2023 Year in review

One of the last photos of me before I left Winnipeg.

2023 was a year filled with change, adventure, a couple of milestone achievements and lots of learning. I travelled to seven countries that were new to me and was also able to explore a few other places I had never thoroughly visited before such as South Korea. I made several photos I am proud of, moved back to Toronto from Winnipeg and started working with wire news services. It’s been a refreshing change to see my photos used around the world for a variety of publications instead of just regionally, though it’s also important to me to tell local stories in my community.

People are photographed outside in Winnipeg early in the year.

I started the year off in Winnipeg, prepping for a two month trip around Asia and the South Pacific with no set itinerary. I needed a break from the Winnipeg winter and the heaviness of working in the journalism industry. I had completed several Asia trips in years before but there were a few places I skipped for various reasons. This trip was meant for me to circle back to visit what I had missed the first several times around.

In February, on my way to Asia, I flew to Vancouver, reconnecting with friends there. I hadn’t been back to Vancouver since 2017 and in that time, friends who lived there had moved away and other friends had moved in. We visited different neighbourhoods as well and thus my experiences of Vancouver were vastly different from my visit years ago. I got out of the downtown core and was able to visit Richmond and Burnaby, among other nearby cities.

My first stop in Asia was Hong Kong, the city my parents are from and a city close to my heart. I’ve been visiting regularly as a kid and over the years my appreciation of the city has grown. I hadn’t been back since 2017 but I still felt completely in awe of the city, despite all of the changes in recent years. After two years of living in Winnipeg, a city of 750,000 where I continually bumped into people I’ve photographed, it felt freeing to disappear into the anonymity of Hong Kong, a city of 7,500,000.

A sea turtle is photographed in the Blue Corner in Palau.

After Hong Kong, I made stops in the Philippines, Nepal, Brunei, Palau and South Korea, where I had been many years before but had never thoroughly explored. In the Philippines, I went sailing in Coron, scuba diving in El Nido; and in Manila, I explored the Makati neighbourhood. In Palau, a world-famous scuba diving destination, I practiced underwater photography and dove for the first time in a strong current. My last stop was South Korea, where I saw beautiful sights, experienced the vibrant nightlife, went beauty shopping and ate delicious food.

I came away from Asia with new perspectives, new experiences and having met some amazing photographers. I was refreshed and ready to get back to work.

Family of Linda Beardy hold each other and cry April 7, 2023 in Winnipeg, Canada, during a rally to remember her life. Beardy’s body was found earlier in the week at the Brady Road Landfill.

Back in Winnipeg, the remains of another woman was found in a landfill and I photographed a few heart-breaking rallies. Having travelled to an international photojournalism festival earlier this year, and then later to another U.S.-based photojournalism conference, I now know many people outside of Canada don’t realize the severity or the significance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in our country and how deeply colonization in Canada continuously harms Indigenous people. I’m hoping in the future, this will change. For now, as long as community members are willing to share with me, I will continue to document their stories in my role as a journalist.

Activists burn an injunction order from the city July 14, 2023 at Brady Road Landfill. The order is telling the protestors they must leave the main road which they started blocking in early July, after the province said they would not support a search for the remains of two First Nations women believed to be at Prairie Green Landfill, who were two of four women allegedly killed by a Winnipeg man.

Activists hug July 18, 2023 at Brady Road Landfill after the city clears their blockade earlier in the day. A camp remains at the site of the landfill and another camp has been set up next to the Human Rights Museum.

The rest of the summer was mostly light. I photographed a variety of stories in Winnipeg and celebrated a Photo of the Year and Portrait of the Year win from News Photographers Association of Canada. It was validating to have that recognition from industry peers though I would have been satisfied either way with not winning any awards knowing many photographers (though fewer as of late given the state of the industry now in year 2023) are able to have long and gratifying careers creating work that is meaningful to their community without any industry honours. I think most of us get into this industry not to win prizes but to help or witness in some way. Regardless, I now feel more sure about working on smaller stories that may not receive any recognition and that the majority may not understand the significance of, but are important stories nonetheless.

