An enthusiastic photographer from the Sault is receiving national attention after three of her images were selected for a prestigious exhibition that celebrates the best of Canadian professional photography.

Violet Aubertin submitted a trio of her diverse and unique photographs to the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) National Image Competition – all of which were accepted in Canmore, Alta. last Saturday.

For Aubertin, the path to achieving this recognition has been a long-time coming as her passion for taking photos stems all the way back to her childhood.

“I have been into photography almost my entire life,” she says. “I started at a very young age and took what ever courses I could along the way. I also shot film for quite a few years.”

“I’m outdoors as much as I can be. Just finding the beauty in things that people don’t see or stop long enough to see. I have been tied up for the most part in the last year due to family commitments, but I persist with making sure I’m taking the time to progress myself along the way.”

After retiring from her career as a medical booking clerk in 2018, Aubertin planned to pursue her long love of photography even further.

“I really started picking it back up,” she says. “I used photography more or less as a stress reliever.”

In 2019, Aubertin became a member of PPOC – a nationwide group of serious and creative artists dedicated to the craft of professional imaging.

For members to compete at the national level, they must first become accredited. 

Once accredited, a body of their work in a specific category is put before a Board of Examiners and must be considered a level above the general level of membership and be executed with professionalism.

Aubertin’s first accreditation came in April 2020 in Ornithology/Bird Photography.

She has since earned other accreditations including Art/Photo Décor, Pictorial/Scenic, Animal & Wildlife, Night Photography, and Nature.

Coming off a successful 2022 PPOC National Image Competition where she earned merits for four photos and was nominated for Photographic Artist of the Year, Aubertin entered three more images into last week’s competition in Alberta:

• “Rainbow Color Explosion” received a Merit in the Experimental/Unclassified class and was a Best in Class finalist
• “Single But Never Alone” received an Accepted in the Pictorial/Floral class
• “Brick & Mortar – A Fresh New Start” received an Accepted in the Fine Art class

Aubertin’s submissions were examined by a judging panel of photography masters who determined each photo met the expectations of the category they were submitted in, with “Rainbow Color Explosion” additionally earning a Merit and a Best in Class nod.

“You have to match the skill levels of masters and photographers of all levels,” she says.

The local photographer says she’s incredibly thankful for the recognition again this year and owes some of her success to working with a group of amazing people along the way.

“It gives me a feeling of satisfaction,” she says. “PPOC is a tight-knit, close community. Everyone is working together and not against. No matter how busy of a life they have, they’re all willing and pitching in. Where one can’t complete a task, another will step in and do so. It’s an amazing community.”

While she notes that the photography community is close, Aubertin fears that it is becoming a dwindling art with fewer opportunities for people to enter the industry.

“There’s a lot of photography clubs that are disappearing across the continent,” she says. “Sault College had its photography club that didn’t last too long. It was cut back, and I thought that was a shame. Photography is an art, but it’s also a non-regulated profession, which in some ways has been detrimental.”

But Aubertin doesn’t want that to deter people from discovering the benefits and adventures of photography.

“Your most valuable asset is yourself,” she says. “Spend your money wisely; spend it on you and your education. Learn the techniques. You can have the best camera and gear possible but have no idea what you’re doing. Know your value. You have to be able to recoup what you’ve put into it.”

Aubertin’s trio of diverse photographs will be displayed on the PPOC website and included in a hardcover book along with other renowned submissions from 2023.

She’s also hoping to have a local information session for PPOC down the road for residents interested in learning more about the group.

Preparations are currently underway for Aubertin’s submissions to her 2023 Eastern Canada Regional Image Competition.

“I’m looking forward to submitting more photos each year, and I’m hoping to get the quality of my images up into the excellence and beyond,” she says.

Talking about camera gear and upgrading has always been a polarizing topic anywhere. We all love our cameras but differing opinions often lead to long discussions. But when is it really acceptable to upgrade?

Different photographers would give varied reasons why they would urge or discourage someone from upgrading their gear. It’s often a never-ending debate on whether a person should invest in new skills to acquire by spending on something that would help them learn whether it be a paid tutorial, a workshop, or some form of unique shooting experience, or alternatively, spend the money on new cameras, lenses, or other accessories whether they already need it or they’re “growing into” the level of it. Let’s state the obvious first. Why does one get the urge to buy new gear?

