Ian Taylor Photography

Toronto Moms Blog

2011-11-22T22:47:00.000-05:00

A new blog for moms in Toronto did a nice blurb about my work.

Lumix GF1

2011-10-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

I'm not a huge camera geek, I use what I have and don't get obsessed with buying stuff. My main camera for work is the Canon 5DMKII, but it's too much to carry around all the time for fun shots. Last year I picked up a Lumix GF1 from the new-ish "Micro 4/3s" format. This format is amazing for a 'walk around' camera. The lens is fast (f1.7) and the files are great for a camera half the price and size of a DSLR.
Here are a couple of shots from the past few months. The fast lens gives me the look I like for portraits as well.
This will be my last equipment post for a while. Promise!

Facebook Page

2011-08-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

I have just started a Facebook page for my photography business.
Check it out.

Asian Development Bank 'Clean Energy' book

2011-08-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

The project I worked on last year for the ADB has been published in a large hard cover 'coffee table' book. The shoot took me to a bunch of locations in Indonesia, the Philippines, China, India and Nepal to document various forms of 'Clean Energy'.
A few samples from the book here.

Yunnan

2011-06-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

Just spent a bit of time recovering from Hong Kong in and around Dali, China. Here are a few shots I took up there.

Thai Andaman Coast Kayak Trip

2011-02-01T14:12:00.005-05:00

So the plan was to kayak and camp the entire length of Thailand's Andaman coastline from the Burmese border to Malaysia. 600 kms over 4-5 weeks. We planned it for 8 months, invested in folding kayaks (Feathercraft) and met up on a beach near Burma just before Christmas. In the end I became sick about halfway and had to pack up. My paddling partner Tim Morch made it all the way.

As a photographer I had been looking forward to shooting the trip, but as it turned out we were just too busy to fish or shoot. So I just strapped my camera to my bow and hit 'record' whenever anything vaguely interesting appeared. Sadly I had an SD card fail on me ('Kingston' brand, avoid!!), so I lost the first week of footage. In the end I only had a week or so of video, so I pulled out a few clips and put together this little montage.

Camera was a Lumix GF1, with the 7-14mm lens in a 10Bar housing.

Update from March. Here is another little video I made while paddling in the mangroves on Koh Phayam earlier this month.

Tilt Shift

2010-12-06T01:29:00.000-05:00

I know it's a gimmick/fad these days, but playing around with my Canon 45mm tilt shift lens gives me a few hours of fun every now and then. Through some kind of optical trick, it make large landscapes look like little miniature worlds. Here is a shot I took of men loading garbage ships in Hong Kong.
No, they are not models.

ADB Shoot: Clean Energy

2010-12-06T01:26:00.000-05:00

I recently wrapped up shooting on a huge project - a coffee table book for the Asian Development Bank. The bank, which lends and/or grants money for infrastructure projects around Asia, hired me to document their Clean Energy initiatives around the region. I shot in remote parts of China, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Nepal.
Projects included hydro (micro, mini and up), geothermal, wind, methane reclamation, LED & CFL lighting and lots more. The book should be out by March or April. I will post an update once it comes out.
In the meantime, here is a shot I took in the Philippines while traveling to a village up in the mountains. It's a guy doing back breaking labour, loading sugar cane onto a truck. Tough way to make US$1.50 per day.

Star Ferry, Hong Kong

2010-11-14T06:38:00.001-05:00

A photo I took this week while waiting for the ferry in TST was blogged here.

Click on the pic for the large version.

Yummy Mummy Asia

2010-10-29T21:03:00.001-05:00

Nice post about my kids work on this Hong Kong based blog.

Nepal

2010-09-12T15:51:00.000-05:00

I finally made it to Nepal. I was shooting for a client, so I didn't have much time to explore, but I'll be back soon. Here's one from the Swayambhunath Stupa.

