This was one of my first, if not my first shoot (can’t remember) during TIFF in September. It was my third time covering the festival since I was 18 and I just remember this being one of my busiest days. I had something right before this shoot, and then immediately after I had to run over to MuchMusic for my live on-air interview about who I’m looking forward to photographing at the film festival (which was really great and I’m hugely grateful for them having me). I had another shoot right after my interview as well I believe. Timing was very tight in between them all. Even worse: parking was a total bitch… it usually always is anywhere downtown in Toronto, but with the excitement from TIFF… even worse. All of this happened at rush hour too… my God… I just remember the sheer madness but somehow it all worked out perfectly and was an amazing day. I said to Adrian, “I’m like the Canadian ‘Teenage Paparazzo” … even though I’m not a pap nor have I ever participated in the “sport” he seemed to like that. He was a really cool guy. I was really curious to meet him because of his movie! My girlfriend ran into him later that day while she was guarding my laptop and showed him the photos. It was a good start to a great film festival… my best so far! 

Nikon D700 + 85mm

Another photo from my summer in Yorkville creating this project. This one really typifies the area I think. It has all the right elements in the right places… and I love how this lens allowed me to get only the ass of the Lambo in focus. I was waiting for the right person to walk by and this girl was perfect for the finishing touch… thank you mystery woman. ;) 

D700 + 24mm tilt-shift

Another favorite from my “Yorkvillism” project from the summer of 2010… what a great couple of months that was. Drake’s “Thank Me Later” was pretty much the anthem of that summer and I actually ran into him outside ONE Restaurant while shooting for this series. I also saw a lot of interesting people including this man… his shopping bags are from Lacoste and Harry Rosen and his shoes are Prada. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is all I can think about. :) Again, like the last shot, a pretty unusual detail in this scene which is why I think it’s special. PS - for anyone wondering about the blur in this and the last shot… it’s not Photoshopped, it’s just the fabulous result of a tilt-shift lens. 

Nikon D700 + 24mm tilt-shift (love this lens to infinity and beyond)

I was digging up some older files from July 2010 and found this from a client project I was working on that summer. This is in one of Toronto’s “posh” neighborhoods called Yorkville. I really enjoyed working on that project because I got to walk around and find things like this. I thought the car was funny in the context of where it was and it reminded me of an LA scene. I also love all the construction and how anti-posh it really looks. People from Toronto would know that this is one of our city’s most chic areas. I used to spend a lot of time here as a kid actually so this project was very nostalgic for me. 

Nikon D700 + 24mm tilt-shift lens

I’m the house photographer for the shOws and this year they were at The Ritz-Carlton with Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha hosting. I remember shooting Coco at fashion week back in 2008… someone told me to photograph her because she was the “next big thing” in modeling. It’s amazing how much she has changed in those couple of years looking back at my first photos of her. When she walked backstage at The Ritz, I knew I wanted to make this photo with the curtains, boxes, and stacked chairs… they really scream “backstage” to me and I love that vibe. She’s always so lovely to photograph. 

Nikon D700 + Nikon 24mm f/1.4