Caramel Salon Cut-A-Thon for the Vancouver Food Bank

Here's a short video I made of the Cut-A-Thon at Caramel Salon in Vancouver.

The Cut-A-Thon is an annual fundraiser for the Vancouver Food Bank, where all proceeds  from the salon go to the Food Bank, a more then worthy cause.

A big thanks to the wonderful crew at Caramel Salon.

Caramel Salon Cut-A-Thon from Kale Friesen on Vimeo.

Corporate Portraiture

Portrait I did for Mr. Scott Miller

Tao Salon and Caramel Salon Working Portraits

The following is a series of working portraits of stylists at  Tao Salon and Caramel Salon  in Vancouver  BC.The challenge here was to produce images that were beautiful enough to show off the salons and their stylists but also show them in the salon working with clients. Pretty excited with how they all turned out so check out some samples.

Photographer Joel Fraser

Friday night in Greenwood in Seattle photographer and good friend Joel Fraser showed some prints in his show titled "Born of Roma Blood, Sometimes I go places".  The show, a little tickling of images from Joel's extensive travels around the globe, contained images from Europe and Asia that showcased Joel's sensitive eye for  composition and character.

Joel was the one person who inspired me to pick up a camera and introduced me to the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Magnum Agency, for that I'm for ever in dudes debt.

Go check out Joel's work at www.joelfraser.com

Brittany and Tony McKechnie

Some images from my dearest of friends Brittany and Tony Mckechnie's wedding.
It was an honor to have been part of their day.

My girl

I'm proud of you Love.

YES - Heart of the Sunrise

Absolute favorite YES track ever. 


Thanks for the reminder Zorb.


YES- Heart of the Sunrise

Stylist Alina Sulaiman

Some photos I took of hairstylist Alina Sulaiman on the job.
Alina is a finalist in the Newcomer of the year category for the
Canadian Hairdressing Awards in November.

The Sea and Cake and Broken Social Scene at the Commodore Ballroom

I had the pleasure to see a couple bands I'd always wondered about listening to but never
really made it happen. As I've probably said one hundred times I left the show with a new
respect for both acts that took the stage at the Commodore last Wednesday night.

This is going to be a mega post cause, well cause I feel like I got a lot of images I was more than
happy with.

Thanks to Reid Stewart for getting me in to see these two great bands.

Fragility #2

                               Model: Chelsea Rea

Absolut Vancouver Project Fall of 2009

Here is a link to a video about my contribution to the Absolut Vancouver
campaign last fall.

My finished piece was a four paneled light box. In each
panel were several images taken in and around Vancouver specifically for
this project. The light box was lit from the inside and the lights were triggered
by motion sensors I rigged and flush mounted on the panels, the idea was to
give the viewer a unique way of viewing the images but also incorporate technology
to allow it to be energy efficient.

Click here to view the video

La Strada

Images from a recent trip back to Saskatchewan this summer.

"The city is sinful. The road is a holy place."

Car, Western Development Museum, Moose Jaw Saskatchewan

Vancouver Hair Academy Images

Some images that I shot for the Vancouver Hair Academy. The graduating students were to
chose a model, create a cut or style and do a photo shoot, it was fun for me to work with people
that are totally new to working on a shoot, being able to guide people and open their mind
to the creative possibilities of their field is always rewarding.

Battle at Hastings Vancouver BC

Voici some images I took at The Battle of Hastings skateboarding competition in Vancouver BC at the legendary Hastings Skate park. The contest was put together by Kevin Kelly aka Stoke Radmore of Boulevard Skateshop on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, big high five to Kevin and all the sponsors for putting on an amazing event.

