WOW! I cannot believe an entire year went by and not one post by me. Let’s just say 2021 flew by…at least it did for me.

First, and foremost, COVID-19 threw a wrench in my photography business. Like many, I have a mortgage, and a family. Common sense told me that I needed to take a step back from photography as it wasn’t making financial sense. In 2020 I ‘lost’ my job as a ‘Teacher on Call’ (a substitute) when schools closed down and an online model became available. This was also the time where my husband began working from home due to COVID and my studio now became his office. At the end of 2020 and into 2021, I had the oportunity to be regularly employed. Today I am an elementary school teacher-librarian and I absolutely LOVE the position. It offers me a creative outlet, I see kids learning and I get to read books to them!!! Well, it’s a little bit more detailed than that but, the point is, I’m happy where I am today.

So, why did my year fly by?

In April, I went for a ride with my husband and youngest on a mountain bike trail I’ve ridden many times. However, I messed up bad. Real bad. We had to call Emergency Services to haul me off the mountain. I ended up with a broken tibia-plateau, and messed up ligaments and cartilage to my right knee. I was bed-ridden for a month as I could not move. The first two weeks my leg was straight out as I was in a full-cast. After that, I was able to move around a bit using crutches. I took the time off work to heal. I had LOTS of time on my hand and lots of time to think about things. One such thought was towards my photography business and equipment. My gear sat in my camera bag and it sat unused for over a year. I contemplated selling it. But, I could not bear to do it. I love my camera too much and I am not ready to let go of photography.

Fast forward a few months. I am back at school as the Teacher-Librarian and still loving it. I have also accepted that photography has been put on the sideburner for a while. I am not stopping as I will always be a photographer. But, I just don’t have the time, or money to actively market myself to re-start my business. I will pursue it again in the future. But, right now COVID makes everything uncertain.

In short, Cecile Gambin Photography and Cool Cat Photography are NOT closed. But, I am not marketing myself. If you would like a photography session please let me know and I will be there for you. I love photography and it’s creative process too much to just drop it.

Thank you to all my past and current clients for helping me become the photographer I am today!!

There are some seriously talented artists on the North Shore.

I had the pleasure to work with two artists over the past few weeks reproducing their original work into a digital file.

While some may think it’s an easy job and all they need to do is come in, take a picture and leave this cannot be further from the truth. Take for example Moira Elliott‘s piece above. Moira has a lot of dimension in her pieces and I needed to keep that 3D look. I achieved this with lights taking care to achieve the correct shadow. Colour balance is also necessary so that there is colours are accurate. On the camera side, I center the painting with my lens to avoid distortion. Choosing the correct lens is very important for accuracy while reducing the risks of distortion. Finally, there’s post-production. I try and minimize the amount of time behind the computer by spending my time in front of the camera getting it right the first time however, there is always some sort of post-production which can be anywhere from 1- 4 hours.

Many of the artists I have worked with need correct imaging for galleries, websites, or simply to print. The good folks at Opus Fine Arts in North Vancouver do an amazing job at printing and have a wide assortment of fine art papers to choose from.

If you are in need of a digital print for your image contact me so we can discuss.