Dream Trail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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T1D Portraits-Part Two

We were recently approached by the Yukon T1D Support Network to add a few more portraits to the series we started with them back in 2018. Knowing the impact this organization has on families who are navigating a life with T1D, we were of course happy to make it happen.

The Yukon T1D Support Network helps Yukoners who have Type 1 Diabetes through education, advocacy and support. We heard first hand through some of the families we worked with, how incredibly important their work is. Within a day of having a new diagnosis for their child, for example, people from the network had reached out and offered supports, helping them through the first overwhelming and frightening days trying to navigate this new reality.

Yet another incredible group of people in our community, putting everything they have into helping those around them. We are completely honoured to be able to work alongside them to create images that celebrate the strength, resiliency, and joy these families have in the face of T1D. They will be used as part of a new advocacy and awareness campaign.

And we also wanted to take the time to thank the incredible models/families who volunteer to be a part of this portrait series. To share your story, and to be an advocate while many are in newly diagnosed stages, and still trying to navigate this ‘new’ life they are leading. Thank you. You are inspiring.

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The people behind the city...Photo Library update!

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We’ve mentioned before that photo libraries are one of our favourite ways to create content for clients. Instead of one-off photo shoots as things come up over time, photo libraries are a way to purposefully create a library of personalized stock images that marketing and communications teams can then pull from as needed.

A lot of our larger clients are now turning towards these libraries as it can help communications teams pull content easily and efficiently in order to not only plan ahead for campaigns, but also respond when an event comes up throughout the year that they need content for.

We recently did an update on some of the City of Whitehorse departmental photography, and as always, had so much fun working with all of the crews. Always welcoming to us hauling our gear into their offices, or capturing them out on a job site no matter the weather-just a bunch of pros!


Commercial Photography: A Mixed bag

One of the many things we love about commercial photography is the fact that no two shoots are really ever the same, and this recent one we did was no exception!

We are excited to share some of these images from our recent work with Home Hardware, as it was one of those projects that got us to create a variety of different types of imagery for a client, all the while maintaining a consistent style throughout.

The client was doing a website update, and so wanted some new, cohesive photos to go with it. They bascially needed three different types of images: Headshots of some of the management team, environmental portraits, and then exterior/architectural shots.

We did this shoot over the course of two days. First, starting with setting up our headshot gear on location, for the ease of the team coming over to do their photos. Then we moved onto setting up the ‘in action’ or environmental portraits throughout the store where we get to capture employees doing their thing, as well as the interior building shots.

And finally, the next morning we set out bright and early before the store opened, in order to capture that beautiful morning light for the final series of exterior shots to show off the location.

We love projects like this as it allows us to utilize various skill sets all within one job. Moving from connecting one on one with a person to capture their headshot, to taking into account background details and working in a bustling store during work hours, to sitting patiently and waiting for the sun to light up a specific detail of a building…it’s projects like this that allow us to explore all the different types of skills we’ve gathered over the years and it feels great when we get to see the final product out in the world!


Northern Solar

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Not everyone knows this, but Gary’s former career before he took the leap and started GBP, was actually as a Journeyman Electrician. He had spent years before that installing communication towers throughout western Canada, and then when he moved to the Yukon, he switched gears into the electrical trade.

Specifically, he wanted be an electrician so he could specialize in renewable energies, and in particular the growing field of solar.

So needless to say, now over 10 years later, when we were able to team up with Solvest, a northern Canadian based solar company, to create some new imagery for them, Gary was pretty stoked!

We’ve actually had our eye on the Solvest team for quite a while. They’re a super cool company that not only specializes in residential, commercial and industrial solar installs, but also is working on northern food security issues through their Cropbox product, as well as research and consultation.

Part of the reason we love working in industrial settings, and in this case specifically with solar installation, is that Gary feels at home on the work sites. He knows the safety standards, he understands the principals behind the systems, and this allows him a unique perspective and the ability to really know which elements to highlight when photographing both the site and the employees on the job.

On this particular project, he was even able to work along side some of the crew he used to work with as an electrician, just this time, he was behind a camera instead of helping with the install itself!

So on that note, here are a few of the images we got to create of the Old Crow solar project. This project is expected to offset annual diesel consumption by up to 30% for the community! It’s a super unique system, custom to Old Crow as it’s east/west facing to take advantage of the long summer days, generating power at the time of day when people are at home, utilizing it the most!





Turns out birding is awesome...

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Being commercial/industrial photographers, we have gotten to experience a lot over the years in terms of learning about different industries, programs and organizations. That’s one of our favourite things about our job is that we are constantly learning new things and getting to meet the awesome people that make up our community.

BUT one thing I can say that we have never come across before is Birding…until NOW that is!

We are so stoked to be working with Lotteries Yukon and Mosaic Communications on Lotteries’ new “What’s Your Recreation” campaign, which was just launched! Throughout the course of the year, we get to work with Yukoners around the Territory and get portraits of them out doing a variety of recreational activities

And you know what guys? Thanks to Tedd here, our first model of the series, it turns out we learned Birding is CRAZY COOL.

Like did you know Woodpeckers tongues are so long, they actually wrap around their entire skull to help protect their brains from concussions!?

LOOK AT THIS DIAGRAM IT’S INSANE:

And that’s just the start of it…Immature Eagles have longer wings than adults because they act like “training wheels” and the Arctic Tern (which we do get here in the Yukon) has the longest migration of any animal in the world!

BIRDS! Fascinating creatures…

All this to say, my world view on birds has been changed. I now get excited when I hear them. I’ve caught the birding bug….

Huge thanks to the awesome team behind this exciting campaign! It’s always so awesome to see our images “out in the wild” with design and we are so excited to see what else we get to capture along the way!


