ONWA Poetry Night
As part of their work to address violence against Indigenous Women and Girls, the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) hosted Poetry Nights at their chapters and offices across the province of Ontario this past Monday, November 25th in support of the United Nations International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women orangetheworld campaign. It was an evening of spoken word and live music from local artists. I was there to capture the evening and I am so thankful I was invited to be part of such an important event.
As part of their work to address violence against Indigenous Women and Girls, the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) hosted Poetry Nights at their chapters and offices across the province of Ontario this past Monday, November 25th in support of the United Nations International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women orangetheworld campaign. It was an evening of spoken word and live music from local artists. I was there to capture the evening and I am so thankful I was invited to be part of such an important event.
To learn more, please visit ONWA’s site here.
The Walleye - November 2017 Cover
A few weeks ago I was asked by The Walleye to photograph their cover photo for November. I obviously jumped at the chance and couldn't wait to do so. In the past I have done lots of freelance photography for their paper so it was kind of a no brainer. Plus, the subject matter was very cool in that it was a spotlight on 3 singer-songwriters in the Thunder Bay music scene. The 3 women were Elle Kay, Tiina Flank and Arley Hughes. I'm pretty sure I had seen them perform in the past, but I had never had the chance to actually meet them one on one.
A few weeks ago I was asked by The Walleye to photograph their cover photo for November. I obviously jumped at the chance and couldn't wait to do so. In the past I have done lots of freelance photography for their paper so it was kind of a no brainer. Plus, the subject matter was very cool in that it was a spotlight on 3 singer-songwriters in the Thunder Bay music scene. The 3 women were Elle Kay, Tiina Flank and Arley Hughes. I'm pretty sure I had seen them perform in the past, but I had never had the chance to actually meet them one on one.
The shoot took place at The Foundry which is one of the best places in town for live entertainment so it was only fitting that we did it there. All in all, I only had about 1 hour to work with, so as soon as I arrived in the morning, I quickly set up and rearranged some things on the stage. Once we were good to go, it was pretty quick from that point forward. I made sure to capture some individual shots of each performer but the main focus was a group photo that would be featured on the cover.
The photo you see as the header is exactly the one The Walleye used for the cover photo. It happened to be one of my favourites too. I love photographing the music scene here in Thunder Bay and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with The Walleye and three talented women musicians.
Remembrance Day - Waverly Park - 2015
It has been a long long time since I have been able to be a part of Remembrance Day here in Thunder Bay. I was either living abroad or simply too busy to make it down. This year I made sure to see the ceremony over at Waverly Park. I also decided to take some photos since this is something I have been wanting to do for a long long time. I arrived at around 10:10 and there were already a lot of people there. As soon as I arrived I made my way through the crowd and into the area around the monument. From there, I spent the next 1.5 hours photographing the people involved in this special day.
It has been a long long time since I have been able to be a part of Remembrance Day here in Thunder Bay. I was either living abroad or simply too busy to make it down. This year I made sure to see the ceremony over at Waverly Park. I also decided to take some photos since this is something I have been wanting to do for a long long time. I arrived at around 10:10 and there were already a lot of people there. As soon as I arrived I made my way through the crowd and into the area around the monument. From there, I spent the next 1.5 hours photographing the people involved in this special day.
An event like this is similar to a wedding in that you need to know when it's ok to take photos and when it is ok to just blend into the background and go unnoticed. Luckily I have years of practice so it wasn't a problem at all. I decided to just bring my Nikon D610 and 70-200mm. That combo allowed me to stay back but also zoom into the action. I also brought my Fuji X-T1 with the 16mm. I was able to capture some really good wide angle photos with that combo. It really put just how many people were there into perspective.
Photographing an event like this is probably one of my favourite types of photography. I can basically just walk around and capture candid moments. At the end of the day I just feel privileged to be in a position to take part in something like this. Of course this wouldn't have been possible without the sacrifice of all the men and women that fought for our country a long time ago. So thank you to them.
