Sandy Nicholson, Author at Sandy Nicholson Photography

Bird Vision / Human Vision with live birds

Birds see a wider spectrum of light than humans can , Birds can see UV light, because their lenses and other ocular media transmit UV light. They have special photoreceptors that vary by species and are sensitive to deep violet and UV light.

How do birds detect ultraviolet (UV) light? The human retina has three kinds of cone cells (receptors used for color vision): red, green and blue. By contrast, birds have four kinds, including one that’s specifically sensitive to UV wavelengths. There’s also another difference: In birds, each cone cell contains a tiny drop of colored oil that human cells lack. The oil drop functions much like a filter on a camera lens. The result is that birds not only see UV light, they are much better than humans at detecting differences between two similar colors.

We have worked out how to photograph live moving squawking animals with our “Bridvision” set up. We are shooting with two cameras at the same instant so we have matching / overlaying files. One camera see the spectrum a bird sees the other the human vision

Keel-billed toucans have zygodactyl feet (or feet with toes 2 and 3 facing forwards, and toes 1 and 4 facing backwards) – two toes face forward and two face back. Because toucans spend a large portion of time in the trees, this helps the birds to stay on the branches of the trees and jump from one branch to another.

Thanks so much to @ravengalleryto for the space to work in keeping and and Hands-on exotics for great models

McCain Holiday Part 2

I love love. Most of all I love to work people who love each other. We are often asked to photograph couples and great moments with friends. So we cast real best friends and lovers for these rolls when McCain’s needed a bunch of besties to hang out and chill with fries. We worked with Milo Casting and found a bunch of real best friends, Storm & Daniel and Taehyun & Nick…. then spent a day hanging out with them as they giggled and trash talked each other every which way….

Thank you to the awesome McCain team – Matt, Nita and Liza for making it all happen…

Girls-E-Mentorship

We worked with the Team at The Local Collective to rebrand and launch Girls-E-Mentorship in Toronto

GEM’s mission is “When girls know their power, they can live their purpose. We believe that women mentoring girls is essential in fostering the success of the next generation, and critical to creating gender equity in Canada. Young women with socioeconomic barriers face a proven disadvantage in their future prosperity. GEM was founded in 2012 from a vision that all young women should have the opportunity to succeed despite where they’ve come from or what barriers they’ve faced.”

We had a very tight budget, which often leads to some of the most creative solutions, shot in one day at in the studio / office of @localeverything. The talent were all mentees and mentors that are part of the Girls-E-Mentorship program.

Retouching was provided by The Gas Company

And the amazing team from The Local Collective – Omar Morson, Vallerie Traitses, Kaitlin Doherty who made it all happen!

Building body confidence in sports

What we learnt: A staggering 45% of teenage girls are quitting sports – and body dissatisfaction is the #1 reason why.

Dove campaigns only feature real women, not models, showcasing diverse ages, sizes, ethnicities, and styles, emphasizing beauty for everyone – following Dove’s lead, we worked on keeping the look authentic while focusing on the message of strength and confidence.

We wanted the shots to be inspiring and hopeful as the girls stared bravely into the camera and feel like the end of day, an after school practice.

We were super happy to work with the team from Ogilvy and of course the amaaazing FUZE Reps who made it all happen!

Discover more about the body confidence programs by Nike x Dove

Katherine Bond-Debicki breathes new life into KFC brand strategyonline.ca

We shot the images for a great story in www.strategyonline.ca about Katherine Bond-Debicki leadership working with the team @courage taking on and shaking up KFCs marketing from a dusty old brand to a cheeky fast moving fresh brand that pulls pranks and has a sense of humor. They also sold a-lot more meals and grew the brand while having a stack of fun. https://strategyonline.ca/2024/01/08/katherine-bond-debicki-breathes-new-life-into-kfc-brand/

McCain’s Holiday

It’s the holiday cooking season so its food time online!

We are super proud of this shoot. We worked with the team at Mccains who need to show the new McCain Medleys and classic McCain Fries in action with real families.

With the help form Milo Casting we found the Maharaja family – three generations living together in Brampton, Ontario.

The Maharaja family were so lovely letting us in to shoot in their house, with Dada and Dadi – MJ and Ila, the grand parents stealing the show. Along with Pooja, Hardik, and their two kids

Beyond just welcoming, the family was thrilled to be part of their very first photoshoot. Playful neighbours joked about being part of a Bollywood north set, with our production trucks parked outside.

The photoshoot was a delight; the family needed no guidance to act – they were authentically themselves.

Our aim? Capturing shared laughter, simple moments, and creating authentic images that make McCain a part of your daily life. For us, it was a celebration of ordinary beauty, the joy of gathering, and the delightful quirks of family life.

