Woodbine Turf Cup Race Simulator

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to win a major stakes race on the Woodbine turf? Well here is your chance to feel like a champion jockey! Saddle up on this cutting-edge race simulator and compete in the Woodbine Turf Cup.

When the EFP department at Woodbine Entertainment was approached to assist with the video and audio elements of this activation I was all in. As an avid gamer myself, I was excited by the idea of working on an arcade-style interactive race simulator. I recorded hundreds of canned audio sound bites with track announcer, Robert Geller as well as video elements with TV and radio personality Jason Portuondo.

After everything came together and the Woodbine Turf Cup was ready to roll out we obviously had to get some top tier jockeys on it to test it out. Before a day of racing we got Eurico Da Silva and Rafael Hernandez, both former Queen's Plate winners, as well as Jason Portuondo to go head to head to head. Who won? I guess you'll have to watch to find out! #WoodbineTurfCup

This segment aired on TSN on August 28, 2019. It has been shared across Woodbine's social media platforms as well as Woodbine Simulcast.

POTD 03.08.19 - Stills day at Woodbine

Giddy up, it’s the long weekend!

The other day I set down the video camera and picked up the stills camera at the racetrack. I took some time to grab some images for Woodbine Entertainment. Kudos to the track photographer. Getting these kind of shots is not as easy as it might look. If you miss the perfect moment, that’s it, because the horses are long gone!

Here are a few of my favourite stills from that day.

2019 Queen's Plate Recap and New Inner Turf Feature

Two features I shot were used back to back on a TSN show that aired on July 10, 2019. I've uploaded the entire segment so you can see how it fit into the show. This programs purpose was to recap the recent Queen’s Plate race, show off the recently added inner turf course at Woodbine and tease the upcoming Prince Of Wales show at Fort Erie.

If you want to skip the preamble here are the time-codes for my features.
2019 Queen's Plate Recap - 00:21
New Inner Turf Track Feature - 03:18

2018 Season Slowdown

Just like that, another season has come and gone at Woodbine. When you're working hard and enjoying what you do, time seems to go by all too fast. Sometimes it’s good to just slow down and reflect.

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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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