ning photography :: blog

Filling in for my very talented colleague Daniela Ciuffa, I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a fun event this weekend at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, where Shu Uemura held an event with visiting guest Kakuyasu Uchiide — the international artistic director of the brand, who is world-renowned for his makeup artistry skills and use of bold colours. After the passing of Mr. Shu Uemura himself, Mr. Kakuyasu Uchiide was appointed in his place. Needless to say, well, “he’s kind of a big deal”!

If you haven’t seen Shu Uemura’s products before, they are all very stylish, very colourful, and of course, very Japanese. At this event, Mr. Uchiide held on-stage presentations, and Holt makeup consultants held private appointments. Definitely a fun Saturday afternoon! And of course, you can never go wrong when you are photographing beautiful people. Please check out my pics below:

Bold, crazy lashes at work — so awesome:

Shu Uemura is known for their unique cleansing oils:

Shu Uemura is also known for their award-winning eyelash curler… so it’s no surprise that they have a crazy/awesome line of false eyelashes as well. Here are a few, displayed in their “Tokyo Lash Bar”:

I couldn’t resist snapping this photo on the left — catching Mr. Uchiide sitting beside a giant portrait of himself:

Suzie, one of the wonderful models and Holt Renfrew staff members participating in the day’s event:

Introducing Mr. Uchiide on stage for his first demonstration:

Working with warm tones to create a natural summer look:

All finished! The artist with his masterpiece:

Mr. Uchiide visits clients inbetween presentations, and Holt makeup artists create new looks:

Personally autographing some palette cases:

Gearing up for a second presentation with bright blue hues:

Gah, she’s gorgeous! Also helps to have flawless skin, be 6’1″ in heels, and 19… oh, and a Ford model:

Taking a quick glance at herself in the mirror at the Shu Uemura counter area:

Beauty stations all booked up with appointments:

Mr. Uchiide himself, lending his creative eye to some customers:

Super warm and friendly, very polite and offering excellent advice:

Mr. Uchiide with a handful of Holt’s talented makeup artistry team:

On one of the few sunny days so far in Vancouver, I had the pleasure of photographing an event at the new Kimpton development in North Vancouver for the Virani group. I always enjoy photographing for them, and everyone there is always very friendly, professional, and fun to work with. They also have some of the most prestigious property listings in Vancouver, and rock at what they do. As for this new Kimpton development, I’d be happy just living in the display unit!

You can check out their site here: www.thevlist.com

And, the lovely catering was provided by Edgeceptional: www.edgecatering.ca

I also was able to sneak in a couple of updated headshots for their site: