Cage Fight?

So the Extreme Cage Fighting championships came to the sleepy town of Halifax, NS and it was ridiculous. To each their own, but it's not my thing, I hadn't even really seen it on TV, but I certainly got a good feel for it last night.
So far in my short career, I have never photographed in such a hostile environment. You know those guys who yell at us at a hockey game or junior high basketball game to get out of the way — well I met their evil twins about ten times last night. I had to talk my way out of two fights and get security one time. It was bananas. There were more fights in the stands than in the ring.
It was nuts.
But when I wasn't watching who was going to punch me, I had to make pictures, but only one with blood - the paper wanted atmosphere.
I thought it turned out OK - Of course, feedback and criticism is nice to hear. By the way, I threw a couple in black and white because I reckoned that's how they should be seen.

Darren

PIKE

Picked up the March/April 2006 issue of Outpost Magazine the other day, has an article featuring photos/thoughts from Canadian photo-j's: Larry Towell, Lana Slezic, Roger Lemoyne, Steve Simon and Patti Gower. Check it out if you get a chance, it's worth the $5.

-pike-

hello from Ottawa

Hello everyone. So I guess this is the week where I shoot men with mics. John Baird in a presser, then Gerard Kennedy announces he will run for Liberal leadership... The millitary man is going to Sudan to try to teach some people over there to have a proper police force. Then last but not least is just a weather feature from when I got bored at Kennedy's speach.

Have a good one,
Ashley Fraser

G.I. JOOOOOOEEEEEE!!!

Just a shout out to Joe for locking up the Toronto Sun summer internship! Nicely done my friend, nicely done.
Carlos

Peace Out from Queen's

Hey dudes, the school year has finally come to a slow down. Final exams are being written, essays are being handed in, and as for myself, I finished a week ago so I'm just taking pictures. :) Here's some pix which go under the 'end of year' theme such as studying, going into exams, etc... (party pictures start tonight/tomorrow)
Mr. Carlos, I shall see ya soon, and big ups on the POM's!!!!!!

Peace,
Harrison

PIKE - I see Carlos

Just looking at the wire and I spotted Carlos, (at least I think it's him, could be some other south american dude with a nikon)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060425/481/cptd11004250239

Liberals, Liberals, Liberals!

Me again. Just a quick post. Kind of a slow shooting day today (high school club, Blues in the Schools concert). Got a chance to go to a local country club where Liberal leadership candidates Ken Dryden, Dr. Carolyn Bennett and Martha Hall Findlay were speaking. Dryden is far and away the best speaker of the three, but Bennett and Hall Findlay are the first two women to run for the Liberal leadership at the same time. Tried to get a photo of the two of them together, but to my dismay Martha blinked... (not that it was a great photo anyways)

-SC

Caledonia

I was in Caledonia for about 50 hours. I arrived on Friday afternoon. When I arrived it was really calm. All the media thought there might be another raid. The raid happened on Thursday morning at about 4:30 am. My time there was spent waiting to see if anything else would happen. Nothing did it was calm the whole time I was there. Some of the photos are from inside the camp. when i was there they weren't letting media in all the time. I did get to go in for about 45 minutes. The rest of the photos are from the blockade.
Carlos

Kanata Art Show

Hey guys,

Currently I'm doing my internship at two Runge (read Metroland) weekly newspapers in the Ottawa area, the Kanata Kourier-Standard and the Arnprior Chronicle-Guide. These two offices also publish four other newspapers per week, so there's a decent amount of work to go around. Sometimes the photo assignments are a little uninspiring, but I'm trying to make the most of it.

Here's a photo I shot today at a local art show. There's a bit of a dramatic wide-angle effect here but the room was pretty tight and I wanted to be able to show the landscape of this guy's face along with his work. He's a WWII vet from Romania who picked up art after he retired from work in 1977. He moved to Canada just a few years ago.

-S

Blast from the past...

The Soprano's meets Dick Tracy.

Too much!

Marc Bence

sam roberts

Hey guys. Its been a slow week here in Ottawa for freelance work. I shot Sam Roberts at Capital City Music Hall for the Citizen last night. Kinda neat light... or lack of light... :)

-ashley fraser

Hey Carlos,

Congrats on your not one, but two POM wins for February.

