Paul Bride is living the dream.
Many photographers fantasize about travelling the world to do photo shoots, but Bride is one of the few who has achieved the goal.
A professional photographer who lives in Squamish but is rarely home, Bride met me for coffee downtown to chat about his career. I asked him what he thinks people don鈥檛 understand about pro photography.
鈥淥ne of the biggest misperceptions is that it is a job,鈥� he replied. 鈥淵ou need a business plan, and it鈥檚 work. It鈥檚 not just travelling the world鈥�. I am up, ready to work. If I am in a different country, I am not there to sightsee and have a good time.鈥�
If you鈥檙e an amateur photographer thinking of turning pro, 鈥測ou better be willing to put the work in,鈥� he cautioned.
He is passionate about photography and always makes sure to get the images his clients need.
鈥淚 love it. I love it,鈥� he said emphatically. 鈥淭here is nothing else I can think of that I would rather do than travel the world and take photos. But it鈥檚 not easy, and a lot of people think it is and that you are lucky. But you create your own luck. It鈥檚 about hard work.鈥�
Bride, 44, grew up in Mississauga, Ont. and said he 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 wait to get out of there.鈥� Right after high school, he headed to Banff to ski. His passion for the mountains led him to climbing.
After getting a college education in social sciences and counselling, he worked for a while in Ottawa with homeless teenagers, but it was a trip to Asia that cemented his career choice. He had borrowed his girlfriend鈥檚 camera, bought 10 rolls of slide film, and returned with images so striking, people started buying prints from him.
鈥淚 guess I had an eye for it,鈥� he said 鈥� but he also kept perfecting his craft, working with slide film to ensure he had the right saturation and colour to capture the subtle light in a desert or the lush greens in a jungle.
A quarter century later, he still shoots like he is working with film: He takes photos at the right times of day when light is best, he sets the aperture, and he takes only a few shots, being careful to get the image he wants, an image that needs little correction.
鈥淧eople will hammer the shutter button, and I don鈥檛,鈥� he explains, and 鈥淚 don鈥檛 do much Photoshop. I learned from film.鈥�
He鈥檚 also at the point in his career where he tells his clients what images they need. Bride鈥檚 clients include Red Bull, Arc鈥檛eryx, Lowepro, the Sea to Sky Gondola, Executive Hotels and many others. His work has been published in National Geographic, The Globe and Mail, Photolife and many climbing and outdoors magazines.
鈥淭he list goes on and on. Anything to do with travelling, climbing and hunting,鈥� Bride explained. 鈥淚 get to go to amazing places,鈥� he said, noting the Arctic, Argentina and New Zealand are just a few.
He feels lucky when, for example, he鈥檚 in a cave in Malta, shooting photos 200 feet above the sea and viewing the world from a whole new perspective. As a climber, he鈥檚 able to access vantage points that create mesmerizing photos.
听
But the work can be dangerous. Bride has had broken ribs, a ruptured kidney, two herniated discs, and he鈥檚 had to have his knee drained a few times.
Last week, while on a photo shoot in the Chugach range in Alaska, a man fell into Glacier River and also pulled him in 鈥� camera and all. 鈥淚 went swimming with my camera gear. That鈥檚 why I am home, actually,鈥� he said.
But he鈥檚 not worried; he knows he鈥檒l have a new Canon within the week, and insurance will cover the cost.
After Labour Day, he鈥檒l fly to Calgary for a shoot in the Bugaboos of eastern 小蓝视频, then a few days after getting home, he鈥檒l pack his bags again and head to the Yukon. So far this year, he鈥檚 been to Norway, Argentina, Spain, Italy, France, Alaska, Northwest Territories 鈥� and he鈥檒l also be in Iceland, Dominican Republic and Mexico before the year ends. His wife sometimes joins him 鈥� 鈥渙ne of the perks of not having kids, you can afford to do that,鈥� said Bride.
He volunteers as a Big Brother in Squamish and enjoys providing advice to the younger photographers who contact him. He tells them it鈥檚 not about likes on Facebook or Instagram 鈥� it鈥檚 about working hard and delivering the best images.
But it鈥檚 work he loves, and Bride couldn鈥檛 see himself doing anything else.
听
Coffee with Christine is a regular column about Squamish鈥檚 most interesting people.
