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French River Canoe Trip

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On September 15-17, 2015, my buddies Celso Mollo and Marty Tannahill (of www.PaddleIn.com) and I, took a canoe trip down the French River about half way between Georgian Bay and Lake Nipissing. We launched from Pine Cove Lodge and paddled down past Little Pine Rapids, Big Pine Rapids and Double Rapids, ending up at The Ladder.

What an amazing campsite! We spent some time setting up (mostly Marty 'cause he knows what he's doing) and then hiked around the area to see what there was to photograph - and there was plenty.  Breath-taking sunrises each morning, right outside our tent door. And each evening we scouted a spot to photograph the Milky Way.  I was amazed, away from all the city lights, how easily it was to see the Milky Way, but also how bright it still was in the dead of night.

We had three perfect days of weather, great food, dips in the crystal clear river (more like a lake), great company and many great new images to work on. I'm hoping to have one or two ready for The Bay Studio Tour in a couple of weeks (October 3/4, 2015).

Enjoy the Gallery... click on an image to view the entire image and see it larger. It may take a second to load the full resolution image depending on your internet speed, but they're worth the wait. I'll be posting some of the images I've made over the next few weeks as well. 

Why a portrait photographer?

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Most of you know that I do so much more than just portraits, however, I would have to say that portraiture is one of things I do that I enjoy the most. That wasn't always the case.

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I distinctly remember, back in the late '70s I believe (I was really REALLY young then), making the remark that I didn't do portraits, didn't want to do portraits and would never do a portrait. I was only interested in landscape photography.  Well, things change and one should never say 'never'. I guess I started like most portrait photographers, photographing my kids and family. One thing led to another and I started shooting weddings and soon photography became my profession. I won't bore you with the details of that transition.

So again, why portraits? Well part of it is the challenge. Every person that steps, runs, walks or crawls in front of my camera becomes a new challenge. In a very short timeframe, you need to size up your subject; watch their mannerisms, study their face and posture, listen to their voice for insights into their personality, and then create a portrait they or their family are willing to purchase. If all the elements don't come together quickly, the session could end just as quickly without "the shot". 

After the work of photographing your subject, the editing, colour adjustments, retouching etc., which I also enjoy, comes the moment when you have to show your client the 'proofs'.  This is the moment of truth when you find out if you were successful. Smiles, ew's and ah's, even laughter are good signs. Silence is a killer. It could mean either they hate the portraits and are in shock, or maybe, just maybe they are awed into silence. One hopes for the latter of course.  You know you've done a good job when Mom has a tear on her cheek or you hear her sniffle to try to hold it back. I always have a box of tissue handy. ;)

When you've created a portrait that touches the soul and you know will have an impact on a person or family for the rest of their lives, that's what being a portrait photographer is all about. That brings the most reward. Knowing that someone will appreciate and cherish that portrait for many years and that it will bring joy, fond memories and a full heart is very fulfilling. 

It's amazing what can be done when all the elements fall into place. But that's for another blog post another time. 

Cheers everyone

Mike Guilbault, MPF

 

IT'S ALIVE!

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Hey everyone... I am very pleased and proud to announce that my newly designed from the ground up Portrait Photography website is now live and online!  I've switched to a cleaner, Black & White themed look to make reading the content easier. Brand new Gallery designs to showcase the many samples, both old and new, sharper and BIGGER than ever!

The new site is also "Responsive", meaning that it will automatically format itself to the size of screen, such as iPhones and other SmartPhones, iPads and Tablets, in either the vertical or horizontal positions. Go ahead, try it out!

With the new design also comes a refocus on my photography (pun intended!). You'll find a menu item titled "Genres" which highlight the areas I'm pursuing. The one of note is the Fine Art Black & White Portraiture. Black & White Portraiture has been a long time favourite, but with the advances in digital B&W printing, I am now confident I can produce a better B&W than I ever could in the darkroom. The work is simply stunning!

The Black & White Fine Art Portraits are available only on our Heirloom, Fine Art Textured Matte papers or Archival, Museum Grade canvas, and rated to last not just years, but Generations.

Of course we still do outdoor or at home Environmental Portraits as well as our Studio Classics in colour. The three Genres, or styles, may be applied to any category of portrait we offer including Family, Children, Couples, and yes, Dogs (or any pet for that matter). Our Boudoir portraits are still popular and are in a category all it's own.

This Blog will also become a regular feature where we'll highlight what we're doing, information on having a portrait made, and other tips and such you may find useful. You can subscribe with confidence knowing we're not going to spam you with ads or become a nuisance.

Please take the time to explore our new site. You may leave comments below, and if there's something you'd like to see on our site, please let us know. We're always looking for ways to better inform our clients on what's possible in portraiture today.

Thank you,

Mike Guilbault, MPF