Toronto Islands shoot

2010-07-19T08:58:00.001-05:00

I recently had a great session out on the Toronto Islands. It's not often you get four siblings these days, let alone fun ones! As the eldest of six kids, I feel at right at home with large families. (As long as I'm boss of course.)
Here are a few shots from the session. (Click on pix for hi-res.)

Hong Kong Schools

2010-04-11T21:16:00.012-05:00

I have been doing some work for Hong Kong schools. Always nice to see the images end up in communications and on walls! My most recent large shoot was for the Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS), one of the top IB schools in a city full of world class educational facilities. These are pzges from the CDNIS annual report.
It was also great to see some of my kids images printed large up on the walls of Casa Dei Bambini, a beautiful Montessori school in Pok Fu Lam.

Bangladesh

2010-03-17T06:26:00.005-05:00

I have been derelict in my blogging. Since my Namibia trip in May of 2009 I have spent a few months photographing kids a few countries both east and west. I have shot some nice weddings in beautiful parts of Canada.

So, after 15 yrs of putting it off, I finally visited Bangladesh during January and February 2010. With the highest population density in the world, it is a perfect place for a people photographer. 160,000,000 people living on a flood plain the size of Iowa, each making a $1/day.

Bangladeshis are the warmest people I've ever met. With basically zero tourists, they want everyone to leave with a positive impression of their beautiful country.

I shot a number of projects for international aid organizations in Bangladesh. For Helen Keller International I worked with the ethnic minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A nasty conflict between these hill people and Bengali settlers exploded a couple of days after I left and some of the villages have been burnt down.

Family Health International needed images of people at risk of HIV/AIDS, as well as the services available to them. So I photographed hijras and female sex workers in Dhaka. We also spent time with intravenous drug users (IDUs). Being a destitute junkie in the alleys of Old Dhaka for 25 years is a hardship I cannot imagine.

For CARE Int'l I visited a number of projects in the north. CARE has a massive presence through their partnerships with local NGOs.

And for Save the Children (USA) I photographed rural rudimentary schools in the north and haor regions.

A few of my favs below, a larger gallery can be found here.

4 Deserts - Namibian Ultramarathon (Racing the Planet)

2009-05-28T00:58:00.033-05:00

I have just returned from shooting a 7-day ultramarathon in southern Namibia staged by Racing the Planet. Competitors are required to carry all their stuff, including food, for a grueling 250 km run/jog/walk/crawl. The race began at the Fish River Canyon, the world's second largest, and ended with a run over the massive dunes of the Namib Desert. At one point we were on land that had been sealed off for 100+ years, wagon tracks of the original settlers still visible in the sand.
While most competitors were normal folks just aiming to finish, there were a small number of elite athletes in the field including Marco Olmo and Ryan Sandes.
It was cold. And hot. There were stinging plants, scorpions and poisonous snakes. I have some nasty chewed-up feet shots you don't want to see.
See more images, VDO and results here.
More images here.

4Deserts Ultramarathon

Marco Olmo

Fish River Canyon

Namibian Dunes

Puffed Adder

India

2009-04-23T03:25:00.014-05:00

Just back from my first real trip to India. It is simply the greatest travel destination of all time.
I didn't shoot nearly as much as I'd hoped, but I got some nice shots in Calcutta and Sikkim, two very different places.
Here are a few of the scenes, and some of the characters I met along the way.

Photo.net wedding contest

2009-03-12T10:04:00.005-05:00

My image of Ana getting ready just won top photo in a competition between 240 wedding photographers worldwide on www.photo.net, the oldest and still largest site for sharing info about photography. This being their first contest of this type, they didn't really get it together to actually make an official announcement, so all there is is this.

I was the Featured Photographer on photo.net for the month of March 2009.

The deciding judge in this contest was Jeff Ascough, often named as the world's top documentary style wedding shooter. (My favorite for sure.)

