About Cliff
Like many photographers, my love of photography began while in high school in the 80’s. I had a teacher who was into photography and, since I showed some interest as well, he asked me if I wanted to learn how to develop photos. George showed me all the steps. The first time I saw him expose a sheet of paper in a darkroom, put it in the tray of developer and watch the image appear I was hooked – it was magic to me.
I borrowed the school’s camera often and shot as much as I could. I processed my film and made prints in the school’s darkroom late at night. My parents could see this was something I was serious about and bought me my first camera which I still keep in my office today. My father built me a home darkroom by knocking out walls and adding in plumbing. Looking back now, I know he put in many hours for me. While most kids were playing hockey and watching TV, I was busy in my darkroom most nights.
As time went on, I met a photographer who was shooting for our local paper and he suggested I go and see the editor and take some of my photos. He also mentioned the editor liked Aero chocolate bars and I should take him one. So off on the bus I went with a few photos and a chocolate bar in a brown envelope to meet the editor. I am not sure what this guy thought of a 17 year old walking into his office (I should ask him one day as we still keep in touch 20 years later) asking for work but he asked me if I had any experience working in a darkroom because they needed a weekend lab tech. I got the job and loved it.
Being 17 and working for a newspaper was pretty cool. As time went on, I started getting last minute assignments when there was no one else to shoot and getting my pictures in the paper. When I was nineteen and just finished high school, I was hired full-time as a photographer and did this for a few years until I wanted to persue another dream I had which was a university degree at the University of Toronto.
While at university, I started to shoot weddings for some of Toronto’s best stuidos and found not only was it a great source of income, but I really enjoyed it. It was like shooting an event for the paper but everyone was dressed nicer. I developed a style and my wedding business grew and as I got my name out there I also got more news and PR work. After I completed my BSc in Physical Anthropology, I began to focus on getting more work in news and corporate photography. I started to work for some of Canada’s largest companies and began shooting for the commercial division of the Canadian Press (CP) which I still do today.
In the last 15 years, I have had some amazing assignments ranging from photographing Lady Di to Alice Cooper and have had the pleasure of capturing wedding memories for couples and Studios that I know will be around longer than any of us.