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.

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!

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.

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.