vancouver fashion and portrait photography

“I envision our project not as being a bunch of us tramping around the island with cameras; instead I hope it will be an emotional and spiritual journey by a deeply connected group of artists, to honor the issues that Midway represents.

Maybe it is not too ambitious to hope—if we can fully rise to the occasion—that we might be able to co-create a multi-media work of art that tenderly witnesses this middle point that humanity finds itself at right now.

And in the eye of the storm —the apex of the Gyre—perhaps our collaborative efforts can create a container for healing that might have some small effect on the collective choice that is to come.” - Photographer and artist Chris Jordan 

Music is what moves the soul into rhythm. Every year after the geeks have fled Austin, TX to recover from five days of SXSW Interactive madness, the streets of this cozy creative town are flooded by the musical soundings of thousands of rockstars from all over the world. The music portion of the South by Southwest festival is coveted by music industry folks, up and coming bands and music nerds. Every available venue, from parking lots, art galleries and even small storefronts are turned into rock n' roll havens. Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg had the chance to hang out with guys from Jones Soda as they traveled in their Jones RV from party to party.  What a wild ride!

When March rolls around you know that spring has sprung and the annual gathering of geeks is in full swing at the Interactive portion of the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, TX. Spread out over five days of panels, parties and networking, SXSW is the equivalent of geek heaven and geek spring break squished into on power-packed week. One respite of this crazy event is when there are small havens of quietness, power outlets and awesome smaller events which was the main goal of the Techset Hosted Samsung Blogger Lounge. Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg had a chance to kickback, recharge and spend some quality time geeking out in the lounge with his camera.

It's always a special time of year when the SXSW Festival hits Austin, Texas every March. During the first part of the festival, this eastern Texas hotspot is flooded by geeks and tech nerds from around the world that come out to network, promote and most importantly have a good time. This year was particularly exciting because individual companies pulled out all the stops and created their own personal venues within the festival itself. Such was the amazing Klout Krib that was nestled in the northern part of Austin.

What's a better way to trek all the way from Vancouver to Austin for SXSW then in one of the coolest road vehicles around? There are none when you are traveling in the Jones Soda RV. Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg and studio manager Danielle Sipple are joined by the likes of other creative scalawags in a road adventure that packs a punch.

(This photo-essay is the first of a series featuring the neighborhoods of Vancouver for  http://insidevancouver.ca )

One of the most vibrant areas of the city of Vancouver is its downtown core. Surrounded on two sides by magnificent waterfronts and topped by the greenery of Stanley Park, this downtown area is anything but a dead-zone buffered by the business of 9-5.

It's really amazing when the marriage between open source technology and the evil empire of OS systems can happen for the sake of a better digital future.

It is that time of year again! The cold weather is coming with less frequency, the flowers are starting their journey to the topsoil and the geeks are starting to prepare for their yearly pilgrimage to Austin, TX. For a few weeks every March, the small independent city of Austin, TX is turned into a heavenly setting of geeks, technology and general debauchery with the annual South by South West Festival. This 12 day event is the setting for history making, whether it is in debuting new awesome technology or partying with your favourite twitter followers. The festival is split into three parts: SXSW Interactive, SXSW Film and SXSW Music. Welcome to the world of geeks, movies and rockstars.

From a beautiful stone path that wraps around the entire city to character houses to some of the best food in the world, Vancouver is a very diverse city. Each of the various neighbourhoods has its own cultural identity, complete with its own landmarks, distinct food offerings and aesthetic. It would be exceedingly difficult to experience all that Vancouver has to offer in one short visit as a traveling tourist. This year is particularly exciting in our city's cultural history with Vancouver's 125th birthday coming in just at the heels of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Our time to celebrate our city as it moves forward with its initiative to become the greenest city by 2020 has come! 

