Wild Blue partner and restaurant director Neil Henderson and executive Chef Derek Bendig at the Wild Blue bar. Whistler BC, Canada.
Wild Blue partner and restaurant director Neil Henderson with executive Chef Derek Bendig at the Wild Blue Bar.

I had a busy spring this year doing the photography for the Whistler Magazine’s Spring/Summer 2023 edition. It’s also the 20th edition over the last ten years that I’ve done the photos for, so it’s kind of a landmark for me as well. All the photos are clips from the actual magazine, as I always think that’s the best way to view them.

I’ve known Neil Henderson, the restaurant director at Wild Blue for a long time, so it was great to be able to get in there and get some shots at his new restaurant. They have this amazing bar which is the first thing you see when you walk in the door and I had get in the shot.

Firerock bartender Matty Ruwaard and La Cantina servers Aruna Neupane and Denisse Miranda (w/glasses) with the jackfruit taco and burrito plates.
La Cantina servers Aruna Neupane and Denisse Miranda with the jackfruit taco and burrito plates and Firerock bartender Matty Ruwaard with the avocado fries appetizer.

Th casual eating (always my favourite story) was on new ways to prepare traditional small plate dishes. Matty the bar tender at Firerock had this great big beard, so I definitely wanted that in the shot. La Cantina, as well as all the other restaurants in the group, have this great interior design, so that was something I wanted to bring in.

Zogs manager Novak Archer prepares a Canadian Poutine, with fries, gravy, cheese curds, and grilled hot dog.
Zogs manager Novak Archer prepares a Canadian Poutine, with fries, gravy, cheese curds, and grilled hot dog. This didn’t make the magazine, but I liked the shot. The poutine with the hot dog was delicious.
Wood Streams owner Olivier Godbout and Victoria Saddleman of Sziktsut, or Fallen Tree, Creations
Wood Streams owner Olivier Godbout and Victoria Saddleman of Sziktsut, or Fallen Tree, Creations

I also got up to Pemberton to go photograph some portraits for the Pemberton Visitors Guide. Olivier the carpenter runs a business making custom table tops from these big crazy logs. once they sawed into planks, the wood has to age in this shed for a couple of years. The open door made for some really nice light. Victoria was a pleasure to photograph, and I was able to catch up with her at the Pemberton Collective art gallery.

Tech Stuff

All the shots were done with a Nikon Z6 camera and a Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8. The photo of Derek and Neil at wild blue was lit with a Godox AD200 in a medium soft box. Normally I would use the Godox AD600Pro, but the light was so low in there I thought it would blow out the ambient light. The AD200 was at it’s lowest power setting, and then lens was wide open at f/1.8

The rest of the photos were all shot with natural light.