Brrrlesque

Master of Ceremonies, Heidi Raulin, as Ursula Von Icebergs

The second annual Brrrlesque show takes place this weekend here in Yellowknife and the town is a buzzin’. Last year’s show was such a hit that this year’s sold out in seven minutes! I know this is going to be a great event because my fiancee, Heidi, is helping Erika Nyyssonen and Camilla MacEachern organize, and naturally, I’ve been hearing about it every second of my waking life for the last three months! Jokes – all of the girls involved have been working their butts off every week since Christmas, it’s going to be an awesome show indeed. It is especially cool to see a burlesque revival taking place here in the North, and you can expect it to be like the shows of yesteryear: full of parody, comedy, music, dance, and of course, hot chicks. I’m personally looking forward to it and proud of all the hard work these ladies have put into this. And on that note, I present to you the stars of the show, the women of Brrrlesque!

Amber George as Lemon Locks

Jill Peterson as Ginger Demure

Jessica Florio as Luscious Lynxie

Camilla MacEachern as Lhanda Plenty

Andrea Edmunds as GG Delicia

Johanna Tiemessen as Lulu and Lolah Spanx

Erika Nyyssonen as Gracey Finass

Mardel Johnson as Belle Gin Fizz

Becky Davis as Lily Mae Dawgwood

Aingeal Stone as LuLa Sivious

Anne Marie Guedon as Amaryllis Lafleur

Margaret Bell as Sassparilla Honeypotts

Kate Odziemkowska as Shotta Bodka

Mary Tapsell as Ivonna MacDeluv

Meta Antolin as Cyn Isterwich

Sara Murphy as Lady Labrador

Sarah Elsasser as Eva Knievel

Tara Newbigging as Onyx Fire

Kate Witherly as Kiki Kincaid

Kayla Cooper as Katerina Almaz

Kimberley Galbaransingh as Handsy Coppafeel

Paco Greau as Manzelle Olila Folie

Kelly Merilees-Keppel as Mistress Sparkles Bandersnatch

Marie Pierre Castonguay as Mira Dahlia

Nicole Garbutt as Lucy Caboose

Michelle Hannah as Inés Capable

 

Bishop Sperry

Bishop John Sperry, photographed at the Yellowknife Anglican Church in 2009.

Over the weekend, the North lost the well-known and respected Anglican bishop, John Sperry. Bishop Sperry’s stories of living with the Inuit and learning their language and way of life is documented in his 2001 book, Igloo Dwellers Were My Church. He was known to dogsled to many of the remote communities to give services, bring medical supplies and visit friends. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2002 and was recently named a recipient for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal just before his passing.

He was a great man, and I only met him very briefly for a photo in Up Here Magazine’s story about the history (and future) of religion in the North, written by Brent Reaney. I remember him being very gracious with his time and incredibly kind.

Here’s to a man who lived an extraordinary life.

Hockey Day in YK

Last weekend the Yellowknife Fire Department and RCMP played their annual memorial hockey game in honour of colleagues who lost their lives in the line of duty. This year was a little different, as tribute and recognition went out to the crew and passengers who died in a string of plane crashes this past autumn. Families and fans came to the rink on one of the warmest February days on record to pay their respects, make donations and otherwise just sit and enjoy a good game of hockey. I was honoured to be asked to photograph the event.

Below is a slideshow of the ceremony and game, which included a mini-game between a group of 5 and 6 year olds.

It’s been a while since I photographed hockey (and I’m pretty rusty), but it was fun to get back into the saddle. It was a fun day and I’d like to thank James Mackenzie for helping me set up things up and shoot the game too. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Hockey Day in YK, posted with vodpod

Ringing In The New Year

Ring designed by Jamie Look and Vanessa Temple.

On December 27th, 2011 I proposed to my beautiful and super cool girlfriend of three years, Heidi Raulin. We’ll be getting married this summer, here in Yellowknife, the city where we first met over 6 years ago.

