Head Safety Awareness - Lakehead University
Last week I was asked to photograph a portion of the Head Safety Awareness event at Lakehead University. Scouts Canada and Hydro One put on the event to help families become aware of head injuries and how to prevent them.
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.
2019 Holiday Craft Revival
The 2019 Holiday Craft Revival took place this past weekend and it was an overwhelming success. Well, at least that’s how it looked to me. I couldn’t believe all the people that showed up to shop. Over course, there were over 200 vendors at a variety of locations downtown, so there was no excuse not to come out. Every single business that took part was busy and full of people enjoying the event.
Big Wreck @ NV Music Hall
It was quite the concert last night with Big Wreck at NV Music Hall. I am by no means a concert photographer but once in a while I’m asked to photograph the odd one here and there. I’ve been a fan of Big Wreck for a long time so I was excited to finally see them perform live. It was a sold at show which made for an electric crowd. As a photographer, it’s not always easy when it’s that packed, where you can’t even move, but I still managed to get a few great shots.
Remembrance Day 2019 - Waverley Park
These are a collection of photos I took at this years Remembrance Day at Waverley Park in Thunder Bay.
ONWA’s 48th Annual General Assembly & Leadership Conference
ONWA held their 48th Annual AGA Conference this past October and I was tasked to capture the entire event. It was a lot of work but I absolutely enjoyed the entire experience. The last one I photographed last year was actually in Toronto. So it was nice to be able to stay in town for this one. Although, I do enjoy going to Toronto any chance I can. Not only did I take photographs, but I also did a lot of video too.
Wake the Giant Music Festival
Wake the Giant took place this past Saturday here in Thunder Bay, and it was the culmination of a lot of work over the past 1.5 years. For those of you who don’t know, the purpose was to celebrate cultures with a spotlight on Indigenous culture and music. The festival featured a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. The goal was to bring different cultures, age groups, music lovers and festival fans all together at one big event. Its aim was to also bring the community closer together and promote Indigenous artists by giving them access to new audiences and opportunities to network with established artists.
ONWA 4th Annual MMIW Pow Wow
This past weekend, one of my favourite and most important events took place. It was the ONWA 4th Annual MMIW Pow Wow. It’s a traditional Pow Wow honouring missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. To be able to be a part of such a meaningful cause is so rewarding. Not only did I get to photograph some amazing dancers and festivities, but in doing so, I am helping to bring awareness.
Choir!Choir!Choir! + Live on the Waterfront
The last event in the Live at the Waterfront series that has been taking place here in the Thunder Bay wrapped up this evening. My wife Anne and I decided to go check out the last night and it was well worth it. Choir! Choir! Choir! put on an amazing performance. For those of you who don’t know who they are I included their description from Facebook below. it sums them up much better than I could ever do.
Mino Bimaadiziwin Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program - Kingfisher Lake
My wife Anne and her mother Cathy were asked to spend an afternoon at Kingfisher Lake, which is just outside Thunder Bay, teaching aboriginal youth how to cook bannock. I decided to join them and document the afternoon through photos and video. Of course, I also got to have some amazing bannock made over an open fire! The program is called Mino Bimaadiziwin and is based on traditional cultural teachings and focuses on: key life skills, leadership development, healthy relationships, positive self-esteem, self-awareness and connections to education.
BrewHa Craft Beer Festival 2019 - Thunder Bay
I have a lot of ‘favourite’ events throughout the year here in Thunder Bay, but I think BrewHa is up there as one of the best. Each year I’m more and more impressed with the vendors and also the people who attend. It’s such a chill and relaxed atmosphere and combine that with live music playing in the background by local bands, and you really can’t go wrong.
Jagmeet Singh Meeting with Bombardier Employees - Thunder Bay
In a very last minute request I was asked to photograph NDP Leader - Jasmeet Singh’s visit to Thunder Bay this morning. He was here to visit with the workers of Bombardier who were recently impacted by the news of the impending layoffs in Thunder Bay. He was here to show solidarity and talk about the solutions our Party has in mind for these workers. I was honoured to be a part of such an important event.
