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etoilesarah · 9 years
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The Body Politic - 26 July 2015
A couple of months ago The Body Politic played at Gyro Youth Centre, and I snapped a couple of photos. These guys will forever be my favourites to photograph.
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Five Acre Shaker 2015
Earlier this month I was asked to photograph local music fest Five Acre Shaker. It was by far the most organized event I’ve been to, and the people behind it are mega rad. The bands, musicians, and groups were amazing. It was a mixed genre event, which is rare (in the local music scene) but I honestly love mixed lineups so much.
I photographed both days, but missed a couple of acts on the second day/night. Enjoy!
PLEASE TAKE PHOTO(S) OUT WITH PROPER AND FULL CREDIT TO SARAH ÉTOILE DAY ONE DAY TWO
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Cold Creek Falls | Sarah Étoile Photography
Before I talk about anything, there's a little funny story behind this trip. Prior to last week, Joel and I tried to find this waterfall out in Cherry Creek before, but failed to find it. So, I asked my best friend Ashley to draw us a map - because she lived in the area. Last week she finally drew us the map, but it's no ordinary map! It's a two paged map with immense detail. It's brilliant but also ridiculous at the same time. 
With all that said, we decided to use this glorious map. It wasn't much help, but it did get us to the 'Less than average Waterfall'. As for the area itself, it's actually really nice and quaint. The area is on a hill. It overlooks the little creek and forest, and the sound of the waterfall really adds to the atmosphere.
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Roger Creek | Sarah Étoile Photography
Last week Joel and I went to the Hole in the Wall, which is in Roger Creek. Prior to this I've never been, but I have seen pictures before and it seemed awesome. Once we got there I went into full photographer mode and started taking photos. 
My goal was to get a variety of angles to give a different perspective of the area, because a lot of the photos I've seen are quite similar (given of the area, so it's understandable). I'm not sure if I fulfilled this goal of mine, as I'm not that content with the photos I have. They're all right, just I could've played around with different angles and perspectives more. But hey, that's just me being a photographer.
Anyways, the area is really nice. We happened to go on a really nice sunny day, which made things even better. Just a little further from the hole in the wall there is a river bank filled with inukshuk like rock piles. I attempted to make one, but gave up. One thing is certain, we definitely have to go back as I found out there is a waterfall nearby. So, Joel if you're reading this - we're going back one of these days because waterfalls. 
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Englishman River Falls | Sarah Étoile Photography
Last month my dad and I went on a little trip to Parksville, and on the way back we stopped at Englishman River Falls in Errington. This is one of my many favourite places, but don't visit that often. During the summer I usually go to Englishman River Falls, to escape the Port Alberni heat, but never been during the 'winter'. It definitely has a different vibe in a different season. 
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Port Alberni | Sarah Étoile Photography
A continuation from the last post: Cody and I took more photos after Stamp River and his interview with the local paper. We decided to go to various locations around town, since we had a couple of hours before sound check.
My goal for these photos were to go to places where most photographers go to, but try to photograph them differently; much like what I did with the Stamp River photos.  For example, instead of having a wide angle shot, I went for a more tighter and closer frame; such as the photos from the trestle (where I and many other people have photographed many of times); just to get a different perspective. In the end, I think it worked out quite well. 
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Stamp River Provincial Park | Sarah Étoile Photography
The other week Cody had a show in town (photos from that here) and I messaged him to see if he wanted to take photos, he said yeah. Now we took a lot of photos that day, like a lot, so I'm going to split them up into two posts. With all that said, I wanted to go to Stamp River. Why? Because it's my favourite place in town, and I also wanted to challenge myself as a photographer.
Last year I took photos at Stamp River with my sister and they're my favourite photos, hands down. This time around I wanted to use the same location but try to get a different tone. We had about an hour to take photos at Stamp River, so time was of the essence. With my goal in mind I moved around a lot to get different angles and perspectives, especially from the previous shoot with my sister. Going over these photos and editing them, I think I achieved my goal.
Overall, I'm really stoked on how these photos turned out. 
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Favourite Photos of 2014: Concerts
In regards to concert photography, 2014 was the year where I really worked closely with bands I've previously worked with before, such as; Atlas Collapses, Carry The Storm, No Operator, and The Body Politic. I tried to photograph these bands to the best of my abilities, and attempt some new ideas (angles, framing, etc). Especially since I've memorized their sets, and whatever little quirks they do on stage during certain songs to the point it's ridiculous. Which helped a lot. 
