https://www.roomupfront.ca/terms-and-conditions daily 0.75 2020-09-07 https://www.roomupfront.ca/home daily 1.0 2025-05-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/0c0b3678-7fd3-4543-a24d-5e97bdbd86f0/Lee-SiouxValley015.JPG Home - Having a BIPOC-led support group that is able to understand and provide guidance to very specific photo industry challenges in Canada is invaluable. - Jessica Lee, Past Mentee Chris leads his new horse Prince during a ride with the Sioux Valley Dakota Unity Riders. Photo by Jessica Lee for The Winnipeg Free Press https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505708125-5MBT92921XGY2UXLGBWN/24.24x36.jpg Home Photo by Patrick Kane. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599453864440-Z64J2YC1U2DQJYC7FVDN/25189102_10209419379155179_6432113688509261133_o+%281%29.JPG Home SOLANA CAIN, Director of Programming After completing a Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University, Solana Cain earned a diploma in photojournalism from Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario. Solana interned at Toronto Life magazine and the Sudbury Star newspaper before she began freelancing. Solana has worked as a photo editor for The Globe and Mail, Getty Images, HELLO! Canada and Maclean's. Recently, she was selected as one of the first artists in residence at Nia Centre for the Arts in Toronto. Solana is passionate about photographing authentic and empowering images of Black women and girls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599454008420-SJKRM5DF8EG39Q5C3GC8/unspecified-9.jpg Home JUSTIN TANG, Mentor Justin Tang is a news photographer based in Ottawa. He covers federal politics, breaking news and sports as a regular contributor to The Canadian Press. His clients include the Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, the Winnipeg Free Press and the Toronto Star. His image of Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau being embraced by his mother Margaret on election night in 2015 received a National Newspaper Award that year. He loves cycling, hiking and camping, and is happiest when merging his outdoor pursuits with making beautiful pictures. JustinTang.ca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599453898449-2CJTZ82OKY27SPPDI3A6/IMG_1040.JPG Home JIMMY JEONG, Executive Director, Mentor Jimmy Jeong is an editorial photographer specializing in magazine portraits, and editorial stories. His experience with lighting a portrait will benefit photographers looking to learn more about lighting for mood and story. He prefers to work collaboratively with the people he photographs and helps them reveal their own stories. His favourite sessions are with writers and artists. Born in Korea and transplanting to Canada at a young age, Jimmy's curiosity has always lead him to challenge how social networks interact. How people try to define themselves in relation to others. His portrait work deals with the second identity people sometimes take on and sometimes reveal. Select clients include Maclean's, The Globe and Mail, Der Spiegel, The United Nations, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg and Getty. Select recognition includes American Photographic Artists, Communication Arts, Online Journalism Awards and Prix de la Photographie Paris. Jimmy is a founding member of Rogue Collective and a member of DiversifyPhoto. JimmyShoots.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/6e2c54d1-b0ed-4ef8-aef4-c8f71556a941/IMG_6036.jpeg Home JOSH SU, Director Born and raised in Toronto, Josh Su is a Korean-Canadian communications professional who specializes in public and media relations for national brands in high-performance environments. His experience includes overseeing photography for the Canadian Olympic Committee and leading teams of photographers at multiple international sporting events. He has a passion for leveraging photography as an important storytelling tool and has a strong interest in supporting projects that address issues in our communities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/0c731472-0142-47bb-bf6a-8ed4883bb38f/Taehoon-headshot.png Home TAEHOON KIM, Mentor Taehoon Kim is a producer, editor and photographer in Vancouver, Canada. He is currently the Producer, Owned Media of Destination Canada. He started my career in photojournalism: his work has been published by Bloomberg News, CBC, Nature, Reuters, The Globe and Mail, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He also has experience working as a photo editor, most notably with Canada's largest newspaper, The Globe and Mail. He is a member of Diversify Photo. Whether he's working on editorial or creative projects, what he loves most