Garden Party to celebrate the Banff Centre’s new CEO, June 19, Toronto

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, a space for artists to incubate work, hone and evolve their practices and cross-pollinate with leading artists from across the globe, is this year celebrating its 90th anniversary. This past April Canada-born Chris Lorway, former executive and artistic director at Stanford Live in California, took to his post as the centre’s new President and CEO, making him just the 8th president in the Banff Centre’s history. In Toronto on the evening of June 19 the lush garden of Susie Kololian, Chair of the Fundraising & Development Committee and a Director of The Banff Centre Foundation, and her husband Vahan, managing partner and founder of TerraNova Partners LP, was the backdrop for a reception to celebrate Mr. Lorway. Adam Waterous, who chairs Banff’s Board of Governors, was also a host.

After remarks were made, a pair of performances were on offer, firstly an opera performance by Julia Dawson and Elliot Madore, who were accompanied by Sandra Horst on piano. The piece performed was a duet from Don Giovanni, which is the focus of the Banff Centre’s 2023 Opera in the 21st Century program. Later, slam poetry artist Ian Keteku, who was attending as a guest, was moved to take to the stage for an impromptu performance of a piece that he has developed in part at Banff Centre.

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His Royal Highness Prince Nikolaos opens photography exhibit RESILIENCE, June 28, Toronto

On the evening of June 28, a photography exhibition titled RESILIENCE launched inside the historic Tin and Copper Smith Building on Yonge Street in Toronto. The works, which celebrate Greece’s strong relationship with nature, including the olive tree, grapevines and the sea, are the work of His Royal Highness Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark.

Prince Nikolaos, who has exhibited work internationally for nearly a decade, was in attendance to launch the show, alongside his wife Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark. Central to this latest exhibition, which was curated by Marilena Koutsoukou and sponsored by the Polydor Foundation, is a photographic mosaic fabricated using upcycled ocean plastic debris. Titled Sea Cred, the piece was made in collaboration with environmental organization Parley for the Oceans, in an effort to boost awareness of the devastating plastic pollution in our oceans. RESILIENCE runs through the end of August in Toronto.

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Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misidentified Vahan Kololian. This version has been corrected.

There’s an old handball court at Venice Beach that David Ingraham – a musician as well as photographer – describes as a “quintessentially southern California location”. It is, the Young Dubliners drummer says, “always busy and wonderfully diverse, packed with people from all over the world, making it a prime street-photography spot”.

He doesn’t see this particular shot, which he captured back in 2015 on an iPhone 8, as a product of good luck, however. “I had an idea in my mind’s eye of what I wanted, so I positioned myself accordingly and then observed, waited, shot, repeated,” Ingraham says. “Taking a quick shot and then moving on rarely results in anything worthwhile. I couldn’t have got something like this without doing my homework first, studying the work of the masters of the craft, such as Alex Webb and Henri Cartier-Bresson.”

It was the latter who coined the term “the decisive moment”, which is what drew Ingraham towards this location in the first place. He says: “These courts, with their strong geometric lines and graphic numbers, seemed bursting with potential for a decisive moment.”

He shot using the iPhone’s Noir filter, saying he feels he works better with tones than with colour. As for how he hopes the image makes others feel or think, he says: “It conveys a bit of the simple, serendipitous beauty of day-to-day life, which is constantly unfolding all around us if we just choose to stop and take notice.”

There is a different approach to work and to subjects now compared to when I started taking photographs in the 1940s.

In my time, you couldn’t leave wedding portraits to go and try new things. You did what you had to in order to make a living, and portraiture was the thing. I had to take photos of people that they would want to buy. I did not have the luxury of being able to experiment and be as playful as some of these artists.

Things are changing all the time and with every generation new things are coming. I will always encourage young photographers to try their own ideas and to make progress. This generation has so much to say.

Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou
b. 1965, Porto-Novo, Benin

Africans have different ways of portraying their culture and art. Right across Africa, especially west Africa, in the Congo and Benin, where this photographer comes from, they wear these clothes to show when they are happy or celebrating. They design shoes to go with their dresses and mask their faces. I feel proud when I see this. The photographer’s work is to record or document. We have very little documentation about our ways of life and our worship. If we had people like these artists capturing what they saw, we would have diverse documentation of all kinds of religions.

