editorial photography

2021...A Doozy

And just like that I’m sitting here in the studio trying to think of what I want to say about the year we all just made it through…

I think the safest word I could use is DOOZY to summarize what the past 12 months have been.

But in the end, we made it! There may have been a few tears (there were definitely tears), and a few sleepless nights (discovered melatonin this year!) but we wrapped the year by forcing ourselves to take a couple weeks off during the holidays to catch our breath a bit as a family.

As the break came to a close, we ended up heading down to the waterfront and watching the city’s fireworks display on New Years Eve which surprisingly led to a moment that really struck me… Turns out, in order to get your head back in the game, you just need to hang out with a 5 year old…

See it was our daughter’s first year she was old enough to stay up late enough to watch the fireworks. She was so excited she was vibrating, and when the first few colourful bursts hit the ice fog night sky, you could literally hear the joy bursting from her face as she screamed out “whoooaaa! Christmas colours!! Christmaaaaaas colourssssss!” She was witnessing magic in real time and it made me remember you can always find the magical moments in your day once you actually have the time to stop, breathe, and just look for them.

You see even though this year was stressful, unpredictable, and oh so very draining, in that moment I remembered how much good there also was. I just needed the time to take a breathe to remember that.

So I figured now that we’re into January and trying to plod along through what has so far been more unpredictability, let’s still take some time to breathe and remember those magical moments. The good parts of the past year, as they are always there if you look for them.

Last year, we got to work with some pretty epic clients and when trying to produce long term projects in the midst of a pandemic, you also get to KNOW your clients. We commiserated, we adapted deadlines and processes and we found ways to make things work as a team.

In the film realm, we got to work with Northern Council for Global Cooperation (NCGC) to produce a storytelling project with the James family out in Carcross. This was a huge highlight and honour for us, as we got to work with the family to take a traditional story that was originally recorded of their late grandmother Lucy Wren, and have 4 more generations of Lucy’s family tell the story in their own voices, weaving together the teachings with footage of them being together as a family on their land. There were so many laughs shared and it was such a special project to be a part of…. To witness in real time what family connection, traditions and knowledge look like and the power they have. Gunalchîsh to the James family for having us.

Then there was the literal joy that is working with someone who may be the most positive person we’ve ever met? We did a Travel Yukon spot with Gurdeep Pandher for Cossette and I am not even exaggerating when I say the skies weirdly opened up for us the night we had planned to film on top of a mountain and we got to witness an absolutely stunning sunset while filming Gurdeep dance. It was one of those moments I looked around and was so grateful that this is somehow what we get to do for a living…

And finishing off our year in filming, we were able to work with Yukon University over a multiple months to create a promotional video for their Indigenous Institute for Self Determination (IISD). Showcasing traditional on the land activities, and innovation in education and leadership, this was a project we were really proud to be a part of and we got to work with some incredible leaders and community members to pull it all off. There were hiccups along the way (like needing to re-schedule due to covid exposures, creating changing timelines, etc) but the team we got to work with on this adapted and pivoted every time ensuring we all got to create something we are proud of. Gunalchîsh, Màhsi’ cho to everyone involved. It will be released in the next few weeks and we’re excited to share it with you all then!

Then there was the incredible diversity in photography we got to do this year. From chasing dogs with Fawkestrot Adventures, to beauty portraits and BTS with Cheekbone Beauty and TSU North, to local sustainable fashion campaigns or holiday dining campaigns with Hudson’s Bay, we’ve been BUSY. This is a selection of just a few of our favourites, but I’ll be sure to share more in the coming months.

And last but so very far from the least, absolutely NONE of this would have been possible without the incredible production crew we’ve gotten to work with this year. We can’t thank these people enough, and although this isn’t an exhaustive list, we wanted to give a special giant THANK YOU to a few of our key players who kept this train a runnin’ this year.

The incredibly talented Lea-Ann McNally, who has done everything from set and prop building, to production assisting, and everything in between. Absolutely always game to hop on set, we are so grateful to have you on the team!

