Blog
2013 Contessa Hairstylist Awards
This past weekend my wife Alina and I hoped a plan at YVR, headed for Canada’s most prestigious hairsylist awards, The Contessas, held each year in Toronto, Ontario. This was my first time attending the awards so I was very excited to meet so many of the people that I’ve gotten to know via the internet and seeing their work in Salon Magazine. The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel down town Toronto and upon pulling up to the entrance it was more than apparent that this was going to be a great evening. This year I shot 13 collections for stylists in and around Vancouver, after the finalist announcements came in some 3 months after shooting, 7 of the collections I shot made finalist for Contessa 24, including; Canadian Stylist of the Year – Alina Friesen of A Michael Levine Salon Group, BC Hairstylist of the Year – Alina Friesen, Avant Garde Hairstylist of the Year – Alina Friesen, Salon Team of the Year – A Michael Levine Salon Group, Salon Team of the Year – The Cutting Room, Canadian Colourist of the Year – Amber Turcotte of A Michael Levine Salon Group, Student/Apprentice of the Year – Nathalie Litynsky of A Michael Levine Salon Group.
After a delicious dinner and drinks, the show began with awards being handed out to Canada’s most talented hairstylists, mixed with presentations from Schwarzkopf Professional, Sebastian and Redken, and a wonderful ode to the late Vidal Sasson. The galas MC, Bill Rowley kept the show energetic and never too serious (as hairstylist are known to be…).
As we approached the end of the event, the big awards were handed out, notably Elite Master of the Year to Edwin Johnston of The Cutting Room, Session Hairstylist of the Year to Timothy Switzer of Timothy & Co Salon, Master Colourist to Michelle Pargee of Milica Salon and lastly my insanely talented wife, Alina Friesen, at the tender age of 24, accepted the Canadian Hairstylist of the Year award. After a very heartfelt speech Alina and I joined the rest of the stylists at Brassaii for the after party to bask in the glory of this wonderful evening, then… 5 hours later back on a plane headed back to Vancouver.
Special thank you to Laura Dunphy. Melissa Hill and the entire team from Salon Magazine that worked so hard to put on such an incredible evening and a huge congratulations to all the entrants, semi-finalists, finalists and winners from Contessa 24.
Don’t forget to visit the Hair section on my site to see the rest of the collections I shot this year.
2o13 Contessa Awards Canadian Hairstylist of the Year Collection by Alina Friesen
Hairvolution 2012 in Richmond, BC
I was lucky enough a couple weeks ago to attend the Hairvolution event in Richmond, B.C. featuring Creative Stylists from Goldwell, KMS California and Arrojo. Here are some images I captured backstage, the likes of Nick Arrojo, Edwin Johnston and Michelle Pargee let me sneak around and shoot their amazing work.
iPhone street photography
In this day and age I think it’s harder and harder for photographers to capture street images that aren’t forced” or influenced by the presence of a camera. It’s for this reason that I love shooting with my iPhone, I’m able to walk down the street with it in my hand and shoot from the hip without eliciting reactions from people because of a huge DSLR camera in my hand. Here are some images I captured on a short walk down East Hastings Street in Vancouver. These images are meant to “shock” or pass judgement, just a record of images and emotions I saw on the street.
Victorian Era Inspired Hair by Award Winning Hairstylist Alina Friesen
Here is a collection I shot for Award winning hairstylist, Alina Friesen. The images were inspired by Victorian period stuffy portraiture, and juxtaposed by the bondage wardrobe and ethereal pastel hair colour.
Hairstyling: Alina Friesen, Wardrobe: Wendy Cook, MUA: Jena Jacquot-Boisvenu, Models: Brittany, Kyla and Annika.
Lensbaby Composer Pro and Edge 80 Optic a dream come true
About 2 weeks ago I received my Lensbaby Composer Pro, Sweet 35 Optic and the brand new Edge 80 Optic. And to say I was excited to get them onto my 5D mark ii would be a horrendous understatement. I’ve been following the lenses and optics from Lenbaby for quite a few years, but never dropped in and purchased, but then came along the all new Edge 80 Optic and I was intrigued. A majority of my work is of beauty and fashion and the Edge 80 optic looked so damn cool, I had to have one and planned a specific shoot ( Red Spring, series) just for the arrival of this lens. Having only 1 night to mess around before the shoot, I was pretty unsure what exactly would happen on the day of the shoot and thought I’d leave it up to providence.
Lensbaby Composer Pro Lens with the Edge 80 Optic and the Sweet 35 Optic
