Bonnie Pictures they are full of life, positive energy and captivating the very essence of a person’s soul, filled with intelligent vibrant expression every picture tells a story. I could probably let my imagination run wild and write a book on the pictures she takes, which triggers my senses and wondering into creative thinking and imagination. “What is the subject is thinking or the mystery behind that emotional captivating moment. She achieves what the Artist try to capture on canvass while painting.

1. Hi Bonnie Welcome to Global Entertainment Mag. Tell me is this your first interview or have you done other interviews recently?

Actually Tina, this is my first formal interview. It's an honor and a privilege to do this with you.

2. Have you been a photographer for most of your life and did you empower your education and training within this field while growing up as a child?

As a child, I was always fascinated with cameras and I would study photos all the time. My dad and I would pour over National Geographic magazines. He would dream of the far-away places and I would be fascinated with the colors, vibrancy and excellence of the photos.

I would play with my mother’s old brownie camera. When I was a teen, I had a Polaroid camera and did some creative work with that. I knew then I wanted to be a photographer, but ironically, my formal training was in the army as one of the first female Mechanics. I did not get my first 35mm camera until much later.... in my mid 20's and from then there was no stopping me. I taught myself through trial and error. Eventually I took a few night courses to understand what I was doing, because I was doing something right...I just did not know why. The rest of the education afterwards has been a never ending evolution.

3. My first question I been pondering for a long time now and wanted to ask you is what is your secret to capturing those expressive emotional moments out of your subjects when you photograph them?

Tina, I don't think that there is any secret. I never start snapping photos right off the get go, but ease into it. I like to chat with the subject. Joke a bit, and put them at ease. I can read people well and I love people. I feel the emotion and then I find I can photograph whom they truly are. But each client is different!

I have had some people say to me, "Oh don't take my photo. I am not photogenic and no one has ever taken a decent photo of me!" I usually respond, "You have not been photographed by me!" And then I get the shot!

4. How do you develop that special rapport with your clients to make them feel comfortable before a photo shoot?

I think this question is partly answered by the previous question. Each client is truly different and I approach everyone differently. Being from Nfld, some people think it is that "Newfie Charm'! I do not like to intrude on someone. If they are not comfortable with a camera in their face, I will find a different approach to ease them into the moment, because that is what it is, isn't it??? capturing the moment. I like to make the moment special for the person I am shooting and for myself.



5. Before each shoot do you usually set the lighting, props, before you stage each shoot?

I have all the equipment to be a totally mobile photo studio, So, it depends on the shoot I am doing. I do a lot of photos outside and for that I will have my camera bag that has all I need. I call it my tickle trunk...if I need something, it is in there. I will do a light check to know what settings I need for my camera and if I need full flash or fill flash. I also have a device that I put on my flash that, for all its simplicity, will give the same results as if I have studio lighting. I have had people stop me at an event and ask, "What is that?" and being a bit of a jester, I usually respond, "That is my margarine tub!" It depends on who I am photographing as to whether I will use props. I like to have a guitar player holding his guitar, or a drummer hold sticks, but it does depend on what we are trying to achieve. Sometimes props can make a photo or ruin the mood.

6. The passion and hard work really comes out in the expression and tones of your pictures, so what usually provokes or inspires the emotional response in you that make you want to photograph?

Oh my! Such a question! I love photography. I love the thrill of capturing THE shot. I am exhilarated when the photo I am going for is successful. That exhilaration transfers to passion and the subject picks up on then passion and exhilaration and then I even get more fabulous shots. Sometimes I do not realize how hard I worked or what I put into it until later when I am home and I notice I am aching all over, but it is worth it when I get that Shot!

I was on a photo shoot with Paris Black once and we were really having fun with the event. We decided to generate energy that transferred to the photos. What I would do was walk towards him while he backed up, never letting me close the gap, and then we would switch where I would back up and he would come towards me. I would go in circles around him and he would do the same to me. The photos we got from that particular shoot were used in a calendar that was published for 2009. (I still have a few copies left if anyone wants to purchase one.)

7. What is involved technically when taking photographs with regard to lighting, tones, avoiding red eye, and daylight or night time photography?

Number one thing is to have a good lens and number two...Understand everything about the camera. If you are taking photos where there is a shiny background such as plastic or a window, you have to be extremely careful not to have 'hot spots' (flash reflections). The positioning of the flash and angle of the camera can help with that.

When doing daylight photos of people, positioning with the sun shining on a person’s face usually causes a person to squint so I like to have their back to the sun so they have a halo or rim of light around their head and then use a light burst of flash to fill in any shadows that may around the subject.

