Hey Gang,
Happy wet Tuesday! I really cant complain after the amazing weather we had this past weekend! I know its been a while since my last Leica post, maybe its just me! *lol*. Last week while I was on my computer working on an album I heard a little voice call out to me saying "remember me? I miss you lets hang out!" I looked over my shoulder and their she was all lonely and feeling neglected, my baby, my Lecia! So I called up my fellow Leica buddy Jaime and we set up a date and the four of us (me and my M8 and Jamie and his NEW M9) hit the streets here in town.
This was outside a local coffee shop and this not so little guy did everything to ignore me! *lol*
This puppy was so friendly and absolutely loved the camera and was certainly not shy!
Hey Gang,
I get asked from time to time who's wedding work do I admire? That list is pretty, theirs just too many to name! But at WPPI this year I got to meet some of the photographers who's work have moved me, shaped me and inspired to get better. I get laughed at by my pals because wedding photography is my passion, I really do eat, sleep and think weddings all the time. It drives Lez crazy!! *lol*. So it was pretty surreal bumping into my Rock-Stars of our profession. The thing that was so cool each and everyone fo them gave me their time which I still shake my head about considering their were over 10,000 attendees that wanted their time as well! I would love to share my Rolling Stones with you! I want to also thank my pal/roomie Jaime Roberts for taking all these photos, you rock bro!
I definitely recommend that you click on each persons name to see their work, they're all AMAZING!
This was our first night in Vegas and in the main hallway and I see Jerry Ghionis! You have to understand Jerry has brings fashion to weddings, check out his site you'll know what I mean! So obvoiusly Jaime and I just hand to get a shot with him.
I was one of the lucky few that had a chance to attend Silvana Frammartino of Impulse Photography here in Toronto. Silvanna was awarded the 16x20 Wedding Print of the year award in 2009! She's one of the most gentle souls you'll ever meet. Im here friend now! *proud smile* Also here is her close friend and AWESOME photography Judy Cormier of Elementz of Photo. Judy is the leader in Boudoir Photography here in Canada. I just love Judy!!
Now when it comes to Leica wedding photography everyone thinks of Riccis Valladares who's is so pure and raw! I was at the Leica booth speaking to Linda who by the way is an absolute sweet heart! I mentioned to here that I would one day love to meet Riccis as I have never seen him before. She said let me introduce him to you, he's right here! We spoke for a while talking about my new found Leica Love!
Im on the escalator and right behind me is no other than Jose Villa. In the age of digital photography Jose has continued to shoot film and only film. It says a lot when digital wedding photographers are having Jose cover their wedding! Looking at his work has inspired me to shoot a little bit of film again and Im having a blast! Even though I dont look it was was super excited to get a shot with him! *lol* He also gave me some pointers for the Fuji stock I picked up! *wink*
And then there's Joe Buissink. I have followed Joe's work right from the beginning when I first started shooting weddings. Joe's work is beyond words and the phrase "a picture is worth..." would describe his work perfectly! This will sound dumb but Lez and I have teared up looking at his work, you cant help but get pulled into the moment. Its this man's work that has inspired me and I hope one day I will be able to move people just like Joe!
Hey Gang,
Anyone thats my facebook friend knows that I have this recent fascination with gourmet Jellybeans! At first I thought I was totally in love with Coconut but I found Banana then Lemon came along and we were digging each other for a while but Sour Apple stole my heart! *lol*. Lez and the kids think I've gone a little crazy but these sugar tear drops from heaven are pure bliss! I was speaking with another Jelly Bean fanatic and she told me about Jelly Belly and that they have a Cappuccino flavour, cant you believe that!! Ive declaired today a Jelly Bean search day. If anyone knows of other flavours or brands I'd love to hear them.
So why the title Old School vs. New School? Well I thought what better way to show everyone my new obsession...oops I mean Passion! *lol* other than with my Old School Love, Nikon 45mm TS F.28 Micro lens!
Have I ever said how much I love this lens!! I especially love the fact its macro too!
For this one I thought I would kick it a little old school and give my little buddies here a 70's look
Hey Gang,
While I was in Vegas I had a chance to try out Sigma's newest 50mm 1.4 for Nikon and I have to say I was blown away from the results. I couldn't believe how sharp this lens was I mean its not Leica sharp! *wink* But amazing nonetheless and focusing on my D3 wasn't even an issue. We had a few friends over this weekend and halfway through our conversation we all here some ruckus behind us in the kitchen, we all turned around to see the following. My best friend's little girl helping herself to a little snack! *LOL*
Hey Gang,
I know I keep on talking about WPPI but it truly was an eye opener for me! Not just photographically but personally too. Sometimes you get caught up with your work and I think its especially true when you do what you love. I know this might sound silly but I really do eat, sleep, drink and think photography all the time not because I have to but because its my passion. All that said sometimes you loose sight of things and not necessary forget but lets say you get side-tracked from whats really important in life and for me thats my family. I think limiting the amount of weddings I do to 20 was a step in the right direction but its not enough, its not just the quantity of time you spend that is important but also the quality. BUT what if you can combine your two loves?