is sharing non-fiction visual stories. He thrives under the challenge of discovering and leveraging stories to demonstrate mission, values and ideas in action. His experience includes creating and leading editorial strategies, consulting on visual projects, and producing everything between omni-channel campaigns to short, heartfelt video stories. Photo by Kristine Nyborg. Taehoon.ca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/b2fe2735-277f-4b05-ac96-41226321c799/JessicaLee-2+%281%29+%281%29.jpg Home JESSICA LEE, Mentor Jessica is a Chinese-Canadian photojournalist and writer from Toronto, Canada, currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a staff photographer for the Winnipeg Free Press. She is primarily interested in stories about culture, representation, social justice, identity and migration. She aims to highlight current social issues in her work, often from fresh perspectives. Recent projects include documenting van life culture, racism in Canada and the housing crisis in Toronto. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Maclean’s Magazine, Toronto Life Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Local Magazine. Jessicaglee.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/ec98a285-8266-4f76-b50f-1c4534de8dff/Kayla-MacInnis.jpeg Home KAYLA MACINNIS, Social Media Kayla MacInnis is a Métis storyteller who, in her work, mixes the visual and written worlds. She is currently in the fourth year of her bachelor of journalism/minor in creative writing program and plans to go to grad school. She is interested in an ethos of community care and the phenomenology of seeing, which approaches how an experience can affect how we experience the world around us. Her work focuses on music, arts, culture, and environmental reporting. She is a member of Indigenous Photograph and the director of community outreach for Special Bird Service, an outdoor advocacy & community-building group for and by BIPOC. Her work has been published in The Globe and Mail, The Narwhal, Chatelaine Magazine, Range Magazine, Room Magazine, SAD Magazine, Fraser Valley Current, and the New West Record. KaylaMacInnis.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/39fc1065-f093-484e-9646-7462dc8a0599/170127600_10162135677461509_7786019908063237763_n.jpg Home MERLE ROBILLARD, Mentor Merle Robillard is a photographer, filmmaker and photo editor at The Globe and Mail. He is an Indigenous Cree member of the Mistawasis Nehiyawak of Saskatchewan. He began his career as a camera operator/editor for Native Communication Society Television in Yellowknife, producing cultural programs for the Indigenous of the Northwest Territories. From there, he began working as the photo editor for Northern News Services, a community newspaper chain publishing several weekly newspapers across Northwest Territories and Nunavut. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/8f42606f-c243-433c-9045-f35093c603ed/Norma-Ibarra.png Home NORMA IBARRA, Social Media Coordinator Norma Ibarra is a Mexican multidisciplinary artist, content creator, community organizer, marketer and adventure seeker maneuvering boundlessly through photography, videography, and adventure sports. Of these, photography is an endless playground for her unique expression. Through her work, Norma shares the stories of change-makers around the globe. Her photos tell stories of diverse, proud community builders, simultaneously challenging and independently broadening the definition of “traditional media,” documenting a profound youth-driven lens around inclusion, representation, equity, resilience and belonging. Combining her love for adventure, her education and her photography skills, Ibarra has also carved out a niche role specializing in social media marketing, implementing and fostering spaces for the stories of her communities. NormaIbarra.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1c803772-8d35-444b-b018-1dc0856290c7/Pat-Kane-Headshot.jpg Home PAT KANE, Mentor Pat is a photographer in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He takes a documentary approach to stories about people and life in Northern Canada with a special focus on issues important to Indigenous people, including the relationship between land and identity. Pat is a National Geographic Society grantee, a Royal Canadian Geographical Society grantee, and an alumni of the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. Pat is the co-founder and president of the Far North Photo Festival — a platform to help elevate the work of visual storytellers across the Arctic. Pat is of Irish-Canadian and Algonquin Anishinaabe ancestry, and is a member of the Timiskaming First Nation (Quebec). He’s part of the photo collectives Indigenous Photograph and Boreal Collective. PatKanePhoto.