Diyah Pera Photography

Working on films can expose you to places and situations that you may never find yourself in otherwise.  I had the privilege of being the still photographer on "Charlie St. Cloud".  There is a lot of sailing in the storyline which meant I spent a lot of time trying to stabilize myself in a boat and shoot photos at the same time.  It sounds quite pleasant being out there in the sun and sea, shooting photos of hunky Zac Efron but it is was not easy.  I was lucky to find a spot in the "camera boat" while we shot the action in a boat holding the actors beside us.  Most of the time I was shooting with my Nikon 70 to 200 zoom lens while our boat was moving and rocking.   I tried to root myself by standing with my legs wide and holding the lens steady and shooting the actors who were also in a boat that was moving and rocking.  Putting a camera on a monopod would only make the camera jerk more.  Then I often had to look out of the corner of my eye to duc...

 Many times when I have traveled to countries where people are not as financially fortunate as the people in my home country of Canada, I have felt compelled to photograph the contrast of wealth.  But what really strikes me is when I can find joy and love amongst the lacking.  This image was taken underneath an overpass in Rio De Janeiro where a group of 8 kids made their home.  I had been in Rio for a few weeks exploring the dynamic city.  I met locals who took me to places off the beaten path and went to an amazing party in a favela!  I shot this photograph while I was waiting for a bus leaving Rio to explore other parts of Brazil.  One of my local friends had escorted me and we were wasting time near the bus station when we met these enthusiastic kids underneath the overpass. They wanted me to take their photo and they were smiling and striking poses.  After a little socializing over the lunch we had given them, I found out that we were standi...

When photographing a baby, most parents want you to capture a moment when their sweet child at his/her best, meaning sleeping, smiling and just generally being calm.  Sounds easy right? This is a photo of the lovely Sophia looking like she is as calm as a mini Buddha in her mother's arms.    Most babies have a very short time limit of patience so usually the best photo happens within the first few minutes of shooting.  I wanted her to be as naked as the day she was born so we had to lose the diaper which of course opened up a whole realm of possibilities.  Soon, little Sophia was doing her best impression of a fountain.  Good thing my back drop was paper and all I had to do was cut off the newly slightly damp piece of paper.  I am not sure mom was as easily made dry though.       I had this idea that I wanted it to look like she was floating in a black back ground so I asked the parents to wear black.  Babies have such lovely pudg...

This photo is the most used image for the advertising of the feature film that recently came out, "The Age of Adeline".  It was wonderful to work on this period film for the costumes and hairstyles and locations were stunning.   Blake was the star of the production and I was interested in meeting  her again as I worked with her when she was just 16 on the film, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants".  Now all grown up and beautiful as ever,  I had another 2 months of filming to find the most flattering light and angles to bring out the best in her. This close up  was actually taken not only on the first day of filming, but the first scene!  I arrived to the location at the top of the Hotel Vancouver and got my gear all prepped; then squeezed my way into the small office we were filming in; said hello to some crew members I had worked with on previous productions and took my first few frames which are what you see below. I chose a long lens at a foca...

Hello readers, pardon my absence last week but I have been on a motorcycle road trip and I have come back with photos and stories.  I have a group of friends who love going on road trips with enduro motorcycles which are made for highway and off road driving.   We all happen to be riding BMW's with cases loaded with our camping gear as we love to rough it.  Our final furthest away destination was the painted hills in Oregon where the desert landscape explodes in colours.  I would love to tell you about the town of Mitchel that is cut off from the rest of the world with some pretty interesting characters living in it, or I could tell the story of how my partner harassed a rattle snake but for now I am just going to discuss photographing the hills.   I have never been a fan of getting up early in the morning, but more than once I have let myself down by showing up to photograph a landscape during the evening magic hour, only to find the the geographical feature b...