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Call it shameless self promotion, call it being proud of my work, call it looking back at a year gone by as I prepare for a new one…but here are my favorite photographs from 2010. Well, my favorite ones I made anyways…

The photographs are not in any particular order, to be honest, they are in order of file name. I leave it up to you to decide which is best, and feel free to leave your comments below!

1 – Billy Talent at the Bell Center

I have had the pleasure of photographing Billy Talent a bunch of times now, going all the way back to the first time I shot them at Montreal’s legendary, but sadly now closed, Spectrum. I shot that show on Tri-X! Singer Ben Kowalewicz always puts on a frenetic show, making for some great photographs.

This photograph was made on a Canon 1dMkIII with a 70-200 f/2.8 at 70mm, the settings were 1/400th @ f/2.8, 1600 ISO. The combination of Ben’s posture, expression and the backlight are what do it for me in this shot.

2 – Canadian Ski Marathon in Montebello, Qc

The Canadian Ski Marathon is potentially one of the most difficult shoots I face every year. It is a grueling physical test as we are outside in the elements for over 12 hours making photographs with very little shelter, completely exposed to what Mother Nature throws at us. I have been pretty lucky though, I haven’t faced anything like freezing rain or hurricane forced winds, but with the mercury hovering around -15, a bit of snow, some wind, it makes for a long, but fun, day. The biggest challenge is keeping the equipment functioning, and not letting our batteries freeze up. Events like this make me appreciate Gore-Tex, thermal base layers and Primaloft insulation like you wouldn’t believe!

This photograph shows the skiers racing from the starting line using their head lamps for illumination. 1dMkIII with a 16-35 f/2.8 at 16mm, set at 2.5 seconds at f/5.6, 1600ISO.

3 – The Shrine Bowl at Concordia’s Loyola stadium

Concordia University’s Loyola stadium hosts the annual Shrine Bowl, a football game which features Concordia’s Stingers and a different opponent. The game is held to raise money for Montreal’s Shriner’s Hospital. This year’s contest featured the Stingers against the Bishop’s Gaiters. Football is a tough game to shoot as you have to be ready for a pass, a run, an interception, a sack…and the play can move towards you, away from you…

To make this photograph of Bishop’s Running Back Ron Lee King-Fileen I used a Canon 1dMkIII with a 400mm f/2.8, 1/1600th of a second at f/2.8, 800ISO. The key to a photograph like this is to have as clean a background as possible (which isn’t easy at Concordia!) and showing a peak moment of action.

 

4 – Green Day in Montreal

Green Day were one of the first “big” bands I ever photographed. I didn’t even know I was getting a photo pass that night, I was just handed it as I had interviewed them earlier that day after I interviewed them for my old punk rock fanzine. It was November 18th, 1997. 13 years later, I got to shoot Green Day for I think the 5th time, and it is always fun. Billie Joe is one of the best front men in music to photograph, and you always have to be ready for a surprise! Such as Billie Joe throwing his guitar behind his head to solo.

This shot was captured on a 1dMkIII with a 16-35 f/2.8 at 35mm, 1/1000th at f/2.8, 1600ISO.

5 – Jordan Szoke wins in Mirabel

This was not actually an assignment. I had never really photographed motorsports and wanted to give it a shot. I heard that the Canadian Superbike Championships were opening their season in Mirabel, north of Montreal. I spoke to the organizers, and they were nice enough to give me a photo pass for the weekend. I shot 2 full days of races, and had a blast doing it. I found new angles, practiced pans…athletes have to practice, so do photographers! As I wasn’t working for anyone, I wanted to take a bit of a risk. When I saw that the podium was set up with nothing behind it, I slapped my camera on a monopod with a remote release, and held it far over my head, guessing the focus. When I heard the crowd cheer, I started shooting. I showed the photograph to the editors of Inside Motorcycles Magazine, and they purchased the photograph and ran it as a double-truck. Jordan’s wife, Amy, also bought a 16×20 of it to hang in their home!

This photograph was made with a Canon 5dMkII and a 15mm fisheye. 1/640th of a second at f/8, 1000ISO.