Mike Code, whether you’re on sound, camera, or aerials, you make it a guaranteed a good work day and we’re so grateful for your laid back, always amazing attitude in everything you do.

And for those of you who haven’t gotten to meet him yet…Our guy STU! Stu moved up from BC late summer to officially join GBP as our first full time employee and I’m not actually sure how we did all this without him for so long? Stu is now one of our main editors, production crew, and second shooter. He also puts up with Gary’s lame dad jokes, my “morning gratitudes” which I forget to do 90% of the time, and has jumped into the adventure that is life in Yukon full throttle. We are so grateful you’ve joined the crew and can’t wait to see what the new year brings to the team.

We know 2022 won’t be perfect, as nothing ever is…but here’s to taking a breath during the chaos and trying to see the good that is most definitely out there.

We’ve got this team.

Dumplings...but make it fashion.

One of our favourite things about working with small business owners is getting to know the people behind the businesses we all frequent.

We first met Anne through her work at Solvest (a northern based solar company) a few years ago, but recently got to know that before moving to the Yukon, she actually worked in Fashion both in England,Toronto, then remotely from Yukon, right up until Covid when she decided to follow her other passion…food!

So now we’ve witnessed her grow her newest venture, Anne’s Dumplings, over the past year into the bustling and ever growing company that it is today! (If you haven’t tried them yet, please get on it…you are missing out!)

So when we were asked to do an editorial shoot of Anne, we knew we wanted to try to bring in some elements of fashion (because you KNOW she showed up with some gorgeous shoes to show off) and make this ‘foodie’ shoot elegant.

We wanted to ensure we had a minimalist set (her pristine commercial kitchen was perfect-we got in early before the dumpling making begins!) , and used a bit darker of lighting to set a more glamorous mood to the shoot. We were so happy with how they worked out and as always, Anne was amazing to work with. We absolutely can’t wait to see where she takes this venture next…

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A great place to Gather

We’re not gonna lie…we have a soft spot in our hearts for family run businesses…As one ourselves, we understand the full family commitment it takes to keep these trains a runnin’.

Whether that’s trading off who works late, impromptu ‘bring your kid to work’ days (Mabel was on her first set at 6 weeks old!) or doing business planning over dinner…it takes the whole crew working together and loving what you do.

So needless to say, when we got asked to create some imagery for Gather Cafe and Taphouse recently, we were stoked. Gather is a self-described “eclectic restaurant” located in the Lumel Studios building here in Whitehorse.

Owners John and Shanta Ferguson, have created an incredibly unique space, that is filled with colours and textures from floor to ceiling. The ambience fits in perfectly to the attached Lumel Studios, which just so happens to be the Grandparent’s place-Lu and Mel!

So, the day we were there to photograph, Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids, so that we could get our shots done with John and Shanta. Like any family run business, it takes a team to make it all come together…Combing their loves of good coffee, good beer, and good food, adding in a health dash of cozy atmosphere, Gather is a place you just want to spend time in!

From meals made with as many locals ingredients as possible, to drinks served in hand made glassware created right next store at Lumel, you can tell thought was put into every detail of the place.

We can’t wait to go back to enjoy the space again and definitely suggest if you haven’t had a chance, to go check it out!

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And so it begins...Hello 2021!

New year…SAME US! (just slightly more grizzled…)

Last year was a DOOZY to say the least, and we’re certainly not naive enough to think that a change in calendar year is going to take away all the hardships. HOWEVER, that being said, we do know that even a perceived fresh start can go a long way…

It’s also a great opportunity to simply take breath and reflect on what WAS good last year. As challenging as it was, there were some pretty great moments too.

We had the privilege of working with an incredible group of clients last year. As much as we were able to help them reach their goals and complete their projects, they also helped us…we were able to keep this family run business up and running throughout a global pandemic and that was all because we have the best community and clients we could ever ask for who believed in us, who trusted us with their visions, and let us get creative.

Looking back over our work this year, a few things stuck out to us.

First, it was a year of composites! As we had to ensure we had safe spacing between people, one of the most efficient ways we could still get teams together was to actually photograph everyone separately and then bring them together in post production! We have always loved composite work, but it just became even more practical this year as a way to keep people safe.

