Langley Hospital Exceeds Fundraising Goal

Congratulations to the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation for their more than successful campaign to raise funds for a new ER department and MRI suite at the hospital. Thanks to the hard work of the foundation and the generosity of our community, the $15M goal was exceeded by $2M!
I was more than pleased to have a small role in the campaign by photographing many of the major donors as well as photographing the gala on June 1.
And what a gala it was! Never have I attended such an event where so many aspects were brought together so perfectly. You would never have guessed that the venue normally serves as a sports arena, the decorations and lighting were simply over the top. The entertainment was funny, touching and riveting. And the food for the 400 guests was amazing.
But what struck me most was the very deep level of support for the event by our local Langley people. It was represented by the very generous donations of many families and businesses as well as the diverse array of articles generously donated for the silent and live auctions. As well, the event was well supported by many volunteers.
I have never felt more proud to be a member of the Langley community.
Below are a few photos from the Gala to share the big night with you.


















About the photos …
Event photography like this poses two main challenges: working in low light and dealing with white balance.
I had two strategies that worked well with the first problem. By setting my two cameras to manual mode, choosing an aperture and shutter speed, and then using Auto ISO, I was able to capture well exposed images in an environment with constantly changing light. And it really was constantly changing as coloured spot lights were moving and changing colours continuously. With these settings, my ISO often moved up to 12800 but my cameras handled it well and only a few of the images needed noise reduction afterward. What also helped, especially with the spotlights on the stage, was using spot metering, to get the correct exposure on the speaker’s skin.
While I was roaming the floor, looking for images, I had my flash on the camera and a Gary Fong Lightsphere firmly connected. This worked well to illuminate faces that were cast in shadow or just very low light.
Although the colours of the venue did create challenges in post processing, a simple adjustment of white balance in Lightroom returned more natural skin tones in most pictures easily.
When photographing an event, I work with two cameras, allowing me to quickly change my perspective with my two essential lenses. One is my trusty 24-70 f/2.8 which I use for groups and people closer to me. This one had the flash attached. The other lens is the 70-200 f/2.8 which allows me to capture close ups of people some distance away.
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