Hot Pepper Season

Hot Pepper Season: 

Toronto Food, Commercial and Corporate Photographer Robert Greatrix 

It's that time of year when all the spicy goodness is ripening up in a an explosion of red, orange and green. I was worried earlier in the year that an extremely persistent raccoon was going to successfully destroy my rooftop garden but as it turns out I think I have more peppers this year than ever. So I thought I would highlight some of my food photography portfolio and showcase my hot pepper crop. 

A selection of my peppers on a rustic white board surface, Jalapeño, Habernero, Cayenne or Chilli, one I don't remember and the dreaded Ghost Pepper. 

Some sliced Habernero with a diffused backlight. I love the aroma and vibrant colours of these fresh peppers. A couple thin slices is all I need to add some kick and intense flavours to a breakfast egg scramble. (Maybe a breakfast themed blog in the future)

The challenge comes some trying to use so many hot peppers as they seem to all ripen at once. Here I made a Spicy Salsa, a Habernero Mayo and a Fiery Red Sauce. I adapted the Fiery red Sauce recipe from an article in a recent Chatelaine magazine which always a great source for inspiring recipes. 

A couple more shots with the bottom one including some Guacamole, Tomato Salsa with Corn and Salsa Verde. I honestly never remember seeing Tomatillos before but saw some at the local Riverdale Farmer's Market and had try some of this somewhat unusual fruit. I roasted the Tomatillos over a light smoke on my Big Green Egg Grill and the sauce reflects it with a hint of smoky aromas. 

For more food photography visit www.fulcrumimaging.com and please visit your local farm markets and enjoy your harvest season. More food photography and more blog posts coming up.

Fulcrum Imaging is Toronto Photographer Robert Greatrix who is available for food, commercial and corporate photography as well as time lapse video creation. Please let us provide you a quote for all your photography needs by emailing a request to info@fulcrumimaging.com. We would love to hear from you.

Copyright 2014.

A little behind the scenes shot of my photo set-up, its a lot more work than one imagines and the worse part is the clean-up :-). Cheers. 

5 Tips For Working Motion Into Still Photography

5 of My Tips For Capturing Motion in Still Photography

One thing I like to do more often now, is capture a sense of motion in my photographs. It makes an image much more interesting, can lead you in or out of the shot and lends itself to adding more to the story of the photograph. Here's a few tips:

1. If you are not entirely comfortable with all your camera settings shoot in shutter priority mode. It will let you focus on the shutter speed only. Set your camera to high speed burst mode too. 

A Lone Subject Surrounded by Motion Gives An Incredible effect. Timing Can Be Everything.

2. Practice practice practice. You will develop a feel for what shutter speed you need for a situation. Hand held I find 1/60 of a second plus or minus a stop works well. I still want to maintain a sharp image  with the subject blurred or a sharp subject and a blurred background if panning. 

Setting a Shutter Speed, Following the Action and Burst Mode Got This Panning Shot

3. Be prepared to fail. You may not get a great a image every time you try this but when you nail one the reward will be great. 

A Perfect Example Of Getting the Right Shutter Speed. The People are Visible but Just Enough Blur to Give a Sense of Motion. It Doesn't Happen Every Shot or Every Shoot. 

4. Like any photograph pay attention to what when and where you are shooting. All the effect in the world won't help bad light or a uninteresting scene. But like everything in photography there are no set rules, the subject may make the photo. Also be aware of your surroundings and don't get too caught up in the action and put yourself in harms way. 

Be Aware Around Traffic. Staring Through the Lens Can Throw off Your Sense of Balance and Location. 

5. If you find a great location look for something or someone coming into the scene. Previously I would wait and wait to get a shot with no people or distractions now I embrace "distractions". Use the burst mode to your advantage and fire off some successive shots and stay with it until the end. 

Night is Definitely One of my Favourite Times for Motion Blurring Effects. Find the Scene and Wait for Your Subject. 

