2010, Sponsor Profiles

Learning for the Learned – from Pearson

Posted by on October 14, 2010 at 11:00 am.

Like last year, our good friends at Pearson Technology Group (follow them on Twitter @ptgcanada) have once again shipped us a box of photo books for our winners. For those who don’t know, Pearson is the mothership that drives well known educational book series like the Sams (Teach Yourself) and QUE to name a couple. But what many people don’t know is that they also have a huge lineup of books and other educational materials for creative professionals, photographers included.

The books will be handed out to the winners at Raw Talent 2010. But even if you don’t win one you should take the time to check them out – they are pretty damn good reading:

From Still to Motion: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Video with Your DSLR

by James Ball, Robbie Carman, Matt Gottshalk and Richard Harrington

With the arrival of high-definition video-enabled DSLR cameras, photographers are faced with an opportunity for creativity and a competitive edge in their field unlike anything they’ve experienced before. Add to that the expanding demands from a video-hungry audience and it’s no longer a matter of if you are going to add video to your repertoire of skills, it’s when.

Here to guide you in a thorough exploration of the video-making process — from preproduction to post — and to ease your transition from still to motion are four veterans who speak the language of both photography and video fluently. With their clear, instructive approach, they quickly get you up to speed on everything from picking your gear, to properly lighting for motion, to using professional-level audio, color correction, and editing techniques, to media management and outputting, and much more. Here are just a few highlights from this richly illustrated, completely interactive book and DVD:

  • Explores the entire spectrum of video for DSLR camera owners, with recommendations on gear, planning, lighting, lenses, audio, editing, color correcting, exporting, media management, and more.
  • Covers a wide variety of shooting styles, including indoor, outdoor, studio, portrait, event, and available light.
  • Addresses technical challenges associated with DSLR video, such as camera movement, multiple camera coverage, low-light videography, and synchronized sound.
  • Explores additional creative techniques such as stop motion and timelapse photography in depth.
  • Includes a real-world example of a music video and promo package throughout the book to demonstrate concepts in action, with additional profiles of photography experts in nature, sports, commercial, and weddings and events.

The accompanying DVD contains over 6 hours of video training that delves deeper into each topic, as well as high-definition footage, hands-on project  files, and templates to experiment with and follow along.

Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

by David duChemin

What if your image could only communicate one thing: one major idea, overarching theme, or driving emotion? If you identified this, you’d discover your vision for that image—the internal, invisible guiding principle that directs both how you capture the image and how you develop it in the digital darkroom.

Without vision, you likely find yourself flailing both behind the camera and in front of the computer—indiscriminately shooting and arbitrarily moving sliders in hopes of stumbling upon something great every once in a while. With vision, you bring direction and intention to both the creation and development of all your images.

Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is about identifying your vision and using Lightroom’s Develop module to give voice—that outward expression—to your vision. Photographer David duChemin begins with the fundamentals of a vision-driven workflow, where he discusses everything from vision and style, to the importance of mood and color, to the crucial role of histograms and of getting the best possible digital negative to work with. After demonstrating how the Develop module’s tools affect the aesthetics of your image, duChemin then offers a straightforward approach to developing your images in accordance with your own personal vision: identify your intention, minimize the distractions, maximize the mood, and draw the viewer’s eye—all while leaving room for play and serendipity. Finally, duChemin applies this approach to 20 of his photographs as he takes you into his own digital darkroom and, beginning with the original RAW file, works step by step through the development of the final image.

Visual Poetry: A Creative Guide for Making Engaging Digital Photographs

by Chris Orwig

A great photograph has the potential to transcend verbal and written language. But how do you create these photographs? It’s not the how that’s important, but the who and the what. Who you are as a person has a direct impact on what you capture as a photographer.

Whether you are an amateur or professional, architect or acupuncturist, physician or photographer, this guide provides inspiration, simple techniques, and assignments to boost your creative process and improve your digital images using natural light without additional gear.

Chris Orwig’s insights—to reduce and simplify, participate rather than critique, and capture a story—have made him an immensely popular workshop speaker and faculty member at the prestigious Brooks Institute. His engaging stories presented as lessons follow his classroom approach and highlight what students say is his contagious passion for life.

Captured by the Light: The Essential Guide to Creating Extraordinary Wedding Photography

by David Ziser

IMAGINE THE ADVANTAGE YOU’D HAVE IF ONE OF THE WORLD’S TOP WEDDING SHOOTERS SHARED HIS SECRETS WITH YOU

World-renowned wedding photographer, and one of the most widely acclaimed instructors in the industry today, David Ziser brings his no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point teaching style to a book that totally rewrites the rules for how wedding photography is taught.

This groundbreaking new book is the first of its kind to focus on the exact areas that wedding photographers have been begging a top pro like David to cover, including how to create professional quality light and beautiful images in every situation, how to compose wedding images that sell, and how to create amazing images in the limited time and at the fast pace of a wedding.

But David doesn’t just stop there. He covers every aspect of what today’s brides and wedding couples want from a wedding photographer, including poses that work every time and can’t-miss lighting setups you can use again and again, and everything is laid out in a brilliant step-by-step method that makes learning these techniques so easy, you’ll be able to pull off these same looks yourself (without spending thousands on expensive equipment). Plus, the book is packed with David’s tricks of the trade that he’s picked up in a career shooting all over the world.