Anyways, 2014 was great, especially concert-wise. I didn't photograph that much, but it was a busy year, and I promise to make it up for that in 2015. Trust me when I say I have a lot of ideas and plans in the works for this year.
May the Force be with you,  Sarah
ps. If you're looking for derp photos, then you're out of luck. They're not here.
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Favourite Photos of 2014: Portraits & Unpublished Photos
First things first, I decided to split up my Favourite Photos of 2014 into two posts which are: Portraits and Unpublished photos, and Concerts. This is because 2014 was a year where I wanted to revamp my portfolio, and focus on portrait photography a bit more. 
Favourite Portrait Photos: 
Now for some unpublished photos, starting with my family's potlatch back in August. This day was a really important moment for us. I'm not only proud of my father, but my family as a whole. This event was four years in the making, and it was definitely worth all the effort. This potlatch brought our family together and made us stronger. 
Also, I got permission from my dad (Cecil Dawson) to post a few photos. 
Dad carving in preparation for the potlatch
The handing over of my Grandfather's chieftainship to my father. 
A couple weeks after the potlatch/when we got home, my dad got a phone call from Tim Paul (Artist/Carver) asking if he can help with finishing a totem pole. Dad said yes, and a week later he asked if I can help with sanding and painting. Of course I said yes, but not gonna lie, I was extremely nervous. I'm used to working on smaller projects with my dad, such as sanding and painting masks or plaques, but nothing on this scale. Not only that, but working with another artist - who is world renowned for his work - YEAH NO PRESSURE AT ALL. Jokes aside, it was an honor to be able to work on this project.
The totem pole was given to the Tsilhqot'in nation from Tim Paul and it resides in Fish Lake, BC.
In late April - early May, I went home to Kingcome with my Aunt and Uncle. This is the second year back home, and it was rad. I'm not going to talk too much about this trip or share much photos, because I have a post specifically for this in a bit. But here is a teaser:
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Goldstream Provincial Park | Sarah Étoile Photography
For a little over a week my father and I have been traveling back and forth from the West Coast to Victoria for family related things, and one day my we decided to stop by Goldstream Provincial Park. Little did I know there was a salmon run at Goldstream and that's why we stopped at the park. 
Before my father was an artist he was a fisherman for thirty years. Needless to say he knew a thing or two about this salmon run. Let's see if I remember what he said: Goldstream's salmon run consists of Dog Salmon aka. Chum, the river was depleted until someone grabbed Dog Salmon eggs from Nitinaht (which also happens to be my tribe and home) and salmon started spawning there again, and there's also trout in the river. He mentioned a lot of other things, but that's all I remember right now. 
The area was lively. From the salmon in the river, seagulls literally everywhere, and children on a school trip. One thing that was missing were Eagles, but we later found out they were in another area of the river - which makes sense. That and bears, but I was glad we didn't cross paths with them during our walk. Even though it would be cool for photos.
The atmosphere at Goldstream made me think of what it would be like back at home (Kingcome, BC) during Oolichan time. Well, when there are actually Oolichans, as I've been there for the past two years and nada. I asked my dad that question and he said, "Yes, but there would be lots of Grizzlies." 
Anyways! Enough of my rambling. Here are some photos. 
The most artistic photograph of dead salmon and seagulls you will ever see.
This is a Water Ouzel that my dad wanted me to take a picture of. In one of my family's dances (on my dad's maternal side) this little bird has a part of the story. He explained how the dance went and how it's an interpretation of it's movements. Which was actually pretty cool to put the two together.
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etoilesarah · 9 years
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Still Here | Sarah Étoile Photography
If you were one of the twenty two people on Facebook who saw my post from Friday (on my photography page), then you were probably curious to know what it was about. Well, as it is Twelve 01 (December 1st) I can announce what today's thing is and that is, every Monday of December I'll be posting a new photo series (on this blog, then Facebook). If I'm really spontaneous, another later on in the week, but no promises on that one. The reason why I decided on this is because it's a challenge, and I also noticed that I don't shoot as much anymore. Which is something I would like to change.
For this week's post I had everything planned out and was ready to shoot a new series, but some personal family things came up and didn't have the time. So for this week it'll just be the ones with Ashley that we did the other week (which are some of my favourites). Hope you understand and like the photos! 
