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The Olympics are a great excuse to watch TV.  It only happens once every couple years, it’s on all day, and it makes for great watching.  So this year I found myself watching the great Olympic coverage over on CTV and very often found myself looking at our family portrait above the television.

This particular print is large.  A good 4 feet wide.  So it’s noticeable, but suits the wall size perfectly.  It’s also about 12 years old.  So I am around 20 in the image.  As a family we have had several family photos done since this one.  But it is the dominant family photo in the house because it has a significance.  The image was photographed by Jigger Schmidt.  To most people that name doesn’t mean much, but to many photographers he was one of Canada’s best portrait artists.  Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after this image was taken.  He was an important influence on my father, and a lot of of other great photographers in our community.  Our family photo is a reflection of us, but it is also a reflection of Jigger.

Recently this image has meant a lot more to me.  In November my beloved mother Bev passed away suddenly.  It wasn’t expected.  It wasn’t prepared for.  We didn’t get a chance to take another family photo.  We didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

This image has been above the television in their house (our workplace) for approximately 12 years now.  6 months ago it was a family portrait.  A reminder of what we looked like a decade ago.  Now it is a treasured memory of a family.  I look up, and I see my Mom looking happy and beautiful.  I see all of us together.  I will admit it makes me sad.  But it also makes me really happy.  My Mom, like many women, didn’t like getting her picture taken.  Considering she lived in a family full of photographers there really aren’t too many photos of her (especially in the last few years).  She would always cover up, or make a goofy face thinking that it would deter us from taking photos.

After she passed, we gathered up the best photos of her throughout her life and put them into a collection to show everyone.  Seeing her grow up and become the amazing person that she was had an incredible effect on me.  It made me realize the role we as photographers play in a family’s life.  We chronicle moments.  We capture instances in people’s lives that reflect that time in their life.  But more than that, we help families remember.

I vividly remember my vacation with my mom to China.  But looking through the images of our time there, I more than just remember it.  I feel it.  It brings me back to those moments.  I feel the excitement of being in a foreign land.  An image of my mom eating deep-fried bugs is entertaining to those that weren’t there.  It tells a story.  It shows how brave she was.  But to me, i feel her laughter and the palpable trepidation she had felt just before.  Without this image, I would remember it.  But I wouldn’t get that emotional charge from merely remembering it.  I wouldn’t remember the pride I had for my Mom to be trying something so out of character.

It’s why we cry when we see pictures.  Why we cry during movies that remind us.  Or when we hear stories.  It isn’t the memory.  It’s the emotion’s attached to the memory and the imagery somehow pulls these emotions out from deep within us.  Unfortunately, photos of my Mom and I alone are somewhat rare.  And this image of the 2 of us on the great wall is something that will be treasured forever.  Seeing it I remember her awe, and know the wonder we both felt, and the power of being in such an historic location.

I now realize how important photography is in people’s lives.  How important my job is.  I am not just taking pretty pictures.  Not just making people look good.  It may seem like that due to the immediacy of the photos.  But down the road sometime, these photos are going to mean a lot more.  We have people tell us all the time that they love their wedding photography.  That they go through their album over and over and over, and it makes them feel what they felt on their wedding day.  Imagine what they are going to feel ten years from now.  Or 25 years from now when there first child gets married.  That album is worth more than the paper it is printed on.  Those images of your first newborn child, bring you back the excitement you felt, and the fear.  You can almost feel the fragility of the 6 pounds in your arms.

Stephanie and I are getting married this year.  It is going to be a fantastic and wonderful day.  Though the absence of my Mom, and my 2 grandparents that have passed in the recent years will be tough.  I miss my Mom every single day.  I am constantly reminded of her laughter, her smile, and her compassion.  I know that with time, the hurt will subside slowly.  But I know that I need that hurt.  That I need that happiness that comes with the hurt.  My life has been filled with amazing moments.  Moments of happiness, pure joy, and discovery.  But there have been many tragedies in my life as well.  And it’s this tragic moments that have led to some of the biggest discoveries and changes in my life.  At my Mom’s funeral my good friend Jesh (of the the aforementioned life changing workshops) told me that there are moments in everyone’s life that will be trying.  But it is what you take from these experiences that will make the difference.  To experience the full gamut of emotions.  To completely embrace the pain.  To use it to strengthen myself and to use it to step forward.  This event, as heartbreaking as it is, will make me a stronger person.  A better photographer.  A better friend.  A better brother.  A better son.  A better husband.  A better Dad.  Better.  And as much as I wish that this is the last of these events to happen, I know that life is full of them.  I will not let them destroy me.  But I will never forget them.

As a family we have become stronger.  We are missing one of the most important physical elements of what made us a family.  But we will always be a family.  A family that will continue to grow and support itself.  A family that grows stronger as a single entity.  Grows closer and tighter with every collective experience.

As a person we are the sum of our experiences.  A combination of everything we have ever seen, or felt, or done.  A collection of every person we have ever met.

As a photographer we are our perspective.

Every photographer has a unique way of seeing things that is based on who they are, everything they have experienced, and everyone they have ever met.  That is why our photography will always be changing.  Because we as people are always evolving and growing.

