On January 11th Blackstone Season 2 premiers on APTN! I have pulled together a collection of some of the best behind the scenes images from the second season as a thank you to the amazing cast and crew.

For more information on the Blackstone series, you can go to one of the following links. And have your popcorn ready for Episode 1 on Wednesday night!

Blackstone on Facebook

Blackstone Series

ProarteDanza - Fractals: a pattern of chaos (world premiere)

What follows are some of the amazing images from “Fractals” as a part of Proartedanzas’ 2011  mixed program at Fleck Dance Theater in Toronto. The word epic comes to mind when shooting Tyler Gledhill, who is in the above frame, but there is fantastic imagery throughout this piece. As well as some sneaky rehearsal and behind the scenes photos. Thank you to Roberto Campanella and Robert Glumbeck for bringing me out again this season.

Choreography: Guillaume Cote
Rehearsal Direction: Roberto Campanella
Music: Venetians Snares
Lighting Design: Bonnie Beecher
Costume Design: Deanna Sciortino
Dancers: Joanna Bergfelt, Valerie Calam, Marc Cardarelli, Tyler Gledhill, Mami Hata, LouiseLaberage-Cote, Ryan Lee, Marissa Parzei, Erin Poole.

I wanted to to let  everyone know that next weekend is the start of of the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival and DB Photo and Film is one of the proud sponsors! This is the second year running and for 2011, VISAFF is collaborating with Indian Summer, a 10 day festival that will bring the best of Indian arts and culture to Vancouver. The Festival Kicks off on July 15th with the screening of West is West. For the complete film list go to the following link.

Also ~ VISAFF on Facebook

This spring I shot the feature “Barricade” starring well known Canadian actor Eric McCormack (Will and Grace)  and directed by Andrew Currie (Fido).  Glen Schaeffer from The Province wrote this following article while we were in production.

Parental fears heighten horror tension.

I am always so thrilled to be in the company of such creators as Kevin, Yvonne and Robert. Choreographing this piece took nearly a year and three different cities and I was lucky enough to see it all come together. “Level on my Level” premiered with three other choreographies and was presented by Danceworks in Toronto this past April.

All images ©Dean Buscher 2011.

KEVIN O’DAY – CHOREOGRAPHER

Kevin O’Day was born in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He received his early dance training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. After one year, he joined the Joffrey II; the following year he became a member of the main company. In the winter of 1984, O’Day began his long association with choreographer Twyla Tharp. From 1988 to 1991, he was a soloist with American Ballet Theatre, where he performed in a variety of featured roles. In 1991 he joined William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet, and from 1992 until 1995 he was a member of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. During that time he appeared frequently as a guest with the New York City Ballet. In 1994 Mikhail Baryshnikov invited O’Day to choreograph a new work for the White Oak Dance Project, marking his choreographic debut. In 1998, in collaboration with composer John King, O’Day formed his own company called O’Day Dances.

In 2002, he was appointed artistic director of Kevin O’Day-Ballett Mannheim at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in Germany. In October 2009, O’Day choreographed his 50th ballet, which was simultaneously his first full-length narrative ballet, Hamlet – based on William Shakespeare’s famous play. O’Day created Hamlet for the Stuttgart Ballet, and the work will also have it’s Canada premiere at the National Ballet of Canada’s 2011/12 season.

ROBERT GLUMBEK – PERFORMER/CHOREOGRAPHER

Robert Glumbek’s passion and sensitivity towards the dynamics of human relationships is what characterizes his emotionally charged choreography. In 1987, Robert Glumbek left Poland for Canada where he danced for 10 years with Desrosiers Dance Theatre in Toronto. Glumbek has been dancing with tiger princess dance projects since 2000 and serves as an Artistic Associate for the company. Glumbek’s recent works include commissions for Ryerson University, the Mannheim Ballet, princess productions and ProArteDanza. In the 8th International Solo-Dance Festival in Stuttgart, he was entered as a finalist for his solo, Subsistence. Glumbek is currently Associate Artistic Director of ProArteDanza. He and Campanella were finalists at the 17th Internationaler Wettbewerb für Choreographen in Hannover for their quartet, Nothing Twice. They again collaborated in the creation of Nine Sentiments, titled after, and inspired by, Michael Ondaatje’s poem. He is a three-time Dora nominee, a finalist in the Hanover Choreography Competition, was named Now Magazine’s Best Dancer Of The Year 2006 and was recently honoured with both the K.M. Hunter Artist Award and the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award. He currently teaches at the National Ballet of Canada, Dance Teq, Mannheim Ballet and Ryerson University. In the fall of 2011, Glumbek will create a new work for Ballet British Columbia.

