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Randy Vanderveen photography is owned and operated by Randy Vanderveen, an award-winning photographer with two decades of experience. The company can meet all your photographic needs whether you require commercial work for brochures, catalogs or annual reports; editorial work; or portraiture for weddings and families in the Peace River Country of northwest Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Call (780) 897- 6478 or email randy@randyvanderveen.com for a quote on a job or licensing fees for photos. Feel free to check out the weekly Viewfinder blog.

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Wednesday
Sep012010

Below the surface

DateWednesday, September 1, 2010 at 11:07

Photo Randy Vanderveen, Swan Lake, east of Crooked Creek Alberta A grebe swims along on the waters of Swan Lake. While the bird may seem relaxed and calm, in order to propel itself across the water its legs have to be working hard.If there is one thing that bothers me about my photographs more than anything else it is that often they lack depth.

There are some photographers that have a talent (and work hard) at ensuring every photo of theirs has layers and the longer you look at them the more you have to admire the images.

Often times I feel like my photos are more just a visual record — which at times is okay — but I really need to strive to get more depth into my work.

Like the grebe pictured above, I want something that isn't necessarily evident at first glance, to propel my photos further along.

Please keep me honest in this pursuit.

If it seems I am just falling back on one dimension in my photography write me and get me back on track in this pursuit of a better image.

•••

The Grande Prairie Photography Club has a workshop coming up next week (Sept. 10-12) with award-winning photographer Darwin Wiggett.

If you are at all interested in honing your photography class, you may want to check to see if, although unlikely, there are still any available spaces by calling  Heather 780-513-8892 or Janice 780-539-1594. If you aren't already a member of the local photo club the 2010-11 membership is included in the non-members registration.

•••

If you have read my blog before you know I am a big fan of wedding photographer Matt Mendelsohn's photos and writing.

I rarely shoot weddings, but do often look at the work of those in the business and I would have to say he is, in my opinion, hands down the best wedding photographer out there, despite not having his name out there like others in the business who are more well-known. This week there is an entry in his blog about a wedding in Tofino. Check it out and the mini gallery of images linked to the bottom.

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Monday
Aug302010

Video view of photojournalist

DateMonday, August 30, 2010 at 20:42

I had the opportunity to watch an interview with Pete Turnley on CPAC's website. Worth a watch if you are at all interested in photojournalism or are a fan of Pete Turnley's.

 

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Wednesday
Aug252010

Recharge, Refresh, Renew

DateWednesday, August 25, 2010 at 15:43

Photo Randy Vanderveen, Banff, Alberta A tree hangs onto a rock as the waters of Bow Falls in Banff National Park rush by. Often times when we see this we think it is amazing how strong the tree is when in reality the shallow rooted tree is depending on the rock for its foundation.Well back to reality.

My wife Cheryl and I spent the past three weeks visiting and touring Alberta (and one very small section of BC) with our good friends Paul and Gill Roberts and their two daughters Naomi and Sarah.

While there was a fair amount of driving over the course of our visit, being able to get away from the daily routine and spend some time with friends (the family was visiting from Bolton (Manchester) UK) was refreshing.

Often we can forget to take time away and recharge our batteries.

It seems we are always in a rush in our daily lives.

Jesus knew this and He provided an example of getting away from everyone and everything and just getting refreshed. 

In our busy world we often forget the importance of taking time — whether that is an hour a day, one day a week or perhaps two weeks in the year — to renew our outlook on life.

I would encourage each one of you to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of things.

Photo Randy Vanderveen, Monkman Provincial Park, near Tumbler Ridge, BC Kinuseo Falls thunders into the Murray River in Monkman Provincial Park. Sometimes visiting a place off the beaten track, like Kinuseo Falls, can provide more of a break than going to the usual tourist hot spots.

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Tuesday
Jul272010

Duck out of water

DateTuesday, July 27, 2010 at 15:19

Photo: Randy Vanderveen, Dawson Creek, B.C. A female mallard runs back and forth across the muddy lake bed of McQueen's Slough near Dawson Creek.The expression "Like a duck out of water" is a common one referring to being in a situation that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable and sometimes scary.

I had the opportunity to see the live version of this take place last week.

The mallard above was running back and forth on top of the mud of the slough until she found a small area of water — really a large puddle which she plopped into and then seemed to calm down.

I have no idea why she was acting like she was — probably partly because I was there, but I didn't see any young ones with her and the puddle she ended up in wasn't even deep enough to swim in as when she moved her legs her body came up out of the water.

Sometimes we can be like that when we are in situations that are new. We worry or react differently than when in a familiar situation.

 Photo: Randy Vanderveen, near Kleskun Hills, Alberta Bison graze along the ridgeline of a hill.

These bison were the complete opposite. They could have cared less that I was taking photos of them. (To be fair I was farther away) They seemed not to even notice that I had stopped the car and was watching them.

As a professional, whether a lawyer, nurse, police officer or even a photojournalist, we have to be more like the bison.

We need to be concerned with the task we are doing and not get wrapped up in the circumstances we are doing the job under.

This can be tough thing to do, especially in the private sector or industries like agriculture where sometimes corporate planning, which is out of our hands, or outside influences like weather can shake up our work environment.

Photo Randy Vanderveen, near Kleskun Hills, Alberta A wheat crop begins turning colour giving the appearance it is almost ready to be harvested. Unfortunately a hot dry summer means that while the plants are ready to harvest, the heads will be very light as there hasn't been the moisture to help fill out the seeds. If we are going to be fruitful in what we produce we have to concentrate on the task at hand and then make sure we add the right mixture of everything else — commitment to our job, spending time with our families and friends to recharge our batteries and keeping our spiritual life in balance too.

If one area is missing, our fruitfulness will be limited and we will be like this crop that is suffering from too little moisture.

•••

This blog will be on a hiatus for the next three weeks, I will write again in late August. Thanks for reading. Randy

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Tuesday
Jul202010

The Grass is Always Greener ...

DateTuesday, July 20, 2010 at 13:56

Photo Randy Vanderveen A horse in a pasture in the Webster area supports the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" while his pasture mates are content with what they have.The old saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is an easy one for photographers to lay claim to.

Whether it is thinking another piece of camera equipment will enable us to take better photos.

Or perhaps being overseas in a different country. If I was in (name a country) I would be able to take award-winning photos of landscape, nature, people and events. I could do this or I could do that.

But take a moment and look around.

Here we have the freedom to go out and photograph almost anything we want without being worried we will be arrested.

But it goes well beyond photography. It is to easy for us to lose sight of what we have here.

We have a country where most of us make enough money that we have a certain amount of discretionary income. (All of what we make is not just going to food and shelter).

We have the ability to travel freely within our country without having to check in with the police or military in every community and have our papers always at hand.

We can live and move about safely without the fear of explosives or being fired upon.

We have the freedom to congregate and worship freely.

Our children have the opportunity to go to school, and while we can complain about the cost of education taxes and even university tuition, it is far lower ratio than what those living hand to mouth in third world nations would pay.

When we have an election, like the one coming up this fall municipally, we can vote for who we want without being bullied, threatened or perhaps killed for expressing a contrary view to the front running candidates.

While we complain about the weather — too wet in Southern Alberta and too dry in the North — we are still able to have good homes to protect us no matter what.

And although farmers are hit hard by the weather resulting in huge losses —  none of us will starve to death as a result of no crops.

We have so much to be thankful for and yet we often like the horse in the photo above would rather look and reach longingly for something else.

Why not take some time today to write out a list of the many blessings we have.

After all for the majority of the world — North America still has the greenest grass anywhere.

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