Click here to read the article in the Vancouver Sun

Thanks to Gordie Tupper and his fabulous team for their great pre-festival coverage of the Creatively United For The Planet Earth Week event coming up this April 20-22. For all the details of this fun-filled family event please visit the website!

A free all-ages opening night dance party kicks-off the weekend from 7-9:30 pm outdoors rain or shine at 600 Richmond at Richardson with the percussive band Masala, followed by Candu Music and DJ Granpa Phunk. Hope to see you there!!!

What fun to photograph the homes of artists! Being a lover of art and beauty it truly is the best of all worlds to not only photograph their homes but to enjoy their art collections and great taste! Here is a taste of two recent homes featured in the TC…one being a house reno extraordinaire and the other a small apartment transformed into another world. To see more, please visit my portfolio section of the website.

The local supp0rt for the upcoming April 20-22 Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival has been extraordinary.

From the members on the website’s Team page (www.creativelyunitedfortheplanet.com) to the entertainers and speakers coming forward to offer their services for this volunteer-run event, the response has been amazing!

Amy Smart of the Times-Colonist provided a good look at what prompted me to organize a three day event with just passion in my heart and no prior experience at creating something so enormous. It’s been a wonderful journey and the volunteers that have stepped forward to be a part of this special event have really made the 14+ hour days seem worthwhile.

Robert Bateman, Ann Mortifee, Paul Horn, Mae Moore, Daniel Lapp, Mike Demers, Brad Prevedoros, Allison Vardy, JC Scott, Rachelle Lamb, Shosanna Litman, Briony Penn and more than 100 amazing individuals are creatively uniting to show their support for the underfunded eco charities working so hard to keep our environment healthy, sustainable and a place we feel proud to call home.

Words can not express the gratitude I feel to be a part of such a beautiful community of like-minded people. If this is what a “radical” is then count me in!

Last minute tickets are still available to this fabulous conference of which I’m proud to be a speaker at! You can see who else is speaking and get your tickets here.

Never do a food shoot hungry! That was the lesson I learned when I was asked to photograph more than 50 amazing dishes prepared by the chefs at Baan Thai. Dish after dish was before my camera (and my nose!). I couldn’t wait for the go ahead to sample the food when I was finished. What a bonus! I didn’t think I liked hot food until I tried some of the fare and discovered that it’s more about flavour than hot and now I’m a Thai food lover!

Given the worldwide recognition famed double bass musician Gary Karr and his partner Harmon Lewis have enjoyed it’s no surprise that their house is filled with music not to mention no less than 18 double basses! What a delight it was to photograph these gentlemen in their amazing surroundings.

I recently had the honour to photograph Eric Charman and a collection of one-of-a-kind chairs created by a number of amazing local artists to be auctioned at this incredible event hosted by the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Pacific Opera Victoria and the Victoria Symphony. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of people like Eric, Victoria has enjoyed a vibrant and diverse arts/music community.

Thanks to Sheila Gardner at CFAX 1070 (click for link) for allowing a half-hour (less one commercial break) to chat about the Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival. It’s been a complete labour of love for me to see this fun-filled, all ages festival come together for April 20-22, 2012 in support of 15 amazing charities doing hero work on our behalf.
There will be dancing, music, art, lectures, displays and lots of free activities for everyone to enjoy, including an opening night dance party with Candu Music and Grandpa Phunk spinning tunes. Costumes are encouraged.
Headliners for our ticketed performances include: Robert Bateman, Ann Mortifee & Paul Horn, Holly Arntzen & Kevin Wright, the Gettin’ Higher Choir, a photography talk by Garth Lenz, a John Lennon Tribute Concert, and a funky fashion show featuring local designers, The Woodsmen, DJ Rowan, performance art and The SoulShakers dance band.
Check out www.creativelyunitedfortheplanet.com for more details and be a part of the fun.

Light and bright…a photographer’s dream….not to mention how wonderful it must be to be the lucky couple who lives in this fabulous new home in Fernwood.