See Im so busy documenting my couples family history that I forgot to start documenting mine. Getting my Leica has been so instrumental in documenting our family legacy. This all clicked for me when one of the instructors at the conference said the following.
"WE DONT PHOTOGRAPH OURSELVES FOR US, WE DO IT FOR OUR LOVED ONES"
So this weekend Im going out with my family, my camera and a tripod to document our family legacy.
I'll stop rambling here but let me finish off with this. If you dont have a camera go out and spend $100 and start investing in your memories but documenting your life. But more importantly make sure your in the photos. DONT ALWAYS BE BEHIND THE CAMERA.
Much Luv,
bassem
Here's some shots from yesterday's adventures of rock climbing
The next two shots were captured back-to-back I just love Kennedy's reaction here!
I was feeling a little lazy and wanted to go out for dinner. So we hit one of our favorite restaurant here in town. Well Kennedy always gets ice cream for desert (thats my weakness too) but she always eats it to fast. Both Lez and I know whats going to happen next.
Brain freeze at its best! *lol*
Hey Gang,
What a gorgeous morning! I got the kids this week at home for march break, I want to thank everyone on Facebook for the awesome ideas! But it was so funny when I asked Kennedy what she wanted to do today and she yelled out "Rock climbing" I'll have some photos up tomorrow with our adventures! *wink*
As most of you know I attended WPPI for the first time and the experience has been amazing to say the least. I got to meet the ROCKSTARS of our industry such as Silvanna, Jesh, Jose Villa, Jerry Ghionis, and the amazing Joe Buissink whose work Ive admired for years. I gotto attend Silvana's Master class and Im honored to be called her friend. If you havent seen her work you gotta check it out, its breath taking!
So of course I brought my Leica with me for the trip and one of the highlights was I met the wonderful people of Like through my close friend Jamie and Linda at Leica introduced me to Riccis Valladares. This gentleman is purely awesome. He shoots all his weddings solely with his Leica's He has both the film M7 and digital M9 (droooling!) *LOL*. It was really cool to speak with him and pick his brain a little bit! *wink* OK enough already Bass just show me some shots! Here are a few you can see the rest on my Facebook.
On our first day before the convention started Jamie took me on the Vegas strip tour and we happen to stroll upon this street magician in front of the Harley Davidson Restaurant.
I just coudn't resist
You gotta be proud of me I didn't gamble at all....I saved my money for camera toys instead! *lol*
Hey Gang,
Have I mentioned that Im loving this little camera? *lol* Seriously though its so small I have it with me all the time and this has proven to be beneficial! How many times are you out there and you say to your self "wish I had my camera" I dont say that anymore but I think Im starting to drive my family a little nuts. I keep on hearing "dad do you have to bring out that thing" I tease them back and replay "thats no way to talk to your sibling" maybe I am going a little nuts! *wink* On our way back home from seeing our Godson I saw this cool looking garage that, so I turned backed to see what my little Leica could do? I gotta say that Im impressed with image quality, I cant wait to get my newLeica 28mm f/2 SUMMICRON-M ASPHERICAL. I just hope it comes in time before Vegas! *wink*. In this photo I was trying to capture the dark and moody feel but still maintaining the "rusticness" of the garage.
Hey Gang,
Before I announce the winner I want to thank you from all of my heart to everyone that had purchased a ticket for this raffle. As mentioned before all the proceeds were donated to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief fund. My goal was to raise at $500 but Im so proud to say between yours and our governments generosity we surpassed that and raised $2180!!
I know their can only be one winner of the raffle but the real winners here are struggling people of Haiti. If you have not done so its not too late to make your donation even $5 can make a difference.
Because of your generosity and willingness to help our brothers and sisters of Haiti I wanted to do something special for all of you who purchased a ticket. This summer I will be holding a {BASSEM} "Portrait day", this is where you can come and have a picture taken with your family or friend or fiance or boyfriend or girlfriend, mom or dad or both, sister or brother, your pet or even just of yourself. I will email everyone the details who purchased a ticket.
So Yesterday I want to the Canadian Red Cross here in Cambridge and asked them to choose the winning ticket. Sharron of the Red Cross was so kind to volenteer. The winner will recieve a complimentary portrait session:
Value of the portrait session: $500
Portrait session includes: 1-2 hours of coverage, $300 credit towards albums or enlargements, DVD of full resolution images with licence for personal printing.
AND THE WINNER IS........
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