~ 328/365 Galina ~

© Randy Pond Photography - www.randypond.ca
328/365
Got to shoot it up with Galina Ermakova today out in Vegreville.  Was a short shoot but always an honor to work with her.  :) -Randy

~ 292/365 Candace ~

© Randy Pond Photography - www.randypond.ca
292/365
Went to Edmonton today, on the way I did a couples shoot of a young couple in Sherwood Park and then stopped in to visit the big name Edmonton photographer, Candace Vanstryland.  Got a few shots of her before it went all dark in the land of the fading sunlight. -Randy

~ 273/365 Jane in Vegreville ~

© Randy Pond Photography - www.randypond.ca
273/365
A cloudy day, cold but we still went out and did a shoot.  Thanks to Jeff and Jane for coming out to do a photo shoot.  Jane is awesome, so much fun to take photos with. Great way to start a week. -Randy

~ 208/365 Dani ~

© www.randypond.ca
208/365
It has been YEARS since I 1st shot with Dani, was nice to connect on a shoot again.  Last time was a group shoot, this was our first time shooting 1-1.  She is a super cool model that just seems at home in front of a camera.....almost like she's modeled a few times before, hee hee.  :)  Thanks to her for a fun shoot. -Randy

~ 205/365 Wall Walking Model ~

© www.randypond.ca
205/365
This has to be one of the coolest poses I have ever seen a model pull off. :)  Huge props to Leanne for this shot.  I suggested she try and get a leg up on the wall and she went all spidey model and just free styled it.  :)  Really had a fun day, shooting with 2 models....just too bad Sherwood Park Toyota gave me some terrible customer service today.  Other than that today rocked! -Randy

~ Banff 202/365 ~

© www.randypond.ca
202/365
Got to go to a shoot in Banff, invited by Jadeyn and met some awesome photographers and other models.  Such a fun day and friendly people to hang out with. -Randy

~ 153/365 Myriam and Angela in Edmonton ~

I couldn't pick one model for the pic of the day, so I decided to go with a 2 for 1!!! :)  Enjoy, happy Sunday.  Only one more Sunday left as a 30something for me.  Hoping to grab some awesome pics next weekend too!!! It will be my birthday weekend!! -Randy

~ 102/365 Friday, PD Day and a Shoot with Janaya ~

102/365
Had a professional development day in Sherwood Park today, so got a chance to go out and do some photos on a "kinda" warm day.  They are calling for 20cm of snow this weekend starting tonight in Edmonton.  The wind was nasty but Janaya braved it and we got some really sweet pics. :) -Randy

~ Day 100/365 Project with the Wonderful VITA!!!!! ~

100/365
Dropping day 100 on you like a bomb with this edit of the amazing Vita.  I take no credit here, Vita's just that awesome. :)  Great to shoot with Vita after such a long time.  Such an impressive model and talented young woman.  Happy to work on some shots with her and hope she pops back in to my 365 project before the year is over. -Randy

~ 61/365 GALINA!!!!!!!!!! ~

61/365
Had a chance to shoot with Galina.  She is a beautiful young model from Russia.  Have to admit, Russians are super cool!!! :D Must be that Dovich connection to that country. :)  Had a blast shooting with Galina, I am betting she makes a few more returns to my 365.  -Randy

~ Renee Robyn ~

Renee Robyn is an outstanding model and photographer.  I have had the honor of shooting with Renee a few times and have to say she is one of the best.  She has such great artistic talent and uses it in front and behind a camera.  Those that know of Renee would agree with me that she is such a unique and talented person.  Check her out on FB and see some of the amazing work she does.

~ Thanksgiving Weekend ~

Most people take this time of the year to reflect on what they are thankful for, so I figure I will put down some things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for life, thankful for creativity....without the chance to imagine I would be a very sad human being.  I enjoy seeing the creations of my fellow humanity.  Music, movies and all the amazing images created by artists all over this planet.  Of course I am thankful for my family and friends....and the real friends that have shown their support and kindness to me.

I hope you all have a good thanksgiving weekend.

Here is an edit from a shoot with the lovely Danielle Lucier.  Short and simple blog post today. :)
-Randy

NBA RANT, Myriam Edit, last day of classes

NBA RANT

Looks as though the evil Heat will win a Championship....with their BIG 3 superstars.  I am a Laker fan and realize that sometimes the Lakers have brought in superstars and won Championships that way.  However, a guy like James just ruins it for me.  I really have a strong dislike of him, so not happy to see him win a title.  I don't mind Wade, but the rest of the team is bleh! :)  I hope the young Thunder can somehow make NBA history and win the next 3....one game at a time boys.

LAST DAY OF CLASSES

Today is the last day of classes for the 2011-2012 year....YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now just final exams, LOTS and LOTS of paperwork.  Then I can shut off the brain and grab a camera or two and go crazy enjoying summer.

Todays blog edits feature the LOVELY Myriam!! Hoping to track her down for a shoot soon.  :)
-Randy

~ May the 4th be with you ~

May the 4th be with you!!

A fun time of the year for Star Wars fans to express their nerd love of Star Wars!!! :)  I am going to make sure to watch an episode today!!! In honor of my fave series of movies and culture. :)

Thanks Lucas for making Star Wars an awesome franchise!!

