Tranquil Tuesday

I find it a bit ironic that New Year's Eve is on a Tuesday for the purpose of this blog. To me, New Years is about new beginnings, about another chance to improve yourself, and another chance to be happy. My new year's resolution, as it always is is to just be better. That may include, but is not limited to: being better at sports, eating better, improving my photography, or being happier. Positivity is contagious. The best thing that you can do to make the world around you better without even changing your routine is to simply smile. Next time you're having a bad day, or someone around you is having a bad day, just smile. 

Manic Monday

One thing that I love to do with drummer photos is to make them super colourful. When that isn't possible, I often make them black & white. As I've said before, drummers are the hardest band member to photograph, mainly because of the lack of light. This lack of light means that you need to turn down your shutter speed, but slowing it down means that the subject needs to be more still for the image not to be blurry. That, of course, is nearly impossible for a drummer. Usually what happens when there isn't decent lighting, one of the best ways to make the photo look good is to make it black and white.

Sunday Sonata

One thing that I've noticed is that most of the times, a singer has the highest ego in the band. It doesn't really surprise me all that much, but it is still a bit weird to see this actually unfold. There are exceptions, in fact, most musicians that I have met, no matter what instrument they play, who actually have some resemblance of fame, are all extremely humble, and generally really good people. I find it hilarious that bands who are not signed to any label, struggling to keep the band in one piece, have extreme creative differences and generally think of themselves as better than everyone else, and this goes triple for solo artists. 

That being said, this man is one of the nicest people I have ever met. His name is Kieran Mercer, and I saw him perform as a solo artist with a backing band. He is very talented and unbelievably kind and humble. I will not be sharing photos of people that I do not reapect on this blog. If you want to get a little bit of insight as to who I think deserves respect, and your attention, check out my Facebook page, and see who I'm excluding from my posts. 

Happy holidays and keep on taking those photos!

Cheers!!

Skylar Santimeau

Shredding Saturday

Good morning one and all! I hope that your holiday season has been filled with joy and merriment. I've been taking a small break from actually going to concerts because of the holiday season, but that doesn't mean that I don't have anything to share with you guys. This is my good friend Adamn, he just recently played his last concert for a little while so that he can go back to school. He was playing for a band called fighting for Ithaca, who are currently signed to 604 records here in Vancouver. I'd just like to take this moment to wih him all the best and hope that he becomes successful in what ever field he chooses. 

Wicked Wednesday

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Hohoho. It's not often that I get a white Christmas here in Vancouver, and this year is no different. However, there was some snow that decided to fall on Friday night over on Vancouver island while I was visiting relatives. Therefor, I decided to share one of my favourite shots that I was able to take this weekend with everyone, and do my part to give you a white Christmas! My relatives truely do live in a winter wonderland, and it is absolutely incredible to go and visit this time of year. I would highly reccomend stopping by Vancouver island, and seeing it loaded with snow... So long as you don't need to drive in it. 

Tranquil Tuesday

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I hope that you have had a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and family. I was able to spend some time with some family a little ways away from home last weekend and it was truely wonderful. But it wasn't only family I got to see. I finally was able to see the beautiful sunrise I have been waiting for. I was lucky enough to see it on the ferry ride over to Vancouver island too, so there was nothing but sea, in between myself and the sunrise. One thing that many armature photographers don't know is that it is actually extremely bad for your camera to take direct photos of the sun. It can easily overload and damage your camera's sensor. That is why most sunrise, or sunset photos, the sun is either behind some clouds, or is past the horizon where it isn't actually visible. 

That is why so many beautiful sunrise photos look similar to this shot I was able to take. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and get to spend it with those you love!

Manic Monday

Happy holidays! I hope that everyone enjoyed their solstice. For those of you counting, there are only two days left until Christmas! Back to business, there are not many venues in Vancouver that are actually good for drummer photos. Tom Lee is one of the few. I believe that drummers should get a lot more praise than they do. If a drummer makes one mistake, everyone can hear it. If the drummer falls out of time by even a fraction of a second, everyone can hear it. The precision needed to be a top quality drummer is ridiculous, and yet, they are rarely seen, and even less often do they have the spot light; or any light at all. You would be surprised as to how often drummers are left in the dark. That is why I dedicated Monday to drummers, because they deserve to be at the beginning of the week.

Shredding Saturday

When I think of Vancouver bands who truely deserve to make it big, The first band that always comes to mind is Danha. I have never interacted with a band that has everything together quite like them. They are extremely talented musicians, they all understand the business, and they have amazing stage presence. The only two reasons they perform is for their fans and because they love doing it. You guys should deffinitely check them out if you enjoy pop or rock music, because their sound is an amazing median between the two! 