Ruth Ginika Ossai
b. 1991, Onitsha and Nsukka, Nigeria

There is an art and a skill to taking photographs of groups. You have to arrange it so that all of their faces appear well enough to make them buy copies. If there are 100 people, you are aiming to get 90 per cent to buy copies — if not all of them. But people are always proud to show their uniforms. They can show the photograph to people and say, “Look at me when I was a nurse” or “This is my dad in the classroom, teaching”. The photograph allows future storytelling.

I’ve only got one group of nurses under training in my whole archive. There was a photographer in Accra who used to go to the nursing training college, so he dominated there, but I had a few friends at the college, and my sister was a nurse, so they came to be photographed. I was so happy that they took the taxi and came to my studio.

Sabelo Mlangeni
b. 1980, Driefontein, South Africa

This picture shows the love of a baby. Everyone is delighted. My favourite photographic subjects are babies and large groups. Sometimes the baby will start crying and nothing will stop it, but you have to have patience. When I started out, I used roll film and a miniature camera to capture babies, because it was faster and you can take a lot more pictures. That’s how I got the image of the baby on all fours. When I see babies like this, I remember taking those photographs.

Edson Chagas
b. 1977, Luanda, Angola

I have dreams about these photographs. The clothes show that we are all human beings, but the masks show different things: those who are sad, those who are happy; when you are laughing, when you open your eyes. They are each like characters. These African masks are vital things, powerful objects and part of a living tradition.

Andrew Esiebo
b. 1978, Lagos, Nigeria

I come from an oil-producing country, but I’ve never seen an oil rig before. At first, this looks like a painting, but it’s so real: the colours are not artificial and you can see activity on all the various stages. In the background, you can see the oil-processing stations and the tanks where the oil is formed.

Mário Macilau
b. 1984, Maputo, Mozambique

In Ghana, where the rubbish is worse than what we see in this photograph of Maputo in Mozambique, people collect parts of these machines to recycle them. They learn to excavate the useful parts from the piles of discarded items and they make a living this way. People even use them to make art.

I like Mário Macilau’s composition here, with the cloud of smoke, the television and the rubbish in the front. In the midst of all the litter, it’s as if there are people watching the television.

Atong Atem
b. 1994, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This is the style of photography that I worked in and still like best: arranging relatives or friends and making them feel relaxed, at home. In 1949, I had a studio in Accra, and people would come just after weddings or buying new clothes. I had a hotel and a nightclub not very far from me and, as my studio was open day and night, people would come and have their portraits taken after going out. Here Atong Atem has used her friends, all second-generation African immigrants living in Australia, as the models.

Some photographers like to decorate their studios, as Atem has here. Many well-known francophone studios use props because it encourages people to come to them. I had just one or two props; I could lend you a tie. But I like it to be plain to portray you and your fashion — what you feel proud of before you come to the studio. You come to show yourself.

Kudzanai Chiurai
b. 1981, Harare, Zimbabwe

When I worked, I didn’t have the luxury of dressing a model or building up a stage. Everything was done with the bare minimum. So the chance to clothe a model with expensive clothes, and use different styles and backgrounds, as Kudzanai Chiurai has here, would have been completely out of my line of work. With all the help I got from Drum magazine, which helped me get my feet firmly on the ground when I moved from Accra to London, I didn’t get that far. Here, we get the means to show the world that an African can also wear these styles.

“A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography” is on show at Tate Modern, London, until January 14 2024

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The Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum’s 40th annual photography competition will begin taking submissions Aug. 1.

The theme this year is “Capturing Inspiring Moments,” with eight categories; Scenic, Landscape, Portrait, Still Life, Floral, Animal, Insect and Black and White. Each category will have first, second and third place winners. First place prize is $50, second gets $25, third gets $15 and the theme award is $100, best of show award is $150 and People’s Choice award is the People’s Choice ribbon.

Entry fees are $10 per entry or $25 for three. Anyone can enter as long as they fill out the entry form, Theme Award submissions must be marked as such, and anyone under 18 must have a guardian’s signature on their entry form. Previous photography competition winning photographs are not eligible. Pictures turned in can either be 8×10 or 8×12 with a white 11×14 mat. The museum will sell mats for people who need them.