I encourage you to commit to photography.  Whether you are a photographer or not.

Hire a professional photographer for the big events and the important milestones.  But also take pictures of the everyday things.  Carry a camera.  It doesn’t have to be a great camera.  My iPhone camera has become more important to me than I could have imagined because it means I always have a camera with me.

A self-portrait of us. This image wouldn't exist if we didn't have an iPhone on us.

Record the mundane moments.  Capture everything.  We have no excuse anymore for not having photos of our lives.  Cameras are embedded in everything.  So take pictures of your family, your friends, of things you love.  And when someone wants to take your picture.  Don’t shy away.  Be proud of who you are.  Embrace who you are.  Because you are loved.  And those who love you want to have these moments.  We all want to hear your story.  We want to see and experience your story.  We want to be a part of your story.

We all have a story.  This is my story.

- Shaun

This past weekend we were at the Exposure Photography Symposium.  We met a lot of great photographers and great people.  The speakers were informative and more so inspiring.  We loved getting to know everyone and hearing their stories.  It inspired me to tell mine so that it can be told, and as a cathartic exercise.

Why do we as photographers take pictures?  Every one of us has a different story.  A different catalyst that got us to where we are now.  Due to recent events in my life, I feel compelled to tell my story.  This story has 2 parts.  The first part is about what got me here.  The second is about why it matters.

As you likely know, Scade Photography is a family run Business.  When I was a wee one, my dad started taking pictures of me because he wasn’t happy with the photos of us he purchased.  So like many of the new photographers today, he began taking photos of his children, got good, and was asked to take pictures of others.  That is the simple synopsis.  The full story will be saved for another time.  And I suppose one could say my story is similar, but it just started a little earlier.  I shot my first roll of film when I was 2-3 years old of my little sister as a baby.  My dad still has these images somewhere.  They aren’t great or artistic or even in focus really.  But it was a start.

As a kid, I loved photography.  I remember asking dad to load film into my camera for me.  I remember him teaching me how to use the internal metering system in the minolta SLR camera.  I took photos of people, of toys, of pretty much anything around me.  I once went to the 7-11 down the street, bought those cool styrofoam planes with propellers you put together, and then flew them and took pictures of them in the air.  I took 3 rolls that afternoon.  I was hooked.  I took a camera with me all the time.  I wanted to be like my Dad, and I loved everything about it.  Taking the pictures, changing film, sending them away and the excitement of opening up a new pack of 4×6 prints and seeing what worked out.  I used to watch the film processing machines at the grocery store spit out other people’s photos.  I used to watch my Dad’s lighting videos, read his training books.  I understood “the zone system” when I was 8 years old.  I went to Quebec when I was 11 with school and I took 11 rolls of film in 5 days.

I am impressed that I at least knew how to hold a camera stably at this age.

ignore the short shorts and check out the Contax camera with Carl Zeiss lens!

But then for some reason, it became less important.  I still took photos.  But it wasn’t something I had to do.  I didn’t want to be a photographer like my dad.  I didn’t know what I wanted to be.  Photography was something my dad did, and I didn’t.  At least from when I was 14-23.  I played sports and I had my computer.  I went to University.  I got a degree in Health, fitness, and well-being.  I worked at a physiotherapy clinic, I worked at schools, I worked at a music store, I worked with underprivileged children, I worked with adults with developmental disabilities.  All of this made me who I am now, but I was unhappy.  I was in a  relationship and it was falling apart.  I sought new ways to express myself.  To find myself.  I ended up finding something I used to love.  Photography.  I asked my dad to borrow an old camera of his and I went crazy.  It was like I was a kid again.  I took a 12 hour course at metro college on how to use the camera, I read books, and I explored whatever resource I could.

This past weekend new friend mentioned to me that many photographer’s get into photography at a time when they are unhappy.  They hypothesized that it could be that we are looking for the beauty in things.  That the reason it affects us so much is that we are creating happiness and beauty from things that we see everyday.  It allows us to focus on the good things around us, and not what is bringing us down.

My Dad was impressed with what he saw.  He asked me to come along with him on a wedding.  It was fantastic.  I took roll after roll, and there were some pretty decent shots.  I did whatever I could to learn and get better.  I went to my first WPPI convention in Las Vegas, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities.  I ignored Vegas and soaked in everything photography related I could.  I joined the Professional photographers of Canada.  I attended seminars, and I experimented.  It got to the point where I couldn’t do anything other than photography and got really stressed with my other job.  After a doctor ordered stress leave, I made the decision to pursue my career.

I Jumped.  I committed.  I worked with another photographer that had a huge influence on me, and with my Dad.  Eventually I got too busy and my Dad and I began working together full-time.  It became a family business.  Dad the main photographer, I was his assistant and the computer guy, and my Mom running the office and business aspects.  Throughout the past 5 years, my role increased and we have had several photographers work with us as well.  In 2008 I went to 2 workshops (Red Leaf Studios and Jesh de Rox) that changed the way I think about photography, and life.  They changed my perspective, which in turn changed my life.

