As a Fringe photographer, I’ve always had Amy in my photos as she’s everywhere, from setting up for the Drag race, to having her own show.  This was a photo from the Frankie Awards with a beer in hand (for which in Fringe Festival culture is very common). Still, it’s one of those rare moments where she’s standing in one place as Amy is a busy, hardworking person. The edition of the Hour featuring Amy Blackmore is still on the newsstands till tomorrow however it’s on the Hour site :

http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=20332

Hannah Eichenwald was my model for the afternoon, I’ve known through the Fringe Festival and various social circles however I’ve never worked with her until that day. What I knew about her was she had a dance and theatre background, as of late I’ve enjoyed what the body does in dance. Our location was an alley way in the Mile End, I’ve been eyeing this one alley for about a month. If you ever frequent the area it’s nothing but beautiful alleys.

We opted for neutral tones and Hannah did a beautiful job on her make up. The beginning of the shoot as she’s a new model took a little time before I knew what directions to give her. I found out she was a fan of fairy tales and imagination, I told her to start skipping and twirling across the alley way. That’s when things clicked, I was thinking about kids that play in alleyways, how they can turn a narrow space into many things.

Hannah was fun to work with, with her dance background (how she was able to hold dance forms)  and her active imagination we were able to produce some fun, beautiful results in an area where cars would go through.  Funny moments when people would walk through and wonder what the Hell we were doing. Still, it was an adventure on it’s own.

I’m always looking for models, it’s a fun project, a fun experience.  I get a lot of first timers and I get surprising results. Surprising as in that a lot of people are surprise that they have it in them to be part of a beautiful process.

I was going to put more festival photos however the guys over at chartattack.com are doing a web site overhaul so no photos from this week’s festival venture (just yet).

I was however watching a lot of the World Cup in the last month. I have a Chilean background so following soccer is the other sport I follow next to hockey. The World Cup is about the beautiful game and the teams that are vying for dominance every four years.

Spain were once considered great underdogs however in the last two years have showed a great dominance to the sport. It was not a surprise that they would be in the final. The great surprise that the South American teams (all 5 of them) made it through to the round of 16 and seemed like a threat.

Unfortunately all didn’t make it to the final. We’ll get them next time.

I was opting to go watch the game at Copacabana on St Laurent that day but due to working late, the bar was packed and opted to watch outside the bar with the others. The crowd at Frappe next door filled the sidewalk and streets, causing havoc with the police nearby.

I had my camera because I knew if Spain won there was going to be a big party.

And after 116 minutes there was. It wasn’t a pretty game but it was over, viva Spain.

I learned that the community around the St Laurent strip are very passionate about the sport. I was surprised how many Chilean flags and fans I was able to find when they were still playing. Yes to Brazil and Argentina however Uruguay?

Spain was the pick over the Portuguese as the round of 16 turned into 8, then to 4 and then that Sunday. I walked up to Rachel where the street was closed to traffic. The next block to Mary Anne was a sea of red and yellow. There were hundreds of fans on the street chanting “Yo soy Espana” I am Spain.

I was knee-deep in red and yellow, there was a girl on a guy’s shoulders, a fake world cup being passed around. Men kissing a stuffed octopus in tribute to Paul the octopus who was picking the winners of the tournament (he picked Spain twice, even against his home country of Germany in the semifinals).

It was a lot of wide angles, wanted to capture the mass crowd. I looked up. The Social Club were showering the hot and sweaty with champagne. I got some in my eye, it did cool me off however. There were drummers and dogs dressed in flags. Children wearing Spanish jerseys feeding off popsicles, tasting the victory of their newly minted champions. Senoras and Senoritas in flamenco dresses dancing on the streets.

The party went late, I was tired and missed out on the impromptu soccer game the young boys and old men were playing. The cops play a game or two. There was passion in that crowd, no destruction or trouble.

This was my third celebration this year, camera in hand (this time I couldn’t stand atop a garbage can). This one was very different in comparison to hockey. Soccer is passion, along with their fans. Most of these countries competing have a deep-rooted passion for the sport as well as their culture. It’s a bit of a parallel in comparison to hockey fans however I can’t wait till the next one in Brazil.

I wish to be at the biggest party the next time. A part of me wishes to take pictures of something like the World Cup, then again Spain was once the underdog, now El Campeones.

Spain party: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindylopez/sets/72157624486133416/

This was where I had the chance to document the surroundings and then they realized they needed someone. I ended up getting the opportunity when their regular Fringe photographer left the country for the year. He came back and as the festival had gotten bigger, it made sense to have two photographers.