Why Upgrade?

There are countless reasons as to why a photographer would be interested in looking at new gear. The first one is obvious but not commonly said and that is because all cameras are imperfect. There is no such thing as a perfect camera which is why in all the years that all the camera brands have existed, they never stopped developing new gear. One way or another, no matter how much you have spent on your current camera setup, you’d be able to name a few things you would like improved on it. Not necessarily meaning that you aren’t happy or contented with it, but there would probably be features, new or old, that you wish it had.

There are also instances of course wherein there is an actual need to upgrade. As a photographer, you yourself have probably said the line “the best camera around is the one that’s in your hands” or some other variation of that saying. However, most professionals would agree that even a skilled and experienced photographer would benefit from an upgrade because even though they can take nice photos with any camera, there are newer or better cameras that make it easier to do or those that minimize the margin of error. An experienced and skilled photographer can take good photos with a cheap camera, that’s true. But more importantly, a skilled photographer with an efficient camera would be able to do it with ease and peace of mind in high-pressure situations. The need to upgrade arises from situations wherein the photographer would feel limited either in terms of range, image quality, or efficiency in the creative process.

Is Upgrading A Must?

If you’re a professional or a serious hobbyist who has felt a certain need to upgrade because of how your current gear limits or hinders you then you don’t need anyone else’s opinion on whether you should. It is however interesting that whenever articles or content about new cameras or lenses come out, whether on this site, on YouTube, or on social media platforms, there would be people reacting as if they are being forced to upgrade into whatever new piece of gear they are talking about. The truth is new gear will always emerge and if you have the older version it doesn’t mean that you automatically need to get the newer one. It’s also important to remember that if a particular camera model fits you well, there is a possibility that the manufacturer would not go in the same direction that you might have wanted it to go for the next version. Again, there is no such thing as a perfect camera, and finding the right gear for you most likely means finding one that is most compatible with the requirements of your own creative process.

Gear Versus Skills

We must realize that purchasing new gear and acquiring new skills don’t have to be an “either-or” situation. Getting better at a particular skill or even becoming more creative is totally independent of whatever equipment you are using. At the same time, purchasing new equipment does not come with added skills either. We have to let go of the notion that better gear is only for “masters” or even skilled users. Buying a camera does not require any special license to operate in the same way that a million-dollar luxury car requires the same old driver’s license as driving your uncle’s old Toyota. One rarely affects the other and when they do, a lot more factors come in.

What if we start seeing learning new skills as a never-ending process? You can sit down and browse the images of your favorite photographers on Instagram and automatically pick up a couple of new approaches if you open yourself up to inspiration. Learning does not always require spending money and in reality, opening yourself up to more shooting experiences ultimately leads to the best chances of learning.

On the other hand, if you had the money, you can go down to your nearest car dealership and purchase the fastest and most expensive car and drive it around waking up everyone in your neighborhood. The same thing goes for even the nicest cameras in the market. For as long as you can afford it, as long as it doesn’t hurt the well-being of your family or other people who depend on you, as long as you are not breaking any law, you are entitled to upgrading to whatever kind of camera you want. Some people might criticize you for owning an expensive camera with barely any output but at the end of the day, that’s just envy kicking in. Yes, a prudent friend (or writer) still would encourage you to maximize the capabilities of that camera but even if you end up putting it in a glass case on display forever, that’s your money, your camera, and your choice – no one else’s. Whether you shoot professionally for the biggest and most demanding clients or you earn a lot of money from a job unrelated to photography, you deserve it if you want it as long as you are not putting your finances in jeopardy.

When Upgrading Is Crucial

As much as we’d like to keep saying the above-mentioned line, there are in actuality instances when upgrading can be crucial. For anyone who shoots things or events with a very short time frame or basically things that you can’t come back and redo, it is crucial when less capable gear puts your workflow at risk.

For example, sports and action photographers can technically shoot with slower cameras but there is simply more assurance that they will get the perfect split-second moments if they capture more frames per second. There are also instances when, even if an older camera can technically do the job, commercial clients or publications require certain specifications or even specific camera systems for the photographers that they hire or work with. And while one can spend time arguing that other cameras can perform just as well, there are instances wherein the preference of the clients are non-negotiable.

