Sarah Macdougall Music Photography

So, as you may have noticed with the release of our first music video for Headless Owl Records this week, we just so happen to be in quite the music mood lately....So, with that in mind, we figured it's about time we share some of the shots we did with the lovely and crazy talented Sarah Macdougall for her current tour!

Sarah is yet another incredible Yukon musician that's out touring the world and just so happens to have just won the "Roots Solo Recording of the Year" award at the 2012 WCMA's!  We were so stoked to get a chance to work with her, and often have her album playing on repeat as we edit here in our studio...

So hope you all enjoy, and if you are looking for some new music, head to her site at http://sarahmacdougall.com for more info!

It's all about the family...

It's blog time again and this week we've got fall family photos taken just before the snow came this year...twas a short but beautiful time...

As with all of our family shoots, our favourite images always end up being the ones where we capture everyone just interacting together, sharing some laughs.  It's family just being a family, not standing around awkwardly in their 'Sunday best.'...And it doesn't hurt when you have two ADORABLE kids-nice work Tyler and Becky! 

Now, the fun part about this week's post is seeing who's the first to find the hidden baseball in one of the shots...

We heart local music...

So seeing as how we spent the day shooting our first ever music video,  we're in a bit of a music mood tonight...

This got us thinking about the other shoots we've been doing lately with a bunch of rad local artists and we thought it would be the perfect time to share one of them!  

We had the pleasure of working with the extremely talented Kelvin Smoler and Lauren Tuck who make up The Lore, in preparation for their upcoming album release.  The album drops this December, so be sure to keep your ears open for details.  We were so excited to work with these two as they have an incredible energy, are open to trying out new concepts/ideas and are just plain old awesome to work with.

Stoked to hear the new album guys, and looking forward to more shoots in the future!

And then there were 2...

Well we figured it would be a good time to share these recent family photos we did because we officially have a congratulations that's in order!

The Martin family just had their adorable new baby boy 2 weeks early this week!  Luckily Mom and Dad were ready at a moments notice so all was in order!

We've heard that there is one proud big brother on the loose now, and we're stoked to be able to do a newborn session with the family in the coming days too!

So congratulations to the Martin's-can't wait to meet little Jayden in person soon!

And the winner is...

Ok everybody, today we are stoked to announce we have a winner of our GBP Adventure Pants Extravaganza Contest!!

First off, we have to say thank you to everyone who took the time to send in your submissions...we had an AWESOME time reading through them and it was certainly not an easy decision...in fact they were so good we're practically mad at you guys for making us work so hard...

Hiking, snowmobiling, canoe tipping, animal scouting, mad sledding skills, amazing snacks (that one really had us....) It was NOT an easy choice.


BUT in the end, we did come to a decision and instead of trying to explain ourselves, we decided to just have a guest blog this time around and show you the full submission....

They may not have a conventional family, but what we love about the Yukon are the families we often find ourselves a part of...

So let us send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jenn Roberts and the Fat Tire Ballerinas!

_________________________________________________________________________________

I have a husband, a sister, nephews, mom and dad – even a dog.  But my family by choice is a group of winter biking women sometimes known as the Fat Tire Ballerinas.

We’re not a private club either.  Got a bike? Got a vagina?  Join us.  Sometimes we’re a family of two, sometimes a family of 10.  Exclusion isn’t the name of the game here.  Some of us wear matching jerseys and some fight being that cool.  Some of us are into riding marathon distance epics and others prefer a fast downhill whoosh on fat tires.  Everyone loves getting together for a ride on local Whitehorse trails.  

Sure, we could ride with men-our friends and spouses-but there is something just a little bit special about a group of women ripping around the trails without that added testosterone.  After all, the bike played a role in the emancipation of women in the late 1890's.  Susan B. Anthony famously said "[the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world.  I rejoice every time I see a women ride by on a bike.  It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood." 

The family I’ve made – not the one I was born into or the one I married into - that’s the FTBs.  These women are my family by choice and we’re tight.  Whether we are mashing across Fish Lake in the spring or wiping out on a super steep descent we’ve got our adventure pants cinched on tight!  

Sometimes those pants are actually down skirts but hells ya, we’ve always got ‘em on.

     

Mmmm brains...

As you know, this past weekend was Halloween Party central...and people were out in full force...

This year, we teamed up with the Yukon Roller Girls for a fundraiser they were doing in order to raise funds for local women's organizations including Kaushee's Place and Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre.

But this time it wasn't your average photo booth we did...it was a Zombie booth, as the theme of the night was Zombie prom...and let's just say things got messy...

With the help of a fog machine and backlighting, we were able to create a creepy green haze in order to really make our Zombie friends feel at their best...and as you'll see by the shots, they fit right in.

From Zipper faces to "Zombonis" to the Golden Girls, there were a ton of awesome costumes out there...thanks to everyone for staggering over and taking a minute away from eating brains to be able to help out a great cause...

Happy Halloween everybody!

GBP's ADVENTURE PANTS EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

Ok guys...it's time for...GBP's ADVENTURE PANTS EXTRAVAGANZA!


"What the heck does that mean?" Well...we're so happy you asked...

GBP's APE (haha Ape...)  is a new contest we've schemed up from inspiration from a bunch  of our rad clients over the past year...

We love that Yukoners love adventure...because WE are Yukoners who love adventure.  SO when we get to combine photography with sweet activities?  Well, let's just say that makes for an especially rad day. And we're assuming that if we can combine your favorite activity with a free family portrait session? ($300 value) You'll ALSO have an especially rad day...

SO...let's do this! GBP's ADVENTURE PANTS EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!

