Mitch Asham Photo Winnipeg Wedding Photography

Michelle in the Exchange!

2010-11-23T22:02:00.005-06:00

So, a while back I got out and did a session with Michelle. It's always fun shooting in the Exchange, tons of great locations sometimes it can be difficult to know when to call it quits!

Here are a few of my favorites from our portrait session.

Check out my full site at mitchashamphoto.com and be sure to like Mitch Asham Photography on Facebook to receive weekly updates!

-Mitch

2004 Subaru WRX STi

2010-11-09T20:43:00.004-06:00

So, on Halloween instead of handing out candy, I got to cruise around the Exchange district and get some shots of this killer Subaru STi. Really happy with how they came out, and I'm looking forward to shooting this car again as it progresses!

Be sure to 'Like' Mitch Asham Photography on Facebook to get weekly blog updates!

-Mitch

Subarus at Birds Hill

2010-11-09T19:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I've decided that being lazy is no longer an option, as such, the blog is making a come back. I'm going to be doing my best to post once a week, maybe more depending on the amount of content I have.

A while back, I got together with some friends and headed out to Birds Hill for some fun. I really enjoy automotive photography, I still have lots to learn about it, but that just means I can only get better.

Be sure to check out Mitch Asham Photo.com and 'Like' it on Facebook to receive weekly updates on new content!

A Weekend in Oliver

2010-04-06T17:49:00.003-05:00

So for Easter weekend I went exploring the area around Oliver BC, about an hour or so from Kelowna, some great winery's and a couple great abandoned buildings!

Jen + Taryn Engagement Session

2010-03-16T12:31:00.002-05:00

A while back I had the chance to go up to Big White with some friends for their engagement shoot, had a lot of fun despite the foggy conditions up the hill. Got some great shots and I look forward to shooting there wedding in December!

David + Jennylyn Engagement Session

2010-01-28T21:57:00.002-06:00

Recently I had the pleasure of working with David and Jennylynn! They're an awesome couple, and I look forward to shooting their wedding in May!

Waiting for Winter

2009-10-14T17:55:00.003-05:00

It's odd to think that summer has come and gone already, I enjoyed every bit of it...well, except the 21 hours of driving from Winnipeg to Kelowna.

But now winter is inevitably on it's way, and though it will (thankfully) never compare to Winnipeg's winters, I have come to a conclusion. I am going to become just like the rest of the hill-people here.

After spending my summer lounging on the beaches here, with the locals, and the hundreds of Albertan's that seem to find their way out here on a weekly basis, I have come to the conclusion that the Kelownian's summer hobbies aren't all that bad. Thus, as I said before I plan to join their ranks in the winter as well!

After honing the basics, on the finest hill Manitoba has to offer; Spring Hill, I feel that I am more than ready to show my lack of ability on a snowboard to the general public here in Kelowna and the surrounding area.

As such, I've felt compelled to buy my own board...because after using some of the stiffest, most unresponsive rental boards courtesy of Spring Hill, I feel that it might serve me well to ride something built for those of us who aren't exactly the next Shaun White. As such, I give you my new board, the Burton Clash 158, with Burton Freestyle bindings

Gellatly Road

2009-09-15T00:42:00.002-05:00

So, a while back I actually dragged myself out of bed on my day off to shoot capture some sunrise shots. This is a local mooring spot/swimming area for many of West Kelowna's residents. The sun was coming over the hills in just the right spot (or so I think) for these shots.

Meet Winter

2009-08-18T22:48:00.002-05:00

We recently had some friends visiting, and they brought me this wonderful model to work with, she is quite the poser when she sees the camera.

But, like most models... sooner or later, they get tired of the camera!

Myra Canyon - Kelowna, BC

2009-08-04T10:34:00.004-05:00

So this one is a little late, but since my little brothers visit I've been busy. Now that I've finally caught up I can get posting again!

I got the chance to do my first little bit of HDR work out here, I'm fairly happy with the results...still shooting hills is a challenge for me being born and raised in the flatlands.

Stay tuned, some baby pictures are coming soon!

Mission Hill Winery

2009-07-09T13:53:00.002-05:00

We went up to Mission Hill Winery while my parents were here visiting...to be honest I was expecting a dull tour, but it actually turned out to be pretty awesome.

This has got to be the coolest doorknob ever.

Apparently, when it was being built one of the bells for the bell tower (seen above) was miscast, and now it hangs on display.

Better late than never! Canada Day Fireworks

2009-07-08T13:04:00.004-05:00

So, it's taken me a while to get settled, but I think I'm finally getting back on track with editing my images so there's going to be a flurry of updates coming!

Stay tuned, I've got some images from Mission Hill Winery coming up soon!

CI Final Presentation

2009-06-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

It's been so long since I've shot landscapes, I'm glad I came back to them.