Secondly…our small business community! What an absolute roller coaster of a year for so many small business owners. We were absolutely honoured to be able to work with many of them as they found new and innovative ways to continue to serve their clients-whether that was moving their products and services online, or ensuring new PPE standards were in place to keep both staff and employees safe. We are so damn proud of every single one of them for making it through this crazy year.

And finally…the thing that always gets us through our hard times…a sense of humour. Without it, we wouldn’t have made it. Thanks to everyone who shared a laugh with us either in front of the camera, or behind the scenes as part of our crew.

So thank you to all we worked with over the year, and we absolutely can’t wait to see what adventures the new year brings…although if it was a little less intense, we wouldn’t be mad about it… ;)

A thank you to Essential and Front Line Workers

Early March of this year, we did what we do every spring…we loaded up our wall tent, sled and every bit of warm clothing we own to go out on a Bison harvesting trip. We were out of cell and internet range for just 7 days, but what we didn’t know was that as we left the tranquility that is winter camping, we’d be coming back to an entire new reality.

As I turned my cell phone on, a text popped up from a family member that I could not make sense of. “The Arctic Winter Games have been cancelled and people are hoarding toilet paper!”

March 2020…a month that will be burned into our collective memories for decades to come…It seems like a lifetime ago, even though just a few months have passed since then.

Those early months of the COVID-19 pandemic felt like time stood still. For us, over the course of 4 days, the majority of our spring/summer contracts were cancelled, our daughter’s daycare closed down, and like many others, we didn’t know what our lives were going to look like a few months into the future.

While we witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic start to spread across the country, the Yukon quickly prepared its response. When many of the Territory’s citizens were asked to stay home whenever possible in attempt to flatten the curve, there were others who continued to go into work, all the while also trying to process this ‘new reality’ we were all facing collectively.

These essential and front line workers are the ones who helped keep Yukoners as safe and secure as possible. Everyone from Dr. Hanley, our Chief Medical Officer of Health, to those working behind the scenes like IT staff adapting network systems so entire work forces could suddenly work from home, and child care workers who continued to care for children who’s parents also had essential jobs to go to… there were people working hard across sectors to keep our communities safe and resilient.

It was absolutely heart warming to witness Yukoners come together throughout this time, and we knew from the start we wanted to do something to celebrate those who continued to push through the uncertainty and continue to offer those services our community depends on.

This photo series, released in the latest issue of Yukon North of Ordinary magazine, is a thank you to all the front line and essential workers who got us through those early days and to where we are today in the pandemic. None of this could have happened with out you, and we will forever be grateful.

Chris Cash and Janelle Greer-Yukon Communicable Disease Control (YCDC)

The Yukon Communicable Disease Control team had to adapt its services very quickly to accommodate the tremendously increased workload brought on by COVID-19. Normally a unit that monitors and controls communicable diseases in the territory, it became responsible for Yukon’s COVID-19 testing and case management, including contact tracing and outbreak management, as well as support and education to other providers in the Territory. Their meeting room was adapted into a COVID-19 testing room, and the team worked incredible hours to keep on top of its regular duties as well as the new ones.

Rani Ferris- Early Childhood Educator, Nlaye Ndasadaye Daycare

Without childcare, many frontline staff would not have been able to keep working throughout the pandemic response. Although many parents struggled through, trying to continue to work while kids were home, childcare workers like Rani of Nlaye Ndasadaye Daycare continued to show up everyday to provide safe, educational care for kids whose parents weren’t able to keep them home. With much lower numbers of kids in care, daycares had to adapt programming, and try to prepare for the eventual return to a ‘new normal’, implementing extra cleaning/safety precautions, all the while ensuring to maintain both a physically and emotionally safe space for our kids who were also trying to navigate this new world.

