Spring is here! If you are in Windsor, Ontario, you’re saying to yourself, “sort of..”

In any case, soon the beaches will be filled with swimmers and sunbathers. Glistening, shimmery, on-the-way-to-that-perfect-tan bodies. This is what we do in the summer when we aren’t working or dealing with the demands of daily life and we deserve it! We have weathered the winter and have earned the right to have fun and pamper ourselves for a little while before returning to the hustle and bustle of daily life.

We sometimes go alone, in a moment of solitude. Other times we enjoy the company of our significant other chasing us up the beach only to be caught in a loving embrace, accompanied by a tender kiss. Someone else might be walking man’s best friend along the shoreline, picking up a stick or ball to lob into the water so their doggy can jump in, fetch the stick and bring it back to master for another go. Yet another family may be having a picnic with their children, enjoying a family day together with the hustle and bustle of daily life  forgotten for a short while.

These moments in time are future memories; times we will someday long to remember – for they are the past, filled with both the good and bad, comfortable and uncomfortable, happy and sad. These memories will last for quite a while, possibly years, sometimes forgotten the next day.  Memories put to mental image fade and they fade fast as daily life takes hold.  New life experiences, time and the progression of our lives push these memories far back into our brains. As we grow older, age itself will push those memories far back into our minds.  So the question is, how will you remember your personal experiences?

Here’s an option for you. Remember those moments with vibrant, captive photography that can tell the day’s story to family and friends but also serve as reminder, later in life, of a time we don’t remember quite so well anymore.  Nothing brings those faded memories back like photographs! When we view a personal photo, the memories come flooding back, nuances and details of each image striking a chord like notes of a song. Each detail of the image has something to say about the day it was captured or snapped.

Remember your days of leisure, whether on the beach, a day in the park with the kids, a walk in the park with your boy (or girl) friend? Give me a call or drop me a message so I can help you remember the now before your future arrives and your memories are lost to the past!

Call Ray Akey Photography. Tell us what you need. We would love to provide you with photo-memories of your Slices in Time!

Until next time..

Ray

I met this gorgeous lady back in 2009 when we worked together on promotional photos for a local fashion designer.  The image above is from our very first shoot. We were introduced on the day of that first shoot in December 2009 and from that point on I knew we’d make some great images together! I also had a feeling she would find personal gratification as a model and that she had something special.  She had drive, passion, determination and she just loved modeling. Perhaps her best trait was that she knew her body well and which poses looked good. Little direction was needed once she knew what we were going for.

This woman does it all! Glamour, pretty portraits, fine art, product/promotional images, quirky/fun, sexy, steamy, erotic, demure, girl next door.. She is so comfortable in her skin that I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do.

Most everyone in our local photography industry knows the lady I’m referring to is the wonderful Miss Jo-Ann Carrington! Most of us locals know Jo-Ann as “Jojo,” a name which Jo-Ann adopted as her modeling nickname, after we all started calling her Jojo during an impromptu group shoot at my place.

Jo and I have worked together on numerous occasions and Jo is now my primary muse; she has entertained every request (and I hers, such as the tribute to Marsha Hunt that she wanted to do for Black History Month — see the Marsha Hunt image here) and we have created a solid body of work, both public and private.

We have worked on a few personal projects together, including a personal project of Jo’s  titled “Yennica’s Closet” which features Jojo donning some pretty sweet kicks.  I’m hoping that we can both work together in commercial fashion someday but I’m just happy to know her. We always have fun shooting. We are both passionate about what we do!

This pretty lady has blessed my portfolio with some amazing images, many which are not work, child nor family-safe (aka NSFW or “not safe for work”).  I will not publish those on this blog because this is a family-friendly blog. But for those of you who would like to see those images, head on over to my other blog, Slices of Nude. I will be posting new work regularly on Slices of Nude as well.

Jojo is my second-most successful fine art/nude model and was published on the cover of my first bound portfolio book. “Akey Photography Style : Exposed,” was published earlier this year and contains images of models I have worked with, including 15 images of Jojo in implied and  fine art nudes. The image below is the cover image of Akey Style : Exposed.

I remember one time when I ordered something at the drive-thru and immediately upon placing my order, I heard an emphatic voice return the words, “Mr. Akey??!”  I replied, “Yes?” This very bubbly, excited voice coming from the speaker rather emphatically proclaimed, “IT’S YOUR MUSE!!!” Sharon and I knew right away that it was Jojo.  I appreciated (and still do) every word in this phrase.

So, you might be asking yourself, ”what is the reason for all of this?” The reason is, we recently began a project which will span 9+ months, a project that is very important to us as it will be a photographic journey documenting early milestones into Jojo’s maternal life. I am happy to announce that Miss Jo-Ann Carrington AKA Jojo, my friend and muse is proudly expecting her first child! Jojo is absolutely beaming with pride and joy already!

