Canada

2021: Where do we go from here?

Woah! A blog? … a new blog post?! what is happening?

hahahah I know, I forgot about this, not going to lie, just be real with all of you about this. With all that has been going on in the world with this Covid-19 stuff photography, blogging, leaving the house has really taken a dump. So you might be asking yourself, just like I am.. what now? what happens with Kevin Vyse Photography? what happens with photography in General? to be honest with you… I’m not sure.
2020 was a rough year, we lost the entire Festival season in music, Lost the ability to meet with people over the summer and book shoots, all the good weather passed and we ended up in Fall, things opened up a bit but sadly I did not receive any bookings.. and seeing as how I told you I was going to be 100% transparent, I didn’t mind.. it was nice having a break, no stress just shooting things I wanted to shoot for myself. Most photographers want to book a year a head to ensure they have the income to make ends meet… but things are much different now.. will we be able to book? or if we book will we be able to shoot? it’s very very stressful booking then having to reschedule everything. I have one wedding on the books for Sept.. that one wedding is all i’m taking in regards to weddings because I don’t do them anymore ( this is a very good friends weddings that’s why I said yes to it), but is it going to happen? can it happen? as of right now, no!

What will Kevin Vyse be doing for 2021? …. honestly, 2021 is up in the air. As of right now i’m not taking anything on.. simply because I can’t and I don’t want to put myself into the stressful situation of taking bookings this far ahead for the summer months then our Government saying it can’t happen and me having to contact all those people who booked and try to answer their questions on rescheduling and what the rules are, trying to rebook with my busy full time job schedule which is pretty much everyday but Sunday so then everyone is fighting to try and book for a Sunday… it’s a head ache, so for now.. I’m not booking.

Where is Kevin Vyse’s mindset on shoots for 2021? : 2021 is going to be a lot different… over the years I’ve shot many different things, weddings, products, landscapes, portraits, bands, live music etc…. Over all these years and many different shoots I’ve learnt what I love to shoot, what I can shoot, and what I don’t want to shoot. 2021 will be filled with what makes me happy, sounds selfish I know… but let me put it this way… If I shoot what makes me happy, stuff I really think is awesome to shoot, stuff I have fun shooting, I feel comfortable shooting, then the people I book get the best and most creative work I can put forward with the level of skills I have in my back pocket at this time. Concerts, definitely… along with concerts comes Bands portraits, Single release images, band album artwork, and live shots… 100% top of my list.. this is where i started in photography and my love for it never stopped. Portraits to some extent will also be a go.. headshots, environmental portraits… that’s something I’ve always loved and what I consider to be my “niche” .. the lighting aspect is right up my alley… biggest issue is not having a studio but it can all be done in your home, maybe my new apartment once it’s built or even outdoors on location…. Landscapes is 100% no doubt in my mind happening.. this is maybe my second biggest love to concerts… you’re just out there in nature seeing what you see and capturing it the best way you know how.. no posing, no stress/pressure, no judgement.. just pure freedom… only issue is, for me… travel is required… I’m not stimulated by Ontario… don’t get me wrong.. it’s nice, the North is beauty but once I went out west ( BC and Alberta) and I went to Iceland… Ontario is pretty dry to my eye. Right now we can’t travel.. or shouldn’t and with 14 day quarantine involved that eats up my vacation time from work and therefore wrecks that aspect of things.

What has Kevin Vyse been up to seeing as how he can’t photograph the usual stufff?: DRONING!!!!! Yes, that’s right… for a few years I’ve had the Mavic Air and I never used it…. hahah why would I spend that much money on something and never use it… simple answer… I was afraid to fly the damn thing… it’s a lot of money to throw up into the air and try not to crash. Over the last couple months I’ve had time to get out there, get comfortable with flying it and after educating myself on the best ways to set up the cameras and how to get the best RAW shots out of it I’ve been using it quite a bit to get some new perspective kind of shots and I love it! the top down perspective of it all adds a whole new world to photography which I’m in love with right now. I’ve changed my Instagram Grid up with these shots.. working on my “Winter Grid” right now obviously as we’re in Winter.. lots of blues, whites with hints of some other small colours. Mavic Air will be worked into my Instagram Grid from now on trying to focus on seasonal colours and influences.

So hope this helps explain some things.. more of a central love of photography for this year.. taking on clients work that I feel i’d love to shoot, turning down others and I will try to direct those clients to Other photographers who I know specialize in what they are looking for and who I believe will give them the best results which also helps out my other photography friends!

Hope everyone stays safe, healthy and happy! wash your hands, wear your masks.. get the vaccine if you want… lets get everything back to normal so we can all continue on our lives, not sitting here wasting it away one day at a time. <3

For now.. here’s some of the new’er images I’ve been creating:

KELSI MAYNE - AS I GO VIDEO SHOOT

Some of you may know over the past 2 years I have been working with country music artist KELSI MAYNE. We met in my home town of Woodstock Ontario where Kelsi and her band were performing at the annual Woodstock Truck Show. Kelsi approached me as I was handing out business cards to other artists so they could see the shots I had taken that day. After sending the images off to Kelsi when she emailed me, she loved the shots and the rest was history.
A text message came through, it was Kelsi “ Hey Kev! how are ya… we are filming a new music video, for a new song in Aylmer Ontario, you should come out and shoot some behind the scene’s work for the video it’s going to be amazing, lots of explosions, fire, dirtbikes doing tricks and jacked up trucks ! “ … ok A. That sounds incredible.. that in itself I can’t miss seeing and B. being on set of a music video with Kelsi and the band having fun and creating… hell yes I’m going!

