Jordan Wiens | Alumni Update

Recent Alumni Jordan Wiens had a great co-op placement at CanvasPop here in Ottawa.  As his co-op drew to a close he was hired on to produce the video above for one of their new products remade.  We will let Jordan tell how the job took shape:

"Having spent three weeks in placement at CanvasPop, I had learned all of the quirks and qualities of working there. It seemed like our relationship would come to an end until Nazim Ahmed (co-owner of CanvasPop and DNA11) was looking for a video guy to produce a fun video for a new product idea. Andrew Szeto (of Maru the Circle Brand) was actually the one that referred me to the job after being asked by Naz, and then the brainstorming began. 

After I heard the concept of the product my brain started buzzing. Remade takes wasted canvas from defects or the end of canvas rolls that don't get used, and turn them into savvy art wallets. Not only do they help their green footprint, but the wallets are produced by local immigrant work charity EcoEquitable and all of the profits go to charity: water. It really ties in with my philosophy of giving back and will hopefully inspire others to do the same."

As everyone in his Multimedia class knows Jordan is quite the director, he definitely lived up to his nickname "Scorsese".

So to see more of his great films check out his site wardenjeans.com, one of our personal favourites Bruyère to Percy. While there check out a project that is close to his heart Giving Back an amazing series of skateboard images.

Edward Burtynsky: Oil Exhibition

Edward Burtynsky, SOCAR Oil Fields #3, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2006

On May 31 one of Canada's greatest photographers, Edward Burtynsky, is coming to the Canadian Museum of Nature to give a talk about his series Oil.  

The talk accompanies the exhibit, Edward Burtynsky: Oil, that will run from May 31 to Sept 2 at the Museum.

All our students know Burtynsky from the History of Photography class so we hope they come out to see these beautiful large scale prints in person.  

JR | Inside Out

JR's Inside Out: The People's Art Project trailer, if you don't know about JR check him out.

Inside Out is a global art project transforming messages of personal identity into works of art and as usually it is very cool.  HBO is making a movie about him and this new project.

If you have not seen his winning TED Talk check it out here.

Michael Graeme Ross & Rémi Thériault | Relocation

Image By Michael Graeme Ross & Rémi Thériault

Alumni Michael Graeme Ross and Rémi Thériault are having a show at the Council for the Arts.

The show is called Relocation and depicts fictional narratives set in the Ottawa urban landscape:

"We have re-interpreted the factually realities of why these people now inhabit this particular city using carefully selected locations, situational ambiguity and natural light to create a series of narrative portraits. This involved the use of Ottawans, props and large-format film cameras to produce the high-detail images."

The show runs from May 17 - June 7 the opening reception is on May 17 from 5PM to 8PM.

Location: Council for the Arts - 2 Daly Ave. Ottawa, ON

Bryan McNally | Alumni Update

Alumni Bryan McNally, aka Shooter McNally, recently won Best Film and Best Actor at the OIFF 72 Hour Film Challenge for his film Change.  The OIFF 72 Hour Film Challenge is a competition with some pretty interesting guidelines:

1. Film had to include a penny in it
2. Had to include the line "Take a penny leave a penny"
3. Had to use songs from at least 3 local artists (There is some great music in this film!!)
4. Had to feature the number 5 (Fifth Anniversary of OIFF)
5. The theme was Freedom

To top it all off of course it had to be shot, edited and rendered in 72 hours.  The film is also being considered by CBC for a National Indie Short Film Faceoff.  Congrats to Bryan on a great vid and for the win!!

Dylan Leeder | Alumni Update

Alumni Dylan Leeder is having a show this December in Toronto and the opening night is tomorrow, Dec 5th.

The show is at the Steam Whistle Brewery and also features the work of Maria Jose Govea so if you are in TO stop by to check it out.

Check out Dylan's site to see more of his great work.

Silver & Light: Ian Ruther

Here is a video brought to our attention by First Year Students Bradford Burk and Ian Robinson.  This is an amazing story about photographer Ian Ruhter and his wet plate collodion van.

It is great to see older photographic techniques used in interesting and innovative ways to create beautiful, stunning and inspirational images.

For those that need a break to recharge your creative juices and to put things back into perspective, spend eleven minutes and watch this video!

For more about Ian and the wet plate collodion van watch this video too.

Michelle Valberg & The Premier's Award

Alumni Michelle Valberg has been nominated for a 2012 Premier's Award for the Creative Arts and Design category.  This very prestigious award is presented annually to:

 "Six recipients, the Premier’s Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions college graduates make to Ontario and throughout the world"

Click here to read about her nomination and highlights from her amazing career.

Also our very own Samantha Henry and David Laferriere where flown down to the Premier's Award show in Toronto to represent the Program and take some pics.

Grange Prize | Jo Lunghurst

Photographer Jo Lunghurst has won the 2012 Grange Prize.

"Each year, the Grange Prize pits two Canadian photographers against two from another country."

The winner receives $50,000 dollars quite a nice prize.  British photographer Jo Lunghurst won for her series of images called Other Spaces that documents the experiences of elite gymnasts and The Refusal which is about breeding show Whippets.

Other Spaces 2012 © Jo Longhurst  

Nicole Salter | Student Profile

Here is something we forgot to post a little while ago.  It is a profile of Nicole Salter, Second Year Student here in the Program, on Ottawa photographer Laura Kelly's blog.  

Nicole was on co-op with Laura Kelly and she had a great time.  Thanks to Laura for showing Nicole what it is like to run a successful photo business.  

Check out Laura's great work on her site and blog.  

Willie McElligott's Love Affair With Ottawa

Ottawa photographer Willie McElligott is having a show at the Michael Gennis Gallery.  The show titled, A Love Affair with Ottawa, runs till November 10 and showcases images from his book Ottawa Canada.

