This week I shot Jill Murray at the Street Dance Academy at Queen and Spadina. Jill’s first novel, Break on Through hit this stores this week and she’ll be kicking it off with a launch party tomorrow night.
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Amber is a 4th year student at Ryerson University’s School of Interior Design. When she’s not hiding out in the Aerosol Spray Room, she is either busy working for the Government of Ontario or partaking in other creative pursuits such as photography.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, January 30, 2008, my cousin Jennifer gave birth to Isaiah James Diwa. He was 7 lbs, 3oz. the latest edition to a quickly growing extended family. I stopped by the hospital to visit baby Isaiah yesterday evening and took this shot of mother and child. Both are doing well and should be home by now.

This week I enlisted Martin Kuplens-Ewart to pose for the camera. He is a web developer working at Radiant Core here in Toronto. But the fella is more than just a webgeek. He spends a lot of his time volunteering as well. This coming year, will be his 10th year volunteering with Pride Toronto.

So we started off the shoot in the warmth of BCE place and walked through Union Station into the Sky Walk. This is where we had a lengthy discussion on whether that was a cinema in the Sky Walk complex or not. He was insistent and I wasn’t convinced (perhaps one of you readers could set us straight). We eventually ended up in St. Lawrence Market where Martin shared his love of back alleyways with me. Some of which I plan on revisiting, when it is warmer and brighter out. I ended up shooting this photo of him on Colborne Street, just off Church, where I bounced my flash off a post to illuminate his face. Not your typical portrait, but it was decidedly both our favorites from the ones I had shot.

On a related note, check out Martin’s Browser Sim photoshop action. It’s a great way to create a browser simulation for any type of web design you are planning to pitch to a client. Very handy, if you want to fully visualize the end product.

This week Lauren White aka Raymi the Minx (sometimes NSFW) made her art debut at the Crooked Star at 202 Ossington. We decide to check it out and shoot the Minx herself before she becomes bigger than Paris effin Hilton. The art is on the walls until the end of the month. Raymi might not be everyones cup of tea, but every self respecting hipster in Parkdale should go check this out.

So I thought it would be cool to do a portrait a day for a year, but I knew the logistics behind that would be a nightmare. So I simplified it and decided to try my hand at shooting one portrait a week, aside from any other work I receive.

I thought it would be fitting to shoot my sister’s “Rock Band” for the first week. 2007 may have been a big year for the Guitar Hero, but I think 2008 will be all about the “Rock Band.” Above is Michelle, Michelle and Joan, who are all a part of a band called Ghetto Basik. The formed in early December on a week long trip to NYC, but now can call Toronto home, since my sister picked up the game on New Year’s Eve.

If you are itching to play but don’t have the gear, my sister is taking appointments.