Happy International Cat Day!

It’s International Cat Day! As a cat dad I have an obligation to share a photo of my cat, Cat Stevens, across all of my online platforms. I’ve also included a bonus illustration of him.

POTD 04.07.19 - Elephant Rush

While I was in Sri Lanka I went on few safari tours through Udawalawe National Park. Before this I had never seen elephants in their natural habitat, nor had I been on a safari, so this was a pretty special experience for me. On my last tour through the park we were really lucky because we were with one of the most experienced guides and drivers in the park. It was just my girlfriend and I with them on this particular tour. We rolled into the park as the sun was just peaking over the horizon. The park was blanketed in a thick fog— not the most ideal conditions for spotting animals however, judging by how keen of an eye our guide had in previous days we knew we were in good hands. We entered the park and made our way down the red dirt roads and within minutes we approached a silhouette of an elephant off in the distance. We pulled up close enough to see the elephant in the mist, but far enough away to not bother the massive mammal. The driver turned off the ignition. Our guide quietly let us know that this was a male bull elephant in heat. We observed the elephant for a minute or two and he observed us… Eventually the elephant began to turn towards us and slowly make it’s way in our general direction. For an animal so large it was amazing how little noise they make as they move around. Eventually this enormous male was a stones throw away and he was continuing to make his way even closer to us. At this point our guide pulled out his phone to shoot this encounter and the driver turned our vehicle back on. Before I could even process what exactly was happening our driver began to peel out and this elephant began to chase us. Our guide yelled at the elephant in hopes to deter it from hitting our vehicle. It chased us for a few seconds before stopping and disappearing into the bush. I guess we weren’t worth the hassle. Luckily for us this was just a bluff charge. Our guide let us know that the males can sometimes be a little aggressive when they are in heat.

Our guide had the wherewithal to shoot video of this event unfolding and I was also able to grab a couple stills as well. This was one of my favourite moments in Sri Lanka and I’m glad we were able to capture it.

Chasing Winter - Muskoka

The weather around Toronto is making this prairie boy feel a little homesick... It's December 10 and I haven't seen any snow around the city, not even a flake! I haven't even had to bust out the winter parka yet. What the heck is even happening? Compared to Manitoba I knew it was going to be a milder climate, but this is madness! According to the weather network I don't need to worry because the cold weather and snow is indeed on it's way, but I just couldn't wait. My lady and I decided to head north to find some of this winter weather. We headed up to Muskoka for a day and hiked around Hardy Lake. We were not disappointed. Fresh snow and cool weather, the full winter experience!

Below are a few images from our Hardy Lake hike. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.

Catch Me at the Beach...

Finally, I have found a home and work in Toronto!

I haven't been shooting much recently because I've been giving myself some time to get to know Toronto. I want to make sure I experience the city through my own eyes, and not through my viewfinder. As a photographer I feel it's important to give yourself some time to get to know an area rather than running into the unknown spraying the scene. I like to sit and people watch, get a sense of the rhythms of the neighborhood and really listen to the sounds. It's easy to just come in blasting off shots, but when you do that you might miss out on some of the subtleties of what you are shooting. It might be tempting to bring your camera everywhere, but I feel it's easy to miss the true scope of the world around you when you are peering through a 2x3 window. It may seem counter-intuitive for a photographer to choose to put their camera down, but it is for this reason that I've been leaving my camera at home.

As for work I've recently got a job as a EFP Videographer with Woodbine Entertainment. I'll be doing a lot of different things there, anything from shooting races and promos, to features on jockeys and musicians that come through. A lot of the content I'll be shooting will run on TSN as well as in house. I loved the run and gun nature of being a news photog, but I'm excited that in this role I'll be able to spend a lot more time on getting shots right, and making them look really pretty. I've only been at Woodbine for about a week now, but it feels like it will be a great place to work and stretch out the creative muscles. Also I think through work I'll officially be getting my drone pilot license. SO STOKED!

It's been a couple weeks since I've been in the Toronto now, so you can expect to see more from me soon. For now here are a couple shots just down the street from my place. If you can't tell, I'm currently living in "The Beaches". I'm really digging the area. It's a nice mix of big city, and beach town here. I really couldn't ask for a better neighborhood to live and I can't wait to get even more familiarized with the area.

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Last Week at Global Winnipeg

You never know what you were getting into each week when you work in news, and that was something I just loved about working at Global. To give you an idea of how diverse the weekly shoots were here is a little montage I put together of a few shots from my last 5 days at work. Hanging with polar bears, going to car shows and learning about what goes into being a wine sommelier are a few examples. I'm sad to say goodbye, but excited for new adventures on the horizon.

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