Personal blog of photographer Dylan Leeder.
My Van Build
A detailed preview of the van build.
Presenting the long overdue look inside the van I built. Here’s a bunch of random facts about it first:
It’s a Dodge Ram 2500.
Took about 4 months to build including approx. 1 month of engine/body work.
Couldn’t have done it without my two pals Braeden and Jason. Their constant help and patience throughout the build is the reason it’s so awesome.
Wood interior build took around 10 days. My father is a wood worker, I had a rough design and he made it come to life.
Aluminum Roof Rack:
- Bought off kijiji and painted black
- Mounted a ‘solar shower’ that can be pressurized through a schrader valve.
- Mounted two LED lights on back
- Installed backup camera mounted in the middle
Aluminum ladder.
Spray painted Rims black.
Installed rain covers over front windows to allow ventilation while raining.
*Not actually how I mount the surfboards.
Fan-Tastic 1200 Fan: Installed custom reverse switch to allow it to alternate directions.
x2 Renogy 100w Solar Panels: Installed to allow surfboard storage under.
- Installed on moving brackets to allow to prop up.
Installed wood boards to make into a ‘patio’ to sit up top.
Pull out drawer that I normally cook on.
Pull out drawer opens for storage.
The ‘garage’.
Installed swivel seat.
Smitty Built 6’ pull out awning on roof rack.
Installed completely upgraded sound system with 6” subwoofer.
Bed is custom shaped hard foam with mattress topper. Roughly 5’9” long & 4’4” wide.
Curtains sewn from shower curtain and installed on shower curtain adjustable rod.
Custom designed/built wood interior.
Vinyl Flooring.
x2 Antique hooks.
Clothing drawer under bed.
x3 Drawers
Top: Kitchen ware
Middle: Food
Bottom: Everything Else
Installed sink/faucet taken from old RV.
Under is a pump controlled by the top right switch & two water tanks; one for clean one for grey.
Rest is storage for various kitchen needs including stove.
Solar Setup:
Behind: x2 AGM Deep Cycle batteries
Top Right: x2 Switches; one for switching radio power from engine battery to ‘house’ batteries, one to turn the fan on/off and switch directions.
Top Left: Inverter
Top Middle: Fuse Box
Middle Bolt: Ground
Bottom Right: ‘Smart Inverter’ that allows engine to charge battery while driving once engine battery is full. Off it is large fuse running to battery.
Bottom Left: Renogy Rover 40AMP Solar Charger w/ battery percentage readout.
Koolatron powered cooler.
Upgraded deck with bluetooth to control music from outside.
Replaced rearview mirror with built in dash cam and built in rear view screen.
And that’s it! It’s definitely one of those projects that seems to never end, I’m constantly upgrading, fixing, and maintaining it and that can take up a lot of time/energy. There’s obviously a few things I’ve learned through the process that might have affected my early designs but overall I’m extremely happy with the way it turned out.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out and i’ll do my best to answer them. Might update this post if there’s anything I might have missed.
Cheers!
Dylan
Freq Fashion Editorial: Storm Mountain
A look into my fashion editorial for Freq Magazine.
To see the complete collection of photos go HERE - To check out the story in Freq head to their site HERE.
After moving to Calgary, I quickly started keeping my eyes out for key publications and clients prominent in the city. High up in my list was Freq, as I've always appreciated their aesthetic and valued their sub-culture target audience. Through work I've been fortunate enough to meet and become friends with some awesome people within the editorial/fashion industry here, and through these connections I recently found myself shooting this month's fashion editorial for Freq Magazine.
Kim, Freq's fashion editor, brought the project to me with a blank slate and together we concepulized a Cabin-style shoot in the mountains. The concept came to light partly through my interest in cabins/west coast/instagram-stereotypes and was fitting for their December issue, as winter was coming and they wanted to keep in line with the seasonal changes.
Braeden giving the models a run for their money.