Here the Motion Of the Skater and Dog Made the Scene But I Needed to Apply Some Nik Software Effects to Bring Some Life to the Overall Image. 

Go out and try this and get creative, motion in photography can make some great artistic expressions and some very unique abstracts. I hope my tips may help and inspire.
Robert Greatrix is the owner and photographer behind Fulcrum Imaging, for more of his work please visit www.fulcrumimaging.com. 

What's in a Name

Embarking Into Business:

As I begin my transition from part time into full time photographer and more importantly full time business person I have given a lot of thought to a name for my business. Actually I have thought about it for years now but the importance wasn't clear in the beginning. After taking a short business of photography course at George Brown College in Toronto I got thinking more about branding and presenting myself to potential clients. Now a few months later I am in a small business workshop, looking to complete a business plan and the importance of mission statements, value statements and positioning statements has come up. So I looked for a name that signified the way I wanted to do business, and I found fulcrum worked for me. In my photography business it signifies a point that balances my creativity, my technical skill and the clients needs (budget included) and allows those individual areas to work together for maximum results. A fulcrum describes that point of balance where force applied and results are harmonious. Fortunately not only was the name a good fit but, the domain Fulcrum Imaging was available and the business name was able to be registered and so ended my search for my business identity.

My business name much like this piece of fitness equipment signifies balance.

 Fulcrum Imaging is Toronto Photographer Robert Greatrix who is available for corporate and commercial photography as well as time lapse video creation. To see more please visit www.fulcrumimaging.com. Please let us provide you a quote for your photography needs by emailing a request to info@fulcrumimaging.com.

Havana Cuba Travel Highlights

Havana Cuba Travel Highlights

By: Toronto Photographer Robert Greatrix

I am a little late in writing this post, but better late than never. With a lot of change happening in my life right now I found myself thinking back to a somewhat recent and very memorable excursion my wife Marie and I made to Havana Cuba. 

As a photographer the experience travelling to Habana and Cuba itself, was exhilierating to say the least. I felt like I couldn't walk more than a dozen paces with stopping to focus my camera on something new and exciting. The old classic automobiles were one of my particular favourites and shooting opportunities abounded. 

Havana Streets

The above shot was one of the first I took upon getting settled in Habana, taken from the balcony of what was our residence for a few days. I can think of no better option than to stay in private accommodations while in the city and is by far my preferred method of travel. 

48

Cruising

Not only were the classic cars in the city abundant to shoot but the locations to capture them were also as unique. Not to say the shots are easy, one has to be patient to get shots of only time period vehicles (which I prefer to get that lost in time feel) and  as a photographer you still want to give a sense of place. There is no substitute for bad composition either. The above shot of the purple convertible was taken along the Malecon, a long seaside boulevard, and I used a slow shutter speed to emphasize the blur and sense of motion. The picture of the green 48 was taken along one the colourful streets of the city.

Fighter

Slice of Life

Waiting

Just as interesting as the cars were the people. I found the daily life in the city fascinating and the people were both friendly and colourful as their surroundings. As one who considers himself a traveller, my choice is to explore a city on my own terms, but the top photo of a gentleman named Damien was taken after a horse and buggy tour he gave us of the city. And when visiting Habana there is nothing like a city tour and cruise down the Malecon at night in a classic convertible to feel like you are stepping back into the 50's.

Habana Nights

The night time in old Havana, Habana Vieja, provides spectacular views, this one from the restaurant atop the Biltmore Hotel.

Capitole

One thing that you are constantly reminded of in Cuba is its history. The overpoweering presence of the Capitol Building is visible from almost everywhere I seemed to go in the city and seems to reinforce that sentiment constantly. I think this last shot is one of my favourites and gives me a personal connection that draws me back to visit Habana and Cuba again.

Robert Greatrix

The travel images in this blog are available for license and more can be seen at www.fulcrumimaging.com . Robert Greatrix is a Toronto based professional photographer who is available for freelance travel, corporate and commercial work.