Sekou Kaba 23/60

It was such a treat today to catch-up and photograph my friend Sekou Kaba! I first met Sekou back in 2017, almost a year after he ran for Canada in the 110m hurdles event, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the time, he was still busy competing as an athlete while also mentoring youth and doing motivational speaking engagements. I was always impressed by his humility, kindness and generosity as a person.

Sekou now splits his time between Canada and his home country of Guinea, keeping busy as an international entrepreneur. During today’s shoot we spoke about his various business ventures and how important it is to always move life forward, while embracing a constant state of learning. I love seeing how the determination and dedication he developed as a world class athlete, compliments his creativity and emotional intelligence so wonderfully.

Thanks so much Sekou, for making the time today!

Sekou Kaba / Olympian and International Entrepreneur

Julie Cafley 22/60

It was wonderful to photograph Julie Cafley the other day! She’s working on some pretty cool things these days, with her recent appointment as the executive director of Catalyst Canada, a global non-profit that works with over 500 corporation to drive inclusive workplaces. If that isn’t cool enough, Julie is off to New York this week, as she’s been chosen as a member of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations for the Status of Woman.

Pretty awesome, Julie!

Julie Cafley / Executive Director of Catalyst Canada

Tom Lawson and Sheila Casey 21/60

The 60at60 series wouldn’t be complete without a portrait of Tom and Sheila. They are active and ardent supporters of the Ottawa art scene and friends with many of the local artists in town. They travel often to interesting places where they find really cool and creative venues to experience. They love to volunteer locally and outside of our borders, which adds to their already full calendar of rich life experiences. They have creatively curated their home which is full of art (inside and outside on their front veranda), which makes visiting their home a pretty awesome cultural experience.

All of these reasons would be reasons enough to include them in this legacy project, but the real and better reason is, is that they are just really nice people. They truly care and are interested in their friends and also any new people they get to meet. And they really pay attention and are observant to the world. If you get to meet them on the street, at a cultural event or at a gallery opening and they ask you how you are, they really mean it. They listen to your answer, then ask you even more questions. When asked about their long marriage and happy life, they answer - “It’s pretty simple, we share the same energy and our default philosophy is that life is good and our future experiences will be fun and positive.” So yeah, I’m super glad and honoured to have them a part of the series!

Thanks Tom and Sheila!

Tom and Sheila / Ottawa’s Coolest Couple

Fanny Santamaría 20/60

It was great re-meeting and photographing Fanny Santamaría yesterday! Fanny moved from Bogotá, Colombia a dozen years ago and although she understandably misses her county and her family back home, she really loves the abundance of and easy access to nature here in Ottawa. After our shoot, we spoke about community and the importance of friends, especially having her family so far away. We also spoke about embracing adversity and differences and how, as Canadians, we need to cherish our sometimes delicate unity as a country.

Fanny also shared her passion for being a part of Ottawa’s Polar Plunge community, where she courageously faces the outdoor frigid water with a warm heart and her fun optimistic spirit!

Thanks Fanny!

Fanny Santamaría / Polar Plunger

Greg Pilsworth 19/60

It was really fun to photograph Greg Pilsworth this week for some corporate headshots as well as this 60 at 60 portrait. Greg has a pretty awesome job at Canada Foundation for Innovation, as a visual story teller. He gets to share informative content about many of Canada’s best research scientists with imagery, video and podcasts. To be able to do his job well, he mixes his creativity with his technical expertise, as well as years of extensive experience in the communication arts industry.

Thanks Greg, for being on the other side of the camera!

Greg Pilsworth / Visual Story Teller

Rosie 18/60

We just returned from a really terrific family cottage weekend. A weekend that was a pretty awesome experience bringing our two families together. It was also a weekend that my daughter Claire’s dog Rosie was a part of every moment. As I write this, I’m reminded how Rosie is so much more than just a dog or a pet, she’s also a really fun and comforting part of our growing family. So yes, she gets to be a part of the 60 at 60 series!

