Gull Bay First Nation Microgrid Announcement

I was recently asked by Ontario Power Generation to cover a very important event at the Gull Bay First Nation this past Tuesday. Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek and Ontario Power Generation are working together to develop a microgrid that will use solar, battery storage and grid technology to help reduce diesel use at Gull Bay. It is to be the first fully-integrated solar energy-storage system in a remote community. 

My job was to simply photograph the speeches, the people and the atmosphere at the announcement, and that's exactly what I did. I was accompanied by my good friend and associate Tony McGuire of Theymedia. who was filming the event alongside me. Even though it was pretty cold up there, it was such a great turn out. It was amazing to see so much support. 

After all the speeches were done, there was some homemade bannock and moose meat being served. Then everyone made their way over the community centre for lunch. If you would like to find out more about this development I encourage you to clicking on this link here. 

Canada's 150th Birthday - Thunder Bay Marina

Canada turned 150 yesterday which means I knew I had to go downtown at some point and see some of the festivities and people. The original plan was to go to Old Fort William first and then the marina, but the day just went by so fast that I only made caught the last couple hours of the day. So, with that being said, I tried to get as many photos as I could.

I arrived down at the marina with my friend Stan, for around 8:30. The good thing about that time of day is that the lighting was really nice, which is a always a good thing when taking photos, especially portraits of people. 

There was a lot of people there watching musical performances and dancing, waiting in line for food from all the fantastic vendors and of course everyone else just enjoying the good weather and significance of the day. Its was a photographers' dream as a lot of people were dressed up, wearing face paint, and overall just decked out in Canada themed attire.

I did get some candid photos but I also approached a lot of people and simply asked if I could take their portrait. I think only a few people said 'no', in which case I just said 'thank you', and moved on to the next person. I didn't stay for the fireworks because it had already been a very long day and my main goal was to capture more of the people then the actual fireworks themselves. 

Even though I only had a couple hours to work with, I'm happy with what I was able to capture. I also met and spoke with some very friendly people throughout the night. I'm glad I was able to be a part of Canada's 150th birthday.

Veterans Affairs Announcement

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of photographing an important announcement by Veteran's Affairs Minister Kent Hehr. It took place at Syndicate Avenue Office in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Kent Hehr announced that the Veteran's Affairs Office on Syndicate Avenue would be re-opening as of January 2017.

Many of Thunder Bay Veteran's showed up in full attire and it was great to see such a great turnout. It's always nice being a part of an important cause and this event was no exception. To read more about the announcement please check out the following link.

Teach for Canada Summer Enrichment Program

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure to photograph an event for Teach for Canada. For those of you who don't know, Teach for Canada is a non-profit organization that works with schools in northern First Nations communities to recruit, prepare, and retain committed teachers.

They decided to host a four-week, live-in Summer Enrichment Program at Lakehead University and they asked me to capture the event. I love these types of assignments because it requires me to sit back a bit and watch the action all while picking the moments here and there to capture. Of course, there were some formal portraits, but the majority of the photos were of the soon to be teachers taking in all the information and interacting with one another.

One of the highlights of the of the night was when Nick Sherman, a local musician, played a variety of songs from his new album. He gave a very powerful performance and it was great to see some local talent support this important organization. 

If you would like to learn more about Teach for Canada head on over to their website here.

Canadian Council of Forest Ministers

This past Friday I had the pleasure of photographing the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers at the Best Western Plus Norwester Hotel & Conference Centre. It was an all day event which concluded with a press conference with The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and the Honourable Bill Mauro, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry for the Province of Ontario. 

All in all it was a very informative and productive meeting between all the Ministers throughout Canada. Without knowing much about the topic going in I did come away with a greater understanding of some of the challenges facing Canada and the Forestry Industry.