Feather Talia (centre) performs during Pride Week at a drag brunch in Winnipeg, Canada, May 27, 2023.

I took a couple of road trips to the states in the summer - once to Montana, where I had never been to but had heard plenty about. I went to Missoula, which is also the name of the book I had just started reading, and drove through Bozeman, which is referenced in the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The trip was not life-changing nor awe-inspiring probably because I was in a rush but I enjoy a classic summer road-trip from time to time, and I wanted to see the two cities for myself after reading about them.

The second trip I took in the summer was to Minneapolis, a city I drove to from Toronto many years before on another road trip, passing through Chicago. Occasionally, I like going back to places I have been to before, reflecting on the person I was then and what was important to me, compared to the person I am now. I don’t think I have changed a lot. I spent the trip gawking at the enormity of the Mall of America, an activity I also did on the previous trip, but I also visited St. Paul, the twin city I missed the last time around. Yet, while my values and the person I am at my core did not change since my last visit to Minneapolis, what has changed is that I’ve been to more places, met more people and I’ve seen more.

A cowboy watches a bull during a professional bull-riding event in Winnipeg May 25, 2023.

In August, I moved back to Toronto after being laid off from my newspaper job. I spent the rest of the summer in the southern France region where I went to Perpignan, France, for the Visa pour L’Image photo festival, and visited Nice, Marseille, Barcelona, Andorra and Monaco. In October, I went to Washington D.C. to complete a hostile environment and first aid course. I hope to never have to use the life-saving training I learned but I also feel better knowing I am more useful to the people around me if an emergency were to happen. It was also helpful and inspiring in both Perpignan and Washington D.C. to meet so many photojournalists working on a variety of projects, each contributing to a global dialogue.

Winnipeg Folk Festival attendees attempt to stay dry July 6, 2023.

In the fall, once back in Toronto, I started photographing for wire agencies. It was rewarding to see my photos published internationally and it’s also been gratifying to be assigned bigger stories each year I’ve been working in journalism.

In November, I was given my first assignment for The Globe and Mail since moving back to Toronto. The photo ended up being on the front page of a national paper, an honour I hadn’t achieved before my stint in Winnipeg. There are many reasons some photos end up on front pages while others are held back that have nothing to do with skill, yet I still sense things have shifted for me since leaving Toronto and coming back. I am now being assigned front-page-worthy stories. I am incredibly grateful to the editors who have watched me grow in skill throughout the years and yet still gave me those first assignments to help build that skill, confidence and experience.

While working in Winnipeg was not always the easiest, I don’t regret a thing. During my time there, I tried my best to improve the working conditions for other journalists from traditionally marginalized backgrounds who might arrive after me and also advocated for parity during a year with record inflation; but ultimately, I was shown there may not be much of a future for journalists in Canada with all of the lay-offs that occurred in the country this year, mine included. Regardless, because of my relentless (though possibly naive at this point) optimism, my hopes are still high for the road ahead in my photojournalism career and I can’t wait to see where I’ll be or what I’ll be working on this time next year.

A dancer is photographed June 1, 2023 at a powwow in Winnipeg.

This year, I completed a personal project and started several new ones. I feel more confident editing my own stories now and am continually appreciative to the photo community around me for helping me with their selections of my work as well.

E12 skaters are photographed during synchronized skating practice in Mississauga November 20, 2023.

In December, I travelled to my 77th country, Jamaica. I drove around the island from Montego Bay and tried parasailing for the first time. I am wrapping up my year feeling drained but satisfied. It was a full year. But I am excited for what comes next.

Montego Bay, Jamaica, in December.