I spent an evening with Jojo at her home recently to check out her new place and do a special image for her boyfriend. I also wanted to take the opportunity to get out of my cramped studio.  Jojo, myself, my Canon 5D Mark II, a 24-70mm lens and a large octabox invaded her living room and over 700 images were captured as we talked about life, love and how this news has changed Jojo. I stepped out of my comfort zone here. I’m a bright shooter usually.  I decided to go up close and personal and I have to admit, I love it!  The quality of light is just beautiful!  I will be shooting a lot more this way, outside of my studio.

Jojo is just aglow with love and happiness, and it is quite contagious. Jojo is the same, except there will soon be more Jojo, in the form of a new life.

Enjoy these days, Jo.  They are priceless!  I hope to be there to see your little one become a strong adult, like his or her mommy! And I think,of all your features, the two I would most love to see your child have are your charm .. and of course, the ‘fro! Gotta have the ‘fro!

Anyways folks, check back periodically.. As Jojo approaches closer to full term, we will be creating some pretty images and will share some of the more creative ones!

Jojo says, “If you would like to see more images of me, check out Ray’s Flickr and Photo-A-Day (PAD) projects.  The links are readily available on his website!”

..until next time!

Ray

Today, I finally decided to go the whole hog and re-purpose this blog to pretty much be a diary of my journey of certification through a professional, well-respected organization.

It has been quite a journey even up to now. I have met and worked with some fabulous people such as my model friends Jo-Ann Carrington, Anna Sengthavongsa, the ever so young but lovely Laurel Mcintosh, most recently a new local actress named Jessica Masse and a whole bunch of other models and creative people that I have networked with on Model Mayhem, Facebook and through my Internationally reaching Facebook group SouthWestern Ontario Photographers, Models and Creatives!.

SouthWestern Ontario Photographers, Models and Creatives! welcomes photographers, models and industry professionals from around the world who appreciate our region and what we have to offer the world. It is a closed group but a simple membership request on the Facebook group should get you in.

Today, Slices in Time becomes a diary of progress; somewhat of an educational blog, to show others what can be done to maintain a professional attitude and to constantly improve one’s self and his craft. A new look, a new philosophy and should things progress as I intend .. a slew of impressive fine art images!

To the people who have found my work or have otherwise become friends or acquaintances of mine (and my lovely wife Sharon’s), I thank you ever so much for allowing me to place my work, this baring of my soul before your eyes.  I am very fortunate to have such amazing people in my life to help reveal the beauty that I see in this sometimes very ugly world.

To those who stick around and continue to read this blog as I take you on a piggyback ride down this photographic trail of personal, artistic expression, I appreciate your constancy.  I’m sure there will be technical mistakes, errors and flaws that I will need to overcome. All of that and a lifelong fear of public speaking being the paramount.  I thank you for any advice, comments or encouragement you can toss my way. But most of all, I am thankful that you appreciate the images I post.

I recently posted on my Facebook status, “The Path to..” and got replies such as

“freedom”
“artistic greatness”

In a way, both of those are correct.

Welcome to my Path to Freedom, my Path to Artistic Greatness… My Path To Certification!

P.S. I am bound by professional respect and doctrine to not share answers to any tests. Please do not ask me for these if you are practicing for or taking any certification tests. Even if I knew the answer you desire, I don’t believe in cheating as the only one you are cheating is yourself!

The image that accompanies this post features the lovely 17 year old (soon to be 18) Laurel.   Ray Akey Photography helped Laurel get signed with Orange Model Management by supplying her with professional images for her portfolio.

I was very excited when I first heard about this product as advertised by Scott Kelby during a Joe McNally webcast for KelbyTraining. I received the BLOWiT V.2 last week.

The BLOWiT V.2 is a 3 speed fan that is mountable on a light stand, tripod or pretty much any other object that you can clamp it into.  Once mounted, the fan can articulate into any position due to its clever mount. The fan post is attached to the fan by a swivel allowing you to tilt the fan or aim it in any direction and its post is a stiff, bendable wire. Its 3300 RPM motor is strong enough to lift even the most limp hair.

I used the BLOWiT V.2 on a recent shoot with a lovely Asian model named Anna, whom I work with regularly and refer to as one of my muses. Anna has long, straight hair so she was the perfect test subject. I tried many fan positions and was able to get Anna’s hair to blow in any direction I wanted (we’ll skip the shots with Anna’s hair in her face )

I would recommend this product to anyone who is looking to add dynamic movement to their images!

You can find Scott Kelby’s endorsement and product reviews on the BLOWiT website at BlowItFans.com.

Until next time.. A couple images of Anna shot using the BLOWiT V.2:

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I often work with and mentor new/novice models and introduce them so-to-speak to my network of creative professionals via the Facebook group that I created and share administrator duties with my lovely wife Sharon and another local photographer named Heather Teahan.

