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.

Photo of the Year and Portrait of the Year at News Photographers Association of Canada

Charlie Bittern poses for a photo at the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg September 23, 2023.

I am thrilled to announce my News Photographers Association of Canada National Pictures of the Year wins for Photo of the Year and Portrait of the Year.

My greatest thanks to Charlie for his generosity in sharing his story with me and for helping Canadians have a better understanding of just how devastating it was to attend residential and day school. Without you, this portrait could not have happened.

I am also grateful to my editor at the Winnipeg Free Press, Mike Aporius, for the photo assignment and for encouraging me to call Charlie so that I could add detail to the cutline and fully share the horrors of being a residential and day school survivor to hold the Canadian government to account. I am proud to be in a newsroom that prioritizes Indigenous stories and pushes for justice.

Finally I would like to thank my good friends and fellow photojournalists at the paper Mike Deal and Mikaela Mackenzie. Working in Winnipeg has not always been easy. I value our friendships and the support you have given me over the past two years.

Congrats to all of the other winners and nominees!

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Residential and day school survivor Charlie Bittern poses for a photo at the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg at the residential schools display on September 23, 2022. He entered the day school system in Berens River, Manitoba, at 7 years old where he was not allowed to speak his language of Saulteaux. When he was 10, his day school teacher hit him on the right side of his temple with a yardstick because he was late coming back to school from lunch and he took out the wrong textbook during the lesson. Bittern now takes medication daily to help him with his weak eye which was caused during the hit. He spent eight years at day school during his elementary years and four years in residential school during high school. In 1967, Bittern, then 19, was forced to run 80 kilometres through a November snowstorm by the principal of his residential school from Bagot, Manitoba, to Brandon, Manitoba. He still has scars on his right leg from a station wagon driving into him when he dodged snow drifts during that run. “No matter what the government has done to us through the residential school system, we will never die out,” he says.

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.

A Place to Call Home in Toronto Life Magazine

Logan, 21, and David, 26, live in the van home Logan built. Logan converted the van after meeting many others who lived in vans when she lived in Banff. She realized in the current housing market in Southern Ontario, she would not be able to afford property and did not want to pay rent.

A Place to Call Home is a personal photo project I started after meeting many people during my travels who were living alternative lifestyles and thriving. When I got back home to Toronto, I found that local costs of living were rising to the point of being unsustainable - thus the idea for this project was born. The photo essay follows the lives of a variety of individuals in Ontario whose lifestyles are affected by the rising costs of housing – and documents how they adapt to living in mobile homes in Canadian climates without showers, flushing toilets or a permanent address

The photos are currently running as a series in Toronto Life Magazine.

Max, 26, gets ready for his job during the morning in his van home parked downtown in Toronto. Originally from Germany, his dream is to see Canada.

Heather and Curtis in their van home, normally parked in Orillia.

Madison, 30, and Raynor, 34, share a moment in their van home. The 400cmx 180 cm of living space that is their home functions as a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and office. They plan to live out of their van indefinitely to cut their costs of living and have sold their properties to choose a simpler life.

Jamieson in his van home in Barrie. Jamieson is currently earning a degree in his second career and did not want to carry debt in order to do his studies. He moved into his van home while working part-time so that he would not have to pay for rent. He woke up with ice all over his face and beard during his first week living in his van in January.

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

Canadian National Barista Championship in Globe and Mail

Jill Hoff from Calgary presents the coffee she made at the National Barista Championship in Toronto.

Last week, I got to photograph the best baristas in the country at the Canadian National Barista Championships for The Globe and Mail. It was a dream assignment for me because I love coffee culture and also geeking out to delicious coffee. It was also interesting to chat with people who love coffee so much that they devoted a significant amount of their lives to perfecting the skill of making coffee. What drives them? Why are they spending so many hours preparing for a competition?

Here are a few photos from the event, but also check out the interactive feature the Globe put out here.

