Good Morning Whig Readers,

Recently we were listening to a pod cast on one of the many trips we’ve made to Toronto this year. A point was being made about the sense of place and personal meaning a child derives from seeing themselves in a photograph amidst their family members.  When a child looks at a family portrait they don’t see the ten pounds Dad has put on, or the silly hair cut Mom had, or the passing trends everyone is wearing, they see themselves belonging.  Be it multi-generational, the immediate family, or portraits of your little ones, photographs matter. Photographs don’t just have to be for posterity they can be loved and enjoyed right now, in your daily life. “Living with what you Love” is all about putting beautiful wall art of your family and children into your homes.

One of the lovely women I’ve had the pleasure to work with recently allowed me to take a few shots of her home to help me articulate, visually, what “Living With What You Love” looks like in action.  Featured below is one of our Fine Art Gallery Wrapped Canvases. This particular photograph was hand selected for it’s colour and clean composition. The yellows interspersed through the flowers tie the photo in nicely with the colour palette of the room, leaving the space airy and bright. Once we had an idea of where the canvas was going, we chose a size that would appropriately fill the space and contribute to the rooms decor. Our clean and sophisticated style of portraiture lends itself well to turning your family photographs into beautiful wall art that will warm up your homes and personalize your space. Have a great day and “Live With What You Love.”

Bon Appétit,

- The Violets

FIN

Feature article as printed in the Kingston Whig Standard

 Winding Violets is first and foremost a fine art wedding photography studio, made up of a husband and wife team. Lucas Tingle and Melissa Howlett were married 3 years ago and began Winding Violets, their full-time photography studio in 2009. “Photographing a Wedding is capturing the beginning of a family, and it’s not long before these new families start to grow,” point out The Violets. “Photographing baby bumps, newborns, and kids was just a natural step for us and the growth of our business. We grow right along with the families,” says Melissa.

 So why have maternity and newborn photographs taken, or for that matter why get professionally photographed at all? Winding Violets encourages the families they work with to consider photographs as home decor. Imagine replacing your store bought canvases and the impersonal framed pictures with the precious moments in your family’s development. Winding Violets calls this approach to portraiture and wall art, “Living With What You Love.”

“We have enjoyed great success with our “Living With What You Love” line,” The Violets emphasize. Many families in the Kingston area have warmed up their homes with wall art of their family from Winding Violets. This fall and winter Winding Violets look forward to strengthening their relationship with the families of Kingston and transforming your house into more of a home. Please feel free to call for a free consultation: 613 540 1066. And be sure to visit Winding Violets’ site for a special post on “Living With What You Love” today: www.windingviolets.com.

Hello Everyone,

Here are just a few quick portraits I made of Melissa today in the stairwell of our home. One of the real challenges of wedding photography is being able to use the most unlikely places, for instance a plain old stairwell, to create beautiful, soft, and romantic photographs that flatter the bride. The anatomy of a good photographer extends far past his/her ability to press a button. A keen understanding of light, composition, flattering angles, exposure, and the ability to recognize a good opportunity are just a few more extremities that makeup a great photographer. Above all, but not excluding those aforementioned attributes, is creative vision. Something we can explore in later post.

- The Violets

FIN

ONE

TWO | THREE

FOUR

FIVE | SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT | NINE

TEN

ELEVEN | TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

FIN

I had a hard time holding the camera still for this shoot; I spent most of it terrified, and it was the middle of the day. I heard tell of this Asylum from a new friend of mine, like me she shares a fascination with madness and the asylums that house it: thanks Juliet : ) Needless-to-say I had to take advantage, if not for the photos just the experience alone.

With Camera in hand, my Leatherman on my belt, and a model at my disposal I entered.

Immediately after Rose and I “made our way in” the eeriness ensued: screeching medal on the floors directly above us, doors slamming and creaking, bats and birds shooting out from dark corners, and yes…footsteps…eeeekkk!  We first heard the steps when we were in the Turquoise Room. Sorry there aren’t more shots in that location, wicked textures, but Rose and I we’re so on edge and darty-eyed at this point that I had set the camera down and we were literally sitting in that room listening to the cacophony of sounds…motionless – I almost left right then.

Having bettered our fears we moved along through the pitch dark corridors, replete with doors swinging open and closed. Having heard dogs at one point, I decided to go ahead by about 100ft to make sure everything was safe for Rose. A decision I later learned was quite insensitive, because Rose explained being attacked by a dog was a better prospect to her mind then being left alone in this place.

We were shooting the series that produced #7 when Rose’s eyes darted past me and she started to point nervously. By now I forgotten my fears and was more occupied with framing the shot. I turned around and there were two large guard dogs standing in the doorway of the room we were in. My first thought was, “I really don’t want to stab a dog today…”  Warm breath… they had come right up to me and started to appraise my legs, “okay (I thought) they are real!”  I told Rose that no matter what happens do not make eye contact just ignore them. I continued to shoot, Rose continued to look unsettled, and the dogs hadn’t decided who was to get which leg.

Rose’s eyes went placid…they had disappeared as quickly and silently as they had arrived, thank God!

Due to all the trauma I had experienced, not sure if I’ll return. I do have some ideas for this place before they gut it, but I feel very uneasy about taking models to such a dangerous place. All-in-all it was a great experience, and like I said I really didn’t care if I walked out with much. You be the judge.

Bon appetit,

The Violets

FIN
P.S. no dogs were hurt in the taking of these photos

What is a Moving Portrait? A Moving Portrait is cinematic in nature, a collection of moving pictures/stills. Each frame is carefully considered, contributing to a momentum of imagery that tells a story and projects a feeling that is unique to you. Stills continue to play an integral role in the moving portrait. Laced throughout, stills let us hold  those moments in time that so easily slip through our fingers or go unnoticed revealing a part of ourselves or loved ones that passing time seems to rob us of. Inversely the cinematic element reminds us of the poetry of motion and subtlety of expression that a alludes the still. We hope you enjoy the first of many  Winding Violets Moving Portraits.

Who: Jessica Strong

What: Moving Portait

Where: Winding Violets Studio and Kingston Ontario

When: March 6th, 2010

Why: Because it is beautiful

Music by Pricilla Ahn (such a beautiful song, thank you)

I am a big fan of editorial photography. You find editorial photography in fashion, bridal, and fine art/photography magazines. Editorial shoots are highly contrived, that is to say controlled, and  are commonly concept based. Stylists, designers, art directors, the photographer, and many others collaborate to conceive a create vision. Sometimes the vision is clear cut and has a specific end (i.e. showing off a new designers line) other times it is about creating a feeling or ethos, and sometimes they are simply done in the name of beauty: in the words of the immortal John Keats, “‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ – that is all / Ye need to know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

Who: Jessica Strong

What: Editorial Portraits

Where: Kingston Ontario

When: March 6th

In partnership with April Ross, Kristen Duimering, & the fundraising comity for Camp Outlook, Winding Violets is donating a portrait session to the Charity Art Auction for Camp Outlook.  Camp Outlook is a volunteer camp put together to help the at risk youth of the Kingston area, teaching them life skills & bolstering their self confidence through outdoors training. The silent auction is being hosted by The Sleepless Goat from February 1st until the 28th. The session can be family oriented or personal: a single individual, boyfriend and girlfriend, engagement, or boudoir. The prize entitles the winner to the sitting fee and a $75 print credit!  Come down to the Sleepless Goat and bid on a Portrait Session with The Violets. Without further ado, here are some portraits of April Ross. We just took a stroll together in through downtown Kingston and this is what we came away with. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment under this post. Please come down and help support this worthy local cause.

– The Violets