-SC

PIKE - feature

Elton Collegiate grade 11 student Rebecca Borley, 17, launches a discuss during the teams track and field practice at UCT stadium in Brandon on Wednesday Apr. 19, 2006. (CHRISTOPHER PIKE/BRANDON SUN)





Shot this picture with black and white in mind, but here it is in colour (as requested), what do you like better?

funerals

These are photos from two funerals of the slain bikers. Tough to shoot. The emotion is so real. I thought that I was going to get yelled at or punched or something from the bikers attending. Thankfully there were no problems.
Carlos

prego...

Hey everyone! Happy Easter.

Here is a pic I shot the other night of my good friend, in my apt. Shes about to pop! haha. I couldn't resit making some pictures!

Hey Darren I think that is a great idea. Also, anyone out there who has any questions about freelancing (As long as you are not going to try in Ottawa..... haha!) feel free to ask away. I sure don't know everything but there is a freelance market here so I have been able to learn a thing or two in the past year.

-Ashley Fraser

Whoa

I think I just had one of those days that Carlos was hoping to see on this message board; at least, this is a day that sums up what working a daily news beat is to me.
I love to make pictures, I love to work an assignment, but on days where you shoot eight jobs in one day - it's more of an exercise in simple execution than actual photojournalism. However, that being said, it's days like this that make me realize that shooting news is f____ing incredible. From shooting a possible murder victim to a cat show - it's daily news. I get such a kick out of it.
But, like Carlos eluded to in an earlier post, it's the stuff outside the frame that makes this job worth talking about. But, it's nice to throw a nice pic in every now and then.
I think this post is turning into a question on how we (young sponges of pictures) see ourselves as photojournalists. i.e. - doc/wire/community based/international/commercial - or do we not want to limit ourselves with titles. (wank)
I am curious to hear from everyone, but there should be a good mix with Carlos (big readership), Pike (smaller readership), Harrison (freelance/University), Ashley (freelance/good market) - these are just the names I recognize.
Let's hear it.

Darren Calabrese

oh - and here are five pics from the magical day I spoke of...

PIKE - SS update

Finally got my act together and put some recent pics up on my SS page, most of them have been posted on here already, but feel free to give feedback . . .

check it out

-pike-

Seals

Hey Folks,

Mark Stewart here. For those who don't know me I'm a Loyalist Photo grad. I'm not shooting for anyone but myself these days...

Every April, there is a festival known as Toonik Time. It's basically a northern version of any other community festival. The festival has yet to officially begin, but there are some interesting things going on... quite unique to the arctic. Today there was a seal carving competition. Locals bring in the seals they've hunted, and then race to see who can skin it first.

This is a pretty political issue right now and people were pretty sensitive to having pictures taken, I was even accused of being from greenpeace while shooting this. With celebrities and green thumbs continually attacking seal hunting, I think its important to remember that the seal is an integral part of inuit culture. Nothing is wasted, not even the intestines.

Anyway, the pics are pretty pedestrian, but may be interesting none the less.

-mark-

2 long days...

I spent 2 days shooting near London Ontario for the biker murders. long days full of waiting for something to happen. when things did happen it was soooooo far away. I was shooting with a 400 and a 1.4 and i was still loose. the second day ron bull was sent down to take over my post. he brought a 600 and a doubler along with a 1.4 still kinda loose.
two long days but worth every minute.
the first photo is the police barricade and the media in the foreground, the second photo is the crime scene. thats not the 400 with 1.4 just a wide shot at like 200 mm.

Carlos

This blog's for you, I-Stew!

From a recent trip to La Belle Province that Nina and I took...



-Scott

Hey everyone.
Someone brought it to my attention that some of us keep forgetting to post our names with our pictures. I don't think initials cut it either for people who don't know who you are... Keep posting. This is a great thing to keep us all in touch and learning more and more from each other.

Thanks,
Ashley Fraser

Juno pictures

Alright - let's see if this works.
This is a bit late, but I thought I would throw down some Juno pics. It was a lot of work, but it's pretty great to have a Junos under my belt.
My thoughts...it was fun for about ten seconds to be labelled a papparazzi (sp?), Pam Anderson has a huge chest and a nice complection, Coldplay puts on a good show, the Black Eyed Peas are horrible, Joel Plaskett is the best thing to happen to Canadian music since Gordon Lightfoot, and Pam Anderson has a huge chest.

dbc

OFSAA Repeat

Recently, Nicholson Catholic College here in Belleville won their second straight provincial basketball title. This year, the tournament was hosted in Belleville.










An expanded version can be seen at www.lightstalkers.org/scottclouthier and the for the full version you'll have to come and visit me :)
Cheers!
Scott