Kevin Thom - Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario Photographer

It’s a bit embarrassing for me to notice that I haven’t posted in my blog since the end of July, but in any case, here we are at the beginning of 2012. At the threshold of a brand new year, it’s my habit to have a look back at the year that was and look forward at the year to come.

2011 was a big one for me. I learned a lot of new things and worked with many fantastic people. This was the year I took my first serious steps into the world of video production. This year, I plan to continue that work to expand my high definition video capabilities and skills. I also plan to revisit music production, something that my passionate hobby over 20 years ago. I find that my work with the amazing Laura Hollick, who is my partner in so many ways, has allowed me to dovetail all of my creative pursuits and give them direction, purpose and outlet.

Finally, I’d like to present a video collage showing some of the results of some of the many photo shoots that I did during 2011. It was great fun sorting through my archive to pull out these images. Just like last year, I want to thank everyone who entrusted me with the task of capturing a lasting image. I’m looking forward to working with you all again soon!

Undoubtedly, one of Brooklyn’s most iconic locations is Coney Island. I had a day to kill earlier this week, so I decided to visit the park and boardwalk to take some pictures. I took the D train from Manhattan and just enjoyed the ride to the end of the line at Brooklyn’s southern tip. It was my intention to capture Coney Island’s very familiar scenes of classic  Americana in an unusual way. I mean, almost everyone’s seen pictures of the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, even if they might not have known exactly what they were looking at, so I brought along a super-wide lens and my bendy tilt-shift 65mm f/3.5 Hartblei Super-Rotator to try to put a slightly different spin on things. The skies were clear and the air was a sweltering 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees F), which made roasting on the pavement waiting for the exact moment to shoot an exercise in sweat tolerance. However, it was a lot of fun finding ways to throw the focus across different planes with the Super-Rotator, and to identify novel abstract angles with the super-wide lens. The direct sunlight created some lovely hard contrasts and bright colors. I think the unique bokeh effects created by the tilt-shift help to communicate the almost comatose state of heat stroke that I was experiencing out there!

On this last trip to NYC, we stayed at the Standard Hotel, located on Washington Street in the Meatpacking District. While there are many things non-standard about the Standard Hotel, what I found most interesting about it was its location straddling the High Line, an abandoned elevated rail line that has been converted into a pedestrian walkway and garden. It’s about 15 blocks long and is not only beautiful, but also practical; it’s a great way to see the stretch of Manhattan between 14th and 32nd Streets. The gardens are made up of a variety of local plants and flowers, decorated by public art pieces. It’s divided into a number of different “neighborhoods” along the way, including a sort of urban beach and an area for public performances. There are plenty of comfortable places to sit and gather with others. It’s inspiring to see urban spaces renewed and reused in this way. Not only is property value increased dramatically along this corridor, it provides a welcome refuge from the sweltering concrete jungle.

Here are some of my photos of the Standard Hotel and the High Line.

Many Canon shooters like me have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the 5D Mark III. Canon’s being characteristically mum about this, and why not? The 5D Mark II is still selling like hotcakes. No sense in killing that golden goose just yet. I’d hoped that Canon might announce the new camera at CES at the beginning of January, but that didn’t happen. I figured I’d make a wishlist of what I’d like to see in a Canon 5D Mark III.

• Better autofocus. I want autofocus at least as good as what’s available on the 7D. That means more autofocus points and faster performance.
• Support for SDHC cards.
• The LCD overlay of grid lines in the viewfinder, like the 7D.
• The ability to give metadata star ratings to images in camera, like the 60D.
• An articulating LCD like the 60D. I highly doubt this will happen, but maybe… just maybe…
• 100% viewfinder coverage.

That’s not so much to ask, is it? Anyway, regardless of what specs the 5D Mark III carries when it’s finally released, I’ll be the first in line to get it. Come on Canon, bring it on!

I was really blessed to photograph some amazing people this year. Here are a just few of them. Are you among this group?

Have a wonderful holiday season, and I’m looking forward to shooting with you in the new year!