Wedding in Macau

2008-12-08T04:38:00.014-05:00

I recently shot a great wedding in Macau. Although I didn't know it at the time, this was the first wedding to be held at the brand new 5 star Four Seasons Macau. The scale of this place is incredible, although little underpopulated given what's going on in the world.
The B&G had been planning on having their wedding in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but had to find a new venue at the last minute due to political unrest in Bangkok shutting down access to the country.
As far as last minute venues go I don't think they get much better than this! A few images from the event.

Hong Kong Kids Stuff

2008-10-02T21:17:00.008-05:00

I shot a few photo spreads for the October issue of PLAYTIMES Magazine here in Hong Kong. As usual, they let me shoot completely in my candid style. The 'Animal Party' was especially great, with some awesome live props; a python, hedgehogs and a parrot.

Kevin, Tom & Taylor

2008-09-06T21:21:00.008-05:00

The Toronto Star just featured another of my recent weddings in the weekend Living Section. This event took place in my hometown of Picton, Ont. It's a nice story.

And I got some nice shots.

Apropos of Nothing

2008-08-19T00:55:00.006-05:00

Here is a recent shot of George Dubya Bush touching my photo in Bangkok while visiting the Mercy Centre.

Mercy Centre, Bangkok

2008-07-06T12:21:00.011-05:00

In April I returned to the Mercy Center in the Klong Toey slum of Bangkok. I shot a couple of things.

Spring weddings

2008-06-24T13:26:00.019-05:00

Since getting back from Hong Kong I've shot some great weddings, both in Canada and the US. Here are a few pix.

Wedding Photojournalism

2008-06-04T11:04:00.009-05:00

I am now a member of the Wedding Photojournalists Association. This association only accepts photographers who shoot in a documentary style. Their website is a great resource for both brides and shooters.
In other news, the recently published Rich Bride, Poor Bride: Your Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide has been published and they have made nice use of a few of my images. A few samples below.
Wedding season is off to a great start. I have shot a couple of beautiful events in the past several weeks, I will be posting some samples soon.
Also, the Toronto Star is running a couple shots from a recent rural event as its featured wedding this week.

My nephew pulls a tooth with a frisbee

2008-05-22T08:31:00.000-05:00

Hong Kong

2008-03-21T23:25:00.005-05:00

I've been in Hong Kong since January. This is an awesome town for a kid photographer. It's a baby factory! I've been doing tons of stuff, here's a cover shot and a spread I did for the local parenting mag. I'll have a bunch more shots up soon.

Heather and Stacey

2008-03-21T22:04:00.006-05:00

I meant to put these up a while ago. A couple of days before coming to Asia for the winter, I shot a nice little wedding at Toronto City Hall. The brides were Heather and Stacey. You can see a few more pix here. Besides being an incredibly happy affair, Heather's mom wins the award for 'Best Use of Cabbage as Centerpiece' Award.
And the dresses were great.

Mercy Centre, Bangkok

2008-02-16T11:02:00.010-05:00

Every year I stop by the Mercy Centre in Bangkok to shoot some images for their communications. This place was started by Father Joe Maier, almost a Mother Theresa figure in Thailand, where he has worked in the slums since 1964.

This year they asked me for some shots of the boy's residence. So here they are.

http://www.mercycentre.org/

Tsunami Relief Project

2008-02-07T20:49:00.000-05:00

In late January I photographed a project that my grad school alumni association supported in Khao Lak Thailand.
This area had been decimated by the tsunami in December 2004. Our group, many of whom have spent large chunks of their lives in Asia, rebuilt a school library in a severely affected area.
We are now going forward with plans to help smaller schools in the area.
A few more pix on our alumni site.

Grown ups!

2007-11-14T11:10:00.001-05:00

While in Hong Kong a couple of months ago I did a shoot for Playtimes, the most popular parenting magazine. Pregnant moms no less. Check out the article here.

Hong Kong

2007-10-27T16:18:00.001-05:00

I was back in Hong Kong for September, working mostly on private commissions.
Hong Kong is a great place to shoot, the scene is international and I'm really free to work in my candid style.
To see a gallery of this stuff, click here.

