Shine Your Own Light with Mag Hood    “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us.” ~Jane Austen "We live in a society that wants to label you with a color, sexuality, religion, or ethnicity. It divides us, but it also allows us to find pride in our identity." ~ Logan Browning MATCH BRIEF “Pride” is a term that has a conflicted history. A quick search for the meaning of the word brings back a mixed bag of quotes that on one hand applaud it and on the other shame it, making it difficult to discern whether being “proud” is a good thing or a bad thing. This month’s Guest Judge Mag Hood is a firm believer that we should all honour ourselves and shine our own light from time to time. We should be proud of who we are, how we identify, who and how we love, what we have accomplished, why and how we do wha...

Congratulations to Nicky Lynn Richards for submitting the winning image for the May 2023 50/50 Challenge with Guest Judge Dave Brosha. You may recognize TSR veteran Nicky Lynn as the Runner Up from Season Two of The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge , and we are thrilled that she's still proving her chops as a force to be reckoned with, even when she's making beautiful mistakes! Here's the story behind Nicky Lynn's winning image: About 80 miles deep into a 222 mile helicopter excursion through the steep rugged peaks of a mountain range, thick fog sank heavily down on us, kissing the ground and giving us no visibility to move forward. The pilot had no choice but to land - we'd have to wait it out.  As soon as my feet hit the ground, the loud sound of crashing water was calling to me. "Damn! I should have brought my tripod!" was my thought as I eagerly walked toward the rushing water to get some cool slow shutter speed images of the creek. I didn't...

Rare Earth is overjoyed to have Mag Hood join us for the June 2023 50/50. Mag Hood is a lighting obsessed wedding and portrait photographer who has recently become an avid film enthusiast. She was also one of our Challengers' favourite Panel Judges from Season Two of T he Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge. This is no doubt because of the warm, open, accepting, loving, honest, genuine human being she is, and  We encourage you to get to know Mag better by visiting her website, checking out her Instagram, seeing what she's been up to with her film cameras, and maybe even joining the Offbeat community... Website  |  Instagram  | Film What's the best (or worst) advice you've ever gotten? Best advice I have ever gotten was from my Ph.D supervisor. I was in grad school when I fell in love with photography and was attempting (unsuccessfully) to manage doing both full time. I decided to quit school and pursue my photography, so I went to talk to my supervisor to tell h...

  "Our bravest and best lessons are not learned through success, but through misadventure."   ~ Amos Bronson Alcott “Where there is perfection there is no story to tell.”   ~Ben Okri “We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents .” ~Bob Ross MATCH BRIEF - May 2023 The Extreme Perfection of Happy Accidents Certain photographers go to extremes - extreme heights, extreme depths, extreme weather, extreme distances - in pursuit of the perfect photo, but things don’t always go according to plan. Canada’s own Dave Brosha, our Guest Judge for the May 2023 Match Brief, has literally written the book on this subject. In his own words, “A misadventure, at its heart, is what happens when you set out, confidently, in one direction and life says, ‘No way, hold up, not so fast.’” If you’re the type to get easily embarrassed, the worst that happens is a bruised ego, but even when things go so sideways there’s lost or damaged equipment, personal injury, and an investment of time and ca...

With our apologies for the late announcement, and without further ado… Congratulations to April 2023’s winner Karena Dyck, of Everlast Photo, for her winning image “Margo in Grey.” Karena had this to say about her photo entitled "Margo in Grey": "The full value of a photo is only understood years after it is taken" - Missy Mwac. This quote is perfect for this image as newborn babies change and grow so quickly. By the time this image is hung on the wall of her family's home, she will already be so different! As the years go by, the importance of this moment will only grow more and more. A huge thank you to Guest Judge Serap Seker, who had this to say about Karena's winning image: It's a beautiful piece that resonated with me due to its unique composition and captivating use of colours. I believe it truly embodies the essence of the brief.   And, of course, here is the winning image:

Author, photographer, creative coach, speaker, dreamer, and storyteller Dave Brosha (Fellow, RCGS) is arguably a Canadian photography icon, and we are over the moon that he has agreed to join us as the May 2023 Guest Judge. It’s likely you already know a lot about Dave, but in case you didn’t, here’s all the info you need: Website  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  |  Read  |  Learn #visualstoryteller #photographer #landscapephotographer #portraitphotographer # offbeat #wildlycreative #davebroshaphotography (Headshot courtesy of Amy) What's the best (or worst) advice you've ever gotten? “Don't do it" - when I said I wanted to quit my full-time job to become a photographer. I happily ignored this advice, which seemed to come from many corners. What was the last piece of equipment your bought or class you attended? I recently got a light wand, and am having lots of fun with that. What is your most or how do you deal with your most challenging professional ...

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  - Elizabeth Stone, teacher and author “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”  - Dr. Seuss, writer and cartoonist MATCH BRIEF It’s been said that when it comes to children, the hours are long but the years are short. Making up those long hours between sleepless nights, diaper changes, tantrums, rebellion, and sass are an endless series of cherished, fleeting moments that are just that - moments. We often make note of firsts, but seldom (if ever) know the last time we will be able to sleep with our child on our chest, soothe them with just a kiss, carry them on our hip, make their lunch for school and hold their hand to cross the street. Preserving the sweetness of these short years by turning the moments into treasured keepsakes is what draws photographers like April 2023’s Guest Judge Serap Seker to the are...