More Sky

2009-06-06T08:45:00.002-05:00

So, I keep seeing these skies, and I wish I was out in the country somewhere so I could have some interesting foreground elements to put with them. But when I'm stuck in suburbia with no time to get out and shoot, I toss the telephoto on and shoot for the sky.

Clouds

2009-06-01T20:06:00.003-05:00

So, during a break from portfolio editting I wandered up to the main floor from my den in the basement to see a very eerie looking storm looming over my neighborhood, so like any rational person I grabbed my camera and headed outside.

A view of things to come...

2009-05-13T09:22:00.002-05:00

So, after a long, tedious, cold Manitoba winter (hopefully my last for a while) I've finally felt the driving urge to go shoot more landscapes. This shot might make it into my CI final, but it's still up for debate.

A horse is a horse of course

2009-04-28T18:01:00.002-05:00

So, today after class Elisabeth and myself went out to Don Rudko's training stables to take some shots of the horses he has there.

A Break In The Clouds

2009-03-26T22:17:00.002-05:00

So, after enduring two of the worst excuses for the first few days of spring we got a glimpse of hope. When I saw the sun break out from the clouds I had to get a couple shots. Unfortunately, I didn't really have any terribly interesting foreground elements on the ground as these were shot just out my front door, so I figured just a couple shots of sky would suffice considering all we've seen is storm clouds and lots of snow the past two days.

1 Person, 3 Looks

2009-03-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

I rather enjoyed this project...maybe almost as much as the wal-mart portrait

Shooting again... Finally

2009-03-14T23:25:00.003-05:00

So, it's been a long time since I've gone out and shot without any specific assignment in mind. Along with Dwayne and Alicia we scouted the Via Rail station, fortunately the lighting wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting.

If anyone would be so kind to critique the shots I'd love to hear it.

-Mitch

Movie-extravaganza

2009-02-18T18:14:00.004-06:00

So, interspersed with the immense amount of shooting we have this week, we also had to check out some films. I chose to see Oh Brother Where Art Thou, One Hour Photo, and Manufactured Landscapes.

Starting with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, I've seen this movie several times before, but have never truly looked at it in a photographic sense. I found it incredibly interesting that this was the first film to be scanned and color-corrected completely digitally. Through watching the movie with this in mind I couldn't help but notice how well it was done considering it was essentially the first movie of it's kind. There was a very strong consistent look throughout the film that really added to the mood of each scene. The muted colors really lent to the setting of the film, without this processing I don't believe the movie would have the same feel as it does now. All in all I enjoyed seeing this again, especially looking at it in a new sense.

One Hour Photo was second on my agenda. A thoroughly disturbing film in my opinion, leaving me with the urge to never have my photos processed by anyone but myself from here on in. In spite of the mildly creepy nature of this film, it was an interesting film visually. I really found that control over white balance really set the mood for the 3 different 'worlds' that are presented in the film. The use of a warm yellow tint to all of the Yorkin family scenes really emphasized that the viewer was supposed to believe that this was a very warm inviting family. While the crisp clean whites of the SavMart 'world' makes it seem as though this is where Sy belongs, a place where everything is clean, a place where Sy can almost feel happy, if nothing else but through the pictures he develops. While Sy's personal life, the world outside of work has been tinted green. This truly adds to the creepy vibe that his extra-curricular activities already give off. As disturbed as I may have been by the story line, visually I found this film very interesting.

Finally, I saw Manufactured Landscapes. This film created the sudden urge in me to become a documentary photographer. I found it extremely interesting to see the impact of urbanization on our planet, not to mention the detrimental effects we're having on the planet. I feel that Edward Burtynsky's work is truly amazing, his highly saturated high contrast images are stunning, regardless of the fact that the content of the shots is rather unsettling. I was lucky enough to see some of Burtynsky's work in the Winnipeg Art Gallery and I was truly blown away by the amount of detail in each of his images. This film has left me hoping that at some point in my career I do get the chance to do some documentary work.

Whiteshell

2009-02-17T21:01:00.002-06:00

So, for my February long weekend my family loaded up our sleds and headed out to the Whiteshell provincial park. Of course, I brought the camera along...though I wasn't too happy with my results...goes along with shooting in bright sunlight I suppose.

And! While stopped at a 'Scenic Outlook' I shot a panorama, I'm really surprised it worked out considering it was all handheld

The Baby Bot Benefit

2009-01-18T19:27:00.004-06:00

So, since Alicia is awesome, she set this event up to help out her friend Troy, whose son; Jayden, may be in need of a heart transplant. Lots of awesome bands came out and put on a solid show. Here's a couple shots the rest can be seen on my flickr

Riding

2008-12-22T19:39:00.003-06:00

So, me and my brother braved the cold today to take our toys out, I feel that I've finished my DT project off pretty well. First time I've combined my two loves, worked out well, despite the fact that I was constantly thinking about the well-being of my camera.