I'm still working on collecting the names of the participants so for now the shredders shall remain anonymous
(except for the one skater I recognized, I feel outta the loop)

                                           Rob Boyce

The World is B&W

Wedding: Ashley and Ivan at 3rd Beach

Due to the simplicity and setting for Ashley and Ivan's wedding I knew it would be fun, they chose 3rd beach at  Stanley Park in Vancouver as there location for their ceremony. We had a great time walking in the woods and enjoying the nature and had the ceremony ankle deep in warm sand on the beach. Below are the images of the moments of that day.

la tristesse

Concept: Kale JF and Alina Sulaiman.
Hair and styling: Alina Sulaiman
Clothing: Natalia Tokarski
Make-up: Jena Jacquot-Boisvenu
Models: Brittany Simpson, Kelsey Harker and Kimberly-Rae Churchill
Photography and editing: Kale JF

Model: Kelsey Harker

obscured

True beauty is a combination of aesthetic and personality, at first we are taken by the sheer
pleasure of looking at such a beautiful person,  after some time we are swept away by a second wave, when we begin to learn all about them, how their mind charms our heart and soul and their body enslaves our senses and nerves. No one is more important than the other, they must exist in harmony.

Becoming

I think I've finally began to come into my style, I love cold contrasty images,
hard light that defines and cuts the curves and natural shapes of the body. 
The lightness is empty of emotion, therefore I reach for the dark.

Deerhoof and Fond of Tigers at the Commodore Ballroom Vancouver

Home towners Fond of Tigers opened the show and the crowd soon warmed up to them as they showed a technical prowess and experimental wizardry that couldn't have been more poignant considering who they were opening for. You can check out Fond of Tigers at http://www.fondoftigers.com/news/

What can one say about Deerhoof that could make a person understand how radically awesome they really are, minimalist, quirky, bizarre, rhythmic, cool, these are adjectives you'd probably use. If you don't or haven't ever listened to Deerhoof get your head out of your ass and pick up some albums,
you can check them out at http://deerhoof.killrockstars.com/

As a photographer you like to think you are pretty free to shoot what you want so long as it's respectful of others, but those days are pretty much gone. Everyone thinks your out to make a buck off of them, hell even homeless people have started hitting me up for cash to pose for photos, so it's no surprise that I got the attention of security at the Commodore rather quickly(Canon 5D m2 and a 50mm lens WTF). I managed to sneak in as many frames as possible but missed most of the good stuff due to the bald headed picture police, and here is the result from my super sneaky photo taking, bon appetit.

Fond of Tigers 

Reality is too real sometimes

We are born free, freedom is not a state of mind, it's a state of physical being.

To Be Someone Else

We've all wondered it before, what it would be like, if just for a minute to be someone else,
not to say we are not happy with who we are, it's more the voyeur that I think
exists in all of us, the curious child wanting to know always just a little more. In the world we live in all of us use our clothing and adornments to express ourselves and separate ourselves from the other, not always so successfully. Take a minute to try something different in your life, part your hair on the other side, wear a hat you've never worn, speak a language you've never spoken, perhaps you will find yourself acting like someone else, if just for a minute.

Car Free Day on Commercial Drive at Boulevard Skateshop

The best part of Car Free Day in Vancouver is the crowd, any gathering of more than 10 people turns into a protest/love in/skate session/freakfest, so I decided to head over to Commercial Drive last weekend, eat some BBQ and shoot photos, here are some pictures I made during the afternoon.

Skateboard madness:
Kevin Kelly the proprietor of Boulevard Skate Shop on Commercial Drive made his contribution to Car Free Day by putting up a ledge and blast ramp so that anyone with wheels underneath them(some without) could perform tricks and just generally cause a little chaos during the day. It never ceases to amaze that the bravest spectators are usually those holding a small child or fragile objects in hand, the seemed to feel like they must be as close to "the action" as possible, if anything you get some spectacular close calls.

Free Life Center at Lifetime Collective

This last Friday I had the pleasure of meeting the two guys behind The Free Life Center
at the Lifetime headquarters, Mark Warren Jacques and Seth Neefus . Mark and Seth
made their 3rd stop in Vancouver on a West Coast tour where in each new location they
are putting together an art shack that houses Mark and Seth's art work but also serves as
an intimate space for a musical performance.

Reid Stewart of Lifetime Clothing/Collective hosted Mark and Seth's "art shack" on the roof top deck at Lifetime headquarters, we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and a calm warm evening where Vancouver band Adelaide performed in open air in the "backyard" of Free Life Center shack, and Mark and Seth finished the evening off performing by candle light inside the art shack.

