From the category archives:

Portrait photography

Another great shoot celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, this time we visited the lobby of the Hotel MacDonald to photograph the French horn players of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

You can see more from this shoot in the “ESO 60 at the Hotel MacDonald” gallery.

French horn players in the Hotel MacDonald photographed by Douglas Dollars

French horn players in the Hotel MacDonald photographed by Douglas Dollars

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Broderyck (Broddy) Olson photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Broderyck (Broddy) Olson photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Broddy Olson, violinist and concertmaster for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is our latest subject in the series of entries about the fine folks of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

You can see more of this shoot in the gallery.

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Violinists at the Rutherford House photographed by Douglas Dollars

Violinists at the Rutherford House photographed by Douglas Dollars

Another great shoot celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, this time with some of the amazing violinists of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. We set up in the library of the University of Alberta’s Rutherford House, and its warm atmosphere and rich wood were right at home with the violins.

You can see more from this shoot in the “ESO 60 at the Rutherford House” gallery.

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Edmonton portrait photographer Douglas Dollars captured Edmonton Symphony Orchestra cellists in the Muttart Conservatory

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra cellists in the Muttart Conservatory

Continuing our theme of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra popping up in Edmonton landmarks, today’s shoot had the amazing cellists of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in the arid room of the Muttart Conservatory. I hope the dry air is good for the cellos!

You can see more of the Muttart cello adventure in the gallery.

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Horn-playing pirates invade the Santa Maria in West Edmonton Mall, photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars

Horn-playing pirates invade the Santa Maria in West Edmonton Mall, photographed by Edmonton portrait photographer Douglas Dollars

Arrrrr! These horn-playing pirates from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra invaded West Edmonton Mall’s ship, the Santa Maria for this fun nautical-themed portrait shoot. There were peg legs, bandanas, mean faces …and a lot of fun.

Our gallery contains more of their pirate adventure.

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Percussion on the Highlevel Bridge photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars

Percussion on the Highlevel Bridge photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars

Photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars I was joined in the sun and snow today by three members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and ESO conductor Lucas Waldin. Riley the dog also kept us company with a bit of snow frisbee. Check out the playing the bridge and snow and skiing fun galleries.

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The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s great double bass group were our latest models, this time the venue was our own Edmonton City Hall. The weather outside was chilly, and Christmas decorations remained up well beyond the New Year, but this fine group of people are what made the shot work.

Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars shot the Double Bass group at City Hall

Edmonton City Hall with the symphony's double bass group photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Check out more from our fun Edmonton Symphony Orchestra 60th season series in the portrait gallery.

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This is another in a series of entries about the fine folks of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and to create portraits.

Scott Whetham photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Scott Whetham photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Scott Whetham is the principal tuba player of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and has been with the ESO since 1984, and appears on fifteen of the orchestra’s recordings!

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Paul and Melissa are a couple that clearly get along well, have a lot of fun, and wanted to express it. For this shoot they brought their new puppy Masuka over and wanted to have some photos made and processed to emulate well-known movie posters. The puppy’s indecision over whether to behave, pose, sit, or walk around made the shoot a little less predictable, and provided laughs for everyone. I’d never done a movie poster photo shoot before, but the whole session was a lot of fun.

Paul Gonzales and Melissa Lam photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA

Sleepless in Edmonton movie poster photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Paul Gonzales and Melissa Lam photographed by Edmonton Portrait Photographer Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA

Along Came Melissa movie poster photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

We created six different movie themes and the entire shoot was completed in under two hours. If you want to see more of this great couple, or such quite-familiar films as “Sleepless in Edmonton” and “Masuka and Me,” visit the Paul and Melissa Movie Poster photo gallery.

As we like to remind folks, we’re a small Edmonton portrait photography studio. If you’d like to get your portraits taken, get a holiday photograph made before snow arrives in Edmonton, or have any questions, get in touch with us!

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Who is this smiling woman? It’s Ronda Metszies, cellist for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra! Our third subject in the series of entries about the fine folks of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Ronda Metszies photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Ronda Metszies photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

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This is our second in a series of entries about the fine folks of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and to take portraits with in their native habitat …the Winspear Centre here in Edmonton Alberta.

Bill Eddins photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Bill Eddins photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Bill Eddins is the Music Director and oftentimes Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and 2010/11 is his fifth season. Bill keeps the audience attentive and always seems to enjoy the show the ESO is performing.

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This is the first in a series of entries about the fine folks of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and to take portraits with in their native habitat …the Winspear Centre here in Edmonton Alberta.

Lucas Waldin, Resident Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Lucas Waldin photographed by RAD GRANDPA / Douglas Dollars

Lucas Waldin is the Resident Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and 2010/11 is his second season. Lucas is a very funny fellow and it was difficult for people on either end of the camera to keep from joking around or pretending to be too-serious when he was around. If you’ve been to a performance with Lucase Waldin, you’ll know that classical music is hardly a thing for the stodgy.

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Another season begins at the Walterdale Playhouse and my photography for them continues for the fourth year in a row. The first play of the 2010 – 2011 season is Perfect Pie by Judith Thompson, with the cast of Michele Vance Hehir, Nicole Lemay, Holly Cinnamon and Stephanie Wigston.

Edmonton Portrait Photographer - Douglas Dollars - RAD GRANDPA - Stephanie Wigston and Holly Cinnamon

In photo: Stephanie Wigston and Holly Cinnamon / Portrait photography by RAD GRANDPA

This evening’s photos include a lot of great set lighting and color fills. See more of the productions actresses in the Perfect Pie gallery.

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Laura (Elle-Vie) photographed by Edmonton portrait photographer Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA

Model: Elle-Vie, Makeup: Kelly Ible, Photography: Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA

Laura (Elle Vie) is the latest Edmonton model we’ve had the pleasure of photographing, and our setting was the Edmonton river valley during a great autumn evening. Her light complexion almost glowed against the dark red leaves and her pose ideas made the shoot a snap. You can see more of Elle Vie’s model photography shoot in our gallery. [click to see more…]

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Robert Zschuppe photographed by Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA

Robert Zschuppe photographed by Douglas Dollars / RAD GRANDPA


Robert is the first client to take us up on our Social network portrait package, and it was good fun having him in-studio, talking about the neighborhood, and recording his upbeat personality. Being familiar with the Whyte Avenue / Queen Alexandra neighborhood and hearing Robert’s impressions of the area reassured me that we’ve chosen well to set up shop here and that it really is something special being in this part of Edmonton. With the leaves beginning to fall, and Autumn on its way, there’s something special in the air.

We also created a black and white version of the social network photo of Robert for his gallery. Check it out if you’re interested, or to see a larger version of the photo below.

Our brand new 85mm f/1.2 lens arrived the afternoon I was preparing for Robert’s shoot, and I like the results. The lens is considered by Canon to be their “definitive portraiture lens” and is absolutely one of the best portraiture lenses I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. The lens is known for its smooth transitions between focus areas and its fantastic color reproduction, and I can attest that it absolutely lives up to our expectations. All portraits through to the end of 2010 will be using this new lens, with no increase in our rates or portrait and wedding package pricing. I’m looking forward to seeing the results, and I think you’ll like them as well.

As we like to remind folks, we’re a small Edmonton portrait photography studio. If you’d like to get your portraits taken, have your event photographed for media, or have any questions, get in touch with us!

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