I like to think I'm pretty relaxed on set. Photo: Braeden VanRooy
Through Kim's previous modelling work, she had a connection with Storm Mountain Lodge and called in a few favours to get us an ideal location for the shoot. Through her we were able to acquire a beautiful log cabin and took advantage of the surrounding mountainous landscape. In terms of weather we couldn't have been more lucky - shooting a winter campaign in mid-October is risky, but fortunately, although a little brisk, we arrived to everything being covered in snow and looking like a true Canadian winter.
If anyone knows me, or sees me somewhat regularly, they'll know that I'm the last person to ask for fashion advice. If I were in charge of pulling the wardrobing the models would have likely been covered in different shades of black and wearing a beat up pair of Vans in every shot. Luckily, my go-to stylist and good friend, Carl, came to our rescue and pulled a beautiful collection of clothes that perfectly suited the location and vision, but added his famous eclectic touch.
One of my favourite outfits Carl put together. He had the wood carrier custom made by Horace & Jasper for the shoot.
Andrew and Kim expressing how cold it actually was.
Seriously, the shoot couldn't have gone more smoothly. When a shoot goes as well as it did, I become extra thankful for the amazing people that come out and make it happen. So, credit where credit is due...
Kim Noseworthy, Editor
Andrew from Nobles & Rachel from Numa, Models
Carl Abad, Stylist
Caley Pylypiw, Makeup & Hair
Braeden Vanrooy & Anna Krzpiet, Assistants
And a huge thanks to Storm Mountain Lodge for the location and Butterfan Catering for the tasty lunch.
Thanks!
Dylan
A Magazine by Dylan Leeder
The post explaining the magazine I made, why I made it, and how to buy it.
What started as a small thought regarding my need to start marketing more, quickly became something much larger as I got more and more excited about the possibilities. Having not created a big print piece before, I thought I should start off with a bang and cover a lot of ground to allow myself to have a fresh start going into my future projects.
The magazine itself is 42 pages and covers 6+ stories. All of the text and photos are my own, and the concept and layout was developed between me and my designer, Nini Lee. The process took around 3.5 months and roughly 17 proofs. I would be lying if I said I had any expectation of the amount of work it was going to take; Nini is basically a saint for not killing me due to my pickiness during the process.
Within the magazine is a variety of editorial styles - there's a factual and informative story, an in-depth interview, a photo-heavy story with captions, and a collection of smaller stories under a larger theme. It's also the first time I've released most of my Southeast Asia photos, with stories and observations from my time spent there.
One of my main reasons to create an entire magazine was to give potential clients a visual representation of what my images will look like in their final product. With many recipients being potential editorial clients, I didn't want to leave any mystery as to whether my images or text would fit in their print or editorial world. Although it's definitely valuable to send small promos such as postcards, with this project I wanted to create a piece that is hard to ignore once on their desks, and intriguing enough to accompany their morning coffee for more than a minute.
So... want one? If you're a potential client or someone, who wants to work together, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to send you one. Although I'd love to send everyone I know a copy, I just can't bring myself to anger my bank account that much, so if you want to buy one I've set it up so you can purchase yourself (and a few friends!) a copy for 15.00 here:
A collection of stories and photos about real people and places from documentary photographer, Dylan Leeder.
I think there's a digital version available too, but it's really meant to be held close, beside a fire, with a nice glass of wine or a cold beer.
Rad! Hope you all enjoy it and stay tuned for another (different) magazine post in the near future.
Dylan
Mid-Winter Surfing In The Mountains
An intimate look into the world of surfing in the Rocky Mountains and how Calgary unexpectedly put itself on the map for surfing.
Full photo series here: http://www.dylanleeder.com/mountainsurfing/
You can surf in the mountains in the middle of winter.
Thats right! the sport you typically imagine on warm, sandy, tropical beaches takes place on a river fed by glacier water and encompassed in a background of snow-covered Rocky Mountains. In January, the river hurls ice down its flowing waters, snow covers the thick, tree-lined coast and the mountains change constantly from the snowstorms looming in the distance. Amongst these intense conditions, surfers from all around the world are completely content surfing the zero-degree water as their wave has been handmade to perfection.
Ice collecting directly beside the wave.
