Sometime around mid-June of this year, I ventured out on my first large photographic piece with freelance writer Jasmine Budak for northern interest magazine Up Here. The focus of Jasmine's story was what becomes of Inuit people who venture to southern Canadian cities, whether for educational opportunities, employment, or just to be with existing family who've already made the jump. In some cases, the move was only temporary but turned into something long-term, but whatever the case, these Inuit are now their own brand of southerner. Jasmine was out to capture a broad swath of urbanized Inuit, from the successful and urbane, to the less fortunate but still happy to be here residents of southern Canada.

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Had a couple of interesting projects with Jasmine this past weekend, that definitely stretched my boundaries as a photographer. This first one posted here is a piece being submitted to Reader's Digest Canada about a unique college in Ottawa called Nunavut Sivuniksavut, roughly translating to Nunavut's Future. The college is a place for a sampling of youth from all over Nunavut to come down to Ottawa to learn all sort of things, like learning how to open a bank account, specialized writing skills, and, perhaps ironically, learn about their history and culture. None of these subjects, including their culture, are really taught in a formal manner back home, so this college offers the benefit of outsider perspective, and a new lens through which these youth can regard themselves. This is definitely a fish out of water, culture-shock type experience.

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Got a chance to photograph Alethea Arnaquq Baril for an upcoming issue of Up Here magazine. Alethea, a young Inuk filmmaker living in Iqaluit, has revived an ancient tradition among Inuit women of facial tatooing. She's in the process of completing a documentary on the subject.

Got to photograph Alex Debogorski of Ice Road Truckers fame in Yellowknife for Up Here magazine — so far my only brand-name celebrity experience in photography. While my editor shot the shit with him, I set up two shoot-through umbrellas, one on either side of him, and fired away while he recounted any number of stories and tall tales. I shot him in a number of scenarios (including a few misfires in the actual cab of his truck that just made him look trapped) but the closer I had him against his truck the more control I seemed to have over the light. His garage was otherwise a little too cavernous to get an effective portrait.