Darren Robinson Photography

Discover BC Photo Tours announces new People & Places workshops in Kelowna

darrenrobinsonphotography — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:34:51 +0000

My good friend and business partner, Kelly Funk and I have completed our 2012 Kelowna workshop schedule and we think you’re going to like it! The theme of the workshops is: ‘People & Places’. We’re offering 3 dates for each theme, for your convenience. The workshops are a full day and all the details can be seen on by clicking here. We’re very excited about these and we hope you will be too. We welcome all levels of photographers to explore their creative visions while perfecting any technical issues. Space is limited so be sure to book for your preferred dates early!

Mount Robson Workshop a Huge Success

darrenrobinsonphotography — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:24:20 +0000

I just got back from our 3 day workshop in Mount Robson Provincial Park as part of the Discover BC Photo Tours workshop series. Twelve enthusiastic participants joined fellow instructor Kelly Funk and myself in one of the most picturesque destinations in British Columbia. For the most part, the weather cooperated. A few hours of rain challenged us on Saturday morning and again on Sunday afternoon, but the clouds and fog made for some dramatic scenes. And the saturation from the rain added to the impact.

A good time was certainly had by all, starting with an awesome wine and cheese welcome, made possible by Tourism Valemount. Silvio and Jennifer went above and beyond in helping to make this workshop a hit, providing the transportation to and from field locations throughout the entire weekend!

Friday night also included classroom style instruction on Camera Basics, Lighting, Exposure and Creative Compositions. The group was just itching to get out onto the trail the next day.

Saturday included trekking up the Berg Lake trail to Kinney Lake.

Along the way participants were offered further instruction on vertical panning, shooting lifestyle imagery, shooting water, shooting stitched panoramas and using filters. On Saturday night the group was shown how to use long exposures to turn truck tail lights into streaming beams of awesomeness tunneling towards a clouded Mt Robson. It was the perfect ending to a great day of instruction and shooting.

Sunday arrived and the weather was rather subdued, borderline flat; the perfect conditions to be shooting Rearguard Falls.

The group spread out almost immediately to find their vision and create their scenes. It was really fun to see the creative energy surface and it was here that we stressed the importance of filters when shooting waterfalls and high contrast scenes. Just when it seemed like we had exhausted the location, two rafting groups decided to hit the water and give us an opportunity to instruct on action/lifestyle photography.

After lunch on Sunday the rain started in. The group voted and we opted to use this time to stay inside and instruct on a critical element in image creation; post-processing. Here we covered topics like work flow, using Photoshop, shooting RAW, clone-stamping, highlight recovery, colour matching and outputting. This was very well received and Kelly and I have decided to make this a regular part of our workshop curriculum.

Monday was an optional day and most of the participants stuck around for the added day. We used this time to head up to White Falls along the Berg Lake trail. We were available to the group for any questions along the way, but we made a conscious decision to let them put their newly acquired knowledge to work. I look forward to seeing the shots produced by our participants.

If you want to join us on an upcoming workshop, click here to see what’s coming up for 2012. We are currently working on adding more workshops throughout BC for summer and fall of next year.

Discover BC Photo Tours launches new website

darrenrobinsonphotography — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:22:54 +0000

Discover BC Photo Tours (a joint venture between Darren Robinson Photography and Kelly Funk – Natural Wonders Photography) is proud to announce the launch of its new website www.bcphototours.com. Our mission is to foster an environment conducive to learning photography, both artistically and technically. By fusing together dynamic small group learning with optimal one-on-one instruction, participants are sure to notice a dramatic improvement in their imagery whatever their skill level. Through our workshops, we strive to bring the classroom to life by introducing participants to some of the most iconic and breathtaking locations in British Columbia.

We’d like to thank Powell River based designers Massive Graphic for putting together such a captivating site. Please check it out and stay tuned as we release details on our Wells Grey Provincial Park workshop in March 2012!

Also, be sure to become a Facebook fan of Darren Robinson Photography by clicking here.

Inspired By Nature Workshops – Change of Dates

darrenrobinsonphotography — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:07:45 +0000

Due to the rapid loss of daylight during the fall season (and to appease many schedules), the dates of the last two workshops in the Inspired By Nature fall workshop series have been moved. The new dates can be accessed here. There is still space left for both October workshops (The Magic of Water, and Intimate Sunshine Coast), so contact me at darren@darrenrobinsonphotography to book or find out more about the two Saturday afternoon sessions.

Texada lightpainting experiment

darrenrobinsonphotography — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:57:37 +0000

We just got back from a family holiday on Texada Island, where we stayed for three amazing nights at Shelter Point, spending our time exploring Shingle Beach, Heisholt Lake, Gillies Bay and more.

Shingle Beach on Texada Island

It didn’t take long for the magic of the island to spark creativity amongst the family. We decided to set up down on the beach and try our hand at some unique lightpainting ideas. Long exposures, the faint light and deep colour of dusk, a few flashlights and whole lot of energy, helped us to create the images below.

Although we generated some great shots the first night, we were bursting with ideas for our second night of lightpainting. Everyone wanted to get in the action this time, despite the strange looks from other campers who had no idea why we were waving flashlights around in frantic fashion.