YVONNE NG – PERFORMER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Yvonne Ng’s intensity, grace and mesmerizing presence have made her an unstoppable force on the Canadian and international dance scene. Ng was born and raised in Singapore and moved to Canada in the ‘80’s. An honours graduate of York University’s Dance Department in Toronto, Canada Ng is a dancer, producer, choreographer, arts educator and artistic director of her company, tiger princess dance projects. The company’s repertoire includes twenty-two works choreographed by Ng and thirteen works by some of Canada’s most renowned choreographers. Ng has created works for York University’s York Dance Ensemble, Toronto Dance Theatre and The Arts Fission Company (Singapore).

Ng was honoured with a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2000 and has been nominated eight times. Ng received the prestigious K.M. Hunter Dance Award (2002), the New Pioneers Arts Award (2003) and Chalmers Arts Fellowship (2002). In 2007, Ng was awarded the Premier’s Emerging Artist Arts Award along with Canadian dance legend Peggy Baker. Yvonne is also a certified Open Source Forms (Stephanie Skura) and Ashtanga Yoga teacher. Since 2006, she has been teaching in the Theatre Dept at Juniata College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and is a performer in their professional company, The Gravity Project. In addition to choreography and performance, Ng is the Artistic Director of Series 8:08 (since 1994) and the curator and presenter of dance: made in canada/fait au canada, both of which produce the work of choreographers from across Canada. Ng has served on the boards of federal and provincial dance organizations.

The news that Videomatica and Happy Bats have closed within weeks of each other is perhaps just news of the inevitable due to changes of online content accessibility  for so many of us. And while it is tough to see small business go and in particular strong supporters of the indie film industry here in Vancouver, there area also other cool things happening that I hope we get to see more of ~ film screenings of rare and\or obscure films.

“The Silent Partner” was screening at the Waldorf Hotel some weeks back. Introduced as a classic of Canadian cinema, it probably wont make my top ten list, but it was a lot of fun to see it on a bigger screen. We also got to see a few t.v. commercials (trailers) from the era to kick off the matinee. I took a few picks with my camera phone because I really had forgotten the way  dressed back then….

My approach to all of my photography wether it is unit stills, fine art, or actor headshots is that there should be something that catches the viewer, something that excites the the person looking at the photograph. In my opinion this is not only the goal of photography but of all art and all creativity. Call me opinionated because I am.  Many of us have heard words similar to the following: “We are all unique, we are all individuals.” – I remember the day when I experienced this with total clarity for the first time and it changed my life for ever. I was with a group of fellow dance students and we were given the most simple theater exercise ever – so I thought. The studio had a black upstage curtain and one at a time, we were asked to walk next to the curtain from upstage left to upstage right. Nothing fancy just walk across the stage. While one person walked everyone else watched and nothing else moved in that studio but the one person on stage. This was the first time that I actually saw and felt how individual we all are in our rhythm, our weight, our energy, our cadence, our posture, our intention…… It was the first look into a bigger but more subtle and more intimate world. And its these unique qualities in each person that I take the time to emphasize and amplify during our photo session, to bring out your uniqueness.

That is s why I am calling my current promotion – Get Noticed Fast.

I want your photos to jump from the inside out. But its not just about the inner actor, it is a total package. My process involves a lot of things and below is the short list of main ideas I am drawing from.

We build wardrobe ideas around stock characters that are both contemporary and archetypal. We emphasize mood and meaning with backgrounds and lighting and we also cover all details with respects to your hair and make up choices. We also talk a little bit about your emotional preparation for your shoot, and where you are in your career and what your aspirations are. These last few things help me to direct you on the day. Once all these details are covered we set a booking date, and your photo session is no longer just a photo session but it is much more like a structured improvisation. One thing you can be absolutely certain of is, now that we have taken care of all the details, your shoot will be a blast! Play time (photo making ) can involve  a ton of different starting points – movement, breath and spine work, sound or script and walking as well! I use lots of different approaches for different actors who are at different ages and at different levels of experience.

All this work is to get the actor in you excited, and focused because the elevation of emotion is absolutely necessary for great photos – photos that stand out and catch the viewers eye.  Emotions change the breath and the expansion of the rib cage, the response of and quality muscles in the body and face, the movement of blood in the capillaries and the response quality and texture of the organ which is your skin. It also changes your scalp which affects your hair the dilation of your eyes and the nostrils. It changes energy movement in the body……. The amazing thing is that while all this is happening it does not happen for any two people the same way. But being alive is a great way to Get Noticed Fast!

And that is exactly what you want to have happen.

The Get Noticed Fast Promotion includes the following:

~ hair, make up and wardrobe consultation
~ about 2 hours of photo coverage time and about 150 photos to choose from
~ an online gallery for viewing your images
~ 2 images retouched and color corrected for printing and forwarded to the photo lab for printing
~ 2 images for web and internet use
~ 2 – 8 x 10′s

Cost: $250 (regular price $300)

If you prefer a 3 look session the fee is $300 (regular price $350)

If you have any questions about the above information, feel free to call me at your convenience, and I look forward to seeing you in the studio!

This promotion ends March 19th.

