I’ve photographed actors. I was lucky enough to cover some improve at the Loose Moose Theatre once (I feel this is different from a traditional play). I even photographed the artistic director of Alberta Theatre Projects. But never an actual play.

So I was excited to get the chance to snaps some pics during a rehearsal for Trojan Women, a modern adaptation of the classic by Euripides, which is being performed at the University of Calgary.

]]> http://www.rileybrandt.com/2012/02/13/trojan-women/feed/ 0 http://www.rileybrandt.com/2012/01/23/new-spaces/ http://www.rileybrandt.com/2012/01/23/new-spaces/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:11:54 +0000 Rye http://www.rileybrandt.com/?p=1620 I’ve been taking photos at the University of Calgary for over a year and a half now. Even though the campus is huge with lots of great locations for photos, I find myself wanting new locations.

Thankfully, several new buildings have recently opened up so I have some brand new spaces to work with :)

I’ve had a lot of success shooting portraits tight, so it has been my goal lately to open up the photos and include a lot more of the environment. This was the case with these photos of a Neuroscience student in one of the newest buildings on campus.

-30-

The fun yoga-themed shoot got me thinking that maybe I should finally try it out for myself :)

Model: Kira – Sophia Models International
Makeup: Shana O’Neill

-30-

In the end, I decided to drop all the yoga photos and just use these outtakes where the model has more of a statuesque quality.

Model: Guy – Sophia Models International
Makeup: Shana O’Neill

-30-

Part of the challenge is that most of it takes place in a pitch-black gymnasium, which is the last place a photographer wants to be.

But a lot of the difficulty is in capturing genuine, candid moments. I think that is where the best photos come from. The excited graduates getting ready, the proud parents, and the celebrations. These challenges keeps a repetitive ceremony interesting.

-30-

The basic requirement is that there be young, happy students (with books, computers, backpacks, pens, notepads, etc.) caught in a candid moment on campus.

The student life photo is to the university photographer, what the feature photo is to the newspaper photographer. A “slice of life” photo that you can never seem to have enough of.

-30-

Despite making reservations, I couldn’t take photos at the 50-year-old vintage motel that my whole concept was based around. C’est la vie… So these photos are the result of a lot of  improvising.

Model: Tiare

-30-

I really wanted to bring out the warm colours in the artificial wood walls and use dramatic light for the subject. The look reminds me a little of the deep yellows and oranges found in some Baroque oil paintings.

Model: Tiare

-30-

Kristina Groves

Olympic Medalist – Speed Skating

Most people know Kristina for her four Olympic medals in speed skating. But I will always remember Kristina for the unconventional speech she gave to the gymnasium full of first-year university students.

Instead of boring the crowd with a forgettable cliched speech about reaching for the stars, she engaged the students with an entertaining and down to earth dialogue that reminded students:

1.) There are easy classes that can boost your GPA.

2.) There are a lot of good looking young people around you.

3.) There is a bar on campus.

Art Spiegelman

Pulitzer Prize Winner

Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, a comic book memoir about his father surviving the Holocaust in which Jews are depicted as mice and Germans as cats, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. It is the only comic book to ever do so.

Art has achieved a lot, including playing a role in the underground comix movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, and working for the New Yorker. Which is why I was pretty surprised to find out that he was also responsible for Garbage Pail Kids and Garbage Candy from the 1980’s. Seriously.

It was almost as surprising that the bookstore where Art came to speak to a lucky group of English students let him smoke inside! I guess that’s the power of a Pulitzer.

Martti Ahtisaari

Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Former President of Finland

Because Martti Ahtisaari has achieved so much in his lifetime, I was really hoping I would have a chance to speak with him backstage. After researching his inspirational work in Africa and the former Yugoslavia I had one important thing to say… “Congratulations on the recent gold medal victory over Sweden in the IIHF hockey tournament!”

Unfortunately our paths never crossed and I only got to photograph him from a distance.

Will and Kate

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

During the Royal Tour of Canada, Will and Kate visited a modern medical facility at the University of Calgary. I am sure the life of a royal couple is glamorous. However, I can assure you that taking photos of royalty is not.

I waited in a small caged-in area with zealous fans in 28°C heat for many hours just to get a few photos. It was so hot a RCMP officer got heat stroke. When the only cloud in the sky passed over the sun, the crowd cheered for the brief moment of shade.

There were some fans waiting for nine hours that day. They were anticipating a hand shake, maybe a photo, or even just a “hello”. But when the royals came out of the building, they didn’t take the 30 seconds needed to walk a few meters to greet the exhausted fans. The disappointment was palpable.

Gustavo Galindo

Latin American Star

This one was unexpected. Taking photos of Latin American pop stars was certainly a change from photographing students and professors. Gustavo Galindo is a very talented Mexican born singer/songwriter whose first album Entre La Ciudad Y El Mar has been selling like crazy. He performed at an international youth conference being held at the university.

Marre

Colombian Pop Princess

The other Latin American artist to perform that day was Colombian pop star Marre. The wild 19-year-old has already had the honor of touring South America with the Jonas Brothers. Latin American MTV was there to record her and Gustavo live.

Jane Goodall

Conservationist

Jane Goodall, the world’s most well know primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace spoke to a small group of lucky U of C students. She was very calm and pleasant.

What I thought was interesting, was that Jane would speak about chimpanzees like they were equals. Like they were human. She even spoke some chimp, which was very loud and a little frightening.

Craig Kielburger

Activist

Craig’s fight against child labour started when he was just 12-years-old. He later started “Free The Children”, an international charity and youth movement. He is also a member of the Order of Canada.

Young students who feel like they can change the world love this guy. Once all the seats were taken, students started sitting on the floor taking up any empty space they could find.

-30-

Whether it’s for his surprising come-from-behind campaign that embraced social media, that he is Canada’s first Muslim mayor, or that he will be the grand marshal in the gay Pride parade, Mayor Nenshi gets a lot of coverage in the media.

Unfortunately, some newspapers like to run awful photos of him. So I made it my goal to get some nice shots of him, as well as photos of him interacting with students and the audience.

-30-