Hecla

2008-12-21T17:11:00.003-06:00

So the trip to Hecla...in spite of illness, went really well. At least based on my digital stuff...haven't sent in the film for processing yet.

Though my sunrise panorama didn't work out nicely, I was fairly pleased with the shot I got at sunrise in Hecla Village

Mitch's brief venture into the world of concert photography

2008-12-14T15:54:00.003-06:00

I'm my continued avoidance of Christmas shopping I finally got through the 700 odd shots from a show I went to with Alicia. Rented out the 24-70 2.8L from Don's, was thoroughly pleased with it for low-light shooting...though I'm used to having the reach of the 24-105.

Tyrants Demise:

The Civil Disobedients:

The rest of the set can be seen on my flickr

A break in the rush

2008-12-14T13:14:00.003-06:00

So the Christmas rush has fully settled upon me, since well...I don't have my shopping done.

So I decided, what a better way to get my shopping done than to sit down with my laptop and run some shots through Lightroom!

Self portraits

2008-11-25T20:34:00.002-06:00

...I must say I had a lot of fun with the self-portraits, maybe too much fun... I've become a believer in off-camera flash.

Black and White

2008-11-05T17:12:00.002-06:00

The more I play with the develop panel in Lightroom, the more I'm beginning to like the digital b/w conversion. I could never pull off black and white I liked in photoshop...but lightroom makes it easy for me to be lazy and get good results.

Winnipeg Beach

2008-11-03T17:43:00.003-06:00

So, more work at sunrise. After hiking along the beach we ventured a little off the beaten path and found a couple shots

Birds Hill Shoots

2008-10-28T15:07:00.002-05:00

So I finally got through all my shots from shoot week, and along with that came the shots from the voluntary shoots up at Birds Hill. Here are a couple from each shoot

And the dog races... I loved this event, there were some beautiful dogs out there:

More shots to come later in the week after I make a trip out to Gimli

-Mitch

Meet Spudnik

2008-10-22T21:21:00.001-05:00

Gimli!

2008-10-17T13:07:00.002-05:00

So me and Scott hit Gimli/Lake Winnipeg for sunrise yesterday, was definitely worth the 4:30 wake up call!

Here's the 2 HDR's I've processed so far..

More to follow as I go through the 600 odd shots I took

Poor little guy...

2008-10-11T21:30:00.002-05:00

So, while watching a movie at home tonight I heard a thump against a window, so I get up and try to find out what it was. Turn on the lights, open the back door and this little guy is sitting there.

He stuck around for a little bit so I clicked off a couple shots.

Don't worry, he was fine, he flew off shortly after the last shot

Grim Skies

2008-10-08T20:46:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I love Lightroom, but when it comes to HDR photos there is nothing that beats the Photomatix/Photoshop combo. As far as I know, I could never get these skies without a little layer work in PS.

I saw my car chilling on the ridge at the spillway and couldn't help snap a shot of my most valued piece of photography gear. I'd never be able to get out to these landscapes without it!

St. V Park

2008-10-01T16:53:00.004-05:00

So today, instead of spending my afternoon working on whatever I should have been working on, I went to St. Vital Park.

For these next ones I can't decide which shot I like better...portrait or landscape??

Update! Went shooting tonight and finally got a pano I'm happy with:

Bigger version available here.

-Mitch

AT wasn't long enough

2008-09-26T16:21:00.003-05:00

I really liked the shots I got for my last analogue assignment, so I thought I'd throw some up here.

And, it only took me a week, but I went through my Nygard pictures...fashion isn't really my thing, so I didn't get that many keepers.

-Mitch

IS3 - A look at Dave Hill

2008-09-25T15:39:00.005-05:00

So I chose a technique used by one of my favorite photographers, Dave Hill. This technique has also been used by a Canadian photographer Jill Greenberg. I chose these three photos, partly due to the fact that they were some of the most readily available. Both Dave and Jill have flash websites, and saving images is challenging. All three of these images show these artist's intense understanding of their lighting equipments and setups.

I find their style of photography very interesting as the subject looks painted, even unrealistic. The secret has been closely guarded by both photographers, though both swear that their technique lies in lighting as opposed to post-processing. Which holds the potential to be true, as in an interview Dave references that he uses upward of 8 lights at any given shoot. However for those of us with a much more limited budget there is hope in post-processing!

I found several tutorials for getting the "Dave Hill Look" here's links to a couple of them:

Lightroom Tutorial

Photoshop Tutorial

I also came upon an interview with Dave Hill where he talks about his approach to photography:

The interview

And finally an ongoing chat about Dave Hill on the strobist group at flickr.com:

Tips on Dave Hill

Links to photographers sites:

Dave Hill

Jill Greenberg

-Mitch

One of my favorite sites

2008-09-23T11:38:00.002-05:00

By far my favorite site is:
Photography On The Net

This website has had it all for me. Their user base is primarily Canon shooters, though there are a few Nikon users that pop up from time to time.

