think I’ve worked with a more talented, experienced and diverse model before (not that any of my photos adequately demonstrate that). Peenkay has done numerous magazine covers & spreads (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=167139413313350&set=a.154200411273917.37360.109111699116122&type=3&theater) and has worked with some VERY talented photogs – I was honored to be chosen by her for a shoot! (see our results below)

So, this ‘reputation thing’ started to happen just before New Years this year… people in this city (and next door in Calgary) actually know my work and know who I am. It was a bit weird the first few times it happened (just the way it happened), but it’s gotten to the point now where I’ve had a few people even walk right up to me and recognize me from Facebook (and trust me – I hide photos of myself up there, so they must be paying attention lol). The coolest part about all this is that the editor of Assignment Fashion (http://www.assignmentfashion.com) wants to pitch me to the local Model agencies (John Cassablanca’s, Numa Models, Liz Bell Agency and more) as an agency rep’d photographer!

http://www.facebook.com/VancityPhotos

Did you miss me??

Posted by Pete Jones on January 21, 2012

It’s been a while since I’ve posted… I’ve basically had my head buried in Photoshop this entire time! I’ve been shooting like mad with my new lighting and backdrop equipment and now the whole thing is paying for itself! Heck, I’ve even been scouted by the editor for “Assignment Fashion” and am going to be put forward as an agency photog for John Cassablanca’s, Numa Models, Lizbell Agency and a few more! I’ve never wanted something so badly that I can literally taste it!

Thank you for all your support. I promise to keep it fresh and I promise to keep it coming. Don’t think that all I shoot is ‘sexy’ and ‘scandalous’, because I’m far more diverse than that. I’ve only shot about a dozen girls in my life… My true passion is nature and wildlife photography, but I intend to explore as many aspects of photography as I can! Thanks again everyone – I really appreciate your likes, comments, and support! ♥ Pete!

http://www.facebook.com/VancityPhotos

Bringing My Different Photography Styles Together in 2012!

Posted by Pete Jones on January 6, 2012

I’ve been on a modeling rampage lately and since I’m no longer mobile, it seems that my wildlife and landscape photography have really suffered lately! I’m starting to refocus my energy on my Photoshop skills, so that I can create more powerful imagery. I really want to be able to incorporate some of my favorite landscape and cityscape photos into my modeling pursuits. I’ve been using Photoshop professionally since 1996, but I have to admit… I’m extremely rusty in certain departments! I’m determined to sharpen my skills and I hope that you enjoy the variety of images I will be creating in 2012! Here’s my very first (click on it for a larger size)….

http://www.facebook.com/VancityPhotos

Brittany Clyde

Posted by Pete Jones on December 18, 2011

Had the absolute pleasure of shooting with Brittany today. “WOW!” is all I can say. We just dragged her couch out of the living room and shot against her wall! Pretty incredible results though! We hired Cydney (http://www.wix.com/cydmakeup20/cvmartistry#!) to do makeup and hair and as always, her work was nothing short of spectacular! Check it out…

http://www.facebook.com/VancityPhotos

Kristen Wynnyk

Posted by Pete Jones on December 9, 2011

Well, I’m not entirely sure how to explain this photo shoot… “it looks like it’s going fast even though it’s standing still”, (something a good friend once said about the cars I’ve owned). This is probably the ‘raciest’ shoot I’ve ever done, but my intention is to make these kind of provocative images without making them distasteful (Id’ really appreciate anyone’s feedback on this). You’re going to be seeing more of these types of images from me in 2012 – I’m getting a lot more referrals and requests to do paid shoots like this. Check out the photos!

http://www.facebook.com/VanCityPhotos

Stanley Park in Autumn 2011

Posted by Pete Jones on November 26, 2011

Stanley Park is an evergreen oasis of 400 hectares. Its natural west coast atmosphere offers a back drop of majestic cedar, hemlock and fir trees! The park embraces my photography subjects and transports them to an environment rich in tranquility and color in the fall…