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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Chantelle and Cory | Engagement Photography
This morning at four o'clock my sister sent a text asking if I was still awake, but for once in my life I wasn't. So I got back to her once I woke up at nine o'clock, worried because she was vague on the details, and then she told me her and Cory got engaged. Which was quite the news to wake up to. Naturally, I was extremely happy for them, and then some how offered to take their engagement photos. I don't do couples/engagement photos all too often, but this was an exception. Especially when Star Wars became the theme.
How I photograph people is I let them do their own thing and go from there. Which I think captures their personality the best. Both Channy and Cory are quiet people (until you get to know them), and they're also Star Wars nerds. So I thought a more relaxed and fun setting would suit them the most. With that said, I handed them lightsabers and they had a lightsaber fight. Which was awesome. 
Once again Chan and Cory, congratulations. I'm very happy for you both, and can't wait to take your wedding photos next year! 
May the Force be with you,  Sarah
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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To The Moon
Cody and I hung out last week to film some videos of his music (again) and this time it was a success! I'm currently working on them right now and I'll make another post once they're done and posted. 
The start of this day was slow. We didn't have a set time to meet up, so we got together around 3pm - whoops. It was both strategic and sheer tiredness on my end. I was waiting for either early morning or some time after 2pm because of lighting (even though it was an overcast day). That and I couldn't unravel from my blanket burrito and separate from netflix that morning/afternoon.  
Once he picked me up we went to various locations around town to film. Some of them didn't work out all to well due to the wind (even though they were good locations), but we tried anyways. Around 6pm we took a break to have dinner and to kill time for the sunset. After spending some time at the restaurant we decided to go to the location I had in mind to scope it out. He liked it, but we still had a long time to kill before we could use it. Since it's apart of the harbour that has lights and they only turn on once it's dark. So we walked around and once we had nothing else to do we went through the footage from the day. When we finished going through the footage, chose the two that were decent, we both decided that's good enough for the day but still wanted to use the location, so we took photos instead. I absolutely love how these photos turned out! They're definitely amongst my favorites from this year thus far.
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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Tsuquadra - West Coast Trail
A couple of weeks ago my sister, niece and I went camping with our band. This the first (camping) trip my sister and I have done without our parents, let alone go home to Nitinaht on our own (even driving there, but let’s not talk about that aka. I almost had a heart attack thanks to my sister’s driving). Needless to say we were somewhat worried yet stoked. Well, at least I was. We literally had no idea where we were going. All our band said was “get home and we’ll take over from there” or something among those lines. So we did that and everything worked out. 
I lived in Nitinaht for a good portion of my life, but I've never gone beyond the lake. So I was really interested in seeing what it was like. Also, this trip was a good opportunity to get to know our family again, since we don’t know our mum’s side all to well. With that said, the first day was interesting because we’re all shy and reserved (myself more than my sister). Thankfully they all know my sister somehow, so it wasn’t too awkward. 
Now for where we were exactly. Like I said, they never told us where we were camping. When we asked around we got different answers. All I know is it’s a stop on the West Coast Trail. Judging from the maps I’ve seen of the trail, it’s somewhere in-between Tsuquanah Point and Tsusiaht Falls. I’ve been saying Tsusiaht on instagram and to people, but I could totally be wrong. (Update: It was Tsuquadra)
Anyways! This trip was amazing and I’m glad we went. I mean aside from: getting bitten alive by various bugs and insects, getting horribly sunburnt, then tanned, even worse a farmers tan, and one early morning needing the loo and half way walking the beach to the loo I think of “what if I see bigfoot right now” and then running the beach scared for my life - then yes, it was an amazing trip and I would definitely go back. Maybe even hike the West Coast Trail. Who knows! All I know is it’s a beautiful place for photos. 
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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Elk Falls Provincial Park
Last month my father and I stopped at Elk Falls Provincial Park in Campbell River for lunch while traveling back home. We sat by the river, had our lunch, and I attempted to take photos of the river but that didn't work out too well. After we finished having lunch we decided to walk along the trail. Mainly so I could dry off (I walked right in the water up to my hips to take photos but yeah we all know that didn't work out), but also to take some more photos. Elk Falls is one of the many places I like going to while in Campbell River. There's just something about it I like a lot. 
