Autobiography
Is someone actually reading this? Well, where to start? I was born in Etobicoke, Ontario on June 6th, 1985 as my parent's first child. My mom told me I was born with my eyes wide open, and have been a keen observer ever since. I took a strong interest in the sciences, technology and I had a desire to teach what I knew to others, even from the age of five. Not long after that, a love for art started developing. I was lucky enough to come from a large and diverse family, where there were no shortage of direct influences in the ways of art, science, business and technology.
I was introduced to computers at a young age, with an uncle who taught computer programming at Sheridan College. So there weren't any shortages of old DOS-operating desktops to inherit. My family's first Windows-operating computer came in 1996, an Acer Aspire with less data storage than I currently have in my XTi's memory card. It became immediately apparent to my parents that I was born to play with new technologies. I started off trying to create my own software design companies, with 'geocities' free websites (remember those?) after I had learned a few things in the Visual Basic and HTML programming languages. This would start the multi-level, hands-on training with computers that has made me the workflow guru I feel like I am now.
Fast forward through highschool - I was your average teenage boy, and had little extra in the way of hobbies - that didn't involve getting into trouble with friends, hacky sack, or pizza. I was making my living as a new entry to the restaurant and foodservice industry. But then, 2003 comes along, and that September, I made my first trip to another province - Alberta, and Banff more specifically. Possibly the most influencial experience in my lifetime thus far. I enjoyed the hiking, and the beautiful scenics so much that I would find myself living there within 12 months time.
Living in Banff, like it has done to many, turned me into an outdoor adventurer. It was because of this that I got my first proper DSLR - to do the scenes I was seeing more justice than my point & shoot was. So needless to say, Landscape photography was my first love. After scenic and nature photography, I began to take a liking to sport photography. It must have had something to do with riding for a +100-day snowboard season during my time in Lake Louise. Following that, I began to love shooting food - something to do with my +40hrs/week proximity to delicious and beautiful selections of any food I could dream of. I was working for the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise as a professional cook after all! Shooting food took hold, and with it the intricacies of lighting it. The next logical step for m was applying my newly learned lighting skills to lighting people with portraiture work. Some photographers would consider photographing people to be the ultimate and most in-depth challenge in lighting. I rose to that challenge and for a period of time, I was only interested in photographing people. Nothing else.
I had five years in Lake Louise, which these two paragraphs certainly will not do justice to. Important thing is, by the time I was leaving in April 2009, I fancied myself being on the road to professional photography and was doing my best to conduct myself as a professional would.
Next would be a temporary move back to Ontario to live with family as my jumping point towards my own place, at a then undecided location in Ontario. I took this time as a brief hiatus from my regular work in professional kitchens. It gave me plenty of time in May 2009 to prepare my first edition of www.cgardiner.ca and take the time to see my old childhood neighborhood through my new 'eyes' as a photographer.
July 2009 - moved to Kitchener, Ontario. My girlfriend whom I left Lake Louise with, would be going to College in Kitchener for a year and
so I moved with her. We had a spacious apartment that allowed me to set up my second 'studio' area in my home, but was a massive step up from my first. Kitchener also had me working with other creatives for the first time - people who were on the road to modeling as I was to photography. Everyone I was photographing before that were friends that I made into my models. Having a creative, and someone interested in making great photos, on both sides of the lens was a great stepping stone towards developing my photographic style. Here is a blog post regarding the interesting relationship between aspiring photographers and models working together on a 'trade basis'. Kitchener was a great period of progression for me in my photography work, but it wouldn't be enough to keep my heart from longing for the mountains in the west.
March 2010 saw me and my girlfriend moving again, across the country together. We were getting good at it! Kelowna was to be our new home. I had great job opportunities with old friends, and there was more college education to keep Steph occupied. We are still living in Downtown Kelowna, happily at that. As I have always been seeking progression in my photography, the same goes to this day. As I continue to progress, one thing has remained constant - I constantly find more areas to progress in. With that, one thing is certain, this journey is sure to last a long time.
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