Touchstone Magazine and Chhlong

2007-08-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

I have some images and short blurb about my work in Touchstone, a magazine dedicated to the conservation of Khmer culture and history. It publishes 30,000 copies quarterly.

Interestingly, on the same day I got a copy of the magazine I got an incredible comment on one of my photos on Flickr. (This photo also appears in the Touchstone piece.) I took it last year in the small town of Chhlong, a few miles down the Mekong from Kratie, another once sleepy town now besieged by backpackers. I was told that there was some great crumbling French architecture in Chhlong and it proved to be worth eating a lot of dust to get to. I didn’t really spend much time. I hung out in front of stretch of once gorgeous, now decrepit colonial buildings. I met some kids and took a couple of photos.

A Khmer living in Paris saw the photo on Flickr and wrote:

“Oh! This is my ancestral house! built by my great-grandfather in 1922. I've passed my childhood here. My family was chased from this house by the Khmer Rouge in 1970. It is now occupied by someone else. I'm so sad to see it in a so bad shape!”

the 9ths

2007-07-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Our band “The 9ths” were in the studio last week recording a demo. We're a 3-piece combo playing mainly funk/soul instrumentals. (a la Maceo, The Meters, JB)

Here we are with a couple of instrumentals as well as backing up Dave Butler (vocals/keys) on some '70s-ish nuggets. Dave has just a massive voice and sings his heart out on every song I've ever played with him.

And finally a couple of snippets of Dave playing live with me and my brothers Ross and Jim in our hometown of Picton, Ontario. One chunk. Two chunks.

The 9ths are Greg Woods on drums, me on guitar and brother Jim on bass.

Wedding in Mexico

2007-06-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

I'm just back from shooting a nice wedding in Mexico. The b+g had a few friends and family join them for a week. I now give discounts on weddings I can shoot in bare feet.
You can check out a few more here.

South China Morning Post

2007-05-23T18:40:00.001-05:00

One of my recent photo sessions in Hong Kong was for Casa Dei Bambini, a beautiful new Montessori school in Sheung Wan. Some of those pix just surfaced in a parenting supplement in the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong kids

2007-05-04T10:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I did a bunch of private commissions in Hong Kong. Fantastic city to photograph in - alleys, parks and beaches (who knew?!).
And the food over in Kowloon is amazing.
Here are a few favs.

Youtube

2007-05-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

I uploaded a lo-res version of my Khmer kick-boxing piece onto Youtube. This ran nationally on The Fight Network this year.

ภาษาไทย

2007-05-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

เดี๋ยวนี้ที่ี่ี่นี่เขียนภาษาไทยได้้!!
ผมต้องฝึกหัด. กรุณาฝากโน้ต.

Cambodian women's prison

2007-04-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

I recently had the rare opportunity to see the inside of a women's prison in Cambodia. As part of International Women's Day, the human rights NGO Licadho arranged for a group of investigators and journalists to attend a ceremony where prisoners were given token gifts. (Food and scarves.) As many of these women are single mothers, there are quite a few kids inside. Below are a few shots from that day. The top two shots are jailer's kids - they look worse off than those living inside. (Their fathers are paid $15/month plus they get their share of whatever they can extort out of visiting relatives.)
As I was shooting, I heard one of the women yell "Hey, Cambodia Daily!". Turns out she sold newspapers on the streets of Phnom Penh during my years as Business Manager there (1994-96). She would have been very young. What kind of a memory is that?!? She told me she was in for "something about a car", but I didn't get any further details other than she could pay $3000 to get out. Her photo is below, as is the warden's.
Such a kind face on that guy.

Nice Cambodian orphange

2007-04-25T12:38:00.001-05:00

In stark contrast to the slums schools below, I did some work for a well-funded orphange out on the river east of Phnom Penh. These kids were picked off the absolute 'bottom of the pile' of Khmer society and given a chance to become productive citizens of this country. Lord knows Cambodia can use all the help it can get.