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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June 2014 Playlist
Hi! So this post is the start of a monthly playlist type thing that I’m going to be doing. It’ll be a collective of music that I’ve been obsessing over the month. I listen to A LOT of music, but about 87% of it is not in english. Which might surprise some, but I actually love listening to music in a different language. The fact that I find languages truly fascinating helps in this situation, but being captivated by a song based on the music itself and nothing else is what really gets me. Anyways! Enough of my rambling. Here are the songs (or EPs/Albums) I’ve been listening to this month. Hope you like them!
May the Force be with you, Sarah
<a href=”http://theivorysleep.bandcamp.com/album/everchanging-part-one” target=”_blank” data-mce-href=”http://theivorysleep.bandcamp.com/album/everchanging-part-one”>Everchanging (Part One) by The Ivory Sleep</a>
Smash Boom Pow - Do You Feel? (Album)
<a href=”http://smashboompow.bandcamp.com/album/do-you-feel” target=”_blank” data-mce-href=”http://smashboompow.bandcamp.com/album/do-you-feel”>Do You Feel? by Smash Boom Pow</a>
Vanna - Void (Album)
Arctic Monkey - AM (Album)  
Dir En Grey - Dum Spiro Spero (Album)
Dir En Grey - Amber
Sukekiyo - In All Weathers
Glen Check - Disco Elevator
IDIOTAPE - Styx
IDIOTAPE - Even Floor
2NE1 - Comeback Home (Unplugged Version)
Common Ground - Shake It
EPIK HIGH x BibiZhou - With You
Plasticzooms - Crack
MFBTY - Sweet Dream
Zico - Zico On The Block 1.5 (Mixtape)
Block B (Taeil’s Solo Song) - 넌 어디에 (Where Are You)
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etoilesarah · 10 years
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Alert Bay (Part One)
I've been going back and forth from the West Coast to North Vancouve rIsland every other month for family stuff, and this is the first time I decided to go on a photo adventure. Alert Bay is like my second home. I came here for most of my Christmas' when I was a kid. And I come here every summer. It's definitely one of my favorite places to visit (you'll see why in the photos). 
We've been here for a week now, and this entire time I haven't been feeling all too well. It's cold up here compared to the Valley, and my body is not used to it. But the other day it was nice out and I felt up for a walk. So I grabbed my gear and kicked myself out of the house. There's an Ecological Park called Gator Gardens up from where I'm staying, so that's where I went. It's very unique. If I'm correct, it's a bog of some sorts, and the trees remind me of ones near Tofino (on the Pacific Rim highway). Every time I go up to Gator Gardens it's extremely quiet. And within the past couple of years huge ravens have been lingering the island. So all you hear are ravens. It's quite eerie (especially when you're alone, and know some legends and stories involving ravens). When I was walking one of the smaller trails, this one raven followed me until I exited. Not going to lie, it was scary.
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After I walked Gator Gardens and went home, my dad got back and asked if I wanted to take pictures. Of course I said yes. We decided to go to the bay and check up on a totem pole my cousin and crew are working on for our family, and walk one of the trails that are nearby. Once we got there someone told us there's a nice trail that follows the beach, so we chose that one. 
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Since it's Father's Day, I'm going to dedicate this post to my dad. Who is by far one of my biggest supporters of my photography. When I was in high school, he drove me to all of the out of town shows and back home afterwards. Sometimes he just sat in the car and read a book until the show ended. But most of the time he went to go see a movie or something to kill time. When I used to put on shows he would do whatever needed to be done. Whether it be looking after the concession during sets, or cleaning up afterwards. He also liked all of the bands that I booked (especially The Body Politic, Take The Earth Beneath Us, Fall City Fall, and Unicron - I've never been so proud in my life). My dad is my inspiration when it comes to art, because he's an artist as well. I've learned the struggles and hardships of being an artist through him. But I also learned to stay positive and keep working no matter what, from him. Every day he is always working on something new (which puts me to shame). His determination and devotion to his art is truly something. And one day I hope to reach that point with photography and linguistics. 
Anyways, I could go on about my dad because he means so much to me. Even though he has lame jokes and bad dance moves, I love him. Because he's my dad, who raised me on his own, and puts up with me the most (with my lame jokes and sarcasm).
Happy Father's Day, dad! Stay weird. 
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