Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
I was editing some photos at my desk when I heard some meowing and purring coming from the other room. We don’t own a cat so I knew it had to be our youngest son Alex. His coo’s come out more like purrs, and it’s pretty darn cute. It’s also great to see him wake […]
I’m a bit late on posting this but as I wrote in my last update – things have been hot around here. Last weekend I wanted to have a bit of a get together – just sit around, drink some beers with friends – but I also really wanted and needed to take some new […]
The thought of acquiring more gear is always a positive one, after all, you can up your photographic hierarchy merely by making the purchase – no photographs need be taken. The gear-heads will praise you for what you have, no matter what, so if you appeal to those guys they’ll always compliment you in an […]
Another shot of Quinn – family pics don’t get a lot of play-time in the comments. Maybe y’all are being nice not to critique the photos of my kids but I assure you – they won’t take it personally 😉 Sorry about the site being down for the past week – for those of you […]
I had every intention to spend some time taking out my big lights, doing some fancy setup on a park – exposing for the sun, the ambient light, the clouds, and getting some cool dramatic poses and portraits of whoever I could possibly find. Instead I took care of the kids while Mel gardened – […]
Been a crazy past few weeks, no time to post, barely time to turn on the computer, and even less time to photograph. This is one of the final selects from the shoot I did with Cheetah of The Adopted. I’ve worked with him before, along with guys from the band, here, and they were […]
Probably my last shot of the girls of Rockalily Ottawa. While my primary focus in photography is people and portraits – which usually denotes their face and eyes – I can’t help but notice other assets. For these girls their curves were certainly worth exploring, their comfort with each other and their involvement in the […]
I had recently been spending some time offering advice to fellow photographers. Both solicited and otherwise. This quickly earned me two things, positive and negative feedback, with no room in the middle. I tried my best to keep my comments helpful in the overall development of a frame, assuming that others would want to benefit […]
It’s been a while since I’ve had any good pics of the kids – spending some time this weekend to make sure I do. If you haven’t put in a concerted effort into photographing the folks around who you love, I hope you do the same.
Almost exactly a year ago I entered into a mutual contract with my friend Sterling; I take pictures of him in order to learn my trade, and he have the patience to let me fuck up a few times. This year, we revisited this on the same premise with a single caveat – he now […]
Melissa was another willing victim subject at our Sunday studio session (alliteration win!). I came back from a lunch-meeting just in time to sneak into the shoot-in-progress and capture some portraits of this lovely young lady (7 weeks pregnant too!). If this shots looks really fuzzy it’s because I had a chance to use the […]
Some more Rockalily love. Featured legs compliments of Audrey Hipturn. I’m going to be getting through these images VERY slowly – first – I had a few commercial clients come to the studio this day so their photos come first. Second, I’m busy as hell with some events coming up that I cannot ignore, an […]
Sorry about the overall softness of the image, my AF was obviously tracking due to that dirty mess on camera right. Me and a few like minded photographers rented a local studio on Sunday (Steak & BJ Day) to teach ourselves a bit about lighting an inside space, portraiture, and just sharing ideas and gear. […]
Quinn regarding the outdoors, eager to explore and share. Owen, fiddling and introverted. I think this family if finally rounding the bend. No major illnesses afflicting us, irritability and fighting are at an all time (this year) low – Owen’s having some trouble at school but he’s a pre-teen and if he wasn’t I’d be […]
Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a nasty little bug that fills your kid up with mucous. Which, if they’re young enough, and unable to force the phlegm out on their own, has to be removed by tube and suction. There is no treatment other than oxygen, it’s just one of those things they have to […]
I made a comment on twitter the other day that went something like this “some say you don’t take as many photos of your 2nd child because you’ve done it before with the first, but in reality it’s because the first is so fucking crazy you no longer have the time.” Quinn lost a bit […]
Sorry for the hiatus around here – been a bit busy; this guy decided to come out on Wednesday. Mel’s water broke at about 2am, which sucked because we were both sleeping. We called her mom to come to watch Quinn as we took a cab to the Ottawa Civic Hospital (did you know cabs […]
Me & Quinn giving y’all a once over. Things have been pretty hectic around here this week, so please excuse the dust and lack of posts. I haven’t had time to write anything let alone take pictures. Mel’s due… like, now… so we’re basically sitting here watching to see if her belly pops like a […]
Evan Thornton, Editor at Spacing Ottawa, who also happens to live in Hintonburg booked me to do a portrait shoot with him a few weeks back. This shoot is a great way of showing off why I love portrait photography so much; it was cold – really fucking cold – and I did eventually lose […]
The best days are the days I get to pick up my camera and spend time with my son. Or maybe I meant to pick up my son and spend time with my camera? Either way, today was a good day for that.
I feel like the perception is, that if I don’t post something here, I’m not out taking pictures which, while potentially true, often isn’t. Often I’m shooting client work in Ottawa like, events, portraits, and the occasional wedding; also lots of personal family stuff. I try not to be overly repetitive here either, so posting […]
“Misha was pursuing his childhood dream and playing hockey on a scholarship in New Hampshire when, after a game, Misha collapsed. Rushed to hospital, the doctors soon realized that Misha had a rare form of invasive brain cancer: anaplastic astrocytoma. He soon returned to Ottawa and saw oncologists at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario […]
Andy, Mel’s best Friends father (follow that?). This man treats us with such respect it’s incredible. I mean, Mel’s not his daughter, and I’m certainly not his son in law, but he’s come to our house, re-done our floors, driven us home from his cottage (abandoned at the cottage – I’ll tell you about it […]
