Seminar Presenters

Gary Goldberg — Photographer

Gary has been working professionally in photography since his graduation from NYC’s School of Visual Arts more than 18 years ago. A transplanted New Yorker, Gary is best known for his edgy, colourful portraiture. His commercial clients include RJ Reynolds, Pepsi, IBM and Sony Records and his images have appeared in the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine and the Village Voice. Gary’s classes are always popular, and his instruction, insights and sense of humour are well-appreciated.

John Beebe — Photographer

John Beebe is an internationally-exhibited portrait and editorial photographer. His subjects cover a wide gamut of humanity, ranging from celebrities to street people, business people to teachers and politicians to cowboys. John’s work has been featured at the United Nations; last year he was invited by the Democratic National Convention to produce, print and exhibit on site a series of large-scale portraits of convention attendees. He is based in Toronto and New York.

Nik Milner — Photographer

Nik Milner is a photographer who has paid his dues. From his beginnings as a photography assistant/apprentice in 1979 where he worked both in studios and locations across Europe, North Africa, South Meria and Asia to his current grassroots photography classes and freelance panoramic work for a number of agencies and corproate clients, Nik brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his informative and enlightening. A professional photographer for over two decades, Nik has worked clients across the board from Ad and Design Agencies, Industrial and Corporate clients - and he has even designed and equipped a studio for Westbrooke Floral (including lessons in still life photography, lighting and set up!)

Sarah Moffat — Photographer

Sarah Moffat has been exploring cameras since childhood. Now, with over 15 years of professional experience, Sarah's knowledge has spanned across the camera world to include motion picture film, and video, still photography film and digital, and underwater. She has worked in a vast number of situations from large movie sets, to personal documentary interviews, to covering live broadcast events, to photographing everyday life, landscapes and print. The list is endless. Winning various recognition for her work over the years while staking new titles by developing and defining new positions, Sarah has been marked as one of the industry's finest.

Derek Shanks — Photographer

Growing up in Scarborough, Derek showed an early interest in the visual arts, a fascination that would continue to this day. But it wasn’t until 2000, when Derek moved to Canada’s east coast, that he found a true passion with photography. The moody, spectacular landscapes of the Maritimes inspired Derek to experiment with monochrome images, and in 2007 he produced his final colour photograph. Returning to Toronto, Derek created an online homage to Black and White, the growing blog Fragile Glass. Derek enjoys instructing, and is particularly excited to see his two sons Ethan and Liam developing their own love for taking pictures.

Matthew Nayman — Vistek Pro Video Sales Associate, Cinematographer, Director

Growing up in a “CBC family” gave Matt an immediate start in the media. By age 16 he was making films and learning everything possible about cinema, editing and special effects. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production from York, Matt found himself working as a freelancer, shooting and directing TV pilots, music videos and short dramas. Matt has been nominated for the Canadian Society of Cinematographers Student Awards and Montreal’s Young Cuts Film Festival. “Film gives us all the great things about photography, 24 times a second,” says Matt about his passion. Incidentally, Matt’s brother is a film critic with a Toronto weekly, prompting Matt to quip, “I make the movies, and he explains what’s wrong with them.”

Gary Ray Rush — Photographer, Educator, Gallerist

Gary Ray Rush is an accomplished photographer specializing in corporate, portrait and fine art photography. An experienced educator, Gary’s passion for teaching equals his love for capturing outstanding images. “I truly love the process of discovery that is inevitable when looking at the world from the viewpoint of photography” he explains. Gary's portraits grace the walls of many boardrooms and institutions and he is published in newspapers and magazines locally, nationally and internationally; his fine art hangs in homes and offices around the globe. Gary is also the director of The Elaine Fleck Gallery a leading contemporary fine art gallery situated in the heart of Toronto's art and design district.

Michael Beckley — Vistek Sales Associate, Photographer, Graphic Designer

Michael has been shooting professionally for more than nine years, starting in high school. His keen interest led to an apprenticeship with Howard Levitt at his Markham studio. Michael later moved to Signature Studios where he assisted in virtually every phase of the operation. His photographs have been published in the Toronto Star and Canadian Sports Collection. Michael takes his craft seriously. “A good photographer makes the event. Years can go into planning something that goes down in a few hours. After that’s up, all they have to remember the event by is your photographs.” Michael’s concurrent interest in graphic design and Photoshop is a natural complement to his shooting style, dedicated to “catching people at their best”.

Robert Dombaj, film/video editor and educator

Robert has worked in broadcast television since graduating from Ryerson's Radio and Television program in 1999. After managing the edit suite at Toronto ad agency JWT, Robert found a new home at the CBC, where he is a senior editor. He has worked on Kids' CBC, a Gemini-nominated national children's program, as well as documentaries, Dragon's Den, The Outlet and CBC Sports. Robert has also taught broadcast journalism to eager students at Sheridan College.