Those who wish to sell their photo will be able to put a price on the entry form, the museum gets a 30 percent commission for anything sold as part of the exhibit.

Entries must be turned in by 5 p.m. on Aug/ 29 with the judging on Sept. 2The show opens to the public Sept. 5 and closes Oct. 21 when awards will be presented at 2:30 p.m. during the winners reception, which runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. All images will have to be removed from the gallery after the reception.

Entry forms are available at the museum and on the museum’s website.

When Belgian photographer and photo tour leader David Van Driessche sought new locations for his photo trips, he decided to explore Papua New Guinea and its many cultures.  Little did he know that his travel to this country would evolve into a truly memorable adventure as he developed close friendships with tribal members. He found new friends and colorful models for his photography tours, but more importantly, Van Driessche successfully encouraged the tribes to build living quarters in their remote villages where tourists and photographers could reside for a few days.

Today, several tribes are building small cottages and rooms to accommodate tourists and photographers. Construction is primarily with wood collected from the surrounding forests. The units are artfully designed and include the amenities of home, such as a comfortable bed, shower, toilet, dresser, and clothing rack. Air conditioning is unnecessary because of the mild mountain climate.

“Travel agencies currently book tourists in hotels located in faraway cities like Goroka or Mount Hagen, requiring long hours of travel to the tribal villages. This allows only a few hours with the tribes before returning the same day to the hotels in those cities,” says Van Driessche. “With these new cottages, I can take groups of tourists and photographers from one tribe to the next without having to leave the area and go back to the city. It means the clients get a ‘full immersion experience’ with the tribes and their way of life.” 

About two years ago Van Driessche had the good fortune of meeting Randy Hanna, also a professional photographer and photo tour leader who is based in the United States. Together they collaborated on ways to help generate income for ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea. With the cooperation and financial support from Hanna, Van Driessche started building eco-lodges with two of the most famous, colorful, and exciting cultural groups in Papua New Guinea – the Asaro Mudmen and the Mindima Skeleton tribes.

According to Van Driessche, the best part of Papua New Guinea is the road between Goroka and Mount Hagen. Located here is The Asaro Mudmen Tribal Eco Lodge with ten rooms and more under construction. From this location, photographers can experience six different cultural events ranging from the Moko Moko Victory dance of the Asaro Warriors to the Burning Heads of Gimmesave.

Just a two-hour drive from the Asaro Mudmen lodge is the Omo Bruglgamo Skeleton Tribe Eco Lodge. This lodge has five budget rooms and three deluxe rooms, with more under construction. Found next to the Skeleton tribe are the Insect Hunters and Dusk Shaker cultures, as well as the famous Chimbu Bila with their long-feathered headdresses.

Who are the Mudmen and Skeleton Tribes?

Van Driessche, who now lives in Thailand, spent months exploring the tribes of Papua New Guinea. He worked most closely with the Mudmen and Skeleton tribes and was thrilled when they agreed to build lodging for his photography tours. As they have worked together, Van Driessche has learned many of the legends and history that make each tribe distinctly different. Each tribe has unique ceremonies and festivals which require masks or body paint to create special, colorful appearances.

The Mudmen from Asaro pay tribute to their ancestors by covering their bodies with mud and wearing heavy masks also made of mud. Centuries ago, the Asaro were known as shy jungle-dwellers. Legend has it that one day they were attacked by a powerful tribe and fled to the nearby Asaro River. When their assailants reached the river, they came upon figures coated in white and gray river mud. Believing they had met the ghost spirits of the Asaro they had just killed, the aggressors panicked and quickly fled from the ghosts. They never returned.

Members of the Skeleton Tribe from Mindima use white paint on their bodies to appear as skeletons. As the story is told now, a few villagers went hunting in the mountains but never returned. A search party found a small cave containing numerous human bones. They believed a big monster (probably a bear or wolf) had killed the hunters. To get rid of the monster they painted themselves as skeletons and laid next to the bones. When the monster returned and had his back to the living skeletons, they killed it. To this day the Skeleton Tribe continues to paint their bodies like skeletons to ward off evil and honor their ancestors.