Last September I got engaged to Stephanie, and we are to be married this Summer.  The same weekend we got engaged, Steph took the plunge and made the decision to leave school and become a photographer.  As with me, her passion for photography overwhelmed the rest of her life.  We then had my mom doing accounting, bookkeeping, and office management.  Dad, Steph and I as full-time photographers, my sister Kristina, and our good friend Jeff as part-time photographers.  A family business.

In November something tragic happened that rocked our little family business.  My Mother Bev passed away suddenly at the age of 55.

To continue reading “Everyone has a Story” click here to continue to part 2.

- Shaun

Those tingling nerves still almost always come back to me, just when Im about to do something exciting. They come back to me still before most soccer and volley ball games I’m really pumped about, when I’m interviewing for a job that scares me but I know I’ll love it, and more recently I now get them when I’m about to go shoot a wedding or portrait session. Even though I have nothing to worry about because I have Shaun and Gordon as fantastic mentors! I’m happy the butterflies still let me know that Im in doing the right thing.

The morning before shooting a newborn session for my friend Joanna (full baby Chloe post coming soon!) Shaun took some time to help calm my nerves by hosting a mini practice session. With none other than our favourite little sock monster Crexer!

There is this lady here in town who design’s each monster with its own completely different persona. (http://www.beluadesigns.com/) They each come with their own name. We even heard her father has the job of coming up with new names for each one, which is probably pretty exhausting considering she’s made hundreds and hundreds of these creatures. Cool job!

Here are a few pictures from our pre-shoot warm up that I thought you all might get a kick out of.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are most definitely known to be the busiest and hectic for any portrait photographer because of Christmas orders being made and ordering deadlines coming up fast. We kept telling ourselves we’d get to our back burner projects in January or February. Ya right. Where did those months go. Every weekend has seemed jam packed with photographic events. Movie sets, fashion shoots, personal work and of course a wedding! Its a good thing we’ve been running strong with our  ’newyears productive energy resolutions’! (p.s. super amazing full posts with photos from these shoots are coming SOON!)

Photography work aside…we are also in the midst of planning our OWN WEDDING! Exciting? Kind of…Is it okay to admit this? I’m not saying I’m not excited about one of the most incredibly special events that will be happening this August. And to be honest we’re lucky. We’re part of the industry. We have friends who know the in’s and out’s. We’ve seen or heard it all. We know what we like and what we don’t like. We know what works, what doesn’t and we know the COSTS involved for quality professionals. Also, there are so many fabulous resources out there for brides these days. The internet is such a fabulous tool. Destructively time consuming, but still amazing. I bet if it was required, someone could literally plan and arrange the entire event sitting from their own home.

With all of these sources in our holster I’m still finding myself in a wedding-bliss/blur. People say: Do what YOU want, but its not that simple. First of all we don’t have the $ to do whatever we like and secondly I worry too much. There is a Dutch word we use that describes exactly how I want our wedding to be. Gezellig (ha-Zel-ick). It means a warm, cozy, friendly atmosphere. Its so important for me to make sure everyone is having a good time, which means I’m having a hard time making decisions for myself. ugh. Im lucky to have Shaun around. He knows how I stress myself out of other people being happy, and he continually, sweetly, reminds me to think for US and not necessarily everyone else. Thanks Shaun.

A couple other things adding to our Feb-blur-ary were our birthdays. Yup, Shaun and I both celebrated our birthdays. Mine was super special because one of my best friends had a baby girl in the morning!

Here’s a picture of Isabelle and I visiting Joanna and Chloe.

For Shaun’s we were able to take a much needed time out and head on down to the Silver Skate Festival at Hawrelak park. We skated, sipped hot chocolate, checked out snow sculptures and listened to local music. It was Great day!

Shaun had to rent so the skates weren’t necessarily a perfect fit..but he made it work.

And here a few more pictures from our February. I’m looking forward to March. We’ve got so much to accomplish!

On set at the Matrix Hotel for No Sharp Objects. A short film produced by our friend Katrina at LoudWhisperProductions.ca.

Some favourite shots from a Valentines issue of Vinyl and Vodka

Day one.

Day two was spent at Planet Ze Design centre, we used their studio space for this shoot.

We have this awesome friend, Katrina Beatty.  She’s an up and coming local film maker here in Edmonton Alberta.  Her production company, Loud Whisper Productions, is producing a fantastic movie.  No Sharp Objects.  It’s one of those great collaborative efforts by a talented team of friends and friends of friends. With so many people putting in everything they’ve got, it’s going to be fantastic.

We’re pretty excited to be invited on to set at the end of the month to take some stills of the production!

A couple of weeks ago, we held a photo shoot at City Hall for some prop photos to use on the set. Considering the lead actors playing the parts in the movie are actually married in real life, they were easy and super fun to shoot!

Here are a some shots from the day and a sneak peak at a few of the images.

Right before the shoot, Wes, the director requested a phone call so he could give his actors some more direction and help get them into character.

They had to make the groom look like he was 10 years older so baby powder was used to achive a slightly salt and peppered look in his hair. I think it did the trick.