Call time was for 8am, on the outskirts of Aylmer, it was a bit chilly but really not that bad for winter, and as always, I was the first one there because I’m always worried about being late. Soon after everyone else started showing up…… oh and I forgot to mention, I was upgraded to one of the camera men filming the video, Kelsi’s brother, Cory was directing and filming as he is in the film industry. Here’s the kicker.. I don’t know much of anything when it comes to video, so of course I was a little panicked but hey… this is a HUGE learning opportunity, so I googled as much as I could about video and set my cameras up according, learnt some of the lingo and was ready to go!

“ AS I GO “ Is the name of Kelsi’s new song/video and let me tell you… incredible song and this video is going to be equally incredible. Fire, explosions, shotguns, Jacked up Trucks, Dirt Bikes, ATV’s, Fireworks and of course the band.. there is so much action in this video, it is going to be so stimulating to watch. Not only is the band ( Kelsi, Cory, Ciaran, Ryan and Annette ) so down to earth and amazing individuals, but everyone on set involved with this production were too. Cory, Kelsi’s brother, great guy with a clear vision of where this video was going, a hard worker definitely putting the time in. Eric, the guy who provided the location for the shoot, the daredevil driver, fire starter, wild man… such a nice dude who pretty much acted as the producer for this, getting everyone together, throwing some pretty cool ideas for the video. Kelsi’s Mom and Dad, who came out nice and early to lend a hand and show support, they are phenomenal parents and people, so kind, brought out all kinds of food so everyone on set had something to eat, brought all kinds of gear we needed to make this happen… loved them. Last but definitely not least…. all of Eric’s friends that came out with their trucks, dirt bikes and ATV’s who also starred in the video as the riders, stunt drivers and extra’s around the fire… these people had never met us before and were so welcoming and kind, couldn’t have asked for better people to work with.

All in all, this was a long day, 13hrs or so… and definitely worth every minute! The band was dead on with their performance, they looked incredible and this video is going to be insane! Keep an EAR out as Kelsi’s new song “ AS I GO “ Will be released Jan 31st, I believe and also Keep an eye out because this video is scheduled to be released Feb 21st! You definitely will NOT want to miss these!

HUGE thank you goes out to Kelsi and the band for including me, yet again, in another one of their endeavours and always staying true to bringing me out, can’t wait for more this summer. Also a HUGE thank you to Cory (Kelsi’s brother) for working with me and teaching me some new techniques, it was a pleasure. One last HUGE thank you to everyone else involved for being kind and opening up themselves, their “toys” and their time…. it was a lot of fun and such an amazing experience… hope to see you at some shows this summer.

Cheer
Kevin Vyse | Photographer

Here’s some Behind The Scene’s images I managed to snap in between Filming:

KELSI MAYNE - “ AS I GO “
Video Shoot - Aylmer Ontario.
📸: Kevin Vyse

Festival Of Friends

Last weekend was the Festival Of Friends, a FREE festival that has been happening annually since 1976 in Hamilton Ontario. My decision to go was last minute as I wasn’t sure if I’d have the weekend off work and the drive to Hamilton, but I was approved and received my Media Accreditation the day of the festival and with nothing to do the day of, I said Sure, off to Hamilton!
It was my first time every going to this festival and I have to say… for a FREE festival it is MASSIVE.. heck.. it was massive regardless of having to pay or not. To have a stage set up that big, with that kind of lighting, full out carnival games and rides.. all the vendors and food trucks for FREE… just insane! Not only was all that great but a lot of great bands through out the day as well.

Later in the night I remember looking back from the stage and seeing people slowly start to set up chairs and blankets casually watching the bands but then around 7pm, I looked back again and there was a massive crowd. Looking back once more as the stage crew was setting up for The Spoons … my jaw dropped.. the amount of people that had gathered was one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen.. it was a sea of people as far as I could see… and if that wasn’t packed enough.. there were even more people once Loverboy hit the stage.. it took me 15 mins to travel through the sea of people to get to the other side of the park to get back to my car.

My focus of shooting was on the 4 bands leading up to Loverboy:

GOODNIGHT, SUNRISE

This band was incredible.. so much energy on stage! I mean.. there was a Keytar!! 2019 and there was a Keytar!! I was blown away. Their sound has this hint of 80’s but also a nice new, fresh upbeat alternative rock vibe that I fell in love with.

GOODNIGHT, SUNRISE

All the way from Los Angeles California, this retro power pop band came out in full force to put on a great set! Fire Tiger has really nailed that 80’s sound in today’s day and age and it’s fantastic. Their hit song ‘Energy’ is so catchy and full sounding.. reminds me of being a kid in the 80’s sitting down watching the Goonies after our riding around on my skateboard after a full morning of playing Nintendo.. it’s so good!

FIRE TIGER

After photographing The Spoons last year in my home town of Woodstock Ontario at Cowapolooza, I was pretty pumped to get to photograph them again this year. This band is so tight on stage and sound amazing every time. Throwing in all the old hits then mixing it up with some new tunes, it was the perfect old and new blend and it was well received by the crowd.

THE SPOONS

Who doesn’t know this Canadian staple? come on … we all know them because we are all just ‘Working for the weekend’ … we’re ‘Notorious’ for it. Once they hit the stage the crowd was “Lovin’ Every minute’ of it. After all these years, the guys still sound amazing.. couldn’t believe how good it was and enjoyed every single song.

