Event/Opening | Keri Coles Photography

Exhibit A

April 29th, 2011

What a great show it was. I feel so fortunate to have connected with all these amazingly talented women photographers for the Exhibit A gallery show. The turnout to the opening was incredible; the gallery was packed from the moment we opened the doors right up until the end. The day that I sat the gallery, it was pretty quiet which allowed me to take a few photos and have some fun ;)

The series that I did for this show is called “Modern Portraits of a Heritage Town”. I created abstract art by incorporating movement into my shooting while photographing locations around Victoria, BC.

The movement in the pieces is all done in camera with very little post-processing work.

A big thank you to Georgie Wilson for putting this show together, Verbena Floral Design for the gorgeous flowers, The Community Arts Council for the gallery space, the talented photographers involved in the show (look at the end of this post for a list of all the brilliant ladies), and most importantly, my family and friends for your unwavering support and love. xoxo

Next photo taken by Georgie. Thanks, Georgie!!

Check out the fabulous photographers that were involved with this show:

Andrea Kucherawy
Ashley Ohtsijah Hall
Georgie Wilson
Jenna Shouldice
Jesse Holland
Kelsey Goodwin
Lana Robertson
Laura Taylor
Marisa Savegnago
Nancy Brown
Rachelle Polsom
Ryan Macdonald
Saskia Bjornson

The show would not have been hung nearly as perfectly if Lana Winnichyn didn’t help ;)

Tags: Community Arts Council, Exhibit A, keri coles, Lana Winnichyn, Verbena Floral Design
Posted in BC Artisan, Event/Opening, keri coles, photographer, Victoria BC | No Comments »

Morning at the Track.

February 13th, 2011

I was in Vancouver on Tuesday and thought I’d stop by the track to say hi to a friend and to get some shots of the horses as training begins. Some of the horses were pretty wild getting back out there! I can’t wait to go back in April when the races start. So much fun! I really miss working with horses. It was nice to be around them again, even if it was watching them from afar ;)

Tags: BC, Hastings Race Track, Horse Racing, photographer, photography, Vancouver
Posted in Event/Opening, keri coles, Photo shoot | No Comments »

Organic Islands Festival

July 18th, 2010

It was a fabulous weekend at Organic Islands Festival. There are always lots of great vendors that support and inspire sustainability. The reason I love the festival the most is the incredible speakers that come to share their wealth of knowledge.

Percy Schmeiser was the highlight for me at the Festival in 2008. His story is one to know. He is fighting a battle on our behalf. A battle that’s final outcome will not directly effect his life, but it will effect ours. He is devoting his time, money, life energy and integrity to protect our right to save seeds and our right to know whether we are consuming GMO or not. This may not sound like a pressing matter to many of our generation that purchase their groceries at the store and are disconnected from the growing process, but to people who have spent their lives growing and improving food (naturally) this is an issue second to none. It is a very polarized issue and which ever side of the fence you sit on it is impossible to not appreciate the courage, fortitude and strength of this exceptional man.

Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent. Let’s chat about the festival THIS year ;)

This year, the gold star went to Carolyn Herriot from The Garden Path. Carolyn is a local advocate for food self-sufficiency, seed saving, and organic gardening. At the festival, she was having a book launch for her new book, The Zero Mile Diet. She is such an inspirational speaker and another person that I feel has our back when we don’t even realize we need it.

Another sweet surprise for me was seeing The Malahat Revue for the first time. They were fabulous and, come on, how do you not love a band that tours by bike ;)

Tags: deb morse, organic islands festival, photography, Victoria BC
Posted in Event/Opening, Inspiration, keri coles, Victoria BC, Victoria Musicians | No Comments »

Fibre Fest – Victoria, BC – Keri Coles Photography

July 7th, 2010

As some of you know, I have happened into a whole bunch of yarn. By bunch, I mean POUNDS. It all began innocently enough when I made a cowl last winter. I loved making it and it was something that I could do while hanging out with my wee one (like many, the moment I became a mom I developed a compulsion to multitask). People kept making comments about how much they loved the cowls so I starting thinking about selling them. I wasn’t super happy with the yarn I was finding around town so I jumped at the chance to buy some Fair Trade yarn at wholesale from a friend that just got back from Uruguay (enter first 20 pounds). The yarn is from Manos del Uruguay and is luscious and beautiful. I made a couple of cowls from the yarn and, while they were gorgeous, they didn’t have the exact look I was going for. I was looking for a chunkier wool. So in typical Keri fashion, I dove in. I tracked down some alpacas, went to shearing day (photos to come in another post), loaded up on fibre, and took it over to the Gulf Islands’ Spinning Mill so they could spin it into exactly what I wanted. Some people may say I have a problem ;)