6 – Valleyfield Regatta

This was another self-assigned shoot. When the PR person told me that I had free reign in the spectators area and no water access though, I was disappointed…I would have needed a 400mm to get a decent shot! I considered packing up and heading home, but there is no fun in that, is there? I knew I had access to the pit area. Though shooting digitally, I had never really shot digital black and white. I decided to shoot a mini photo essay on the pit crews in black and white! I made it even tougher by only using one lens, a 16-35. And it was a lot of fun! Freed from the pressure of deadlines and client satisfaction, I was able to shoot for the fun of it, and walked away with a bunch of shots I really like! If you would like to see it, the full gallery is at http://www.timsnowphotography.com/regatta

The details: Canon 5dMkII with a 16-35 f/2.8 at 35mm, 1/125th at f/4, 400ISO. Get out there and have some fun!

7 – Mehndi

One of the greatest things about being a photographer is being able to witness things that I would not have otherwise been able to. Sporting events, concerts, news, weddings, portraits…people open doors and share their lives with us because we have a camera around our necks. One thing that has always interested me is other cultures and their customs. I was asked to photograph an Indian Mehndi ceremony, which is where a woman has Henna applied to her hands, arms, feet and legs before her wedding. It was incredible! The colors were absolutely beautiful, everyone was wearing traditional Indian clothing, the smells of the food being prepared was intoxicating. I wanted a nice detail shot to go with the my photographs, so once the Henna was applied I asked the bride-to-be to hold her palms up to me, and using a shallow depth-of-field, focused on her hands to make them stand out against the bright colors of her Sari. If you look close enough, you can see the name of the groom hidden in the intricate pattern of the design!

I made this photograph using a Canon 5dMkII with a 24-70 f/2.8 at 42mm, 1/50th at f/2.8 1600ISO.

8 – Pavement at Osheaga

I always love trying to get away from the hoards of photographers at music festivals. There are so many people shooting that it is sometimes difficult to make a photograph that stand out. I just finished photographing Pavement from the photo pit (first 3 only of course!), but as I was the festival’s photographer, I was lucky enough to have limited stage access. I knew I wanted to make a photograph that was recognizable as one made in Montreal, and the Geodesic Dome from Expo ’67 is one of those monuments that many people know. Stephen Malkmus was belting away on his guitar, and I just waited for the shot I wanted. The slideshow from Osheaga can be seen at www.timsnowphotography.com/osheaga which includes music by The Gaslight Anthem!

Details, details: Canon 5dMkII and a 70-200 f/2.8II at 200mm, 1/1250th of a second at f/2.8, 640ISO.

9 – Montreal’s Police Brotherhood March

Montreal’s police took over the streets of downtown, though this time they weren’t chasing rioting hockey fans; they were escalating the pressure tactics in their contract negotiations. I wanted to show the amount of officers in the march, and having studied the march route, I knew they were going to head down St. Denis street towards Old Montreal. This would be perfect, as St. Denis, from Sherbrooke to de Maisonneuve, is all downhill! I ran a block ahead of the marchers so I would be in position to capture the photograph. It may not be an incredibly dynamic shot, but it makes this list because it shows that a little planning and pre-visioning can help lead to a nice photograph.

Canon 5dMkII with a 70-200 f/2.8II at 200mm, 1/400th at f/8, 200ISO

10 – Rob Zombie at HeavyMTL

I used to be into White Zombie (I suppose I still am to a certain extent…) and I love the movies Rob Zombie has made, so I had high hopes for this show! Wow, he didn’t disappoint! That is not a video wall behind him, it is REAL FIRE! I was worried my lens was going to melt! What a show! The full gallery from HeavyMTL’s day 2 can be seen here: www.timsnowphotography.com/heavymtl (unfortunately I wasn’t able to shoot day 1 as I shot a wedding in the morning and Sting that night)

Canon 5dMkII with a 70-200 f/2.8II at 85mm, 1/250th of a second at f/2.8 1600ISO.

11 – Weezer at Osheaga

Weezer rolled into town to play at Osheaga, and judging by the photographs I had seen online from previous cities, I knew it was going to be a fun shoot. When shooting musicians, I try as often as possible to include at least 2 people, I feel it gives the photograph depth. I had Rivers Cuomo, Weezer’s singer, in my crosshairs as he ran across the stage, stopped and started pumping his fist as he sang the chorus to Surf Wax America (I love that song…). Great lighting, an awesome expression, what more could I ask for?

Canon 5dMkII with a 70-200 f/2.8II at 100mm, 1/400th of a second at f/2.8 1600ISO.

There are still a few weeks left to 2010 and I have a few fun shoots set to go before the year is out, who knows, maybe this list will change! I am also waiting for approval for another couple of photos, so please check back as this list will have some photographs added to it!

Thanks for looking. If you would like, you can follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/TimSnowPhoto