Of all the homes I have photographed for the Times-Colonist House Beautiful section this funky modern home was actually one of the quickest to photograph as I had the added benefit of beautiful natural light streaming in large picture windows.

For some the contrast in lighting would be a challenge to photograph, but by adding a variety of studio lighting I was able to balance the scene to capture the clean lines intended by the designer without the blacks blocking up and the highlights blowing out. This is a perfect example of how lighting can really enhance something that already appears to look great but wouldn’t necessarily reproduce well. To have something reproduce well in newsprint is a challenge on it’s own as the paper tends to dull colours as it is so porous so this is why lighting is even more critical to ensure colours pop!

I will be teaching a Beginner to Intermediate Lighting Workshop on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1-4 pm. Registration is $129 by Feb. 21 (reg. 149)…space is limited so please email me soon with the subject line: “Lighting Workshop” to reserve your space.

Did you know Croatia has one of the most Unesco World Heritage Sites? If you want a picture perfect trip, come and learn more about the Women’s Travel Connection “Highlights of Croatia” trip led by yours truly.

I’m delighted to be chosen to lead this amazing trip and can assure you Croatia is spectacular. I was told by a very well-traveled individual that “Disney couldn’t even make something as beautiful as Croatia!” and can attest that what I have seen of Croatia made me want to go back to see more.

So please join me, Vision 2000 Travel and the Women’s Travel Connection to hear all about this fantastic trip on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 pm at Vision 2000 Travel. 116 – 4480 West Saanich Rd.

Space is limited so please call Krista at 250-412-3805 to reserve a seat or bring a friend.

When my friends from Winnipeg decided to make Victoria their second home I was thrilled and when I saw the house they chose I knew it had to be a TC House Beautiful feature!

What makes it feature worthy is that it’s not only a gorgeous heritage-designated home, but it has been well-loved by a small handful of owners in it’s 100+ year history.

My friend’s merely had to move in as the gorgeous wood that graces all aspects of the interior had never been painted and the house was lovingly tended to by the former owner and their new neighbour who has lived on the same street for his entire life. Now loved by all, this home is enjoying the joy of friends and family far and wide.

The feedback from my e-blast last week of the Save the Date for the Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival has been nothing sort of fantastic. Thank you to the List Warehouse for making it so easy and for donating the mail credits. Stay tuned for lots of upcoming exciting announcements.

As the photographer for the Times-Colonist House Beautiful section that runs in Saturday’s newspaper, I have the privilege of seeing many fine homes. People often ask me which have been my favourites and the homes that generally appeal the most to me have large picture windows with glorious ocean views. This past Saturday’s Times-Colonist is one of those homes. The best home really is a happy home and this home would make anyone who loves light and bright happy indeed!

Going on location to take photographs is always a fun challenge as you have to work with what you are given and sometimes spaces are fraught with challenges such as mixed lighting or are too small for what is needed. Here are two recent group shots taken in the last week that show what can be done when time is short and/or space is limited.

What a treat to not only photograph but hear the lovely Lorraine Nygaard perform selections from her new CD. Many people know Lorraine from the Esquimalt Rec Centre where she is both a wonderful fitness and yoga instructor… and now as a jazz chanteuse. I’m grateful she chose one of my images for the cover of her CD.

It’s nice to see that all the hard work that goes into making the photographs for the Times-Colonist are appreciated by other media far and wide as this feature which ran just a few short weeks ago in our daily paper is being picked up by newspapers Canada-wide.

What an honour to spend an afternoon listening to this most eloquent friend of the environment and artist extraordinaire! I also had the great pleasure of having some one-on-one time to chat with Robert Bateman who is the tender age of just 81 and has the energy, enthusiasm and looks of a man 30 years his junior. He has lifetimes of information to share on why we need to take better care of our planet. I shared information about my passion project, the First Annual Creatively United for the Planet Festival launching in April 2012 and he was most interested to know more. Stay tuned.