Life Is Like Coffee

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Life Is Like Coffee

My Mom Then & Now. Mothers Day 2013 with Hera Bell

Without them I would not be here on earth.

Without their unconditional love and support I would not continue on living.

In the eye's of a mother, her child never grows.

Then and now.

We all age.

I love you mom. You are an amazing lady. Your attitude towards life is admirable. Your faith in God is contagious.

Happy mother's day Armenuhi... May you be with us for a long time.

Dreamy Wedding Gowns. Montreal Wedding & Fashion Photographer Hera Bell

Creating various versions of the same image changes the mood of the photo. And it is a personal choice which one gets chosen by the client.

Voila, a black and white version.

and the de-saturated version.

 

 

And the full color version.

 

 

 

Photographing Christelle in 2009.Montreal Portrait Studio by Hera Bell

It was a hot August day when Christelle reached my downtown photo studio in Montreal. She was driving from Chicoutimi. Quite a drive I might add.

I did her make-up, the styling then we started to collaborate, her as my subject. in front of my camera.

I was using a Lumix G1.

I shot possibly 8 different styling. In a matter of 2 hours. We also shared a lunch and the day ended.

 She is someone who has been photographed a gazillions of times in the nude, or semi nude. How was I going to create something a bit different than the previous photographers?

She contacted me. I shy away to photograph well known faces, unless I am paid. This wasn't the case. It was a free shoot. I could not refuse her.

Here is some of the results.

The dress below is mine. It is a Mango design.

The silk robe you see here is also mine.

The skirt was hers.

The scarf was mine.

The silk taffeta skirt below actually belonged to my mother. Which I inherited and wore.

Homage to Gaudy. Montreal-Wedding-Fashion-Photographer-HeraBell

Have you ever been to Barcelona?

If your answer is "Yes", you must know about Gaudy.

If not, go follow this link and see his architectural structures that brought into our dictionary the definition of  "gaudy"...

Gaudy And His Buildings

Well, my next image is a simple humble homage to his crazy genuineness of "Livable" distortions.

The room distortion represents the world we live in. The reality of our self image however it might be distorted in reality, stays in tack, non distorted to ourselves.

If you can't see my point. Draw your own conclusions. Are all creative people a bit distorted? And does it take a non creative person to define what it is considered crazy?

The Modern Ophelia. Montreal-Glamour-Fashion-Photographer-Hera-Bell

The world we live in can be a pure dreamy illusion.

Tour Eiffel & Photographing A Wedding Gown. Montreal-Glamour-Fashion-Photographer-HeraBell

Are you ready for the first teaser shot from today's studio adventure?

Voila. Paris never looked so good at dusk.

The Eiffel was photographed by me several years ago with a Canon 10D at dusk long exposure on tripod.

Natanya was photographed by me today in studio with a Lumix Gh2... The rest happened in CS6.

And a studio shot without any big digital transportation. The gown is actually very soft pink.

The background was shot in Toulouse with a Canon 40D. The gown was shot today in my studio.

Chateau Versailles France...

One Gown, One Model In Studio. Photographing Glamour Fashion In Montreal Hera Bell Studio

In November 2010 I got the assignment to photograph some designer gowns.

Sonia is an extremely talented Montreal fashion designer.

I hired Jessica. For only 2 hours. Yup...

Usually when you shoot a fashion collection, you work with a fairly large team. From hair, to make-up, to stylist, plus the agency and sometimes the client. You name it. The shoots at days like this can last over 12 hours. Preparations take time.

During this session it was just me and Jessica (my model). And 3 outfits.

Voila, one dress, one model, few moods in studio.

As shot.

 

 

The photo below was exhibited at Kirkland Library's Art Gallery May 2012

 

Title was: Human Vase

 

 

 

As shot (below)

 

 

 

 

 

Then a little bit sizzling sexy dramatic mood... A collage...

 

 

Merging Architectural Elements When You Incorporate People

This is an old historical house by the river. It is filled with great details and architectural structures to discover as a photographer.

Now how one goes about photographing it when you have a living subject incorporated to that equation, it becomes simply all about the photographer's personal vision.

It gets even more exciting when you have several editing choices, the sky becomes the limit to your imagination.

The final image has to carry a certain natural context in the environment you are presenting the subject.

Editing can be fun.

Fine Art Artistic Nudes.Montreal Glamour Portrait Photographer Hera Bell

Sometimes by showing less you can say much more.

With a single studio strobe under a dramatic lighting a couple's body becomes one and you can showcase her ink art through intertwined body parts.

This is where I like to play in the border line of erotica versus fine art when it comes to nudity.

Editing One Stop In Camera RAW CS6- Montreal Glamour Portrait Photographer Hera Bell

Believe it or not, this portrait was shot with modeling lights only, in my studio during a private photography workshop that I had hosted. My student was using the strobes. I shot this shot behind the scene. I wanted to test how far I can go shooting in a dark studio without flash, only with modeling light of the flash.

The camera setting was ISO 500 f/5.6 1/60 sec at 54 mm focal point. Camera was a Panasonic Lumix GH2

You can see how the original RAW file was. And this is how I edited the entire final shot in CS6 Bridge RAW.

It took me only few minutes.

Then the web re-sizing was done with an action I have created with my logo on it. It took few seconds.

Photographing Pets & Their Owners. Montreal Glamour Photographer Hera Bell's Studio

Natacha  and Jeanfrancois were in my Montreal photo studio last summer with their two beautiful dogs. Voila, some results from our session.