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.

From Board Rooms to Burning Buildings...

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So this summer has been busy to say the least...but that just makes it an exciting one!

Gary just got back recently from an assignment in Ontario, covering GoldCorp's 2018 Mine Rescue Summit. This was nerdy Gary's dream gig as he got to bring in all of his past experience with high angle rescue, fall protection and love of knot tying from his Communication tower building, and safety lead days. 

Mine rescue teams from every Goldcorp operation were brought together for a week of intensive training and the GBP team got to create both 'in action' and environmental portraits of the whole experience.  Emergency scenarios included everything from first aid, to high angle rope rescue, low visibility search and rescue, confined space rescue, firefighting, train derailment, aircraft extrication, and underground mine rescue! Again...nerdy Gary was stoked....

It was such a diverse assignment, as Gary's style of 'on site', documentary style work definitely involves getting as up and close as he can to the action. This meant he took the opportunity to renew some safety certifications like fall protection before heading out, and that he had to work very closely with the extremely strict safety protocols that were in place. 

In addition, our awesome drone pilot, Mike Code of Burning Grouse Productions, came along so that they were also able to get vantage points that would have been impossible from the ground in a safe way, which allowed for some really unique shots!

Then there was the battle of the 30 degree humid Ontario heat to work in while they were photographing rescue scenarios in front of 30 foot tall flames...

Needless to say, one of Gary's favourite assignments as of late. As our whole business is centred around photographing people and organizations at work, we are so lucky that we get to experience quite a variety of assignments throughout our year. From board rooms, to burning buildings...it's always an adventure, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

T1D. A Portrait Series

Earlier this spring we were lucky enough to be asked to do a portrait project for an amazing local organization called the Yukon T1D Support Network.

This organization provides peer supports, education, and advocacy for Yukon citizens diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, many of which are children. 

As part of an awareness project, the organizers wanted us to create a series of portraits of various community members who are either diagnosed themselves, or are family members of people who are living with T1D. 

We were so honoured to be able to work with such an inspiring group of people and were so excited with how they turned out.

If you, or someone you know has T1D and is looking for more support, advocacy, information or just a place to connect with some pretty amazing people-you should check out the Yukon T1D Support Network! 

 

 

 

A Legacy Portrait Project: Mining in the Yukon

It's Mining and Geology week here in the Yukon, and so we wanted to take the time to share one of our latest projects with the Yukon Chamber of Mines, the "Our Yukon, in it Together" Legacy portrait series

It was such a great experience getting to work with such a diverse group of people over the past few months, learning about their experience in the Mining industry, or about how the industry supports their organizations and communities. 

From the on the Geologists working on site, to the aviation industry, to the hospitals and communities than benefit from fundraising efforts.... We were so happy with how the portrait series came together to showcase the various faces and experiences behind the industry.

For more info on the campaign, check out http://www.ouryukon.ca/ , and to find out more about what is happening this week, go to:  http://www.yukonminingweek.ca/ 

And finally, a huge thank you to all of the community members who were a part of this series:

1) Joella Hogan, First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun

2) Al Doherty, Exploration Geologist

3) Wendy Tayler, Alkan Air and Kaetlynn Mitchell

4) Brad Thrall, Alexco Resource Corp.

5) Samson Hartland, Yukon Chamber of Mines (and his eldest daughter Cadence). 

6) Mike Burke, Senior Geologist

7) Karen Barnes, President of Yukon College,

8) Karen Forward, Yukon Hospital Foundation

9) Josh Clark, Whitehorse, Yukon

10) Shelagh Rowles, Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining, Yukon College

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.

 

 

Showcase your company: Creating a photo library

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One of the most popular services we offer our clients, is creating photo libraries for them.

In order to stay current and relevant with online marketing, one of the most beneficial things for a company to do is to have a library of images that they can pull from on any given day. 

So instead of having a few standard shots that are used throughout different platforms, many of our clients instead are asking us to do a series of images, so that they have more to utilize over a longer period of time. In this way, they have a larger variety of media to choose from, and can therefore react to current events, or simply have better control over what media and images are highlighted over time.

