Derek Shanks [Fragile Glass]

www.fragileglass.ca – The New Home of Fragile Glass

dbshanks — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:13:17 +0000

Thank you to all who have followed my progress on this web site. I am excited to announce that I move this blog to a new home with all new design to better showcase my photographic portfolio. I will close this site in April of 2012. Allowing enough time for everyone to change and find out where I am.

Please change and subscribe to the new blog site at

http://www.fragileglass.ca

See you all there! Thanks again for the years of support on this blog!

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black & White, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Fine Art, Monochrome, Photography, Toronto

After the Tears Fall – Jack Layton

dbshanks — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:34:47 +0000

It was a shock to see a high profile figure such as Jack Layton succumb to cancer at the prime of his career and at such a young age leaving behind a memory of strength and conviction in his beliefs. It was hard not to admire him regardless of which political platform you supported. It was amazing to watch this country stand still in the days after his passing, a proud moment for Canadians who dropped the political battles to pay tribute to a man who did many great things in his life. While the media frenzy and the heightened emotions were raw, I stayed back from capturing images. I wanted to have a photo that would show Jack Layton’s legacy, more importantly a story about the people he championed for. The hungry, the low income status, the working class and the homeless. I found this emotive moment at Toronto City Hall the day after his funeral had taken place, I felt it marked the legacy of Mr. Layton and his wife Olivia Chow as they had become a political romance story of power to make change and give voice to those who needed it. Rest in Peace Mr. Layton, Toronto will defintely not forget your contributions and most importantly Canada will not forget the juggernaut change you mounted during the spring federal election.

Tagged: Black and White, BW, Canada, Death, Derek Shanks, Election, Funeral, Jack Layton, NDP, Olivia Chow, Ottawa, Photography, politics, Toronto

Weekend Artscapes – Hipstamatic Monochrome

dbshanks — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:38:53 +0000

A continuation of iPhone photographs from the past weekend. These are more scenics than stories of people on the streets. No pidgeons were harmed during this shoot. They attempted to get even by bombing me, however I outsmarted them by ducking under a tunnel that is not visible in the photo. Enjoy!

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Fine Art, Hipstamatic, Instagram, iPhone, Monochrome, Photography, Toronto

Weekend Street Stories – Hipstamatic Monochrome

dbshanks — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:28:08 +0000

As a once staunch Blackberry user, if someone had told me I would be street shooting with an iPhone I would have fallen off a chair laughing. Well, I haven’t fallen off my chair, didn’t hit my head either and I am certainly not laughing at the concept anymore. In the short time I have had my iPhone 4, I have amassed quite a collection of street shots that I probably would never have achieved with my Nikon’s and have come to appreciate the spur of the moment shooting the iPhone is affording me. I appreciate the flawed jewels as much as the perfectly sharp captures. It’s nice to break away from the technical proficiency of operating an SLR and just live inside this moment by capturing the story as it happens.

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Hipstamatic, Homeless, Instagram, iPhone, Monochrome, Photography, Toronto

Hipstamatic Landscape [Colour and Monochrome]

dbshanks — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:01:57 +0000

A mix of Hipstamtic and Instgram created shots in colour and monochrome.

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Hipstamatic, Instagram, iPhone

Hipstamatic Street Photography [Monochrome]

dbshanks — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:47:46 +0000

I really enjoy the immediacy, imperfect and nostaligic feel of Hipstamatic shooting. Plus its making street shooting a lot more stealthlike. By no means a replacement for my DSLR’s but it does change the boldness of photographing people out in the open.

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Tagged: Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Hipstamatic, Instagram, iPhone, Photography, Toronto

Social Exhaustion – The Digital Era Conundrum

dbshanks — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:05:51 +0000

I am known for my hiatus behaviour. I would rather step back and not shoot for the sake of filling content than to keep shooting to ensure my rankings and popularity is skyrocketing. I am more critical of my own work than anyone else could ever hope to be, therefore when it got to a point that I was posting images that I wasn’t happy or excited about. It was time to take the break. With digital photography and videography at an all time high, I was not worried if my images lacked appearances for there are thousands of other photographs for every one of mine that didn’t get uploaded.