Should be a star wars edit, but too tired, maybe later today I will do one....but here is Kelsey!! :)
Happy FRIDAY!!!!
-Randy

~ New Edits, CS6 ~

CS6

So the new photoshop drops May 7th and I made my pre-order on mine yesterday.  I have been using the beta and loving it.  There are some really cool new features which I am in love with.  The new blur filters are great, the tilt shift one is by far my fave.  They created the look to mesh better with lightroom, blacks and greys, it just looks great.  Colour images pop out awesome when I am working on them.  It also will allow me to edit video, although I have not tried that yet.  I used my teacher cred to get the educational discount....so I am excited to use this program to create this summer.

New Edits

Here are a few new edits of Susan and Tatiana edited this week.....have a good finish to the week everyone.
-Randy

~ Sunday Shoot and a good weekend ~

I had a fun great weekend.  On Sunday I hosted a shoot with the lovely Susan and her sister Carla and their friend Kelsey.  It was too cold outside for outdoor pics, so we stuck to the warmth of the studio.  I missed getting a picture of it but they broke a record for bringing the LARGEST suitcase of outfits.  I usually want models to bring lots of clothes but this was tons!!! :)  Which was awesome, but I doubt we even scratched the surface on all the outfits these ladies had at their disposal.

Susan and I had shot YEARS ago and it was great to be able to shoot with her again.  She is such a stunning girl with just a natural presence in front of a camera.  Carla is tall, has great eyes and just kept pulling off great poses.  Kesley's smile was vibrant and she was just full of positive energy during the shoot.  All 3 were easy going and the shoot just kept going smooth.  Finny loved having 3 models to give him attention.  Although he slept during the last part of the shoot.

My hockey update:  So during the shoot I missed seeing the Penguins get spanked by the Flyers.  LOL....I am happy that they lost and by the looks of things Sydney Cindy Crosby had a melt down.  This just makes him appear less and less like the next Great One in the League.  Wayne would of never done the things Sydney did in that game.  What a joke and poor role model to any young hockey players watching that.  When the reporters interviewed him after the game he looked like he was about to cry.  Also when they asked him why he just didn't skate away from all the craziness he looked confused.....hope Flyers get the brooms out and send the Penguins golfing.  On a final note, GO KINGS!!!! Jim Houghson's Canuck's won't be going to a cup final this year from the looks of things, unless they all of a sudden pull of some magic.  Good thing too, I don't think Vancouver wants more riots.

Okay enough hockey talk......here are some edits from my shoot with 3 lovely ladies. :)

COLD!!! Winter has let me down.

So far winter has not given me any satisfaction.  It started with the LACK of snow.  Looking outside and seeing the world blanketed in the beauty of white is one of my favorite things about winter.  We started with warm weather and no snow, the world was brown and dirty looking.  LOTS of ice everywhere to slip and fall on.  Then shortly after going back to work in 2012 the temperature decides to drop like crazy to -40ish and we still have a dusting of snow out there.  Makes me sad.  Hopefully the snow will come.  If it is going to be this cold at least give us snow winter!!!

For those of you COLD, here are some HOT pictures from my 2012 shoot with the lovely Tatiana!!  She brings the heat.
-Randy

~ Random Photography Thoughts ~

GEAR LUST

For most photographers this is almost unavoidable. If you love taking pictures the camera Gods will always be putting these shiny new cameras out for us to crave. The price tag will most certainly make our spouses and significant others (parents) cringe. Is all of this gear even needed? Take a look at a shoot done just with an iphone and see that it really isn't the brand of camera used that makes a picture a success.

.

Lots of photographers are crazy for the new x100 by Fuji (including myself). I do think though that before a photographer looks at the gear they need to look at the images they are creating. The camera will NEVER make you a better photographer. I think the basics HAVE to be learned before the camera (tool) can ever really matter. I do think it is ALWAYS about the picture and the way it is composed, the way the image is captured with light....maters so much more then megapixels, noise reduction and all the other photo nerd technical things that so many photographers place far too much importance on.

Most people I know do not even know a thing about their cameras. The average person does not even know what the settings on their point and shoot are about. All they know is it takes nice pictures and that is what they like about it. So really, if you are trying to sell images to a client, they won't care about the technical parts of your camera. They just want to see a great image.

-Randy

Here is a few shots from a recent shoot I did in June with an awesome model and friend, Angela Carr.

~ Summer Update 2011 ~

Well, so far this summer has been a LOT of fun as far as photography goes. I have shot a lot of pictures and hope to take a ton more before August ends. I shot a lot with my buddy Mac Sokulski of Miks Media and RPM Photography. We shot some engagement sessions and a family reunion. I have done some personal work lately too, I will post some in this blog post.

I have done the usual afternoon naps with cat cuddling included. Lots of late night games of COD Black Ops with my buddy Sonny on xbox live. I have just enjoyed the summer, but the main rant is the horrid swarms of skeeters. They are the worst ever, little tiny photo bombers that look like sensor dust on most of my shots.

I have loved the chance to shoot portraits of a few very talented photographers. Candace Vanstryland and Olivia Kovios. Hoping to add Samantha Scharf to the mix soon, as we have talked about shooting before she leaves for BC in a few weeks. I enjoy shooting other photographers. It's fun to show that there are some very nice looking people behind the lens of a camera. I am happy to showcase their beauty in front of a camera and give them props for their talents behind the lens.

Anyway, hope to keep my blog updated throughout the summer. Need to do lots of shooting and hope to keep sharing it with everyone.

-Randy

~ Renee Robyn 129/365 ~