The Photoshop CS3/CS4 Wow! Book

by Linnea Dayton and Cristen Gillespie

Ever since Photoshop version 2.5, The Photoshop Wow! Book has enlightened and inspired graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers around the globe. This newest edition delivers the familiar award-winning mix of explanations and step-by-step tutorials for creating both commercial and fine-art images, with a DVD-ROM full of tutorial files and other goodies. Tips and beautiful galleries distinguish this book as the most inspiring Photoshop resource around. Designed for easy reference, The Photoshop CS3/CS4 Wow! Book includes short features in which professional photographers and designers let you in on their creative secrets for quick solutions. You’ll learn the most innovative techniques for creating and enhancing images, graphics, and type.

  • Use these techniques with Photoshop CS3 and CS4; most fundamental techniques also work with Photoshop CS5
  • Use the new and improved features in Photoshop CS3 and CS4, including Smart Filters, the Quick Selection tool, the new Black & White and Vibrance adjustments, the Refine Edge command, the Clone Source panel, the Adjustments and Masks panels, and video, animation, 3D, and Analysis features in Photoshop Extended, as well as improvements to Bridge and Camera Raw
  • Build your skill with familiar Photoshop features such as blend modes, Adjustment layers, channels, filters, Actions, and Layer Styles
  • Focus attention on the subject of a photo, retouch a portrait, tint an image, or convert a color image to black-and-white
  • Bring out your inner artist with Photoshop’s sophisticated brushes and vector-drawing tools
  • Create dazzling special effects for type and graphics
  • Keep your creations organized with layers, groups, Smart Objects, and layer comps

The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes

by Joe McNally

After spending more than thirty years behind the lens—working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated—Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it…using small hot shoe flashes.

In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process—often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating—to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he’s photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book

by Adobe Creative Team

Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe Photoshop CS5 choose Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book from the Adobe Creative Team at Adobe Press. The 14 project-based lessons in this book show readers step-by-step the key techniques for working in Photoshop CS5.

In addition to learning the key elements of the Photoshop interface, this completely revised CS5 edition shows readers how to edit images with precise selection control, correct a wide range of lens-based errors, interactively transform their images with the new Puppet Warp tool, and easily remove or replace image elements with the new Content-Aware Fill mode. The book also covers new powerful painting effects to artistically enhance images and shows how to combine multiple exposures into a single HDR image.

For the first time, the companion DVD will feature, in addition to the lesson files, 2 hours of free video tutorials from Learn Adobe Photoshop CS5 by Video by Adobe Press and video2brain, a great added value!

“The Classroom in a Book series is by far the best training material on the market. Everything you need to master the software is included: clear explanations of each lesson, step-by-step instructions, and the project files for the students.” —Barbara Binder, Adobe Certified Instructor, Rocky Mountain Training

Classroom in a Book®, the best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, helps you learn the features of Adobe software quickly and easily. Classroom in a Book offers what no other book or training program does—an official training series from Adobe Systems Incorporated, developed with the support of Adobe product experts.

Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS5

by Jeff Schewe and Bruce Fraser

Today serious photographers shoot raw images only. Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop was the first book devoted exclusively to the topic, explaining the advantages and challenges of using Adobe Camera Raw to produce magnificent images. Real World Camera Raw in Adobe Photoshop CS5 keeps pace with new directions in digital photography and raw image processing. Jeff Schewe, a contributor to the development of Adobe Camera Raw from its beginnings, updates Bruce Fraser’s bestselling book with insider knowledge of how new features let photographers optimize and convert images for the best results in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Hands-on techniques show readers how to expose and shoot for raw image capture as well as use features such as the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated Filter and the new and improved Noise Reduction, Perspective Crop, and automatic Lens Correction. Readers will also learn how to use the latest version of Adobe Bridge to manage the thousands of images–and gigabytes of data–that result from shooting in raw.

This edition:

  • Builds on the latest version of Camera Raw to extend control over your digital camera’s raw file format to produce the best quality images.
  • Shows you how to take advantage of new features in Adobe Bridge CS5 to select, sort, annotate, and edit thousands of raw images quickly and efficiently.
  • Guides you in developing an efficient raw workflow incorporating Adobe Photoshop CS5, Camera Raw 6, and Bridge CS5

About Pearson

Pearson Technology Group Canada (PTGC) is the premier distributor of books and training materials for today’s business and IT professional. PTGC represents the publishing industry’s leading imprints for authoritative and cutting edge technical and professional information. Our imprints include: Financial Times Press,Addison-Wesley, Prentice-Hall Professional, Cisco Press, Peachpit Press, Que Publishing, and Sams Publishing. In addition PTGC has corporate alliances with Cisco Systems, Adobe Systems, Sun, and IBM.

PTGC is a division of Pearson Education Canada, one of the global education publishing business of Pearson plc., the international media group.

You can get more information about Pearson and their extensive lineup of educational products (including Morten’s two books) check out their Canadian website. You can also follow them on Twitter @ptgcanada for the latest updates. Remember to check out their huge selection of books, DVDs and other learning materials for creative professionals by visiting PeachPit.com.

