One of the most unique things I got to cover for editorial assignment was a Chinese Supermarket by the harbourfront. There was a crazy amount of people in a pretty small space but it made for some cool images. I wasn't really in the mood to eat the squid on a stick but some people seemed to enjoy it. Oh and another thing, I'll never forget the smell of tofu being cooked. Here's a glimpse of my two-hour stay of the closest thing to China in Toronto.
-3B
One of the sweet perks of being a photojournalist is that I get to sit courtside during some major events. I never shot tennis prior to shooting the Rogers Cup Men's Finals, so I can honestly admit I was quite intimidated especially since the legendary Roger Federer was going to be competing against up and coming tennis stud Jo Wilfred Tsonga. Just a little warning for anyone who's going to be shooting tennis courtside in the middle of summer... it gets HOT! It felt like it was 100 degrees down there and went through about 5 bottles of water. It was fun.
-3B
I'm fortunate enough to cover some cool things as a photojournalist, one of my favourite things to photograph is sports, especially basketball. Any chance I get to shoot an NBA game I usually take, but this game was a bit more special since it featured the best player in the World, 2015 Eastern Conference All Star , and 3-time NBA Champion Lebron James. Not to mention it also featured 2015 Eastern Conference All-Stars Kyle Lowry and Kyrie Irving and Toronto's own Tristan Thompson was back where it all started for his him. Being court-side for one of the most hyped up NBA games of the season was an unforgettable experience.
The game was nationally broadcast across the US on TNT and featured guest appearances from NBA Legend Tracy McGrady and NBA Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Earvin "Magic" Johnson. In honour of tonight's NBA All Star Game in New York City, I've re-visited these images since they feature a handful of former and current NBA All-Stars duking it out. Also, two of these Lebron James' pictures were featured as the cover for the Globe and Mail's Sports section their weekend edition, and one of them also featured on USA Today and BleacherReport.com, so that was super cool, but in the end, I'm just secretly a die-hard basketball fan that wanted a chance to sit on the court as future Hall of Fame players did what they do best, ball. As the saying goes - Ball is Life.
-3B
Every now and then in life you come across people with such amazing stories that you find it difficult not to share it with the world, Joe is one of those people. I met Joe nearly three years ago now during a weird moment in both our lives; Joe was going through a severe battle with depression and I was dealing with my own personal hardships too. This commonality and unspoken understanding created a unique bond between us and Joe instantly became one of those life-long friends, someone I could call up on a whim to chat or hangout. During my TV documentary class in University I had the challenge to tell an editorial story for one of my final projects and I knew instantly that I wanted to reach out to Joe to see if he would open up and share his life experience candidly through a lens. Luckily, he did.
Below are still images from the "set" (AKA Joe's badass loft) taken during the filming of the short online documentary created by me and two of my colleagues / friends at school. I hope you can take the time to step into Joe's shoes for a few minutes and gain a better understand of his story because he's not the only one who has to face these uphill battles on a consistent basis. On a day like today it's important to remember that you're never alone and there are always people ready to support you and help you overcome whatever you may be facing, just remember that reaching out isn't a sign of weakness, but instead , it's truly a sign of bravery.
- 3B
Here is the final documentation that came out of this project:
| Bell Let's Talk | Toronto, ON |
