David Buzzard's Photo Blog

Winter Wonderland

David_Buzzard_Blog — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:09:30 +0000

Pamela and Cory came from Fort Worth Texas, to get married in the snow at the Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler. A strong pacific frontal system and some just-cold-enough air made for a sudden blizzard. Tailor made for some great photos.

It was first time in the Glade Suite, a huge suite that the Nita Lake lodge has. It’s so big that I could stand on the second floor balcony to get this shot Pamela in her dress.

Pamela and her family just before the wedding ceremony.

One of my favourite spots to shoot at Whistler is the train station next door to the Nita Lake Lodge. It has a great sweeping line where the tracks go around the corner that is really strong graphic element. This is the first time I’ve been there in the snow.

Pamela and Cory, as well as the rest of the bridal party, were stoked to run out in the snow for the photos. Luckily, it wasn’t that cold, but it was snowing so hard that after about 10 minutes, we were all pretty much soaked.

One of the guests playing in the snow. The Texans seemed enchanted by the blizzard.

Pamela and Cory head off to the reception through the Nita Lake Lodge lobby.

Tech Stuff
The thing about shooting in heavy snow is that flash is next to useless. It just lights up the snow directly in front of the flash, and you can’t see anything. The positive side of it is that the light is really flat, and for most, really flattering. With this shoot, we out there about 4:30 in the afternoon, and at this time of the year, it’s a pretty dark time of the year, so I had to push the ISO of my cameras up to 1250.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8
Lighting: Nikon SB-900 mounted in a small softbox.
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On Location in Vancouver

David_Buzzard_Blog — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:14:51 +0000

It’s been a quiet winter for me here in Whistler, so I’ve been spending a lot of time doing commercial photography in Vancouver. All the work has been on-location with studio type lighting.

The biggest job so far has been working with Vancouver graphic designer Jung Shin who’s working on a series of re-vamped menus for Vancouver’s Korean restaurants. The pictures here are from Sura, and were done after the restaurant closed over two nights. We worked from 10:00 at night to about 4:00 in the morning, to shoot over 60 different dishes.

Chicken soup, with a whole chicken in it.

Some action in the kitchen, which will be used for cut away images in the menu.

Tech Stuff

When doing this kind of work, it’s really important to tether the camera to a computer so that everyone, designer, chef, client, as well as the photographer) can see what’s going on.

Where’s the lighting set up for the food shots. It’s really not that different from shooting a portrait, the beauty dish is the key light, the softbox is the fill light, and the light with the home-made snoot is the kicker.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8
Lighting: Alien Bee B1600 X 3

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Wedding Wire Bride’s Choice

David_Buzzard_Blog — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:05:19 +0000

I got this press release this morning, and thought I would share it. It seems that I’m in the top 5% of Wedding Wire rated photographers. Pretty cool, huh?

{Whistler,BC} – January 30, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce David Buzzard Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, David Buzzard Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

David Buzzard Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate David Buzzard Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that David Buzzard Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/david-buzzard-photography-whistler/e69f82aabfef5eae.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
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First Wedding of the Year

David_Buzzard_Blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:24:07 +0000

Anne and Steve came to Whistler from Brooklyn NY to have a small wedding here at the resort.

The wedding was on the Whistler Peak2Peak gondola, with a quick photo shoot on top of Whistler.

That afternoon, we went over to Green Lake and did a quick shoot with Anne and Steve by the boardwalk at Green Lake.

They ended off the day with dinner at the Bearfoot Bistro. They have a world famous wine cellar that’s a great location for photos.

Tech Stuff

Camera: Nikon D700
Lenses: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8,
Lighting: Nikon SB-900, mounted in a small softbox

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Will You Marry Me?

David_Buzzard_Blog — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:02:48 +0000

Keith called me from Oregon, saying that he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend Cameo on their trip to Whistler. Never having been to Whistler, he asked me if I had a good suggestion for a location for his proposal. Whistler just opened a brand new outdoor skating rink, and I thought that would make a great spot.

Cameo is taken completely by surprise. I was standing out by the side of the rink trying to look inconspicuous, then sprang into action when Keith went down on his knee.

After the proposal, I took them for a quick portrait session around the Olympic Plaza.

Tech Stuff
The biggest problem with this shoot was that it was really dark, 8:00 at night, overcast, and snowing. The shots of the proposal were with on-camera flash, while the shots by the Olympic rings and flame were lit with the flash mounted on a softbox and light stand. The black and white shot in the village was available light, but the camera ISO was set to 6400, and the VR lens helped out as the shutter speed was 1/25 sec. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was dark out.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8
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Happy New Year – 2012

David_Buzzard_Blog — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:48:15 +0000

Fireworks over the Whistler Village usher in 2012.
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Jean and Ryan, Whistler Winter Wedding

David_Buzzard_Blog — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:59:51 +0000

Jean and Ryan are a pretty typical couple for the weddings I do during the winter. Jean is from Brooklyn, Ryan the UK, and they live in France. Along with Ryan and Jean’s respective brothers, they had a pretty wedding on the Whistler Peak2Peak gondola.

This is probably going to be the last wedding of the year for me, and it makes a nice cap for a busy year.

The wedding on the Peak2Peak.

Jean’s brother Ryan is a gunnery sergeant in the US Marine Corps, and wore his dress blue uniform for the wedding.

As we get closer to the winter equinox, it gets darker and darker, even in the middle of the day. It’s a little challenging, but it does make for some cool looking photos.

Tech Stuff
On days like this, being able to shoot at high ISO’s that just a couple of years ago, were un-usable, really comes into it’s own. For the pictures on the horse and carriage, we were at 2500 ISO.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lenses: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8,
Lighting: Nikon SB-900, mounted in a small softbox

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Ryann and Jeff, Winter Wedding at the Fairmont

David_Buzzard_Blog — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:29:22 +0000

Ryann and Jeff are a nice couple from Texas who came out to Whistler for a winter wedding. They got a beautiful, if short, day, with the sun going down at 3:55 in the afternoon!

The Wine Room at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler has a fantastic fireplace that makes for great photos

The Fairmont has these great gas powered fire pits outside the Mallard Bar lounge, that make for some great dusk photos.

Ryann and Jeff ended the day at the Scandinave Spa. I’d never been there before, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect, but it turned out to be really beautiful.

Tech Stuff:
Weddings in December can be really trying. We were two weeks before the shortest day of the year, with the sun going down before 4:00 int he afternoon. However, with the newer cameras having great low light performance, we were able to take advantage of the beautiful dusk light for the portraits.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lenses: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8,
Lighting: Nikon SB-900, mounted in a small softbox

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Southern Soul Food Cafe

David_Buzzard_Blog — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:14:25 +0000

My friend Adam Protter is running the Southern Soul Food Cafe every Saturday evening down at the Burn Stew Cafe in Function Junction. If you’ve ever wanted to try such famed dishes as a chicken fried steak, Shrimp & Grits, or (real) Southern Fried Chicken, this is your chance.

Chef Adam Protter

Frying Okra

Southern Fried Chicken

Candied Yams

Tech Stuff:
The lighting in the kitchen was horrible, with nothing but harsh florescent lighting. I brought in a small softbox on a stand with a Nikon SB-900 mounted on it for the cooking shots. I used the same set up for the pictures of the cooked food.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8
Lighting: Nikon SB-900 with small softbox.

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My Favourite 2011 Wedding Photos

David_Buzzard_Blog — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:41:21 +0000

Here’s a selection of some of my favourite photos from 2011.

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