Two More Projects in the Making

Van Diessche has two more eco lodge projects underway, one in the Jiwaka Province with the Sekaka Tribe. Known for their elaborate headresses made of colorful bird  feathers as well as the Forest Skull Kids of Koskala, this ethnic group is building the Koskala Gerupeng Lodge near the town of Banz. The village is only a one-hour drive from Mount Hagen Airport and an hour’s drive from The Skeleton Tribe Eco Lodge.

The other project is in Enga Province with the Black Faced Tribe of Suli Muli. This small group of people, known for using distinctive black face paint, is one of the most isolated in Papua New Guinea.  They live in small, scattered communities throughout the mountains, and their way of life has remained largely unchanged for centuries.  The Suli Muli people have recently started building their first eco lodge units. “Because this area has had no tourism, the experience is truly amazing,” says Van Driessche. “To be with a tribe that has experienced very few visitors has always been my dream. It’s like going back in time and learning to appreciate how our ancestors lived – but it’s real life now.”

Birds of Paradise

Near Mount Hagen is another phenomenon that lures photographers to Papua New Guinea: the birds of paradise. Legend informs us that these birds were forever in flight, never touching the ground nor resting in trees. Whether true or not, the birds of paradise are among the most beautiful and colorful flying creatures on earth.

Of the 42 species of paradise birds, all but two are found in Papua New Guinea. Although most male birds of paradise have spectacular plumage, there are a few species where the male and female have almost identical, generally modest-looking plumage. Coloring and type of plumage vary drastically among species. 

Finding these magnificent birds amidst dense foliage can be extremely challenging. However, with the help of local tribesmen, who know the habits of the birds and the environments in which they live, these gorgeous birds can be readily located.

Come to Papua New Guinea

Long ago, Papua New Guinea was known for cannibalism, but today it is a very safe country for travelers to experience colorful culture and unique tribal traditions. “The headhunters of the past have become tourist hunters of today. They are anxious to share their unique customs and cultures with others,” says Van Driessche.

If you are a photographer, birder or simply an adventurer, join us in Papua New Guinea for the experience of a lifetime.

When you’re out shooting street style in this current climate, you’ll see a dizzying number of photographers, and it can isolate you. That said, a few seasons back, getting into photographing street style again after Covid lockdowns, I met a few guys while catching up with fellow photographer Tommy Ton. One of them was this week’s subject, Tyler Joe. I was curious to know more about this guy absolutely brimming with energy, running around in the streets exuberantly filming himself and subjects alike. He had a particular joy for the moment which was uplifting for me, too—call it chronic, infectious positivity. Last season, after chatting for a while between shows and sharing some dim sum at Tim Ho Wan, I knew I would soon feature him for this column.

We finally linked up, so below Tyler and I discuss his originals intentions for taking photographs, finding a love of fashion through rap and sneaker culture, the effect photographing street style has had on his personal style, and plenty more.

Fit One

Denim shirt by Raf Simons; jeans by Ekhaus Latta; loafers by Dr. Martens; rings (throughout) by Cartier, Tiffany, and Tom Wood; necklaces (throughout), subject’s own.

“I don’t have a cool story,” Joe says. “I started taking photos when I was in high school. First, it was to take photos of all my friends skateboarding, and then to take the best MySpace profile photos. Then I just started taking photos of everything, everywhere.”

“I didn’t need any permission. I just showed up to fashion week,” he continues. “With the power of Instagram, it slowly grew and grew and I was able to make a career shooting.”

How did you start taking photos? Did you always have an interest in streetstyle photography?

I don’t have a cool story. I started taking photos when I was in high school. First, it was to take photos of all my friends skateboarding, and then to take the best MySpace profile photos. Then I just started taking photos of everything, everywhere. I learned by doing, constantly tweaking settings and shooting in different scenarios. After I got an engineering degree, I was like, “This is not something I want to do, but photography is a hobby of mine, so maybe I could make it work.” I moved to New York from San Diego, but with a degree in engineering, there was no real way of breaking into fashion photography. But this was 2012, and street style was a thing. Instagram was coming up and I knew people of like Tommy Ton, Adam Katz, Phil [Oh], all the OG guys. I was like, “What if I did that?” I didn’t need any credentials. I didn’t need any permission. I just showed up to fashion week. With the power of Instagram, it slowly grew and grew and I was able to make a career shooting. It was very serendipitous. I was just lucky people liked my photos and I was able to make a living out of pressing a button.

