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  • Merhaba

    Random fact: according to google translator, Merhaba means Hello in Turkish.

    A not so random fact: My name is Nate and I snap photos for a living.

    After snapping said photos, I like to post new work on this blog. Sometimes it's followed up with descriptions of the shoot, sometimes I get crazy and make lighting diagrams, and when I'm feeling really fancy I'll shoot behind the scenes video of the whole thing. When none of that happens you just get to see a photo.

    Want more facts about me? click here

    Enjoy your stay.

My beginnings, my muse

There can be a lot attributed to where I am today photographically, but nothing / no one has had more of an impact on my progress as a photographer than the person below, my wife, Cara. You see, when I first started getting into photography, I had always wanted to work with people, but truthfully…

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+ - 3 comments

May 17, 2012 - 2:51 pm

Sean - Happy anniversary, and Beautiful images.

May 17, 2012 - 3:01 pm

Jeremy Fokkens - Happy Anniversary to the two of you. Keep up the great work!!

May 17, 2012 - 5:17 pm

Jesse (another Calgary photographer) - Nice story. It’s inspirational, romantic and to the point. What more can you ask for!
btw. that chunky watch is sweet.

Revisiting Old Shoots

I’ve spent the last couple of days revisiting old shoots with new eyes, and this is a photo that popped out at me from a shoot that took place well over a year ago. CHECK OUT SOME OTHER RECENT POSTS:

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+ - 1 comment

May 5, 2012 - 10:35 pm

Jeremy Fokkens - WOW…. Love the highlighting on the Right side (Subjects Left)!!

Beautiful tones, contrast, and positioning.

Great work!!

Chad for TROT Magazine

This was a quick editorial shoot for a horse racing magazine out of Toronto. I kept the lighting simple, just one 64″ PLM with front diffusion, powered one stop above ambient to control the direction of the shadows. As much as I love lighting the hell out of things, the look of one light always…

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Shaun & Jill

Shaun & Jill, good lookin, good people. They wanted photos with more of an edgy commercial feel, so I was happy to oblige them. CHECK OUT SOME OTHER RECENT POSTS:  

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April 29, 2012 - 6:52 pm

Kevan - Nice work – really like the shots of them between the trailers!

Light Shaping on a Serial Killer

One of the biggest pieces of the learning to light pie is lighting placement, and The Virtual Lighting Studio has done a great job in allowing photographers to practice placement from the comfort of their office chair prior to landing a client in front of their lens. Now of course there is no better way…

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Angela

Angela needed a couple of new looks for her companies soon to be re-launched website. We did one look studio lit, one look naturally lit, and the results are what you see here. With lighting, sometimes it’s just as important to know when to put your lighting away and work with what’s been given to…

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Calgary Lighting Workshop | Sunday, May 27th, 2012

Full day lighting workshop happening right here in Calgary, AB. I’m not teaching one specific lighting style, I’m teaching lighting that can be used across all genres of photography. This workshop will be limited to 9 spots WHEN: Sunday, May 27th 2012 9:00am – 7:00pm-ish (or later, depending on how ambitious folk are) WHAT: From…

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+ - 3 comments

April 7, 2012 - 8:49 am

Monika Forintos - Im a local photographer and model and ALWAYS would like to learn more and advance my skills and would be extremly interested in this workshop I hope to hear from you soon Thankyou MonikA

April 7, 2012 - 9:12 am

Nathan Elson Photography - Email has been sent :)

April 12, 2012 - 10:41 pm

chris szadziuk - Hi Natan, please count me in, I’ve anxiously awaited for this.