northpublik: design above the 44th parallel

untitled

I have the greatest respect for photographers. Their ability to catch moments in time that includes the surrounding atmosphere is a talent that not many people are blessed with. Try as I might with my point-and-shoot digital, I can never come close to that kind of emotional capture. Simply seeing it my head doesn’t mean I can reproduce it on film [or screen, as it were]. So I’m always on the lookout for interesting photographers, and a few months ago I found another one to add to my list.

I discovered Sabarah Pilon after perusing flickr shortly after Nuit Blanche, back in October 2008. I had participated in a show, so missed checking out the rest of the event, and flickr is the best place to catch shots of large-scale shows [short detour: if you're not using Cool Iris to sift through the thousands of images on flickr, you're not using your brain to it's fullest capacity]. Scrolling through the intensely rich and colourful images, one caught my eye fairly quickly. “Hey! That’s me!” I exclaimed and zoomed in. I was so pleased with the way this photographer had captured the atmosphere of our show that I had to further investigate. I came across some other lovely work from local photographers, but this one really struck me. I was led to some flickr sets and was able to make email contact.

“Warmth”

The sweet Pilon was very kind and willing to share, and I’ve been following her work ever since. She has recently publicly announced sabarahpilon.com offering her photographic services, and the site is chock full of some lovely work. From portraiture to landscape and much in between, you can check out her people, places and things sections.

The Toronto-born 24 year-old never formally studied photography, and her self-taught skill does not give that away. Rarely without her “trusty” digital Nikon D40X, Pilon can be seen snapping away at whatever strikes her fancy, and involves herself in extracurricular endeavours, such as the recently-concluded 365 Days [you can probably guess what that entailed]. Not one to heavily manipulate her work in post, she currently prefers a more simple approach to delivery of her final product. Based on what I’ve seen, the less she manipulates, the more talented a photographer she proves herself to be.

“Butt out”

Pilon classifies her style as ever-changing, matching her own way of life. Often inspired by Icelandic rock band, Sigur Ros, as well as the drive of those friends who share the same passion for photography, her favourite subjects are drawn from both nature and finding hidden moments:

I think there is something really rewarding in being able to capture the feeling you have when you are surrounded in nothing but silence. But, I also love taking candids of people. I think the best shots I’ve taken on photoshoots are the ones that happen between “posed” shots. Right after the camera snaps a shot and the subject relaxes.

“Kristen”

Having only been professionally shooting for about a year, Pilon is ready to expand her business and is currently on the lookout to do some portraiture work. So take some time for yourself and support some new talent. You won’t be disppointed with the results. I know I wasn’t.

psssst… mention you saw this post and Pilon’s hourly rates drop from $75 to $60. So go get yourself a mid-winter treat.