Like some of the best street style photographers, you have great style. Can you remember the first moment that you fell in love with fashion?

I think when I started to see people like Pharrell and ASAP Rocky move into the realm of fashion, transition, break boundaries and shit like that. I didn’t come from the fashion world. I was never a fashion nerd. When I’d hear brands, it felt intimidating. When I got to see some of the people that I idolized—it’s controversial, but even Kanye—break these bridges and transition cultures into fashion and redefine these boundaries, I don’t know if it’s a moment, but it was definitely a shift that I resonated with and it made it more accessible to me to be into it.

Fit Two

Sweater by Kapital; pants by Winnie NYC; loafers by Hereu; hat by Mannahatta; sunglasses by Loewe.

“In college, my first big purchase was a fucking $200 Urban Outfitters baseball jacket,” Joe recalls. “That was huge because I made no money back then. My first real fashion purchase was a pair of Y3 sneakers.”

“When you’re documenting it and you just see so much of it, at least for me, it was overwhelming,” Joe says. “I didn’t want to think about what I wanted to wear anymore. So, I only wore all white for five, maybe six years.”

Do you remember what your first big purchase was?

In college, my first big purchase was a fucking $200 Urban Outfitters baseball jacket. That was huge because I made no money back then. My first real fashion purchase was a pair of Y3 sneakers. I was a big sneaker head back in the day and Y3 was that intersection of athleticwear and cool Japanese style, but within the realm of fashion. It was tech too, so it resonated with me. It was a way of introing me into the world I’m in now. That first pair of Y3 sneakers was lit.

Has your personal style changed at all or been affected by shooting street style?

It changed a lot. If you look at my Facebook pictures 10 years ago, I was very hashtag menswear. I put on a tie to go Starbucks. I had the brogues on. Then I got into street wear. For me, shooting street style, because I shot so many styles and different personalities, I felt like I knew of everything that was happening in the landscape before everyone else. When you’re in New York, you’re in it. When you’re shooting street style, it’s not like the runway. It’s how people are putting that shit together in real life—seeing people’s thought processes and concepts and personalities personified.

When you’re documenting it and you just see so much of it, at least for me, it was overwhelming. I didn’t want to think about what I wanted to wear anymore. So, I only wore all white for five, maybe six years. White pants, white shirt, clean slate, like a blank canvas. It’s kind of like that Steve Jobs mentality of, “If I don’t think about what I’m wearing, I can just focus on what I’m doing.” It’s not like, “Oh, look at me, I’m a street style photographer. I dress cool.” No. Let me just focus on you.

But I love fashion. I have a lot of clothes. I just don’t really wear a lot of them because I’m always working and I’m always getting dirty. After a while I just get bored of it. Your personality changes. Your style changes with it. I’ve grown accustomed to finding fun pieces, or pieces that I really want to keep for decades. I’ll buy one or two things, and keep the timeless ones in the archives. You start with the blank slate, all white, and then start adding in stuff. I don’t even know what my style is now. I don’t know how to describe it.

Fit Three

Shirt by Siedres; pants by Collina Strada; shoes by Stüssy x Birkenstock; sunglasses by Loewe.

“One outfit is really out there—the one with the Collina Strada pants,” Joe says of his looks for this shoot. “My friend Hillary is the designer for the brand, and she is a great human being. She’s all about sustainability and I just want to support friends.”

“I never thought I would ever wear something like that,” he continues, “but because I want to support her, I bought them and I thought, ’You know what? This is super fun. I could wear these.’”

That’s probably when you’re getting to your most evolved form of style, when you can’t really describe it anymore. Because when you’re just describing it with a word, it probably means you’re just following.