For more information on the Free Life Center visit www.freelifecenter.com

Here are some photos I took just after it was constructed the night before the show and some photos from the evening of.

 the shack

No Sun City

The weather:
Living on the West Coast of Canada we are all more than accustomed to the bad
weather, each winter we all curse the rain, and you can see the toll it takes on
everyone mentally and physically. The fact is that we aren't even sure that we'll have
the sun we all crave come summer as we've been known to have a couple weeks of
good weather then back to the drizzle and dark. These images capture for me the
feeling of this weather, and the effect it has on us all.

Portraits for Lifetime Clothing/Collective

Portraits taken at the various ateliers of Lifetime Collective collaborators from left to right;
Elise Beneteau: clothing designer, Tyler Lepore: owner of Super Champion, bicycle shop,
Ken Diamond: leather goods creator and Sophie Alden: of Lisbeth Jewellery.
The portraits are traditionally posed, and are taken

Chateau Miranda. Une etude. Noir et Blanc 2008

This is a collection of never viewed photographs taken in the Spring of 2008 at the Chateau Miranda in Belgium. These photos represent my first encounter with shooting abandoned spaces and was the launching point of my love and fascination with photography. I have chosen to "develop" the images in B&W for two reasons; to draw attention to the lines and textures found in the space; to remove the emotional element presented by color in images.

Caribou at The Rickshaw in Vancouver

Last Saturday May 29th myself and a hell of a lot of other good people went to the Caribou concert at The Rickshaw in Vancouver. Having seen them one other time a couple years ago
when they where touring on the Andorra album(which was brilliant), I knew this show would be one to not miss.

Here are some images I managed to squeeze in during the show.

Us

This is the first video I made, was a little gift for Alina.

For Alina from Kale Friesen on Vimeo.

Japandroids at Lifetime Friday April 30th

Quite honestly I had heard quite a lot about Japandroids over the last couple years but just didn't take the time to check out their music, as it turns out I go to a lot of shows where this is the situation, call me lazy or living in my own musical bubble but once in a while I am pleasantly surprised at what I hear, this was one of those cases. I was lucky enough to talk to to Dave and Brian before the show and found them to be two good humans, I could tell that they are genuinely in it for the music and the good times. After a long stint of touring and playing a blitzing amount of shows at SXSW they showed up in Vancouver to a packed house at the Lifetime headquarters and played their hearts out. To say people went crazy would be an understatement, monitor towers were tipping, front rowers were getting crushed, cymbal and mic stands were toppling, all the kids got what they asked for, a real rock show. Any ways here are a couple photos I managed to squeeze in whilst at the show.

Cop Style Fashion Show

My girlfriend Alina was asked to do the hair for a fashion show at a new shop on Granville called Cop Style.
TJ and I decided to go along for the free candy and awkward coversation. Bon voici les photos.

Sorcerers escape from East Van

For the first time in Sorcerers history they traded in their plaid shirts for wet suits and headed to Tofino BC to play a show at the Maquinna Pub or as it used to be known by the locals "The Dirty Mac", yeah it's that rad. The following images are of the skate, skim, surf and rocking and rolling that ensued. Special thanks to the show organizer and mega rad host of the crew Shawn Lennon and his girlfriend Nathalie Maiello. Tofino is beautiful and I hope to go there again real soon, you should go there too.

 Horseshoe Bay

Randy Van Eyk and Tuesday Sunrise

Took a walk down to Kits beach last night to check out the several boats that had beached

during the last big storm. As I was shooting photos of the boat Tuesday Sunrise my girlfriend

and I got into talking to one of the boat owners Randy Van Eyk, that happened to be there digging and waiting for high tide to get his vessel back out to sea. Randy told us about the struggle people like

himself have in trying to live aboard their boats, preferring a life at sea these "liveaboards" as they are

called by police are people that have chosen a different lifestyle than the rest of us, and unfortunately

they are punished for it. We heard many stories of sailors being kicked from one port to another and the hardship of families that are trying to legitimately live this life on the sea. 

