Public Portrait Project

Brackley Beach, PEI print now up at Starbucks Dartmouth

2010-02-06T10:06:00.002-04:00

The print is back from Atlantic Photo Supply and they did an amazing job. The skin tones look really great. I was up at 6am on a Saturday to get there before they opened so I could hang it. It will be up for a week or two before I move both the Nova Scotia and PEI prints to PEI.

Facebook fan Page

2010-02-06T09:59:00.002-04:00

Still getting the Facebook page setup, it's just an easier way to watch the project as I take it across the country and display prints. Check it out here

Second Print going to Starbucks/Chapters in Dartmouth

2010-01-23T14:23:00.002-04:00

The test print can back from the lab on friday and I just had a few color adjustments to make. The changes have been made and it's going to the lab on Monday to be printed. I spoke to Starbucks in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia today and they gave me the go ahead to hang the PEI print. The second print location is great (photo above) because it is right beside where people lineup to order. I hope to have it up the first week of February and will hang there until the 13th then it is goes to PEI. I will be doing some PR work with the prints to get geared up for the summer. So I need to have both print near by until that is done. Still looking for a place in PEI to hang both prints but I should have an up date on that over the next couple weeks.

Canvas print is at the lab

2010-01-21T09:42:00.002-04:00

I just finished building the digital file that will be used to create the final large canvas print. It takes a couple days to get the layout right and make sure that the white is true white. I am now just waiting on a proof print to review the skin tones before the large print is made. These images were taken over two days and each day was about 10 hours long. There is a wide range of exposers and color to all the images. As a large print the skin tones will become a dominate factor in the feel of the print. It's important to take my time printing and review each photo so that skin tones are as true as I can get them. Too pink or too yellow and it be distracting to look at.

Images from PEI are in the mail well your email.

2010-01-14T10:15:00.003-04:00

Check your email inbox or junk box. I have started to send out the final edited files, day one has been sent. You will get an email like the one above, click the link inside. You will be taken to a page where you login and download the high res files.
I learned a big lesson on my PEI trip, "Have people type their email addresses". Reading hand written email addresses takes too long. One of my main goals with PEI was to test the studio setup outside of where I live. When I am done this summer I will have photographed a couple thousand people. Tracking emails, names and images is key to not pulling my hair out. I have purchased a netbook and I am testing ways to collect and track this information on location. Thanks again to everyone that took part in PEI. I am currently setting up a separate web site for this project. I am making good progress in getting things ready to travel across Canada this summer.

Day one is PEI was great.

2009-07-31T20:42:00.002-03:00

Started the day off right with a big thing of blueberry pancakes, which are really great at this place. I was at the Brackley Beach at 9:30 am and wrapped up around 6:00 pm. I am blogging on this blog and my main blog I will post some picture and a video tomorrow on my main blog be sure to stop back. I will be resting Saturday getting ready for day 2 on sunday.

Long drive to PEI

2009-07-30T20:24:00.002-03:00

It was a really long drive to PEI in the rain. I didn't get out of Halifax until 10:00 am and I got to Brackley beach around 4:00 pm to scout out the location. Things are good for friday morning at 9:30 am for a setup time. They are calling for a very hot day which would be great and get a lot of people out to the beach.

Count down to Prince Edward Island

2009-07-26T10:21:00.002-03:00

It has been a very busy summer so far, I had originally planned to travel to PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland this summer. My schedule just will not let that happen so I can only get to PEI for now. Things came together the fastest for the PEI trip and now it just a few days away. The plan is to setup at Brackley Beach for two days with my outdoor studio setup. Parks Canada PEI have been very helpful with getting me the go ahead quickly. They also seem very open to the project and want to make sure it goes smoothly which is great. I have talked to William F. White about the gear, everything looks good. My van is in to get an once over so I don't run into any trouble on the road. Copies of model releases, flyers, and signage will be printed this week. Now I just hope the weather is good to get people out to the beach.

Putting together a team.

2009-06-08T19:59:00.002-03:00

I am planning to travel to NB and PEI to do my Public Portrait Project this summer. I have been putting together a plan for the past few months. Right now I am finding locations to setup in and putting together a team of about 3 other people to help me with the project. Looks like we will be on the road for 2 weeks and will do 2 days in each spot of PPP and the other days will be a mix of other images. Should be a good time.

Now on display in Starbucks/Chapters

2009-05-15T10:04:00.002-03:00

The Public Portrait Project is now on display in the Starbucks/Chapters in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Last chance to see final print this week.

2009-04-11T10:51:00.002-03:00

Just a quick update, I will be taking down the canvas print this week. I'm not sure which day yet but I would think it would be later in the week, maybe around the 16th or 17th of April. I am in talks to have it displayed one last time in another location in Halifax. I enjoyed doing this project so much that I am planning to do it again this summer in NFLD and PEI. I will update this page with the progress of these trips.

Print now on public display plus contest details

2009-03-13T11:50:00.006-03:00

I received the go ahead Monday from lululemon to display my Public Portrait Project print. It worked out great that they are located so close to where the photos were taken. It is located on the side window of lululemon's Halifax, Spring Garden Road location. Now as an extra twist I am offering people a chance to have there portrait taken and be part of my next project. Post a comment on this blog and I will select a name, increase your chances by forwarding this blog to your friends via facebook or twitter and have them comment and reference your name. Here are all the rules....

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Portrait contest details.

Visit this blog and post a comment under this post.

Contest closes April 30th 2009 and the winner will be announced on May 3rd.

Increase your chances of winning by forwarding the blog link via twitter and facebook and have your friends post a comment and reference your name.

Must be in Halifax or planning to visit halifax within the next 6 months to claim your prize.

Behind the scenes video

2009-02-22T12:12:00.002-04:00

Public Portrait Project from Dean Casavechia on Vimeo.

Just a short clip of me during the portrait project. Thanks again to Andrew Chow for the video clips. We just used the video mode on my point and shoot camera but it's not too bad.

Almost ready to show

2009-02-21T17:08:00.005-04:00

I finished the layout and it turned out to be very large as a final print. I wanted it to be on canvas so I wouldn't need to frame it. Jones House, which is a high end retouching and printing company in Toronto, was able to make a 60 inch wide print. Plus they gave me a great price and made some sharpening adjustments for me. It's now back and sitting in a tube while the stretcher is being made. It's an uncommon size so I had to wait to get the print back before having the stretcher made. Someone is going to stretch the canvas for me because I don't feel like learning about what not to do on such a costly print. I tracked down a painter who makes and stretches large canvases all the time and it should be ready to hang next week, I can't wait.

About the Public Portrait Project

2009-02-21T15:47:00.004-04:00

In the end I photographed over 200 people over two days, a week day and a weekend. The weather was great both days I really got lucky with the sun and the number of people that agreed to be photographed. Each person I photographed signed a release and I sent them a copy of their photo. It was difficult to keep track of all the forms as people came and went but I managed to sort it out and in the end everyone ended up with a digital copy of the photo. Packing up all of the gear at the end of the day was an exhausting endeavor but I had such a good time and met lots of really nice people in the process.

Things got really busy in the following months and finding time to edit all the photos was hard. My goal was always to display the images as a collective piece and display it at a location along Spring Garden Road. Laying the images out in a grid was harder then I thought it would be because I wanted to display one shot of everyone that I photographed. In order to do this I had to calculate it just right to make sure that I had enough images. My first layout ended up being way to small but the second time I got it right. The final print is about 5 feet wide and about 4 feet high, which had to be send away to be printed on canvas.

Thanks to Marvin Moore and Andrew Chow for the photos of me working.