On the First Day of a New Decade, It's All About Me

I don't even know where to begin with this blog. 2009 was not a great year for me, in fact, in comparison to the 90s (which was full of great memories, generally and personally) pretty much from 9/11 on the 00s were a bit of a drag so I'm kinda glad to see the back of them.

With the negativity out of the way off the top, on to the teens! I'm full of promise for the next decade and I'm going to make a conscious effort to improve my life. So on this first day of a new decade I decided to go out and be Canadian and stand in the cold and snow. ☺I'm out of focus in these because I didn't bring my remote trigger which meant I had to work with the timer and I had to focus the shot before I was in it. I thought it would be a bit of a pain in the ass to fool around with the trigger etc. as I had to keep my camera covered with a plastic bag. It was very snowy, but the best kind because it was mild (just a little below zero) so the snow was wet and sticky; great for shots, bad for a camera.

I've been off work (the day job) since Dec. 17th so I've had free time to do some cool self portraits. AND I got a Holga from my sis Samantha for Christmas so expect some cool "artsy" film shots in the near future.

As the last decade comes to a close I thought I'd post a few of my favourites. First albums... (I've featured a song from each in my playlist above).

The Dead Weather, "Horehound" - My head popped off my shoulders the first time I heard this album. Highlight..."Hang You By The Heavens"...amazing!!!

Stars, "In Our Bedroom After the War" - They put out a fantastic album and I have to say, even though I don't think the 00s were a particularly inspiring decade for music, Canadian artists really stood out in my opinion. All that doom and gloom seemed to inspire. ☺

The Strokes, "Is This It?" - Instantly love this ablum.

Nine Inch Nails, "Year Zero" - I worship Trent Reznor, it was a tough choice between this album and "White Teeth".

Metric, "Fantasies" - Another amazing Canadian band, and again I had a tough time picking which of their albums I enjoy the best, but I have to go with their latest. Do yourself a favour and listen to the song "Gold Gun Girls" (it's in the playlist above!).

Interpol, "Turn On the Bright Lights" - I have such high hopes for this band. This is their first album (they've released...I think...two more since), but it is by far their best. I like their other albums but this one was on repeat for a very long time.

Radiohead, "In Rainbows" - What can I say it's Radiohead! I thought this album was brilliant (out of a collection of brilliant albums released this decade by them...). Bodysnatchers is my most played song on my iPod. It beats the second most played song by 100...ya I really love this album.

Arcade Fire, "Funeral" - They just blew me away, so original. This album is awesome! And again another Canadian (ok, and Texan...) contribution.

The White Stripes, "Icky Thump" - I think a lot of people would pick "White Blood Cells" but this album has "Rag and Bone"....fucking awesome!

The Dixie Chicks, "Home" - I worship the Chicks. They're great musicians and they have balls. I genuinely love this album. "White Trash Wedding" says it all. Fantastic!!

Broken Social Scene, "Broken Social Scene" - They are an acquired taste, but once you get an ear for their music you are hooked. Great album.....and again right from good old T.O.!

A few of my favourite songs of the decade are on the playlist I've made for my blog. MGMT's "Electric Feel", cool and sexy...what can I say. Modest Mouse's "Dashboard" makes me want to dance. PJ Harvey's "Big Exit" is one of my all time favourites. And Tool's "Schism" is a stand out for me. Songs are tough though...too many!

Films, well, that's tougher coz I don't have a list uploaded to iTunes. But off the top of my head, I loved "Sweeney Todd"; really anything Tim Burton does I will go see and probably like. I loved "Little Miss Sunshine", funny and poignant. I really enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy...but I'm a sucker for fantasy films. "Kill Bill" is a stand out for me, I loved that it was almost all women kicking ass. If I think of more I will add them.

Anyway, this was a long blog!!!!! But I am covering a decade so...hope everyone had a great New Year! Up next....dancers!! Can't wait!!!

xo ACS

The Holiday Blog

The holiday season is here again, so I thought I would create a few "e-cards" instead of buying them...kinda the benefit of being a photographer. I did one for my facebook business page and one for my personal facebook page and to send out to family and friends not on facebook (because miracle of miracles, there are people not on facebook).

One of the things I really love is the Christmas TV specials and movies they play this time of year. I thought I would share some of my favourites below. I love watching a Christmas Carol (or Scrooge) with Alastair Sim on Christmas Eve. And no holiday season would be complete without Charlie Brown and the Grinch.

And because it's the season of giving, let's not forget to give a bit to the less fortunate. One of my favourite charities is charity:water . From their website; "almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects." So give a few bucks out of your pocket to this worthy charity, they are doing such great work!!