I finished reading 18 books this year. Here are the books I recommend of the 18, in the order I read them in:

1. Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

2. Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

3. Minor Feelings - Cathy Park Hong

4. Red China Blues - Jan Wong

5. Out of the Blue - Jan Wong

6. Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted - Suleika Jaouad

7. Men Explain Things to Me - Rebecca Solnit

8. Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalyas - Harley Rustad

9. The Obstacle is the Way - Ryan Holiday

10. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town - Jon Krakauer

11. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping - Paco Underhill

12. Magnum Contact Sheets

13. A Promised Land - Barack Obama

Thank you for following along on my photo journey! I’ll see you in 2024.

Learning the ins and outs of new underwater gear in Montego Bay in Jamaica, in December.

2022 Year in review

Barbados in April

2022 was one heck of a year. I travelled to five new countries and in between daily news assignments, was lucky to go up north to remote communities in Manitoba twice for The Winnipeg Free Press. I read 25 books and they were mostly enjoyable. I also moved into a new apartment and worked on (and published) a few photo projects I’m proud of. I was fortunate to be given a handful of fantastic opportunities but I also made a lot happen for myself. I advocated for myself more this year and it worked.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okmakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee (second from right) and then Assembly of Manitoba Grand Chief Arlen Dumas (second from left) leave Cross Lake First Nation with their team. A house fire had taken the lives of three young children the night before and the chiefs were in the community to give their condolences.

In February, I was assigned to fly up north to Cross Lake First Nation, 520 km north of Winnipeg. It was one of the most difficult stories I would photograph for the year. A house fire had taken the lives of three young children and I was sent to document the aftermath. I don’t like that part of my job involves photographing human suffering but I am grateful for the trust I was given by the communities who welcomed me into their lives this year. I am honoured to have been able to witness so many important moments and given opportunities to try to convey the story or moment into photos.

The mother and father of the three children who passed away from a house fire in Cross Lake grieve during a ceremony to remember their children while the grandmother comforts them.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okmakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee (left) is photographed on the plane ride back from an emotionally exhausting day at Cross Lake First Nation, where the Chief is from. Three children perished in a house fire in the community.

Jennifer Hansen is photographed isolating at her home. She tested positive for COVID-19 after two years of avoiding it.

Mom Olena Hrushytska tears up at her son Sasha’s first day of school. The family arrived in Winnipeg in April after escaping the war in Ukraine. They’ve been busy rebuilding their lives. Hrushytska started two part-time jobs and Sasha started attending a local Ukrainian school.

Makaylah Gerard-Roussin’s family and family embrace during a day-long vigil at the ATV trail where the 20 year old’s body was found.

Residential school survivor Charlie Bittern poses for a photo in front of an archival image of a residential school class. In 1967, when he was 19, Bittern was forced by the principal of his school to run 80 km in a blizzard from Portage La Prairie to Brandon. “My lungs were burning, and my legs were going numb,” he says. Bittern has scars on his right calf, as a result of a station wagon driving into him when he dodged snow drifts.

Visual artist Bistyek poses for a photo in front of a wall of posters advertising his new show F—- War. As a child, he lived in Afrin, a Kurdish village in northern Syria, until war brought him to Winnipeg.

In the summer, I went on several road trips - to Mount Rushmore, North Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming; then to Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw. Some places were new to me and were on the bucket list, but others were nostalgic trips. I found myself thinking about the person I was the last time I was there and how much had changed.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly poses for a photo at the Human Rights Museum.

Max Kerman of The Arkells is photographed during a concert in Winnipeg.

Married couple Nancy Delgado and Yair Vanegas take part in Salsa Sundays in Winnipeg during the summer.

On a longer break, I travelled to Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I had been wanting to do this trip since before the pandemic and drove from Tirana along the coast until I reached Himare, making photographs along the way. I hadn’t travelled as much as I used to in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and now that travel is possible again, I am making up for lost time.

Highway 73 in South Dakota

Tourists gaze up at Mount Rushmore.

Back in Winnipeg, I enjoyed the warm summer and quickly got back into the hum of newspaper life. Soon, I would begin two long-term projects I had pitched earlier in the year.

A road trip through Barbados in April.

A sunbather enjoys the waves at a beach off the Ionian Coast in Himare, Albania.