Like many other Canadians, I've always had a strong interest in surfing, as it has always seemed to be the big brother to skateboarding. To me it has always been the sport that inspired and helped create skateboarding. Without surfing there would be no skateboarding, so I've always had the utmost respect and curiosity for the sport and its culture. But, like most Canadians, I simply did not have the means to explore it.
After stumbling across an Instagram post on surfing in Calgary, I quickly found myself in a frenzy of excitement and curiosity about what possible surf culture there actually was here. Within a short time I discovered that not only can you surf downtown Calgary, but not far - in one of my absolute favourite places - there's a man-made wave called 'The Mountain'.
The route just before turning off to the wave.
Part of the small hike to the wave.
Located in Kananaskis, the wave is about an hour's drive from Calgary, 45 minutes outside of Banff and followed by a beautiful 10 minute hike through the forest. Because the river is fed by a dam, it can almost be completely stopped, making it an ideal place to construct a man-made wave. Created by the local company "Surf Anywhere", the wave has seemed to act as benchmark for the company to help create a few additional waves around the world. For more information on the build and on the realities of creating a wave check out their site here: http://www.surfanywhere.ca
During my first visit to 'The Mountain' (only a few hours after initially reading about the wave) I met Adam who, when not educating our youth in his sixth-grade class, spends his rare free time as an active member of the local surfing community. When he's not shaping the minds of our future or taking care of his newborn baby he spends his time shaping surfboards in his basement and expertly bringing them to life in the water.
Adam showing off his babies first board he recently made.
Since the wave is fed primarily by glacier water, surfers typically need to wear wet-suits year-round but in the winter more specialized thicker suits are needed. Because of these requirements, and people's natural tendency to avoid freezing water, the winter tends to only bring out the committed die-hards of the sport. Although the number of surfers are reduced in the winter, the growing community still brings a surprising amount of people out in anticipation of the dam being opened.
One of the most remarkable and encouraging things I've noticed from my small glimpse into the community is the level of excitement and enthusiasm behind the project, the community, and surfing in general. Being an outsider and, at this point just an observer, I never felt awkward or unwelcome. In fact I've been regularly encouraged and supported by complete strangers to get myself a board and into the water.
Adam, like many of the surfers here, has had considerable experience surfing around the world and was initially drawn to river surfing to maintain the sport he's come to love. From my perspective one of the most intriguing things about 'The Mountain', and river surfing in general, is it's ability to draw surfers from around the world who are absolutely committed to a sport they love. Obviously Calgary is not a city typically associated with surfing but just considering the dedication and work behind creating the wave is a clear sign of the determination and the length these surfers will go to fulfil their passion.
Although appealing, the Kananaskis wave still seems to present a greater learning curve than in the various levels of difficulty found in the ocean. To surf 'The Mountain' surfers are recommended to not wear leashes as they can get caught around the rocks and hold you down, which results in each surfer needing to chase the board down river after each fall. Aside from needing to be a strong swimmer you also need to be aware of the shallow waters and be sure to to fall flat to avoid hitting the bottom. And, in the winter, there's always the risk of ice flying down into the wave. Although challenging there's still local companies to provide lessons and encouragement for new surfers.
Adam after chasing his board down river.
Showing off a piece of ice that has floated down river.
When asked about the wave and its characteristics, each surfer has only answered with positivity and excitement. Being able to create it the way they want has resulted in a consistent, fast-flowing wave that allows each surfer to show up and know what they're getting into. Possibly the biggest difference between this wave and ocean surfing is its consistency -- because the wave is controlled by a dam upstream the surfers are able to look online when it's 'on' and can show up knowing, because of the dam's control, that the wave will be the same speed and shape it typically is. These consistencies apparently play in favour of advancing skill levels as there is no waiting for swells, no unpredictable shape changes, and a familiarity that aids in learning new techniques.
Creating a wave in a river can rightfully raise a few concerns about the well-being of the natural landscape but, like most sport lovers reliant on the natural world, this wave seems to have been created by individuals hyper-aware of the impact and conditions of the area they're working in. Before building the wave all of the government and environmental approvals were acquired and each and every precaution was taken, such as replacing the machinery's oil with biodegradable oil and examinations of many decade-long studies on fish's ability to swim up similar waves.
