Watch: 10 videos that will change the way you look at photography
Some of the many stories that took CBC Arts behind the lens
For many, photography has become a practice limited to a click on their phone and a share on social media. But for these Canadians profiled by CBC Arts, innovation and inventiveness are pushed to the limited to explore the art in its many forms.
From twisting fairlytales to ascending into the sky, here are 10 stories that could very well inspire you to up your own photography game.
Jeff Bierk: Taking portraits of his friends and printing them — on blankets
Bierk created "10 Blankets" in collaboration with his friends "Jimmy" James Evans and Carl Lance Bonnici. The works are portraits of Evans and Bonnici printed on fleece blankets, resulting in images that ripple and move with the softness of the fabric. After he re-photographed Evans and Bonnici with the blankets, Bierk gave the blankets to his collaborators — and they've ended up in some unexpected places.
Dina Goldstein: Showing that adulthood is not always made of dreams...even for princesses
Dina Goldstein has been photographing princesses and icons for a while now, but there's always something twisted in her fairytales. Barbie finds her life with Ken isn't what it was supposed to be; Snow White is not quite the woman you remember from the story. These might be images that will unsettle daydreams of perfect lives, but they also tell tales of survival and fortitude. Snow White prevails, and Barbie will get on with her life.
Morgan Kolish: Combining passions in the Saskatchewan desert
Morgan Kolish — a fashion business grad — says it was tough to break into fashion design, so she picked up some work managing local Moose Jaw band Johnny 2 Fingers & the Deformities. When bandleader John Dale needed promotional photos, he asked Kolish. Since then, she's been chasing her dreams and in this video she combines her two passions: fashion design and photography. This video feature was shot on the sand dunes of Saskatchewan, but the locale could just as easily double for a scene from Lawrence of Arabia or Mad Max.
Zun Lee: Collecting over 3,500 photos to show how black love matters
Zun Lee started collecting Polaroids of African American families after he found an abandoned box of one family's photographs on the sidewalk of an American city in 2012. When his attempts to find the family who had lost the photographs failed, Lee decided to keep them as an archive of African American life — and to keep looking for more. At the time of this feature, he had collected over 3,500.
Stefan Litster: Capturing the Prairies in pictures with a massive camera
Peter Andrew Lusztyk: Taking stunning aerial photographs that will change the way you look at our infastructure
Photographing from a moving helicopter is not for the faint of heart. First, you find a helicopter pilot you really trust. They strap you into the back passenger seat, which has already had the door removed to give you a clear view of the world below. And then you ascend into the sky. With your seatbelt tight against your chest and the wind ripping through the aircraft, the pilot tilts the helicopter on an angle for you to photograph straight down. Which can feel pretty scary — or thrilling, if you're photographer Peter Andrew Lusztyk.
Marc Montplaisir: Convincing David Suzuki to take off his shirt for one of his most iconic images
Marc Montplaisir was worried when David Suzuki walked into his Montreal studio. The photographer had next to no time with the scientist, environmental activist and Nature of Things host, who turned 80 this past year. Somehow, Montplaisir convinced a reluctant Suzuki to partially undress. What the photographer captured through an archaic process called Ambrotype is one of the most memorable images ever of Suzuki.
Our Wild Abandon: Giving up a home address to document their lives on Instagram
Kyla Trethewey and Jillian Mann are intrepid. They have to be, because they're constantly travelling to new places, living out of their mobile camper. Over three years ago, the two women left their homes in British Columbia, getting rid of most of their possessions and packing the rest into tight quarters. Now, they call themselves Our Wild Abandon, and the photographs of their daily travels, the people they meet along the way and the magnificent landscapes they traverse have drawn over 133,000 followers on Instagram.
Jeff Topham: Capturing the beauty of Antarctic through breathtaking images
Paul Zizka: Seeking out the spectacular from the Alberta winter
Paul Zizka's art comes from some very hard-to-reach places. A professional mountain landscape and adventure photographer based in Banff, Alta., Zizka is happy to venture deep into the wilderness to find his best photos — even in the dead of winter. From the Northern Lights to the peaks of the Canadian Rockies, this video takes you to the extremes of his extraordinary work.
Watch Exhibitionists Sundays at 4:30pm (5 NT) on CBC.