Exhibition Time!

As our semester starts to wind down, the Lambton College photography students are ramping up their final projects.  One exciting assignment for our second-year students is for them to produce their own gallery show.  They must create, print, frame, and exhibit their photographic work in a public space.

Most of our students' exhibitions will be opening in Sarnia on the night of Art: "First Friday" this week, Apr. 1st, 2016.

There have been countless hours of preparation for this night. 

We invite you all to please come out and see the amazing work that our students have created.  Here is the most up to date list of the openings.

Lambton Digital Photography, second-year students' Gallery Opening night events:

April 1st -Bayside Mall 150 Christina St N. Food court area  5:00-10:00 p.m.
Larryl Ybanez, Jodi Tamminga, Sidney Fletcher, David Beaton, Taryn Lutz, Alexa Manser, Devon Groombridge, Emily Hussey, Sarah Scheible, and Maygin Codling

April 1st -Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, 127 Christina St. S.
Teresa Louise Perry and Mack Feltz from 6:00-9:00

-Rebekah Harding, "Excursion - Photographic Exhibition" at Junior Baker 165 Lochiel St.
Apr. 1st 5:00-9:00  Viewing Tues.-Sat. 10:00-3:00

Several students are having shows out-of-town, and two, one by Joanne Johnson (in the Lambton College Library) and one by Kendal Turner in Amherstburg have already had very successful showings!

A few updates are still to come, but please join us for First Friday!

Talking Bodies

 -  A Photographic Investigation of Body Image - Come join the conversation at the Bayside Mall, 150 Christina St. Sarnia, Ontario   Exhibition by Dave Beaton

 

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Johanne Johnson's exhibition in the Lambton College Library

Kendal Turner at her exhibition "A Walk Through the Park"

A few more Posters for additional Exhibitions!

Part of a Team

Faculty, Dave Chidley tries to be a winner.

By Teresa Perry

College.  There are so many different thoughts and concerns when you think about that word.  Am I in the right career path?  Will I be able to keep up?  Will I make friends?  What if I can’t keep a good GPA?  What if I fail and many more.  One question I asked myself, as a mature student going to college for the first time was “am I good enough?”  School started and the instructors made it so easy to transition into the swing of school and homework again that that thought was no longer a worry.

             

School is a place to find yourself and there are so many faculty who are there to help, lead and guide you along the way.  All of our instructors have an open door policy; meaning whenever you need help you can stop by their office.  If they are busy at that exact moment you can send them an email message to get your question answered.   

            

Program Coordinator Richard Beland keeps a watchful eye on Jim Teeple.

The wonderful team of instructors in the Digital Photography program are there every step of the way to support and cheer you on.  As long as you make an effort to be in class, catch up if you do miss and do the best that you can do they will be there for you.  Academically, all the instructors need to be there for you but outside of school there are no obligations.  Halfway through last term I lost my father, as well as a loss at the beginning of the term and each had a major impact on me.  Just when I thought that I couldn’t give anymore the instructors showed me I had more to give and more to learn.   They showed me compassion, empathy and sympathy.

             

Student Dave Beaton shows Faculty John Densky the video set up he is using.

I often found myself in class frustrated and ready to give up, trying to hide my tears. At theses times I would be pulled aside at break or after class and asked if I’m okay or if I needed to talk which gave me such a sense of relief knowing the instructors cared.  I had daily check-ins with the instructors to see how I was doing mentally and was offered counseling assistance to be set up for me as well. 

Faculty Petro Tiahur reviews an image with student Emily Hussey

             

This course wouldn’t be what it is without every single one of the instructors that run it.  They are what truly make this course amazing; they bring all of their work experience and knowledge to the classroom along with their personal touch and compassion.    From first term fear to field study trips and right till the end, these instructors care.  They make you want to care and be as passionate about photography as they are.  You can’t help but want to continue and do great with such an amazing team pushing and cheering you on.  Being in this course has made me realize how much of a family we have become.

