JOEL BEDFORD PHOTOGRAPHY

With the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic,...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:03:00 -0400

With the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, I got to thinking as to what I may have in my photo archives to contribute to this significant, somber occasion. As it turns out, not too much (ha) BUT I did visit Belfast in Northern Ireland a couple of years ago. What does that have to do with the Titanic, you may ask? Well, you may or may not know that the Titanic was built in Belfast by the company Harland and Wolff ship builders, and I had the opportunity to take a tour (on double-decker bus, no doubt) of this crusty old city and it’s famous ship yards.

Seeing the actual shipyards where the Titanic was built was a bit of a trip - just thinking about all that hard work that went in to building that ship over two years and how such a task, even today, would take such massive feats of engineering. Despite the sinking of that impressive vessel and the 1,500+ lives lost there is a banner displayed on one of the dock buildings that proudly states ‘TITANIC: MADE IN BELFAST’. On one hand, it was probably the most beautiful ship ever made (at least from my understanding of the CGI renderings courtesy of James Cameron), but on the other its generally more famous for its demise, not the grandeur of the ship itself. Paradox or Antithesis? (seriously, which one, if any - I’m a photographer, not a writer).

Our bus left the shipyards and continued the tour of Belfast where we got an decent view of the city - I have to admit, I’ve traveled to and lived in many cities worldwide but Belfast had to be one of the saddest looking places I’ve seen in a long time - and I’m from Ottawa (zing!). Lots of gray faces, decaying buildings, broken windows, and an unsettling amount of CCTV cameras EVERYWHERE. The building of the Titanic could actually have been the best thing going here…Well, I shouldn’t be TOO hard on Belfast - I’m well aware that Northern Ireland has had a very tumultuous past and is only recently experiencing an extended time of peace. From the looks of things, though, and talking with locals, there is still a very palpable tension that smolders between the loyalists and republicans (just mentioning to a few guys at the bar that my grandfather was Manx was enough to get me cold shoulders and into a heated discussion). In any case, I can see that it’s going to take Belfast some time to make a full recovery - and I sincerely hope they do recover - but let’s just say I have no plans to move there (or visit again).

On the upside, I did get to spend a long drinking session on a Saturday afternoon at Belfast’s oldest tavern, White’s. This place was amazing - built in 1670(!) it was chock-full of old Irish posters, postcards, nick-knacks, arched ceilings, and old-Irish men sporting fine caps, sitting in dusty shafts of window light. Half-way in to my 5th Guinness these 20-somethings joined me in the booth and broke out traditional Celtic instruments and whipped the place up into a fury of song and swaying. A really memorable time - I have to thanks the group, Keep ‘er Lit and Annie (owner of the place) who was super kind and took my friends and I out to lunch the next day.

This post went sideways a little, but the timing is still appropriate.

Chelsea for FrAsh on Flickr. I made this shadowy teaser for a...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:43:00 -0500

Chelsea for FrAsh on Flickr.

I made this shadowy teaser for a local jewelry designer named Frash as a promo piece for their upcoming runway show (February 17th 8pm) at Ottawa Fashion Week. The show is produced by my girlfriend and working partner, Justyna Baraniecki who’s been working her buns off to make the show an entertaining, beautiful spectacle. If you’re coming to OFW, please don’t miss this show. It will be a good one for sure!

Valentine's Post...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:40:16 -0500

I’ve always been more of a listener than a talker. Some people may argue this (especially...

Jenna on Flickr.An outtake from a recent editorial I...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:44:28 -0500

Jenna on Flickr.

An outtake from a recent editorial I made….

Model’s name is Jenna from Angie’s Models
Styling by Justyna Baraniecki
Hair and Makeup by Melodie Iafelice

I couldn’t resist making this. So sue me. Actually, please...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:43:58 -0500

I couldn’t resist making this. So sue me. Actually, please don’t.

Autumn Portrait of Justyna on Flickr.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:11:26 -0500

Autumn Portrait of Justyna on Flickr.

Helicopters, Lunar Eclipses, and High ISO

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:32:00 -0500

That about sums it up. I shot a job for a real-estate development company last summer. They provided...

* on Flickr.This is an outtake from a recent editorial shoot to...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:16:13 -0500

* on Flickr.

This is an outtake from a recent editorial shoot to be published sometime in March… I can’t say what magazine, but you can probably guess which one. I’ll post the finals on my blog when they’re published.

Have to say, we had a great couple of models that day. This is one: Carmen from Angie’s Models in Ottawa. Despite being just 15, this girl could move and pose with the best of them (though I asked her to be still and straight on for this portrait). Hoping to see big things from her in the future. She’s got a promising career ahead of her.

Telegraph Pictures: Digitally altered images: ...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:06:57 -0500

Telegraph Pictures: Digitally altered images: ...: twitter.com Don’t believe everything you...

Most Powerful Photos Of 2011 Versa, fubiz.net Voici cette...

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:30:25 -0500

Most Powerful Photos Of 2011
Versa, fubiz.net

Voici cette sélection de clichés qui résume toute l’année 2011 selon Buzzfeed. Rappelant les différents évènements entre tsunamis, révolutions et l’anniversaire du 11 septembre, les photographies sont parfois durs à regarder mais sonnent…

guess the lighting: Nick Knight goes GaGa (again) for i-D Magazine

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:39:08 -0500

guess the lighting: Nick Knight goes GaGa (again) for i-D Magazine:...