LOVERBOY

BACONFEST: Concert Series

Baconfest!! have you heard of it? In a small town named Lucan Ontario there is a fest with such a name.. not only is it a name but there is bacon! bacon everything. Now.. I don’t want misguide you anymore than I already have with the title of this blog post .. buuuuut by the time I rolled into Lucan for Baconfest, vendors had mostly packed up and the town was starting to open the street back up, so while I’d love to give you details on all the bacon goodies.. I sadly cannot other than I had a hotdog with back bacon on it and it was delicious.
A) I wanted to make you aware of the small town Lucan Ontario and B) I wanted you to know that they have an event called Baconfest that is all about bacon because bacon is delicious! Oh and I also need to mention this event is also about bikes.. Motorbikes.. yes.. this is a biker event but it’s also for families and teenagers and kids and anyone who enjoys bacon. Main street of Lucan gets shut down, vendors line the streets and so do the bikers with their bikes and let me tell you, there are a TON of people.. I read on their website they now get like 25,000 people or something like that and every year it’s growing, baconfest has only been around for 4 years so far.

So.. what is this post actually about? well if you read my posts, especially lately, you would have noticed a trend, and that trend has been MUSIC, BANDS, LIVE MUSIC, CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY.. so as you may have guessed… along with Baconfest there are bands! From what I’m told, baconfest in the past few years has had bands but they have all been cover bands or tribute bands and while that is fun and all.. sometimes they don’t bring in huge crowds.. this year however, baconfest stepped it up and brought in some class acts from the country genre! who played? well here we go:

THE RIVER JUNCTION BAND ( due to the lengthy drive to Lucan, I missed this band)
BUCK TWENTY
EAST ADELAIDE
ERIC ETHRIDGE

That right there is a pretty good line up for a small town.. it’s a pretty good line up period!

BUCK TWENTY

Buck Twenty was the second band on and these guys are phenomenal, catchy tunes, great stage presence, always smiling and interacting with one another, so full of energy and they are the nicest dudes too. With the sun setting and casting a nice golden light onto the stage, Buck Twenty comes out and takes a hold of the crowd. I have to say, a lot of people in this crowd knew B20 because I saw a bunch of people rocking their shirts. Buck Twenty does an amazing job at using the entire stage during their performance.. especially the sides where there are usually some sort of box they can stand up on and get up nice and high over the crowd and single themselves out which is awesome for photographs, which you will see in the set . These guys are doing very well and will continue to do so. I urge you to check out their music on social media, and check out their website.. if you see they are playing a show near you, go check them out.

EAST ADELAIDE

East Adelaide are an up and coming group based out of Toronto Ontario and they are fantastic, you definitely need to give them a listen if you haven’t heard them before.. their song “ You Don’t Get To Love Me “ is a fantastic one, very catchy and very powerful. Love seeing these guys perform, this was only my second time seeing them and photographing them, but i’m hooked. First time was in London Ontario at London Concert Theater on the “Winter’s a beach Tour “ with The Reklaws and I found them even better outdoors during the summer!

This guy right here!! Eric Ethridge, wow.. has this guy ever come so far.. From Sarnia Ontario, got his start playing JACKS in London Ontario, to a record deal with Ole’s Red Dot Label then making the move to Nashville! If you’ve ever met Eric, he’s one of the nicest people, humble and always tries to take the time to meet his fans. Even though Eric has blown up and moved to Nashville, he still finds the time to get back to Ontario often and still plays “ the little shows” because that’s where his long time fans are. Been almost a year since I’ve seen Eric perform and I was pretty excited to see what has changed and all I can tell you is that it’s better and better every damn time. Eric’s confidence on stage makes for a great show, he seems so relaxed up there and you can tell he’s doing what he loves. As soon as he hit the stage the crowd went nuts, people were running for the stage, packing in so tight, smiles all around, especially on Eric’s face when he saw the response. From “ California “ to “ If You Met Me First” Eric covered all his hits with the crowd backing him Lyrically, it was a night to remember. Eric even took the time to hunt down a bridal party he saw earlier and brought the bride to be up on stage to sing to her. Not only did Eric bring someone up on stage, but Eric took it upon himself to get off the stage and submerge himself down into the crowd while singing which made everyones night. Now, with being the short guy I am.. I quickly lost Eric in the mass and couldn’t get any shots of this but I knew he was down there making fans happy!

Tillsonburg ON Turtle Fest

Turtle Fest…. figured there would be turtles but sadly… didn’t see one, however there were turtle themed things, lots of vendors, a vintage car show, rock climbing, busking, and much more but what was I there for? …. the bands of course!

Kelsi Mayne, Nice Horse and The Abrams took to the stage for this years Turtle Fest and everyone of these bands just killed it! As many of you know I’ve had the amazing opportunity to work one on one with the lovely Kelsi Mayne and have photographed her and her band many times in the last year live. Not only is Kelsi a sweet heart but her band are genuine people, funny, and appreciative of where they are and what they have accomplished so far. This show was another success, playing all the hits, getting the crowd going, they sounded great, looked good and even played a new tune that no one has heard before “ S.O.S “ .. now that this blog is a few days old.. others have heard it.. if you were at the Sound Of Music Festival in Burlington On. this past weekend and saw Kelsi perform, you now know that song too.

Nice Horse, damn! this all female, energetic, amazing stage presence band is incredible… this was only the 2nd time I’ve seen them & shot them, first time being at JunoFest during the Juno’s week in London at Bull & Barrel and both times i’m just blown away by their performance. Nice Horse have these amazing vocal harmonies that vibrate through your entire body making you really feel their songs. Running around on stage interacting with one another, leaning on one another, guitars and basses up in the air, their drummer, Krista comes up to the front and sings, she has a stomp pedal to make sure the heart beat of the band is always pumping.. even a single snare drum on a stand off to the right of the stage so she can stand there and beat the hell out of it….. their whole performance is an incredible one to watch.

