This past weekend got a little busy, all the while super fun. I met and shot model Chelsea Raquel from Van at a quick photo workshop I took part in on Saturday and Sunday. Beautiful, professional, and I can also safely say Ballin'!! - after checking out her dope blog here: http://raqula.tumblr.com/ I've seen a few entertaining blogs from Toronto, but  this one had me laughing for a while, so be sure to give it some  webs time.

Back to the topic at hand - Chelsea Raquel - Vancouver fashion photographers, you need to hit this girl up quick before she runs off to NY or LA! She's a pleasure to work with, and is amazing in front of the camera. Here is proof:

Tags: Chelsea Raquel, fashion photographer, headshot, model, photography, portrait, Raqula, vancouver.

A few weeks ago, working with one of my favourite and loyal clients- MEC Toronto store, we set out to create a series of portraits that would be used to promote an upcoming event in Toronto called MEC Bikefest hosted by Mountain Equipment Co-op.

To view the entire series on my portfolio site, click here.

The event is held on Saturday July 3rd, 2010 in the Liberty Village area of Toronto and will feature a whole lotta cool things bikes and cycling. If you cycle, you should be going - period. Here are the event details on the MEC site.

MEC Bikefest Toronto portraits series. Photo by Kamil Bialous.

MEC Bikefest Toronto portraits series. Photo by Kamil Bialous.

MEC Bikefest Toronto portraits series. Photo by Kamil Bialous.

Our ideas were that the final images should be square cropped, to be able to collage well into a 3X3 tile. I wanted relatively tight framing on the cyclists faces, looking at the camera and engaging the viewer, as well as their bikes to be a part of their personality, so framing was a bit tricky to come up with different poses. A bit cheesy and quirky was also on the menu, which I believe I hit.  Thankfully, I worked with a bunch of super cool MEC staff who were very accommodating and excellent models, so thank you to them! Knowing most of them, I can tell you that even though they were "models" for this shoot all of them are great and committed cyclist and excellent people.

So - technically speaking -  I shot vertically for easier framing visualization of a square crop, keeping things super mobile with a single light so that we could walk around the streets of Toronto and look for the right set up. Conversion was simple, I wanted to keep colour, and a bit of edge without being over the top. I always liked the tones of ektachrome film, so I toned it with a bit of magenta and blue. I think it works for this project. Client super happy and me super happy. The idea was to get people to represent all sides of cycling in the city, from the hipster fixie (Thanks Adrian, sorry.) to the long distance commuter (Thanks Steve!) and everyone in between.

Just like the theme of MEC Bikefest, it's not about riding a particular type of bike, it's about cycling in general, and participating in a culture that accepts an alternative mode of transportation to motor vehicle as a viable way to get around the city. It's not about only MEC bikes either, it's about whatever your ride, and your reasons for it.

Enjoy, and keep it lubed. Always!

Love,

Kamil Bialous

Tags: bike, bikefest, cycling, cyclist, fest, MEC, mountain Equipment Co-op, photos, portrait, riding, series, toronto, urban.

Diana portrait. Toronto. 2009.

I had a very enjoyable portrait shoot with a friend of mine in Toronto recently. Not a big deal at all, just single light with a reflector, on black backdrop. I tried to really slow down when shooting and take fewer frames as opposed to just gunning it. More talking and listening, guiding the subject a bit more, and always having fun. While I shoot quite a few environmental portraits, they are often shot in a journalistic style without too much input from the photographer (me).

Diana portrait. Toronto. 2009.

In the new year, I look forward to shooting many more environmental portraits with the amazing cast of characters I'm no doubt going to cross paths with in the adventure world. Let's try to put together a collection of images that put a face to the act, so-to-speak. To all the climbers, skiers, kayakers, and runners, people of adventure and city rats - I'm looking for your mug. Let's get together and make some cool photos.

See ya this year.

Kamil

Tags: adventure athletes, call for subjects, environemntal portraits, lighting, portrait, toronto.