When I do night time photography, many times I want to keep the background lit too, so it is a challenge to keep the balance with the subject and the background. In my portfolio, you can see I have a number of shots taken at night where you can see the lights of the city behind the subject yet the subject is perfectly illuminated. Those photos work because I use a flash that is dedicated to my camera and I can manually reduce or increase the power of the flash to keep the lighting even.

To prevent red eye, having a flash high off the camera works or some of the digital cameras have red eye reduction. That is a small burst of light that will make the pupils of the eye contract so you do not get the reflection off the back of the eye.



8. When completing photography shoot how many pictures on average are involved with each session?

Tina, sometimes I get the photo on the first shot, but I still go for more variety and selection. There are times I get totally into the session and I can shoot hundreds of shots. After a few times doing that, I found that the sorting through the photos afterwards took a large chunk of time, so now I try to limit myself to 50-100 shots a shoot. But again, that does depend on what we are trying to achieve and are there different backgrounds to work with or costume changes. The number of people in the shoot will determine how many photos are involved. I guess the best way of saying this is as many as it takes!

9. Is it a good practice for photographers to do several takes of the same scene with each session?



I guess each photographer has their own way of doing this. I personally like to take a number of different shots in the same scene. Expressions change so quickly, so what may be a perfect facial shot may have been interrupted because the body angle changed, or something in the background became distracting. Everything can change in seconds, so to make sure I have what I need, I take a few extra takes of the same scene.

10. When taking photo sessions do you ever get inspired with new ideas and spontaneously change the scene for the photo shoot?

Oh, all the time!! I never go into a shoot with a predetermined mindset of what I am going to get and only focus on that. I am always thinking, looking and seeing. I may think that this shot or that shot will work for the subject, but I just let inspiration flow over me and go with what feels right. Sometimes I am working with a subject that is no stranger to the camera and if we are in sync, together we inspire each other.

11. What type of work is involved after the photo session is completed with regard to editing the pictures in photography software programs?

There are a number of programs out there that help a photographer with the editing process. I use Photoshop when I need to crop a photo, or fix a blemish. Sometimes I see in the photo afterwards that there is a bit of 'noise' in the background, so Photoshop has some editing tools that can help remove distractions from the background. If I am going to post the photos on Facebook or some other social website, I put my logo on the photo but I keep the original high resolution file for use later if the client wants to use the photo for reproduction purposes.

12. Do you usually spend hours with your clients deciding on what pictures they want to keep or use after each photo shoot?

Personally, I can spend hours pouring over the photos after a session, and then I will pick the best of the best, edit if I feel necessary, burn them on a CD, and hand the CD over to the client as per any prearranged agreement.

Some clients prefer I choose what I feel is the best photo for the project involved and email the photo/photos to the appropriate parties.

13. Does your job require you to travel to different locations within Canada?



Not yet, but I hope to. I have travelled around the world and done photography in some fascinating places. I hope soon that I will get more assignments that will take me to many different places. I love travel, have nothing in my life that ties me to one spot preventing me from taking off somewhere, and there is a whole world out there to be captured moment by moment! Someday soon, I want the world to be my camera lens and home will be a place I visit.

14. Who are your favorite musicians, models, or actors have you worked closely with in the past?



I am close friends with Paris Black and I developed and created the look he has today. We started working together about 6 years ago and our work and style has evolved to where it is today. There are new areas we want to explore with ideas that is just bursting out of me. I took the photos that have been used on the CD 'Dirty Kisses', along with the posters and promotional material that is used for Paris Black. We have spent a multitude of hours and have taken close to 4 thousand photos together. And we plan on taking thousands of more photos in the near future! I have been involved in the production of the single "Dirty Kisses" as well as many other songs on the CD, and expect to hear the song Dirty Kisses on your favorite radio station soon. I also worked with Kenny MacLean. On April 8th, 2008 I went to his apartment to meet with him and do a 'mini' shoot. More like a preview before a huge shoot to come later. I sat on his sofa and he made me a cup of tea. As I was drinking the tea, he sat on the floor with a battered old acoustic guitar and played some songs for me. He sang a Led Zepplin song to me, and then he sang a song that he had not quite finished recording for the new album he was working on at the time. As I sat there listening to this amazing man sing to me a song that the public had not heard, I looked around as saw the wall of platinum albums, and the many different guitars he had on stands, but he chose this old acoustic. After he finished the song, he hugged the guitar and said in his delightful Scottish accent..."Ah Bonnie, I so love this guitar"! So I said to him..."then let's take a photo of you with that guitar". That is how I got that wonderful photo of him hugging the guitar that is on the album cover of his CD.... Completely! The next time I photographed Kenny, was the night of his CD release party in November of 2008. Little did we know that would be the last time I would take his photograph.