The way I shoot I make sure I’m aware of both the performance and the audience. It’s great to get a moment in the show however you got someone on stage creating that moment and the audience wanting to enjoy the moment so I’m careful. I always go for moments with a noise or if there’s loud music then no problems.

Along  with fringe photography, I would provide my services to artists when they need to put together their press kits, a good photo can be used in programs and websites however these photos are what gets them noticed in the media.

I worked with two companies this past year: one was a duo dance performance and the other was a one woman show. Different concepts of photography.

Oppo

I did photos for the show Oppo: a two-part performance with dance, acrobat and theatre performance. I worked with Stu McIntyre & Caroline Rochefort one afternoon as the show was still developing. They had a concept based on their street performances (they’ve done work over at the Jazz Festival).

We did the photo shoot in a dance studio in the John Molson Building at Concordia. White background, hard floors that was easy for them to move around in. A couple costume changes and a deck of cards to work with. The one drawback was that their show primary dealt with balancing on chairs however the chairs in the studio weren’t too sturdy. We made sure we can still get the photo and no one got hurt in the process.

It was a lot of fun, I find dance challenging to take pictures of however I’m still coming across a lot of dance, learning how the body moves and how dancers can push limits in terms of strength and agility.

Hot Pink

I’ve known Alison Louder for years and this was the year she would have her first solo show. She wanted to go into a direction that was in contrast to the Alison I would hang out with. She came up with a concept with a metaphoric cave and the imagination.

We constructed one out of a cardboard box we found across the street and decorated it with Christmas lights and candles. This was shoot one of two as we did a concept with lots of candles.

The idea of the box played on a hiding place, a sense of isolation, a warm safe sanction. It didn’t take too long to construct and Alison played her character while I was taking pictures.

The end result are on posters around St Laurent and Rachel in the beer tent until Sunday. You can also check out Oppo at Studio Tangente at 840 Cherrier, Hot Pink at Association Portuguaise at 4170 St-Urbain.

Fringe photos I’ve taken so far:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindylopez/collections/72157624288698754/

The Montreal Fringe goes until Sunday. Go check out shows. Info at:

http://montrealfringe.ca/en

got to love a semi riot!

Yes, the photochick returns and has lots to say.

The last few weeks have been brainstorming and backchecking into other endeavours. I recently finished a stint for an online media collective known as Forget the Box. They wanted me to do a hockey blog for the Montreal Canadiens playoff run, previously I did a blog for them during the Olympics for Men’s Hockey. I basically summarize game analysis and describe fan perspective while sitting in bars and yelling at a TV.

Call me a fan’s color commentator.

I thought it was going to be a four blog stint however no one (not even myself) knew that The Montreal Canadiens were going to knock out the likes of Washington and Pittsburgh, the #1 team in the league and the defending Stanley Cup champions.

It was wild and crazy when after each series there would be something going on downtown. Fans hitting the streets either celebrating or looting. That stopped last week when they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.

This is why I’m choosing the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup.

So I finished with my hockey blog and yes, there were photos of the mayhem. To check out the hockey blog I did for Forget the Box go to:

http://www.forgetthebox.net/magazine/hockey-blog

I did mention photos so check out my Flickr for the semi riot photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindylopez/sets/72157623926628035/

Now into Fringe mode, the Fringe for All starts off the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Fringe Festival as it previews shows to check out in the next while. This year the Fringe goes for 20 days=20 years.

Curious about what it’s all about, starts at 7pm at Cafe Campus. It’s free, there’s beer and you will be quite entertained. Will be busy taking pics and putting them up on Flickr and the Fringe site. June will be busy photo wise. I’ll let you know why in the next issue.

I don't use this camera for work, I swear

I guess time to set up the scenario: I’m two weeks removed from finishing an amazing stint as the Photo Editor at The Concordian, all these photos kicking around. Also, the festival season coming up as ChartATTACK.com’s Montreal based photographer (I shoot music and get to check out some great live acts). It’s also the year that I work on a project since my portfolio year at Dawson College Photography program…

…so I think it makes sense to tell some behind the scene stories.

So why the behind the lens. Simple, who here half the time knows what goes on in the head of a photographer while he/she is focusing on a subject or on assignment? Lots. Lighting, depth of field, subject (good or bad), who they’re working with. Elements of the scenario can either make or break the picture.

Also, the great lengths to get the photo, there were some things I had to endure for photography. Glad it hasn’t been too extreme (but sometimes I ask myself: Why?)

No worries, there are a lot of good stories, on assignment, in production and so forth. As for the Portuguese chicken, I just like eating it. Go to this place on Rachel and de Buillion, it’s worth it.