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Ottawa Event Photographer – A Gaggle of Galas

Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - CIRAif with Byron Holland

I’ve been a professional event photographer longer than I’ve been a professional at just about anything else. It started off as “Hey, you have a camera, take some photos at this fundraising gala.” To full fledged official event photographer status for a number of corporations and not-for-profits in Toronto and Ottawa. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority, a fantastic client based in Ottawa, brought me in to cover their Internet Forum from a new venue at the Museum of Nature (as seen above).

CIRAif

The Canadian Museum of Nature recently underwent extensive renovations and has a number of rooms and facilities outfitted for events and weddings. This was my first time working in this particular space and, like so many, it presented its challenges.

Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Museum of Nature for CIRAif

The room is a half-circle and surrounded by windows. Natural light that changes over the day will force a photographer to always pay attention to the exposure as it becomes dynamic (as opposed to constant in a controlled lit room). Though it was a nice change to actually be in a room with windows that bring the mood in the room up from those that are in dark and cavernous spaces.
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Museum of Nature for CIRAif
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Museum of Nature for CIRAif

GTEC Honouree Reception

Ottawa’s new Convention Centre boasts a lovely all-glass exterior that allows natural light to flood the building. The challenge is that almost every event is set up to present the sweeping glass vista as a feature view of Ottawa, which results in event photographers shooting directly into the sun…
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Ottawa Convention Centre for GTEC

…Which is cool and, while I’m posting a lot of sun-flare photos in this post, it’s not something I want to overwhelm my clients event imagery. It’s a neat-trick, but no way to document everything that happens. This particular event, photographed for GTEC, recognized public servants honoured for their distinct and important contributions to their field. While it’s best to keep the liquor out of photos for this kind of event, sometimes people can’t help but show they’re having a good time.

Ottawa Event Photographer - Ottawa Convention Centre - GTEC
Ottawa Event Photographer - Ottawa Convention Centre - GTEC Honouree Reception
Ottawa Event Photographer - Justin Van Leeuwen - GTEC Honouree Reception

GOHBA Gala

I was a contributing sponsor to the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association Housing Design Awards Gala earlier this month, which also took place at the Ottawa Convention Centre. The gala took place during the evening, where the very smart event planners maxed out their lighting allowance to create a beautiful colour palate of oranges, blues and purples that made a large room, that would be tricky to photograph with camera-flash alone, clear as day.

Ottawa Event Photographer - Ottawa Convention Centre - GOHBA Housing Design Awards Gala
Ottawa Event Photographer - Ottawa Convention Centre - GOHBA Housing Design Awards Gala

It was also a pleasure to be in front of Roy of RND Construction and John Donkin, Architect, as they won the award for Green Custom Home of the Year (which I wrote about a few weeks ago).

Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - GOHBA Housing Design Awards - Roy Nandram & John Donkin
Ottawa Event Photographer - GOHBA HDA Gala 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre
Ottawa-Event-Photographer-Justin-Van-Leeuwen-GOHBAHDA14-381
Ottawa Event Photographer - GOHBA HDA Gala 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre
Ottawa Event Photographer - GOHBA HDA Gala 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre
Ottawa Event Photographer - GOHBA HDA Gala 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre
Ottawa Event Photographer - GOHBA HDA Gala 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre

You can also see the full set of GOHBA HDA Gala photos here.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Sometimes you get a call to photograph an event on relatively short notice, you show up, and it turns out you’re photographing the president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, at the Chateau Laurier.
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Canadian Chamber of Commerce - Park Geun-hye
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Chateau Laurier
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Chateau Laurier for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
That’s part of the fun of living and being a photographer in Ottawa. You may have access to dignitaries and important political figures you probably wouldn’t run into on a daily basis in another city of this size.

Standards Council of Canada

The National Arts Centre is a visually striking venue, that’s pleasing to the eye, but what a pain to photograph in. The ceilings in many of the event rooms are high and dark – meaning a bounced flash off the ceiling is not very effective – and in some spots, a sudden flood of natural light can completely throw off the balance of the subjects in the room. It’s definitely a place to constantly be checking your exposure to make sure everything is looking good and balanced.

Ottawa Event Photographer - Standards Council of Canada at the National Arts Centre

Not all events are created equal and this was a relatively small location with not a lot of room for me to move. The space itself did provide enough creative angles for me to play with photographs of the speakers and attendees alike. But, as is the case with so many of these events, a simple photograph of happy people holding their award is often the most precious take-away of the day.

Ottawa Event Photographer - Standards Council of Canada at the National Arts Centre
Ottawa Event Photographer - Standards Council of Canada at the National Arts Centre
Ottawa Event Photographer - Standards Council of Canada at the National Arts Centre

Habitat for Humanity

The Canadian War Museum is full of military artifacts, housed in an incredible hangar-like facade with ceilings at oblique angles ,and spotlights that are farther away than any other venue I’ve mentioned above. It’s a photographers nightmare, but darn if it’s not a pretty location to hold a gala.

Ottawa Event Photographer for Habitat for Humanity NCR 2014 Gala at the Canadian War Museum

Dark and vacuous – that’s what you can expect from photos taken here. The light falls off into nothingness, so it’s important to expose the camera and flash properly for the subjects you’re focused on. The stage is lit from far enough away that the light hits the presenters faces pretty hard, but it’s almost completely black behind them (this is the inverse square law at work for those interested in photography, light, and physics). Lianne Laing of CTV was the MC for the evening, with a bevy of talent from Peter Voith (live bands will always trump pre-recorded music), to Ottawa Cocktails.

Ottawa Event Photographer - Habitat for Humanity NCR at the Canadian War Museum - Lianne Laing
Ottawa Event Photographer - Habitat for Humanity NCR at the Canadian War Museum - Peter Voith
Ottawa Event Photographer - Habitat for Humanity NCR at the Canadian War Museum - Ottawa Cocktails

Henry Burris, QB for the Ottawa Redblacks, also made a fantastic appearance helping to auction off some season tickets in support of Habitat and, like any good gala, there was some great dancing to be had after the more formal program came to a close.
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Habitat For Humanity Gala - Kevin Glenn
Ottawa Event Photographer Justin Van Leeuwen - Habitat for Humanity at the Canadian War Museum

You can check out the entire Habitat for Humanity NCR “Steel Toes and Stilettos” Gala event set here.

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