Rosie / Part of the Family

Clare Brennan 17/60

Anyone who is involved in the creative or design community here in Ottawa, knows who Clare Brennan is. He’s one of the creative pillars in Ottawa’s advertising community, as a partner in Fifty Strategy + Creative, an instructor at Algonquin College and also the founder of Creativity in Common - a pretty cool initiative which shares creative inspiration and ideas on Instagram.

Clare’s also been a dear friend for over 20 years. I’m very grateful for his friendship and our creative collaborations over the years.

Thanks Clare!

Clare Brennan / Creative Director / Advocate for Creative Thinking

Dr. Anmar Salman 16/60

Yesterday we photographed a corporate profile portrait for an Ottawa physician, Dr. Anmar Salman. During the shoot we talked about humility and the power of being confident in what we know and what we don’t, and that it comes best with age and experience. We also spoke about Anmar’s career and his experience living and working in other places. He was born in Iraq, lived in and studied in the UK and now lives and works as a family physician here in Canada. Having other living and work experiences really helps one appreciate community.

Anmar, not only really cares about people and community, he also has a cool interest in classic fashion style, of which he likes to blend with his interests in health and wellness.

As I get to photograph more people for the 60 at 60 series, it’s great to see how the individuals I get to photograph, help make up the dynamic fabric of our community and perhaps the continued tapestry of my friendships (old and new). As Anmar mentioned yesterday, a black & white portrait has the opportunity to capture the different shades of grey that we all harbour in our personas.

Thanks Anmar for bringing your sense of style and your kind perspectives to yesterday’s shoot!

Dr. Almar Salman / Family Physician

Benoit-Antoine Bacon 15/60

I had the awesome (and fun) opportunity to spend some time yesterday at Carleton University, photographing the university’s 15th president, Benoit-Antoine Bacon. I’ve photographed Benoit a few other times for Carleton and each time it was such an easy and interesting experience. This shoot was similar but even more cool, as our conversation leaned towards how we all see the world with our eyes and brain, his love for music and also his gratefully close relationship with his daughter (who is also studying at Carleton).

Benoit is kind and curious, approachable and humble, and really enjoys helping students find their way.

Thanks Benoit, for being such a pleasure to photograph!

Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon / Professor, President and Vice-Chancellor / Grateful Father

Alex Cuba 14/60

We were fortunate enough to see Alex Cuba in concert last night at the NAC. His music was warm, fun and full of heart, and we really loved how he blended his Cuban/Canadian story into his music and stage presentation. The concert truly was a wonderful and passionate dose of sunshine, during such a cold time in Ottawa!

After a quick Instagram exchange last night, Alex was kind enough to agree to an early morning portrait before he headed off to his next concert destination. It was so cool to meet and photograph the humble and creative person behind such wonderful music.

Thanks Alex!

Alex Cuba / Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter / Juno and Grammy winner / ‘Love & Light’

To learn more about Alex Cuba’s music and tour dates: mendo.alexcuba.com

Dan Lavoie 13/60

I met Dan Lavoie last month while photographing a family portrait for him and his siblings as a gift to his mom for Christmas. It was great meeting and photographing the whole family (and dog), but Dan’s empathy and gracious nature really stood out. We finally got to spend more time getting to know each other yesterday while we shared a couple beers and made some portraits together.

Dan has a soft nature and a strong will to help people. He does this with humility, a kind heart and a journey full of life experiences. He’s worked in the music industry and he loves fashion, but his true calling is helping others. I’m very grateful to of spent the time yesterday creating and connecting.

Thanks Dan!

Dan Lavoe

Maria Ford 12/60

One fun aspect of the 60 at 60 project, is the impromptu nature of the series. Today while photographing Maria Ford, for some creative branding imagery for her company Phrase Strategy, we decided to capture some BW’s and create a portrait for the series.

Maria is a creative entrepreneur through and through. As a self proclaimed ‘dreamer’, she’s owned her own local dance studio, she writes, she creates marketing strategy and she also helps and coaches companies to scale and better fulfill their potential. And she does all of this with creative drive, curiosity, attention-to-detail and very focused intention. Business endeavours aside, it was also cool to hear about Maria’s recent cross country drive with her 83 year old dad and to learn that she’s originally from Alberta. (yeah, that’s where I’m from too!)