Slum schools

2007-04-25T12:17:00.000-05:00

I know, I let this blog slip Big Time while I was on the road in Asia for the winter. That doesn't mean I wasn't busy though. One of my small projects was photographing in some small schools in Phnom Penh supported by an amazing local NGO, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development (CVCD). These teachers only make $40/month and show incredible dedication. But the kids come from very poor homes and often don't get breakfast, which I think shows in these images.

Colonel Lee

2007-02-12T21:20:00.000-05:00

"Colonel Lee" is a fixture along the Phnom Penh riverside. He played Gerard Depardieu's doorman in Matt Dillon's crap movie, 'City of Ghosts'. If you see him, give him 50 cents so he can buy batteries for his Walkman.

Recent Kids

2007-02-08T03:18:00.000-05:00

Here are some kids I've photographed recently.

Koh Samui

2007-02-06T04:23:00.000-05:00

I recently photographed an upmarket housing development on the island of Koh Samui, in the Gulf of Thailand. The last time I had been there was 1990 when bungalows were 2 bucks and you ate dinner in the ramshackle restaurants that lined the beach. Well those days are over. If you have US$1M+ you can consider owning one of these amazing places, designed by the Bali-based architect Gary Fell.
(If you don't have the cash, you can rent these joints.)

Andaman Sea

2007-02-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

Just back from a nice boat trip through the Mergui Archipelgo. This area of of Burma receives very few visitors and is a paradise for nature lovers. Here is the view of our trimaran from the top of the first island we visited. The buildings you see are the only tourist facility in the 1000+ islands.

Upcoming show

2007-01-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

The FCC website has a blurb on my upcoming show.

Mercy Centre - Bangkok

2006-12-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

Currently in Bangkok, on my way to Cambodia tomorrow a.m.
This week I donated a bit of time to Father Joe Maier's Mercy Centre in the Klong Toey slum. Father Joe is very well known here, having been working with abandoned and orphaned kids for 30+ years.
There is an amazing atmosphere in this place. You would never know that there are so many sad stories.
Above are a few pix of the kids at the center. These will be used for their communications. I shot this one a couple of years ago.

Cambodian Kickboxing

2006-12-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

The Fight Network will be running a slideshow of my rural Cambodian kickboxing work. This will air on a regular basis nationally in Canada. All proceeds from this will be donated to the boxing club I have been accompanying around the northwest of Cambodia. (They have 2 pairs of gloves for 50 kids.)
If you are on highspeed and have a PC, you can download this presentation here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/5524076/box.exe.html

boots

2006-11-22T08:34:00.000-05:00

works all day

disappeared a few days later, hasn't called home since...

montreal wedding

2006-11-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

I recently shot a nice wedding in Montreal.
I like these two images. In the first, the father accompanies his daughter up the stairway. A few minutes later, she descends with her husband.
(From the McGill Chapel.)

battambang homestay

2006-11-20T02:07:00.000-05:00

If you visit Cambodia and want to make friends with Cambodians who aren't your waiters or taxi drivers, consider staying at this great homestay in my friend Sambath's village. I know a few people who've done it and they've raved about the experience.
99% of visitors to Cambodia just go to Angkor and reckon they've experienced the country, but they haven't.

weekly shot

2006-11-19T15:36:00.000-05:00

I know, I waste too much time posting images on photo sharing sites. But while I do, it's fun to get lots of hits from these sites. Weekly Shot features my images quite often on its front page. This pic of a kid in the rain was featured this week.

sisters

2006-11-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes photographing kids can be challenging, but other days it's just incredibly easy and fun.
These sisters were fun.

the snake

2006-06-09T01:07:00.000-05:00

Southwest of Battambang there is a large snake.
Recently I made the trek to the countryside to meet the beast, but it was out working the temple fair circuit in Siem Reap. This 15-yr old girl is holding a photo montage of her late grandfather and the snake.