The Abrams, a name I’ve heard many times but never experienced live until now and let me tell you.. I was floored. They carry so much energy with them, also amazing vocal harmonies.. songs that are happy, are sad.. slow and fast it’s a great mix. From the Abrams I saw a fiddler jumping all over, a singer and guitarist kneeling down, almost praising a fiddle solo, a guitarist busting out crazy solos while throwing a guitar around.. it was an awesome experience seeing these guys play with such a tight sound and so much energy.

Over all, Turtle Fest was a positive experience, I think the bands had a great time, I know I had a fantastic time and from the smiles on the faces of the crowd, the people down in front dancing and all the kids running around, dancing and laughing.. I think they all had a fun time too!

THE ABRAMS

NICE HORSE

KELSI MAYNE

RAM RODEO TOUR - BURFORD ONTARIO

Horses, Bulls, Dirt, Dust, Tractors, Barrels, Men, Women and a WHOLE LOT OF ACTION!!!

RAM RODEO is an amazing event that is action packed with a bunch of tough men and women who put themselves on the backs of horses and bulls which throw them around like rag dolls. Not only Branco Riding and Bull Riding, but they also have a Stunt Rider our of New York, and Flag Riding Team.. there’s a lot going on.

With events like Barrel Racing, Poles, Bucking Branco’s, and Bull Riding there’s something for everyone. Personally, Bull Riding is my favourite .. the aggressiveness of the bulls and the power makes it crazy to photograph but really.. all of it is fun to shoot. Yesterday was a good mix of sun and cloud, wasn’t to hot but the dust was relentless .. normally they water the riding area, but it was so dry every time they watered it the sun would dry it up in minutes, so instead of wasting the water we just went with the dust.. I was covered but it was so fun. Some of these riders were thrown down hard, stepped on by the bulls and branco’s, got up like it was nothing and will ride another day.. just blows my mind. If the Ram Rodeo Tour is coming your way, do yourself a favour and get a ticket.. take the kids.. they will love it!

Globemaster C-177 London Ontario Airport - Publication

Word got out that a C-177 Globemaster out of Trenton Ontario would be flying into the London Ontario Airport YXU to pick up some very lucky Cadets who would be going up for a flight. Media had said that the Globemaster was scheduled to arrive at YXU for 9am, however, it was said that the Globemaster ran into a mechanical issue that needed to be addressed before they left Trenton Airforce Base. With only 4 hours of Sleep, I woke up at 7am and headed on out to London, I arrived around 8am.. thank goodness I had my coffee with me but should have brought some food with me too. After hearing about the Globemasters delay, it was now said it would be at the airport around 10:30am - 11am, more waiting and by now, the coffee was starting to work and I needed to relieve myself but there were so many people around.. thank god for fields and bushes lol. 11am rolled around, still no Globemaster, rumor had now spread that it was still on the tarmac in Trenton and wouldn’t be arriving until 12:30pm - 1pm.. at this time a lot of the people that were there waiting were getting in their cars and leaving.. me however.. I didn’t have plans and had already waited 5 hours, no point in leaving now. Around 1:45pm we heard that the Globemaster was in the air and on it’s way to YXU… my time line might be a little off but I remember it was somewhere around 3pm when we saw it on approach out of the east. Over this website I had on my phone where I could listen to the Control Tower I heard “ Bison5, you are clear to approach and land on runway ONE FIVE “ I quickly grabbed the camera and ran up onto this mound that was directly in line with the centre of runway 15 and it put me up high enough I was up over the fence and knew this was the best angle to get an amazing straight on shot.
As the Globemaster approached it looked like it was to high and to far into the runway to make a landing so we all thought it was going to do a touch-and-go, or a low pass then circle around to land which would have been so cool, unfortunately, it dropped like a rock and came in for a landing.. I was surprised, figured it would need a lot more of the runway to land than what it used. Knowing that they were there to pick up cadets for a flight, we knew that the C-177 would be doing a take off which would bring it right at us. When it landed it came in from the opposite end of the runway from us and was to far away to get a decent shot of the landing, so the take off was what I was waiting for. It took roughly 35 mins to load the first group of Cadets up, then we heard over the scanner that they were getting ready to taxi passed runway 09 and down to the back of runway 15. Back up on the dirt mound I was dead centre of runway 15 and could see the Globemaster start to roll.. I could hear the 4 massive engines power up and see all the dust blow around behind it on the runway creating a large dust cloud. It’s a bit intimidating seeing something that huge come right at you, then lift off of the ground and stay up in the air, then fly right over your head. I remember looking up at one point when the plane filled my frame and I couldn’t shoot anymore and all I saw was Grey .. no sky, just grey.. it was right over my head, the sound was so loud I could feel the rumble in my chest then a massive amount of air blowing back on me… just crazy.

After editing and posting on social media it was pointed out to me that the London Ontario International Airport (YXU) had shared my image on their site, their twitter, Instagram and facebook which is pretty awesome! It was definitely worth waiting around on Creamery Rd. for 7 hours to get the shot… now it’s the long wait until September for the London Air Show!

C-177 GLOBEMASTER - take off from YXU
© Kevin Vyse Photography
Image Publication on YXU website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

KELSI MAYNE

You have all seen her at the mercy of my camera before, usually on stage with her fire red phoenix hair blowing in the wind as she gracefully sings out her country jams in the summer sun. Who am I talking about? .. well who else.. the incredible KELSI MAYNE.
Kelsi hit me up with a message on a Thursday saying she needed new images shot for some summer festival announcements and some other releases through out 2019. This shoot was last minute, we only had a few days to find a location to shoot in and get the images edited and out within.. I think it was 4 days. Game On!
We reached out to some people and ended up having a mutual friend (Scott), who was willing to let us use his beautiful home on the following Saturday and so the one-on-one photo session was born.