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/2a06c2e2-483c-45bf-9dcf-3d6b0a9d4e7c/LucyLu-Headshot.jpg Home LUCY LU, Mentor I am a Chinese-Canadian artist and photographer based in Toronto, Canada. I studied photography at Toronto Metropolitan University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. With my projects, I’m interested in exploring cultural identity, personal histories, and how real and imaginary narratives make up our lives. I use photography as a storytelling tool, to communicate a tone, an atmosphere, or a feeling through visual language. Clients include: The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, INSIDER, Maclean's Magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Walrus, University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, and more. LucyLu.ca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/af668956-9d1b-4b50-85b5-f2b741034967/Gavin.jpg Home GAVIN JOHN, Mentor Gavin John is a Canadian documentary photojournalist with a focus on conflict, unrest, and humanitarian issues. His work has focused on understanding complex large scale traumatic experiences and getting to know the people who face those experiences. Since 2012, John has worked on pieces for international publications on these topics. He graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology with a Diploma in Journalism in 2013, and from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of International Relations in 2020. John currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. Gavinbryanjohn.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599453974179-DYEPQ0CYL6TKXAPY7BGJ/clbCarlosOsorioHeadshot01.JPG Home CARLOS OSORIO, Mentor Carlos Osorio is an award-winning Salvadoran Canadian photographer with more than 13 years of professional experience with the Toronto Star, the largest circulation newspaper in Canada. His work has taken him from Mexico and then to Vancouver, reporting on the journey of illicit drugs up the west coast, and then later to Massachusetts, where he documented the devastating impact the opioid crisis is having on the middle class. Carlos was a finalist in the portrait category for the 2017 National Photos of the Year and is a two time nominee for the National Newspaper Awards, for his feature work and news photography. COsorio.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/8f5ce7d3-a00f-47d8-9ac5-193c64e9a84d/IMG_5859.jpg Home LEAH HENNEL, Mentor Leah Hennel is an award-winning photojournalist. Always in search of stunning visuals, the Calgarian has travelled the globe — yet she's managed to uncover some of her most arresting shots in her backyard. In particular, Leah's work documenting rural life is captivating. A graduate of SAIT, she worked more than 20 years for daily newspapers in Calgary. Leah covered two Paralympic Games, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. Additionally for Postmedia, she worked the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Leah shot Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 for the Canadian Olympic Committee. As well as being staff photographer for Alberta Health Services, which includes documenting the front lines of COVID-19, she owns a successful freelance career. Her work appears around the world in publications such as the Globe and Mail, The Guardian, Maclean's, The Narwhal and the CBC. Too, Leah has published two photography books — Along The Western Front and Alone Together: A Pandemic Photo Essay. Leah is a three-time winner at the National Newspaper Awards. She also earned first place for Feature Photo in National Press Photographers Association and third place twice in Pictures of the Year International. Leah has also claimed the Sports Media Canada’s Outstanding Photography award. As well, she's a four-time finalist for Photojournalist of the Year for the News Photographers of Canada. LeahHennelPhotography.