This year has flown by in a flurry of events that have elevated the city of Vancouver to all new heights. From preparation to the 2010 Winter Olympics to beautification of local neighbourhoods to headlining world tours, this city has been a hotpot of activity that has stretched culturally across many areas. Static Photography has had the chance to participate in many of these events with photographer Kris Krüg being front and center with his camera capturing all the highlights.

Without further hesitation here is the best of 2010 in our beautiful city of Vancouver, BC!

The weather is dropping quicker than the leaves can fall in Vancouver, BC but that hasn't stopped Static Photography from venturing out into the cold for awesome events. Photographer Kris Krüg has literally been everywhere this past year including Bolivia for the World People's Conference on Climate Change, Louisiana to document the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and even Manchester, UK for the AND Festival. This late in the year Kris has been spending some quality time in Vancouver, BC which has given him the chance to capture some really interesting events that have happened around town.

With the return of the fall cold weather and the brightly changing colors of the leaves, there is also the annual return of the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine. This three day event connects some of the brightest and most innovative social change individuals from around the world for realtime sharing of ideas, problems and active solutions.

What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas. When it comes to the geeks though - what happens in Vegas stays on the internet, especially when the geeks are gathering for the Blogworld 2010 Conference. A plethora of bloggers, internet whiz kids, geeks and tech-heads, Blogworld is a three day event of everything that is connected to blogging. From podcasting and making money from your blog to mommy and military bloggers, there was something for every blogger. Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg had the opportunity to give a keynote about new media photography for the ever expanding world of the internet.

Weddings can be a whirlwind of excitement for any new couple. When it comes to the planning of the special event, many details come into play from out of town family, outfits, location, food, vows and especially wedding photography. Having photos that capture the ceremony and events surrounding it can be very memorable for everyone involved in the wedding. Static Photography had the chance to capture four special ceremonies this past summer and early fall.

The world of photography is changing at a quickening pace that often can make photographers run for the hills. The rules and regulations from the past just aren't working with the new systems of today. From the onslaught of the internet, to digital cameras to even very powerful camera photos, this new creative landscape is not in the textbooks nor is it in the old school knowledge of photography. Luckily there is a new kid in town called the New School of Photography and Static Photography's very own Kris Krüg is leading the revolution.

With major events like the Olympics, the media coverage can be almost as crazy and hectic as the actual event itself. Now that the internet and new media have a key role in the process, Olympic media coverage had a game face change in Vancouver this past year. No longer were just traditional media journalists and photographers showing up to all the events, but also bloggers, new media activists, new school photographers and everyone who had a camera on their phone. Whether it was from the official hashtag of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games (#van2010), to the IOC welcoming the Flickr community of Vancouver with open arms to the lightning flash news service that was Twitter during the month of February, Vancouver revolutionarily changed the way people watched and participated in the Olympic Games. 

It is always great to get a chance to be a part of revolutionary art shows that combine the creative community with the aspect of social change. The Timeraiser art show is just this type of event. Set for the evening of September 23rd this highly curated art show will auction off art from international artists not for money but for volunteer hours at selected charities. This will be the third year that Vancouver has hosted Timeraiser in its city and the second time that Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg has had the opportunity of being a selected artist for the show.

What happens when you throw a bunch of geeks, in another country, with an awesome schedule of tech conferences, events and dinners? Geeks on a Plane. What started as a possibility with GOAP founder Dave McClure has grown into a full fledged event that happens multiple times through out the year. The most recent GOAP event was a voyage through Asia for a 2010 tour. Spanning almost two weeks, GOAP Asia 2010 travelled to Shanghai, Beijing, Soeul, Singapore and Tokyo. Static Photography photographer Kris Krüg was there for the whole adventure, part-time photographer, part-time participant and full-time geek.

Static Photography has been very busy these past summer months. Every day is a constant hustle at our studio in Vancouver, BC but we get shoot some really awesome gigs. Photographer Kris Krüg has the ability to transform his photography and capture vital elements within vastly different experiences, from photojournalism to weddings, from flowers to live concerts. Here is a photo recap of some of the highlights that have come along our way in Summer 2010.