We are thrilled to have Pearson on board as a sponsor and hugely jealous of the winners who get to walk away with these fantastic books.

2010, Sponsor Profiles

Great Photos Deserve Canvas

Posted by on October 4, 2010 at 9:00 am.

Artwork by Suzanne Kay

When it comes to photography, there is something to be said for size. Seeing a great photo enlarged to fill your field of vision does something to your perception of the image portrayed. There are few mediums more fit for displaying photographic art than real art canvas. The texture created by tightly woven fibres melding with pigments gives stills an incomparable organic undertone.

Opus Art & Design Media – the newest location for Opus Framing and Art Supplies in Downtown Vancouver – takes canvas printing very seriously. The store caters to professional artists and galleries in addition to amateurs and enthusiasts and prides itself in offering only the best gallery quality Giclée prints. For the second year in a row, Opus is providing 24” x 36” stretched canvas prints for our top winners because great photos deserve canvas. Here is Suzanne Kay on why the best art supply store in Vancouver is such a strong supporter of 12×12.

We introduced you to Opus Framing & Art Supplies and their canvas printing services in advance of Raw Talent 2009 but Opus doesn’t just offer printing, canvas stretching and framing services. They also sell a variety of coatings to further enhance the appearance of Giclée prints. Canvas printers are in reality extremely high quality inkjet printers that can render digital images onto all sorts of media including archival canvas. The nature of inkjet printing ink is that it comes out as a matte coat. As such, dark colours and blacks are not as dark as they can be because matte surfaces tend to reflect a certain amount of light. Depending on the original medium the image was created in and the intended effect, this can be both a plus and a minus. In many cases the matte effect is what is desired. But in others, like that of photos, the artist may want a different finish, either glossy or even with some texture to it. The same goes for painters who are printing reproductions and mixed-media artists who use the Giclée prints as a base for further artistic expression.

Different Giclée Print Coatings

For these artists, the Giclée print is but the first step of the process. Upon receiving a stretched canvas print, they will go on to apply one of the many available post-print coatings that provide either a base for further work or a permanent final coat for the image that brings out the colours or adds texture where none was before. These coats, applied by hand with a brush, range from basic matte, semi-gloss or high-gloss varnishes, to gel coats that are either self-levelling or moldable. The coats are applied by the print owner and opens a world of new posibilities for its final appearance. For photos, a simple semi-gloss or high-gloss varnish or a self-levelling gel will bring out the depth of dark tones and give the print a shine not unlike that of an acrylic painting. For painters and photographers with an artistic flare, the acrylic gel coats and adhesive coats open the door for adding brush stroke effects and even new coats of paint or other artistic media.

Varnish and Top-Coat Options for Digital Prints

Golden Archival Spray Varnish: This comes in gloss, satin and matter finishes and has the addition of a UV block. Apply 6 to 8 thin coats, allowing each layer to dry for at least ½ hour in between. This creates a very smooth, even surface which will protect your piece from scratching and environmental dirt and acidity. This varnish is a final coat and should not be painted on top of. Easy to use, but takes several hours to complete.

Liquitex Gloss Varnish and Medium: This is a brush-on varnish that goes on easily to provide a gloss finish to your piece. Brush on the first layer with a soft synthetic brush and let it completely dry. Brush on the second layer in the opposite direction (i.e. if you first coat went on across the width of the piece, the second coat should be brushed on the length of the piece). More layers can be applied if desired, but isn’t necessary. You can paint on top of this medium with excellent adhesion. Easy to use and doesn’t take too long.

Golden Digital Topcoat: This is a brush-on topcoat that comes in Gloss and Semi- gloss and has the addition of a UV block. Brush on the first layer with a soft synthetic brush and let it completely dry. Brush on the second layer in the opposite direction. More layers can be applied if desired, but isn’t necessary. You can paint on top of this medium with excellent adhesion. Easy to use and doesn’t take too long.

Golden Self-levelling Gel: This is a medium that can be poured on, or brushed on your piece. It is flexible, has a high shine, is very smooth and glass-like with a similar appearance to a resin coat. You can paint on top of this medium with excellent adhesion. Easy to use and doesn’t take too long. Ideally, a final varnish coat should be used to increase longevity of the piece, but is not completely necessary.

Acrylic Gel (available in various thicknesses, and several brands): This is a great application to add surface texture to your piece. You can apply a gel in “creative” brush strokes to accent texture (i.e. brush strokes of a painting) or emphasize movement (i.e. adding texture to crashing waves). You can paint on top of this medium with excellent adhesion. Easy to use and doesn’t take too long. Ideally, a final varnish coat should be used to increase longevity of the piece, but is not completely necessary.

Key Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing a Topcoat for Your Digital Print:

  • Gloss will deepen and slightly darken your colours
  • Matte will slightly lighten and flatten your colours
  • Brush-on matte topcoats can look streaky and semi-opaque on dark areas
  • If you are planning to stretch your canvas print yourself, you should topcoat the piece first as it will reduce the possibility of scratching and abrading the print

All of these varnishes, topcoats and gels can be purchased from any Opus store. Please check www.OpusFraming.com for more product information and pricing.

