Photography has been a part of my life since I was a teenager. After completing school in Port Moody, BC, my first career was as a Medical Laboratory Technologist. My first job was in Terrace, BC where there is some pretty awesome photography. I remember traipsing over old lava rock in the Nass Valley one day with friends. Of course, I had my camera and tripod in tow and, unfortunately, got too tired to make it far enough to see the extinct volcano.
Eventually I started my own business selling products to medical labs and had the opportunity to take my camera on many “business trips” around the world. Of course, that was in the old film days. I have photo albums of Japan, Greece, and India. It’s a great way to revisit these places whenever I want.
After selling our medical diagnostic business in 1996, my husband and I moved to the Okanagan from Ontario and retired early. We then started travelling the world, taking photography courses and tours from professional photographers. We both became passionate about photography.>
While many people travel and get out in nature because they enjoy it, we do both because we enjoy photography. I love getting up before sunrise and seeing the beautiful light hitting the mountains, the lake, the beach, and especially sand dunes. I love hiking along mountain paths exploring with my camera. I love exploring cities and towns in far off lands. I love watching a pride of lions and taking photos of them.
Teaching classes in the Okanagan valley has been a real treat; we’ve become tourists in our own town and appreciate how beautiful it really is. It’s been gratifying for us to see participants discover their cities as well, visiting tourist icons and photographing them in unique ways. Our greatest reward is watching participants become proficient with their cameras and excited about photography.