Dr. Brendan Hanley- Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH)

As the territory’s CMOH, Dr. Brendan Hanley lead the Yukon’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His days are filled with meetings with his technical team and a growing number of people across the North and around the country including representatives of the federal government, the medical and health community, First Nations and business councils. With the support of a dedicated team in the Health Emergency Operations Centre, he’s helping the territory navigate the ever-changing and uncharted waters of the pandemic. Dr. Hanley has been a calming presence for many Yukoners during this challenging time, but he is also the first to credit the hardworking members of the team who surround him.

Cristina Graterol- Online Shopping Lead, Wykes Independent Grocer

Grocery stores stayed open throughout the course of the COVID-19 response, but that certainly didn’t mean business as usual. For stores like Wykes Independent, COVID response meant everything from limiting numbers of customers in the store, adding directional signage and Plexiglas barriers at the checkout counter, and training staff on new protocols. Technology was key to keeping up with the fact their online orders alone went up 7 fold, and they had to double their cooler space to keep up. Employees wear iPods on their wrists to allow them to pull up client’s orders and be directed through the store in the most efficient shopping pattern.

Roxana Muir- Janitorial Services, Yukon Hospitals

Keeping public spaces clean has always been an essential job, but the efforts of janitorial workers can sometimes go unnoticed as much of their work happens behind the scenes. Janitorial staff like Roxana Muir at the Whitehorse General Hospital continued to work throughout the pandemic, ensuring proper sanitizing and cleaning protocols were met, a vital step in ensuring spaces were kept as safe as possible for essential services to continue to be offered throughout the Territory.

Bruce Kirby-Terminal Manager, Manitoulin Transport

Yukoners rely on long-haul transportation for many of our essential goods. One reason our store shelves stayed stocked during the pandemic is because trucking companies continued making the long drives from the south and throughout the entire territory. Manitoulin Transport saw surges in shipment volume requirements, which they quickly responded to while implementing and adhering to a myriad of new safety procedures. Those include wearing personal protective equipment and using no-touch delivery technologies to keep both their staff and customers safe.

Mary Tiessen- American Sign Language Interpreter (ASL)

You might never have heard her voice, but you’ve no doubt seen Mary Tiessen’s fast moving hands during the Yukon government’s live COVID-19 video updates as she translates them into American Sign Language (ASL). As the only full-time American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter with the territorial government, Tiessen’s days quickly filled with interpreting frequent YG announcements, meetings through videoconference and, if physical distancing allowed, in-person meetings wearing a face shield, which better facilitates the reading of facial expressions—an important component of ASL.

Charles Young- Technical Support, City of Whitehorse

In March of 2020, a large portion of the workforce was suddenly asked to work from home if at all possible. But working from home isn’t as simple as flipping open your computer…thankfully IT professionals across the sectors were able to quickly figure out solutions, including security and software management so that entire workforces could continue to work, allowing families to maintain incomes and services to still be provided.


Dream Trail

It’s a bit of an understatement to say we’re grateful that our home is right here in the Yukon. We’ve always felt this way (I, Brianne was born and raised here, while Gary moved up from BC over 14 years ago now…) but this year especially we’ve got a whole new appreciation of the amazing community, and landscape we get to call home.

One of the many reasons we love it here is the incredible trail system and landscape we get to play on. Through biking and running, we get to explore mountains right outside our back door. So when we were asked to cover the trail crew who was building the new “Dream Trail” on Grey Mountain last summer, we were stoked as it gave us an opportunity to see some of the trail building team in action.

The Youth Achievement Centre (YAC) and City of Whitehorse trail crews are working over a 5 year period to build this trail, which will connect the end of Grey Mountain road, along the ridge with epic views 600 meters above Whitehorse, ending in a flowy dream down to the base of the mountain again.

Built by hand, the crews spend long days digging away, along with lead trail builder Joe de Graff. The plan is for it to a be a multi-use trail which will allow bikers, runners, and hikers alike to enjoy.

To say it’s hard work is an understatement. The team of city workers and YAC crews take a quick flight to the top in the morning, but then work a solid day on the trail before hiking out at the end.

It was so awesome getting to know the hard working crews behind these trails that we all get to enjoy-and we can’t wait to see what the final product will look like. From the previews we’ve gotten already…Dream trail certainly is a good fit for a name.