Having only spent a small amount of time at the wave I'm already excited to watch the growing popularity of surfing in Calgary and river surfing in general. Just with additional awareness that the wave exists comes new, excited surfers and an increase of popularity of yet another sport to enjoy in the area. With more popularity comes more demand for similar waves and, with that, comes the possibility of additional funding that could help further put Calgary on a map for something nobody would expect. Imagine if, one day, people knew Calgary as a popular 'surfing' destination.
Hitchhiking British Columbia: Video blogs and my opinion of hitchhiking
A series of self-shot video blogs and photos from my trip hitchhiking around the west coast.
So, I kind of ran away. And by 'kind of' I mean, I totally did.
Without getting too into it - life got a little difficult for a while and I needed to escape for a bit.
I had heard/seen the wonders of Canada's west coast for so long, by so many close friends and knew I needed to go see it for myself. The whole trip came together extremely last minute and through some last minute coordinating with my long time friend, Jess, I found myself in Vancouver with no plans. It was the best.
The whole thing was pretty well documented through raw (aka shitty) video blogs and I couldn't be more happy about that. With my recent intrigue with video and the process of creating video blogs (see: Casey Neistat) I was excited use this trip as a way to test this style of work. I'll plug the videos throughout the following post.
Besides the video blogs this was also my first time hitchhiking and I've been anxious to talk about my experience trying it.
First off - I wasn't murdered, abused, scared, or creeped out at all. My longest wait time was 45 minutes and literally every person that picked me up was an intriguing, kind, and positive influence on my trip.
I feel hitchhiking has such a bad rep in todays society and I find that so disappointing. I grew up hearing stories of older generations hitchhiking adventures and for so long assumed that was a dream unreachable by todays standards. But, through experience, I've learned that this is so far from true. People are still more than willing to fill their empty seats with someone in need.
Peoples outlook on hitchhiking today is so closely connected with our depiction that the world is a scary place. Media has pumped us so full of fear that the thought of hitchhiking seems to be associated with a death wish. This isn't true - although, yes, there's a lot of horrible things going on, people are still human. There are still people that will go out of their way to help a stranger out, there's still people that don't need payment for good deeds, and, believe it or not, there's still people on the road that aren't murderers.
The most interesting thing I found out about the people that picked me up were the fact that they all knew someone personally who has hitchhiked. When I asked each driver why they picked me up they all responded with someone along the lines of 'well, my brother is like you' or 'my son got stranded and some kind people picked him up'. It seemed that each driver needed that story or reassurance that hitchhikers are not a threat and, even potentially like one of their loved ones.
So, here I am - you know someone that's hitchhiked just over a thousand kilometres. I made it, and it was an amazing experience. I wasn't murdered and I didn't even once consider harming anyone.
(Disclaimer - be responsible. Use your instincts - if your soul is telling you not to hitchhike/pick up a driver, don't do it. Also, if you're going to hitchhike be clean and smile - that was apparently my trick)
Frank Turner Portraits! I'm Stoked.
A little write up on why i'm so stoked to have taken Frank Turner's portrait.
I have a small list of people that I dream of photographing. I mean, not just live or from a distance but portraits where I have the opportunity to actually meet and interact with them. It looks something like this...
Barack Obama (go big!)
Conor Oberst
Brody Dalle
Dallas Green
Dalai Lama
Kim Jung Un (imagine!)
Frank Turner
+ Many more...
So yeah, by taking Frank Turner's portrait last week I actually get to cross him off my list. To me, this is an extremely rad thing as I love crossing things off lists.
It all came about after simply e-mailing him a few days before he was in the city for a show. It was one of those 'What's the worst that could happen...' moments where I didn't really expect to hear back but I still gave it shot. To my surprise he personally answered and agreed to set up a quick shoot before his show.