I recommend HotelsCombined.com and sent $20 to charity:water!

You can shout and help too.

Have a safe and happy holiday season everyone!

xo ACS

Oh Eve You Sinner!

I recently put together a test shoot to add to my portfolio. I wanted to do something a bit more provocative so I came up with the idea of fashion shots of Eve (of "Adam & Eve" fame). Myths and religions have always inspired artistic endeavours so I thought I would continue the tradition. ☺
Now, I'm not a huge fan of the biblical story, however, I always though John Milton's "Paradise Lost" was intriguing. In fact, Eve picking an apple as opposed to any other fruit is (I think) from Milton's work not the bible. I know the apple is often used in western art...whether Milton was the first I don't know. Where I do stray away from Milton's interpretation is of Eve as an oblivious and ignorant woman who doesn't know any better. That gets on my nerves so my interpretation of her is rebellious, sinful and rock'n'roll. If you're going to be bad...own it. And I've always preferred the badly behaved...I find them much more interesting.

A big thank you and credits go to Seven7 Styling, who worked very hard to find that FANTASTIC snake piece, that superb leather corset and sewed together the tulle skirt. The makeup by Lisa Barclay was absolutely perfect!! And the model Shannon Sousa who was very easy going, great to work with and knew what we needed, she looks stunning. I have to say I'm really pleased with how these turned out!!!

For more shots, you can visit my website by clicking HERE (this one is my favourite) and HERE. Or you can see all of them in my portfolio at the top of the page.

xo

ACS

Autumn Update

I haven't been here in a while so I thought I'd post a few odds and ends I've been up to. First I entered a Jimmy Choo contest to see if I could win me some cool and VERY expensive shoes. Unfortunately I don't see either of these doing that but I have until Dec. 7 so I may give it one more attempt. I need cooler shoes.

And I've been out taking a few shots of the fall, I love the fall, so many beautiful colours.

It's been a bit slow over the past month, but I'm doing a VERY cool shoot on Nov. 28 that is a little more provocative than I ususally do. Should be fun! Then it's the Christmas season so I may do my own cards....I haven't decided yet though. Then for the new year I have an amazing shoot with dancers, which I'm really really looking forward to!

Ciao for now!

ACS

Moeraes Fate

Recently, I did a photo shoot with the band Moeraes Fate, (formally known as DAME.) I've been holding on to these for the last week or two, waiting for them to announce their new name officially. The theme was Steampunk, which I always have trouble explaining so click on the red link if you are curious about what it is. :)

I brought in two MUAs, Julienne Spencer and Christina R who did a fantastic job on the makeup and hair! And Starkers! Corsetry was very kind to lend us these beautiful corsets and skirts.

Each of the women has their own distinct personality so we tried to reflect that in the wardrobe. Above are Katee (vocals/bass) and Kayla with the goggles (drums). For better quality versions of these images, click on the links. The photo quality on this blog is rubbish!

New band member Ali (guitar), is also new to photo shoots but she's really easy going and a great listener so she photographed like a pro.

The name Moeraes Fate is a play on words. The Moerae (otherwise known as The Fates) were personifications of destiny in Greek mythology. One spins the thread of life, one measures that life and one cuts the thread, i.e. Birth, Life and Death. So when they let me in on the name change they asked if it was possible to work it into the shoot. I came up with some wool and a huge pair of gardening shears (thanks to my Mom) which I think worked well! And I think it's a cool name for a band of three women. Click HERE for better image quality.

And I'm totally chuffed that they decided to use one of the shots on their new CD! I think it looks perfect!

So it was a success in my book!! A definite thanks to my sis Samantha for helping me lug all my gear down to the studio and set up. Great day, great band, great shots!

Up next, I'm doing some model test shots with a new client. And then I'm hoping to put a creative shoot together for November inspired by Helmut Newton and Ellen von Unwerth (if you're on a work computer and they're prudish about nudity maybe visit this site later...).

UPDATE: Cool UK article written about the band, and they used a couple of my shots (top and bottom photos)...got a byline!

x0
Al

"Hang You From the Heavens" - The Dead Weather

Another one of my favourites...rock'n'roll. :) This performance is just so fuckin' fantastic!

Headshots and country BBQs

So I thought I'd post about what I've been up to lately.

First, headshots! We went down to the Distillery District which is an amazing spot for photos! Liz photographs well!!

Elizabeth MacAlpine
MUA - InVision Makeup

Also took some shots out in the country during a family bbq. I wish I could have walk around a bit more but it looked like rain and I had nothing to cover my camera with.

Coming up this September, I'm doing a steampunk shoot that I'm really excited about. It's early days but it looks like everything is falling into place...I will definitly be posting them when they're done!!