TORONTO - (March 17, 2019) The twenty-two best baristas in Canada gathered at The Artist Factory to battle it out for the title of best barista at the 2019 Canadian Barista Championships. The event was held to select a Canadian representative to compete in the World Barista Championships in Boston next month.

To earn their spot to compete with the best of the best in Canada, the baristas spend months taste-testing and selecting the coffee bean they will use, rehearsing their routine and practicing to make the perfect cup of coffee. At the competition, each competitor has fifteen minutes to present to four judges their coffee creations. The baristas are judged by the taste and presentation of the cup they brew (latte art), their preparing technique, how accurately they describe the flavour profiles in the coffee they present, their efficiency and cleanliness of their coffee station and also the creativity of a signature drink they create. The event is a fun celebration bringing together fans of the steadily-growing third-wave craft coffee culture in Canada, which uses high-quality Arabica beans, usually sourced directly from a farm in a coffee-growing region, with many cafés roasting their own beans in-house.

Cole Torode, 27, from Calgary, presents his coffee creations to the judges at the 2019 National Barista Championship in Toronto. He was the 2018 and 2019 winner and will go on to represent Canada in the World Barista Championship in Boston later this year.

A judge marks down flavour notes of the coffee he is tasting at the 2019 National Barista Championships in Toronto.

Nelson Phu, 29, from Calgary, grinds coffee beans while judges look on.

Derek Hamers, 37, Toronto Independent

“I’m originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, so there’s not really a specialty coffee scene there, at the time. I think it’s now starting to happen but before there was nothing really for me so I moved to Toronto. It broke my mother’s heart. I had to tell her, it was like ‘Mom, I’m moving to Toronto to become a barista, she’s like ‘Oh my god, Dewey’ [laughs]. But it was the right decision and I met an amazing community here and we’re all good friends and I’ve worked at many places here since and it’s been an awesome journey.”

Jann Meneses, 23, Toronto, Independent

“I’m really looking into finding myself a mentor. It takes some time to find the right one for me and I really need someone to look up to who’s going to guide me through my path and so it will just take some time. I want to meet someone that is very knowledgeable about the craft, knows the craft as much as I do and will teach me his ways.”

Meaghan Biddle, 31, London, ON Locomotive Espresso

“I have a degree in anthropology and a degree in classical civilizations and also in fashion design. I started working in coffee at a Starbucks about ten years ago, I worked there and worked my way up the company in a couple of years, but then I moved into just coffee so I started working at a small café in Toronto.”

Nelson Phu, 29, Calgary, Rosso Coffee Roasters

What makes a good cup of coffee?

“You need some acidity, ‘cause it’s interesting, definitely some sweetness and a couple notes, distinct flavor notes, make it amazing. A super long finish is also super nice.”

What does that mean? ‘Super long finish’?

“So imagine eating a caramel, and when you’re done the caramel, you’re still tasting the caramel. That’s the super long finish. It’s really rare to find that in coffee so it’s really nice if you do get one.”

Sameer Mohamed, 37, Toronto, Fahrenheit Coffee

“I competed about 15 years ago, that was my first competition, since then rules have changed, methods have changed and so there’s been a lot of adaptation, a lot of, I guess the industry as a whole has been steadied.”

Cole Torode, 27, Calgary, Rosso Coffee Roasters

2018 and 2019 National Barista Championship Winner

“We live in a very fortunate place in the world and coffee is not grown here but we appreciate coffee and I think the more, from a specialty coffee side, the more people we can bring into specialty coffee, the more we can pay premiums backward toward the supply chain to developing nations and to people who are just less fortunate than us, based on where they were born.”

Karine Ng, 32, Calgary, Phil and Sebastian Coffee Roasters

Describe how you trained for this competition:

“It’s almost like choreography. Kind of like if you’re a dancer you know exactly what moves you’re making at what time, at what point in time so it’s kind of like that, so repeating those movements a lot so you get to be very automatic about it. …all my spare time goes towards preparation for competition.”

Judges taste test coffee at the Canadian Barista Championships in Toronto.