Truth is, in the day and age of a social media conscientious society it became exhausting to keep up with the masses that I was forgetting to live life and shoot photos. Constantly buried via computers or Blackberry. I became consumed by my blogs, flickr, Twitter, linkedin, Facebook, tumblr, foursquare, diggit, reddit and the other umpteenth million electronic social friendships that I had been nurturing. Digital marketing is great, its a lot of work, but it was taking the nostalgia of why I shot photographs to begin with. As well, I have real people in my life that make better comfort than the cold shells of my MAC computers or Blackberry and the names handles that begin with an @. Life’s daily grind also makes it harder to get out and put to task the camera and shoot personal projects. Something that I will have to change, at least reserve my shooting days and go for it.

Recently I have traded the Blackberry in for an iPhone 4 and interestingly enough, my appreciation and enjoyment of photography has started to pick up again. It’s easier to carry the iPhone where ever I go, while on the run I can surely stop a moment and capture a photo. Add in the addition of Hipstamatic, square format, black and white….yes even colour with an retro nostalgic feel to them, I am having a blast. It’s a far cry departure from creating digitally perfected images, labouring for hours over RAW converters and Photoshop. Not saying I don’t enjoy a labourious victory over a completed photo from my Nikon’s. I still love my Nikon’s, yet Hipstamatic gives me an immediate gratification. Shoot it, the app does the rest. The images range from perfectly sharp to inexplicably blurry and careless. I love the sharp and perfect, I also appreciate the not so perfect shots too. There is a feeling of rush, stealth and anxiousness to the less perfect photos which tells the story as much as the subject does. I have peeled back my social media prescence, concentrating only on facebook (which for the most are people that are real to me now or I have known) and my new prescence on Instagram which makes way more sense to me as a photographer than the likes of Twitter and the rest of the anonymous offerings.

I’ll post a few more blogs with some of the iPhone stuff in colour and monochrome. I’ll soon publish my standard fare of monochrome images. This particular shot was done with the Instagram app, majority are created with Hipstamatic.

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black & White, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Fine Art, Hipstamatic, Instagram, iPhone, Monochrome, Toronto

Impatience

dbshanks — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 01:47:16 +0000

To continue the story from yesterday, her flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil has left a little more than 2 hours ago, the anticipation, the excitement and the sheer fact that I know she is about 8 hours away from Toronto has me laying in wait. What better way to show my sense of impatience by posing patiently for my camera standing in the scene for 30 seconds for each of these frames. By the time most of you read this, I’ll be making my way to the airport to await her arrival with a happy sense of impatience. Romance and love make you do silly things, but I am a silly boy and it only makes sense.

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Fine Art, Long Exposure, Monochrome, Photography, Toronto, Toronto Beaches

Teatro do Amor [Theatre of Love]

dbshanks — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:08:40 +0000

This is my Teatro do Amor (Theatre of Love) as a little more than 8000 km’s beyond where my camera is placed and its composed direction is the reason I can hear my heart beating loudly at this moment of capture. Far over Lake Ontario, the remaining land mass that makes up North America and well across the Atlantic ocean I am sending a little romance and loving thoughts of her. I am in Toronto and she is in Rio De Janeiro.

It has only been a short time since her departure yet it easily feels like an eternity has unfolded before me. Let’s just say this gentleman patiently awaits his lady’s return and very much looking forward to our reunited moment as I can now see that date on my calendar this coming week.

Happy Thanksgiving Carri!

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black & White, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Fine Art, Long Exposure, Monochrome, Photography, Toronto, Toronto Beaches

B&W Portfolio Review (Toronto)

dbshanks — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:11:58 +0000

On Tuesday, October 19th I am conducting a portfolio review of Black and White photography at Vistek 496 Queen St. E. from 2pm to 4pm with 15 minute individual time slots. An opportunity to get constructive advice to achieve strong monochrome images, offering insight and personal attention to your individual style of photography.

Click here to register for your time slot.

Vistek B&W Photography Portfolio review registration.

Tagged: Art, Art and Photography, Black and White, BW, Derek Shanks, Monochrome, Seminar, Toronto, Vistek, Vistek Seminars