For the next month I will be photographing and writing stories for the community of Jasper.

My name is Bradley Hallett. I was born in Calgary in August 1982.

When I was a young lad, I found my father’s Pentax film camera in a box in the storage room. I thought it was cool, so I had my dad show me how to work it.

I began shooting family vacations at Mara Lake, B.C. and continued the hobby until it became my passion in university.

I spent three years at the University of Lethbridge working on a New Media Degree, when I began taking dark room photography courses.

When I ran out of photography courses, I decided to leave university to build a portfolio.

Over the years I struggled to find a market for my work, then I found photojournalism.

At SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) in Calgary I enrolled in photojournalism. The first year was straight journalism, and the second year (this year) I specialized in photojournalism.

It was in this course that I realized I had just began to scrape the surface of what it is to be a photographer.

Frank Shufletoski, my photography instructor, is a ruthless editor and a dedicated photographer. His wisdom has revolutionized the way I think about the art of photography.

I see now that photojournalism is story telling, and utilizes imagery as a visual medium to show rather than tell.

In the future, I hope to use my photography as an excuse to travel the world and document all the amazing things I see.

My favourite photography is portraits, and my favourite photographer is Yousuf Karsh. His portraits are some of the most enduring photographs in history.

Although contemporary photography is exciting I respect the history of the art. Karsh’s portrait of Sir Winston Churchill resonates with me because of the background story.

I believe risk taking is what made Karsh so amazing and to some degree the reason Churchill’s image is so amazing.

For me, risk taking includes backcountry hiking, camping, rock climbing, and mountain biking, as well as touring and traveling.

I hope you, the community of Jasper, enjoy what I do as much as I do.