Christmas in the Valley 2011

Experimenting with Chroma Key

I'd like to thank the incredibly talented students of the West Carleton School of Performing Arts who took time out of their busy weekends to allow me to photograph them. 

                                                                               These are the first photos I've taken on a chroma key background and, thanks to the wizardry of PhotoShop, I've been able to transport them to some magical places.

 

I love shooting in black and white but it's also a lot of fun mixing in colour as can be seen in this example. In this example I converted the background to black and white then added the second layer with the model in colour for an interesting effect.

In the photo below I tried to combine the peaceful nature of the model with a bright and colourful background for an interesting effect.

It was a lot of fun finding different backgrounds to put my subjects in. A butterfly in a field of flowers seemed like a perfect fit for the model at right while the beautiful young lady in the picture below seemed to naturally fit into these calming scenes - both natural and man made.

Thanks again WCSOPA for allowing me this wonderful opportunity!

Photo Shoot Out at the OK Corral

Many thanks to these young amateur models who took a trip back in time with me this past weekend. A trip back to the Old West.... the Wild Wild West.... for the Photo Shoot Out at the OK Coral!

No one was gonna rob the bank as long as these pistol packin' gals were in town and you can be sure that things will never be the same down at the old hotel.

Once the town was secured these gals quickly changed from gun slingers to dance hall girls who quickly brought this deserted old ghost town back to life. Yippee I Ay!

Beautiful Constance Bay

Constance Bay is a beautiful waterfront community located on the Ottawa River about 40 kilometers up stream from Canada's capital.  It's basically a large sand dune extending out into the Ottawa River. It's been my home for nearly 30 years.  This is an arial photograph that was taken in 1997 with an early model Sony digital camera.

 

 

This early morning photograph captures one of the beautiful sunrises that we frequently witness over Constance Bay. This one was taken in October 2011 using a Nikon D7000.

For more pictures and the history of Constance Bay check out my website:

http://www.mikedemers.ca/sandhill/sandhill.htm

If a beautiful sunrise isn't enough to convince you that Constance Bay is one of the most beautiful places on the planet - how about this twin rainbow. I was fortunate to capture this after an unusually heavy rainfall in late July.

Little Diva's

One of the many Summer Camps at the WCSOPA Dance Studio provided an opportunity for me to photograph some of the little "Diva's" that were in attendance. 

I've spent the last seven years doing theatrical photography. This shoot was a whole new experience.

These little ladies were awesome to work with as they seemed to really get a kick out of posing while some even took on the role of super model.

I'm still working on technique but, as you can tell, black and white is definitely my favourite format. 

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The colour in the original photos somehow seems to detract from the final product. 

The shoot was a blast and I can't wait for another opportunity.