And, of course, we ended up the day sitting in the living room with a cup of Chai, lovingly brewed by Grandma 🙂 and served in fine tea cups.

#McCainMoments #AuthenticLiving #DocumentaryStyle #RealConnections

KFC’s, #betterwithkfc troll truck

Hey there fellow people, I’ve got a story that will make you cluck with laughter! Recently, I had the privilege of photographing one of the funniest fast food pranks I’ve ever seen – the KFC prank on McDonald’s with the Chicken Big Mac. And let me tell you, it was a real barn burner.

The prank itself was simple yet genius. KFC parked their food truck right outside a McDonald’s location, and on the side of the truck, they had a gigantic screen displaying an even more gigantic Chicken Big Mac sandwich. It was like a food truck and a billboard had a delicious love child.

In the end, I got some amazing photos and videos of the prank, and KFC’s marketing team was thrilled with the results. And hey, I got to sample a Chicken Big Mac for myself, so it was a win-win situation.

So, if you ever get the chance to photograph a fast food prank, I highly recommend it. Just be prepared for some wacky reactions, lots of laughs, and a serious craving for fried chicken. And if you see a food truck parked outside of McDonald’s with a giant chicken sandwich on the screen, be sure to stop by and say hello – it’ll be an experience you won’t soon forget.

and….here’s my prank to you, this post was brought to by ChatGBT!

Sapling & Flint in Six Nations of the Grand River Territory With Owner’s, Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant

In November we were super honoured and excited to work with the owners of Sapling & Flint, Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant. Twins, creators and business owners.

We were commissioned to make an image library for Meta with production by Shutterstock, showing how Sapling & Flint use Instagram e-commerce tools with their nearly twenty thousand followers.

Despite their rapidly growing virtual presence, Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant are proud to keep their operation local. Located in Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant have a studio and store where they create, “conversation pieces that share the story of Turtle Island.” Using gold, authentic wampum & sterling silver, Sapling & Flint creates jewelry that is rooted in powerful stories, meanings and messages across varying collections.

Our shoot had a small and nimble crew to shoot quickly and cover all the aspects of the business. While our clients joined via Zoom to art direct from three other time zones, we started off in the studio space where shooting Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant hand making the jewelry. We then moved locations to the Sapling & Flint store where they have a gallery shop and photo studio.

Sapling & Flint are fiercely independent, growing globally while remaining equally as frequented in their own community. They design & make jewelry, shoot their own content, make films, run the store, package & ship while also being active community members and all this happens before their children get home after school. Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant have full creative agency without having to engage in reselling or letting go of their brand.

We were super grateful to have spent the day with Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant. Watching their creative process from beginning to end made us all a little envious. Their ability to make amazing sought after jewelry from scratch, operate locally & online all while being mothers was inspiring.

Thank you Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant & Yonenyà:kenht Jesse Brant for welcoming us to your community.

To learn more about Sapling & Flint or browse their beautiful jewelry visit them at https://www.saplingandflint.ca/

5 Things the Awesome Kids at Holland Bloorview Taught Us While They Made the New Campaign, Imagine Everybody

We had an ambitious shoot day with a tight budget. 5 hero still shots and 5 animated stories in one day.

When we were planning and executing our shoot, we committed our production to Universal Design and learned 5 awesome things from the kids @Holland Bloorview;

1. Everything is always consent based. This includes touching somebody’s wheelchair. It is an extension of their body.

Ask before you jump in and feel inclined to touch people or their things. The same goes for crew equipment, my camera and talent’s wardrobe. A great way to approach someone on set can start with “ Hey can I ……”. It keeps the vibe respectful, positive and fun!

2. Many photo studios call themselves accessible but aren’t fully….

Toronto hosts over one hundred studios, out of which ONE !!!, met our accessibility parameters. Lots of the others had partly accessible locations although they missed key elements that make them fully accessible. 1/100 is very bad.

3. Accessible washrooms don’t just need big doors. They require handles, grips, sink accessibility and better motorized doors, touch sensors.

Accessible washrooms are always a must for our talent and even better for our crew living in a covid world. Doors, sinks and toilets that operate with sensors and no touch benefit our entire team.

4. Cable wells and cable mats are nearly impossible to navigate a wheelchair over. They are not accessible and require us to think outside the box.

We didn’t want cable wells creating roadblocks. Instead, we ran power cables in the lighting grid.

This meant our talent could move quickly around set and so could our digital station and set makers! This was also great when it came to getting our props and talent to set quickly.

5. Having a parking loading area away from traffic but close to the studio was essential for our talent to arrive in style and comfort.

This also is great for our grip and lighting truck to unload the equipment quickly and happily!