Kelsi is a very hard working woman. She is a Nurse, a Country music artists, an Actress and was a Nationally Ranked Hurdler! We first met in my home town Woodstock Ontario, where she was performing at the Woodstock Truck Show put on annually by our friend Scott Verbruggen, all proceeds from this event goes to the local Special Olympics. Kelsi saw me handing out business cards to the other bands that were performing after each set and she came up to ask if she could have one to see the pics afterwards, we got to talking and a new friendship was born! Since then I have photographed Kelsi at the Emerging Artists Showcase at the CMAO’s in London Ontario, as well as in Dresden Ontario at their Kinstock Festival, where she opened the show along with Kansas Stone, Andrew Hywatt and The Reklaws.

The ‘Mayne’ image we shot was being used to release Kelsi’s artist announcement for this summers Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta where Kelsi will be sharing the ‘Mayne’ stage with acts such as: Toby Keith, Old Dominion, Kane Brown, Lindsay Elle, Meghan Patrick, Billy Ray Cyrus, Brooks & Dunn and many more. Kelsi will also be performing in Havelock Ontario at the Havelock Country Jamboree in August.

Also Keep an eye out for the release of Stephen King’s short story (movie) WILLA because, yep.. you guessed it, Kelsi is in the movie.. not only is she in it but has a Title Role… does Kelsi look familiar to you? .. well that’s probably because you’ve seen her as the lead female in another country music artists video.. if you have seen her in this you will know her as ‘CHERRY BOMB’. River Town Saints brought Kelsi in as the lead role in their video for Cherry Bomb where she did an amazing job.

Can’t wait to see where Kelsi goes in 2019, all I know is that it will be up.. she is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down. It was an honour and pleasure to work with Kelsi and get to know her band over the last year, they are all amazing people and I’m pumped every time I get to run into them at shows.

For now I can only release two images that we shot from our shoot as we want to keep them under wraps until Kelsi gets to release them through out the year.

Photography: Kevin Vyse Photography
Graphic Design: BVJ

CMAOntario's New Faces Showcase

They came, The Played, They conquered! 

Incredible weekend last weekend at the CMAOntario's in London Ontario. During the New Faces Showcase performers who are building in the country music scene had the chance to show everyone what they have during a free show on an outdoor stage. I won't lie.. every single act who performed was incredible in their own way. 

Of course.. with every concert you need to have head liners.. Headlining the CMAOntario's New Faces Showcase were two Canadian heavy hitters.. 

THE REKLAWS
and
MEGHAN PATRICK 

I will put their images at the end of this post so people will scroll through the New Faces Showcase performers .. we want to get them out there and get people interested. 

Performers: 

This woman and her band.... Phenomenal! With Kelsi's phoenix fire hair, beautiful smile thats always glowing up on stage and her powerful vocals, your attention quickly focuses on the stage. Great sound great stage presence with catchy songs and they are also great people to talk to. If you get the chance, make sure you check them out.. they are based out of Toronto On. 
 

Based out of Hamilton Ontario, The Redhill Valleys are definitely a band to keep your eyes on. With their amazing harmonies your foot can't stop tapping along with their original sound, great stage presence too.  

Josh David Band.. first off.. this guys voice! amazing voice with some nice grit, and some rocking country sound. These guys put on a great show, Josh is always moving and interacting with band members on stage which is always fun to watch. 

phenomenal sound coming from these guys, very catchy songs with awesome harmony vocals and some killer guitar solo's/leads, their song 'Minnedosa' is one of my favs. 

Brad Battle - web-13.jpg

Brads song 'Crazy Beautiful' definitely gets stuck in your head, very full sound, catchy, nice guitar solo's, stage presence is well done.. he does a really awesome cover of A Great Big World's - Say Something.. definitely a band to check out. 

HEADLINERS 

THE REKLAWS

If your into country music and you don't know this Brother and Sister duo... then you need to immediately stop reading this blog and head on over to their website, spotify, facebook, instagram... I don't care where.. but go check them out. The Recklaws are blowing up.. their song Long Live The Night is now the Thursday night Football theme song! stage presence is huge with these two always moving around the stage, Jenna is always dancing up a storm and getting the crowd pumped up and rowdy. If you see these two on any concert bill, just know you are in for an incredible show! 

MEGHAN PATRICK

You know Meghan Patrick.. you have to... if you don't, then your Canadian Country game is weak. This power house female country artist is outstanding! Powerful vocals, amazing songs.. phenomenal to watch on stage with her high knees and leg kicks.. swinging those golden locks all over it all comes together for an impressive show. Meghan cleaned up this year at the CMAOntario's Winning 3 awards: 

  • FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
  • MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR - ' Country Music Made Me do It ' 
  • FAN'S CHOICE

In my opinion.. every one of these is much deserved, I love watching this woman perform! Congrats on the wins Meghan!

OUR LADY PEACE & MATTHEW GOOD

  Off to the stage with 4 other photographers, hearing the buzz of everyone in the building chatting, music playing in the background, house lights half on.. that anticipation building, going over camera settings in my mind, wondering what the lighting will be like. In that moment, the lights go out, complete darkness except for a few small, dim stage lights, the crowd roars, whistling, cheering, clapping and screaming while the band walks out on to the stage .. nothing but Silhouettes. 

  Our Lady Peace was a staple in my upbringing, yet, it's taken me 36 years to finally see them live. When photographing bands you only get a taste of the performance as most cases you can only photograph the first 3 songs of each band. Regardless, even the first 3 songs are usually a great time, there's always one good song that everyone knows.. for OLP, for me anyways that song was 'Superman's Dead' and it was done to perfection. OLP fired it up right out of the gate with high energy, some pretty unique lighting, which was a bit challenging as there were some strobe effects going on that made timing a bit tough, but it was incredible and I am complete thankful for the opportunity which was provided to me by Live Nation. 