No matter how much we talk about new features on new pieces of gear, no matter how much these new innovations can make things easier for us as photographers, the choice of whether to upgrade is ultimately yours and no one else’s. For personal use, your choice of gear has absolutely no implications on other people even if you’re a beginner who wants to start learning photography with the newest flagship model from the best camera brand around. For professionals, our desire to have a smoother and more foolproof creative process, our preference over significantly better quality images, and the possibility of more work opportunities are what mainly drives the decision-making. Gear upgrades and improved skills are independent of each other but can make each other more possible down the line depending on how amenable we are to both of them.

The National Portrait Gallery, London, reopens in June following a three-year closure for the “largest redevelopment” in its 127-year history. Its opening exhibition, Yevonde: Life and Colour, will be the most comprehensive to date on British photographer, Yevonde Middleton (1893-1975).

Signing her work simply, Yevonde (though she also worked under “Madame Yevonde”), she was a celebrated portraitist, innovative colorist, and advocate for women in the profession. In short, she was a pioneer. Yet Yevonde is not widely known outside photography circles.

In 1921, she became the first woman to lecture at the Professional Photographers’ Association. In the 1930s – against a tide of resistance – she championed the use of color photography and was the first person in Britain to exhibit color portraits.

Over a 60-year career, Yevonde photographed the rich and famous. Around 10,000 sitters passed through her studios. She also ran a successful commercial photography business until the year before her death, shortly before her 83rd birthday.

From her teens, Yevonde was an advocate of women’s suffrage and was active in the Women’s Social and Political Union, the militant wing of the suffrage movement, from 1909.

However, a personal disinclination for suffragette lawbreaking (and the prison sentence that would likely follow) led her to champion women’s emancipation via a different route.

In her autobiography, In camera (1940), she remembers thinking at age 17: “I must earn my own living … To be independent was the greatest thing in life”.

It was an advertisement in suffrage newspaper Votes for Women, that gave Yevonde the idea that photography could offer economic independence.

Yevonde’s only formal training was an apprenticeship to Charlotte (Lallie) Charles (1911-13). Despite not finishing, and taking only one photograph throughout, it gave her the fundamentals to start a photographic business.

In 1914, having just turned 21 – and with some funding from her family – she opened her first studio.

Color Photography and Innovation

Yevonde’s decision to set out on her own coincided with the decline of Lallie Charles’ studio. This reflected a widespread malaise in photographic portraiture, which was at that time stylistically confined to long-established conventions of black and white.

She explained that clients were: “Getting tired of the pale soft … prints, tired of the artificial roses, of the Empire furniture … They grumbled at the lack of variety in the poses.”

Seeing an opportunity to try something different, she developed a more dynamic approach and style, establishing a moderately successful business despite the disruption of the first world war and a stint as a land worker.

But it was with the advent of Vivex – a technically demanding process for coloring photographs – around 1930, that Yevonde’s breakthrough came, despite strong resistance to color photography from within the profession and potential clients.

“I started experimenting madly”, she remembered in her autobiography, “oblivious of the fact that people did not want such things.”

She believed that photographers had become:

So engrossed in the beauty of light and shade and in their deep velvety blacks and sparkling whites that they will tell you quite seriously that the color photograph is unnecessary and unnatural.

At the same time, Yevonde was excited to discover that a few studios were beginning to explore the new process, despite feeling that their preoccupation with achieving naturalistic color rendered everything “astonishingly unattractive”.

She declared that her priority was to use color differently, to “produce a striking and original picture”.

Yevonde’s Goddesses Series

Yevonde’s most famous project – the Goddesses Series of 1935 – was inspired by a charity ball. Soon after she photographed several society women in the guise of a mythological goddess. Each woman was furnished with props derived from Yevonde’s, sometimes whimsical, interpretation of their attributes.

For me, the series reveals both the extent and the limits of her pioneering spirit.

Despite her attempts to renegotiate the conventions of her time, Yevonde – ever the expedient businesswoman – was mindful of her client’s wishes, the majority of whom were female. As a result, many of her subjects align with the prevailing expectations of beauty and behavior: looking sultry but with a submissive air, gazing wistfully out of the frame.

