Though un-predictable at most times I’ve also come to know the seasons for certain types of shoots. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I know late March and early to mid-April are great times to get those final winter shoots shot for outdoor adventure as our days are crazy long and our models don’t get frozen smiles, literally, on their faces in sub zero temperatures! And over the past 5 or so years I’ve learned mining exploration starts early spring or when the ground can be worked and my clients like me to shoot their sites once the foliage is green and operations are well underway.

But this year, things are being shaken up a bit with the Yukon’s rush for gold and mineral prices driving companies out into the field earlier than ever. How do I know this? For the first time I’m being asked to go shoot drilling rigs in mid February and am already booked in June for one client. So what do I take away from this curve ball? Well that no matter how much you study the market and feel you know your industry, it can change in a minute so you better be adaptable. Adaptability is the best characteristic for an assignment photographer to have I think.

This year instead of packing the usual bug dope and mosquito jacket in with my camera gear I’m going to pull out the winter boots and merino long johns for my next trip to the exploration camp! Oh and I might throw in a Hot Shot or two!

Meeting a lot of great people from across the Yukon who all took various routes to arrive at their career.

Photographing another 7 models today! It’s been a big campaign of 14 stories but in the end it will give them a good selection for posters, website and general promotional materials.

My new site allows the photos to shine, with the larger size and clean design. Thanks Design Station!

It also allows you to keep connected with Archbould Photography, with clearer links to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and to follow my travels and photo tips with my Photoblog right on the home page.

You’ll see a couple of new galleries as well; Archbould Photography has been digging deeper into Mining Photography and building new images through Architectural Photography.

This website is NSFW (Not Safe for Work!), that is if you are a procrastinator – the galleries are full of my latest images and you’ll be surfing this site for more time than your boss would like!

Recently I was asked, “How do you pack gear for a location shoot hours from home?”  Well, the simple answer is I pack EVERYTHING because you just don’t know what you are walking into.

This shoot was just that. I was sent by a client two hours east of Whitehorse to photograph the construction of an addition onto their building. Once there I was told the crane had not arrived and was not expected for another six hours, at which time it would be parked for the night. My shoot looked like a bust! I asked the foreman what else was going on around the site and he said they were doing a “little digging” underground and did I want to see it? I grabbed my tripod and flashes not knowing I was actually heading 19 floors underground in an elevator to a granite cavern where a hydro power turbine would eventually be placed. I ended up calling my client with a “good news” “bad news” story. Bad news was no construction photos; good news was the amazing world underground I had the opportunity that day to shoot in!

This image was used as the wrap around cover for the Yukon Energy Annual Report.

This was a classic example of where many photo campaigns are taking me these days. The client has a concept and a list of models but no real art direction or visual idea.

As budgets are constantly being scaled back, photographers are being asked to not only take creative photographs to stop traffic but also come up with the art direction for the whole project.

I am loving the challenge and creativity this is giving to the whole photographic process. So just when you thought anyone with a digital camera could call themselves photographers-think again.

When you hire a professional photographer they are bringing a lot more to your project than perfect lighting and their trigger finger!

I was on an assignment, five hours north of Whitehorse for a client and when I got there the event I was there to photograph had been delayed a few hours so I was given a tour guide and a truck!

Driving around the entire project for a couple of hours getting the overview I took the obligatory photos documenting the stage they were at. Nothing gripping but important none the less to the whole documentary process I was covering for my client.

Finally we pulled up in front of the welding area and spotted this worker welding these 20 ton pipes, 10 feet across together in a 5 degree bend. I could tell it was going to be beautiful and a whole lot more exiting than another overview photo.

The big picture is always important but the people who make the big picture happen are who I love to get in and take photos of. They are the people on the ground, the ones behind the foremen, the ones who have the real stories to tell about the project.

Take winter shots for example, I never shoot winter activity images in “winter”, strangely enough. The days are short, the sun is low, and the models get cold and grumpy. I do everything to shoot winter activity images in April, the first two weeks. The colour is much warmer, days longer and the models will smile all day for you.

The same thinking goes for aerials. The Yukon like all of the north has a long winter and a minute of fall and spring. Blink or plan poorly and you’ll miss the blue or green colour of the waters. They’ll be dark, black and uninviting. The evergreen trees stop looking vibrant and take on a brownish green colour to their needles. The lawns or grasses up here sour months earlier than south of 60 so you have to keep your eye on them when planning on shelling out hundreds for a fly over.

With all that said, you can do your best to plan for the season but sometimes a client’s wishes wins out. But with the knowledge of prevous shoots you can at least let them know what they can expect when they send you out or up in less than the perfect season.

This aerial was shot at the end of the first week of September this year and as you can see just on the edge of the grasses turning but the water kept it’s appealing colour!

Good Luck and try to keep one season ahead in your mind when planning your next shoot!