  Matthew Good was another one of those 90's staples for me who I've always enjoyed listening to. I've only seen Matt one other time and it was maybe 2 years ago at Rock The Park in London ON and it was good... but last night's performance topped it 100%. Same deal, we only get to shoot the first 3 songs, but the first 3 were incredible and standing that close shooting made it even that much better. 
  After being escorted back into the photographer room, it sounded like the crowd was really enjoying the show as you could hear the screaming and clapping echo through the back halls of Budweiser Gardens. Overall, what a fantastic night. I'd like to thank Live Nation again for the opportunity to photograph this show and Budweiser Gardens for being so accommodating for the night. 

until the next time
-Shutter Click!  

OLP (Our Lady Peace)
London ON, Canada
Budweiser Gardens

MATTHEW GOOD

Matthew Good
London ON, Canada
Budweiser Gardens

WE WERE THAT SONG TOUR

Brett Kissel has blown up like crazy! If you don't know Brett Kissel and you like country music then you should definitely check him out, you won't be disappointed. Another great country music artist... Dan Davidson, again, if you do not know Dan Davidson check out his music. 
London Ontario, Canada these two played on February 10th, a sold out show at the London Music Hall, my favourite venue in London, and then because this show sold out so quick, they decided to add a second date to the tour.. February 18th. Great things were said about the 10th show so needless to say I was pumped to be photographing the show on the 18th. 

Sitting in my car in the parking lot waiting for 6:30pm to roll around and doors to open, everyone in the line up started yelling, right away I knew Brett had made an appearance outside to see the fans so I quickly grabbed my camera, jumped out of the car and started snapping shots of him from the parking lot.. he was only out there for maybe 2 mins. Fast forward; Standing in the media pit looking out to this massive crowd, the stage lit with some dark blue light, fans awaiting the start of the show, checking my cameras to make sure I have them set up properly... the worst part is not knowing what kind of light you're going to get once the show starts... all white, not so great, not enough light horrible.. all red or all blue.. horrible ... it's just a waiting game then rolling with the punches. A stage hand comes out from stage right and shines his flashlight to the soundboard, HERE WE GO! Out walk to radio hosts to announce the opening act, photographers out into the pit for the first 3 songs.. ok.. went well.. lighting was a bit dull but thats ok, expected.. give's me a good starting point. Out come two more radio hosts and BAM almost instantly Dan Davidson's band comes out on stage, they start playing and out run's Dan, first song kicks off, lighting is pretty good and I'm feeling great, happy to be there. Let me tell you Dan Davidson killed that performance, best I've ever seen him, so much energy and the fans were singing so loud.. such an amazing thing to experience and capture. 
Now, a quick little tidbit of info for you.... when photographing these shows the typical thing that happens is, photographers get to shoot the first 3 songs from each artists, after that we have to leave the pit until the next artists hits the stage. Now, some places, usually bigger venues like stadiums will have a separate room we have to go sit in so we miss a lot of the show, but typically smaller venues will just allow you to step out and off to the side and watch the show, you just can't shoot, then when the next band hits the stage you're back in the pit for their 3 songs. 

BRETT KISSEL!!!!!!! crowd goes insane, ear piercing screams everyone is going wild, the energy doubles, Brett comes out with high energy like always, jumps up on these wooden crates he has out on the stage and throws his arms out to everyone to say "HEY EVERYONE, I"M HERE AND I'M READY TO PARTY WITH YOU! ". From that moment on the party really grew with every song. Everyone singing back and with Brett was so loud it matched the volume of the band, it was crazy. Ok ok... no matter how I write this you just won't understand the vibe so I'm going to stop here and let the images do some talking.. hope you enjoy! 

HUGE thank you goes out to INVICTUS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP for providing me with access to photograph this show, much appreciated you guys and gals are doing great things!  

BRETT KISSEL WITH DAN DAVIDSON: Sold Out show #2 at the amazing London Music Hall.

BRETT KISSEL makes an appearance to his fans in line outside of London Music Hall before the show to say hi and welcome everyone. 

DAN DAVIDSON 

BRETT KISSEL

Photography. Travel. Time

It's amazing from year to year how much things change when you put your time into something you love and strive to always get better. 
A few years ago I was asked, last minute, to get in a Ford F-150 with a buddy of mine who was going back out west to British Columbia after being home, here in Ontario visiting with friends and family. I had just taken vacation from work but had zero plans, so I figured why not? There is another blog on here called " The Great Canadian West " which covers that whole adventure.. you can think of this one as kind of a second part to that entry. 

Long story short.... today I went back through some of the images I took from that trip, images which I thought were garbage but I had kept the RAW files as I normally do. Since that trip, I have spent a lot of time shooting, a lot of time studying, doing editing tutorials, paying for tutorials and teaching video's.. really learning whatever I could. Turns out, a lot of the images from that trip are still very usable.. it just took time for me to develop more skills, editing techniques.. even a new eye (way of looking at things).  
Moral of the story here.. the message I'm trying to convey is, even though you don't see it now, you may in the future. Do not give up, constantly learn, if you love it keep trying, keep building.. strive to be better every day and you will see improvements! 

Here are some of the images from that trip that I had discarded thinking they "were no good", "unusable", " There's no picture here " ........  

© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017

Maddy & Diesel: A Girl and her Pup!

Maddy and Diesel were something a little different for me as I haven't really photographed portraits for someone and their dog, but it was a lot of fun! We were originally going to do this shoot back in the fall with all the leaves on the trees, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to change the date which led us into winter .... pre-snow winter. 