Dean Buscher

778.928.9132

Do you have an iphone? scan the following QR (quick response) code and be instantly connected to this page and share it with your friends!

If you don’t know about QR codes here is a link to get you started….. All you do is download a free app and away you go….

QR Code getting started.

I have had some time to spend out east in September, and had the good fortune to photograph ProArteDanza’s first feature length work “…in between…” at the Fleck Dance Theater in Toronto. There may be nothing a I like more than shooting production stills for dance because you are tested physically and mentally to be in the right place at the right time, and so much is unexpected and hard to anticipate from choreography you have never seen before. That is what makes dance so exciting! I usually let the photographs do the talking but on this occasion I will also add some words from the program by Artistic Director Roberto Campanella:

“…in between…” represents a calculated artistic risk…. Presenting a a single full evening work is a somewhat radical departure from our past…. The idea was born out of our desire to sink deeply into a single new work and explore the possibilities fully without time constraints. With …in between… Robert Glumbeck and I were drawn to examine the idea of human resilience; our capacity to summon great emotional strength and thrive after the most destabilizing of events. We hope you find the resulting work worthy of the experiment and its universal themes personally resonate.”

My advice go see the show!

For additional images go to main gallery here: ProArteDanza

Paris, France

Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3) announces winners of PX3 2010 competition.

Dean Buscher of Canada was Awarded

Second Prize (Fine Art Abstract) and Honorable Mention (Fine Art Book Series)

in the PX3 2010 Competition for the entry entitled, “Mythologies.”

The jury selected winners from thousands of photography entries from over 85 countries.

Px3 is juried by top international decision-makers in the photography industry: Carol Johnson, Curator of Photography of Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; Gilles Raynaldy, Director of Purpose, Paris; Viviene Esders, Expert près la Cour d’Appel de Paris; Mark Heflin, Director of American Illustration + American Photography, New York; Sara Rumens, Lifestyle Photo Editor of Grazia Magazine, London; Françoise Paviot, Director of Galerie Françoise Paviot, Paris; Chrisitine Ollier, Art Director of Filles du Calvaire, Paris; Natalie Johnson, Features Editor of Digital Photographer Magazine, London; Natalie Belayche, Director of Visual Delight, Paris; Kenan Aktulun, VP/Creative Director of Digitas, New York; Chiara Mariani, Photo Editor of Corriere della Sera Magazine, Italy; Arnaud Adida, Director of Acte 2 Gallery/Agency, Paris; Jeannette Mariani, Director of 13 Sévigné Gallery, Paris; Bernard Utudjian, Director of Galerie Polaris, Paris; Agnès Voltz, Director of Chambre Avec Vues, Paris; and Alice Gabriner, World Picture Editor of Time Magazine, New York.
ABOUT Px3:
The “Prix de la Photographie Paris” (Px3) strives to promote the appreciation of photography, to discover emerging talent, and introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community of Paris. Winning photographs from this competition are exhibited in a high-profile gallery in Paris and published in the high-quality, full-color Px3 Annual Book.
Visit http://px3.fr

For Press Inquiries, Contact:
info@px3.fr

That is the press release I received for being one of the winners of this years PX3 photography competition. I have to say finding out was humorous. My colleague and friend David Ellingsen congratulated me whilst I was sipping a coffee at Gene Cafe, but I had not heard anything official about an award so it took me by surprise. David seemed pretty chipper and I was just waking up. I think it was about 9:00am. After the coffee and the news sank I have to say I feel very lucky and grateful to be a winner at PX3. There are so many good photographers. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world that constantly and effortlessly provides me with inspiration, meaning and a sense of mystery that transcends myself and my time here on earth. The Mythologies series was helped by many along the way and I want to thanx the main culprits now: Amanda Daniel, Lu Kamenov, Ambrose Merrell, Miss Jody, Bobo, Sea Sha, Skippy Skye, Panther, Kyra and the Snuffleupagus.

Below is the artist statement and a link to some of the photos.

“The Mythologies series is an ongoing exploration of motifs found in the coastal areas of British Columbia. What I have added to the photographic process is a way of exploring an inner monologue and personal dimensions not often made visible in the real world. Through the ongoing development and building of these photographs I have discovered the world outside and the world inside share similar aspects and require similar treatments. Those qualities include, solitude, quiet, slow movement, patience, and often return visits to the same places to become familiar with their true depth and meaning”.

Mythologies

PX3 winners – enter here

What’s an actor Headshot Make Over? The makeover session is a complete review of everything about you your look, where you are in your career and where you are going or want to go.  If you are starting out, mid career or a well established artist, we put a complete package together. Age, coloring, emotional range, hair wardrobe, skin consultation, stylized backgrounds, lighting and make up…. Everything is covered to provide a complete and tailored look to take you out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. Here is a breakdown of some of the looks we are going after.

Headshot Makeover

Once you check the full program set up have a look at results below for Actors Mike Barton and Ana Machado.