Southwestern Ontario Photographers, Models and Creatives

Southwestern Ontario Photographers, Models and Creatives is a Facebook group created to unite artistic and creative people with an emphasis on photographic art and imagery, from the region  located in the Southern-most area of Ontario, Canada.  At the time of publishing this post, group membership is currently at 137 and we are constantly adding new members who show interest in networking with our members.

Back to the model..

Laurel (last name withheld) is a novice model whom I met on Facebook where she asked me about a shoot. We arranged a time and date and met at my very modest (okay who am I kidding, it’s downright cramped!) basement studio. We proceeded to shoot after some introductions. With a little direction and coaxing, she did very well and gave good, strong expressions! She had lopped her hair off sometime previous to our shoot but didn’t like it short for modeling, so Laurel was wearing a wig of longer hair to shoots. The wig didn’t look too bad but Sharon, myself and Laurel’s mom (her chaperone for the shoot) all agreed that we loved the short hair and that we should shoot it.  My two favorite shots of the session were Laurel with short hair.  We did shoot the wig and it turned out sexy-cool but the natural, short hair is the winner.

You can find Laurel on Model Mayhem here. Please don’t insult the girl by asking her to shoot free.  The models I refer to in this blog really do deserve to be paid and I wish them all great success with their modeling careers! <3

Until next time, here’s Laurel, whom you will definitely see more of in the future!

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Ray

I don’t remember how I came into possession of this letter but it is an important part of my ancestry and as such, it deserves a place where the Akey family can view it perpetually.

I have transcribed it for easier reading:

113 British General Hospital
B.L.A

13.10.44 (October 13, 1944)

Dear Mrs. Akey,

I write to tell you with great regret that Sgt. Stanley Harris Akey of R.H.L.I passed away in this hospital at 9:30 AM this morning. He had some acute infection and although not apparently seriously ill on the day he was admitted; he became very ill the next day.

Everything possible was done for him, both by Medical Specialists and Trained Nursing Staff and he had anything he wished for and if it is the slightest consolation to you to know the sisters looked after him as though he was their brother.

He has passed on – just as much a hero as those who die on the field.

I can only add my sympathy to you in your great loss.

He is buried in a small Canadian cemetery – near by this hospital with other comrades of his.

Yrs sincerely

E. Dickson

—

Stanley Harris Akey, was my grandfather whom I never met. His son, Ray Stanley Akey, is my father.

Reasons Why Photographers Cannot Work For Free

Dear potential photo buyer,

If you have been directed to this page, it is likely that you have requested the use of an image or images for free or minimal compensation.

As professional photographers, we receive requests for free images on a regular basis. In a perfect world, each of us would love to be able to respond in a positive manner and assist, especially with projects or efforts related to areas such as education, social issues, and conservation of natural resources. It is fair to say that in many cases, we wish we had the time and resources to do more to assist than just send photographs.

Unfortunately, such are the practicalities of life that we are often unable to respond, or that when we do, our replies are brief and do not convey an adequate sense of the reasons underlying our response.

Circumstances vary for each situation, but we have found that there are a number of recurring themes, which we have set out below with the objective of communicating more clearly with you, and hopefully avoiding misunderstandings or unintentionally engendering ill will.

Please take the following points in the constructive manner in which they are intended. We certainly hope that after you have had a chance to read this, we will be able to talk again and establish a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Photographs Are Our Livelihood

Creating compelling images is the way we make our living. If we give away our images for free, or spend too much time responding to requests for free images, we cannot make a living.

We Do Support Worthy Causes With Images

Most of us do contribute photographs, sometimes more, to support certain causes. In many cases, we may have participated directly in projects that we support with images, or we may have a pre-existing personal relationship with key people involved with the efforts concerned. In other words, each of us can and does provide images without compensation on a selective basis.

We Have Time Constraints

Making a leap from such selective support to responding positively to every request we get for free photographs, however, is impractical, if for no other reason than the substantial amount of time required to respond to requests, exchange correspondence, prepare and send files, and then follow-up to find out how our images were used and what objectives, if any, were achieved. It takes a lot of time to respond to requests, and time is always in short supply.

Pleas of “We Have No Money” Are Often Difficult to Fathom

The primary rationale provided in nearly all requests for free photographs is budgetary constraint, meaning that the requestor pleads a lack of funds.

Such requests frequently originate from organisations with a lot of cash on hand, whether they be publicly listed companies, government or quasi-government agencies, or even NGOs. Often, it is a simple matter of taking a look at a public filing or other similar disclosure document to see that the entity concerned has access to significant funding, certainly more than enough to pay photographers a reasonable fee should they choose to do so.

