Congratulations to our first ever 50/50 Challenge winner, Stacy Scandrett! In addition to winning 50% of the entry fees, Stacy's image will be featured on the November 2024 page of our First Annual Fundraising Calendar slated to be available for sale in November of 2023. This Season Two TSR alumna hails from from Niagara, homelands of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), Attiwonderonk (Neutral), Wenrohronon, Mississauga, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and sent in this drone image that caught our Guest Judge's eye. Here's what she had to say about The Nature Pill Challenge: Snow White I promised myself last year that I would make a serious attempt to bring my boudoir sessions outside, so it was ironic that we would get the Nature Pill challenge after all the effort I've made to get out and about in 2022! Throughout this whole year I've taken my clients to waterfalls, vineyards, forests, and to all the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie beaches that Niagara

It is an absolute delight to welcome the one and only Viktoria Haack as The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge 's Guest Judge for December 50/50. The Match Brief will be released on December 1st at 9:00am MST and shooters will have until December 21, 2022 to submit, so make sure you make a note to self about that. In mid-December we will be sharing a post explaining what exactly the Foundation has been getting up to (or trying to get up to) since being established in May 2022 but right now let's spend a little time getting to know the gentle and beautiful soul that is Viktoria Haack. ~~~ Viktoria is an English native who now calls Secwepemcúl’ecw (Secwépemc, known as Salmon Arm, BC) home. Somewhere between living on an isolated island for ten years, getting an Honours Degree in World Art Studies and Museology, and moving to Canada, her love of fine art, anthropology, and photography led her to becoming a respected and renowned visual storyteller.  If you're not familia

This week, Rare Earth Outreach is excited to share how we can   LEARN about the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) and Ownership, Control, Access, and Protection (OCAP). While there is an obvious connection between unlawful and immoral possession of sacred items and artifacts (like the Royal Alberta Museum 's meteor known as Manitou Asinîy ) but could there be arguments for returning negatives and film taken of Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit peoples, too? WATCH this video explaining FNIGC, its mission, and OCAP's role in the ethical use, interpretation, and preservation of data ranging from research surveys and photographs to biological samples. Now that you have watched the video, there is a LOT more information coming at you so we suggest you look up a local (or discover a favourite) Canadian Indigenous radio station to LISTEN to while you read.  FOLLOW Dr. Kim Tallbear on Twitter for up-to-date information on topics that range from misappropriated Indige

We are pleased to share with you some of Guest Judge Shane Turgeon's own words.  This article was posted on his personal blog earlier this year, and we hope you'll take some time to explore the various opportunities he has for you to get information and be inspired to connect with nature and find the mental health benefits in your own photography journey. You can read the original post HERE . Entries for the November Nature Pill Challenge being judged by Shane close at midnight tonight... be sure and get your entry in before then!!! My photography journey began as a result of being in a very bad and very prolonged depression. As such, discussing mental health and sharing the healing impact that nature photography can have on us is something that’s become incredibly important to me. I give talks to camera clubs on this subject quite frequently and I recently presented it live on   The Camera Store TV   which is available for viewing on their   YouTube channel   if you’d like to

Follow the work of  Brandi Bloxom , photographer, facilitator, workshops, photography, visual art, Indigenous Artist, First Nations and then Support some of the projects Brandi is involved in, including  IndigenARTSY, the Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada, and Pass The Feather Discover the  Massey Lecture Series  on CBC, starting with Laughing with the Trickster  with by Cree novelist, musician, and playwright  Tomson Highway . Listen to Thunder Bay, a true crime podcast exploring the high murder and crime rate in Thunder Bay, ON Read about the political turmoil happening in Alberta as a result of newly appointed Premier Danielle Smith's controversial proposal regarding sovereignty and Treaty 6, 7, and 8 lands Learn this tip on  how to quill a porcupine  before the harvest is used to create art, embelishment, and jewelry. Watch Season Two of Zac Efron's Down to Earth Series on Netflix (and if you'd like to know more about how to implement the things explored in the do