2010, Sponsor Profiles

Keeping Film (and 12×12) Alive

Posted by on September 23, 2010 at 9:29 am.

There was never a question that film would be the medium used for the 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon. It seemed a sound idea at the time but we quickly discovered that film (and in particular, 12 exposure film) for all its amazing qualities, is a dying technology. A call to Kodak Canada all but confirmed it, especially when the person on the other end of the line started referring to a “Death List” for the different types of film the company produces. So what we thought would be one of the simplest tasks – procuring film and development – started looking like one of the trickiest. As those of you who have followed this story from the beginning know, actually getting a hold of 60 rolls of 12 exposure film for the event turned into a nail biter and we were only able to get the last 20 rolls for 2009 the day before the marathon. Our rescuer? London Drugs. Not only that, they also came forward to cover the cost of all our development, scanning, printing, and even provided enlargements for our theme winners!

For 2010, London Drugs stepped up well in advance of the event and offered not only to take on development and printing as the year before, but also to provide all the film for the event. This kind of support is invaluable for an event like ours. So why would a big company like that want to support such a project? Well, it may surprise you to learn that its President and CEO Wynne Powell is an avid photographer and that many of the photos you see blown up in huge prints around the stores are actually taken by him. London Drugs still does full in-house film development and printing, not only of 35mm film but also 110, APS and more. They even print from 120 film, the development of which has to be sent out due to its delicate nature and complicated preparation process. Judging by the overall trend towards digital as the only photographic medium, it seems like London Drugs’ promise of sticking with film for the long haul might very well mean it could become one of the rare places where you can get your rolls developed in the future.

All the rolls for the 2010 12×12 have been shot, developed, scanned, printed and are as you read this, being adjudicated by our panel of judges which includes ET Canada’s Erin Cebula, VPW Director Marc Koegel, the dynamic duo of Adam & Kev from Adam & Kev Photography, and 12×12 Committee member John Biehler. Come October 16th, you will see the 700+ prints on the walls of Vancouver Photo Workshops – for one night only. It will be a gala event you will not want to miss.

News, Sponsor Profiles

Six Cent Presses Our Buttons

Posted by on September 10, 2010 at 12:07 pm.

No event is complete without some cool custom swag, so during the planning stages of the 2010 event we sat down to discuss what kind of commemorative token we could hand out to all the participants. Personally I was all about the custom t-shirt, but they can be both expensive and hard to manage because people come in all shapes and sizes and genders. Then someone had a great idea: What about some cool buttons? The idea stuck and soon we were on the lookout for someone who could turn out a couple of hundred buttons for us within our extremely limited budget. Not an easy task. At least until…

Six Cent Press Presses Play

We’d heard good things about this local Vancouver company called Six Cent Press so we decided to send them an email and see if they wanted to play with us. And boy did they ever. Not only were they willing to take on our crazy button ideas, but they were doing it for free! We would provide the designs and they would run four hundred buttons in two different styles for all of our participants and others interested. And all the buttons would be mounted on custom cards, making them a collectors’ item. Very cool.

We got to work and soon had two different button designs: The 12×12 logo you see above and a secret custom button that will be unveiled at the event on September 12th, 2010.  The designs were packaged and sent through the ether to Levi and his team, and a few short days later we got a call that the buttons were ready to go.

Levi from Six Cent Press

Meet Levi – The Button Master

Entering the doors of Six Cent Press on the east side of Vancouver we were met by Levi Doerntlein – artist and button maker extraordinaire. He told us Six Cent Press started off as a side project while he was working as an artist and quickly grew to a big production facility. Their main clientele these days is big businesses looking for a cheap and easy way of doing branding and they now turn out millions of custom pin back buttons each year. And because business is booming and they are such cool people, they take on not-for-profit projects like ours just for fun.

Buttons for One and All

Thanks to Levi and Six Cent Press we have a box full of buttons itching to get pinned on camera bags, jackets and whatever else you would pin a pin onto. Each of our 60 marathoners will get one of each of the custom buttons to wear so when you stroll through downtown Vancouver Sunday September 12th and you see someone clutching a camera and wearing a 12×12 pin, you know what they are doing.

2010, Sponsor Profiles, Sponsors

A Gorilla-pod of a Giveaway!

Posted by on August 31, 2010 at 9:53 am.

A camera is only as good as its support. Well, that won’t be a problem for the two main prize winners in this year’s 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon. Our most recent sponsor Joby (creators of the amazing Gorillapods) is handing over two of their covetted Gorillapod Focus with the new and very cool Ballhead Xes attached for our two main prize winners so they can safely place their cameras pretty much anywhere. But that’s not all! In addition, they are giving us a set of Gorillapod Originals to give away! So even if you’re not part of this year’s 12×12 you can still walk away with a Gorillapod of your very own. Oh yeah!

How to Enter

To qualify for the Gorillapod Original giveaway, all you have to do is follow @jobyinc and @12x12yvr on Twitter and Tweet the message below or another message that contains the @jobyinc and @12x12yvr handles and mentions Gorillapod.