A rest stop in the Ceraunian Mountains, Albania.

In the fall, I flew to Pukatawagan to document a fly-in dentist who had been serving the community for the last 14 years. The area had unfortunately experienced a wildfire over the summer which led to their power lines being damaged. They were operating off of generators and as a result, frequent loss of electricity was a common occurrence. It was a challenge for me to document that story because of the elements I was working in, the long hours I spent photographing and also because I was a guest of a community that historically has been portrayed negatively in mainstream media, if they receive any coverage at all. I did not want to give them a reason to distrust future journalists.

Ruby feels her jaw after an intense round of tooth extraction in Pukatawagan, Manitoba, where I photographed dentist Wally Mah (left) on the job.

On assignment in Pukatawagan, Manitoba

I am incredibly grateful for all of the fun and interesting assignments that I’ve had this year and thankful to everyone I’ve photographed who has graciously brought their energy and given their time to me during our sessions.

A boy in Pukatawagan, Manitoba

Now that we’re at the end of the year, I find myself reflecting on the kind of work I want to be spending time on in the new year. I’m also thinking about the places I want to explore. I travelled to my 71st (UN recognized) country this year and while I realize I have come far, I also know there are many places I have yet to travel to, and many I would like to go back to.

Kotor, Montenegro

Congrats to everyone who made it to the end of this year and thank you for joining me on this journey whether you are a colleague, editor or someone I’ve photographed. These past few pandemic years have not been easy. Hopefully in a few years’ time, we can look back and maybe smile at it all because we survived. See you in 2023!

Swimming with sharks somewhere off of Nassau, Bahamas

2021 Year in review

After a shoot for The Winnipeg Free Press at the St. Vital Park in Winnipeg, I posed for a photo in front of a backdrop photographer Mikaela MacKenzie and I had set up. Photo by Mikaela MacKenzie

I started January 2021 at home, with lots of hope that the world would soon return to normal with the arrival of vaccines. I had made goals of travelling later in the year to make up for 2020. I did end up travelling a little, but not in the way I expected. 

This year, I worked with lots of amazing editors and was fortunate enough to publish stories which really interested me. I also was lucky enough to accomplish two long-awaited career goals. Part of my photo project Targets of Hate was published in National Geographic, in an online article about racism against Asians; and after years of wondering when my time would come, I was finally was sent to photograph Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is photographed amongst local Liberal Party Members of Parliament candidates at Blue Note Park in Winnipeg on September 19, 2021, the night before the federal election. The Liberals’ federal PR team is well-versed in making the best impression. There were plenty of bright lights set up at the event, so that the PM and the candidates could be photographed well-lit.

The big news for my year would be Winnipeg though. In August, I moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to start a staff job as a photographer at the Winnipeg Free Press, the region’s largest daily paper. I packed up my life and my two cats and drove us all west on a three-day road trip through Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, and small Northern Ontario towns. It was beautiful and brought back memories of pre-pandemic life when I would drive all over the U.S., stopping in all the towns I knew by name but had never actually travelled to.

But before that, I enjoyed summer in Toronto, fortunate to be photographing “boat life” and exploring alternative housing options in Toronto for Toronto Life Magazine. I spent many days on the Toronto Islands on what started as a personal project, and it was pure bliss. I also documented several protests related to housing and witnessed strong community action and brutal shows of police force.

Protestors gather February 28, 2021 below the residence of Toronto Mayor John Tory to serve a cardboard cut-out of Tory with notices of action to drop a lawsuit against a local carpenter who built tiny shelters for the unhoused; create housing for the unhoused; and to repeal by-laws that prevent people from camping in parks.

Karyna and Francois pose for a photo in their boat home, docked in Mimico, where they live year round.

Charlie lowers the ladder on her boat home, which is docked at the Toronto Islands. She and her partner Sia live on the boat for six months each year during the summer.

Talia and Michel pose for a photo on their boat home, which is docked at a marina near Harbourfront. They live year round on their boat.