But in other examples, the women she photographed appeared liberated from the shackles of expectations for their sex. There’s daring composition and movement in the representation of Ariel and the confrontational gaze of Medusa.

In other work, an audacious use of saturated primary color is highly effective, as in the portrait of actress Vivien Leigh.

In her photograph of actress Joan Maude, a vibrant palette of reds is brought together in a single image. This shows an industrious photographer thrilled with the possibilities offered by the new color technology.

Sadly, with the outbreak of the second world war, Vivex ceased trading and Yevonde was obliged to return to black and white.

Throughout her career, Yevonde sought to promote and motivate other women photographers, encouraging them to “come out and meet one another” and to “join the association” of photographers.

“We must see one another’s work and criticize, and, more important still, receive criticism,” she wrote in her autobiography, “or we shall never improve”.

Most previous exhibitions have favored Yevonde’s Goddesses Series. The planned show at the reopened Portrait Gallery, however, will broaden the scope considerably and include some newly discovered works.

As much as I love Yevonde’s use of color, I am looking forward to seeing her later portraits in black and white and her practice of bringing elements of surrealism into her portraiture and other commercial work.

Yevonde: Life and Colour will be at the National Portrait Gallery, 22 June to 15 October 2023.

About the author: Darcy White is Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at Sheffield Hallam University. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. This article was originally published at The Conversation and is being republished under a Creative Commons license.

By now you’ve probably come across at least one news story about the rumored periscope zoom camera that Apple’s (supposedly) getting ready for the new iPhone. After debuting on Android in 2019 via the Huawei P30 Pro, the modern version of a periscope zoom lens is now expected to finally make it to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and possibly the smaller iPhone 15 Pro too.While we don’t know exactly how much more capable than the 3x zoom lens on the iPhone 14 Pro the new periscope shooter will be, there seems to be a surprising or even “shocking” (by Apple standards) development related to the primary, more important camera on iPhone 15 Pro Max (and iPhone 15 Pro, we’d hope).

Believe it or not (and I certainly find it hard to believe), reputable tipster Ice Universe is now telling us that iPhone 15 Pro Max will use a sensor with “specifications… close to 1-inch – that’s for sure!”. Ice is a smartphone camera fanatic who does his research, which might give this surprising leak of information some added credibility.

Still, there are a few unturned stones around the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s “close to 1-inch” camera, which I can (at least) try to shuffle around if not turn. Apparently, we’re talking about an unreleased Sony sensor that was once supposed to bless Sony’s own Xperia Pro-II – a phone that was never released.

And apparently, this sensor is about 2x more expensive than the 50MP IMX989 in the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, which is a “full” 1-inch type sensor. And apparently (as per an older report) Apple might finally address some of the biggest problems with the iPhone’s questionable image processing.

And apparently I’ll try to make sense of all the random information to give you an idea of what might be coming to iPhone 15 Pro Max or/and iPhone 16 Ultra. If the rumors are true.

Close to 1-inch primary camera (possibly) coming to iPhone 15 Pro Max: Apple finally willing to fight Android on a hardware level?

Over a decade ago, when Matika Wilbur began photographing all 562 federally recognized tribal nations in the US (a number which has since grown to 574), she wanted to make a comprehensive portrait of contemporary Indigenous life — one that not only corrected harmful, persistent stereotypes, but could be used as a positive resource for the youngest Native American generation.

“Project 562 is rooted in narrative correction work,” Wilbur explained in a video call. “When I started, I was looking at uncovering contemporary Indigenous identity and really looking at what it looks like to be a Native person right now.”

Matika Wilbur Credit: Matika Wilbur

“I made a very conscious decision to move home, so that my baby would have that relationship with this place,” Wilbur said. “So her afterbirth could be buried here, where her grandmother’s cedar tree is and where her ancestors are. I realized that was very important to me.”

Project 562 is staggering in its scope, representing the Miccosukee Tribe in the Everglades all the way to the Siberian Yupik people far off the Alaska coast.

The portraits — from elders and teens to multiple generations posing together — have a sense of intimacy and warmth, with each image accompanied by her collaborators’ own accounts of their lived experiences. Through its interviews, the project delves deeply into kinship and love, displacement and reconnection, the generational impacts of colonialism and racism, environmental justice and activism, and inclusion and belonging.