Because the North is such a big part of our lives, I wanted to get her an engagement ring that is uniquely Northern and totally original. Enter Jamie Look, Yellowknife jeweler and a dear friend of ours. Jamie is known for her avant garde style using sculpted bone and metalworks techniques. Her beautiful work is displayed in galleries across the North and she was handpicked to represent the Northwest Territories as a visual artist and cultural ambassador at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Me and Jamie got together back in late August to come up with a plan for the ring. We brainstormed a few ideas and came up with a design that would combine the bone of a Northern animal with sterling silver. We wanted something strong in shape and colour. Believe it or not, but we wanted to avoid diamonds at first – Heidi works at a diamond mine and sees those things all the time. I guess it’d be like working at McDonald’s and getting a hamburger one morning as breakfast in bed? Anyhoo, we thought if we were going to do diamonds that they would be accent pieces to a nice blue stone, like Topaz, the stone for December. And since I’d be proposing in December it kinda made sense.

And here’s the ring. Absolutely stunning work by Jamie and Vanessa Temple, her coworker on this piece. The band and setting is made of sterling silver, designed to look organic and unique from all perspectives. The black part is bison horn with the topaz stone and two diamond accents set into it (since the only diamonds mined in North America come from the NWT, it only made sense to include them).

I want to thank Jamie and Vanessa for all of their hard work and creativity in designing this ring and making it come to life. It is truly special to us both. You did an incredible job.

And to Heidi: I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Our best years are ahead of us. I love you angel. xoxo

Robyn Burns, Arctic Explorer

Robyn Burns, Arctic Explorer

I went to Resolute Bay, Nunavut a few years ago and I couldn’t help but notice all the inept “Polar Explorers” (read: rich British folks with nothing better to do) trying to reach the North Pole by skis. As they disembarked into the vast frozen polar hellscape, most of them fell or blew over in the wind after a few strides. “Someone’s going to die,” I thought. I mean, I ski like an Olympic biathlete in comparison. Which got all of us at Up Here Magazine thinking: “How many visitors head North ill-prepared and bumble around our Northern communities?” Ever been to the Geoscience Forum? Turns out the answer is “Shit-loads”.

So, in our January issue we’re doing a feature for all those would-be travelers to the North. It’s a bit of advice – most of it common sense – on what to expect (cold) and what not to expect (Starbucks, unless you’re going to posh Whitehorse) for all you goofy Outsiders!

Robyn Burns – CBC North reporter and producer – stepped in to play our Newbie Southerner for this series. As you can see, she pulled it off brilliantly! Thanks Robyn for lending your facial expressions and haute fashion sense to pull this off. Feel free to pick up our Jan/Feb issue coming out next week to see these pics in print and to read about the Do’s and Don’t's of visiting North of 60.

And a very Merry Chistmakwanzukkah everyone!

Jeff Philipp, SSI Micro

Jeff Philipp, 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year

Meet Jeff Philipp. He’s the head of SSI Micro and has been named Up Here Business‘ 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year. Associate editor Chris Windeyer penned a stellar profile about Jeff and how he’s pushing to make market room for fair and reliable internet service in the North.

I think I’ve photographed Jeff 5 or 6 times now for different stories and he’s always been a great sport, going so far as to let me wrap him in cable while I enjoy a beer from his “SSI Microbrewery” and take his pic. He even told me that I’m the only one allowed to photograph him, but I know he’s cheating on me because I’ve seen his mug in the paper and other places around YK. But the reason he’s photographed so much is because he’s such an interesting, positive and engaging guy with an amazing group at SSI. You’ll have to read Chris’ story but you’ll soon learn that they are David going up against Goliath, namely Bell Canada’s stake in the North. And if anyone’s going to fight that battle, no team is better suited than SSI. And you know what? They just might be able to tackle the biggest kid in the schoolyard. Good luck and congrats to Jeff and all the good people over at SSI Micro!

 

Richard Van Camp

Richard Van Camp, Up Here's 2011 Northerner of the Year

Tlicho author, Richard Van Camp, has been named 2011 Northerner of the Year by Up Here Magazine. I photographed Richard for the story penned by another amazing writer, Katherine Laidlaw. She did a great job on this profile.  Katherine describes Richard as an “energy drink” and that spending time with him is a bit like “running through a funhouse, with a a trillion projects fading in and out of focus, talk hopping from comic books to short stories to radio plays and back.”

Van Camp will probably admit that on the surface, he’s a very silly and goofy guy, but his more serious work is anything but: it is dark, gritty – but still very funny – and speaks about the North without much of that romantic postcard sensibility most Canadians think about the place. Which is why his most noted short story, The Lesser Blessed, is slated to be a major motion picture and currently in the works. To read the full article, pick up a copy of the December issue of Up Here.

