Xtra: THE FINAL ISSUE PHOTO SHOOT

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On Wednesday, February 11th the last print issue of Xtra Vancouver was published.
I am so grateful to Editor Robin Perelle and Xtra for taking a chance on an emerging photographer with no editorial shooting experience.
The day Robin asked me into her office to invite me to shoot for Xtra I said yes, but I was terrified!! So terrified of failing that I turned down my first cover shoot with them. But I didn’t turn down the next one.
It was a shoot with the Little Sisters Bookstore family for their 30th Anniversary story.
I will always have that wonderful memory of working with them and with Jim Deva before his tragic death.
I will have many wonderful memories from the shoots I did, the fabulous people I was privileged to photograph, and the pride I felt at seeing my he{art} work in print on the newsstands.
Thank you Xtra for believing in me. Thank you for honouring me with the task of photographing this incredible group of community leaders for your last print issue.
 

Read the full story and the bios HERE about the individuals honoured in this commemorative portrait.

Behind the scenes of the Xtra newspaper final print edition photo shoot with Vancouver LGBTQ community leaders. Video by Tony James ~ dreamfixation@gmail.com

Check out more of my LGBT portraiture at belleancell.com

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My first 2015 COVER for Xtra newspaper of the wonderful Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
This one was particularly satisfying as I pitched the story and cover idea to Xtra and they went for it!!
Click this LINK to read the full story about the Sisters and to see their beautiful portraits.

Xtra did a creative crop of my Sisters image for the cover so I couldn't resist having some fun with a silly selfie.  

Check out more of my LGBT portraiture at belleancell.com

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I'm a Mount Pleasant girl but I spend a lot of time in the West End, so I was so excited when WeARTS (West End ARTS) contacted me to be featured in the inaugural issue of Hatch magazine.
My friend Annie Reid wrote the article and she asked me some thought provoking questions.
It was a positive process for me as it forced me to dig deep about who, what and why in regards to my artistic practice.

Intimate Portraiture

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Dancer/choreographer Noam Gagnon invited me into his home to create intimate portraits of him and it was a photographers dream. White white everywhere! Soft diffused light bounced off white walls and white furniture and into his gorgeous eyes. Noam was completely as ease in front of the camera and we were able to create some stunning fine art nude images of him.

Just another day at the office....

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This was a challenging assignment. Capture behind the scenes images of a nude photography class without capturing the behinds. Thanks to some creative camera angles I was able to do so.
At the end of the day I stole one of the models and found some beautiful window light in the basement to create a portrait of him. It was a fun day. I so love my job.