This time of year the "lake" where I live gets drained out, not completely but quite a bit gets sucked out through the damn which leaves a nice, sandy beach look. Later in the day as the sun set we headed on down to utilize the park area and of course out on to the sand. Diesel was having a ton of fun running around and finding sticks to bring a long for the walk, which ended up in a few of the shots because getting that stick away was near impossible lol. Over all, with the sun set, the beach vibe, the lake and a great person and dog, it was a fantastic shoot! 

- Shutter Click.   

A Night With Colin James

Colin Freakin' James! 

Colin was brought to Woodstock last year for the Cowapalooza Festival in Woodstock Ontario, Canada, but sadly.. he never made it on stage because mother nature decided to flood the park with a torrential down pour. Summer 2017, Colin James was asked to come back and come back he did! With clear skies, a beauty summers night, stars out and all, Colin hit the stage with powerful guitar solos, deep bass lines, technical drumming, some outstanding keyboard work and of course some powerful, strong vocals that blew me away. 

With no media pass (which wasn't required anyways because it was a FREE, yes.. FREE concert in a public park ) I had to shoot from the crowd which was fine at first.. but pretty much after the first song everyone moved up and it got tight quick. Bobbing around peoples melons Colin made it pretty easy to get the shots using up all areas of the stage to put on an amazing performance. If you haven't seen Colin James, haven't heard of him even.. get out to a show, you won't be disappointed at all. - Shutter Click. 

Colin James
Cowapalooza Festival 2017
Woodstock On, Canada.

Tim Tyler: Musician

Tim Tyler... honestly.. I had never heard of him before and I wasn't even sure if I was going to show up to photograph him or just show up to photograph Colin James. All I can say is that I'm damn glad I went to see/photograph him.... WOW! 

Tim Tylers vocal style has been compared to great musicians such as, Sly & The family Stone, Doyle Bramhall, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Ray Charles. Let me tell you.. the guitar work, the vocals.. his band.. just amazing to see live. If you're into that blues/Rock kind of thing, this guy will blow your socks off and I'm so happy to now have him in my portfolio. 

Tim Tyler
Cowapalooza Festival 2017
Woodstock, ON. Canada

A GIRL & HER HORSE

When my sister-in-law said she wanted to do a shoot with my niece, Madyson and her horse Claire, I was all in.. I had not done a shoot involving a horse yet so I saw some potential for something new and challenging! 

Let me tell you..... you take a horse that never gets to eat grass and you take it out on to grass to do a shoot... that horse will do whatever it takes to eat some of that sweet sweet green gold! Claire was grass hungry and we had to give her a little bit of time to chomp down some green goodness before she would even think about lifting her head up for some shots lol. Once Claire's belly had some green goodness in it she was ready to be a star. 
We were on location at White Willow Equestrian Centre in Thamesford Ontario, a great facility if you're looking to learn some horseback riding, I believe they do English riding and Western Riding. It was a great place, clean, very friendly and accommodating staff, an outdoor arena as well as an indoor and a lot of grazing space for the horses. They also have a spitting Lama (keep your distance or get wet ) and a free roaming goat who likes to head butt your butt for attention.. I think her name was Lilly ... maybe.. 

Madyson was a natural.. she has this very model-esque look to her with a straight gaze that works perfectly for this kind of shoot, and if you've shot with me I like my clients to be themselves.. I don't tell you to smile (usually) I let you do your thing because thats.. well.. you! so in these pics you will see Madyson doesn't smile, but it works soooooo well for this. Claire and Madyson have a bond so we were able to get them with their heads together for a few shots and in most of them we just let Claire graze because thats what she does so we just roll with it. We used the driveway into the facility as it's lined with trees, some grassy area's off to the sides and did some silhouette work using the stable, which really looked nice. I was hoping for more of that golden light, but with the time of year the sun doesn't quite set until around 8pm and we didn't have the time as there were classes going on, cars going in and out and we were there at 6pm so we worked with the light as best we could.. I think it worked out well.  

White Willow Equestrian Centre
©Kevin Vyse Photography 2017

Lorraine & Rachel: Engagement session

Lorraine & Rachel, these two are so much fun, so laid back and so in love! 
    Due to a slim window for shooting and scheduling we split their session over two Sundays to accommodate two separate locations that had significant meaning in their relationship. Session 1 : Goderich Ontario beach! Honestly, I had only been to Goderich once before on a photo drive with another photographer, it was winter so I missed all of it's beauty. Goderich is Beautiful! The town is small and built around an massive round about which I thought was brilliant, the people are friendly and the beach is beautiful sitting on Lake Huron. 
     We started out at the far end of the beach doing some beach walking shots, close to the water, holding hands and kissing. Time of day was not ideal, the sun was high, shadows deep but I'm use to shooting in those conditions so we just rolled with it. After a bit the sun started to disappear behind some clouds and the "good light" was allowing me some great shots. There were a set of rocks where Lorraine had proposed to Rachel so we definitely wanted to incorporate that into the session. With the wind blowing we had to make sure we were watching the water because at times it was splashing so hard on the rocks there was a high chance of getting soaked... did they get soaked... wellllllllll .... lol.. not soaked but there was one good splash that landed a few drops on their backs. 
    While walking along the board walk, we found another little gem spot where the trees opened up there was some sand and a tree that had fallen over, it honestly looked like we were in Mexico or the Dominican, so we had to get some shots there. Light was a bit tough as this spot was all shade, but the water and sky was bright so balancing was a bit rough... OH.. and the unexpected rouge wave that came in out of no where and soaked Lorraine and Rachel lol... honestly.. we didn't even see it coming in. 