Chilling Out

By Emily Hussey

Emily Hussey teasing the camera in the bright sun

(Photo credit to Devon Groombridge)

We have all experienced that bombarding, chilled feeling of stepping out the door, ready to
begin the day, and a huge gust of wind makes you turn right around and go back to bed. When
it comes to photography, cold weather can be a huge deterrence! Winter life is a beautiful thing
to capture. To beat the winter blues and get motivated, here are some tips I have accumulated
along the way from friends, colleagues, and from my own experience!
Reflect and Ponder-
Ice, snowflakes and overcast clouds are all things that you must consider if you want to have a
successful day out in the field of photography. There are so many reflective surfaces when you
venture away from the studio: perhaps even more during the frozen months.

Ice is an obvious issue when watching for light bouncing back to your lens but some people
don't realize that snow reflects too! Snow on the ground will reflect light back making it difficult
to get the perfect exposure, or colour balance(1) if you aren’t careful. This is because snow acts
as a large bounce card(2). A creative photographer will be able to use this to their benefit, for
example, you might use the reflection from snow to create stunning catch lights(3) in the
model’s eyes. Overcast days may seem dreary but they are ideal conditions to shoot in. The clouds, similar to the snow as a bounce card, works as an enormous scrim(4). Think of it like the sky is your
assistant holding up a diffuser(5)!

Dave Beaton enjoying the sunny weather. (Photo credit to Alexa Manser)

Weathering the weather-
Temperature is an unpredictable stipulation that, unfortunately, we're forced to work around.
My advice for this would simply be: get prepared! Going out to shoot shouldn’t create more of a
problem for you such as wind burn, frost bite, illness, or dehydration.
The essentials: Fingerless gloves, warm winter coat, waterproof boots, hat to cover your ears,
and if need be, a scarf to cover your throat. Also, include your shooting gear. An important
object in my pack is a water absorbent cloth. If it starts to snow or for some reason your
camera gear gets wet, you can quickly be rid of the moisture.
Bringing warm tea or a water bottle will come in very handy, especially if there is a lot of snow
or mud to tread through because this exertion results in dehydration very quickly.

Taryn Lutz took off her coat to pose (Photo credit to Emily Hussey)

January 29, 2016, was a bright and sunny day for shooting! The temperature, however, was
in the negatives. We weren’t about to let the that pull our mood down with it. Devon
Groombridge and Taryn Lutz came along with me to capture some beautiful shots for our
project of four separate portraits. The four photos had a number of specified light situations:
direct sunlight, direct shadow, a tight headshot in sunlight with scrim and bounce card, and a
full-length portrait with scrim. Our mission was laid out for us as we started on our journey!
We ventured to the Animal Farm for the great backgrounds the area provided. Despite the
weather forecast, many of us had not fully prepared for the day. The snow had finally delayed
its falling, which had started earlier that morning, but the ground was still graciously covered.
We spent the day jumping from different locations all over the property to complete the project
and made great progress.

Taryn Lutz smiles for a portrait, no matter the weather.  (Photo credit to Emily Hussey)

We learned quite a few tricks along the way: The best way to hold a scrim in the rushing wind
is not to use your teeth; whether you want it to or not, the bulky coat has to come off the model
for a more sophisticated photo; and lastly, discovering the power of a good joke is key! It is one
thing to be a technical wizard with your tools but being able to relax your model and get them
to show true emotion is the goal to great portraiture- even when you can’t feel your frozen
cheeks smile!

Taken from wikipedia:
(1) Colour balance- In photography and image processing, colour balance is the global
adjustment of the intensities of the colours (typically red, green, and blue primary colours).
(2) A card, either silver or white, that is used to create soft indirect lighting on a subject
matter. The card allows light to bounce off itself and onto the subject matter, creating a
delicate atmosphere. Sometimes cards are used to create soft shadow areas or a soft
brightening on an area. Frequently the cards are used outside because they do not need
any electrical power to work. Also known as a reflector card.
(3) Catch light or catchlight is a light source that causes a specular highlight in a subject's eye
in an image. They are also referred to as eye lights or Obies, the latter a reference to Merle
Oberon, who was frequently lit using this technique.
(4) A scrim or gauze is a very light textile made from cotton, or sometimes flax. It is lightweight
and translucent, great for reducing the amount of light going through the cloth.
(5) A device that spreads the light from a light source evenly and reduces harsh shadows.