15. What are the pro’s and con’s of this career?

Well the pro's are: getting to do what you love passionately and having visible results. I can be so proud to say, I was the photographer who had her subject on 10 billboards and I can proudly claim that I have two CD's so and a few magazine covers far to my credit. The personal satisfaction of working so hard to develop the talent and publicly see results give one a great sense of self pride!

The con's and this one really does get my goat is other photographers who try to pick up a client you have that you have worked with and cultivated for years. It can be very cutthroat sometimes. I have worked so closely with Paris and now there is another professional photographer who has approached him recently who publicly said...I can take photos that will blow you away. But on the pro side of that, a client who loves your work and trusts you, will not let another photographer waltz in and take over because he or she is about to make it to the big times.

Another con is a lot of times you are considered....Just the photographer! If we and I'd like to speak for all the photographers out there, is just the photographer, then who is responsible for creating the image of the different celebrities, or rock stars or entertainers out there? So many young people will look at photos of their favorite personality and say...I want to be like him or her. So many young musicians will look at their Idols and try to emulate them and what is their inspiration besides hours and hours pouring over the music?, it is the look and image that the artist is portrayed by the photos taken by "Just the Photographer'.

I can tell you Tina, someone once said to me when I was at an event that Paris was performing at: "Who are you? Oh, wait now, I know...you’re just the photographer!" That set my teeth on edge. I never think of myself as "Just the Photographer". I am an integral part of the Paris Black management team, for without me, he would not be represented and portrayed in the consistent and professional manner he is. He knows he can totally trust me not to ever publish a photo of him that would not meet both of our exacting standards.

16. Have there really been some really trippy or unusual pictures that your camera has produced?

This question made me pause for a while to contemplate because I have lots of wonderful and trippy photos, but then I remembered a photo I took many years ago. I was driving near the town of Creemore Ontario late at night, and I could see lightening flashes off in the distance. I pulled over, set up my tripod and started counting the time between lightening flashes. When I had estimated when the next flash would happen, I opened the shutter on the camera....and I GOT IT! What a feeling that came over me. This was back when I was still shooting with film. So the next day I took the roll to a camera store for developing. When I picked up the slides a few days later, the manager of the store said, "Pardon me, but I took the liberty of looking at the photos and you have one in there that I think you should get published!" What I caught just astounded me. The lightning bolt was flickering across the sky above the town of Creemore and the energy from the lightning bolt drew the power from the street lights up to the bolt and back again. The slide shows a path of light that travels from light pole to the night sky and back to the light pole. Before you asked me this question, I forgot about this photo. Now I am challenged to find it, have it taken from slide and made digital so I can share it.

17. What is the most driving or inspiring passion with this type of career that keeps you focused and interested in your work?

It has to be intense love I have for photos and the exhilaration of getting the shot, from shooting a Rock Star, to a wedding, to capturing the smiles and laughter of children. On a rare day in the winter that I have nothing to do, I will drive to a conservation area, strap on my snowshoes, sling my camera around my neck, and lose track of time with the beautiful surroundings. In the fall...oh my, the colors keep me inspired and interested. Finding new places to do nature photos or a new place that would make for a great photo opportunity for a client excites me almost as much as if I already took the photos.



18. What has been the most challenging photo shoot or event you attended in the past?

Believe it or not, a wedding is the most challenging photo shoot. There are no do-over’s. You have this one chance to make the bride glow and the wedding party look gorgeous. If there are children in the wedding party, the huge challenge is getting everyone to cooperate by all looking in the same direction at the same time. Then there is the challenge of keeping the children’s attention for the required time it takes to capture the enchantment of the day for the bride and groom. I have often left a wedding feeling totally done but when I look at the results of my efforts, I become invigorated once more.

19. Do you teach photography courses online?

Tina, I don't think you can teach photography. You learn it and turn towards others in the field to guide you. I believe you either have the ability or you don't. That being said, I have no on-line tutorials, but I would be very open to assisting a group of photographers who are learning by going on field trips with them and guiding them in areas they would like assistance. If a group of people would like that service, they can contact me and we can set something up.

20. Before we wrap up our interview what new events or projects do you have forthcoming you would like to announce?

January 30th, 2011 Paris Black will be performing at the Rockpile and I hope to be there to capture him performing. I have some private shoots that I am doing as well and then in April, I will be once again at the Rockpile shooting the band "Lie", featuring Dean Criss, Champagne Ace, Adrian Ellis, and David Wales. (Another band that I have done the photos for their posters and promo material).