Hometown Hockey - Thunder Bay

What a great weekend it was here in Thunder Bay as our city played host to the Hometown Hockey event travelling across Canada. This was my first time attending this event, let along taking photos, and I was so excited to do so. The event took place this past Saturday and Sunday at the Thunder Bay Marina. I was able to make it down on the Saturday near the tail end of the day but I was still able to get some great photos of the last band of the day, which was Canada's own, Poor Young Things. 

Another first for me was seeing them perform live and they did an amazing job. Even though it was a cold evening, all the fans there were very supportive, and the fantastic music helped keep everyone moving. Another thing that took place during my time there was a rehearsal broadcast by Sportsbet with Wendel Clark and Thunder Bay native, Greg Johnson. After the Poor Young Things were done performing it was time for the fireworks. 

Wow, the fireworks. What more is there to say other than that they were simply awesome. From what I hear, they condensed about 20 minutes worth of fireworks into approximately 7 minutes. It  seemed like we had the best seats in the house because all we had to do was sit back on the bench and look up. The fireworks were literally right above us. And they just didn't stop. Overall, it was a very fun evening, even though we were only there for a couple hours. 

I planned on going for most of the day on Sunday but in the end I only managed to get to the event for about 1.5 hours. With that being said, I got some really good photos of the first band of the day. While they were playing another show took place called the Hockey Circus Show. It's a one man who put on by PAZ, who is is an award winning acrobat who has been in the Cirque du Soleil talent pool since 2003. He had the crowd cheering and laughing the whole time. 

After a few more photos, my day was done. I would have loved to see Coleman Hell perform but I'll have to catch him next time he passes through. From what I hear, the rest of the event just got better and better and by the end of the night, it was a crowded house rocking into the cold winter evening. I can't wait until Hometown Hockey comes to Thunder Bay again as it was such a wonderful family experience. 

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. 

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.

The Art of Flamenco

As most of you know I frequently do freelance photography for The Walleye. Every assignment is always unique and interesting in it's own way. I look forward to each and every one. This time around, I would be photographing one of the writers for the Walleye, Amy Jones. She decided to check an item off her bucket list by learning how to flamenco dance. The location was The World Dance Centre and the instructor was world-renowned dancer, Scannura. 

I was only there for about 30 minutes but I could really feel the energy and the stomping of the feet occasionally! It looked like Amy Jones and all the other people in the class where having a lot of fun. You can read all about Amy Jones and her afternoon of flamenco in this months edition of The Walleye. 

The Hunger 10

Last year was my first year photographing The Hunger for the The Walleye. It was actually my first freelance assignment for the paper and since then I have gotten the chance to photograph a lot of cool and interesting events. So, as Halloween drew closer this year, I actually requested to photograph The Hunger 10. Luckily for me and my wife Anne, we were told that we would in fact able to make photographs again this year. This also meant that we would have to dress up. After all, you gotta look the part as well.

I decided to go as a pimp, and Anne was my a 'lady of the night'. Her costume was simply awesome and it was actually so good that she ran into numerous people that night who didn't even recognize her at first. She's the one with the pink hair and striped shirt.

So, we set off for downtown around 11:30 and our first stop was Hell. It's a great little venue located under the old Eaton Centre. As soon as we arrived the party was in full swing with the band playing and people all around in costumes. I immediately went to the band to snap a few photos and then I got some great shots of some of the costumes. Anne, as always, helped me gather some people for photos. 

We stayed there for about 45 minutes and then it was off to the Red Lion. It wasn't nearly as busy as Hell, but there were still a lot of very cool costumes, and the band was just starting as we got there. After getting a few photos there it was then off to Black Pirates Pub. Once again, I got a few photos of the band and a couple photos of some of the costumes that stood out. The last stop on our tour of downtown was The Sovereign Room. It was absolutely packed in there. Keep in mind, this was around 1:00 in the morning. People were dancing and mingling and there were even more costumes that we didn't see yet. One of my favourite ones of the night, was the one I chose for the cover photo. 

Overall it was such fun night and it was so good to see so many people dressed up and having fun. Thanks to The Walleye for inviting us to take photos of this years event. I can't wait until next year. I guess we should already start thinking about our costume. Halloween always seems to come so fast. 

Oktoberfest 2015 - Thunder Bay Coliseum

Once again The Walleye asked if I could go out and photograph some of this years Oktoberfest. This would actually be the first year going to the event so I was curious to see how it was. Admittedly I didn't have much time on Saturday to spend too much time there, but I did manage to photograph some of the Strongman Competition and then one of the musical performances later in the evening. 