It was on the third night that we started to really refine our technique. I conceptualized a shot of a lightpainted car parked atop the log. After pressing the shutter on self-timer (45 seond exposure) I quickly ran behind the log and painted (with a regular flashlight) what I wanted my car-of-light to look like. I was quite happy with the outcome, but wasn’t finished despite the rapid loss of available dusk light. I employed the help of my neice and nephew for the grand finale. My nephew was tasked with lightpainting his sister, while I lightpainted a car around her. This was the last shot taken in a very successful (and a whole lot of fun) lightpainting experiment at one of the most beautiful spots on BC’s Sunshine Coast. If you want to learn more about lightpainting, be sure to check out our upcoming workshop in Mount Robson. I’ll bring the flashlights

The Province

darrenrobinsonphotography — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:10:06 +0000

The Province newspaper just published a great article by Jane Mundy on travel highlights of the Sunshine Coast, including the Sunshine Coast Trail, geocaching, and nature photography workshops.

Thank you to the Province and to Jane for helping us expose the beauty of the Sunshine Coast!

Please enjoy these other Sunshine Coast images.

Rushing creek found in the Mud Lake/Duck Lake trail system

The Sunshine Coast is blessed with ocean and freshwater lakes, including Haslam Lake in Powell River.

The Sunshine Coast is surrounded by coastal rainforest.

Quarry lake on Texada Island

Photo workshop participant awaits the perfect sunset moment. Palm Beach near Powell River.

Colleen and Vincent Wedding ~ August 6, 2011

darrenrobinsonphotography — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:24:58 +0000

The Sunshine Coast is one amazing place to get married, that is, if you find beaches, forests, waterfalls and magical sunsets romantic. Colleen and Vince had wanted shots that looked less “posed” and were very keen to incorporate the environment into their images wherever possible. I can do all that. The getting ready session was a lot of fun. Like a fly on the wall I tried to capture the fun and excitement of Colleen and her party getting ready for the big moment.

We then headed to Palm Beach, the extraordinary site of this beautiful ceremony.

After a series of family portraits on the grass of Palm Beach park, I took the bridal party out to the tidal pools for some fun (hereafter known as the bridal pools . They had great energy and were really starting to find their groove for the camera.

Colleen and Vince also wanted some shots in the forests of Powell River. Can anyone blame them? So up Duck Lake Road we went.

The reception was held at Dwight Hall in Powell River’s Historic Townsite. Congratulations go out to Colleen and Vince and their families.

Focus shifts to Mount Robson in September

darrenrobinsonphotography — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:38:10 +0000

Oh, the weather was glorious for the Coast in Focus Photography workshop last weekend here on the Upper Sunshine Coast of BC. Although the group was a smaller one (in numbers, not collective height ), an amazing time was had by all the participants. Some of the locations changed this year, which worked out incredibly well given that this was our first year of the workshop without rain. Most notably was our visit on Sunday to Heisholt Lake (Quarry Lake) on Texada Island. The group seemed rather keen to make this amazing locale the grand finale shoot of the weekend. I am very excited to see some of the imagery produced by the workshop participants.

But now, we put Coast in Focus behind us and get ready for our Mount Robson Photography Workshop in September! This one is filling up quickly, so if you are interested in improving your imagery through professional (and experiential) instruction, be sure to book your spot soon! Kelly Funk and I will also have details coming fairly soon on our newest workshop for 2012….the incredible Purcell Mountains Stay tuned.

Coast in Focus participant sets her focus on the Palm Beach tidal pools

Sweetwater Creek was the location for our water shoot

Sea Fair was on - great opportunity for creative scenes like this 30 second exposure

We took advantage of some unreal cloud formations that looked like jellyfish - how fitting!

Sunday's Heisholt Lake shoot was the perfect ending to a great weekend of learning

Participant Gabe joined me in an 80 ft plunge into the lake to finish off the weekend

One Photogenic Summer

darrenrobinsonphotography — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:08:10 +0000

I love summer. I have been shooting virtually non-stop (except maybe to process images) since the summer weather hit us in Powell River, BC. There is just so much going on, from actors needing headshots and developers needing lot view shots, to the BC Bike Race and kid’s playing at the beach, the photo ops are seemingly endless right now.

BC Bike Race: Almost five hundred mountain bikers stormed the beaches (and trails) of Powell River yesterday. Although I did hit the trails to catch some racers in the action, my favourite shots from the day turned out to be the ones by the finish line, home of Tent City, where all the racers and crew camped for the night.

After chasing (and cheering) the bikers around the race route, I decided to stop by one of my favourite swim spots for a dip in the lake. The first of many this summer I am sure….and was it ever refreshing!

View Shots: Another residential developer in Powell River has hired me to get some view shots for their website. I decided to get some shots showcasing daytime views and then return to capture them again in the midst of a Powell River sunset. I am pleased with how these turned out.

Kids and Beaches: My family make for great models, although I am certain they are looking forward to a family outing without the Nikon family member

We took a trip to Saltery Bay Provincial Park day use area and the colours everywhere were stunning, right down to the rocks that lined the shore.

Another thing that summer brings? Coast in Focus photography workshop July 22-24 in Powell River. If you want to be part of the experience and improve your photography skills, contact me at darren@darrenrobinsonphotography.com

Ready for the big screen

darrenrobinsonphotography — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:35:24 +0000

Over the weekend, I was passed along a client from talented Powell River portrait photographer Candace Roadknight (Beauty Bliss Photography). An aspiring actor from Edmonton, Alberta was in town and decided that he wanted to get some headshots done for his portfolio. He was on the path to starting a career in acting and knew he needed some good headshots to pass along to talent scouts and film producers. Two short hours, four wardrobe changes and five different locations later, we had captured some pretty strong imagery for him. I wanted to ensure that we got diversity that shows he can play just about any part that came his way; handsome lead male, action hero, funny sitcom guy, mob thug, and even sinister crazy in a Hollywood thriller. I believe diversity is the key for any actor…….much like a photographer who is really taking a liking to the art of portraiture