Tel: 604-224-3636
Toll Free: 1 877 224 3636
We take pride in our teaching methods.
Our instructors are drawn from the top
ranks of Vancouver's professional photographic community. All are working
professional photographers who share their experience and on the job knowledge
of the latest techniques to help you get the most out of your camera. We
are proud to have unique and knowledgeable instructors at Focal Point. Even
our administrators and course advisors are or have been working professionals.
Jim Balderston
A graduate from Ryerson University in Toronto with a degree in photography, Jim Balderston’s career has spanned a quarter century—working as a photographer, teacher, master printer and business owner.
After graduating, Jim went on to show his work and teach at Sheridan College. In 1993 Jim opened Pacific Light Impressions a photographic center offering color and black and white darkroom rentals, custom lab services, giclée printing and photo workshops. PLI quickly became a destination for many local photographers and artists.
With Jim’s background in fine art photography, he soon established a reputation for a refined sensibility when working with artists. Over the years Jim has worked on fine art photo based editions for internationally renowned artists that have been collected and shown in world class galleries.
In 2006, Jim closed PLI and devotes more time to his photographic career. He continues to shoot stock and fine art while still teaching and exhibiting his work. He continues to specialize in printing fine art silver gelatin prints.
jimbalderstonphotography.com
Kellie Diguangco
Kellie Diguangco is a graduate from Dallas Baptist University where she received a BFA specializing in photography. She started out in child psychology and ended up taking a photography course for a needed credit, this small credit changed her whole degree plan. Because of her passion for children and photography; much of her early work included capturing young children in their natural state. She has been teaching digital photography and digital composition for the past five years. She has had the pleasure to work with such companies as The Vancouver Airport, The Art institute of Vancouver and Big Sisters. She has continued to pursue her freelance photography and graphic design during this time.
Hannah Guy
With over eight years experience in photography, Hannah Guy has been part of group shows and residencies both internationally and in the UK. She graduated with an MA in Photography (distinction) from London College of Communication, England. As a London based commercial photographer working in editorial, portraiture and fashion, with clients from Chanel to Carlsberg, Hannah has a broad experience of both the commercial and fine art photography worlds. As an international Photographic artist, Hannah has been visiting lecturer at several universities in Europe. She has exhibited in the UK, Luxembourg, Spain and Germany, her work has been published in Lens Culture magazine and is in the collection of 31 Studio Archive.
http://www.hannahguy.co.uk
http://www.axisweb.org/artist/hannahguy
http://www.lensculture.com/guy.html
Katie J. Huisman
Katie Huisman, with her Fine Art Photography, is represented by The Elliott Louis Gallery. As a freelance photographer, currently based in Vancouver, she has had many commercial jobs that have given her the opportunity to travel and live in New Zealand, Australia, South America, United States and Canada. Katie graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a BFA, with the honour of winning the Governor General Award.
www.katiehuisman.com/
http://elliottlouis.com/
Felice Jolliffe
Felice earned a BA from Simon Fraser University and was a Dean’s List Graduate of the Langara Professional Photography Program as well as a PPABC scholarship recipient. After completing her studies she assisted for Larry Goldstein, Raeff Miles, Mary Ellen Mark, and Nigel Dickson, to name just a few. This apprenticeship afforded her an intimate look at the different styles, approaches and techniques of many talented photographers. From assisting experience to her own explorations in bathroom darkrooms, Holga cameras and work in fully digital photography studios, Felice has gained a strong technical understanding and fine appreciation for the evolution of photography. As a freelance photographer for over 8 years Felice has run a wedding photography studio and photographed people and products for a variety of commercial and corporate clients. She has taught Basic Photography, Liquid Light Emulsion and Pinhole Photography workshops for Langara College and looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm and experience with Focal Point.
www.felicejolliffe.com
David Juniper
David has been taking pictures ever since he was old enough to hold a camera. He has photographed nature's beauty from Central America to the sweeping tundra and wild rivers of northern Canada.