Location 2: St.Mary's Ontario. 

The second Sunday we were off to St.Mary's Ontario at 8am.. the sky was a bit iffy, cloudy.. a bit chilly to start.. we wern't sure how this was going to go as they were calling for rain, but we lucked out and it held off for us. No rain, but there was bridge construction on one of the bridges St.Mary's has to offer and that meant they needed to drain some of the water out of the river. Usually there is water rushing over the dam in the middle of the river but on this day.. no such luck.. water levels were low.. so, change of plans.. no splashing and waterfall shots but, with the low water levels we could take advantage of getting out further into the water. St.Mary's is a beautiful town, small, and very old with a ton of history. Buildings were stone and looked like castles almost, it was very clean and quaint, I like that place. Over all the shoots were fantastic, these two are great clients, up for anything, so bubbly and cuddly with one another, they made my job very easy as I don't even need to pose them, they just cuddle up as soon as raise the camera. Can't wait to shoot their wedding in September. 

  

Goderich Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017

St. Mary's Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017

Cody & Carly | Maternity

   With a nice little waterfall, a small river and a park in the woods, Cody & Carly's session was fantastic! As with all things photography, the shoot was based around light... evening sunlight but as the shoot began  the clouds rolled in putting a damper on the original plan. Was this something to worry about? not at all. Very rarely do things go to plan in the photography world, so what do you do? roll with the punches and thats exactly how we did this. 

   Off to the waterfall we went for our first bit of the session. These two are pretty natural when it comes to posing, ask them to stand near one another and the cuddling begins naturally. With a glowing mom to be and an excited father to be this shoot was the bees knees. 
   We had some pretty nice filtered light from the clouds, great locations to play with and create a personal collection. Once the waterfall was looking amazing with these two we then went back over to the open space near the river to take advantage of the grassy space and the river backdrop. I'm not going to lie.. the water was very sulpherous (is that a word? it is now ) ... but we had to put up with the amazing smell of eggs lol.. it was doable though and these two handled it perfectly! 
   We then decided to head on over to a last minute locations that Cody had just thought of, the park. It was pretty neat to see this park kind of hidden in a forest.. there was a ball diamond, swimming pool, small splash pad and long walking bridge over the water to get there and some walking trails. Mosquito's were in full force in the woods, of course, and boy did they get a feast out of us... lets just say the wooded are was a quick portion... very quick shots because none of us could stay still for to long. On the way out of the woods we came across a Ginseng field.. you know, those ones with the black mesh tent over the field.. at this point the sun was setting. Colour in the sky and the lines of the field and tent made me stop in my tracks, just knowing there was a shot there. 

Over all this shoot was fantastic, couldn't have asked for a better day/evening, it was warm out and Cody & Carly were very easy to work with. Thank you two for being awesome and I can't wait to meet the little one! 

-Shutter Click. 

Great Lakes International Air Show 2016

   Helicopters, Fighter Jets, Vintage Airplanes, Paratroopers, Gliders and vendors, the 2016 Great Lakes International Air Show was fantastic! With a clear sky, a scorching sun and a very small breeze, the Snowbirds took to the skies to open the show. Screaming in from the left, right, front and back, not knowing where they will be coming from next or how many of them there will be, the snowbirds never disappoint! As an air show veteran, it was nice to see a few new maneuvers in their routine. 
   This year there was everything from a transport truck that had a jet engine on the back of it shooting a gigantic flame out the back and making large clouds of smoke, to a glider. A C-130 Hercules flew in from 8 Wing Trenton Airforce Base, made a few passes, dropped some WDI ( Wind Direction Indicators ) then two SAR Techs  leaped out the back, with parachutes of course. Once on the ground the C-130 made a pass, landed to show how quick it can stop, turned around and picked up the SAR Techs, then took off to show how little room it needs to take off. They were on duty so, so they could not stick around, but when they left they did one more high speed pass before they left the air space.
   Another crazy display, which I've never seen before at an air show was the car drop... Yep, I said car drop! A helicopter came out with a long cable hanging from the bottom of it and on the end of that cable was a white car. The announcers played it up like it was a car that parked in a no parking zone so the OPP came up with a way to get it out of the way... thats when they brought it out. Once nice and high in the air, they decided to "put the car down " ... and put it down they did. The cable cut loose and the car fell for what seemed like quite a while until BOOOM!!!!! a big cloud of smoke and bits and piece of car went flying! 
   Two favourites at the show were the F-18, Of course, and Pete Mcleod, A Red Bull Racer/stunt pilot who is the youngest race pilot in the history of racing ( I believe ). The F-18 Demo Jet ripped the skies hitting 1000km per hour just screaming by, you could feel it in your chest. With it's high altitude capabilities, it's quick high G turns, rolls, flips it's always an amazing sight.. My fav by far. 
Pete Mcleod, wow... this guy is insane! The things he does with this plane are mind blowing. Flips and rolls like nothing else.. things that make the plane look like it should just fall apart, or things a plane should never do. Climbing so high the engine stalls out, the tumbling uncontrollably back down to earth, Pete then regains control, powers full throttle using the earths gravity and the power of the engine, he gathers up a ton of speed to push him through the next series of flips and turns. 

Over all, it was an amazing day! The heat was intense 34ºC, no clouds and barely a breeze.. people were passing out, the EMT's had their hands full. Did I get burnt.. Oh yeah, I suffered heat stroke.. did I drink a ton of water.. sure did... did people have an amazing time.. you bet.. was it worth it.. HELL YES!!!! always is. Next up is the London Air Show in London Ontario, Canada.. cannot wait for that in September.. This year the F-22 Raptor will be there.. my dream plane. 
- Shutter Click.