(An image I shot of Frank at the El Mocambo back in 2011. Check out the other images and my review of the show here: http://www.blogto.com/music/2011/04/frank_turner_gets_the_el_mocambo_singing_along/)
I was first introduced to Frank Turner when a good friend (hey Beav!) played 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends' for me while relating me and my friends to the characters he mentions in the song - me being the 'official club photographer'. Ever since, I was hooked - his album 'Love Ire & Song' could easily be considered one of my favourite albums.
I absolutely love his straightforward, edgy lyrics and his mix of punk vibes with acoustic guitar. Performing live, he's a blast with entertaining stage banter, and contagious energy on stage. To me, his lyrics are so relatable and the stories in his songs sometimes echo my life. So yeah, big fan.
His day was packed with radio interviews, sound checks and TWO shows so it was a very quick shoot but I SO appreciate him taking the time to allow me to photograph him. I'm truly blown away that although I was not shooting for any media outlet he still allowed me to photograph him just knowing it would mean a lot to me.
To accommodate Frank's schedule I decided to do the shoot behind The Horseshoe, as he was playing a show there shortly after and I wanted to make it convenient for him. I chose to set up a black foam core to give the images a little more 'production value' and create something further than another photo of someone in an alleyway.
The shoot was only 15-20 minutes but everything ran smoothly and Frank was extremely easy to work with. It was clear that it wasn't his first shoot as he was pretty natural in front of a camera - could be due to his mom teaching him to always smile in photos. Well played Mrs. Turner!
Well, that was cool! It was definitely an honour to photograph someone I look up to so much.
Frank, if you're reading this, thanks a lot for allowing me to photograph you on such a busy day! If you ever need a tour photographer I'm available.
Big thanks to Mike P for helping me during the shoot!
Now, go check out his musical awesomeness:
Couriers On The Streets - Behind The Scenes
A behind the scenes of my intense 'couriers' shoot. Including my first BTS video!
See the full series here: http://www.dylanleeder.com/couriers/
Update:
So rad! Got great recognition off these images and behind the scenes!
First was NOW Magazine who did a little Q&A with the couriers:
https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/Yes-even-in-winter/
ISO 1200 also did a little feature with the BTS video:
http://www.iso1200.com/2015/03/shooting-couriers-on-streets-with-flash.html
And my good friends, Dandyhorse, did a Q&A with me! Can't lie...Feels cool to be interviewed:
http://dandyhorsemagazine.com/blog/2015/03/06/behind-the-scenes-with-dylan-leeder-shooting-bike-couriers-in-winter/#more-17899
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I've been interested in photographing couriers for a while now. I've always admired their cycling skills and overall stamina to be able to work such a demanding job. Beyond seeing them around the streets I've only had a few glimpses into their world, but from my outsider's perspective I've grown to be quite intrigued. These guys ride hard all day, no matter the conditions, and seem to have created an extremely tight community in which everyone knows and supports everyone else.
I knew I wanted to highlight the fast paced and risky way they maneuver the streets, so I thought it would be best to let them do their thing and photograph it as it happens. I could have built a small setup to have them bike through but I thought photographing them on the go would be more authentic and exciting.
I chose to light the subjects to have them pop against the potentially busy backgrounds of the streets and also provide a gritty, edgy look that could be associated with their lifestyle. To do this I brought along Broncolor's Move kit and threw a head up in the front seat of the car with a P65 reflector to give a nice, directional/contrasty look. This pack is a workhorse for environmental shooting. Being small, I was able to throw it in the back seat and I knew it's insane flash duration (1/8500 sec) would be able to freeze all the moving parts, including the slush and water.
The whole shoot was pretty last minute but luckily I was able to find Henry, the owner of Send It Couriers, to jump on. To my pleasant surprise he was also able to bring along three friends/fellow couriers - I literally found out I was shooting 4 subjects (rather than just 1) five minutes before we hit the streets. The whole shoot ran just over an hour but I'm quite happy with the results.
Enough of boring text. Check out the behind the scenes video:
And THAT is my first behind the scenes video. HUGE thanks to Elie for stepping up super last minute to shoot the video. Also, excuse the raw editing - I'm still extremely inexperienced with Final Cut but I believe it gets the idea across. Expect more BTS video in the future!