It’s always a feeling. If you look at the fits that you have that you shot of me, some are all black. One outfit is really out there—the one with the Collina Strada pants. My friend Hillary is the designer for the brand, and she is a great human being. She’s all about sustainability and I just want to support friends. I never thought I would ever wear something like that, but because I want to support her, I bought them and I thought, “You know what? This is super fun. I could wear these.” They’re just casual, every day, if I just wear a white tee with them. But if I wear a nice shirt with them, they’re dressed up. You can get inspiration from anywhere.

Fit Four

Sweater vest by Filippa K; pants by Andersson Bell; sandals by Hereu; sunglasses by Sun Buddies.

“When I started, there were already hundreds of photographers out there. So how do you differentiate yourself?,” Joe asks. “Everyone’s shooting with the same camera, with the same lens, same perspective. And so if I just did that, I’m a cheap imitation of whoever’s photos that I like.”

“So for me it’s like, ’Okay, how do I change this? Let me do video,’” he continues. “I brought in video and that evolved in a way.”

How did you make the transition from a beginner to the multifaceted career you have today?

Just trying to be different. I entered street style in a time when people were already known. Tommy [Ton], Adam [Katz], and Phil Oh were all brand names. There are only so many magazines out there to use as a platform to jumpstart your own brand. When I started, there were already hundreds of photographers out there. So how do you differentiate yourself? Everyone’s shooting with the same camera, with the same lens, same perspective. And so if I just did that, I’m a cheap imitation of whoever’s photos that I like. So for me it’s like, “Okay, how do I change this? Let me do video.” I brought in video and that evolved in a way. As I started doing video on the street, I also started doing it for clients and campaigns. Then I started knowing how to direct better because I was the one shooting the video. I’m the one shooting, directing, and editing. So, it’s having that full 360 process understanding of, “I need to shoot this because I’m going to edit it this way, so I’m going to direct it in this direction.” I’ve learned that to be a director, you have to put out a two-hundred percent energy to get fifty percent back. By doing that, I’ve learned that I like being in front of the camera. Me being me at the fullest, at a hundred percent. It’s just one of those things where if you keep doing the same thing, you get bored. As long as I keep evolving… I would say I’m a photographer and a director, but it’s hard to categorize. I’m a creator. I think that’s the best part of it.

Fit Five

Blazer by Homme Plissé Issey Miyake; pants by Bottega Veneta; shoes by Maison Margiela.

“In today’s landscape, a lot of fashion has been commercialized. That’s just the nature of the business,” Joe says. “So, when you see someone who has really authentic style, you know it. You feel it.”

“It’s an energy thing. It’s this intuition,” he continues. “And then it’s just that physical reaction of,boom, you put your camera to the face and you start doing your thing.”

When you’re taking street style photos, what are some things you look for in a subject?

Authenticity. In today’s landscape, a lot of fashion has been commercialized. That’s just the nature of the business. So, when you see someone who has really authentic style, you know it. You feel it. It’s an energy thing. It’s this intuition. And then it’s just that physical reaction of, boom, you put your camera to the face and you start doing your thing. Muscle memory. It’s one of those things you can’t explain. It’s not a thing you look for. What gets you excited is the real thing. People who can put things together where you’re like, “Holy shit, dude. That’s fucking cool. I would’ve never have thought to do that,” but it looks effortless and it looks like them. It’s a reflection of them. That whole combination, that concoction of all those different traits, is what gets me excited.

If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?

White Stan Ray painter’s jeans and a loose white fit Uniqlo T-shirt with some cool sunglasses. When I wear all white, I’m projecting light. I’m projecting positivity, good energy. I think that’s who I am. At the end of the day, style is just what you do. Maybe it’s the way you tuck your tee in, or the way it lays on you. If I wear loafers, carpenter pants and a white T-shirt tucked in with a cool belt, it’s dressed up. If I wear my beat up Reebok classics and no jewelry, shirt untucked, I’m lazy. But either way, it’s the same outfit. You know what I’m saying? Different mentality, different energy. That’s the culmination of how I dress. It’s very functional, but I can also dress it up.

Christopher Fenimore is a writer and photographer living in New York. Working with clients ranging from clothiers to vineyards, he’s also covered street style for a number of outlets. Follow him on Instagram at @c.fenimore.