It's not uncommon for accidents, and even death for the people that live on their boats, as was the case last year when a man who was kicked out of harbour died in a storm as he floated out in open waters off of Gibsons landing. We asked if Randy would let us take his picture and in exchange he asked that I give some background on his own history as a boater which began in 1982 when he left land to live permanently aboard Tuesday Sunrise. 

The strangest thing to me is that we have people living aboard their vessels and the laws we've created and the actions we take against them have made them homeless by beaching them on land. 

This situation serves as proof that no matter what you can't hide from homelessness, not even inside your own home. 

Randy Van Eyk on Tuesday Sunrise at Kits beach

Lullabye Arkestra and Pierced Arrows at The Biltmore

Went out with Reid last night to check out a couple bands at The Biltmore, the openers were Lullabye Arkestra out of Toronto, never heard this two piece dynamite duo before but they definitely blew everyone's mind that was in attendance, as a drummer myself I love to see a guy breaking cymbal stand and smashing sticks, really putting his everything into it. On base Kat can melt the hardest of metal hearts, her tone and playing speaks for itself, I'm sure the Gods of Metal are smiling down on this duo.

The closers of the evening were a band by the name of Pierced Arrows, honestly upon hearing about this band I went to have a listen on their site and was not impressed in the least, run of the mill crusty rockers was the feeling I was left with after listening, but after meeting these legends in their own right and hearing how hard they still shred changed my mind in an instant.  Even though this was the final show of a 39 day tour they still played a full set and managed a jam with Lullabye Arkestra and a 2 song encore to screaming fans, unbelievable.  These guys will always have a special place in my musical heart after this evening.

Interview with Lullabye Arkestra on Vice Magazine website with some of my photos

http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/2010/04/07/lullabye-arkestra-miss-peep-and-mayor/

Lullabye Arkestra

1st Birthdays

1 is a very important age. Glad I got to spend my day with you on yours Priya.

Love Uncle Kale

On Love

"Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.
 And he raised his head and looked upon
the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said: 

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to
him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north winds lay waste the garden.

excerpt from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet

Photo Essay: Lynn Canyon

Took a drive up to Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver with Alina on Sunday. The natural landscapes at our fingertips never cease to amaze me. My own mortality is something that has been heavy on my mind as of late, and coming to this place I felt a calm come over my mind and body. The water that flowed through these rivers and off the waterfalls had done so over and over for time unknown, it evaporates into the air, forms in clouds rains down upon these mountains, trickles, pours and gushes down from the peaks, and the cycle begins anew.

1st image by Alina

The Weakerthans at Live City Vancouver

First time seeing these guys play and they were so great, good to see such

nice guys making nice music. They played a 3 song encore to a more than

wanting crowd, all this even after they just returned from touring in Australia,

what true gents.

Saturday night

Couple photos from my walk downtown on a Saturday evening.
Will post some photos from The Weakerthans show as well.

Robyn and Matts Wedding

Here are some photos I took at a wedding last summer. This was my first time doing a wedding shoot so I was a little stressed but it turned out quite well. Always glad to capture happy moments for people.

Red is the color of desire/Green is the color of envy

Sorcerers at the Red Gate

Here's a couple photos from the Sorcerers show at The Red Gate. 

Taken way after my bedtime. 

 http://www.myspace.com/sorcerersdub

 

Some old photos

Some of my first photos when I began shooting in 2006 in Paris.

View from Montmartre

 

Chateau de Versailles

 

 Galerie LaFayette

The Group Show Masik Studio Vancouver

Images from The Group Show opening night at Masik Studio in Vancouver BC

on Friday February 19th 2010, featuring 10 prints from my Nulle Part series. 

 

 Nulle Part by Kale JF

The Album Leaf and Hal Willner's Neil Young Project

The Album Leaf 

The Rickshaw Vancouver BC

Recent work for Lifetime and Super Champion Bike Shop

Lifetime Clothing Pop Up Shop in Gastown 

www.lifetimecollective.com