The venerable Staircase Theatre on Dundas Street in Hamilton, Ontario.
My friends at the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton asked me to do some interior photos that could be printed 4 feet wide and 8 feet tall to decorate the back of the building. The back part of the building is where the actual theatre space is, so the windows were blacked out to keep the space dark. Unfortunately, that made the windows somewhat unattractive from the outside. The idea was that the images I created would give a hint at what was inside the building, while covering up the unsightly blacked-out windows.
It was fun to go into the Staircase to shoot the interior. The place has tons of character. Capturing that character and the elements that define it was a challenging and enjoyable experience. I wanted to find just the right angle on that black iron staircase that gives the theatre its name. After a few weeks of consideration, we finally selected three images from the day’s proofs, and sent them off to the sign shop. These big mounted posters went up on the windows a couple of weeks ago. Here’s what they look like installed.
Here are the images on their own.
If you live near or in Hamilton, do yourself a favor and go check out the Staircase. There’s a pleasant cafe, as well as lots of cool events happening there, including open mic shows, film festivals and improv.
Laura and I took down the Birth Your Dreams exhibition today. It was bitter sweet taking the photos off the wall. I really enjoyed seeing them displayed so beautifully, but we feel our job is done with that show now, so it also felt good. We had so many people stop by to enjoy the show, both good friends and strangers. Our comment book was overflowing with kind words. People were writing on the backs of pages, because they ran out of space! We were helped along by some excellent press, with the View Magazine cover and a very nice feature in the Hamilton Spectator.
So, thank you to everyone who came to see the show. We’ve got lots more planned. In fact, we’ve got three major shoots to do before the end of the month, adding to this series! I’ll post updates as I have them.
I had some good news today. I did a headshot session with Melody, who’s a friend of Christina. I shot Christina’s headshots about two weeks ago, and Christina came along with Melody to sit in on the shoot. Christina had some good news. Since she started handing her new headshots out at auditions and to agents, she’s already had five callbacks! It’s always gratifying to hear this type of success story first-hand. Christina’s got a great look, a positive attitude, and an eye-catching headshot. With those ingredients, I’m sure she’ll succeed. Here’s one of the headshots Christina selected from her shoot.
That brings me to my next topic. There are lots of people in Toronto who need great headshots, many of whom have made the trip to Hamilton to see me. But, crazy as it may seem, not all of them are willing to come here. So, in the spirit of Mohammed and his Mountain, I’m packing up my stuff and moving the studio to Toronto… for one day only! On September 14, I’ll be setting up shop at the amazing Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West at Gladstone.
I’ve rented the luxurious Tower Suite for the day, and hired award-winning makeup artist Sue Upton. All headshot packages will include hair and makeup. Yet, because I’ll be doing a number of sessions that day, the price is still going to be extremely reasonable. Read more about Toronto Headshots Day.
It’s funny. For the last few months, I’ve been thinking of times and dates in terms of pre- and post-Birth Your Dreams Exhibition Opening. The big night finally came on Friday, and it was time to see if all of our hard work would pay off. We were so pleased by the turnout to the reception. Our exhibition drew the biggest crowd in the Carnegie gallery’s 30-year history, and the room was just buzzing with positive vibes. All in all, it was a very satisfying night, and a great launch for the exhibition, which runs until August 30. Here’s a little video we made from some of the footage collected by our good friends Sabrina and Emily.
Birth Your Dreams opens up tomorrow, so Laura and I are thrilled that View Magazine has put us on the cover of this week’s issue. As you know, the photo on the cover was the one we were shooting in this video. Click on the cover to read the story.