Also, big thanks to...
Henry and his Send It Courier crew for taking the time and allowing me to photograph them.
Elie Dahdouh for the video work.
Anthea Mislan for assisting in the 'snowy Toronto' day.
Andrew Cottingham for driving and not hitting my subjects.
Cool! Thanks!
Dylan
Cuddling: A Visual Study - The Complete Process
A detailed write up, behind the scenes images and a time-lapse of the process that made my 'Cuddling: A Visual Study' series happen.
This whole project started because I decided that I wanted to have another gallery showing to use for promotion and leverage for future projects. I had spoken a bit with Andrew Williamson, owner of Black Cat Gallery, and he mentioned there was some free time coming up - I thought what better motivation to have a gallery showing than putting a deposit on a gallery?
Booking the gallery was a great motivation, but also a good source of stress and panic. I had a gallery booked but nothing to show. I had a few concepts in mind but had not made any decisions on what would make for a good showing.
I had the cuddling concept in mind for quite a while but had also recently shot my motorcycle series. I thought both would make for a good showing but decided to show the cuddling series as I thought it would make for more relatable subject for viewers to explore.
With this decisions finally made I reached out to my good friend, Adam King, who produced my first short film to see if he wanted to jump on board. Being a general advocate for producing rad art he jumped on and off we went.
Concept...
Early in the concept I was mainly interested in the aesthetic, visual interest of two bodies intertwined. It could have just been a look at the human form but once things started moving I started thinking more and more of the concept...
Cuddling is an interesting thing that we, humans, do. We intertwine our bodies and get as close as humanly (hah!) possible. The reasons could be varied - warmth, comfort, familiarity, security, etc. - but I think, no matter the reason, it's just built into our species. We simply crave the comfort of having a loved one close.
With that, I started thinking more and more about the thought that no matter who we are we all still crave that same comfort. No matter your sexual preference, age, job, or drink preference, we're all interested in getting cozy with someone we may think is particularly rad.
Planning...
The first, and possibly most difficult, step was to find all the couples to photograph. We originally set off with the goal of 20 (completely absurd looking back) and went down to 15 and finally found 10. Originally I was a little nervous 10 couples wouldn't be enough but after seeing how well the images filled the space I'm now completely content with the number.
Reaching out to couples was a hard task. Although we were able to contact a good amount of people within me and Adam's social circles, most people were simply uninterested. We were always very understanding of couples not being interested as I know this is definitely a personal subject for many couples to have to reveal to the public. Cuddling is a personal thing and a lot of people wanted to keep it that way.
So yes, we had 10 couples and after a few weeks of arranging schedules we were set for our shoot date of Sunday, Jan 11th.
Shooting...
Not too long ago I was a studio manager at Silverline Studios and I can personally attest to how amazing this studio and the people behind it are. Knowing the studio well, I was confident that it would be a perfect space to host the shoot as the cove had ample amount of shooting space, but also, had another door and separate rooms for the other couples to wait comfortably. It was important to me that each subject was comfortable with no additional people in the room while cuddling.
View from couples position - minus Chris setting up the camera.
Each couple was asked to come prepared with their most common 'position' in mind. It was important to me that I did as little posing as possible as I wanted the series to be a true representation of the various positions that each couple may cuddle in. This became particularly interesting to observe as the different couples posed throughout the day.
We had rigged the camera 15ft in the air and tethered to a local computer to see all the incoming images. All the shooting was done from the computer while I could tweak each couples pose without hiding behind the camera.
In terms of lighting my main goal was to create an even light across the subject while blowing out the white ground (or background) as much as possible. As you can see above, I simply shot soft light evenly from every direction. Although there was still some masking in post I was thankfully able to separate the subjects from the background pretty well.
Creating A Show...
This is completely out of my norm. Planning, printing, mounting, and promoting a gallery show is a big task. Although I love the challenge (... mostly satisfaction) of creating a successful showing, I can confidently say I'm happy to wait a good chunk of time before I do it again.
Photo courtesy of SML.
