Like many of you, I use one “avatar” image to represent myself across the social web. For a long time, that image was one of me sporting a blue Mohawk, giving the camera my very best “Johnny Rotten” sneer. More recently, it was a Team Canada jersey, which stuck around for both the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics. Closing ceremonies came and went, and the hockey jersey needed replacement. It was at that point that I rediscovered just how much I despise almost every photo ever taken of me.
One exception – one photo of myself that I actually like – was taken with my wife, Violet, at a fundraising gala for the Children’s Aid Foundation of Simcoe County – an organization I am proud to represent, as a volunteer, as Board President. There was a kind of “get spirited off to exotic places” theme to the evening, and as each couple arrived, we were photographed with a plane in the background. It was a fun evening, for a cause that is near and dear to my heart.
Violet looked lovely in a periwinkle blue outfit that nearly matched (and certainly complimented) the colour of her eyes. I was as close to “dashing” as I will ever get…sporting a rented tuxedo, with tie chosen to match Violet’s dress. You can’t see any of the colour… but I can.
All great photographs capture a moment in time; not just the moment, but the essence of the moment… and the essence of the people (or other subject) in them.
I’ve been receiving a number of really positive responses to the cropped version of the photo above, since I started using it as my “avatar”. Mostly, I think, because even the cropped detail does capture my essence, and the essence of my emotional state when the photo was taken. When one of my friends mentioned Yousuf Karsh in a comment about the photograph, I realized that – on receiving that kind of high praise – the photographer in question really shouldn’t remain a mystery. But not just for that reason.
My friend (and photographer) Mike Guilbault isn’t just talented and skilled. He’s also not just accomplished and accredited. Nope. He’s one heckuvva (that’s Canadian, eh) nice guy – and a generous supporter of the Children’s Aid Foundation. Mike has donated countless hours of his professional time to the CAF. It seems that all we ever have to do is ask. And while he isn’t the sort of person who expects or even wants public acknowledgment – he’s also the type of guy who will forgive me for this little shout out. So, thank you Mike, for everything!
If any of you ever need a terrific photographer, for any reason (personal or professional), Mike is an excellent choice – the best, really, on all levels….