Recently he has moved into urban and studio photography, where he has had the opportunity to pursue creative work with a variety of models.
David has a Diploma in Education from McGill University and a Masters Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia, and has been teaching post-secondary courses in photography and web development for over 10 years. He is also program director for the Codes for Hope Society.
Patrick Koslo
Patrick Koslo’s first published work was a shot of science fiction author William Gibson for the 1991 cover of ‘West Magazine’. His work has since appeared in Vancouver Magazine, BC Business, City Food, Common Ground, NUVO Magazine and The Georgia Straight. He has done lectures and seminars at Vancouver Film School, Exposure Gallery, Camera Canada College at UBC, Capilano College, The Roundhouse Community Centre, various camera clubs, The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts and the Planetarium. His work, which included 50 light-painted images, appeared in the 1998 episode ‘Killswitch’ – The X-Files with Twentieth Century Fox Television. He worked with Georgia Pulos on a 50th birthday tribute to Jim Morrison of The Doors, shooting in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Paris, France. He is constantly looking for new ways to expand his conceptual and experiemental photographic vision. He does not use a computer or Photoshop, but encourages his students to use whatever means necessary to stand out with a creative edge in today’s competitive and high-tech photographic world.
Tracey Kusiewicz
With an extensive client list, Tracey shoots for a variety of ad agencies, magazines, design firms, cookbooks and stock agencies. She created Foodie Photography 1997 by which specialized in food and beverage, product and 'epicurean' lifestyle. Tracey's training and experience in commercial photography, combined with her passion for the culinary arts and insight to styling, translates the beauty of food in all her imagery. A love for teaching and expertise in the field has compelled Tracey to generate enthusiasm for the art of food photography. Always on the search for new epicurean explorations, Tracey welcomes the opportunity to share her zeal and passion with fellow ‘foodies’ everywhere.
www.foodiephoto.com
Ian McGuffie
Ian McGuffie is one of the leading members of the Vancouver photographic
community. For the past twelve years he has been director / curator of Exposure
Gallery, Vancouver’s oldest photographic gallery. As an award-winning
photographer, his photographs have been exhibited in Europe, North America
and Japan. His extensive photographic background stems from thirty years
of experience in the photographic world. He is also president of the Vancouver
Association of Photographic Arts, a non-profit society for the promotion
of photography as a medium of creative and artistic expression.
Kathryn Mussallem
Kathryn Mussallem is an internationally published photographer and exhibiting artist. She received her BFA (Photo) from Emily Carr Institute, attended graduate studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and received her Masters of Applied Arts in Visual Arts at Emily Carr University. A lifestyle, travel, and commercial photographer in Canada, the US, and the UK, Kathryn’s clients include Fido, BC Business Magazine, Viva Magazine, Cossette Communications, and TimeOut guides and magazine UK.
A practicing makeup artist for fashion runway and print, with a Diploma in Makeup Artistry from the Blanche MacDonald Institute, she was the Makeup Coordinator at 2005 Vancouver Fashion Week.
Kathryn has been a photography, digital media, design, makeup artistry and fine arts instructor at Arts Umbrella, Emily Carr University of Art and Design and Focal Point.
www.thealmightyqueen.com
James Neufeld
James has been a freelance web designer since 1997 overseeing all aspects of commercial web design projects. He has been teaching web design and related computer courses and software for over 15 years for the Vancouver School Board Continuing Education and various other schools. His formal training is in multimedia and 3D computer animation. James has also worked in the BC film and television industry and post production in the early 1990s.
www.magnetude.com
Mauricio Orozco
In 2004 Mauricio immigrated to Canada and started his journey into the world of stock photography and continues working on high end digital retouching. Mauricio has a passion for technology and encourages his students to understand the benefits it brings to the profession. He has been a Photoshop teacher and enthusiast for over 5 years and recently started teaching the product photography course at Focal Point.
www.Orozco.ca
Vendula Ralkova
Originally from Prague, Czech Republic, Vendula Ralkova is a photographer based in Vancouver.
