Hanging Out with the Boys of Livestock

Askmen.com did a poll on the top 10 coolest sneaker shops in the world, and Vancouver's Livestock made number 3! That's pretty good, beating out other major sneaker shops from Tokyo, UK, San Francisco and New York. To work at the #3 coolest sneaker shop in the world, I guess you have to be pretty cool yourself? Meet Stan and Evans, two guys who's shoes fit the bill. Stan wears his retro Guns and Roses t-shirt and backwards cap with style, while Evans pulls off his more understated flatcap and black t-shirt with a quiet confidence...

Well Dressed People Stand Out of a Crowd

Ok, I guess I kinda cheated by colour-isolating this well dressed older gentleman, but I was just trying to make my point even clearer. This dapper grandpa really stood out of the crowd while waiting for his bus on Hastings Street.

I'll give him 100 points for his suit, 20 points for his sweater, 40 for his slim wallet, another 50 for his hat and shades, and a bonus 100 points for his cool, calm countenance and dignified posture...minus 20 for his shoes and another minus 50 for his roller-bag.  Overall, 240 points. That's a solid 220 points above everyone else around him put together!!

This only proves you don't have to be rich or young to dress well in public. You just have to care enough and take the time to put yourself together. That's it. Thank you sir!!

Cool Grandpa = Fedoras, Aviators, Hoodie and Leather Shoes

I was heading downtown the other day and I saw the coolest guy sitting at the back of the bus (where else right?). It didn't matter that he was an older gentleman. It didn't matter that he was mixing different genres and generations of fashion. If you're cool, you're cool. If you have the right attitude and style, you can almost pull off any look! He even had a really cool varsity ring on his left hand too, but you can't see it in the picture.  Look at the killer way he has his foot up against the seat...

Our Fluevogs and Our Shadows

Hipster + Cyclist= The Future of Vancouver

He was waiting for his friend Lou to arrive when I approached to take his picture. His demeanor was nonchalant and his pose, casual and natural. I told him I just had to take a picture for my blog, and he generously obliged.  A few years back, hipster + cyclist combo was a rare sight in Vancouver.  I had to go to Japan to find them in droves.  But now I'm seeing them everywhere in my city, but they're hard to shoot as they are usually in motion, and it's hard to get them to stop and pose for you, unless you're the Sartorialist!! In fact, Scott complained about this very problem on his blog!! So lucky for me that my friend here was unknowingly waiting and posing serendipitously for me and my blog! 

I'm sorry my friend, but I forgot your name.  I was so excited getting my picture that I forgot, although I remember your buddy Lou and his bright orange t-shirt!! E-mail me and I'll put your name in here. Thanks!

iPhone Gucci Fashion Shoot at the Mall

Ok, this wasn't really a fashion shoot, but those are Gucci's, we were in the mall, and I did use my iPhone to take this image. My point is how powerful a tool the iPhone can be when it comes to its ability to take decent pictures and post them online in a matter of minutes. My wife bought a new pair of shades and I wanted to take a snapshot for her to see how she looked in them (because we all know that an image is different than looking into a mirror).  I quickly found a white wall with decent lighting and took this shot.  You can tell we're at the mall by looking at the reflection in her shades (I'm the blob on the far right). Of course I could have brought my huge D-SLR and my 85mm F1.4 lens, but how much attention would that have drawn to me and my wife? And what are the chances of me carrying that thing everywhere I go? This was convenient, quick and discrete. Thank you Mr Steve Jobs.

A Guy and his Bike

I first noticed the bike and asked the guy who was standing 4-5 feet away from it if it was his or not.  He said yes and I asked if I could take a picture of it.  He nonchalantly said to go ahead, but I could tell he was pretty proud of his ride and happy I noticed it.  Then I asked if he wouldn't mind if I took a picture of both him and his bike, and again he complied, a little more hesitant this time.  I was in a hurry, as the rest of my party continued to walk ahead of me, so I took the shot quickly, with little time to compose.  I decided to put the focus on the bike by grey scaling the entire image except the bike. The reason? The rest of the image was too loud: his pants were a camo-red and yellow, shoes bright blue, busy-coloured brick wall, and I accidently composed a big, bright red $6 sticker behind his head!

Taken with iPhone, Hipstamatic, John S lens, Blanko Film, edited on my computer using Photoscape.

Backwards Portrait: Walking Down Gastown with Friends

My buddy, his wife, and my wife hanging out in Gastown on a cloudy afternoon.  It's not easy taking a moving picture, especially with the slow focus and shutter lag of the iPhone.  Also with motion, people sometimes can look awkward frozen in an static image.  This moment I froze in time captures that very second perfectly.........

Whistler, Snowboarding, Fashion?

Another backwards portrait of my wife posing with her new Park Pickle snowboard, jacket and colourful pants!! It's funny how people choose the most insane colours and patterns when skiing or snowboarding up in the mountains, even though they may be more conservative fashion-wise in normal work/school/social life.  Snow is the perfect canvas for colourful, over-the-top fashion, but how crazy can crazy get? I saw bunny ears, clown outfits, huge leprechaun hats, and jackets that looked like they ran on batteries! I needed shades because of the bright fashion, not because of the sun or the snow.  What's my mountain couture? Black pants, black jacket, black helmet, black gloves...... I know, I should loosen up just a little bit right? Maybe I'll wear pink socks next time........
Captured on my iPhone, Hipstamatic, John-S lens and Blanko film.