We love this type of assignment as it really relies on our ability to shoot a variety of different scenarios and locations, but still retain a consistent look/feel for the client so their media is diverse but also cohesive all at the same time.  Sounds like a challenge!? We'll take it...

Today we thought we'd share a few examples from a recent photo library we created with the City of Whitehorse. It was so fun over the course of a few months to work with such a large variety of departments, in order to showcase the variety of work the employees do. From winter to summer, office work to heavy machinery, we got to highlight it all. 

If this is something you're interested in more of, give us a shout at info@gbpcreative.ca and we can chat about how a photo library might be useful for you!

 

2018...the year the blog comes back...

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Last year we took a little break from blogging. We had a new member join the GBP team (our daughter Mabel) and so paired down a little bit on some things to get her situated in her new job as future assistant for the company. 

But  now that we're all back in the full swing, we decided it was time to dust off the old Blog sharing skills and get back into it, so with that, thought we'd jump in by sharing one of our latest projects here in 2018!

We recently did some portraits for our friends who are starting up their new production company, Outpost 31. These guys are pros in the film industry, now combining their talents under one roof and so were looking for some new imagery for their website launch! 

Keep your eyes out for projects coming your way from Outpost 31...

 

 

 

 

2016...that's a wrap!

It's fair to say that 2016 has been a memorable year all around. The world stage has been a scary one at times, but some great things have happened as well. 

Personally, we welcomed our baby Mabel onto the team, and we've done some of our favourite assignments to date. We flew to a variety of sites all around the Yukon this summer, curing Bri of her fear of flying (thank you Alkan Air for being so awesome!), we've worked with artists, politicians, and business owners. And most importantly, the thing we were most proud of in 2016 was our "This is how I really feel" mental health series that was shown at the Yukon Arts Centre this summer. 

Today we've taken the time to reflect on everything that 2016 gave us-the good and the bad, and we look forward to another year of adventure ahead. We have assignments booked that are going to take us to other countries and cultures, we have re-occuring and new clients that we are planning projects with, and most importantly we are planning some good family and friend adventures to remind us what is really important at the end of the day.

So on that note, we wanted to share a review of our 2016 year...This doesn't include everything, but it's a great overview of the breadth of assignments we got to take on this year. 

We wish everyone a fantastic new year-we hope the next year is a great one. Be safe out there tonight-be kind to one another, and let's make 2017 an awesome one!

Bri and Gary 

 

New websites need a new look!

We often get calls from clients when they're about to make a change in their marketing or promotion.

Whether they're starting a new business, doing a re-brand, or just starting off a new year, it's often a great time to re-visit their marketing materials and ensure they're as up to date and fresh as they need to be!

In one of our most recent shoots, our client Sarah contacted us as she was about to launch a new website for her lifestyle business, and wanted some more current photos to help populate the site. 

We wanted to ensure she had a variety of shots that feature her, as the lead consultant, and really focus on a fresh, healthy, and light feel as she works with helping people make lifestyle changes to help them deal with chronic pain.

The awesome team at the Birch and Bear helped us out by providing a great location for the indoor and patio shots, and then the Yukon River made for the perfect backdrop for some more casual outdoor looks.

Check them out! 
 

 

 

 

Your recycling dreams have come true...

When we first signed up for Blue Bins Recycling back in the day, as our blue bins were delivered to our door we were told "our recycling dreams have come true"...and they DID!

No more garage full of 6 months worth of recycling we had to try to take down to the centre as it's done every 2 weeks instead! SCORE. 

Needless to say, we're big fans of Blue Bin Recycling and were stoked to work with them to create some new marketing material for their company that features a bunch of their sweet merch! 

As it's a fun, energetic company, we wanted to be sure the images reflected that, so this is what we came up with!
 

If you want to check out their services, OR get a hold of some sweet merch to help promote another awesome local company, check em' out at: http://www.whitehorsebluebins.com/