To make matters worse, it is apparent that all too often, of all the parties involved in a project or particular effort, photographers are the only ones being asked to work for free. Everyone else gets paid.

Given considerations like this, you can perhaps understand why we frequently feel slighted when we are told that: “We have no money.” Such claims can come across as a cynical ploy intended to take advantage of gullible individuals.

We Have Real Budget Constraints

With some exceptions, photography is not a highly remunerative profession. We have chosen this path in large part due to the passion we have for visual communication, visual art, and the subject matters in which we specialise.

The substantial increase in photographs available via the internet in recent years, coupled with reduced budgets of many photo buyers, means that our already meager incomes have come under additional strain.

Moreover, being a professional photographer involves significant monetary investment.

Our profession is by nature equipment-intensive. We need to buy cameras, lenses, computers, software, storage devices, and more on a regular basis. Things break and need to be repaired. We need back-ups of all our data, as one ill-placed cup of coffee could literally erase years of work. For all of us, investment in essential hardware and software entails thousands of dollars a year, as we need to stay current with new technology and best practices.

In addition, travel is a big part of many of our businesses. We must spend a lot of money on transportation, lodging and other travel-related costs.

And of course, perhaps most importantly, there is a substantial sum associated with the time and experience we have invested to become proficient at what we do, as well as the personal risks we often take. Taking snapshots may only involve pressing the camera shutter release, but creating images requires skill, experience and judgement.

So the bottom line is that although we certainly understand and can sympathise with budget constraints, from a practical point of view, we simply cannot afford to subsidise everyone who asks.

Getting “Credit” Doesn’t Mean Much

Part and parcel with requests for free images premised on budgetary constraints is often the promise of providing “credit” and “exposure”, in the form or a watermark, link, or perhaps even a specific mention, as a form of compensation in lieu of commercial remuneration.

There are two major problems with this.

First, getting credit isn’t compensation. We did, after all, create the images concerned, so credit is automatic. It is not something that we hope a third party will be kind enough to grant us.

Second, credit doesn’t pay bills. As we hopefully made clear above, we work hard to make the money required to reinvest in our photographic equipment and to cover related business expenses. On top of that, we need to make enough to pay for basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, etc.

In short, receiving credit for an image we created is a given, not compensation, and credit is not a substitute for payment.

“You Are The Only Photographer Being Unreasonable”

When we do have time to engage in correspondence with people and entities who request free photos, the dialogue sometimes degenerates into an agitated statement directed toward us, asserting in essence that all other photographers the person or entity has contacted are more than delighted to provide photos for free, and that somehow, we are “the only photographer being unreasonable”.

We know that is not true.

We also know that no reasonable and competent photographer would agree to unreasonable conditions. We do allow for the fact that some inexperienced photographers or people who happen to own cameras may indeed agree to work for free, but as the folk wisdom goes: “You get what you pay for.”

Please Follow-Up

One other experience we have in common is that when we do provide photographs for free, we often do not receive updates, feedback or any other form of follow-up letting us know how the event or project unfolded, what goals (if any) were achieved, and what good (if any) our photos did.

All too often, we don’t even get responses to emails we send to follow-up, until, of course, the next time that someone wants free photographs.

In instances where we do agree to work for free, please have the courtesy to follow-up and let us know how things went. A little consideration will go a long way in making us feel more inclined to take time to provide additional images in the future.

Wrap Up

We hope that the above points help elucidate why the relevant photographer listed below has sent you to this link. All of us are dedicated professionals, and we would be happy to work with you to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner.

Creative Commons License

Note to photographers: You can use the above text under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please ensure that you include a link to this page. If you’d like to add your name to the list below, please use the contact form. Text by Tony Wu.

You can find Tony Wu’s site at http://photoprofessionals.wordpress.com

Until next time…

Ray

Needless to say, summer of 2010 passed quite quickly. Winter was a lot of studio work and spring has been fun yet I have not yet taken the time to go on a journey this spring/summer.

In any case, my 200 page book is on hold because I have such wonderful models at my disposal and my personal boudoir/lingerie, implied nudes and nudes collection is massive. So rather than shoot more and delay the complete collection, I chose to publish one volume (of which I’m sure future volumes of this genre will follow). This, my first portfolio style book is a volume of highly polished Boudoir, Lingerie, Implied Nudes and Artistic Nudes.

I chose to self-publish because, simply and realistically, I had no budget to hire the company that has courted me for probably a dozen months to promote any book projects I may consider. This first book is self-published through Blurb.com.

I thank-you for your support, wherever you are.

Akey Photography Style by Ray A. Akey

Learn how to use your camera more effectively, improve your photography and/or learn new post-processing/editing skills to improve your images by participating in a private, one-on-one workshop where you have the instructor’s full attention. No raising of hands or competing with others for instructor attention.

See http://luminescentmemories.com/workshop/private.php for more information!