Christopher Savoie Photography

Urban Sport Bike Photography

Chris Savoie — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:52:10 +0000

A good friend of mine wanted to take full advantage of our beautiful Manitoban summer headed our way and treat himself to a new ride. Of course I had to take advantage of this opportunity and learn about photographing motorcycles. I scoured the internet for examples and tips for shooting sport bikes outdoors, here’s what I learned.

Lenses, Lighting, and Shooting

Kept the camera on Spot Metering to allow for light bleed from the sun for a stylized look.
In order to ensure the background had a good blur to it, I kept the bike at least 8 feet from the background.
Mind the background – it’ll be visible through the bike.
Shoot both low, and high.
Shoot wide & crop details.

I decided to use mostly my wide angle lens Canon EF-S 10-22mm and shoot really close to the bike to exaggerate depth and make it pop. I also brought my new external speed-light and hoped to trigger it using my on-camera flash but it was just too bright outside. Looks like I need to pick up a wireless trigger soon.

Post-Processing

I used this opportunity to try out the new Adobe Lightroom 4 software. All my photos were saved as Camera RAW and the first thing I noticed in Lightroom 4 was the change in behavior of the ‘Clarity’ processing slider. I was intending on taking the best of the photos I snapped and perhaps converting some to an HDR look but that ‘Clarity’ option seemed to emulate the same effect. I’m a big fan of this easy method for pulling detail out of hiding.

Download the Wallpaper Pack

If you’re looking for a new wallpaper, look no further. Download the pack here.

The Result

Snow, Ice, and Stars

Chris Savoie — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:01:41 +0000

Here’s a few shots from my visit to my parents Buffalo Point cabin on Lake of the Woods. This was my first opportunity to shoot aurora, but not my first attempt at stars. I must be doing it wrong, I wish the result was crisp. On the final day a heavy snowstorm rolled in and caused some beautiful scenes.

Lyrical Militant CD Release Party

Chris Savoie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:51:44 +0000

I recently had a chance to have another go at shooting a live music performance in an extremely low light situation. Luckily my preparation and research detailed in my last post paid off, and I was able to capture much less abstract images than my last attempt at a Subvert performance a while back.

As predicted, I avoided my flash and stuck with the stage lighting. I went a little high on the ISO which resulted in some noticeable grain in some of the shots so I’ll probably back off a bit next time. The grain actually added an interesting texture to the shots once I removed the color. A useful effect to remember. Not as predicted though, my Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II Lens was much less useful than I was expecting after I saw just how cramped the venue was.

The show was awesome, I was really impressed with the music and had a ton of fun snapping photos. Have a look!

Wallpaper Pack Download

I made a set of widescreen desktop wallpapers from this shoot, if you’re interested you can download them below.

Download the 16:9 pack.
Download the 16:10 pack.

Low-Light Event/Concert Photography

Chris Savoie — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:52:00 +0000

One of my colleagues has an interesting alter-ego. Online marketing professional by day, and hip-hop artist/producer Lyrical Militant by night. I’ve graciously been extended an invitation to photograph the release party on January 20th for his upcoming album Prelude to Revolution and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to try some new techniques.

I’ve shot at bar/club setting once before back in April 2011 at a Subvert show. You can check out the gallery here. As you can see, many of the photos that I brought home with me that evening were dark, mysterious, and…. well, dark.

In an effort to improve my shots and make the most of this event, I decided to start with some research before the night.

Low-Light Concert Camera Settings

I recently added a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II Lens to my bag, and I plan on starting the evening with this lens on my camera. The aperture on this lens is the widest in my collection which is exactly what you want in low-light situations. A wide aperture lets in a ton of light. I plan on keeping my aperture set between f1.8-f2.2.

One of the challenges encountered when shooting with your aperture wide open, is managing to focus with such a narrow depth of field. Live performance is a chaotic thing. Everyone around you is moving quickly, including the performers. In the interest of shooting and focusing quickly I’ll have my autofocus set to AI-SERVO and shoot in Continuous Shooting mode.