She graduated from two Vancouver photographic schools – Langara College and she received a Bachelor degree from Emily Carr University.
She finished her Master degree on scholarship in Milan, Italy where she was also able to learn from a master printer Mr.Terraneo. Her internship was held at the Magnum photo agency in Paris, France where she closely worked with Josef Koudelka.
Her recent solo exhibition was in Prague in March/April 2009.
Her main work is street photography genre but she is also comfortable in studio work. She specializes in traditional analog photography with emphasis on the quality handy work behind it. She worked in variety of photographic businesses and published her reportages and photographs in many Canadian and Czech magazines and newspapers.
Andrea Sirois
A fine art photographer based in Vancouver, BC. At the age of 13 one of her first photographic experiences was making contact sheet size prints in her basement, and then mounting them on cardboard using an iron. After buying her first camera at 16 she studied at Dawson Institute of Photography in Montreal and graduated with a Diploma in Photography from Ottawa’s Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology. She later went on to teach in the photography program at Algonquin College. As a professional photographer and visual artist she explores various uses of macro equipment in the natural environment. Some of her past clients include the Canadian Wildlife Magazine, stills photographer for the documentary film-company Point Grey Pictures, and landscapers. Currently she is experimenting with the use of extreme wide angle lenses to create close-up images.
More of her work can be seen at
www.andreasirois.com
George Smeltzer Graham was raised in boats off the coast of Vancouver Island. A camera became the best way to document his adventures in the water and the mountains and eventually he became land bound long enough to study his craft formally and earn a Bachelor of Arts.
George's passion for photography has taken him nearly across Canada. This Ottawa valley-boy hit the scene after studying photography at Algonquin College in Ottawa. One of George’s first jobs was taking action shots for Wilderness Tours of weekend warriors whitewater rafting on the Ottawa River. He then worked in custom photo finishing for several years, but felt an urgent need to pick up his camera professionally again. He returned to Wilderness Tours for another high-octane summer, before the siren song of BC’s mountains lured him to Vancouver over eight years ago. Shortly after moving west, George assisted Dave and the late Mark Montizambert of Montizambert Photography. He has shot for a wide variety of clients, including BC Lottery, McDonald’s, Relaxus Products, Solus Decor, Tin Drum Interiors and Gabriela Adamov Garden Design. George spent eight years shooting portrait photography for The Artona Group, as well as his own commercial work.
Alex Waterhouse-Hayward
Alex Waterhouse-Hayward is a Vancouver-based commercial and fine art photographer.
One of Canada's most experienced magazine and portrait photographers, Alex
has photographed celebrities (Bob Hope, Candice Bergen, Dennis Hopper),
politicians (Larry Campbell, Carole James, Jack Layton) actors (Molly Parker,
Nicholas Campbell) writers (William Gibson, Nick Bantock, Douglas Coupland,
Mario Vargas Llosa) and enough CEOs and business leaders to start his own
capitalist army. His favourite photographic subjects are his granddaughter
and the roses and hostas that populate his garden.
His pictures have appeared in publications ranging from the New York Times,
Vanity Fair, and Stern to Readers' Digest, the Globe and Mail and the Georgia
Straight. His commercial work has adorned everything from annual reports
to postage stamps. Alex is also a teacher and a writer, and he would like
to take your picture.
www.alexwaterhousehayward.com
Graham Winterbottom
Despite realizing early on that he would make a poor war photographer his work has remained largely documentary in style. Focussing instead on sub cultures and youth with a sense of fun and humour.
He specializes in creating image collections for agency and direct clients and has recently developed partnerships in film in order to offer his clients new ways of creating content across media.
Photographs
on this page © Grant Harder, Alex Waterhouse-Hayward, Robyn Humphreys,
Shawn Taylor