Doesn't the snow and trees look fake?  I didn't heavily modify this image at all, except cropping, sharpening, white balance and contrast.  It really did look this 'dreamy' when we were boarding. The trick to shooting in snow is to exposure compensate by at least 1.5 stops to factor in the reflective nature of snow which throws off the metering.  It's also really difficult to snowboard and take pictures.  I think I may need to invest in a helmet cam? Sorry..... I can't do it!  I'm too old school. I guess.....
Captured on my Panasonic FX-50, snow-mode, iso 200.

Shoe Portraits

The wives didn't know I stole this shot as we waited to cross the street. Thanks girls......


Nice shoes and man bag Josh! Thanks for posing......

The Backward Portrait. Weird or Cool?

Wife walking ahead of me in Tokyo...I like her new purse.


Cool dressed letter carrier... I like how tightly she has her waist belt, making her jacket more dress-like


Jeremy and his super cool Porter Japan man-bag


My wife getting ready to carve up 7th Heaven on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler

I don't know what it is, but I like shooting people from behind. Why? I think it draws the viewer into the picture more doesn't it? You wanna see their face, you want to know more about them. Imagine walking behind someone in public, and they look so interesting from behind (an awesome jacket, cool pair of shoes, bright socks, classy purse (or man-bag), or just well put together over all!!), making you want to catch-up and get a glimpse of the face to put the entire equation together.

My pictures were all taken with permission of course, which makes it not creepy. Maybe I'll start a new fashion photography trend? Backside only? The cover of Time? Wedding Portraits? Drivers License? Look, even the Sartorialist is doing it!!

I've posted the latest one of my wife as well as the last few I've done most recently just to give you a feel for what I mean about the draw of the backward portrait, and perhaps at the end of the year, I'll repost all my backwards portraits for your viewing enjoyment.

Fashionable Canada Post Letter Carrier

It appeared that everything this Canada Post letter carrier was wearing looked like it was standard issue, but it's the way she put everything together that stood out for me. I was lined up behind her buying a sandwich and I was impressed at how stylish she looked. The fringes of her long jacket reminded me of a dress fringe (you can't tell from the back, but she was wearing short shorts) , and her galoshes reminded me of stockings. She had this industrial, military school girl uniform look. I thought it was so cute. My wife said I should have asked her to take her hood off and look back, but it was rainy. I know she's German, and that she's blonde, but beyond that, I guess only I know how she looks!! But shooting her from the back with the hood on, I think it makes her look more powerful!!

Everyone should try and look good and stylish at work! Go Postal Girl Go!

Remember to follow me on Twitter @bigheadtaco

Porter Japan, Livestock Vancouver and a Narrow Walkway

My buddy and I were checking out some sneakers at Livestock while my wife was looking for a new snowboard next door. After we were done, we cut through a narrow walkway and I saw the perfect Sartorialist shot. My buddy's awesome orange Porter Japan man-bag makes this cool image. It was picked up while in Tokyo with me last year, and I'm happy he went with orange because it makes this shot a whole lot better than if it was a typical black or brown bag...... boring!! Thanks Jer for posing for me, and thank-you Porter Japan for making such an awesome bag. Oh and thank you narrow walkway for creating the perfect frame for this shot (notice the line on Jer's sweater sort of lines up to the lines of the brick wall?).

The Cool Struttin' & co. Shop

If I wearing a really cool jacket, and someone asked me where I bought it from, and I actually got it from the Cool Struttin' & Company in Ebisu, Tokyo, I'd hesitate to tell them.....they did in fact have really cool stuff, and if I bought something from there and I was walking around, I'd probably be struttin' around as well. Notice the description of the store in the top right corner? Jazz Attitude? Huh? Cool store though. Nuff said.......again, just another one of those shots I had to take. I'll do a special edition on Jinglish signs soon enough. First, I'll finish my part I report on vending machines in Japan......

John Fluevog Shoes

At the airport at YVR on the way to NRT with our John Fluevogs. I know I rarely have self portraits, and even more rare is a picture of my wife....... as per usual, I'm doing Blue Steel.....

Famous Hollywood Stars in Japan: Continue.......

Uniqlo is a huge clothing retailer in Japan, similar in pricing to Gap, but better quality and selection. They even do t-shirt collaborations with famous designers, artists, and iconic brands (I picked up a Ricoh GR t-shirt!!). They have a single store in New York, and one in London, and maybe Paris? None in Canada so far, but I think Uniqlo should be the model for all clothing retailers. I'm going off point here though.

I took these pictures to show how there are so many Hollywood actors who go to Japan and allow themselves to be plastered all over the place, as advertising in Japan is nothing like what it is in N.America, and perhaps even Europe. It's pretty "in-your-face" ad campaigns, sometimes with the same poster lined up 100-200 times in a row, or 50 foot banners off sides of buildings. I'm not complaining about 50 ft Charlize's and Orlando's, it's just odd seeing them out of context in Japan.......

Day 17: Pose for me Rose

I love window displays at night. There's something eerie about a display that is so animated and meant to attract attention, but late at night and long after the store is closed, it's sort of out of place. It's like running into a clown in a dark alley. Out of context. I also always shoot in black and white to accentuate the shadows.... it increases the mood of the already moody picture..... by using focus blur, it makes the model look 3 dimensional, even though its just a flat image. I also shot from an angle to avoid window glare and to distort and compress the space between the objects in the picture......