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/d56b1eae-dfdf-43d6-828d-f2e76ce9cf37/Azin-Headshot-Cropped.jpg Home AZIN GHAFFARI, Mentor Azin Ghaffari is an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist based in Calgary. She is currently a staff photographer with Calgary Herald and Sun (Postmedia). She is interested in documenting and creating visuals out of the everyday life around her. A recent project she is working on involves documenting the arrival and settlement of the Afghan refugees arriving in Calgary. Azin is also a graduate of the SAIT photojournalism program. Early career photojournalists or those looking to getting into the industry would do well under her guidance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599454020403-19B6KG7ZQ5BMM299ERZ0/unspecified-7.jpg Home AMBER BRACKEN, Mentor A lifelong Albertan, Amber Bracken photographs primarily across western North America. After getting her start as a staffer in daily newspapers, she has founded a successful freelance career. Select clients include National Geographic, The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, Maclean's, ESPN, The Canadian Press, and The New York Times. Select recognition includes The World Press, The Marty Forscher Fellowship and an ICP Infinity Award. In her personal work, Amber's interest is in the intersection of photography, journalism and public service with a special focus on stories about de-colonization. With the rise of movements like Idle No More, Indigenous communities are increasingly empowered to fight for a more just relationship with the government and non-native people. Amber has built relationships in Indigenous communities and documents important issues around culture, environment and the effects of inter generational trauma from residential schools. AmberBracken.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599453939188-T61KCIZDEWGX0SNCP8I6/Lisk-Headshot.JPG Home SHELBY LISK, Mentor Shelby Lisk is an Ottawa-based photographer and filmmaker with roots in Kenhté:ke (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory). After completing a degree in studio art and gender studies, she earned both a diploma in photojournalism from Loyalist College and a certificate in Mohawk language and culture through Queen's University and Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na. In 2019, she worked with Anne-Marie Jackson’s production house, AMJVisuals, followed by internships with the Globe and Mail and APTN, before taking a position as the Indigenous hub reporter for TVOntario. Most recently, Shelby was selected as a participant in the Reelworld Film Festival’s Emerging 20, a script and pitch development program for BIPOC filmmakers, to work on an experimental feature length film following the lives of Haudenosaunee women. Through photography, filmmaking, writing and podcasting, Shelby aims to contribute positive representations of Indigenous people and communities to news and media. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/abeec4cb-3340-448f-b84f-f46d2c89db4f/Jalani-cropped.jpg Home JALANI MORGAN, Mentor Jalani Morgan is an established Toronto based photographer, visual historian and current photo director of West End Phoenix. Morgan who is known for his editorial, documentary and gallery collected work both nationally and internationally. Jalani’s creative work explores visual representation within a Black Canadian context and focuses on documenting and portraying images of Black life both in Canada and internationally. As a commissioned photographer, Jalani covers the spectrum of portraiture and current events documenting the architectural, racial, musical and cultural landscapes of Toronto. JalaniMorgan.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/cfa0e568-6f5b-4fb4-974d-6c2522458981/AliciaWynterbyKWHeadshots-2.jpg Home ALICIA WYNTER, Mentor Alicia is a Waterloo Region based photographer specializing in Sports & Fitness, Portrait and Editorial photography. She enjoys taking time to get to know her subjects to get to know who they are. Her love for the camera developed high school when she borrowed her dad’s film camera when she took a photography class. Her teacher made a huge impact on her life, and her encouragement propelled her to a career in photography. She has studied Creative Photography at Humber College; holds a Certificate in Digital Imaging from Conestoga College, and a Diploma from Loyalist College in Photojournalism. Her work has been published in Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Reader’s Digest, National Post, Toronto Star. AliciaWynter.ca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/0472ffcc-eb0e-4150-a0f3-5a3b2ee43039/Lum-LR.jpg Home FRED LUM, Mentor Fred Lum is a photographer with the Globe and Mail Newspaper, based in Toronto,Ontario. His formal education, as truncated as it was, was two semesters at what was formerly Ryerson Polytechnic, but he was fortunate to learn his craft in the shadows of the incredible photographers working in Toronto. In his 30+ year career for with the Globe, he applied the knowledge he was gifted, into being a photographer who was comfortable by the runways in Milan and Paris, to the intense crucible of covering the Olympics, and everything in between. It was instilled in him early on that a photographer who could cover a wide breadth of assignments was as valuable as the photographer