Westside Studio is an advertising photography facility in Toronto, Canada. This blog is an outlet for our latest news and imagery.
Over the past few weeks Andrew B. Myers has been grinding out some studio nights working on some new creative images and so to keep things quick, clean, and simple, today’s PHOTOGASM is a fun new collection of images from the mind of Myers.
Baking Soda + Vinegar
All Images © Andrew B. Myers
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Autumn is a time of change. At first it’s subtle – a lack of bare toes and the addition of a light coat – but soon becomes entirely consuming with it’s red and orange leaves and swarms of UGG boots. Some find this change to be a terrible yearly occurrence as it implies that winter is coming; while others (such as myself) are more partial to a higher intake of cold weather, hoodies, and pie. Whatever your preference, fall is here and today we celebrate this, the greatest of seasons, by presenting to you a collection of autumn inspired photos from the Westside.
TGIW kiddos!
All Images © Respective Photographers
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The cluster of offices on the main floor at Westside are inhabited by a ragtag gang of over the wall talkers that includes B Myers, King Reezy, Lady Lam, and myself. I end up being the elephant-eared meat in the sandwich of spaces which gives me unique opportunities to hear one side of a phone call from anyone of these three neighbours. Being the fly on a wall durring the problem solving phone calls of photographers tend to be entertaining.
One of these such times occurred way back on the 14th, when Lady Lam received a last minute phone call from The Grid. She’ll give you the whole story below, but first take a look at her latest cover story images!
Photographer: Vicky Lam
Client: The Grid
Creative Director: Vanessa Wyse
Photo Editor: May Truong
Paper Model Designer: Kyosuke Nishida
Assistant: Alex Beetham
I’m so excited to have shot the cover story for the Grid this week! Available on the streets of Toronto now!
When contributing Grid photo editor, May Truong, contacted me on the Friday afternoon, I was in a bit of a panic. They were looking for a miniature-sized model of a condo and it had to be shot over the weekend. Being a photographer isn’t just about knowing how to work with a camera or lighting, but the ability to solve problems creatively (which often makes my life very exciting!). The challenge was to find a miniature model in time (most shops are closed over the weekend) and to also find one simplified enough that could pass as a condo, but not represent an exact model of an existing condo.
Instead of searching across the city frantically, I decided to enlist the help of the talented Kyosuke Nishida, a graphic designer who has worked on extensive set-designs and environmental displays. We decided that building our own custom condo would be the best solution. After spending our Saturday in silence (designing and cutting paper), we ended up with this charming little condo:
From there, with the addition of miniature trees, and street lamps, the miniature condo was born. Many thanks to Kyosuke for making this happen on such short notice! And also to the team at the Grid for giving me such a fun concept to shoot, check out the whole story over on their site.
Special thanks to Alex Beetham for his assistance and great hand modelling job! While we on the search for the perfect pair of “condo” keys, we came across a large bag at the studio of miscellaneous keys to sort through. Has anyone left behind some keys at Westside over the years? Come claim them from manager Matt, the keeper of the keys.
Just to be clear, Vicky is the most polite person in the world both on the phone and in person. While I may have alluded to otherwise, the most entertaining part of her phone calls that day was her unbridled persistance in solving the miniature condo problem.
All Images © Vicky Lam
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I remember the first time I played ExciteBike for NES I wanted to be a badass dirt-biker and go off sweet jumps. It didn’t pan out. Many years later XBOX 360 launched the arcade game called TRIALS, it was/is hard as hell and made me want to go on the internet and watch people go off sweet jumps. It was awesome. I’m recalling this because of what arrived in my inbox over the weekend from Chris Gordaneer, don’t worry, I’m taking you somewhere.
If you don’t know, motorcycle trials is an insane form of motocross that is about overcoming scored obstacles rather than speed. Prominent elements of trials racing are: the bikes have no seat and the riders have no fear – watch this if you need proof of their pouch size. It seems Chris knows some trial riders, and on a recent trip to the cottage he spent the day with the boys out on the trails putting together todays gas powered creative.
All Images © Chris Gordaneer
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At 10:49am tomorrow it all comes crashing down.
The autumnal equinox is upon us ladies and gentlemen, today is the last day of summer. It’s a tough pill to swallow but we’re sure you’ll survive, even if it does mean having to wear socks again. Don’t fret though, as fortunately for you we’ve got a nice warm photogasm from Matt Barnes to help keep those summer nights alive and well durring the coming cooler days.
Enjoy.
There’s more from Matt’s Endless Summer series over on THE PASSING SHOT. So click and have a great weekend.
All Images © Matt Barnes
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If your a creative type at an agency in Toronto, you may have found yourself a little present on your desk this week, as the Ormerod Soda Company was out on the town dropping off Nikki’s new promo.
Here’s the lady herself to tell you all about her new flavors.
