Welcome to Our Blog

Apr 06

by gregvanriel in Shoots, Uncategorized 7 comments tags: pools, summer fun, swimming pools

POOLS – SITES FOR SORE EYES!

After this long winter here in Eastern Canada some of us are really looking forward to some fun in the sun. Here is some eye candy to get you in the mood! If you’re shooting pools the thing to keep in mind is that they tend to look best from a high angle. Of course rules are meant to be broken. I love this infinity pool and the setting. Don’t forget that you’re telling a story. Like this next one. Can you imagine lying in the hammock chillin’ out with a good book, magazines, and your favorite beverage? Sometimes it’s nice to focus on some of the details and leave the rest to the imagination. I hope you feel encouraged that yes, summer will be here again! And I’m sure you’ll find time to relax and enjoy it just like this young girl here is… Feel free to leave a comment by clicking on “Comments” above.

266

Mar 06

by gregvanriel in Recent Shoots 6 comments tags: Deconstructivist style, Expo, Isle Notre Dame, Montreal, Montreal casino, Palais des Congres, Place Des Arts, Sun Life Building

Stone Cold Montreal Winter shoot

I went to see my Mom and sister in Montreal recently. Of course I couldn’t resist going out to look for a few shots. I have a certain fondness for the old Sun Life building. In the 1930’s it was the tallest building in the British Empire. The architects were Robert Finlay and Richard Waite. I tried to get an interesting angle on it as you can see here. But it was so cold I had to take refuge inside to warm up. When I went back out again I used the Boer War memorial horse and soldier in the foreground. I like the one straight on the best and didn’t do any lens correction, just warmed it up and pulled out some detail on the soldier and his horse. (It’s easy to open the same image again in camera raw. Pull out the detail you […]

253

Oct 21

by gregvanriel in Recent Shoots 2 comments tags: AerialCineMedia, Architectural Photography, Architecture videos, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Diamond Schmitt Architects, HDR Architecture, Helicopter, KPMB Architects, Old Don Jail, Remote controlled helicopter, Stantec Architecture, Time Lapse Photography

HELICOPTER VIDEO OF BRIDGEPOINT HOSPITAL

I’ve been watching the construction of the new Bridgepoint Active Healthcare Centre in east Toronto with keen interest. Diamond Schmitt Architects, KPMB, Stantec, and HDR Architecture had the vision for the new facility which sits in the heart of residential Riverdale. In February I took some initial shots of the building. Then I had the good fortune to re-connect with some old friends, Kristi McNeil and Steve Couzens owners of Big Sky Film Production. They just opened a new Flying Camera division called AerialCineMedia. Their flying camera platform is a fast and agile remote control helicopter that carries HD Cinema quality cameras to distances of 1500 feet and speeds of up to 80km/hr Since the helicopter is small it can get very close to subjects. I thought it would be cool to use this technique to shoot buildings for architects. Bridgepoint Hospital came to mind right away. Kristi and Steve were game and so was Antra Roze from Diamond Schmitt. She suggested I contact Danielle Donadio at Bridgepoint and she loved the idea. So Kristi, Steve and I did an initial scout of the building. Since Administration for the Hospital is in the renovated old Don Jail, the consensus was […]

529

Jul 12

by gregvanriel in Recent Shoots 4 comments tags: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Hindu temple Toronto, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto

An Architectural Masterpiece

Recently I met with Swami Nitya at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto. The Mandir is an exceptional Hindu temple which can been seen traveling north on HWY 427. After a very interesting discussion with Swami Nitya in which he gave me a crash course in Hinduism, I was granted the opportunity to shoot the Mandir. Here are some images I shot. I am so impressed with the detail. The temple was hand carved from Italian Carrara Marble, the finest Turkish Limestone, and Indian Pink Sandstone. Everything was hand carved in India and shipped to Canada and assembled on site. I was looking for the quintessential wide shot that would show the majesty and grandeur of the Mandir. I decided on this shot. But I didn’t think […]

252

May 11

by gregvanriel in Shoots 0 comments tags: Sheridan College Mississauga Campus

Taking Another Look

Often I like to play a little game with myself when I’m shooting. After I think I’ve got the “Money” shot it’s time to see if I can up the ante. Have another look. Try something else. For example, I had this shot of the new Sheridan College Campus in Mississauga, Ontario. I walked around the building took some of these below. I quite liked the last one so I did some Photoshop work on it. It took quite a while to get it look like this. The problem was that I messed up the section of the shot at the bottom right hand side. You can see a white line where the edge of the building meets the sky. I felt a little disappointed and abandoned it. I ended up working on this shot here. A while later the low angle shot popped back into my head and I thought, why not strip in a different sky. I’d shot some sky plates and had one I thought would work. So I created a layer mask in Photoshop and came up with this one. It worked out kind of nicely and I think I saved the image. It’s always worth […]

238

POOLS – SITES FOR SORE EYES!

Stone Cold Montreal Winter shoot

HELICOPTER VIDEO OF BRIDGEPOINT HOSPITAL

An Architectural Masterpiece

Taking Another Look

Search

Categories

Tags

Archives