{"id":79174,"date":"2025-08-18T17:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/79174\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T17:02:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:02:13","slug":"seek-out-stories-in-your-own-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/79174\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Seek out stories in your own communities\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

What has Yellowknife-based photojournalist Pat Kane learned from his work as a freelance photographer based in northern Canada?<\/p>\n

Kane, who recently celebrated 20 years in Yellowknife, is currently documenting the connection between northerners and caribou through a Dr Jane Goodall environmental photography grant<\/a> from the non-profit Vital Impacts.<\/p>\n

With work published in The Walrus,<\/a> National Geographic<\/a> and The Globe and Mail<\/a> among others, Kane said he\u2019s still learning about the job.<\/p>\n

\"PatPat Kane is seen in a supplied photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back at what has worked for me is being true to who I am,\u201d he said. \u201cI find that art and anything we do creatively is just an extension of our personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

A job at Up Here Magazine brought Kane to Yellowknife in 2005, working in genres of photography like food, portraits and travel. <\/p>\n

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While he appreciated the technical experience he gained, he came to find the assignments were not an extension of the way he sees the world. He duly began a freelance career and travelled the NWT to document what he saw.<\/p>\n

Once, at a photography festival, someone told him his portfolio was \u201ca little too celebratory of the North\u201d and asked him: \u201cWhere\u2019s the hardship?\u201d<\/p>\n

Explaining how he felt about that assessment, he told Cabin Radio: \u201cI see hope in people. I see humour. I see more positive aspects in the life around me, in the world around me. I don\u2019t even try, that\u2019s just how I see things, and that\u2019s how I photograph the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy piece of advice: just stay true to who you are and not to sell out to anyone who has expectations for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Being a good listener is a helpful tool to have, he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m working, I just want to sit with people, listen and share stories, and then hopefully from that kind of interaction comes a really cool moment. You walk away from that feeling good and that you had a real great connection with somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kane emphasized the importance of having a sense of curiosity for your own community. He said a common belief among aspiring photographers is that they must relocate to media hubs like New York or Toronto to be successful, but he disagrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are more interested in stories that are outside of those cities. I don\u2019t know how many movies I\u2019ve seen where New York City or LA is the backdrop. I feel like I know New York City so intensely, just through movies and whatnot. There\u2019s more than one or two cities in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelling the stories of where you\u2019re from is super important, especially for people in the North, in Indigenous and BIPOC communities. I\u2019m a big champion of that, that people seek out their own stories first, because they\u2019re super important and those are the people that have the knowledge and the background to tell those stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the NWT in particular, Kane says \u201cyou could spend two lifetimes here\u201d without coming close to fully capturing the world around you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always something going on and a story to tell,\u201d he said, \u201cand I would love to not be the only one to do that, so I really try to encourage other people that are from here, because I\u2019m also a visitor and a guest, to tell these stories so there are more of us, and we could build a community together and all share in telling these stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of technical advice, Kane expressed the importance of keeping to a routine. He works from home but sticks to a work schedule as if he was in an office. If he\u2019s not shooting on location, he wakes up early, goes to the gym, then spends his days answering emails, writing grant applications and captions, and of course editing photos.<\/p>\n

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Kane said because he chronicles his travels on social media, people assume he\u2019s always up and about. \u201cReally, I\u2019m just checking emails all day and editing picture by picture. Super slow,\u201d he joked. <\/p>\n

Kane left Cabin Radio with some questions for creatives to ask themselves. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you drawn to? What moves you?\u201d He asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, if you feel like you can do that yourself, that\u2019s something to aspire to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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