First off, printing is understandably a full-time profession. There's so many technicalities, steps, and variables that are so easily overlooked. White can become not white, shadows can become black holes, details disappear, colours change etc. etc. Luckily, my college program had a good section on printing so I was able to handle the basics/test prints but even more lucky is that I have a great printer I have been using over the last few years, SML.
SML printed and mounted a big show that Maria and I had at Steam Whistle a few years ago and have been printing small projects for me since. They consistently provide super competitive prices and are always able to work under tight deadlines (common occurrence in my life) while also being understanding when I overlook silly pre-printing steps.
Photo courtesy of The Black Cat instagram: http://instagram.com/theblackcat_to
Although there were a few options for hanging, the hand-man and gallery owner, Andrew, brought up the idea to pinch the images between earth magnets and nails and it worked like a charm - thanks, Andrew.
And finally, it's always important to look your best...
@hairbyrich doing what he does best.
The Show!
Success! The room was full and the response was overwhelmingly positive. People toughed out the brutal weather and still came and seemed to enjoy themselves. With a cold Steam Whistle in hand the room was full of positive vibes.
As mentioned on the mission statement the viewers were "encouraged to compare similarities within each image and make their own conclusion". Basically, I didn't want to implant a preconceived thought into peoples heads - I wanted them to take what they wanted from the images and go with that.
Throughout the evening I had a lot of fun conversations about peoples habits and thoughts on cuddling but one I found most interesting, and perhaps most humorous, was the amount of men that preferred to be the small spoon. It seemed that a movement almost started throughout the night with various guys speaking out towards their thoughts on the stereotypes of males being the big spoon. Everyone just wants to be held the same!
In addition to the images we also decided to implement a small 'selfie wall' with the hashtag #WeHeartCuddling. This created a fun way for couples and friends to get a photo while also creating some buzz on instagram.
My phone is almost dead...
Thanks...
I owe so many thanks to so many people but...
Adam King: Huge thanks to Adam for producing the whole project! He's always able to keep the project on schedule and keeping my head on straight. I almost completely bailed twice and he was able to get my motivation back. You rock!
Andrew Williamson: Owner of The Black Cat gallery. I can't get over this dudes passion for supporting the arts in this city. He's so welcoming and helpful throughout the whole process - he could easily have just gave me the keys but he stuck around the long hours setting up the show and provided plenty of helpful tips throughout the process.
Chris Robinson: Assistant extraordinaire! Not only helped me through the admin at the studio but also provided the much needed help during the day of the shoot.
Anthea Mislan: My rad girlfriend and uber talented designer. She was able to throw together all my promo, title pages, texts, and provided feedback as I slaved at my computer during the editing process.
And perhaps most importantly, the couples! You are all so, so amazing for taking the time to come and be part of this project. I understand how this could take some courage to do and I will be forever grateful that you all stepped forward. Seriously.
Thanks so much for reading! Make sure to check out the complete series over on another page here: http://www.dylanleeder.com/cuddling-a-visual-study/
Thanks,
Dylan
Motorcycle Owners
A behind the scenes look at my series on motorcycle owners and their bikes.
Click HERE To see the full series.
In my eyes riding a motorcycle instantly makes you cool - that carefree, confidence you see ripping on just two wheels is just so captivating. Knowing this, I always thought it would be interesting to photograph a small catalogue of these people and their rides to get a glimpse of who these people are and what relationship they may have to their bike.
Luckily I live around the corner from Town Moto and with a bit of research I found out that they had an upcoming rally, Mods & Rockers, where Ossington would be lined for blocks with motorcycles and rad people. Perfect.
I knew I wanted to give this a studio look as the best way to highlight the bikes and owners would be to separate them from any distracting backgrounds. I wanted to give the viewers nothing else to look at other than the relation between the bikes and their owners - to give a clean look at what visually makes these people so captivating.
Creating a studio in an alleyway wasn't an easy task - we had to deal with wind, traffic, long hours, and a constantly changing environment.
