Ivory silk, obverse

Ivory silk, obverse, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Casting a different light.

Ivory silk panicle in a blue vase

Ivory silk panicle in a blue vase, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

The Brawley

The Brawley, a set on Flickr.

I shot these for The Brawley Restaurant and Lounge newly opened in Etobicoke, Toronto. They'll be used for their website and promotional material.

The Brawley page on Facebook

That smell! What did they do to you?

That smell! What did they do to you?, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

On delivery

On delivery, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

More street photography in Toronto's Junction area.

PDML Photo Annual 2013

The Pentax Discuss Mailing List, or PDML, of which I'm a "member" (as much as one can be a member of an anarchy) produces an annual collection of photos and humour. This is the 2013 edition, and it's the best yet.

By ordering one for yourself and even some for your friends and family you'll be contributing to a great cause (childhood cancer research) but also spreading joy by way of shots from some very talented photographers.

So follow the links to the Blurb ordering page and go for it!

http://www.robertstech.com/pdmlbook/

Kanzan Dusk 2

Kanzan Dusk 2, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Celebrating our flowering Kanzan Cherry tree last week. With recent cold weather and rain the petals are all starting to fall now.

I lit this with a Pentax hotshoe flash (AF540-FGZ) off-camera in a 36" umbrella softbox. I added a green gel to the flash and colour-corrected in Lightroom. That increased the reds & pinks in the sky.

Dark roast

Dark roast, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Lightning in a bottle

Lightning in a bottle, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Enjoyed coffee and a scone at Agora in The Junction this morning. Along the way I spotted this beautiful vintage lamp glowing in the window of Eclectic Revival.

Small World

Small World, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Summer please!

Louise and Tessa, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

A shot of Louise and our doggy Tessa from late May of last year. I'm so needing that weather again -- please!

Abstract Macro of the Day

Grainy, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

"Grainy". Seen at the Junction Chiropractic and Wellness Centre, in Toronto.

I've been profiled!

The Art Gallery of Mississauga has been running a series of profiles on artists whose work is appearing in the current exhibition, VAM35.

Today they featured moi ...

Mannequins, when they're at home

Mannequins, when they're at home, a set on Flickr.

Photography, Retouching: Bruce Walker

Huge thanks to Conn Burke of Recycled Displays for hosting and entertaining us!

Wang Chung - Stargazing

Too cool: new Wang Chung ...

Trio in VAM35 at the Art Gallery of Mississauga

Trio, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Well, the opening (VAM35 @ AGM; see this article) is over, and it was really well attended. In fact it was a crush of the kind where inching sideways was necessary to navigate at times. Surprising as Mississauga is not known as a cultural hot spot and it was also pretty cold (-9C) and snowing last night.

I took my SLR but didn't really bother with it. It seemed more of an enjoy-the-moment kind of evening to me. Met some friends, drank some wine, and snacked on a couple of veggie spring rolls. Wondered how on earth a few of the works ever got selected, but on the whole quite enjoyed the show.

This was the first year (of 35) that photography was included with traditional fine art media, so I was proud to have been selected and to represent the photographic intruders. I printed my shot at 30 by 20 inches on gallery-wrapped canvas, which I thought was plenty large enough, but it was dwarfed by the paintings, some of which were enormous. I'd say the size of the average work in this show is 3x4 feet -- clearly Big Art is In.

But interestingly the show's First Prize winner was a conceptual piece made up of a collage of photos. Not strictly Photography per se as it's documentation of the work which is really an installation, or a series of smaller installations.

I didn't win anything, except for a warm buzz of participation -- or from the wine; unsure which.

Undercover

Undercover, a photo by Bruce M Walker on Flickr.

Light on the right is courtesy one of the best bargains in lighting, one that anyone can afford: a Fotodiox 36" silver umbrella softbox. List is $34.95 but I got 25% off during Christmas so it cost me $26 with free delivery!

Update: it's actually very easy to use with a hotshoe flash: put both on a stock umbrella mount and slide the flash and mount right inside the umbrella through the opening in the white diffusion fabric. Set the flash on wide. I flipped-down the fresnel diffuser on my Pentax AF540 as well.  It's a little tricky to use with a hotshoe flash (the opening is positioned for a studio strobe), but with a couple of umbrella mounts and a Lowell Tota clamp I got it going with my Pentax AF540.  It provides beautiful soft light with a gradual fall-off.

Light on the left is a Fotodiox 24" folding softbox with the front diffuser off, acting similar to a beauty dish; ie: more specular than normal. Pentax AF540 inside.

Background is a 42" 5-in-1 reflector set to The Dark Side. Lights triggered by Cowboy Studios wireless triggers.

Model/MUAH: Louise Peacock
Photo/Retouch: Bruce Walker - Model Mayhem # 1440574
Studio: The Family Room :-)

Invitation to VAM35

A work of mine was accepted into Visual Arts Mississauga's VAM35, and the opening reception is Thursday the 17th, Mississauga City Hall, at 6 PM.

If you are in the Mississauga/Toronto area (Ontario, Canada), I'd love to see you there!

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND

VISUAL ARTS MISSISSAUGA’S

35^th Annual Juried Show of Fine Arts

@ the Art Gallery of Mississauga

January 17 to March 2, 2013

300 City Centre Drive

Mississauga, ON   L5B 3C1

Opening Reception & Awards

Thursday, January 17, 6 p.m.

Walk the Talk

Saturday, January 26, 1 p.m.

Exhibition hours

Weekdays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (8 p.m. on Thursdays)

Weekends: noon to 4 p.m.

Admission is free

VAM │ Celebrating 35 years of making art

12 for 2012

12 for 2012, a set on Flickr.

2012 was a year of many firsts for me. Among them were my first: model shoot; studio shoot; workshop attended; themed creative shoot directed by me; solo exhibit of my work; work with professional models, MUAs and stylists; fashion design (post-it notes, posterboard, coat-snaps and braided wire); sale of my mounted work!

This year I fully embraced lighting as an equal part of the photographic process, and studied it deeply. While I concentrated on portraiture and glamour, even my street, live music and landscape shooting hit personal peaks.

These twelve shots are a selection of some of the best from these firsts and peaks.

I'm looking forward to more growth in 2013.