Incredibly Rewarding Experience

By Rebekah Harding
As a part of our Digital Photography program we, the students, are asked to offer our talents to
local organizations as part of a volunteer assignment. Unlike other programs that have their
students participate in co-ops, it’s a little more difficult for photography students to do the same
because there’s a limited number of professional photographers in the area for students to work
with, so a volunteer project was created in place of a co-op. The goal of this task is to give us
real world experience working with clients, and the results are incredibly rewarding. While some
students take this task as an opportunity to photograph various community events, banquets,
sports, etc, I spent my time photographing for a local non-profit organization called Team Hoyt
Canada.

Team Hoyt Canada athletes racing towards the finish line at the Oktoberfest Fun Run in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario on Monday October 12, 2015.

Team Hoyt Canada is a ride-along program that pairs individuals with disabilities (developmental
or physical) and pairs them up with able bodied individuals. Together the athletes compete in
endurance events such as road races and triathlons with the use of specialized racing chairs.
Their motto of “yes you can” teaches that you can do anything you set your mind to, despite
what others may say. They promote inclusion by demonstrating that “disability doesn’t mean
inability.” 

Brigid poses with her parents Allison and Dale
 at the Bluewater Race for Health in Sarnia, Ontario
 on Sunday September 13, 2015.
(Rebekah Harding/Lambton College)

Throughout 2015, from the time the group was announced at the Boston Marathon in April to
their final race of the season in October, I had the opportunity to photograph several races
throughout Ontario. I even had the opportunity to witness Sarnia’s Cody Daye compete in his
first half-Ironman event in Benton Harbour, Michigan. His amazing feat was nothing short of
spectacular, making him the first individual with Down Syndrome in Canada to compete and
finish an Ironman event. 

Haley poses with her uncle Frank at the Bluewater Race
for Health in Sarnia, Ontario on Sunday September 13, 2015.
(Rebekah Harding/Lambton College)

Thanks to my previous volunteer experiences with Team Hoyt Canada, I was able to continue
and spend my time completing my volunteer project with them throughout the third semester.
The first of the two races that I photographed during the semester were the Bluewater Race for
Health (for Bluewater Health) in September and the second was the Kitchener-Waterloo
Oktoberfest that took place on Thanksgiving weekend. The Oktoberfest race was extra special
as it was the last race of the season as well as it was the first time that the Kitchener-Waterloo
area had ever seen this type of inclusion and the communities reception to it was absolutely amazing.

Event organizers pose with some of the Team Hoyt Canada crew at the Oktoberfest Fun Run in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario on Monday October 12, 2015.  (Rebekah Harding/Lambton College)

Susan and Vicki competing in the Bluewater Race
 for Health in Sarnia, Ontario on Sunday
September 13, 2015.
(Rebekah Harding/Lambton College)

Through these events, I have been able to witness and capture the thrills and smiles
on everyones faces as they compete, receiving their finisher medals and enjoying each others
company. Through these events I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the most incredible
people as well as watching life long friendships form throughout the Team Hoyt community.

Volunteering is an incredibly rewarding experience and I highly encourage others to get out
there and volunteer for organizations that matter to them. I look forward to continuing to
photograph for this wonderful organization.

Eggsellent Lighting Exercise

By Dave Beaton

Our final semester has kicked off with a blaze that’s meant to harden us in the fires of photographic combat by challenging our lighting skills and thus preparing us for a life out from under the wings of our dauntless professors. Along with the courses that require the use of our beloved cameras, we’re also provided with the juicy knowledges of writing for media, courtesy of our fantastic English teacher, the lovely, intelligent and wise Erica Kelly. It doesn’t end there folks: we’ve also been blessed with the networking wisdoms of Petro Tiahur, our web and social media fundamentals professor (thanks for helping to fix my camera and not being mad when I busted yours). We’re also being taught about the business side of the art in The Business of Photography with Richard Beland, while refining our style in Portfolio Development and Design and Style with Dave Chidley.