Matika’s mother, Nancy, and daughter, Alma Bee. Credit: Matika Wilbur

As time went on, Wilbur felt deeply changed by the work, gaining a greater understanding of herself in relation to the land on which she was raised.

“We do have these systemic ways of developing our children to have relationships with the place that they come from, and to… teach them to become stewards,” Wilbur said. “As I started traveling, I started to put together and realize the different ways that these different communities do that. For me, it felt intrinsic, because I grew up fishing, I grew up on canoes, I grew up going to the longhouse, I grew up going to ceremony. And all of these things made me a person of the tide, but I wouldn’t have told you 10 years ago, that that was how I identify.”

And the more she traveled, the more she understood how “site-specific” her identity was, Wilbur explained. “I would meet the people of the blue-green waters and the people of the tall pine trees or the people that live within the four sacred mountains, and I would get to go to ceremonies and witness cultural protocol that made their communities deeply, intrinsically, inextricably connected to the land that they come from. That was profound for me.”

Below are some portraits featured in “Project 562,” and the stories behind them.

Dr. Henrietta Mann

CHEYENNE

Dr. Henrietta Mann has been an educator for more than five decades, architecting Native American studies programs for multiple universities. She was recently honored with a National Humanities Medal by President Biden and appears on the cover of “Project 562.”

Dr. Henrietta Mann Credit: Matika Wilbur

“I wanted to have a matriarch on the cover,” Wilbur told CNN. “I really have thought a lot about rematriation (restoring sacred principles), and the work of rematriation and how important it is to uplift our women who have worked for decades, like Auntie Dr. Henrietta Mann who dedicated her life to the betterment of Indigenous people.”

Hannah Tomeo

COLVILLE, YAKAMA, NEZ PERCE, SIOUX, SAMOAN

Hannah Tomeo is an athlete and a Northwest Indian Youth Conference Princess. Wilbur photographed her in the Methow Valley outside of the multiday conference, which is hosted by a different tribe in the region each year. At the 2016-2017 event, Tomeo and Wilbur were both keynote speakers.

Hannah Tomeo Credit: Matika Wilbur

“Running has been my absolute passion and my stability, but I felt as if no one wanted me to succeed in high school,” Tomeo told Wilbur for “Project 562.”

“My teacher told me it was in my genetics to be an alcoholic; my basketball coach would drug test only me on the team; my track coach told me I would just be another stupid Indian runner with no chance in the real running world. I let those words motivate and push me until I earned the fastest times in the school, but they still wouldn’t let me race.” Tomeo was replaced in races with no explanation until she finally quit, she explained. “My spirit had officially been broken. I never thought I would run again. Then my dad gave me these words: ‘You can either be a quitter or come back a success story. Your choice.'”

“That summer I trained harder than ever and came back strong. I made it to State. I made first team and placed in the Nike meet in Boise and at Footlocker in California… My story isn’t over.”

Darkfeather Ancheta, Eckos Chartraw-Ancheta, and Bibiana Ancheta

TULALIP

Darkfeather Ancheta (left) and her sister Bibiana have become “like sisters” to Wilbur, she noted in the book. Here they are pictured with Bibiana’s son, Eckos.

Darkfeather, Eckos and Bibiana Ancheta Credit: Matika Wilbur

“I had a dream about them standing there like (in the photograph) in front of Tulalip Bay,” Wilbur told CNN. “So I called them and asked them if I could take their photo in the way that I’d seen in my dream.”

“Our communities still have these kinship systems and these familial ties where an auntie is like a second mom. She is the protector and equally invested in the growing of the child… I wanted to try to create an image with this image that really showed and encapsulated, you know, the way that we take care of our babies, the way we love our babies.”

Joshua Dean Iokua Ikaikaloa Mori

KĀNAKA MAOLI

Joshua Mori is a farmer, teacher and founder of community, wellness and agriculture nonprofit Iwikua in Kauaʻi, Hawaii. Wilbur photographed him with one of his three children on his aquaponic farm, a method for water-based farming that uses fish as a natural fertilizer.