OK in order to enter the contest, here's what you gotta do:

1. Decide what your family's favourite awesome activity is.  It doesn't have to be crazy or complicated...whether it's jumping down claycliffs, or back country skiing, if you guys make an adventure out of it, it counts!

2. Must require adventure pants.  (ie. not just any family does this...it's your special thing) 
 
3. Tell us a story! We want to hear about why your family loves this activity through an example: Did something hilarious happen once? Something scary? Something heroic? What makes it stand out in your mind? (Photos are not required, but definitely encouraged)

NOTE: Fur children also count as family in our minds...so whether it's two of you or five of you, we don't discriminate! :)


DEADLINE: 

That's right...this is a serious competition here guys, so our deadline is going to be Nov. 2nd-2 weeks from tonight!
This doesn't have to be crazy...just send us a paragraph outlining your story based on the criteria above and you're good to go!

Only restrictions/things to be careful of:
If it's an activity that requires entry fees/gear rentals, etc. costs must be covered by the client.


How will we choose?

We are going to sit down with Bill Murray (Our fur child) and read through your submissions...the one that makes us laugh/cry/or say "wholy crap look at the size of these people's adventure pants!" wins...

We'll then book you a shoot for November, and have your photos ready for you to send out for the Christmas season!  Again, that's a $300 value right before Christmas! (slow clap for that idea...)

OK...let's get this going! Get your stories gathered and send them our way! We've got our adventure pants on...do you??

Gary and Bri

Not your average family shoot...

As we've mentioned many times before, one of our favourite things about living here in the Yukon is the diverse people we get to work with. Today's blog features one of our favourtie converted Yukoners, and her family who was up to visit her, who were more than happy to jump in to all that is "Yukon" during their trip...

Here's an example of an outdoor-loving family.  Not only did they hike the Chilkoot together on their trip, but they were also more than happy to jump in some canoes and head out to Chadburn lake during our family shoot with them.  Now to be totally transparent here, they just so happen to come from 'canoe country' Ontario, and one of the daughters jokes that she has a degree in "camping." (It's a degree in Outdoor Rec).  SO, heading out in the canoes wasn't exactly a far stretch for them...But it sure resulted in some great shots.

We always try to get our family shoots to be a bit more interactive.  If you're looking for the sunday best, extremely formal and non-interactive shots...well, we're probably not the photographers for you.  We'd rather get you guys out interacting, having fun and sharing some good embarrassing stories to get some authentic laughs going!

So hope you enjoy the shots...

Maybe our next mission will be to have an 'adventure family' contest and see who can request the most unique family shoot yet...Takers anyone?

First House...

Last month, we got to be a part of a really unique project here in the Yukon that not only was ground breaking, but also directly effects lives right here in the Yukon...

We were able to be a part of the Habitat for Humanity build here in Yukon in partnership with Champagne Aishihik First Nation called the "First House" project.  Not only was it an amazing project to be a part of due to the nature of the organization, helping build affordable and safe housing, but it was also the first house built on First Nations Settlement Land by the organization.  It was an incredible experience to be able to be part of such a historic build, and to be able to work along side so many diverse people from organizations across the country.  First Nations Chiefs, CEO's of major Canadian Corporations, and volunteers from across the Country all donned their hardhats and work gloves and helped raise the walls on the house over the course of the week here just outside of Whitehorse.

As Gary has a background in the trades (he's also a journeyman Electrician), it was a perfect fit as he was able to unleash his nerdy powers in both photography, construction, AND also explore his newest nerd-addiction: video...let's just say he was in heaven....

So although it was a long week, with long hour days, and the need for multi-tasking and flexibility due to a dynamic schedule, it was one of our highlights of this season...

So a big thanks to Habitat for Humanity and Champagne Aishihik First Nation for having us be a part of this project! Because here at GBP when nerdiness gets to team up with a cause we believe in, we know we're moving in the right direction!

For more details on the "First House" project, check out the link to the Habitat for Humanity Canada page.

This post isn't about that guy...

Sometimes when you come across someone with great talent, they can be...well, how can we put this..." challenging"to work with?  Come on, you know what we're talking about...that guy you know, who's really good at that thing but you don't really like to talk to him about it because then you have to deal with him yammering on about it for hours on end? THAT guy....the guy you can barely fit into a room with because his head is too big and there's just not enough space for the both of you.

Well, this post, my friends, is not about that guy. It's actually about the opposite guy.

The shots below are from one of our recent  sessions with local Actor Calvin Laveck, who has been going to school in Toronto, and is now based there to further his work in theatre.  He's the epitome of a super talented, yet humble artist and we're always left wondering "how is that guy so NICE?" every time he leaves the studio...

Over the years, we've come to realize that overall, the artists we've worked with here in the Yukon fit into this second category...even though we're super lucky to have an incredible arts scene, filled with crazy talented people, we find that the ones we've worked with haven't brought any egos along with them...they instead come with open minds, eagerness, and excitement to work together.  They are stoked to help teach us about their industry-to share their stories and experiences, and really help us get a better understanding of what it's like to be an actor, a dancer, a musician, etc...And it's from this understanding that we're better able to help them get images that really convey something authentic and unique to their art form.

You see, the point we are trying to make here, is that one of our favourite things about living here in the Yukon is the people. Whether it's an artist, a family, or a corporate team, the Yukon just seems to bring out the best in people...and we're stoked when we're reminded of that fact by our awesome clients like Calvin.

So well played on being so awesome Calvin-we're stoked to see where you go from here, because we're sure it's gonna be some pretty rad places!