Something a little different

Robert MAZZAROLO and Darryl STICKLER talk strategy for a family-friendly future for Coquitlam.

I'm better when I'm busier. I'm happier and I'm more productive. Two friends I've known since we were teenagers(!) are all grown up and running for Coquitlam City Council this October. They approached me last October, exactly a year before the election, asking me to be a part of the team and help them with all of their media: branding, photos, video, and a website were among some of the things we discussed. In full support of them, I said yes, and also saw it as a great opportunity to learn some new things: Photos? I've got down pat. Graphic design? I'm pretty good, but it's not my day-job. Branding? I've got a good handle on it, but no paid experience. And video? I'm definitely still a newbie there. Website design and optimising the site for search engines were almost totally foreign to me. But it's all been fun to learn along the way, and the competitor in me wants everything to be the absolute best, despite a (hopefully not obvious) lack of experience in some areas.

We've been working on the campaign since November 2017. We filmed their intro videos and some of the videos that will support their platform. We started picking out their campaign colours (a nod to the city's colours) and got their business cards made and their website up and running. And now in late July, we've got two and a half months to go before the election. The guys will be doing some door-knocking with some snazzy pamphlets we've put together and we've still got to get the lawn signs ready to go for September (regulations say they can only go up 30 days before the election).

Have a look at the site and let me know what you think. Thoughts? Tips? Have you ever run a campaign or designed a website before? What helpful hints can you offer?

And of course if you live in Coquitlam, 

I strongly encourage you to 

vote MAZZAROLO and

vote STICKLER this

October 20, 2018.

I Heart NYC

Imagine my surprise when a young gentleman stopped me in the street to take a few photos of him using his camera. This wasn't your typical "please take a photo of me with family/friend/girlfriend/boyfriend/landmark/dog". This was clearly a premeditated mini photoshoot. Later, he admitted to setting up his shot and watching people go by for about 10 minutes before stopping me to ask. (Sure I had my camera on me, but lots of people in NYC carry around cameras. Do I really look that much like a photographer that you can pick me out of a crowd?!)

After taking a few shots for him and learning he was visiting from Munich, I suggested doing an actual mini shoot later that evening, right before my flight back to Vancouver. He was game, and we met up for a fast paced hour-long shoot around the city before I had to run (literally) to get my luggage and catch a train to the airport. I wish I had had more time with him. He is delightful and so comfortable on camera. Only later did I realise, he's no stranger to the camera-- he's killing it on Instagram. Check out his beautiful feed here. Until we meet again!

Triple Threat

Athlete and all-round gorgeous gal: I had thought of asking this teammate to shoot with me since early in the season. I still get in my head about asking people to get in front of my camera. She had to hint at me that she'd be up for modelling for me before I admitted how much I would like that. I should remind myself that, even through hundreds of pictures exist of us all online, it's seldom that we get to see professional pictures of ourselves. Shooting with her made for such a great morning and, even though we didn't get the sunset we wanted, it was a perfect way to wrap up my time in South Africa this year. Thanks, P.

Grayhound Training

The Grayhound Training is a small gym in Cape Town and I'm so happy to have found it. Every time I'm in town, I work out here three times a week. The trainers on staff are knowledgeable and, what makes them even better: they're incredibly personable (with a great sense of humour, too!). I don't think I could get excited to go to just any old gym. It's definitely the people at Grayhound that make it so fun-- both staff and gym-goers. I'm so happy I got to do a shoot with some of these awesome people here before leaving town. (You guys make sweating fun-- thanks. I'll be back next year!)

New Home

These two amaze me. When I'm moving, the last thing I want to do is think about looking presentable and being in a photoshoot. On the day they moved all their worldly possessions into their new place, they also agreed to a shoot. I love how the pictures came out-- so many more terrific ones than just the ones pictured here. And I love being on set with these two: they have so much fun together and it's infectious to everyone around them. Thanks, friends, for being so awesome.

Misty Running

This guy has been such a trooper and a great friend--stepping in to model whenever he's needed. He's so much fun to have on set and makes everyone around him feel at ease. Though we only had the magic atmosphere of the mist for the first 10 minutes of the shoot, he was so patient throughout, running the same steps over and over again until we got the perfect shot. Thanks, J.

A Food Adventure

This was one of the most delicious shoots I've ever been a part of! I met these lovely ladies as a part of a day tour in Eastern Taiwan, where they jumped in and served as excellent translators to help out me and my mom. On a break from studying in Shanghai, these two were such good sports when I approached them about doing a shoot at a night market. Not only that, their language skills enabled me to experience a night market unlike any others during my trip. Together, we had cuttlefish on a stick, a sausage inside a sausage, a Taiwanese corn dog equivalent, a potato spiral, a salted garlic pork wrap (I'm sure of that one because it was written in English), and dragon-fruit juice. I will take home great memories of the food, the good conversation, and the new friendship. Thanks for a great night, girls.

Baby G

One of my oldest and dearest friends has the most wonderful facial expressions. I never thought I'd meet anyone with more fantastic expressions than her... until recently I did. It turns out, it's her kid. Baby G delighted us during the entire shoot with a multitude of entertaining facial expressions and hilarious grunts and groans. With his dad's bright blue eyes and his mom's knack for making people laugh, spending the afternoon with the three of them was such fun.

CrossFit

What a treat to be able to shoot CrossFit athletes in their element! Their talent, hard work, and beautiful strong bodies were all on display during the shoot. One of my favourite parts of the morning was when anyone reached a new personal best, they'd go ring a big bell that would echo through the room. Everyone would pause briefly to give a cheer of acknowledgement, and then carry on with their own exercises. What a great environment!

Home Renovations

With my sister in town visiting, and a friend of mine currently renovating his house, it was a perfect opportunity for a DIY home-renovation shoot. The backdrop was perfect, and the two of them made the shoot a lot of fun. The actual renovations ended up taking weeks and weeks longer than planned (isn't that always the case?), but it looks awesome now that the place is finished, and these photos can serve as a nice memory of the process (...or maybe a reminder to think twice if he's thinking about renovating again in the future).