 Welcome to #seventhings you can do to make every day TRC day: November 2022 edition. Welcome to.... Métis Week (Alberta edition)! This week, #seventhings you can do to honour Canada's Métis include: Understanding who the Métis are, what Blood Quantum is, how and why Blood Quantum affected/affects Métis rights , figuring out how to type the accent on the "e" in Métis.... and so forth. Read this (very)  brief history of Métis culture before indulging in the INCREDIBLE work of Métis photographer James Brady Listen to this podcast with well-known Métis artist, author, and mentor Leah Dorion Discover how to make the (elaborate friendship bracelet) known as the ceinture fléchée  (the video is in French but you don't need to speak/read/understand French to follow along) Download this recipe for traditional tourtiere Watch this incredible 1979 production  (FREE!) about Louis Riel Support Métis Crossing , an organisation dedicated to sharing and promoting Métis cuisine and h

Disclaimer: Unless all you plan to do when you learn something new is express guilt and shame instead of doing better (talking instead of walking), there's no use or need for guilt or shame here. This is a judgement-free zone where we should have no fear of being honest and vulnerable if not with others, with ourselves. We would not condemn a toddler for not knowing how to regulate their frustration over wanting to but being unable to tie their own shoes and sooner than than we would condemn a photographer for not knowing how to fix the motor on a cruise ship or a rocket scientist for not knowing how to make perfect puff pastry. This post comes from a place of encouraging empathy and respect, and we ask that you adopt our no fear, no guilt, no shame policy. Imagine, if you will, a woman walking confidently across a parking lot. She's dressed nicely, hair and make-up done, smiling as she talks to someone on the phone. She effortlessly throws several bags of groceries in the boot

We've had a few complaints comments about how cold weather in some Canadian locations has made it difficult to shoot outdoors, some for technical or safety reasons, others because it's just plain cold!  So, we reached out to Shane and asked him if he had any tips or tricks to share. Here's what he had to say: "Oh yeah that’s a tricky one this time of year, especially with the last few days. All I can really offer for advice is: Bundle up! It’s so important to have good winter gear to stay warm Invest in photography gloves where the pointer finger and thumb tips are removable If you’re shooting on a tripod, use a remote shutter or shutter release cable to keep your fingers and hands warmer You can use hand warmers wrapped around your battery with an elastic to prolong your battery life in extreme cold  And lastly, the best pictures are often made from being uncomfortable and being in extreme elements. It might be hard but nothing good in life is easy and pushing oursel

 This week's #seventhings is dedicated to the oil and gas  or " O&G " industry. Rather than tell, this week is about showing. Listen to this podcast about relationships and positionality to O&G Learn about Canada's promises to Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit communities when it comes to O&G Discover  intersectional views on resource extraction. Read , buy, or borrow, "We Measure the Earth With Our Hearts" a (fictional but not really) recount of being exiled and losing connection to land. Watch  Bloodland, a short film, and consider the significance of using the words "extraction" v. "harvesting." Support iSTEAM Pathways (Alberta) to see how the Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit communities can engage with engineering in healthy respectful relationships. Follow  nativetiktoks - it's not all (OK, mostly NOT O&G-related) but it's a well-connected and informative account to follow if you want to know what #cuzzins are all a

Rare Earth Outreach is VERY excited to welcome Shane Turgeon, the Guest Judge for The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge's November 2022 50/50 Event. You can click the following links to  view/download the Match Brief , find FAQs about how the Challenge works , and enter your image for a shot at half the cash collected from entry fees, feedback from Shane, and publication in the Foundation's first ever Fundraising Calendar being released in November 2023, but right now we want to focus on Shane, whose headshot here features him with beloved fur companion Kwinn. ~~~ Shane Turgeon is (among many other things and in no particular order) a published author, a tattoo enthusiast, an event creator, an accredited appraiser of collector's items, an accomplished photographer, a jiujitsu instructor, sXe  and vegetarian, and a passionate advocate for using photography to improve mental health. We hope you enjoy viewing some of his favourite images and getting to know him better be