Photo Profile : James Heaslip

My love of photography started in that fateful fall of 2000 with my first day of high school photography. There I was introduced to the photographers that would shape my taste and style, and who would inspire me to press on in my education (formal and self-sought) to become a better artist.

Of course there were the usual suspects: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Weegee, Martin Parr, Diana Arbus, Elliott Erwitt, Richard Avedon and Annie Leiovitz, but it was my teacher, Todd Ainslie who was the key influence in my choice to pursue photography as a career. Todd would give you the push you needed when you needed it.

When I completed high school I attended Sheridan College’s commercial photography program where I suffered from the “small fish in a big pond” syndrome. The talent level in that program is truly unbelievable. On the first day they assigned us a large-format 4×5 camera and I don’t feel nostalgic whatsoever for that camera. But what that behemoth did make me do was to focus on each individual frame and truly think about what I was shooting. My first year at Sheridan was a fruitful one but I came out the other side burnt out and resenting everything I loved about taking pictures. I decided not to return for my second year in favour of pursuing my other passion: film.

I spent the next five years studying and working in film and television. I found it easy to forget about photography; in a way I had kind of grown to hate it. When I graduated from film school I decided to treat myself and I picked up a used Nikon D70s. I’d pull it out from time to time but nothing serious came of it. In the fall of 2007 I got a job as a producer’s assistant at a production company in Toronto.

Immediately I was thrown into an insane project called “The Rawside of…” which aired on IFC here in Canada. Rawside was a documentary show that would get into the hearts and minds of North American rock bands. We chased bands like Broken Social Scene, Metric and Born Ruffians around the continent and along the way I kept my D70s by my side. The show was received quite well by critics and the public but with the economic downturn, the broadcaster deemed a second season improbable. We were spun back into development, which for any one who’s worked in film or television knows can really be a scary time.

To fill some of my spare time in January 2009 I decided to start a photo blog. I spent the next year rediscovering absolutely everything I had ever loved about photography. I don’t remember when but somewhere along the way I decided that this is what I was meant to do, and in March of this year I launched my first portfolio site. Now I’m working steadily as a commercial photographer doing promos for bands, family portraits, headshots for actors and recently I’ve started shooting weddings.

I’ve just begun my most ambitious project to date, a photo essay called “Filmmakers” where I’m shooting portraits of – what else? – filmmakers. I still carry my love for the works of Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank but my influences are more heavily weighted to photographers like David LaChapelle, Gregory Crewdson, Terry Richardson and of course my one constant love Annie Leibovitz. The next two years hopefully hold some new and exciting things for me, I have plans on opening my own studio, launching my first gallery and expanding my flourishing wedding business.

Links:

http://jamesheaslip.com
http://flickr.com/photos/jamesheaslip
http://twitter.com/jamesheaslip