Thanks so much Maria, for sharing more of your story and lending your face and personality to the project!

Maria Ford / Creative Strategist, Writer, Dancer and Cross Country Driver

Susan Boudreau 11/60

I had the opportunity to photograph Susan Boudreau in the studio yesterday. Susan is a local hair stylist, working out of the Julian.Marc Salon on Dalhousie, and has been cutting my wife Jennifer’s hair forever. Yes, Susan is a super talented stylist, but she’s so much more. She’s innately intelligent, creatively observant and intensely present. These qualities definitely help her professionally, but they also make her an empathetic listener and a kind friend. Oh yeah, and she’s fiercely courageous!

Thanks Susan!

Susan Boudreau / Hair Stylist at Julian.Marc Salon

Eryn O'Neill 10/60

When you photograph someone who is as multi-dimensional as Eryn O’Neill, it makes sense to photograph her twice to help capture her story. On top of being a super talented and successful painter, Eryn is also studying at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism, working on her Masters of Achitecture (MArch). She’s very dedicated to learn, teach, create and tackle any challenge in front of her!

Thanks Eryn, for braving the camera (two weekends in a row)!

Eryn O’Neill / Masters of Architecture Student

Dr. Graham Sher 9/60

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Dr. Graham Sher in the studio. I first met Graham several years ago while I was shooting some corporate work for Canadian Blood Services, where Graham was and still is the CEO. When we met, I was immediately drawn to his kind, humble and disarming nature. I was also super impressed to learn at the time, that he was quite an accomplished and passionate landscape photographer.

During our session today we talked about many things - his gratitude for the opportunity to work with such a great team at CBS, his personal photography pursuits (including our shared love for Fuji cameras), and of course his family. Graham truly is an outstanding person. He’s a collaborative and dedicated leader, he’s a creative and curious photographer, he’s an Officer of the Order of Canada and he’s a super proud family man. I’m very glad that we met all those years ago and now I’m very grateful to have him as a friend.

Thanks Graham!

Dr. Graham Sher / CEO of Canadian Blood Services, Officer of the Order of Canada and Intrepid Photographer

To learn more about Graham’s photography: www.grahamsherphotography.com

Eryn O'Neill 8/60

We spent a fun couple hours this afternoon photographing my dear friend, Eryn O’Neill in her downtown art studio. Eryn blends a cool mix of fine-art, architecture, academia and entrepreneurship (and her love for construction) into her life and her creative pursuits! I love how she embraces the unknown and keeps painting despite the challenges surrounding her. She’s very talented and super interesting, and she’s constantly moving forward - creatively and academically. Oh yeah, and she’s an exceptional painter!

She truly is an Ottawa gem!

Thanks Eryn!

Eryn O’Neill / Artist

Jack Doré 7/60

It’s always great to spend time and photograph Jack. It’s been fun capturing portraits of him in between his adventures tree planting and travelling. I’m so grateful to have his trust in front of the camera!

Thanks again, Jack!

Jack Doré / Tree Planter and Insatiable Philosopher

Sophia Crosby 6/60

Photographing Sophia tonight was like being commissioned to shoot a portrait for Rolling Stone Magazine in the early 70’s. She has such a cool style combined with a soft serene confidence.

Thanks Sophia!

Sophia Violet Rose Crosby

Jack Doré + Sophia Crosby 5/60

It was pretty terrific photographing Jack and Sophia tonight. Jack is as strong as he is sensitive. While Sophia is sweet as pie, yet also owns a quiet strength as well. Together, they bring a pretty cool vibe and caring energy where ever they go.

Thanks Jack + Sophia!

Jack Doré + Sophie Violet Rose Crosby

Soungui Koulamallah 4/60

Anyone who has met Soungui knows what a determined entrepreneur he is, but his drive is quiet and reserved. Perhaps it comes from his love of basketball and knowing its all about playing the long game, and playing with a long term determination, to attain the goals you set out for yourself. Something else that is at Soungui’s core is helpfulness and evoking change - his goals are to help you attain yours.

Thanks again Soungui, for making the time yesterday for some portraits!

Soungui Koulamallah / Fitness Entrepreneur