Meet the Judges for the 2010 Photo Contest

The eighth Hope in Shadows photography contest will recognzie the talent of many downtown eastside residents. This year we received more than 4,000 entries in four categories: documentary, colour, landscape and best portrait. Below are biographies of 11 of our 13 judges. Awards will be announced on October 5 at an event in the theatre of the Carnegie Community Centre.

Barry Calhoun

Vancouver based photographer Barry Calhoun was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He moved to Quebec to attend Bishop's University where - as part of his degree program - Barry took a fine art photography course. This course introduced him to the world of photography. With an immediate passion for photography and his love of music, Barry began to shoot live shows and became fascinated with both lighting and the unpredictable nature of live productions. He has since studied fine art photography at North Island College, supplemented by technical training at Vancouver's Focal Point Photography School.  

Chris Cameron

As a teenager, Chris Cameron lived in Malaysia and Brazil. In Vancouver, he studied the sociology of media and produced educational videos. He has worked as a staff newspaper photographer, and has published in Vancouver newspapers, The Globe and Mail, and the New York Times. For twenty-five years he has been the official photographer for the Vancouver Jazz Festival. In the 1990s, he devoted his time to extensive documentary projects -- in Russia, Central Asia, and later, Cuba. He teaches and mentors in documentary photography, and photographs both commercially and in support of numerous Downtown East Side agencies and groups.

Christian Dahlberg

Christian Dahlberg is a graduate of Emily Carr College of Art and Design. Some of his past projects include Vancouver Neon: a journey through the city and Woodwards Project.

Christine Delano

Originally from Mexico City, Christine Delano is a graphic designer living in Vancouver. She designed the 2010 Hope in Shadows calendar and is designing the upcoming calendar too. She is currently launching a business called Texture and Finery, inspired by the haute-couture tradition and providing custom designed, hand-crafted letterpess wedding invitations and stationery. You can read more about Christine's experience here.  

Marina Dodis

I was raised in Montreal, Quebec and reloacted to Vancouver in 1982 - drawn to the lifestyle and wilderness of British Columbia. By working in a top black and white lab, processing and printing with some of the city's best, I learned the fundamentals of photography. I began freelancing in 1990 specializing in portrait and documentary photography, and have since expanded into travel and architecture. www.marinadodis.com

Michael Lawlor

Michael Lawlor is a photographer, artist, writer and curator who has been living and working in Strathcona for more than a decade. His alternate photography is darkroom based and has been exhibited across Canada. Currently, he works with his archive of Canadian Magic Lantern slides, making prints and preparing exhibitions for Art Galleries and Museums. He presents Magic Lantern shows and lectures on Canadian history and on Magic Lanterns. He also does custom digital printing for other artists.

Ali Lohan

Ali Lohan is an artist, video maker, and an art-based community organizer, who lives and works in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. She has a BFA in Film and Video from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, UK. Her practice involves working collaboratively with community members on videos, paintings, printmaking, blogging, curating, and digital storytelling.

Greg Masuda

Greg Masuda is a community-involved photographer and independent documentary filmmaker who strives to create stories with social value. Since moving to Vancouver in 2007, he has been volunteering his time with the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, the Powell Street Festival Society, Hope in Shadows, and Me to We Day. His recent film productions include Surviving In The Cracks, 133 Years of Music In Six Solos and Alexis (currently in production) and he was BC's sole recipient of Astral Media's 2010 Toronto Documentary Forum Scholarship for emerging filmmakers at Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival 2010. Greg will be showing his most recent photographic works in two upcoming group exhibitions, the first at the Katie Huisman Studio on July 6 and his second as part of Kizuna:Bond at the National Nikkei Center in September.

Jenelle Schneider

Jenelle Schneider is a photographer with the Pacific News Group. She holds a BFA in Photography from the University of Calgary and was a staff photographer with the Calgary Herald for seven years.

Michelle Sillyboy

Michelle describes herself as an "artist on the go.." and a "poetically challenged educator." She is Wacobah First Nations from the Mi'kmaq territory. Her preferred mediums of expression are poetry, photography, sound and digital media. Michelle holds a B.F.A. from Emily Carr and ME.d from Simon Fraser University.

Jerry Whitehead

Over the years, Jerry Whitehead's artwork has gone through a number of stages. The one thing that has remained constant throughout this progression is his focus on powwows and powwow dancers. "Powwow dancers have been an ongoing theme in my work since I began painting. Seeing the dancers as a child had a lasting impression. The subject matter has been ideal for expressing a part of my culture as well as accommodating changes in my work," says the artist from the Peter Chapman First Nation.

Jerry obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Indian Art from the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.Upon completing his formal training, Whitehead began showing his work in exhibitions across the country. Jerry currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia but his work can be seen throughout western Canada. He has displays in Saskatchewan at Artworks in Saskatoon and at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park.

Jerry's artwork was also featured in a 2009 winning photograph by Steven Mayes called Alkina at the Powwow.