Sia and Charlie pose for a photo on their boat home which is docked at the Toronto Islands. They live on their boat for six months out of the year.

Though this year did not go quite the way I expected, all in all, I am very grateful to have been able to make all the work that I did this year. Here are a few other images I made this year that capture my 2021:

After the horrifying violence against Asian spa workers in Atlanta in early March, thousands protested and spoke up in cities around the world including Toronto.

This is a portrait I really liked. Ontario Tech chancellor Mitch Frazer, photographed for The Globe and Mail.

Soon after moving to Winnipeg, on the second day of working at the Winnipeg Free Press, my editor sent me to photograph a rally against vaccine mandates.

Dr. Eric Bohm, a surgeon, is photographed outside Concordia Hospital. Bohm says he would like to do more surgeries amidst a growing waitlist of patients but because of a provincial budget cap, he and other surgeons are not allowed.

Elder Wa Wa Tai Ikwe (Northern Lights Woman) of the Bear Clan, also known as Louise McKay, is photographed at St. Vital Park.

Margaret Swan, a senior political advisor at Southern Chief’s Organization, acting director of Child and Family Services and chairwoman of the board of Southern First Nations Network of Care.

Conservative party MP candidate Joyce Bateman is photographed in her home office before elections.

Liberal MP Terry Duguid is photographed on election night after winning his riding of Winnipeg South.

Chris Tacan with his horse Prince during a rest stop with the Sioux Valley Dakota Unity Riders.

Travis Mazawasicuna tends to his horses at the end of a ride with the Sioux Valley Dakota Unity Riders.

The Sioux Valley Dakota Unity Riders ride to bring awareness to issues affecting Indigenous people and to connect with their ancestors.

Gavin during a visit to Winnipeg in November. Shot on Portra 400 film.

Polar bears play in snow in Churchill, Manitoba.

An electric tundra buggy travels in Churchill, Manitoba.

Bombers player Zach Collaros emerges from smoke, holding the Grey Cup.

Bombers player Rasheed Bailey flexes some muscle at an event at IG Field, celebrating the team’s Grey Cup win.

Bombers player Mike Benson holds his son during a celebration of the Bombers’ Grey Cup win. The Bombers kickers celebrate behind him.

Santa walks past a discarded mask on December 22, 2021.

2021 was definitely an improvement to 2020 for me and I created some of my strongest work this year. I am so grateful to all of the editors who hired me and gave me opportunities to prove myself. I know I am fortunate that I get to make art for a living and am thankful every day. I’m hoping that 2022 will finally be the year that we can travel more freely and gather without restrictions. In any case, we made it to the end of 2021. That deserves some celebration. Thanks for reading. See you in 2022!

The only time I got on a plane this year was to go to Churchill, Manitoba, to photograph some polar bears and an electric tundra buggy for The Winnipeg Free Press. Never in a million years would I have predicted this trip at the start of 2021.

2020 Year in review

Amsterdam on March 14, two days before everything shut down. The girl in this photo had no idea about the next nine months ahead of her.

2020 was a heart-breaking, frustrating and all-around strange year for everyone. I made the best I could out of it. It was all I could do while sheltered at home in Toronto. I continued making photos, writing and saying what I felt needed to be said. I know being able to stay home is a privilege and I am grateful to our frontline workers who sacrificed so much these past few months.

I’m not going to count my losses from this year but to be honest, maybe I needed this pandemic to focus myself in my art and practice. In years past, I likely would have been on a trip somewhere when photo editors called (this has happened twice that I know of, but who knows how many other times I lost photo work because I was out of the country...). It took a global pandemic to ground me to one spot, but it was probably very helpful to both photo editors and to me, to actually physically be in the place they expected me to be in when they commissioned an assignment.

My photo of Hannah Wei (bottom left), a COVID-19 survivor, commissioned by Bloomberg Businessweek.