David Black — Photographer

David Black studied photography at Ryerson where he developed a love for black and white images and the work of Lewis Hine, Robert Frank, and Aaron Siskind. The desire to learn more about black and white photography led to a job assisting in the studio of noted Canadian portrait photographer V. Tony Hauser. Assignments during this period included a six-week photo shoot in the Andes Mountains of South American and the Annual Report for the Bank of Montreal. After branching out to shoot on his own, David earned a business degree from York University.

David has never met a camera he didn’t like and currently shoots with Canon, Nikon, and Olympus digital models. He prefers artificial light over daylight and uses Elinchrom strobes for most of his portraits. He used a PC for years but now is doing most of his post processing on a Mac. You can see more of David’s work at www.daveblack.ca

Andrew Collett — Photographer

When a scene captures Andrew Collett’s eye, it’s because he has had a vision of what it could be at its best. It could be at four in the morning when the mists rise from the night-cooled land; or, at seven in the evening as a thunderstorm batters a distant line of dark trees. Andrew’s goal is to capture a scene in exactly the circumstances when experience tells him it will be suffused with the most intense emotion. He works hard to grasp a fleeting feeling one which lives for just a brief moment in a masterstroke of light, colour, shape, perspective… and timing. Gathered from the land, he brings moments to life and fashions into them into fine images that are celebrated in interiors of all kinds, where the echoes of what he has experienced will resonate for years to come.

Donald Lee — Photographer & Educator

Donald Lee has been involved in photography for more than 30 years, both as a working professional photographer and as an educator with a solid background in traditional and digital imaging and output.
Donald has been published nationally and internationally. He is currently head of the Photographic Services Department at The Banff Centre where there is a constant challenge to be both creative and a clear communicator of ideas and vision, in an environment fostering excellence in the arts, leadership and the environment.

Kyle Sanborn — Cinematographer & Videographer

Kyle Sanborn is no stranger to the film or video set. With extensive experience ranging from grip to camera operator, Kyle is well versed in every facet of production. He has worked in commercials, music videos and features, and is familiar with a wide variety of equipment, including high definition video cameras, film cameras, lighting and editing gear.
Except for a brief stint in Calgary to get his diploma in Film and Video Production from SAIT Polytechnic, Kyle is an Edmontonian. His true passion is bringing creativity and a new perspective to whatever he is shooting from start to finish.

Holly Thomas — Vistek Customer Relations, Photographer

Holly’s been peering through a viewfinder since Grade Four. Her hobby became serious when she took up formal studies at the Sheridan College Applied Arts program, where her work appeared in numerous galleries. Holly has been published in the likes of Eye Weekly, Now and Travis. “I love the effect of light on people and objects, how it can enhance normal objects”, she explains. No wonder she enjoys capturing an eclectic range of subjects that includes portraiture and local bands, to land and cityscapes. “It’s peaceful, solitary and allows me the time to study light”.

Nick Bicanic

Nick Bicanic is an Uxbridge based wedding, event and portrait photographer serving the GTA and beyond since 2007. He has spent his entire life developing his talent in the visual arts, drawing and designing ever since he was a child. As of 2010, he became a member of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) to learn, develop and grow while providing assurance and exemplary business practice to his clients. It is Nick's belief that continual growth requires continual learning. Since graduation, he has supplemented his education through the mentorship of various successful business people both in the photography industry and outside. Now, with this knowledge, you can now find Nick teaching what he has learned to others. Nick's specialties include: Concept development, art direction, portrait, wedding and commercial photography, motivational public speaking, teacher and student of both photography and life.

Jeff Turner

Jeff Turner is an innovative, creative photographer with 14 years of experience who sees the world in snapshots – gathering snippets of time that will never happen the same way again; compulsively drawing a rectangle around most things he sees; taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Photography on film – creating sculptures with light and shadow – is where Jeff’s passion began, with the instant gratification that is digital photography added in later years. An instructor at both OCAD & George Brown, Jeff’s experience as an educator is paralleled by both his expertise as a photographer & his passion as an artist.

David Hemmings — Photographer

A world-renowned bird photographer who is known throughout the nature photography world for creating some of the most dynamic and impressive bird-in-flight images anywhere today. His work has been published on the cover of National Geographic and has also appeared on the cover of numerous nature photography publications. David enjoys teaching and sharing his passion for bird and nature photography more than anything. www.davidhemmingsbirdphotography.com

Denis Rule — Photographer

For more than 35 years, Denis Rule has had a passion for photography. He started his professional career as an underwater technical photographer in the early eighties and now operates a successful commercial studio in Ottawa Ontario. Specialising in portraits, fashion, dance and advertising Denis has mastered the manipulation of light in photography as an artist has mastered the use of brushes on canvas. His creative ability to chisel shapes and forms, highlight the desirable and downplay the mediocre with the use of both natural and artificial light has earned him a place with other top professionals in this field.

For the past 5 years Denis has divided his time between photographic assignments and conducting workshops on lighting for armature and professional photographers alike.