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!

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!

I had a photoshoot with Lissa Hill of Lissa Hill Leathers last week. The idea was to create some commercial images that could be used to market her line of custom motorcycle leathers. We shot a few “catalog” type shots indoors in the studio at first. We kept these shots neutral so that the images would match the look of her website, and the black and red of the clothing could really pop out. We were blessed with absolutely perfect weather that day, so shooting conditions were ideal once we headed outdoors. We’d planned the shoot so we’d be out at “Golden Hour,” just before sunset. The skies were clear, giving us beautiful, warm light. Lissa had scouted out a perfect location in Ancaster, with open skies, little traffic, and a bit of twisty road. Our gorgeous models Michael and Sarah provided just enough attitude to match the leathers and bikes. In addition to being a great model, Michael also rides, so we took some lifestyle shots of him enjoying the open road on his bike.

We had to shoot quickly as the sun was going down, but I think we got lots of great results from our session. Here’s a selection of my favorite photos from the day.

I love shooting at night. It’s quiet, peaceful, and the closest thing to meditation that I do. Tonight’s model was this little tree–a maple, I think–located at Spencer Smith Park in Burlington. I noticed the tree when I was out with Laura last night, and returned tonight to shoot it, for no other reason than I thought it looked cool and ghostly. I love the bending shape of its trunk, and how its leaves were at the point of bursting to life from tight buds. It was lit by a nearby street lamp, which gave it quite a strange orange color. The air was quite still, so even though some of my exposures were nearly 30 seconds long, I was still able to capture lots of tiny details.

You can get some really unusual results when you take long exposures. In reality, the color was most like the first of the three images below. Pulling the white balance way towards the “cool” end while processing the third photo made the tree look a bit more like its real daytime color.

Maybe these aren’t the most exciting photos in the world, or the most elaborate I’ve ever taken, but often I find the joy of photography in the act of pure creation, with no goal other than to see something familiar in a new way.

Tonight we’re observing Earth Hour, which means we turn off our lights for an hour in consideration of the environment. Of course, it’s a symbolic gesture. After we turn the lights back on, most of us resume our normal lives. But, in terms of raising the consciousness of environmental issues, I don’t see how it can do anything but good. I decided to do a couple of conceptual photos to celebrate the occasion. In the process, I sacrificed some cooking wine, soy sauce, corn starch and a light bulb I bought a few months ago, incorrectly thinking it would fit in my fridge.

After taking a few photos with the bulb intact, I put it in a plastic bag and smashed it. Then I dumped the pieces onto a glass plate and drenched it in “blood.” I shot a few frames, but discovered that the corn starch was drying in a very un-bloody way on the big shard of glass closest to the bulb’s base. I carefully extracted that piece with needle-nosed pliers, washed it, then put it back into the composition.I believe in getting photos as good as they can be in camera so they don’t have to be Photoshopped to death, so to speak.

I shot these photos with a Sigma EX 105mm f2.8 macro lens. I staged it inside a light tent I borrowed from a friend. It was lit from below and from both sides by Alien Bees B800 strobes.