This year, I’m grateful I got to tell stories about alternative housing, precarious living conditions, lifestyle and travel through my van life series in Toronto Life Magazine. As a millennial who graduated from school into a housing bubble in Toronto, this idea of thriving under difficult and different conditions that previous generations didn’t have has been on my mind for a while now. I am thankful to my editors and all of the individuals who shared their lives with me so that we could (in our unique way) add to the dialogue about housing affordability, alternative lifestyles and the increasing cost of living relative to stagnant wages in Ontario.

Max Schneider, 26, resting during a break at his courier job in Toronto. Max, originally from Germany, arrived in Canada in the spring of 2018. He bought a used van to sleep in and save money on accommodations.

Logan Barbosa, 21 and David Snow, 25, live in a converted van home in Caledon, Ontario. Logan says the property market in Southern Ontario is out of reach for people her age.

Jamieson Lamb, 37, lives in a van in Barrie year round while working two part-time jobs to be able to afford grad school without going into debt.

Crystal Drinkwalter, 25 (right) and Jazmyn Canning, 26, travel full-time in their converted Mercedes Sprinter van.

This summer, I also photographed many social justice protests. I feel like I’ve aged years through these past nine months. I’ve now photographed enough arrests to know how a police officer will approach a person to arrest them. Those movies where the person who is about to be arrested has an entire two minutes before being handcuffed to give a speech about they how will get their revenge from jail? I know now that is totally fake. In real life, that would never happen. In real life, arrests are quick and swift.

Police form a human barricade to prevent protestors from entering the building Toronto Mayor John Tory resides in on July 6. The protestors were asking for the mayor to reinstate an eviction moratorium that would be lifted in August as the emergency order in Ontario ended.

As the pandemic played out, I also watched with sadness and frustration as more and more reports of harassment towards people of Chinese and Asian backgrounds happened. Despite living in Canada, a country seen internationally as multicultural and accepting, the reality is xenophobia is still prevalent out there. I am grateful to the editors at Maclean’s Magazine who provided me space to publish a piece about how racism has affected the lives of several Chinese Canadians.

Inthida Ngeth, 40, and her two daughters Emily, 11, and Audrey, 8. As the coronavirus spread across the country, Ngeth, who volunteers at North American Association of Asian Professionals, wondered about how she would explain how to handle covid-related racism to her to young daughters.

Andre Goh, 57, has encountered racism almost his entire life since moving to Toronto as a teenager. “The experience of being ‘othered’ has been with me a long time. I’m always wondering if I’m good enough. There’s even a point in my life I convinced myself I was white. It was easier,” he says.

I also made time to relax in the summer and covered ‘softer’ pieces like how a drag queen shifted her business outdoors during the pandemic because nightclubs and bars were closed and how people were trying to get outdoors after being cooped up inside all spring.

Sofonda Cox has been performing as a drag queen in Toronto for over 20 years. Before the pandemic, she was very busy with regular shows and hosting gigs. With bars and restaurants closed, she has had to find new ways to make money including performing a ‘curbside drag show’.

My friend Brian bought a sailboat during the summer months of the pandemic to get outdoors. I photographed and wrote about him in Toronto Life Magazine.

I also made a few portraits I am really proud of.

My friend Alix, originally from France.

Nazima Qureshi, a registered dietician, sits in her garden. Commissioned by the Globe and Mail for a piece about nutrition and food.

Author Robyn Maynard for Winnipeg Free Press.

My friend George was a working model in the 70’s and 80’s. He has since retired but does occasional shoots for fun.

And like many people under lockdown, I levelled up in my cooking skills at home and also watched many movies I normally would not have time to watch and rewatched a few favourites. I read 20 books in total.