No photog should be without a Gorillapod. Follow @JobyInc + @12x12yvr & RT this for ur chance to win one! http://ow.ly/2xuj4

Not-so-Small Print: Tweeting the message above and entering the contest does not guarantee a prize. Winners will be selected during the 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon on September 12, 2010 by a random draw from the pool of tweets posted. You must have an active Twitter account to be eligible. Winners must be able to come to the event location (Blenz Coffee in Yaletown: 338 Helmcken St, Vancouver) on September 12, 2010 between 8am and 8pm to pick up the prize. Prizes not picked up on event day will go back in the pool for a secondary draw.

Morten was lucky enough to get his hands and cameras on every Gorillapod available last year during his 6 week roundtrip around the USA and tested them extensively. You can read his review of the full line over at Design is Philosophy. Below is an ammended version focussing on the Focus, Ballhead X and Original for your reading pleasure.

Gorillapod Focus + Ballhead X = All the support you’ll ever need (within reason)

While the Focus distracted security, the SLR-Zoom made its move...

At the top of the foodchain in the Gorillapod family you find the Gorillapod Focus, a massive steel contraption that looks more like something dropped from an alien spaceship than a camera support. In addition to being a sturdy addition to your camera kit, it offers some excellent entertainment, especially while passing through airport security. I had it stuffed in my backpack when I went to the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. and they forced me to take it out of my bag and demonstrate it to the guard before he would let me in. Once he saw what my three-legged friend was all about his first question was: “Where can I get one?”

The Focus is a solid piece of engineering, significantly larger in every way than the other plastic-based pods, and also weighs more than the other pods because all the joints are metal. In return, you get support for cameras up to 5kg which means it can handle pro-level DSLRs with massive lenses and even standard video fluid head and a prosumer video camera without any problems. That, in turn means you can now hang your expensive photo or video gear from a fence, put it up on tree branches, strap it to your car, or hang it from lamp posts without worrying that it’ll fall down. Any photographer will tell you that is pretty damn awesome.

A new and very welcome addition to the Focus is the new Ballhead X – a monster version of the original ballhead that ships with the SLR-Zoom. The Ballhead X features separate tightening bolts for the X and Y axis providing complete control of both where the camera is pointing and how tilted it is. The base plate also complies with the Arca-Swiss system so if you have other Arca-Swiss clamps you won’t have to change the mount around. This new ballhead is a welcome addition to the Focus. I pilfered the ballhead off the SLR-Zoom and matched it with my Focus but I found it to be a bit wonky both because one knob controlled both the X and Y axis and also because it was clearly never meant to handle something as heavy as my camera. The Ballhead X on the other hand is rated for up to 5 kg just like the Focus so it looks like what I asked for in my original review was made to order.

Gorillapod Original: A Great Companion for Your Point-and-Shoot

The Gorillapod Original is tiny – about the length of my open hand – and extremely flexible so it’s easy for storage. This makes sense seeing as it’s designed to hold small point-and-shoot cameras. It has an articulating joint above the legs which enables you to tilt the camera  in relation to the base of the pod when you start mounting it in weird spots that are not level. The Gorillapod takes up to 325g which means it can handle most point-and-shoot cameras as long as they don’t have massive protruding lenses. Right now ours is holding a Nikon Coolpix P6000 without any problems and that’s a fairly large point-and-shoot so smaller cameras should be no problem at all.

Because it is so tiny and versitile I’d say it is probably the best companion to a point-and-shoot I can think of. With the Gorillapod in hand you can easily improve on the dreaded MySpace pose and also place or hang your camera in places you never could before, making for some great angles and shots.

Oh and I almost forgot, the Gorillapod Original comes in 7 colours (grey, yellow, red, green, blue, pink and orange) just for the hell of it. Mine is grey which I have to admit I’m perfectly fine with. We’ll tell you what colours we’ll be giving away once we get the pods in house.

2010, Sponsor Profiles

Exposure at PhotoHaus Gallery

Posted by on August 26, 2010 at 9:52 pm.

If you attended Raw Talent: The 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon Exhibit, you know that the awesome folks at the Vancouver Photo Workshops sponsored us with their amazing space to showcase all of the photographs taken during the inaugural 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon. You may have met Marc Koegel as you were wandering through the grand halls of the VPW but in case you didn’t, here he is. We are so very proud to introduce you all to the director of the Vancouver Photo Workshops, who has been inspired to create a program that all of you will want to read about after you watch the video!

You know the Not-Enough-Experience Conundrum? When you apply for a job you know you can do better than anyone else but don’t have a chance of getting because you don’t have years of experience under your belt? It is such a universal stumbling block that it affects pretty much any career field you can think of, including that of photography. Everyone needs a start somewhere and Marc Koegel has come up with a program that offers up-and-coming photographers an invaluable stepping stone into their careers.

As the director of and an instructor at the Vancouver Photo Workshops, Marc is surrounded by amazing talent every day and it often reminds him of his own start in the business. His first works were displayed on the walls of Exposure Gallery and he had such great success that its curator Ian McGuffie went on to showcase his photography in more than 20 other shows in the years to follow. A great friendship was made and a career jump started.