Joshua Dean Iokua Ikaikaloa Mori Credit: Matika Wilbur

“My work is about wanting to take back the food system and really attack colonialism at the source,” Mori told Wilbur for “Project 562.” “At our root source, our diet, which affects everything in our bodies — how we feel, how we think, how we love, how we procreate. Food, in my opinion, affects all of that. So we’re doing aquaponic farming, which is just taking a traditional model of a food system and just shrinking it down to modern technology. We take our traditional Native knowledge and integrate it with modern technology to make it more accessible.”

“The kids learn when they come out here traditional hale building (house building), traditional farming, working in kalo patches, and also modern farming techniques,” he added. “They learn how to spearfish and fish traditionally. Also, star navigation. How to use all of the tools, really, how Hawaiians became Hawaiians.”

Drew Michael

YUP’IK, IÑUPIAQ

Drew Michael is a traditional Yup’ik mask-maker and identifies as Two Spirit, or having both masculine and feminine spirits. Michael and his twin brother were adopted and raised by non-Native parents in Alaska and spoke with Wilbur about reconnecting to his Indigenous identity. Wilbur photographed him in his home.

Drew Michael Credit: Matika Wilbur

“Growing up, I did not have a good sense of my culture or identity as a Yup’ik and Iñupiaq man… I did not have access to that until I took a carving class with my father,” Michael told Wilbur in “Project 562”. “I was able to create my own piece, my own representation, almost a copy of a mask in a book from an exhibition. That was the first time that I was introduced to my culture, and I felt like I was starting to own it a little bit. As I learned more about masks, why they were used, who used them, and then the ceremonies and rituals, I started to see and learn about myself through the masks.”

“I know especially in Yup’ik culture, people were Two-Spirited, and typically they would be healers because they could see into both worlds, the masculine and feminine, and can almost hold hands with both… so, since I am Two-Spirited, and I also do masks and other forms, I try to talk about different healing within my work.”

Fannie and Robert Mitchell

DINÉ

The Mitchells have been married for more than six decades. Robert, a former railroad worker, now raises livestock on their land. The couple prefer to speak in Navajo, so their daughter-in-law translated for Wilbur. Wilbur spent her 30th birthday with them, and was treated to dinner, cake and gifts in their home.

Fannie and Robert Mitchell Credit: Matika Wilbur

“There’s not a lot of Native people that you meet anymore that just speak their language. And so for me, it was a profound experience, to be in a home where they’re still living very traditionally, and taking care of sheep, and speaking their language,” Wilbur told CNN.

“In my time on the road, I approached it in really the only way that I know how — which is as a Native person. You don’t show up empty-handed, you bring food, you stay a while. You leave traditional gifts behind, you stay in touch with folks, and so I felt really fortunate to get to meet these folks and to get to be in their home for a little while.”

Out of frame, she said, there was a touch of chaos taking place. “There’s a drawn-back version of this portrait, where there’s a sheep licking me as I’m taking this photo and there’s two horses trying to eat my light… and that’s why they’re laughing.”

John Sneezy

SAN CARLOS APACHE

John Sneezy, who identified as Two Spirit, was a Grass Dancer at powwows for more than three decades, but was not able to perform in the Traditional Cloth category — which Wilbur notes is danced by women — until 2016, when he participated in the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit Powwow (BAAITS). Wilbur photographed him in San Francisco. He died before the book published.

John Sneezy Credit: Matika Wilbur

“Our young Two Spirit people in Indian Country experience a lot of violence for their identity. John would say, ‘I dance, and I wear women’s regalia, and I want to be shown in your book like this,'” Wilbur recalled to CNN. “John called me and told me that it was really important to him that we continue to uplift stories about Two Spirit people, so that our young Two Spirit relatives feel safe and seen and heard.”

“John had spent his whole life wanting to dance in a woman’s Apache dress, but didn’t feel safe to do so until he traveled to the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirit Powwow, which I think says a lot about the way that members of the LGBTQ+ community are treated in some of our communities. It’s really important in national conversations about Indigenous identity that we make sure to acknowledge our Two Spirit relatives and create space for representation. And John would want me to share that with you.”

Top image: Amanda Attla (Athabascan, Yup’ik) from Huslia, Alaska.