Thanks to the wonderful people over at Album Studios and Broncolor Canada I was able to get ahold of the Broncolor Move packs and a few heads - honestly, these things are a godsend in regards to portable lighting.
Each image was lit with the Para 88 as my key light and one head, with the accompanying reflector (that also acts as the protective cap!) for fill. Depending on the subject I would typically just have to adjust my fill by a fraction through my assistant or through the RFS unit on my camera.
Once we had everything up and running the most difficult part was getting the word out and convincing people to lose their parking spot on the street and joining us in the alley way. But, luckily, once word started spreading we were able to photograph 25 different people with their bike!
Once the shoot was wrapped the only task left was digitally removing all the tire marks on the seamless. No matter what we tried the high traffic of each bike in and out of set made for some pretty brutal marks on our seamless.
Honestly, I can't get over how awesome it was to have these flashes on set. Each pop was so consistent in terms of light output and colour temperature (making a lot less work in post) and once the sun had set the 200w LED modelling lights made it possible light the set and keep my momentum up to hit the 25 person goal.
Overall the shoot was a great success. We were able to get enough subjects through the set and the gear was perfect to help create that studio look in the alley way.
Big thanks to Kevin Bryan for the assistance and to Elie Dahdouh for the helping hand and behind the scenes photos.
Thanks!
Dylan
Cancer VS. The Power of Positivity and Support
After a close friend was diagnosed with cancer I chose to take a look at the power of positivity and having the support of your loved ones.
A very close friend of mine, Sierra, was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer called Lymphoma. With any horrible news there was a whole series of intense emotions; first, the obvious overwhelming sadness and fear, then anger towards the universe while questioning why such things would happen to some of the most undeserving people, but then, most recently, I've been focusing on the power of positivity and being there for each other.
Sierra is honestly one of the strongest, most positive/level headed people I know and with knowing this I've barely questioned the fact that everything will work out fine. If you know me you know that I truly believe in the power of positive thinking - the simple concept of believing in the best possible results will attract them; that surrounding yourself with like-minded people can be a miracle cure, and that life is simply too short to dwell on the inevitable downsides of life.
Because Sierra's cancer was diagnosed as aggressive, but luckily still at stage 1 (WOO!), the recovery process started very quickly. Within two weeks of diagnosis Sierra had already begun chemotherapy and with that quickly comes the difficult reality that she will lose her hair. With Sierra being the person she is, she decided to gather some of her closest friends and have a little sun-shine-filled shin-dig to bring together our smiles and ease what is obviously something that is hard for anyone to do.
So, Sunday came and a group of us got together to provide laughs, support, and some heads of hair to accompany her through the process.
Her brother, Eric, and good friend Sara starting the process...
And then came the chaos. We all went a little crazy on each other...
And the mid-results...
(I swear these girls can pull off any look...)
And Brandon finishing the process...
And here is as far as we could get with the quality of shaver we had. (There was definitely some clean up work done afterwards)
So, with the support from friends and some simple positivity we were able to make what could have been a difficult afternoon into an afternoon of laughter, smiles, and sunshine.
With the situations that have been arising lately and specifically spending this particular afternoon with Sierra I've been reminded of the importance of friendship and having love between one another. Not long ago I found myself dwelling on the fact that I could have potentially spent more time shooting or 'being productive' rather than out being social, but now I've realized that I should never regret the amount of nights I've spent out with my friends, the days wandering the city or enjoying music with friends, or the small things like watching pointless movies with roommates. I truly believe that friendships and love between one another is the most important thing in the world and our time spent Sunday was a true testament to that.
To my friends - I love each and every one of you. Even if we may have lost contact I swear I still feel the same towards you as the last time I saw you and can't wait for the next time we see each other.
To everyone else - go give someone a hug or something! Positive thinking is not only healthy for people in general, it also does wonders beyond what you may even realize.
Sierra, I love you and this B.S. will all be over before we know it. I'm so happy my singing brought us together all those years ago and am so grateful to have you in my life. You've always been such an inspiration to me and I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today without your support, life lessons, and open ears. I can't wait until we share a drink with all of this behind us but, until then, i'll provide the puzzles.