Brendan Meadows

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Brendan was born and raised in BC and after spending 10 years of his life in Japan, Toronto and the Caribbean he moved back to Vancouver a year ago.

He has worked as a stills photographer on film productions and his main subject matter is people, whether in portrait, fashion or editorial. Brendan has been shooting with our Broncolor equipment since it came through our doors and was amazed by the ease it allows him to control his lighting set ups.

Portfolio: BrendanMeadows.com
Blog: brendanmeadowsphotography.tumblr.com
Twitter: @Lionrind

  

The Interview

Bron: Alright let’s start it off with the basics. Name, hometown, years with camera in hand?
Brendan: Brendan Meadows. Born in Toronto. Grew up Northern BC. Been shooting since 1986.
My first business card said on the back; ‘Making people look good since 1986.” – So young, so naive.

Bron: How did you get your start behind the lens?
Brendan: My parents were both avid light benders. We had a darkroom in the basement, but I think my father built it to mix certain chemicals with ice cubes and to get away from my mother. Who knows?

Bron: Let’s do a few ‘Firsts’.

  • First Camera – Polaroid – 1986 – Princess Diana & Charles came to town en route to open Expo ’86 in Vancouver. The images below have never been seen until today as they were just retrieved from a vault in Victoria.
  • First Car – 1965 VW bus
  • First Photographer You Looked Up To – Nick Knight, but now it’s Nadav Kander. Frank Ockenfels III has been a huge influence and inspiration over the past few years. I switched gears and started to move in a more focused direction both professionally and mentally with his help and guidance. There’s nobody like him and a real photographers photographer. http://www.fwo3.com
  • First Published Photo – VICE Magazine
  • First Paid Shoot – I don’t like to talk about that particular day. A lot of paid work at the beginning was based upon luck. Truly. Getting contact sheets back from the printer and seeing that yes, that did work out….amazing. Then people just kept paying me, again & again. They still are, but that skill set has moved from luck and into a profession. I’m still a believer of getting all the right elements on-set and allowing the day to manifest itself, unless of course it’s client work, but at the beginning you just keep shooting, failing, shooting, and eventually failing better.

Bron: Portraits are what you’re most known for, but do you shoot other stuff in your off time?
Brendan: I do a few community based projects that involve other photographers and concepts.
Drawn to Develop came from my head and a great team – http://www.drawntodevelop.com/wordpress
As did the recent COVET show here in Vancouver – http://covetexhibition.com
I like pushing creativity in colleagues in overly ambitious ways.

Bron: Looking through your photos, you’ve got a solid interaction with the people in front of the lens. What helps you bring out their personalities, or the personality you want to come through for the photo?
Brendan: Years of working with the right people and watching interactions. Chris Gordaneer from Westside Studios in Toronto was a big help in the dept. as he’s amazing with his direction and gauging the subject.

Bron: When did you get started with Broncolor lighting?
Brendan: During my time at Westside Studio.

Bron: What made you keep coming back shoot after shoot?
Brendan: At the beginning there just isn’t money for gear, unless your assisting and it’s available, then forget about it. Even then, I would set up lights and just fill the room aimlessly. Only with proper modifiers and lighting fundamentals can you sculpt the light in your own way. Trying to emulate a light source or reflection outside and bring those idea’s into the studio. As for the gear, it’s like eating at Olive Garden for Italian and then trying Terroni; you just can’t go backwards.

Bron: Favourite tool in the Broncolor lineup?
Brendan: The new Para 88…..WOW!

Bron: Where did the idea for The Butchers series come from?
Brendan: Something that been itching at the back of my head for a while now. I wanted strong actors, no props and great lighting to really accentuate all elements being combined. It came together really well.

Bron: Give us the details on The Butchers shoot. Could you break down the lighting for us?
Brendan: Each scenario had a its own set-up and because of the time frame of the evening, I didn’t want a lot of moving around and rolling of stands in front of the people that showed up to watch the event. The Para 220 with ring flash was an invaluable key to each shoot whether it was broad and low lit for a fill or focused and direct for my key. I used the Para 88 as a key for the brighter of the three and all had the Satellite behind for my highlights.

Bron: Where do you see yourself going with Broncolor in the future? Continuing with The Butchers and is there something new on the horizon?
Brendan: Already in the works for a private commissioned piece that involves a truck full of used tires, an Angela Basset-esque looking model in her 40’s and an old Pan-Am flight attendant gear. That’s all I’m gonna say, but the end piece is being commissioned for an 18 ft mural going up this summer. Stay tuned and golden!

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