Taylor Duecain,proud as ever,lol =)
and the Calgary Herald article just below...
"The Picture Perfect Image of NOH8"
Calgary fashion photographer puts creative work before profit
By Theresa Taylor, Calgary Herald
Stephanie Lynne Mud, Mimi Mayes, Taylor Smith, Catherine Oshanek, Sean Paul, Taylor Duecain, and Kiki Mayes take part in Calgary's NOH8 photo campaign. The photo shoot was organized by Duecain and Oshanek.
Photograph by: Catherine Oshanek
Catherine Oshanek is about as down-to-earth as they come.
The Calgary-based fashion photographer admits with a giggle that she would rather not wear makeup and usually goes out "looking like a slob."
Rare words to hear from someone so deeply involved in the image-obsessed style business.
But don't let her low-key attitude fool you -- Oshanek's photos are a sleek contrast to her laissez-faire personality. She founded her company, White Cedar, two years ago and hasn't looked back since.
In fact, Taylor Duecain, a Calgary model, recently recruited Oshanek to shoot a NOH8 Campaign series in Calgary. This photographic silent protest, created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska, is a response to the passage of California's Proposition 8 (which doesn't allow same-sex marriages), and is meant to show support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender people.
Many celebrities -- including Ashley and Pete Wentz, Mel B. (a. k.a. Scary Spice), Slash (Guns 'N' Roses) and Kim Kardashian -- have taken part in the project, which shows them with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world. Photo shoots depicting non-celebs have been set up across America.
Duecain and Oshanek want to inspire other photographers and models across Western Canada to join the campaign and put together their own projects.
Oshanek's NOH8 photos will soon appear in Club Sapien and Twisted Element nightclubs in Calgary, as well as in OUTLOOKS, Canada's GLBT magazine.
"Working in the fashion industry, many of my colleagues are of other sexual orientations, so I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to get involved with, to stand up for their rights," she says.
Duecain says he brought Oshanek into the project because "she's just loads of fun to work with, laid back and relaxed, no pressure."
Oshanek admits she doesn't exactly fit into the stereotypical "artsy-fartsy fashion photographer mould."
She believes her attitude comes with how she cut her teeth in the business.
The journalism grad was valedictorian of SAIT Polytechnic in 2005. She honed her craft shooting car crashes and other grisly news scenes for a small-town weekly newspaper in southern Alberta before deciding to leave the industry.
"I began having regular nightmares about some of the stuff I was shooting," she says.
Experimenting with fashion photography was, at first, just a hobby.
"I've had no real training other than basic Photoshop and what I learned as a news photographer. When I bought my first set of studio lights, I didn't even know how to turn them on," she says with a laugh.
You wouldn't know it from her current shoot list. Linsay Willier, Canada's Next Top Model 2009 finalist, wrapped up a portfolio shoot with Oshanek last fall, while Adejoke Taiwo, a Calgary-based fashion designer and former Project Runway Canada contestant, has Oshanek booked for this month.
Last summer, Oshanek was hired to snap shots of B.C. model Sonja Hanson. Those photos helped secure Hanson a spot with Wilhelmina, a renowned New York City modelling agency that helped launch the careers of Natalie Portman and Katherine Heigl.
Volunteering her time to creative projects and causes she believes in, such as NOH8, is as important to Oshanek as bringing in the bacon.
"I started doing this full-time about two years ago. At first, I was just chasing the money --I began to forget that it's supposed to be enjoyable," she says.
"It was when I started getting into creative shoots, art for art sake, and contributing to campaigns such as NOH8 that my business actually really began to pick up -- I got a buzz going about myself and my work also started getting better. "
You can see more of Oshanek's work at facebook.com/wcedarand whitecedarphotography. blogspot.com.
ttayler@calgaryherald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Read more at:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/picture+perfect+image+NOH8/4055715/story.html#ixzz1A8DnamYL
- - - dopeness!!
haha see how they even used my fashionista model nickname -Kiki.
loves it! teehee
I guess we really can spread the word and truly make a difference.
This gives me hope for gay rights.
=) xoxo
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