I was steered away from photography as a potential career during my highschool years by someone I care not to mention. In hindsight however, this may have been for the best but not for the reasons I was given. Regardless, I continued taking pictures with my trusty Minolta X-570 and X-700 while I travelled and worked around the globe. Finally settling down back in Toronto for a few months I began my career of becoming a bicycle courier which eventually led to racing mountain bikes. Sadly, I had to put my camera on the backburner as I could not afford to race on the national and international circuit while buying and developing slide film. Digital photography at the time was just in its infancy and I vowed to get back into it once my mountain bike career was over. But than I got into racing offroad bikes because I just love the thrill of speed and I found I still had a huge appetite for it. I admit it…I am an adrenaline junkie.

Fast forward a few years and digital cameras were beginning to get good right around the time when I was full on into offroad racing. This was when I decided to buy my first DSLR – a Nikon D70. ‘Point and shoot’ cameras at the time drove me crazy as the shutter lag and lack of manual control repeatedly wanted to make me pitch the camera into a pile of dirt. I missed my X-700 but realised the future was digital. The creativity was becoming endless and very quickly limitless.

Today, my racing careers are pretty much over as my body is really starting to break down. Having said that though I do have my sights set on a few select Hare Scrambles for 2012. I have not ridden much over the last few years due to the birth of my two sons but the fire (and adrenaline fix) still burns inside me. However, I say only a few as I have begun to realise that I cannot afford to become injured and attempt to raise two young children. I am realising my high school dream of becoming a photographer are becoming reality. Screw what that person said a long time ago. I have always loved taking photographs and love expressing myself in ways that photography can let you. I also love mixing my creative side with my adrenaline side to create visually balanced and engaging images that combine action with beauty. Photography is my business now and I simply love what I do.

Over the last few years I have been taking pictures of just about any type of action sports to help me hone my skills. I believe in being a ‘Jack of all Trades’ learning as much as I can and than focus my attention on one or two facets of the art that I really enjoy. Photography for me is ever-changing and I appreciate that as it keeps me sharp and forces me to use my brain.

Enter Karen Cowl (nee Seifert) of Stripe Graphics. Even though she moved to Canada’s west coast over 15+ years we are still friends and Karen has the uncanny ability to decipher people. She knew more about me than I knew about myself back in high school. And, despite the distance between us, she still knows me and could easily identify my goals and the direction that my photography would take me. She is also very happy to see me realise my dreams of becoming a photographer as I know she was not happy at my decision to not pursue it career wise 20 + years ago. She should have kicked my butt.

A few years ago I hired Karen to help me create an appropriate website and other marketing materials to help me enter this competitive field. I chose her because I trust her vision and love her creativity and professionalism. With over 20 years as a graphic designer she has the experience that I needed to help me see my current and future goals. Case in point, she knew this day would come when I would ask her what she could do to incorporate my action photography with my fine art. To this day I had been working through one site and gradually felt that I needed to separate the two and come back to the clean and simple to navigate website I once had.

April 1, 2012 – and this is no joke – welcome to my new website. The most visible change will be the landing page where there are two distinct pages to choose from: Fine Art or Action Sports. Each page will have its own blog. Karen and her trusty computer guru web site developer Calvin at Blue Comet Solutions  have done a superb job of separting the site yet keeping it together. Sounds confusing? It is not. Start at the landing page and take a tour.

Here are some other noteable features of my new site:

• Fine Art and Action Sports photography are now separated – makes much more sense now
• Regular updates on my photographic whereabouts via my appropriate blog:
• Want to know where I will be exhibiting my Fine Art work next or see a new landscape? Visit my Fine Art blog and gallery.
• Want to view pictures of a recent race or event? View my Action blog and gallery.
• Purchasing is handled by Zenfolio – major credit cards and PayPal accepted
• Easy no nonsense pricing, shipping and one-stop shopping

I encourage you to take a tour and sincerely hope that you like the new look and goals. As always please feel free to leave me a comment. I look forward to what the 2012 photographic season brings me and I will see you out on the trails. My goals are to attend most Offroad Ontario and WEC races as well as select trail rides put on by our hardworking clubs. Mountain bike and cyclocross races as well. I just love my two wheels.

Thanks for looking and see you on the trails!

Cecile