7th Annual Bay + Algoma Busker's Festival - 2019
One of the premiere events, I think, of the summer, is the Busker’s Festival. It’s always a great time with so many performers and vendors coming out. Not to mention, it always brings out so many people from around the city. I didn’t get out as long as I would have liked this year because I had a wedding to photography, but I still got the chance to photograph a small portion of it. Along with the photos, I walked around for about 45 minutes on the Sunday and focused on capturing some video. That can be found below as well. I’m already looking forward to next years festival!
Fat Guys Auto Parts Car Show - 2019
Yesterday the annual Fat Guys Auto Parts Car Show took place yet again and I swear, it was twice as big as last years. I only spent around 30 minutes walking around because I had a wedding to photograph in the afternoon but it was enough to get at least a few photos of the cars and the people. It was pretty crowded with people as you would expect so instead of trying to get photos of entire cars I picked out details that stood out to me. I would say some of the photos are almost abstract.
Hopefully next year I’ll have a bit more time to actually photograph more of the awesome cars and people that attended the event!
Festival of Colours 201
It was Day 2 of an amazing weekend. Yesterday, as I mentioned in my previous post, the Festival of India took place at the Thunder Bay Marina Park. Today, Festival of Colours was the main attraction, and it’s definitely one of my favourite events of the year to attend and of course photograph. I only had about an hour to work with because of prior commitments, but I managed to get some good photos. As usual, there was a ton of people in attendance.
Festival of India 2019
Festival of India here in Thunder Bay has been going on for about 10 years I believe. I have made it to a few over the years and it’s always a great time. This year, I went for about 1 hour and came away with some memorable photos. The dancers that I did see were simply amazing. I would have been nice to stick around to see a few more but I had to go. Tomorrow, The Festival of Colours takes place at the Marina and I’m really hoping I can find the time to make it out. it’s quite the scene. Here are some highlights from this evening.
Project Learning Tree – Government Funding Announcement – Lakehead Unviversity
Lakehead University played host to an amazing event yesterday. The Federal Government announced that it would be giving $4.4 million in funding to Project Learning Tree. Project Learning Tree is a workplace program that provides youth with employment opportunities in the forest and conservation sector. Currently Zac and Nick Wagman are biking across Canada and they made a stop at Lakehead University, where they were greeted by Minister Patty Hajdu to announce the investment, which will support more than 500 local and Canadian youth, particularly those facing barriers.
To find out more about this initiative, head on over to the Project Learning Tree Website.
Thunder Bay Blues Festival 2019
I attended the Thunder Bay Blues Festival a couple years back and that was actually the first time I did so. It was only for one day and I didn’t have access to the stage or the ability to really get in close. I still managed to get a lot of great crowd photos because that is mainly what I was hired for and I had a great time doing so. Fast forward to this years event and The Walleye asked if I could capture the event for them. As soon as they said I would be getting media passes I jumped at the opportunity. Plus, it’s rare that I actually have this weekend in July free. Usually I have a wedding booked.
2019 Scholarship + Bursary Awards Reception
The Thunder Bay Community Foundation hosted their 2019 Scholarship and Bursary Awards Reception last evening at the Boys and Girls Club. A select number of high school students along with their families were on hand to receive various scholarships and bursaries. My job was to simply capture the atmosphere, the people and of course the award presentations. I had a great time capturing candid moments and I could really feel the joy and excitement from everyone involved.
Thunder Pride 2019 + Pride Parade
The final day of Thunder Pride 2019 finished with a parade. Oh what a parade it was. My wife Anne and I arrived about 15 minutes before it was to begin at Waverley Park. We walked up Algoma to the base of the hill and by the time we got there it was just starting. Last years parade actually went through downtown. I don’t know if it was because it was a different route but it seemed twice as big this year. We were simply amazed by the amount of people participating in the parade.