"Oh, Happy Day!"

Appropriately titled, this image scored an Excellence at the recent Professional Photographers of Canada-BC Region Image Salon. I've had many of my images Accepted and a few were Merit, but this is my first Excellence at the provincial level. It was a thrill to see my image hang in the exhibit alongside all the images that hung in the salon at PHOTOGraphie Festival held Nov. 4th - 7th at the Inn at the Quay in New Westminster.

To add to the thrill was receiving the Best in Class Trophy for Fine Art at the Gala Awards Night for this image. But I was also totally honoured to receive the Jan de Haas Memorial Trophy for Most Creative/General Interest for this image as well!

Thanks to Lee Sanger, a long-standing member of PPOC I learned a few things about Jan de Haas (1914-1967). He immigrated from the Netherlands and brought his wife and three children to Canada in 1952. He was a member of PPABC, (Professional Photographers Association of British Columbia), which is now unified with Professional Photographers of Canada, Before he died in 1967, he created a trophy to be awarded to the photographer who shot that year’s most creative image. The trophy was designed by his friend George Norris, a sculptor best known for the giant metal crab that sits in the fountain outside the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vanier Park.

The trophy is a work of art. It is symbolic of birth, the creation of life. A globe with five lens windows is mounted on a chrome stem and dome base represents the womb, and inside is a chrome fetus symbolizing new creation, a new expression and ideas.

About the image:

The subject is Allan De Bianchi on his wedding day. Allan and Hayley asked if I would photograph their wedding. Having never photographed a wedding before, I was hesitant to do it. But Hayley loved how I shot football so I agreed. On the big day of their outdoor wedding we were strolling through Connaught Hill Park in Prince George where the flowers were in full bloom. Hayley was wandering towards an outcropping of rocks for the next set of shots so I turned to see where Allan was. And I saw him jump, click his heels and land on the ground! I asked him to do that again and I got the shot. I never would have got it if I hadn't turned around!

Entering portraits in salon is not something I have done successfully (once rejected, twice shy) but when I was considering all the images I was thinking about entering, I kept coming back to this image. The action was great! The subject's attire was black and white. The gardens were a mass of colour. But I found the colours distracting so I played with black and white, giving the image a sepia look to make it appear more vintage-looking with the top hat and cane. Although it was a wedding shot, I entered it in the Fine Art class. And I'm so happy I did!

Terrill Bodner, MPA is an Accredited Professional Photographer living in Prince George, BC, specializing in Family Portraiture, Lifestyle, Headshots, Real Estate and Fine Art photography. Terrill is a member of Professional Photographers of Canada, accredited in Fine Art/Photo Decor, Animals, Wildlife, Nature, Ornithology/Bird, Botanical, Pictorial/Scenic, Travel Illustration, and Night Photography and holds the designation of Master of Photographic Arts from Professional Photographers of Canada.

She shoots in studio and on location. Come on in and snoop around!