Funky Friday

People constantly tell me that bassists are the least active on stage. I would like to think the exact opposite. In all of my favourite live performances, the bassist has been the most active member with amazing showmanship and crowd control. A bassist's job in the band is to keep time, therefor, they usually have more generic, less difficult parts musically in compared to guitars. That means that they have a responsibility to make themselves as visually appealing as possible. One of the ways I judge live performances is with the energy in the crowd that the band creates, and I believe that the bassist plays a huge role in this. 

Tranquil Tuesday

Well, it's winter. I'm finally ready to admit it. Once one of the major rivers in the country has ice on it, there is really not much argument to say it's still autumn. On Sunday morning, I went out to one of my favourite spots to watch the sunrise when I noticed that it was so cold outside that there was ice floating upstream on the Fraser river. 

Manic Monday

One of my favourite drummers of Vancouver is Jay Deachman. He is currently playing for the band Danha, but has played for many awesome Vancouver bands in the past such as Theory of a Deadman. He is truely the best pure drummer that I have had the pleasure of meeting. That, and he is pretty hilarious after a few drinks.

Sunday Sonata

One of my favourite bands that I've seen lately is a band called "Trace the Sky". Not only are they amazing musicians, but they are some of the nicest people I've ever met. They are based in Nanaimo and Victoria on Vancouver island. This is one of my favourite shots that I've taken in a long time. In this photo, Liam really seems like the awesome star that he is.

Shredding Saturday

It is truely amazing the difference a well lit room or stage can do for photos. There are some venues in Vancouver that are absolutely terrible for photos. The Massey Theater is one of, if not the best venue for photos, because of how nice the lighting was. Spot lights are one of the coolest lights. If used properly with stage smoke, it can make for some amazing shots, such as this one.

Funky Friday

It's that time of the week again. One more day until the weekend! To celebrate, here is the funkiest member of any band, a bassist. This young man is the bassist for a Vancouver based band called Aiden. During the youth showcase that I had the opportunity to judge, these guys were my personal favourite. 

Wicked Wednesday

I absolutely love how easy it is for people to start getting into photography. With phones that have cameras better than a lot of small compact cameras, anyone can get into the art. However, that doesn't mean that everyone should try to do it seriously. I took this photo with my phone, and I think that it is a really freaking cool photo. 

All Natural Thursday

One of my favourite pass times is going for a walk with my camera. In Vancouver, we don't get much snow. I'm extremely grateful for this. As a fan of green plants, it's always nice to know that I will get to see some all year long. Some plants to start to die tho, even some plants that stay green year round start to die. I would have never guessed that this funky patern was on the bottom of this fern, the top looked completely normal. Luckily, I happened to be walking with a short friend, and she saw this on the underside of the plant, and I was amazed to see this natural design.

Tranquil Tuesday

Statues are amazing. When I see a statue, I can sit and ponder about it for hours. "Who is this" is one if the thoughts that come to mind. I love contemplating the history and behind these marvellous pieces of art. Have you ever found yourself sitting in contemplation, wondering the history behind not only the construction of the statue, but the history behind the character portrayed. 

Manic Monday

Drummers are, by far, the hardest members of a band to photograph. Not only because of the fact that they are at the back of the stage, but also because they are constantly moving their arms, blocking their face, and genuinely making sour expressions. That is why a good drummer photo impresses people more often.

Sunday Sonata

I absolutely love coming across young, talented musicians. I had the pleasure of checking out, and judging a youth showcase, where the winner got the chance to open for Hey! Ocean! All of the bands did well, but personally, my favourite band of the night was called Aiden. All members of the ban showed huge potential, and the utmost joy for performing. It truely was a great sight to see this young group of guys playing thir hearts out because it was something that they really enjoyed doing.

Unfortunately, there is another band that has the same name from the US that are far more popular, so it is near impossible to find these guys online. But you can check out my Facebook, tumblr, and Flickr sites for more photos of this awesome young band.

Funky Friday

I'm really dissapointed to say that there are certain bands that I have worked with in the past who have been using my photos without consent. These bands, or individuals from these bands have removed my small watermark from the photos, and refused to remove the image. It saddens me to say that I will no longer be working with these bands for any reason. This, however is not one of those bands. Danha is a great up-and-coming band from Vancouver. All of the members understand te industry, and have a huge passion for music. I've never met a band who has all of their shit together. In my mind, that is actually impossible. Danha sure comes pretty darn close. I helped these guys shoot a music video back in the summer, and it was an amazing experience. Check out "Alone Together" - Danha!