I initially approached the guys over at Breadwinner about designing a cool label for my promotional Soda bottles. They were super stoked to sink their teeth into this project and make it bigger and waaay better than what I had originally planned. They came up with the concept of making ORMEROD, a town in itself which totally fit the style of the photography I shot for this promo. We agreed to add some cool elements to the soda bottle too (if you take a second to read the text on the bottle it’s pretty awesome). Coasters and a website made this idea more interesting and layered so we got Adam from Transmitter Studios on board to design the website and he obviously did an amazing job.
So huge shout out to all the great creatives who made my promo cool as heck. So, with that being said…
Welcome to the burg of Ormerod, please enjoy and have a look around – or in others words –
HEY LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!~N
Nikki’s coasters, which when seen from the animated side, create a nice little landscape of Nikki’s township.
Give the label a click if your interested in learning the nutritional value of a fine fizz such as those made by the OSC.
Now click below and go take a walk through the lovely burg of ORMEROD.
Images © Nikki Ormerod
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Dear friends, family and lovely readers,
This is my last but not least TGIW. But don’t fear, T-Dub will prevail.
I am leaving my Westside nest and jumping on a new train, into a new light, head first.
My time here at Westside Studio has defined my adult life and I am not leaving empty handed. I met my wonderful husband here, have made many friendships that I’m sure will be lifers, and have so many wonderful memories, it actually makes my heart ache.
So to you Westside Studio, thank you for being my home away from home from day one. Thank you for letting me grow with you. Thank you for letting me graffiti your beautiful white walls and throw epic parties, but most of all, thank you for being you.
And to the rest of y’all, keep on keeping on.
xoxox
TGIW
Shelley
- Special Agent
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Centraide is an independent organization that services the greater Montréal area by raising donations from the public which in turn go on to support a web of services that aid more than 500,000 individuals living below the poverty line within the city.
With the location that they service in consideration, it only makes sense that this week the Blog is kicking of the week with Jean Malek and the team at Publicis Montréal. For those who do not parle français the copy on the ads reads, “Donating is uplifting”, and with that we present this latest work from Monsieur Malek.
Photographer: Jean Malek
Client: Centraide of Greater Montréal
Agency: Publicis
Creative Directors: Nicolas Massey & Carl Robichau
Art Director: Bogdan Truta
Copywriter: Mike Aronson
Stylist: Marie-Claude Guay
Hair & Make-up: Catherine Lavoie
Assistant: Sébastien Roussel
Now we view Malek‘s work as the inhabitants of greater Montreal get to!
Images © Jean Malek
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It’s no secret that George Simhoni is a big fan of all things related to travel, photography, and having fun. And when George gets the opportunity to combine all three of these things; well, you might want to get comfy in your chairs because you’re not going to want to miss this.
Before we get into the eye candy, here’s George to tell you about his latest work.
I was excited to hear from Doug Bramah and to be invited to be part of the new Freedom 55 campaign. Doug and I have done some amazing things together in the past and this was going to prove to be one of those rare moments we all creatively live for. An opportunity to be part of the team to put a new face on an existing product and help make it successful.
The strength of a creative and well thought solution to attract potential customers is the ultimate goal for our clients. With bright red pushing this forward and believing in what we are all collectively doing, together we succeeded in producing a wonderful campaign for Freedom 55.
Photographer: George Simhoni
Client: Freedom 55 Financial
Agency: bright red communications inc.
Art Director: Doug Bramah
Copywriter: Kurt Hagan
Digital Imaging: Mark Tyler
Props & Wardrobe: Shea Hurley
Producers: Tom Nesbitt & John Stevancec
Assistants: Gabe Nivera, Abe Roberto, Thomas Dagg, Aric Guite, & Peter Olson.
Expect to see a lot of George’s work over the coming 3 months, as the Tell Us Your Freedom campaign rolls out nation-wide both in print and online. For newsprint and out-of-home spaces you wont find any branding, just a touch of copy and finished with a QR code that brings it’s scanner to further interact with George’s work. Visitors of TellUsYourFreedom.com are asked to choose which ‘Freedom’ suits them best, before getting to pinpoint some of the financial logistics behind getting to wail on the drums while atop a mountain.
With four shots in four locations there was bound to be some behind the scenes, and boy-howdy there’s a bunch for you to enjoy.
As always when it comes to working with George, everyone leaves happy and,
good times were had by all. ~ GS
Images © George Simhoni
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According to PetaPixel, since finding new ownership within social media giant Facebook, Instagram’s daily active users has increased by over 1100%. These daily users include some people from within our very own Westside walls (even Gordaneer!), and so to give thanks to this Wednesday we present a collection of Instagrams from our staff.
Enjoy!
Gabe Nivera George’s Assistant
Jean Malek
All Images © Respective Instagrammers
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