So now I have copious amounts of both Manos del Uruguay yarn and the fabulous Salt Spring softspun yarn. I am cowling to my heart’s content. I went to the Victoria Fibre Fest recently and had a table set up to sell some of my extra yarn. The last few photos in the gallery below (starting at the wooden buttons) are what I had for sale at the event. It was a great day full of fibery goodness.

Tags: fibre fest, gulf islands spinning mill, keri coles, manos del uruguay, salt spring softspun, Victoria BC
Posted in Event/Opening, keri coles, photographer, Victoria BC | No Comments »

Jon & Roy – Victoria BC Musician Photo Gallery – Keri Coles Photography

July 7th, 2010

I went down and photographed Jon & Roy’s CD Release Party show for their new album “Homes“. The MacPherson Playhouse was packed and the show rocked the house. Everyone was on their feet at the end of the show begging for more. Vince Vaccaro and Mother Mother opened for Jon & Roy. I gotta say…those three bands in one show make Keri a very happy girl ;)

Tags: homes cd release, jon and roy, keri coles, macpherson playhouse, Mother Mother, music, Victoria BC, vince vaccaro
Posted in Event/Opening, keri coles, Photo shoot, photographer, Victoria BC, Victoria Musicians | No Comments »

Ani Difranco

November 1st, 2009

Ani Difranco came to town and played a fantastic show on Wednesday. She is such a brilliant musician, but more than that, she is a brilliant woman. I’ve listened to her music for close to a decade now and she always manages to stay relevant. She’s a strong social and political activist who is not afraid to step out of the crowd to stand up for what she believes in. My only complaint about the show was that because it was at the Royal Theatre everyone was seated and unable to dance. Ani is a high-energy, passionate performer and it is REALLY hard not to dance when she’s ripping up the stage! Check out more about Ani here.

Here are some of my images from the night:

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Tags: Ani Difranco, keri coles, Royal Theatre, victoria bc photographer
Posted in Event/Opening, keri coles, Photo shoot, Victoria Musicians | 2 Comments »

Rifflandia- Day 2

September 26th, 2009

After last night’s incredible shows it was hard to imagine how tonight could keep up. I needn’t of worried. I started at the Alix Goolden Hall to catch Tegan and Sara. I have heard a lot of their music played on the Zone but I haven’t been following them beyond that. Their set tonight sure convinced me to pay a little more attention in the future. They were brilliant to see live as their stage banter was just as entertaining as their music. Sibling rivalry and quick wit had the audience roaring with laughter pretty much the whole time they were kibitzing between songs. They played some new material which was really well received. Their songs have an accessibility and relatibility to them, channelling emotions and experiences through lyrics that help fans to work through their own baggage. A sort of linguistic therapy. I understand now why the line-up to see them was wrapped all the way around the venue when I arrived. There were quite a few heart-broken fans that didn’t make it in to the packed venue (more on that later).

When Tegan & Sara’s set was done I headed down to Market Square to catch Mother Mother. When I got down there there was a huge line waiting to get in and Market Square was at capacity. The security guy on the gate said nobody else was going to get in and this made a lot of people very unhappy. Especially those that had come down after not making it in to see Tegan & Sara. They did eventually let more people in when some left after the earlier shows ended but a few disgruntled folks had already left talking of demanding their money back. This is one of those make or break situations where it all comes down to how a negative situation is handled by the “offenders”, where respect is either eliminated or elevated. Rifflandia came through with flying colours. They did a number of things that not only relieved the tension in the disappointed folks that didn’t make it in tonight, but they proved that they are in this for the love of music and the promotion of musical talent for everyone’s benefit. First, they explained the situation. Second, they apologized. Third, they discussed the concept of the festival in order to manage expectations and to explain how to make sure you make it in to see your top choice. In order to improve the experience for Rifflandia goers they are going to tweet regular updates on what venues still have space, they added another venue for tomorrow night with a whole other line-up and on top of all that…this is big…wait for it…TWO more Mother Mother shows (on Sunday night)!