This Is The World’s Most Insane Wallpaper BY RANDI...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:22:06 -0500

This Is The World’s Most Insane Wallpaper
BY RANDI GREENBERG, fastcodesign.com

This wallpaper demands a second look. No, make that three looks.
No, you’re not seeing double. Nor are you seeing triple. What you’re looking at is RGB, a multi-layered wallpaper by the Milan designers Carnovsky. Three overlapping and…

Wow…this isn’t something necessarily photo related but it does explore the color spectrum and pushes what’s possible with light, so I’m gonna share it. Would look amazing in a lounge or man-cave.

I was driving back from a shoot today when I passed a cemetery...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:51:55 -0500

I was driving back from a shoot today when I passed a cemetery in Ottawa’s east end. As I glanced over at some tombstones and shrines, the late afternoon light illuminating them nicely, one of them in particular caught my eye. I decided to pull over, get out of the car, and investigate. What serendipity. It was the grave Yousuf Karsh and his wife, Solange.

For those who don’t know, Yousuf Karsh was one of the most well known, respected, and talented masters of photography the world has ever known. Click on his name above and you will discover (or re-discover) his incredible portraits that spanned a 70+ year career.

I knew he lived in Ottawa most of his life, but had never contemplated his resting place and where it might be (he was originally from Armenia). Of all the graves in that massive cemetery, I’m still pondering how his caught my eye and how I thought to actually stop the car and go take a look.

Feeling very blessed for the experience.

I have new photos to share! I’ve been busy as of late with...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:35:49 -0500

I have new photos to share!

I’ve been busy as of late with moving, day-jobs, photo-shoots, editing and other stuff, my poor blog has taken a bit of a backseat through it all. Tsk!

I’d like to share with you some photos of a wedding I shot near Ottawa back in September. The couple, Katie & Guy were so kind, expressive, gracious, and organized, it made their big day an absolute pleasure to photograph (not to mention the beautiful location: Red Pine Camp, just west of Ottawa. Beyond the towering pines, sprawling fields, water-front, and vintage dining halls / cabins to compliment our pictures, the invitees were very kind and really added a great vibe to the atmosphere.

So enough words, more pics! 100 of my favorite images from this great day can be found HERE

My lovely girlfriend was recently sponsored by Adidas by Stella...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:44:19 -0400

My lovely girlfriend was recently sponsored by Adidas by Stella McCartney to do a blog post (not this one, one on her blog) on her fashion / style blog. She convinced me to grab my camera (it takes very, very little to convince me to grab my camera - it’s usually in hand) and take some shots in the warm evening light. Good call. Minus the crazy allergy attack that both of us endured to get some pretty neat pics (many of the rejected photos from this editorial were only due to the (allergic) tears streaming down Justyna’s face - The next time we decide to shoot in a ragweed field, we’ll bring the Allegra.

Many of these photos were shot with pure sunlight, a few others with my Canon 580EX II mounted to a light stand, unfiltered.

Snap!

So, after an insane month of working, I’m back in blog...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:23:00 -0400

So, after an insane month of working, I’m back in blog mode and will be posting recent shoots, tutorials, behind-the-scenes, and other goodies, starting today.

I’m beginning by showing you the cover (!) of today’s (Sunday, September 25, 2011) Style Magazine insert in The Ottawa Citizen. The shoot includes 3 double page spreads, and double intro page. I’m pleased with the results to say the least but couldn’t have accomplished it without the help of our great collaborators:

Justyna Baraniecki at Chameleonic (The Über-talented lass who wrote the article, styled, art-directed, and just about everything else)

Angie’s Models

Models International Management

Cover Models Management

The Chateau Laurier

Metropolitain Brasserie

The White Dress

The Ottawa Citizen

Zach Zimmerman (assisting for the cover shot)

Rebecca www.lotsixtyfive.com (assisting on Angie’s Model shoot)

And last but not least, Awesome Hair and Makeup by Alex Watson at Nars (the Bay, Rideau Center (No website yet..grr!) Noah V. (Stila, Aveda, Rideau Center) (who still doesn’t have a friggin’ website displaying his visual talents, but audio talents are linked here)

Many thanks to all of you who made this shoot possible!! Looking forward to showing you lots more in the winter issue.

Diana & Matt

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:41:00 -0400

I won’t lie. There are times when being a wedding photographer can be a stressful occupation....

En Vogue on Flickr. No this isn’t an actual Vogue cover (I...

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:03:00 -0400

En Vogue on Flickr.

No this isn’t an actual Vogue cover (I wish)! I made this photo of Justyna last night while driving around Manotick (south of Ottawa). She suggested we hop out and take some pics in the fleeting evening light. Good idea.

Real or Fake?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:03:37 -0400

What may be obvious to a few (or many) and not so much to others, is that this image is a...

A quick behind the scenes video of a shoot me, @nickdmouth...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:56:56 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

A quick behind the scenes video of a shoot me, @nickdmouth (shooting the vid), @chichichicjb, @popcblog and facesbynoah.com made last winter…We’re all pretty wired on KFC and coffee, and freezing temps. A typical mid-winter-in-Ottawa fashion shoot. The result of this shot can be seen on my Flickr stream!