 

Erin Freeland Ballantyne

Erin Freeland Ballantyne: Role Model

I first met Erin over a year and a half ago, through mutual friends and other life-long Yellowknifers. If you don’t know Erin, let me introduce you…

Erin is a member of the board of directors for Dechinta: Bush University Centre for Research and Learning. Dechinta describes itself as a northern-led initiative delivering land-based, university credited educational experiences led by northern leaders, experts, elders and professors to engage northern and southern youth in a transformative curricula based on the cutting-edge needs of Canada’s North.

This right here is one pretty amazing educational institution. To the chagrin of a lot of Northerners, when the Royal couple visited Dechinta this past summer, the media played this as some little eco-lodge commune where youth and elders frolic in the woods and take study breaks between moose hide tanning duties.

So what are Erin’s credentials for being part of this cute little “bush school”? Sit down for this one.

She was born and raised in Sǫ̀mba K’è/ Yellowknife on Akaitcho territory and was the first Rhodes Scholar from Canada’s North. Erin holds a BA Honors in International Development Studies at McGill University and Msc in Environmental Policy from Oxford University. Currently working on a PhD at Oxford, looking at the disjuncture between climate change and its effect on human security and health, amidst a regional focus on oil and gas extraction and the challenge this presents for sustainable community development. Erin uses participatory video research to involve youth in research to create education tools to support community health.

And now that you feel like an uneducated moron, like myself, let me point out that she’s also an artist, aspiring actor, and loving mother.

We did these photos for a media kit we’re putting together for a few of her personal projects she has on the go. She said “you know, you don’t really have a lot of women on your blog.” So she graciously agreed to let me post these for all the world to see (or at least the 8 of you who read this). So, without further adieu, I give you the lovely Erin Freeland Ballantyne, a model Northerner.

 

January Workshop!

WHEN: Thursday Jan 12, 2012 from 5:30pm-8:30pm (or longer, if needed)

LOCATION: TBA…the more people we get, the more space we’ll need!

COST: $55/person or $40/person before Jan 1, 2012

PAYMENT METHOD: Email transfer is best: plkkane@yahoo.ca or cash.

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

This is an evening workshop designed for beginner and amateur photographers (ie, new camera for Christmas? This is for you!) although everyone is welcome. The idea here is for you – the participants – to direct the itinerary and flow of the seminar by coming with questions and having myself and other participants help find your answers.

Your questions can be anything, from “How do I turn on my camera?” to “What are ISO, f-stops and shutter speeds?” to “What gear do I need to do off-camera flash?” Really, the sky is the limit here – whether your concerns are technical ones or have to do with the art of photography or storytelling.

So, if you’re looking for a quick, inexpensive and fun workshop in the new year, get in touch with me and I’ll sign you up!

ABOUT ME:

I’m a professional photographer based in Yellowknife, NT and work as the staff photographer and photo editor for Up Here Magazine and Up Here Business. I specialize in photographing people, culture and lifestyle.

I’m a graduate of the School of Media Studies at Humber College where I studied print media and photojournalism. I also have a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from The University of Western Ontario.

My photos have been featured in magazines and newspapers across Canada, including The Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest, Maclean’s, Albertaviews, Canadian Business and many others. To see my full portfolio, please visit www.patkanephoto.com.

 

 

Adam Beach, Arctic Air

Adam Beach, star of CBC's "Arctic Air"

Got invited to hang out on the set of CBC’s upcoming new show Arctic Air. Pretty cool to see how things work behind the scenes. It was especially fun to see everyone freezing their butts off on an otherwise mild (minus-5) November afternoon! Can’t thank the cast and crew enough for accommodating me with this shoot under a tight schedule, especially Crystal, Ken, Gary, Jay, Pablo, Elaine and everyone else I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and sharing a few beers with over the last couple months. Wish I had to time to get a photo of all of them – they are the ones making this show happen. Not to mention the friendliness and class they all have – they really want to show off the beauty of the north and make this something Yellowknifers will love. Check out the trailer on the link above.

Here’s a few shots of Adam Beach, the star of the show. Enjoy!