With Exposure Gallery’s doors now closed, the cogs in Marc’s artistic brain began to turn. Since moving the Vancouver Photo Workshops to its West 7th location, he’s enjoyed putting together several impromptu shows, including the largest one the venue has ever hosted, Raw Talent on January 16th, 2010. With nearly 700 photographs dotting the over 7,000 sq ft of space that is the VPW and over 300 art lovers visiting on opening night alone, the venue’s true potential became abundantly clear and PhotoHaus Gallery was born.

The only Vancouver gallery that will now exclusively showcase the medium of photography, PhotoHaus Gallery will not only exhibit single professional photographers but will also begin holding regular group shows for new artists beginning in September. So if you are ready for your first exhibit, you can pay a nominal fee to submit your photo(s) for consideration. That’s all that needs to be done. There is no membership fee, no prior experience is required, nor a CV. Your work will speak for you and if selected by the panel of judges, will hang proudly amongst the artwork of your peers to be exposed to the general public. And you will indeed be proud, with guest judges such as Texas’ Arthur Meyerson and New York’s Joe McNally in the mix!

Each exhibit will encompass a different idea so photographers from all walks of life will be challenged with such themes as the Holga Show, the Cheap Camera Show, the Digital Artistry Show, and of course, our favourite: Film.

PhotoHaus Gallery will also offer printing and frame rental services, which gives new artists a more affordable alternative when preparing for their exhibit. This, in addition to the premium custom lighting setup will ensure that your first showcase is as professional as any art gallery out there.

Want to know what lies in store for you? Come check out the 2nd annual 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon photo exhibit on Saturday October 16th, 2010. It’s free and will be held at PhotoHaus Gallery, which also serves as the Vancouver Photo Workshops at 14 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. Whether you are a true beginner, aspiring amateur or seasoned professional, the VPW’s intimate and focused seminars, workshops, and courses will help you achieve your vision. For details and start dates, click here.

2010, Sponsor Profiles, Sponsors

Latte Art with a bit ‘o’ Hop and a Lotta Heart

Posted by on August 17, 2010 at 3:22 pm.

Matthew Johnson & Julia Kuo, Blenz Yaletown

When we first set out to find our home base for the 12×12 last winter, we knew it had to be a central coffee shop that not only offered the refreshments necessary for a day-long event, but also had comfortable surroundings for our photographers to kick back and relax.

During one of the early committee meetings, we were down in Yaletown and decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood to see if there were any locations that would be up to the challenge of hosting our large group of artists. There were a couple that shook their heads at the prospect and we started to get a little worried when Blenz suddenly came into view. They had a spacious outdoor heated patio with lots of seating, and the interior was warm and cozy with wonderful ambiance. With fingers crossed, we approached and asked to speak to its manager who turned out to be Matthew Johnson, just about the nicest fella, as was Blenz President George Moen, who phoned Morten personally to offer his support. They not only welcomed us into their space, but did so without batting an eyelash and for that we are so very thankful.

And we couldn’t have picked a more ideal coffee chain. With a mutual love for the arts, they were the perfect venue to collaborate with. Not only did we hold our inaugural marathon at Blenz Yaletown but our winners were also featured in the franchise-wide Blenz Digital Media Network for all its customers to enjoy. As a tribute to their generosity and for welcoming us back this year, here’s a bit of coffee art by Master Barista and Trainer Julia Kuo with shots of pouring and stencil latte art.

Thanks to George, all of our marathoners will receive a gift certificate on the day of the event so they can all enjoy a cuppa joe on him. Julia, you’re going to be one busy barista on September 12th!

Don’t forget to view the gallery at the bottom of this post for some of Julia’s fun works of coffee art.

Gear: Canon EOS 5D Mark-II, KinoFlo Kamio ring light, EF 24-105 F/4L IS USM, Sennheiser 112/G2 wireless kit + Audio-Technica shotgun.

Some helpful tips from Julia if you’re making your own cup of latte art:

  • It’s not necessary to press the espresso super tight, but you do need a certain amount of pressure to eliminate any voids in the coffee bed. Press too loosely and the water will go through the espresso cake really fast, leaving you with a very watery crema that lacks the rich caramel colour that is needed to reveal the latte art. On the other hand, pressing too tightly will impede the water from going through and you’ll end up with a bitter and burnt shot
  • When preparing the milk, gently let the steam wand touch the surface of the milk (called “kissing the milk”) and turn on the pressure to blow air into the milk. By this time you should hear the familiar “hisssssssss.” Since these are lattes and not cappuccinos, don’t steam that much foam; 2-4 secs will do. Foam can only be created before 100°F. Higher than 100°F and you’d basically just be heating up milk
  • After the foam is created, lower the steam wand further into milk and make the milk spin in a circle. This not only mixes the foam with the milk but also makes the bubbles smaller (called “micro-foam”)
  • When pouring the latte, try to grab the jug tightly but loosen your wrist. Without rushing it, gently wiggle in the milk. Remember that by the time you reveal your foam on the espresso crema, your jug mouth should be really close to the surface of coffee
News, Sponsor Profiles

Vancouver Photo Workshops welcomes Raw Talent

Posted by on January 12, 2010 at 8:18 pm.