First up was the Strongman which I actually photographed a couple months earlier when it was hosted at the Wayland. During that event I was able to cover the push press event and tire flip. This time around, I got the chance to photograph the Atlas Stone lift. I have seen this on TV before but never in really life. It definitely makes you appreciate just how strong these guys are. Even when dropping the stones back onto the ground from the ledge, you could feel the weight. So suffice it to say, all the competitors had their work cut out for them. 

I spent about 30 minutes photographing the event and I managed to get some great action shots. It's hard to really show just how much weight these guys were lifting but I think you could really see it in their faces. 

Since I had a family session that evening, I decided to come back again later in the evening with my wife Anne. This time around we were inside the coliseum. As soon as we got there we grabbed a drink, after all, Sleeping Giant Brewery had some fantastic beers on tap so that was a no brainer. Then, it was time to grab my camera and get some shots of the Greenbank Trio, who sounded awesome! Afterwards, Anne and I scoured the floor for some great costumes, which there were a lot of. She's great at wrangling up strangers to photograph. When she approaches people they smile and of course say yes. When I do it on my own, the usually can't understand what I'm saying because I mumble, and then give me a sideways glance. I'm exaggerating of course, but that's what it feels like.

And then that was it. I only got to experience some of the even but the parts that I did, I really enjoyed. I can't wait to check it out next year when I hopefully have a bit more time. 

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.

5th Annual Thunder Bay Strongman Competition

This past Saturday the annual 5th Annual Strongman Competition took place at the Wayland Bar and Grill in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Being my first year attending the competition I didn't really know what to expect. Regardless, I packed up my cameras and headed on over. As soon as I got there, I was amazed at the turnout of competitors as well as fans. Right off the bat I noticed my good friend Tony from Theymedia was filming the event. So I set up shop right by him and started capturing some fantastic photos. I was able to observe the tire flip and the push press event. I was amazed by both events and just how much weight these guys were able to throw around. 

I will definitely be heading to next years event and photographing even more action. Until then, here are some of my favourite photos. 

Festival of India - 2015

This year I got the chance to once again visit the Festival of India. It had been a few years since the last time I made it so I was excited to take some photos of the event. I was very impressed with how many people were there. It made for some really good opportunities for photos. 

For more information click here!

Staal Foundation Open

This past week saw the Staal Foundation Open come and go. Luckily, this year I was able to be a part of it in some way. The Walleye, asked if I could spend some time each day photographing the event and gladly said yes. I have done many events in the past but this was my very first professional golf tournament. Suffice it to say I was super excited to get out there and document some of the action.

Without knowing much about the event going in I checked out the website to see what some of the daily highlights were. Along with golf of course, there was always something going on. If you haven't already, and are interested in finding out more about all that went down, head on over to the website. 

Without further ado, scroll down to see some of the moments I was able to capture during the event. There was lots of great action and when I wasn't photographing I was able to watch some fantastic golf as well. I can't wait for next year to roll around. I'm sure the event will be even bigger and better then this year. And of course, thanks to The Walleye for asking me to cover the action for them. 

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. 

Minister Rickford Speaking to the Economic Action Plan 2015 for Northern Ontario

This morning I had the pleasure of photographing a very special event hosted by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and Ambassadors Northwest. The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario spoke about the Government's actions to create one of the world's most favourable investment climates by lowering taxes and opening new markets through free trade agreements.

For a much more comprehensive outline of what happened at today's event, head on over to Newswire.ca. To view some photos from the event take a look below. 

Joel Plaskett + The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra

This past Saturday the Community Auditorium welcomed Joel Plaskett to the stage. He wasn't alone, as the entire Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra joined him. Lucky for me, I was there to photograph it once again for The Walleye. Going in I heard of Joel Plaskett, and even some of his songs. It was a totally different experience hearing him live in concert, especially when backed by an entire orchestra. 

The entire evening as extremely fun to watch. Some songs were accompanied by the orchestra while others were just Joel playing his guitar by himself. Almost always before each song he told a short story of how it came to be which really made each song that much more personal for the crowd. If you have never seen him live in concert before, next time he is in town be sure to check him out.

For those curious out there, I used the Nikon D610 and the 70-200mm VRII lens. That's all I needed. My favourite photos of the evening was one of the last ones I captured. It was a great shot of the entire stage, with the entire orchestra playing and the lights flashing in the background. It really summed out how 'big' this performance was. Thanks again for The Walleye for hiring me to photograph this even and to the Joel Plaskett and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for putting on an amazing show.