Entering the world of photography more than 22 years ago, Jacquie began her career when she picked up a camera at the Canadian Superbike Championships. She was working for one of the factory race teams but found a way to invest every spare minute towards learning the art of action photography. In the end, it was her deep understanding of the sport and those involved, that gave life to her powerful imagery. Her ability to tell the stories that were otherwise untold. That photojournalistic approach not only bridged the gap from the fans to the race teams and manufacturers, it immediately launched her into a new career path.
Fast forward a some years, Jacquie decided to diversify and found a sense of peace and tranquility as she explored the art of landscape photography. It was a new challenge for this action based photographer. Loving that it forced her to not just look at things, but to really see them, her desire to create imagery that would appeal to the most discerning eye, led her to join the Professional Photographers of Canada. Working along side many of the countries finest photographic artists, Jacquie's quickly earned her Masters in Photographic Arts, 11 National accreditations, dozens of international awards and was featured in several global publications and international gallery showings.
As momentum grew, Covid entered the scene crippling the sports industry and pausing life as we knew it. Jacquie responded by turning her sights towards the unpredictable challenge of wildlife photography. Applying everything she learned from sports action, photojournalism and landscape, she made a pivotal decision to walk with the brown bears of Alaska in 2020. In preparation, Jacquie acquired her bear guide certification. While she expected it would help raise her technical effectiveness, she didn't realize it would seed a connection to these incredible animals. Understanding how the bears communicate and witnessing the interactions between one another, she recognized these animals were capable of deep affection and connection. And in experiencing this, Jacquie's photographic passion was reignited and redirected.
Since that time, Jacquie spends much of her time travelling the world as an Ambassador for Canon Canada. Embracing every opportunity to spend time with her fellow photographers, helping them to improve their skills, share the beauty of the world around us and nurture their inspiration. When asked why conservation photography? Jacquie smiled,
"to learn and teach about the innate connection between this beautiful planet and the creatures that struggle to share it. I love the challenge of creating content that can bridge the gap between people grappling with the day-to-day, and a world desperately in need of their care and attention." Jacquie maintains that as creatives, we share a moral and ethical duty to tell these stories and advocate on issues such as protecting our planet’s biodiversity and the fragility of our complex eco systems. And perhaps most importantly, that there is hope and so much worth fighting for. We can each make a difference, just one decision, one choice, one action at a time.