After the photo marathon itself on Saturday December 12th Angela, Anny and I found ourselves on the SkyTrain on our way back home. In our bags were 60 rolls of film screaming to be developed and over 700 photos just waiting to be displayed proudly on a gallery wall. There was just one problem: We didn’t have a gallery to host the 12×12 showcase! We were all exhausted and I didn’t want to spoil the mood after a main event that went off without a hitch by reminding the girls that we needed to start looking for a space for our show. We actually thought we had one at one point. But due to miscommunications it turned out it had already been booked. And several of the other spaces suggested by our friends and accomplices were either already booked, too expensive or not built yet. We were getting dangerously close to the point where we would be royally screwed.

Then my phone beeped.

I pulled it out of my pocket and did what most people do these days: Read private emails in public. It was from a guy named Marc Koegel and the subject line read quite unambigously “I may have a venue for your Exhibition!” And reading through the email I realized that just as I was starting to worry, our spacial problems had been solved.

Vancouver Photo Workshops: Helping Photographers achieve their vision!

Walking through the small door and up two flights of stairs in a warehouse on 7th Avenue there is no indication that directly above you is a huge yet inviting space dedicated to photographic bliss known as Vancouver Photo Workshops. Past the entrance and to the left is an enormous studio space with huge silks hanging from the ceiling, comfy lounging areas, lighting equipment, backdrops, photo art and just about every tool you could possibly need to get that perfect shot caught on your favourite imaging media. And that’s just the first floor. Above is a second story of classrooms and a huge gallery. Just walking around the many rooms and spaces it’s clear that Koegel and his team not only love the art of photography itself but also understand that creativity is best nurtured in an environment filled with inspiration. The walls are adorned with the works of the staff as well as students, the industrial space is interspersed with calm and quiet alcoves, there is a dedicated makeup and changing room reminiscent of old time movies, a red sitting space for a relaxing snack and a conversation, in short it is the type of place you’d want to be if  you were a photographer.

And we’re getting the run of the place! Understanding our need for space and also wanting to give Vancouver photographers a place to showcase, enjoy and interact with photography Marc welcomed us with open arms (literally) and put his world into motion so that we could make Raw Talent all it could be. I’m not one to believe in fate and all that, but I believe this situation is the very definition of “serindipidy”.

About Vancouver Photo Workshops

Vancouver Photo WorkshopsVancouver Photo Workshops (VPW) was founded with the aim to help photographers achieve their vision and excellence in photography. VPW strives to serve and support the photographic community as it exists in Vancouver and beyond.

Whether you are a true beginner, aspiring amateur or seasoned professional, our intimate and focused courses and workshops are created with you in mind. We strive to provide unparalleled service and dedication to excellence. We are here to help you achieve your photographic vision!

VPW is comprised of a carefully selected team of industry professionals who pride themselves in their ability to inspire and share their unique vision and style.

Each instructor has the ability to show students both the technical, as well as, the creative aspect of photography. Our courses offer valuable insights into the essential theories of the art with a strong focus placed on hands-on learning in professional photographic environments.

Through strategic alliances with sponsors and industry partners, we can offer you a complete and professional learning experience unique to the West Coast.

Our seminars, workshops and courses are held in Vancouver largest photographic studio facility dedicated to photography. This 7000 sqft facility boasts multiple studio and shooting spaces, make-up and change rooms, a fully equipped kitchen and lounge, as well as over 2000 sqft of dedicated gallery and exhibition space. You will be trained using the latest technology (software and hardware) available on the market.

We are excited and humbly thankful for having Vancouver Photo Workshops host our exhibition and look forward to showcasing our marathoners’ photos in their great facilities. Be sure to visit their website and check out all the great classes, contests and other photo related activities they have on offer.

Sponsor Profiles

Vancouver Lookout provides high level exposure

Posted by on December 18, 2009 at 9:44 am.
12x12 Vancouver

Photo by John Biehler

It’s interesting how you can live in a city for years without actually knowing it all that well. This became apparent to me when I found myself on my way home from a meeting about the marathon and got a call from an unknown number. “Hi, this is Stacey from the Vancouver Lookout” a friendly voice said and I was stumped. Having just talked to several journalists my immediate assumption based on the name alone was that this must be another newspaper. Needless to say this was way off and what Stacey had to offer had nothing to do with print and everything to do with perspective.

A view of the world (or at least a small part of it)

If you don’t know already, the Vancovuer Lookout is the observation deck of the big tower on top of Harbour Centre in downtown Vancouver direcly below the famously revolving restaurant: A quick ride in a glass elevator leading to spectacular views of the city and what lies beyond. It’s an attracktion hordes of tourists take advantage of every day of the year but it is one most Vancouverites are unaware of. Just like many of the other tourist attacrtions throughout this and other metropols those with a permanent residence in the 604 region seem unwilling to play tourists in their own city. Which is too bad because gems like the Lookout are a real treat once you take the time to get up there.