Klondike Kettle Corn

One of our favourite projects so far this year was getting to work with Klondike Kettle Corn to develop some new imagery for their upcoming website re-launch and marketing materials!

Anyone who follows the work we do, knows we love working with small businesses and entrepreneurs, and getting to know Katie and her family was no exception. We got to do some lifestyle images with them, and they even braved the -40 weather we happened to get that weekend so that we could get some authentic Yukon Outdoor lifestyle shots! They were total pros the whole time. Our computer/tether system, however of course decided it didn’t want to work in -40, so we just did without….

Then, we went into a new realm that we haven’t tried before…food photography! For this set, we partnered up with Tara Kolla, a local stylist, who came to the GBP studio and worked with us for the day. We were so happy with how these turned out…and we can also confirm these flavours do in fact taste as good as they look. There was a LOT of taste testing going down…And our computer/tether system enjoyed this temperature a lot more.









Haiti

Reflecting on the past 12 months, we realized that 2018 was a year of serious ups and downs.

Professionally, we were lucky enough to work with a number of incredible clients on projects that took us all over the Yukon, Canada, and even to international countries. The result was some of our favourite work to date. Personally, however, we experienced heavy times and suffered the losses of loved ones.

It was a year of learning to adjust, and a reminder to really reflect on what’s important in life – to stay true to the values that we, as a family, and as a company, have tried to always live by.

So it only made sense that the end of 2018 brought one final project that was also filled with ups and downs – a project that has left us reflecting on it ever since Gary returned home, 

This November, Gary was lucky enough to be part of a team of Yukoners who travelled to Haiti with Shot in The Dark, a Yukon-based media production company. Shot in the Dark is creating a documentary that features the story of a Yukon woman, Morgan Wienberg, who created an organization in Haiti called Little Footprints Big Steps. It’s a child protection organization that focuses on family reunification and building self-sufficient futures for families in Haiti. Gary’s job was to create the stills for the project, including portraits of the families and people the documentary will feature, and behind-the-scenes shots of the filming process.

Morgan is an incredible person, with a fascinating story (we’ll be sure to let you know when the documentary is released so you can learn more). She has become part of what we now understand is a powerful community of people in Haiti, who have survived unimaginable circumstances, and yet remain some of the most kind, dedicated people Gary has ever met. 

We knew the trip itself would come with some challenges, the most obvious simply being the logistics of shooting in a foreign country. Gary had to pack as light as possible (difficult for someone who loves his gear), yet be ready for a variety of situations, as he didn’t really know what exactly he’d be shooting until he got there. Then there’s the heat (hello plus 30 degrees), and the fact he wanted to understand Haiti’s complex history before he visited. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. For generations, the country has suffered political unrest and horrific natural disasters. It has had to completely re-build and that process is still on-going.

The whole team, Gary included, did research on the country, got all of the necessary medications and vaccinations, and arranged insurance coverage for both gear and health. We also had some idea, as far as what to expect while they were there, (the risk of theft, and health issues, are just realities you need to be aware of), though we never could have anticipated the politically motivated riots that began just days after the crew arrived. 

They suddenly found themselves in a situation where the location they were at was deemed unsafe as the conflict reached them, and they had to be moved to a safe house further away. The one thing that remained constant during that stressful time, was the incredible compassion the Haitian people showed every single member of the crew. They were taken care of, moved to a safe location, and made to feel completely at home with their new ‘family’.
Instead of carrying on with their planned itinerary that week, the team ended up witnessing the real-time actions of the Haitian people in the face of adversity. They witnessed people taking care of each other, people adapting, and people putting others before themselves. What they saw was the REAL Haiti, not just the clips we usually see on the news from our houses in Canada.

During his time there, Gary was able to photograph most of the Little Footprints Big Steps staff, as well as their families. These wonderful people, who are all locals other than Morgan herself, are part of a comprehensive team that cares about the children they work with as if those kids are their own. They help children escape from the horrible conditions that plague many of the orphanages in the country, and help the kids get off the streets and back to their families. Some of them are house mothers, some are doctors and nurses, and some are engineers. All of them work for this organization because they want to help re-build their community and their country. They are proud of their beautiful land and culture, as they should be. It is an incredible place, filled with resilient, compassionate people.

And as I sat here in the Yukon one night in late November, with our two-year old daughter Mabel, feeling a million miles away from Gary, we got to FaceTime with him and two of the children that Little Footprints works with. Even though the kids all spoke a very different language, they communicated through smiles, giggles and by showing each other their toys. The Haitian children even teased Gary the way Mabel herself does, laughing and gathering around his phone. The only difference between them was that they happened to be born in two different countries. 

Our little girl is now at the age where she’s starting to better understand the world around her, and I hope that, through the work she sees us do, she continues to grow. I hope she understands why projects like this one are so important to us. Gary was away from home for nearly three weeks, at a time when our family was grieving the loss of loved ones at home, and adjusting to a new normal. This wasn’t easy, but we never questioned whether or not he would go. It is fundamental to us that we, as a family, and as a company, are doing what we can to support others who are making positive changes in this world – in our community here in the Yukon, and in our global community. Because even though there’s a lot of heavy in this world, there’s even more good. You just have to be willing to get out there and experience it.

Huge thanks to the Little Footprints crew for all the love and hospitality you showed us and the rest of the Shot in The Dark crew.

If you want to learn more about the organization, or donate, you can go to check them out at: https://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/

Mike Code showing off his Drone

BTS of interviews in process

The Crew left to right: Gary Bremner, Mike Code, Kelly Milner, Marty O’Brien and Naomi Mark

And for some reading on the complexity of Haiti’s history, you can check out the book “The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster by Jonathan Katz.