All right, I suppose that’s enough updating and ego servicing for one blog; onto the main content of this post. During our first week of class we were charged with the seemingly simple task of making 5 images of an egg on a white background. The idea of the project was to get us back into the swing of things by challenging our lighting abilities. In each photograph we had to use a different lighting style/technique: soft light, side light, modified and two creatives of our choosing. The key components to selectively and creatively lighting a subject generally go as follows:the quality of light (softness/hardness) is relative to the size and distance of the light source relative to the subject. An equally important factor is the photographer’s ability to control shadows via the use of gobos/flags. These are objects that are used to block light in select areas, allowing the photographer to have better control over perceived depth in an image.

Soft White-on-white photography by Dave Beaton

Soft light ended up being one of the hardest to pull off, this is because we are lighting white egg on a white background, but still want to maintain detail in the egg. However it helps a lot if you’ve got yourself a giant octobank, a light meter and are a wizard with your trusty gobos (presuming you can figure out how to use these). I was lucky enough to have some nifty equipment at my disposal. I’m not much of a wizard with the gobos and I’m certainly not the best at lighting a subject (yet), but I took a whack at it. To the Right is a photo of my soft lit egg on white, coupled with a photo of the set-up. 

  

P.S. you don’t need the pieces of equipment I listed. Use what you’ve got available. In the end it’s the person that makes the difference, not the gear. Apologies for being a bit cliché, but it is true.

Side lit egg, photo by Dave Beaton

Next up was side lighting. With limited time I decided to go with another one light set-up, which didn’t create the most powerful image, but I found it to be effective. The saving grace was the use of a small bounce card that was hidden just outside of my frame. That beautiful little sucker did its best to reflect some light on the right side of the egg, creating a bit of separation from my background. Note to self: try a bit harder next time. If only I was able to communicate this advice to myself earlier.

I was hoping to gather more photos from classmates, but it seems that you my dear readers must suffer yet another one of my masterpieces. 

Modified light on an egg, on a white background,  Photo by Dave Beaton

The third photo we were tasked with creating was a modified lighting photo,meaning we were to use different objects to create interesting light. We could use whatever we wanted and for the sake of availability I chose to use a sushi roller. It was an attempt at an homage to some social media trendy striped lighting photograph. I didn’t pull it off as well as I had hoped, but at least I gave it the old college try.

Creativity is in the air.  Photo by Teresa Perry

For the fourth image, one of my gracious and amazing (ego stroking continues) classmates, Theresa Perry, gave me a really amazing photograph. For this section of the challenge, we were encouraged to get creative, to use props and create a juxtaposition. We were given full creative control except that we were not allowed to destroy our egg, indulging in sweet vengeance. Theresa decided to use a floral-like prop (I have no idea what this pink thing is, I’m sorry Theresa), coupled with a shot glass which would support her egg, creating an interesting visual separation. Using a fill light shot directly at the ceiling, she was able to wash her scene in an abundance of high key light. The coupling of a snoot (a directional light modifier) aimed toward the subject matter helped to create added dimension. Finally, as a final punch she removed the shot glass from the image altogether. The final result, I find, is quite stunning and I’m jealous. Good work Theresa.

This assignment was all it was cracked up to be! Photo by Devon Groombridge

Finally for the fifth and final image, we were allowed to break our egg…The photo I would like to showcase is a simply lit yet powerful photo. Classmate Devon Groombridge carefully broke her egg into two pieces and left them to dry. Afterwards she pierced a hole in the top portion of her eggshell and fastened it to a fishing line, which was aptly fastened to assistant Teresa’s finger. The top portion of the eggshell was dangled overtop of the bottom portion of the egg, where it was then photographed. Akin to Teresa’s image, Devon used Photoshop to remove the fishing line from the picture, creating a neat levitation effect. The image was lit using a single light source, which effectively demonstrates the ability to create an interesting image with minimal resources. Bravo Devon, keep it up.