High level exposure

Photo by Benjamin Luk

Photo by Benjamin Luk

So how does a lookout over the city relate to a photo contest you ask? Well, it turns out the Vancouver Lookout has a gallery space frequented by thousands of tourists and Vancouverites every month: A wide alcove along the core of the tower where artists and photographers display their work. And while the space isn’t big enough to house our entire Raw Talent exhibition, it has plenty of room to showcase the 12×12 winners. For a substantial ammount of time. You’d be hard pressed to get more high level exposure than that – both literally and figuratively.

In short, once the Raw Talent exhibit is over and the Olympics have passed through our beautiful town the winning photographs from 12×1209 will be displayed in the gallery space at the Vancouver Lookout for between 4 and 6 weeks (TBD) accompanied by photographer names and info. Thus our winning photos will get some truly international exposure before being handed over to the winners themselves.

The Vancouver Lookout also gave all the participants of the 12×12 Vancouver Photo Marathon unrestricted access to their facilities throughout the event to provide an alternate viewpoint of our fair city allowing amongst others committee members John Biehler and Benjamin Luk to take the awesome photos featured in this article.

About the Vancouver Lookout

vancouverlookoutSituated high above Vancouver, the Lookout is the perfect first stop for visitors and locals alike and provides a fascinating bird’s eye view of our City. Glass elevators whisk visitors 130 meters (430 feet) skyward from street level to the Observation Deck in a mere 40 seconds. Here you will enjoy a riveting and spectacular 360º view of the most beautiful city in the world. Admission includes The Armstrong Gallery, named after astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong who opened the Lookout in 1977, features exhibits by local artists. Rotated every month, the artwork is for sale and makes an excellent keepsake of Vancouver, while discovering Art in the Sky.

We are thrilled to have the Vancouver Lookout on board as one of our sponsors and look forward to displaying the winner photos in The Armstrong Gallery for the world to see. Be sure to check out their website and follow Vancouver Lookout on Twitter @VanLookout.

Sponsor Profiles

Opus brings photos to canvas

Posted by on December 11, 2009 at 10:24 pm.

OpusOn Thursday we landed a sponsorship deal with Opus Framing & Art Supplies (follow them on Twitter @OpusArtSupplies) that made us want to forfeit our titles and enter the contest ourselves: The four main winners will receive their winning photos blown up and printed on canvas! This is the kind of thing you normally only see in an art gallery and seriously, we are jealous.

I’ll let Nadine Nickull from Opus explain how this all came about:

Opus joins the 12×12 momentum

When 12×12 contacted Opus, we immediately got excited. What a great project. As art lovers and art makers, we appreciate any initiative that encourages art activity and reminds creators to use their eyes, skills and instinct. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

So it was easy to get involved. And even easier because as an art form, photography has been going through some amazing changes in recent years. Technology has adapted the way we all do things. Perhaps this is helping to blur some of the traditional lines which have distinguished artists from photographers. Yet both will tell you that a traditional C-print has a certain something that simply cannot be underestimated.

Whatever the case, we are finding that Opus is not just for artists any more, as many photographers are visiting us asking for all kinds of things we have never carried before. Of course this is very exciting for us. For example, did you know that we currently carry the most diverse selection of digital papers in Canada? And we’re darn proud of that!

We are also introducing a new service in the coming year at our downtown Vancouver store. We will soon print your digital images onto canvas. In a recent customer survey we did about considering this new service, we received some fabulous feedback. Our customers feel we have a history of facilitating their creative process and as a result, they trust us to be able to help them make the transition to printing their work digitally, even when they do not have the experience or knowledge. Wow. That’s the kind of praise that makes you feel very proud, and helps us to know we are on the right track with expanding into this brand new area of service.

So with that said, we want to congratulate 12×12 on this fun and inspiring event. And we hope that you will visit us at Opus to see how we can be a part of your creative process.

The Opus Story:

Opus storeWe began as a small picture frame manufacturer over thirty years ago, designing our own frames and stocking framing supplies for the professional art community. Many of the relationships we established early on have remained, as most of our long-term customers continue to shop with us to this day.

Through our beginnings, we realized that there was a need in the BC arts community for a comprehensive supplier of fine art materials. We now stock ready-made frames, chop frames and mats, student and professional art supplies, and a full range of unique arts, crafts and digital media materials which we continue to expand.

We currently operate an online store and mail order service plus six stores in BC — on Granville Island, North Vancouver, Downtown Vancouver, Langley, Kelowna and Victoria — so that we can serve customers across Western Canada and beyond.

opusBooksOur company philosophy is ‘small is beautiful’. We have worked hard to develop a community and culture where we can share ideas, develop solutions, and be innovative and passionate. We practice sustainable and earth-friendly options in our buying practices and our business dealings. We donate to our community and help our customers share their stories through our website and a monthly Visual Arts newsletter.

Many of our staff are also artists themselves and very knowledgeable about the products and services we provide. We believe we are our customers best resource when they are looking for creative solutions and materials.

Opus offers a wide range of framing and visual art related services from custom do-it-yourself framing, to classroom rental, to our community donations program, and much more. To find out what Opus can do for you visit their website, join their Facebook group or follow them on Twitter @OpusArtSupplies.

We are tremendously excited to have Opus on board as a sponsor and can’t wait to see the winning photos mounted and displayed the way photos should be viewed: In large format, on canvas.