that had a special niche. While Fred is often called upon to create strong and evocative portraiture, he also appreciates the assignments that delve into topics such as Indigenous issues, and healthcare in a growing and aging population. Being allowed to spend more than an hour or so on assignment allows Fred to go beyond the single photograph, and to weave together work that goes below the surface and reveals something new to readers. While digital cameras are his bread and butter, Fred’s assigning editors also understand and come to expect the visual signature he can incorporate when he produces work with black and white film. Medium format may be his preferred format but he’ll use his large format cameras if it adds something extra to his work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599453958518-PLGY7A5KHTI932VXAYKV/unspecified-9.jpg Home CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV LUNA, Mentor Christopher is a Latino-Canadian news, documentary and set photographer based in Toronto, Canada and sometimes Lima, Peru. The focus of his self driven projects have often focused on labour and society, drawing from his past work experience and academic training. , His editorial work has been published widely and aside from taking daily assignments and shooting on film sets, he is deeply interested in creating immersive digital narrative experiences. Christopher believes that all our past experiences contribute to how we frame the stories we tell. ChristopherLuna.ca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/70d95974-0194-4050-a3e1-7e5208413a1c/image001.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/b3a1da4b-66c3-4c7d-98e7-73e3f04881a5/The_Globe_and_Mail_%282019-10-31%29.svg.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/c1772d29-b869-4490-81fb-1a25a57f6483/SCF_Logo+-+Colour.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1646849866235-9A23N8FY304FF8DDOFJ0/Kaska-Dena-Finlayson-Caribou-Robby-Dick-The-Narwhal9165-2048x1367.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1646850587890-H5BLEO4FH1WGBOT10K0T/JennaMae-071421-17.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1646850314638-K3GN44UATN7D4DBZUOMP/Hero.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1646868504994-RJSDKNP7H6CXKAYZ63E1/Siksika04.jpg Home Sam Wolfleg (left) and John Taplin (centre) entertain a child while a patent speaks to a specialized health practitioner via web call on April 21, 2021. All of the Aisokinaipiyokiiks are trained as advanced paramedics in addition to primary and chronic care management. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1646869644694-FWJUHF5Z1D4ZA33P000Z/FFKBC62KJBGOJEDC2PAKHUPW3Y.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505232569-ZZJN5UL1YP6AVRCJZDTD/Screen+Shot+2020-08-23+at+10.57.22+AM.png Home Photo by Amber Bracken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505233011-CBMGDSDZBNMRGFT9O5KI/Hair1.jpeg Home Photo by Solana Cain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505267555-J0IXXI909WHWIFKPY7RL/Copy+of+Copy+of+Second+portrait_Dejaun.jpg Home Photo by Brianna Roye https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505302209-KV27CQ55XYS5L3CVTY0F/20200816JDT103.JPG Home Photo by Justin Tang https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505346262-BIJFYTHLO1302722YYZC/vancouver-portrait-photographer-022.jpeg Home Photo by Jimmy Jeong https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f55aca02077884476592717/1599505463960-FGUAZ1G2XFGVBFSUQZFV/_PKP8351.jpg Home Photo by Patrick Kane https://www.roomupfront.ca/privacy-policy daily 0.75 2020-09-07 https://www.roomupfront.ca/faqs daily 0.75 2020-09-07 https://www.roomupfront.ca/subscribe daily 0.75 2021-08-20 https://www.roomupfront.ca/booking daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.roomupfront.ca/free-trial daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.roomupfront.ca/membership-subscriptions daily 0.75 2023-09-28 https://www.roomupfront.ca/membership-subscriptions/p/plan-3-gpmgr monthly 0.5 2020-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee2684b693dbe1560bd2b67/1596737707219-2DXPE8AAXW1U9WKQ40V5/2888448+%281%29.jpg Pricing - Plan 3 - alt= "" https://www.roomupfront.ca/membership-subscriptions/p/plan-2-d4tb2 monthly 0.5 2020-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee2684b693dbe1560bd2b67/1596737778940-B4BTB58135BWR28XTGUX/Stocksy_comp_2888472+%281%29.jpg Pricing - Plan 2 - alt= "" https://www.roomupfront.ca/membership-subscriptions/p/plan-1-rkmc4 monthly 0.5 2020-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee2684b693dbe1560bd2b67/1596737639523-4CNYT8YXTQ3GAH2250CZ/2888491+%281%29.jpg Pricing - Plan 1 - alt= ""