For a sneak peak of the show check out this article on the Ottawa Citizen's blog.

Map | Michael Gennis Gallery

Prof. Wrixon | Chris Buck Seminar

2012 © Denine Wrixon  

This past weekend I attended a photography workshop with internationally acclaimed photographer Chris Buck.  The topic of the workshop was Uncommon:  New Approached to Portraiture.  He wasn't kidding!  If you are not familiar with Chris' work check out his website.

I was attracted to this workshop because of the unique approach Chris has with his subjects, subject selection and the environments he shoots in.  He admires the ordinary -  regular people in everyday places doing bizarre poses.

The workshop entailed several shooting assignments with critiques including an ol' slam down if we didn't meet our expectations and goals.  He kicked our asses all weekend both physically and mentally….which I personally appreciated cause my goal was to get my shooting back on track and try a new approach.  Success!  My mind has been opened and my approach to my projects has now changed and become more focused.

We also discussed photo marketing, promotion and dealing with success and rejection; all very important topics especially in this ever changing industry.

I really appreciate and respect Chris' philosophy on his approach to dealing with subjects and the industry as a whole.  I can't divulge too much info due to a pact that I made with Chris that I wouldn't share the "secrets of the workshop".  So if you want to find out more, you'll have to attend one of his workshops yourself, I highly recommend it.  Especially if you're having a creative block, trying to create impact or struggling with your own style but a warning this is not for the faint of heart….he doesn't hold back the punches!

Thanks to Pikto and their staff - especially Christian Mackie (Algonquin Photo Alumni) for being my subject!

Check out Chris' blog for highlights from the seminar.

2012 © Denine Wrixon  

Christina McPherson | Alumni Update

While flipping through the Algonquin Times this week we ran across this article about Photography Alumni Christina MacPherson.

While in the program Christina was actively working on her photography business and has since gone on to create a booming photo business.

Check out her site tiaphotography.com to see some of her amazing images.

Nadine Lamoureux | Alumni Update

Alumni Nadine Lamoureux, owner of Barnyard Studio, is having and open house today to officially launch the studio.

The open house runs today from 10AM to 5PM and coincides with her participation in ARTour.  The studio is located at 3122 Baseline Rd. in Prescott-Russell click here for directions.

Congrats to Nadine we wish you great success in your new venture!!

Advisory Committee - Carl Bigras

Carl Bigras will assume the responsibility of Chair of our Advisory Committee starting Nov 23/12 for a 2-year term.

Carl is a graduate of the Photography Program and current is the head photographer at the Canadian Conservation Institute, co-author of Lighting Methods for Photographing Museum Objects and the recipient of the Gunther Leonhardt Memorial Award, presented to a:

"graduate of the Algonquin College Photography Program who is involved in the photographic community, has demonstrated leadership qualities, and has contributed to the success of students in the Photography Program".

He brings a wealth of experience to the program.

Humans Of New York

This link was sent to us by Alumni Kaleigh Middelkoop it is about Humans Of New York (HONY) a site by New York street photographer Brandon Stanton.  

HONY has been attracting a huge following on Facebook with his unique and beautiful images of the colourful humans of New York.  

For those of our students who are out shooting their street photography exercise this week hopefully this will give you some inspiration.  

Andrew Balfour | Nuit Blanche

Alumni Andrew Balfour has a show during Nuit Blanche called Beautiful People.  This collaborative series of portraits shot with Scott Sigurdson shows people reacting to flash cards of a wide range of content.

The show is at EQ3 in the Byward Market it starts tonight Saturday Sept. 22 at 7PM and runs till 10AM Sunday.  Stop by and say hello to Andrew and Scott from 10-11PM.

100 Most Influential Photographers List

Here is a list for all photographers and especially our History students who will soon start to work on their Photo Buddy assignment.  It is the 100 Most Influential Photographers Of All Time list from Professional Photographer.

You will notice that number one is Richard Avedon, all hail the king!!!   In honour of the great one here is a vid.



Richard Avedon Darkness and Light.

Genevieve Thauvette's La Filles du Roy

Image © 2012 Genevieve Thauvette

Alumi Genevieve Thauvette's La Filles du Roy is on display at St-Laurent + Hill Gallery during Nuit Blanche on Sept. 22.  

Nuit Blanche is an international art festival held around the world in participating cities that runs all night.   This year it is comes to Ottawa and there are many great shows to see around town.  So get out on Saturday and take in some of the shows.  

If you have never seen Genevieve's work we highly recommend it, check out her site to see even more of her amazing work.  Also check out this Ottawa Citizen article to find out what she will be doing on Sussex and Rideau during the event, hilarious!!  

Jessica Deeks | Alumni Update

Alumni Jessica Deeks has been included in the 2012 edition of Exposure.  What is Exposure you ask well it is a photographic competition put on by artistwanted.org to showcase:

"Photographers of all backgrounds who are able to speak exquisitely in the language of lenses and aperture. Our goal is to find talent from around the world and award everyone who participates in ways large and small."

Jessica definitely does speak exquisitely in the language of lenses and apertures, below are some of her amazing images.

Personal Shot For Star Wars Day - 2012 © Jessica Deeks  

Carleton U. Magazine Milk Researcher - 2012 © Jessica Deeks 

Total Fit Magazine - 2012 © Jessica Deeks 

Matthew Steven King - 2012 © Jessica Deeks 

The above image of Matthew Steven King will be featured in the 2012 edition of Exposure, it was also Featured in the 2012 Applied Arts Photography & Illustration Awards Annual. Congrats to Jessica and for those that want to see more of her great work take a look her site and follow her blog.