Atmosphere and lighting at events like these create a unique feel I’d rather capture than fight. I don’t plan on using a flash for the shoot, but perhaps pulling it out to experiment with at the end of the night. The quickly changing lighting situation can be challenging for your light meter to make sense of. To ensure your metering your exposure based on the subject and not ambient light, Set your light metering to Spot Metering.

Set your ISO high, as high as you can manage without degrading the quality with grain. ISO 400-800.

To prevent unnecessary distraction to fans I also plan on disabling my autofocus assist beam and the LCD display. I may also disable the Red-Eye Reduction Lamp, as it is kind of annoying to be infront of. Consider that choice an experiment.

Environmental Considerations

Some of the more dramatic concert photography I’ve seen eliminates distraction from the subject. Eliminating both background and foreground clutter is important.

One unique danger to avoid in a club setting is accidentally exposing your sensor to highly focused laser light. This can ultimately destroy your camera.

Can’t wait, should be a fun evening. Keep a look out for the results in the coming weeks.

The Music

P.S. The above photo is credited to the Lyrical Militant Facebook page.

The Village Wallpaper Pack

Chris Savoie — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:50:42 +0000

This shot was commissioned by a good friend of mine. After moving into brand new digs in Winnipeg’s Osborne Village area he couldn’t help but admire the interesting scene off his new high-rise balcony. Being one of Western Canada’s, and definitely Winnipeg’s, most densely populated area, the visible horizon is full of urban scenes, and winter evening colours.

As an interesting twist, we had the interesting idea of posing a few friends in the shot. See if you can spot them!

This shot is comprised of 24 exposures stitched together, and has a ton of resolution. At about 72″ wide, and nearly 33 Million pixels of resolution, this will make a gorgeous wall to adorn his new apartment wall.

Wallpaper Pack Download

This photograph makes a stunning dual-screen wallpaper, download the pack for the following available resolutions:

4:3 – 1600 x 1200
16:9 – 2560 x 1440
16:10 – 2560 x 1600
Dual Screen 16:9 – 5120 x 1440
Dual Screen 16:10 – 5120 x 1600

Download it here.

The Valley Wallpaper Pack

Chris Savoie — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:26:49 +0000

I snapped this shot on a ATV tour of the Kualoa Ranch during my destination wedding vacation in Hawai’i. For 2 hours we drove single file through rough terrain enjoying a tour of the beautiful valley. The valley is a hotspot for motion picture companies at quite a hefty rental fee. In-fact, this vantage point is the very same from the opening scene of Pearl Harbor that features two young soldiers taking a break as the japanese soar over piercing the silence.

This shot is comprised of 7 photographs stitched together, and holds an incredible amount of resolution. Enough resolution that it was no issue printing this beautiful shot at 66″ wide to adorn my bedroom wall as a reminder of the beauty we were lucky enough to witness in Hawai’i.

Take a look at a high-res version here.

Wallpaper Pack Download

This photograph makes a beautiful dual-screen wallpaper, download the pack for the following available resolutions:

4:3 – 1600 x 1200
16:9 – 2560 x 1440
16:10 – 2560 x 1600
Dual Screen 16:9 – 5120 x 1440
Dual Screen 16:10 – 5120 x 1600

Download it here.

A Frame Fit For Photos

Chris Savoie — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:23:07 +0000

Over the past year I’ve been getting more fascinated with photography and more serious about developing my ability to create striking imagery. I love capturing beautiful landscapes, natural beauty, and architecture. As my image library grows, and my harddrive fills, I decided it was time to create an outlet to showcase and share my best work. Here you’ll find experiments, ideas, emulation, development of technique, and a genuine love for capturing light.

Over the next year I’d like to continue to develop my skills, and work on my ability to shoot people . I find people are infinitely interesting subjects to shoot and have dabbled in event photos, portraits, and family shots. I’d like to extend an invitation to those seeking the services of a photographer to contact me for a potential booking. As my portfolio grows, my rates are flexible and reasonable. Having pursued a keen interested in post-production techniques I can guarantee an excellent end product. Additionally I’m curious to learn more about shooting weddings & large scale events. I’d like to extend my services as a photographers assistant/backup photographer to cover such events for free.

I like to think my images speak for themselves, so please browse my gallery, leave a comment, and share your favorites with your friends.