Rockin' Out At The Star

Richard Lautens - Staff Photographer - @rlautens

It's funny how assignments can work out.  I hadn't shot a lot of sports this year so far and last week I shot the TFC one day, the Raptors the next shift and the Jays home opener the next day.

This week I shot the band Muse at the ACC one night and my next shift was Green Day.  Muse had a much cooler stage but Green Day had way more energy and fun about them.

Typically the photogs get the first three songs to shoot with no flash from a pit at the foot of the stage and then the security guys kick us out although for Green Day we only got 2 songs.  It's amazing how many frames you can shoot in just a couple of songs.

Here's a couple of pix from Muse:

Cool stage

Classic rock pose from Matthew Bellamy

It's hard to get the whole band in one frame when they don't get together

Matthew Bellamy under the spotlight

Now a couple from Green Day:

Drunk Bunny comes out to warm up the crowd before the band

The crowd loves the bunny.  The quality is a little rough as I had to shoot at about 50,000 iso and still only got 1/60 sec at f2.8.

It used to be that there would be 4 or 5 photogs at these things and now occasionally you get up to 20 or 30 (as we had for Green Day)-I guess they're bloggers.

Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong does his thing on stage.

Billie Joe with the crowd.

Billie Joe-I loved the Green behind him.

Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong (left) poses for a photo with a fan who he brought on stage, to the right is bassist Mike Dirnt running in for the photo.

Rock On Toronto!

Richard Lautens-Toronto Star

Racy picture from skating? Figures.

Steve Russell - Staff Photographer - @RussellPhotos

 

It is a testament to the power of the still image, 

Yesterday Twitterverse heated up over Kevin Van Paassen's front page picture of Kaetlyn Osmond skating in the ISU World Championships Exhibition Gala. 

The Monday, March 18, 2013, Globe and Mail front page.

Millions watched the event televised and saw the same things that you see on the photo. But, it's the photo that freezes action that generates debate.

Spring Training

Rick Madonik, Staff Photographer - @RMadonik

Brett Lawrie stretches after his stint in the batting cage.

 

The Maple Leafs Forever

Richard Lautens - Staff Photographer - @rlautens

If you live in Toronto, you know there is only one thing more inescapable than taxes and DVP slowdowns:   news reports of the Toronto Maple Leaf. 

As everyone knows, with the new agreement in place, the Leafs began their training camp on Sunday.  In typical fashion, a media cast of dozens went out to the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence (great name) in Etobicoke only to find the 9am medicals and physicals  had changed into a 2pm skate.  At least there were a couple of press conferences in the middle somewhere to keep the media types out of trouble.

With all the hype and anticipation, frankly it felt like business as usual from everybody.

The day before the first practice, Brian Burke addressed the media with his take on his firing.  I'll miss his fire and passion.  I spent a night with him and Dave Nonis in an Irish pub in Vancouver last year and I must say he is an entertaining guy to be watching an NHL game in a pub with-it helped that he used his MLSE credit card to pick up the tab.

2012 Richard Lautens' favourite photos

Richard Lautens - Staff Photographer - @rlautens

It's so hard to choose my favourite photos of the year.  Favourite photos are not always the best photos but ones I feel a real connection with for a variety of reasons.   I have my favourites of the bunch-do you?

After a major strike by mine workers, 46 people were killed in the ensuing clash between security, police and the workers.  The father of a slain miner, Mxolisi Sompeta is seen in their small family home in the village of Kwadick in South Africa.

Rick Madonik - 2012 year ender

Rick Madonik - Staff Photographer - @Rmadonik

 

Its that time of year again, when we each search out the pictures of the last year and revisit what we liked best, or had the most impact, from stories we've been involved with throughout the year.

Please remember to vote for your favorite picture in order to qualify for a prize offer.

 

 NIAGRA FALLS, ONTARIO -  Nik Wallenda, of the famous Willenda family, attempts to cross Niagra Falls on a tight rope (cable) from Goat Island, New York, to Niagra Falls, Ontario as seen from atop the Skylon Tower, on June 15, 2012.

 

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Four of the famed Canadian Snowbirds pass each other in opposing directions, two headed east, two headed west. The 63rd annual Canadian International Air Show, a featured act of the annual CNE, took off Saturday, September 1, 2012 with three solid hours of air demonstrations. The show featured the Royal Canadian Air Forces Snowbird demonstration team.

 

All I want for Christmas is a Lego ME!

Steve Russell - Staff Photographer - @RussellPhotos

Sometimes people compliment me on my creativity, I'm flattered but the truth is I'm at the mercy of the creativity of the people that I photograph.

That was true last summer when we were visiting the cottage of a friend and their super creative seven-year old.

I was chilling when Fynn cut in on my summer reading by presenting me with a Lego me. 

The glasses, hair, smile, square-ish body with a round head! It was an incredible likeness of me!

I tried to get back to my book, but Fynn's imagination tore me from the pages of the book and into a world I was more familiar with. My career in Lego.

Lego me and real me look a lot alike, real me is less yellow.

A trip to Bombardier reminds me of the photojournalist seed that an airline's ad placed in me.

Steve Russell - Staff Photographer - @RussellPhotos

I know that I developed my love of Photojournalism when my family moved to South America in the late 70's.

We moved to Peru, which was under a nationalist military government at the time. There was precious little in English to read. The three magazines that were always in the house were Time, Newsweek and National Geographic.

I loved the pictures.

And oddly enough my favourite photo "feature" had to be the Lufthansa ads.

The ads were photojournalistic pictures of their planes behind the scenes presented as one picture on a clean page. 

Lufthansa ad from 1985.

This week I got to shoot behind the scenes as WestJet executives were given a behind the scenes look at the Bombardier Q400, which they will use when they start their new regional carrier to launch, or take-off, in June.

Football, Football, Football and other pictures from November!

November featured a lot of football, but here is what happened off the gridiron first.

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE - Canadian geese follow a golfer as he walks the 18th fairway at Lakeview Golf Course in Mississauga, November 11, 2012.

The Grey Cup

Toronto Argonauts celebrate winning the Grey Cup after the team is presented with the trophy. LUCAS OLENIUK
 

Rick Madonik, Staff Photographer, @RMadonik

There's no doubt, news photographers always want to be where the action is. Whether its sports, news or entertainment, photogs want to be in a position to capture defining moments and scenes of great emotion. It is, after all, what life is all about.

Our newest incarnation of a boss (we've had six in the last 12 years) is a former picture editor. Since he took the helm of photo - and multimedia - earlier this year, Taras Slawynch, or T as he likes to sign his emails, has shown a lot of passion. He’s brought direction to a department that needed a rudder. This is the 2nd time in the last 5 months we've assembled the vast majority of the 15 staff shooters to converge upon a single "event."

The first installment was Nik Wallenda's walk over Niagara Falls. Last Sunday, we tackled the Grey Cup.