Here are the movies I enjoyed this year (I didn’t include movies I didn’t enjoy on this list):

Sophie’s Choice
Batman trilogy
Tootsie
The Firm
Rosemary’s Baby
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Marvel movies (I tried to watch them in order)
Funny Girl
King Kong (2005)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Primal Fear
From Dusk till Dawn
The Lobster
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Django Unchained
Reservoir Dogs
Internal Affairs
Public Enemies
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
The Basketball Diaries
Mordecai
Moon
The Gentlemen
Along Came a Spider
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
Clue
Jumanji (1995)
American Gigolo
The Jackal
The Score

Here are the books I enjoyed this year (I didn’t include books I didn’t enjoy on this list):

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion
Educated - Tara Westover
The Psychopath Test - Jon Ronson
Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan
Chop Suey Nation - Ann Hui
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
Open Book - Jessica Simpson
Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
Moneyball - Michael Lewis
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
This is Cuba - David Ariosto
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee
Daily Rituals - Mason Currey

Though I didn’t get to go many places this year, I am still grateful for the many photo projects I was able to work on, the new people I was able to meet socially-distanced and for all of the great literature and media I was inspired by. I am hoping 2021 brings more normalcy, more photo projects and more travel. Right now I don’t have any plans because it’s hard to plan during a pandemic, but I do have an idea of where I’d like to go. For now, I am just grateful to have survived this strange year… and if you’re reading this, you did too. Congrats. See you in 2021!

2019 Year in Review

Swimming in Flores, Guatamala on New Year’s Eve

2019 was an up and down year. I spent 121 days of the year travelling (33% of the year), and went to 11 new countries. But sometime in February, one of the worst things that could happen to a photographer happened to me. 

I started 2019 in the most unlikely of places in the world - Flores, Guatemala, a small lake-side town of about 14,000 people. I had met a German traveller on the bus from Belize who was staying in Flores that night. With a group of others, we went into the old town of Flores City that consisted of bars and small restaurants and watched the fireworks and lit a few ourselves. It was wild. Merchants sold their own homemade firecrackers to anyone. In the square where we all settled in at the end of the night, many were lighting long epic chains of firecrackers and fireworks to the cheers of the watching crowd. The atmosphere was loud and exuberant. At one point, I thought I would go deaf. What a way to bring in the new year.

2019 was my first full year doing pure freelance and of course in a cruel twist of fate, in the second month of what was going to be my year of photography, my camera, laptop and lenses all were stolen out of my car. It’s just like life to do that. But it’s also just like life to give you some cool surprises too mid-year while you are licking your wounds - but more on that later.

After getting back to Toronto from Latin America, it was time to get to work. I photographed a few projects I really enjoyed and was fortunate enough to be able to develop my skills as a photographer through varied news assignments.

Shortly after the theft that nearly ruined me, I covered a rally against the cut of safe injection sites around Toronto. Some of the people I photographed were mothers who had lost their children to overdose. Their child had passed away two years ago and I understood their grief much more acutely than I might have before. I wondered how long I would grieve about my own loss.

A mother mourns her son at a Overdose Prevention Rally in Toronto, 2019. Shot for The Globe and Mail.

It was a cold winter for me grieving the loss of the gear I had saved up for and worked for since the beginning of this decade that was stolen in one night. My beliefs about humanity and my country were altered that night too. I realized Canada was not the safe haven I always thought it was. While I had known there was suffering here, I had not known it was so deep that it would compel some to take away from others and cause more suffering. It was a difficult time.

But with Spring came along photo projects I really enjoyed and assignments I loved doing and thrived at. I am grateful to have worked with new editors, new clients and also to have met new photographer friends.

I photographed the Canadian Barista Championships in Toronto for The Globe and Mail and it was one of my favourite projects this year. I go to so many coffee shops and love coffee but rarely talk to the baristas, though I should more often.

After a few photo projects under my belt earlier in the year, soon enough, it was time for me to chase after personal goals by going to India.

The Taj Mahal moments after sunrise is already crowded with tourists

I had placed India on my “To-Do” bucket list in 2012 after seeing a friend’s photo of their visit to the Taj Mahal. I also wanted to see this majestic building, one of the seven wonders of the world for myself. For years, I had waited for the perfect opportunity to go with friends or a partner, but every time I wanted to go, my travel companions who also wanted to go India would either have no money, not enough vacation time or our schedules wouldn’t agree.