Do you hear that noise? That’s me applauding Rifflandia’s awesomeness. In the moment of crisis true character is revealed and while this was hardly a crisis, it certainly showed the character of those impressive folks behind the Rifflandia name. So to them, I tip my hat.

O.k so back to the musical adventures. I got into Market Square at the end of The Dudes set. Mother Mother came on right after and did not disappoint. Ever since I saw them at Jon & Roy’s Christmas show I have been looking forward to seeing them again. They rock it on stage and Ryan Guldemond nails it with his vocals. This is definitely a band to watch…they are going places fast. Kudos to them as well for signing up for two more shows on Sunday night!

Yet another incredible night. Here are some photos:

Tags: Mother Mother, Rifflandabrau, Rifflandia, Tegan and Sara, The Dudes
Posted in Event/Opening, keri coles, Photo of the Day, Photo shoot, Victoria, Victoria Musicians | No Comments »

Rifflandia-Day1

September 25th, 2009

Victoria is oozing with musical talent at the moment, thanks to Rifflandia! www.rifflandia.com

I totally adore watching people do what they are passionate about. There is something so magical about capturing a person in their element. You realize how much work and love and time they have dedicated to it and they just glow with greatness. They look that way to me anyway.

Tonight involved me thinking that I had seen the wickedest band time and time again. What I mean by that is”wow, what an awesome band! I have to tell everyone about them! oh no wait, this is my favorite band! Damn, I just jumped the gun again because THIS is my favorite band!”. The reason for this mentality is that the shows were SO diverse! They were all amazing in their own ways.

I started the night at Alix Goolden Hall and arrived near the end of Christopher Smith‘s set. That was poor timing on my part for as soon as I walked in I wished I had been there for his whole show. His sweet tunes melted me in my seat. Timber Timbre came on next and I was smitten from the first note. Taylor Kirk, the lead singer/guitarist, has a mysterious and velvety voice that reminded me a lot of Leonard Cohen. Then he pairs that with REALLY REALLY cool sounds from his guitar, his violinist and his keyboardist. One song sounded like we were in a field at dusk surrounded by crickets and night critters (o.k so my analogy may not sound appealing but trust me…it was fabulous!). It is so hard to explain but so very great to hear . I’ve never heard anything like it. Final Fantasy was supposed to play next but they had a medical emergency so it was canceled.

From there I went to the Metro Theatre. I came in at the beginning of Sam Bradley‘s set. So, I don’t know what it is with me and event shooting but something embarrassing always seems to happen (ask me sometime about David Suzuki scolding me!). Tonight’s embarrassment comes thanks to Sam. So I’m casually shooting away as Sam is belting it out and his note stops just as I’m taking a picture. “CLICK”. I don’t think the audience heard the click but Sam did. He thought it was beautifully timed. So beautifully timed that he insisted I do it again. He repeated his line. I repeated my awkwardly timed “CLICK”. He went on to ask me what I’m doing tomorrow. So, you may be thinking, aww that sounds sort of sweet. Sweet, my friends, belongs in coffee shops. We were in front of a large captive audience. MORTIFYING is closer to the truth. But on with the show…Basia Bulat came on next. You couldn’t help but enjoy yourself listening to her music and watching her perform. She alternated between guitar, piano and autoharp all while doing vocals. It was cool seeing an autoharp in action.

From there I went down to Market Square where Shad was taking the stage. I have to admit it took a few minutes to adjust from the folksy, bluesy state I had been lulled into to the high energy Hip-Hop experience that Shad brought to the table. He got the crowd going though and I was soon to follow. This is when I really started to appreciate what Rifflandia is doing. Four nights jammed packed full of incredible shows with hugely diverse sounds and here is where the brilliant part comes in…one wristband. So people end up going to shows and listening to music that they wouldn’t necessarily have thought to go to otherwise. Because of the calibre of musicians Rifflandia has brought in, people are hooked. Horizons are broadened. Oh what a beautiful thing. The night ended with Champion. DJ Champion was not only DJing but he was also acting as the conductor for 4 guitarists and a bassist to create super danceable beats. The energy in the place was awesome. It was like a cherry on top of the best dessert ever. What a night! I’ll leave you with some images.