To read more about the crew and their process, check out the latest issue of Yukon, North of Ordinary Magazine!

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Traditional Territories uncovered

A few weeks back, Gary was invited to a very special place for the Kwanlin Dun people. For thousands of years, their ancestors have hunted caribou on high mountain ice patches where the caribou go to escape the flies in the summer.  Now, due to climate change, these ice patches are melting and revealing artifacts that are some of the most well preserved specimens archaeologists have ever seen in this part of the world. 

The ice has preserved organic materials that are thousands of years old, and normally have long disappeared.  They have found projectiles with actual feather fletchings still on them! They have found moccasins, arrows, bone tools, and have even found and entire person. The quality and amount of discoveries has created a whole new type fo archaeology that now looks into melting ice patches specifically.

One of the best parts of the day for Gary, was hanging out with an elder that used to come to hunt in this very spot with her family, but hand't been there in over 40 years! Gary was lucky enough to hear her stories of walking all the way there with only the things on their back so they would have room to pack the dried meat all the way back to their home at Fish Lake.

What an incredible experience, to not only be at that important archeological site where people have been hunting caribou for thousands of years, but then also to be there with an elder who actually hunted there with her family as a child, watching caribou just hanging out on those same ice patches today...

Huge thank you to the Kwanlin Dun First Nation for having us out on their traditional territory to help them document such an important part of their history. It was truly an honour and un-unforgettable experience.

So...what do you do?

Ahhh networking...and the, what 'should' be an easy answer, that is actually more complex than you think....

I went to an "Un-Networking" event this week hosted by the oh-so-awesome SMRT Pop Ups team which sought to give local female entrepreneurs a chance to connect, share, and in some cases, just straight up practice answering the question "What do you do?"

The expected/easy answer for me?: We are a photography company that specializes in commercial, corporate and editorial photography.  

Even more broad? Well, we photograph people. People at work, people at play, and people doing the activities that matter most to them and their community.

But after taking some time to really think about it, I realized that still just didn't feel like it fully explains what we do. It felt flat to me, and it got me thinking about the reason we do the work we do...the reason we work specifically with businesses and organizations. 

Now that is because we love getting to the heart of WHY people do what they do.

We understand that we, as a society, crave connection. We crave authenticity and experience, and so when a business or organization wants to engage with their audience, the best way to do that is by personalizing themselves, and creating that actual human connection to their organization. By showcasing employees, or the people behind what you do, you can not only show your audience what you do, but more importantly, WHY you do it. 

As entrepreneurs ourselves, we love to celebrate  businesses and organizations and the people behind them that build our communities, that are providing for their families and that are making a difference in this world in their own unique way. We can connect with their experience, their struggles, and their determination, and so it's our job to then take that connection and create images that can reflect that back to a broader audience.

Needless to say, the event left me thinking a lot about our work here at GBP. About the complexities of it-the human connection and interpersonal skills it takes, the mix of both technical and artistic sides of our business that constantly keep us on our toes. It was a great night to reflect on not only WHAT we do, but the WHY we do it. And it's got us feeling pretty grateful to have such a strong community of entrepreneurs and community leaders that we get to hold up and celebrate.

 

 

GBP Creative 2015 Roundup...

Well 2015 is coming to an end, so as always, we thought it would be a good time to look back on the year and what we got up to...

2015 was a crazy year. We had one of our largest commercial shoots to date, creating a new image catalogue for our local telco company, Northwestel, which took months of preparations, 3 days of shooting, a crew of 12, and over 18 models.

We worked with some of our favourite clients, and also met some new ones as we continued to expand our commercial and corporate work throughout the north. Whether we were standing on top of a mountain, trying to figure out what an MRI would do to the electrical components in our cameras, or filming dance scenes throughout the streets of Vancouver, it was a pretty eclectic mix!

And when we look back at it, although the year had some ups and some downs, overall it was a big year of growth for us, and we are just so incredibly stoked that you guys, our community, give us the ability to do what we do everyday. 

We feel really lucky to be where we're at, and can't wait for what 2016 has in store....Let's make some more awesome stuff together shall we?