In all my time on that site I have never had a question go unanswered, the users are generally really friendly, helpful people offering assistance regardless of how ridiculous some of the questions can get.

Like I said before, especially for Canon shooters, this site really has everything. The top portion of the forum being dedicated to the full range of Canon Digital Cameras, to Canon compatible lenses, to flash and studio lighting, all the way to accessories. This site has helped me choose piece of gear that I have bought up to this date. I've found the Lens forum to be of the most use lately, with such a wide spanning user database they have compiled example images from most, if not all of the current Canon compatible lens line-up.

Beyond gear reviews the forums host a photo sharing section ranging through any form of photography you could imagine. Beyond that section they have a section giving tips and tricks in many different facets of photography, from post-processing techniques, to presenting your images.

I've been on this site nearly 2 years now and I only feel like I've scratched the surface of some of the knowledge that is available here.

-Mitch

Creative Imaging

2008-09-22T19:26:00.002-05:00

So I chose to use what I know best for my CI assignment, my car. More specifically the dash/steering wheel. It got to be pretty tough to actually get the 100 images, by the time I hit about 80ish shots I started shooting from the hip. Switched the camera into Program, and fired a couple shots without checking the viewfinder. Surprisingly enough they turned out really well, at least for this assignment.

Before falling into desperation and shooting from the hip, I had a few vaguely planned shots. This being my favorite of the day, subject blur right? I've been trying to get this shot done well since I consumed by my automotive passions.

-Mitch

IS - Lines

2008-09-21T15:33:00.004-05:00

I felt that this assignment was a challenge for me as I tried to force myself to try some more abstract shots, some I felt worked well, others, not so much. I hope that I can get another chance to shoot more abstract work in the future.

The Nygard shoot was interesting to see pro photogs at work, just the way these guys knew exactly where to be, and when. Besides that, their gear was enough to make any student jealous. It was a pretty intense night of shooting, and great practice for using flash.

-Mitch

Photography and Car Accidents

2008-09-10T21:31:00.010-05:00

I suppose my photographic ventures started when I was young. My mom had a film SLR that I would spend hours shooting with, no matter how underexposed, or out of focus my pictures were, I thought they were the greatest things the world had seen (far from the truth...but a kid can dream). Throughout high school it seemed like the teachers were not only teaching us math, english, and sciences, but also that creativity is a very unlikely path for a career. So, for a few years photography went on the shelf while I did the 'career building' course. In my last two years of high school I lost faith in the by-the-book courses and started playing with cameras again. After two years of university and hobby photography I found out about PrairieView and now here I am. With hopes that this school will offer me a much more interesting future than a business degree at the U of M would.

I really want to learn composition, as right now I feel I am to reliant on the power of photoshop to help me crop and recompose where I may have missed my target, as well as learning the business side of photography.

Since everything is kind of a secret right now since we don't really know each other

I could take the easy way out. Like saying my secret is I'm turning the big 2-0 on the 23rd. But that would be too easy. My secret would be, I've had a near death experience. Not to say I saw a white light or I was mortally wounded and saved by modern medicine. No, more so that by freak chance the conditions were in my favor. April 4th, 2008 at about 10 p.m. I rolled

my car, right around the corner of Bishop Grandin and St. Anne's. Pretty simple accident really, sports car taken out of winter storage too soon. It was sleeting, I came off of St. Anne's onto Bishop as I was coming into 3rd gear the rear of my car swung around sending me towards the curb (left hand side) of the road. What I did not realize, until I hit it. Is that beyond that curb, is a ditch. One that sent my car up into the air to topple a couple of times to land on it's roof. Now, here's the 'miracle', 'coincidence', whatever you want to call it. I narrowly missed landing on a cement bike path, which would have had much more impact than the grass already did on the roof of my car. Attending EMT's told me that had I landed about 2 feet back from where I had...I would most likely not be typing this.

However, fortunately everything went my way. I actually walked away from that accident with nothing more than a few small cuts from crawling out of the car, and a minor concussion. Now I'm lucky enough to be here at PrairieView so I can meet all of you fantasticly geeky photography people just like myself!

-Mitch

(if any of you morbid folk are interested, I still got pictures of the car at the MPI wrecking yard)

2008-09-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

I am really interested in landscape photography first and foremost. I love being able to capture places that people aren't always able to get to. It's an escape to be able to go out and just shoot. I'm also really trying to get into urban/photojournalistic photography as that is the ultimate goal for me. Being able to get people aware of what is happening in their community as opposed to what makes it onto the evening news, is what I really hope to get to eventually.

Photo by: Duncan McNairnay