Jaipur at sunset

I decided in the end to make the journey solo because I had waited long enough for everything to ‘fall into place’ and it did the opposite. Patience might be a virtue but so is taking action for what you want to do in your life.

I was rewarded with many beautiful scenes, delicious Indian food and a first-hand, unfiltered experience of India. I spent my days exploring many cities, lounging on Goan beaches and taking long, beautiful motorcycle trips alone. It also felt fantastic to finally check something off my bucket list. And in a surprise bonus, I had the fortune to meet a travel partner I would take many trips later in the year with. Thank you, India!

I capped off India by going to Sri Lanka, then Georgia and Ukraine on the way home. It was bliss after my harsh early start to the year.

Elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka

My road trip through Georgia was momentarily halted by sheep traffic, but who cares?

The top of Tbilisi, Georgia, one of my favourite destinations this year.

After a month of exploring India, Sri Lanka, Georgia and Ukraine, it was time to go back to Toronto. It was now summer which meant sailing season, barbecues and road trips. I started shooting film for fun.

Holga film photograph taken in Northern Ontario

Cabin days just outside of Ottawa. Some of my favourite days this year were spent on the road.

In the Fall, I applied and was accepted into the Missouri Photo Workshop - an absolute game changer in terms of improving my documentary photography. Through the process of getting there, I also got to see parts of America I had never seen before through a week-long road trip. 

Farm life in Missouri

In Missouri, I documented a veterinarian/farmer and was lucky enough to meet/work with experienced editors and other photographers. As someone who never studied photography formally, this workshop taught me the basic process and also really helped ease my debilitating serious attitude I have for my work. I chose the most straight-forward story I possibly could (no drama) that I was unfamiliar with and aimed to get the visuals technically right. There’s always more time later on in a career to delve into hard-hitting topics or emotionally complicated narratives.

Rigi, Switzerland

Then it was time for a long-awaited trip to Switzerland, Italy, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and the Baltics. The Baltics had been on my list for the longest time and I had tried to go earlier in 2017, then in 2018 but conditions were never favourable enough (read: it was rain season). Highlights of my European trip included travelling by train through mountainous regions, tasting cheeses and chocolates; and a road trip through Italy and Slovenia. The last time I was in Switzerland, I only went for three days and slept on a couch because that was all I could afford as a new graduate. This time, I spent a full month and also travelled around to surrounding areas. I am grateful for the last decade which gave me opportunities that allowed for professional development, to pay off my student loans and also to see the world and capture it all.

Seeing the Gruyere region in Switzerland

Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux, Switzerland

San Marino, a country beside Italy

Having travelled the Baltics this year, I have now been lucky enough to see 80% of the countries of Europe. I have a better understanding of the continent and a greater appreciation of the varied history and cultures. I am hoping the experiences make me a more understanding and empathic photographer as well.

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

I capped off 2019 by artificially extending summer and going surfing in Costa Rica. Costa Rica gave me an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate for 2020 and the next decade. I plan to keep travelling to places I’ve always wanted to go to (this world is huge!) and hopefully work on more exciting photo projects. I am so grateful for everything I’ve learned this year, all the places I’ve travelled to and the people I’ve been fortunate to have met through photography. This journey has not been easy, especially this past year, but I’ve learned a lot and I’ve lived a lot. I am hoping the next decade will bring more exciting adventures, beautiful memories and kind-hearted souls into my life. Will you join me?

Lake Ontario earlier this summer

Canada150: Ten Best National Parks to Photograph, published in Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine

I'm really excited that my first cover feature is for Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine. You can buy this magazine in most bookstores, grocery stores and convenience stores around Canada. For this article, I researched the best national parks to go photograph in Canada this summer, just in time for Canada150, when access to all national parks are free. I learned a lot about how beautiful our vast land is, where to go if you want to photograph a specific animal/northern lights/landscape and a few tidbits of knowledge on outdoor survival skills. Here's a preview.