Waaay North of 60... Mike Goes on an Arctic Adventure.

It's a rare opportunity to travel to one of the most remote locations in Canada, or on Earth for that matter!

This past October I was invited to journey to Nunavut to photograph for a very good client that owns and operates many industrial and commercial facilities in this harsh realm.

Arctic Fox - Resolute, Nunavut

Our ultimate destination was the hamlet of Resolute which is located on Corwallis Island and has a population of around 200 or so permanent residents.  Resolute is also called Qausuittuq, which is spelled ᖃᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ in the amazing language of Inuktitut spoken by the local Inuit population, but you can wikipedia all this as well as I can.

That's me in this photo... really. - Resolute, Nunavut

The one question everyone has asked upon my return was "Did you see a Polar Bear?!?"  Yes, I did... but just one. We were taken to where we might get a glimpse of these impressive creatures and sure enough our guide spotting one, he was waaaay out on the ice trying to sleep! I used the longest focal length I had with me plus had to zoom into the image about 4000% percent just to see him... kudos to Canon that I was able to get even a glimpse of the undeniably cute, yet potentially viscous and horrifically deadly fellow.  The surprising thing is that we didn't see more.  In fact, at one point the local school closed for the day because there were at least four of them walking through town... like it was no big deal. 

Polar Bear... just chillin' - Resolute, Nunavut

On our way to Resolute we first stopped in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut which is, I must admit, a much nicer town than I expected.  The population is around 7,000 and is quite the bustling hub of activity, considering that it is on the southern tip of Baffin Island and is only accessible by plane.  (Yes, technically you can get there by boat, dog sled or snowmobile if the ocean is frozen enough, but that would just be silly)

Howling Guard Dog - Iqaluit, Nunavut

I was able to work with and meet many of the fine folks who work and live in Iqaluit.  Many of the residents there are of Inuit decent and speak the fascinating language Inuktitut.  It was really cool to be in Canada and see as many as three languages on signs; English, Inuktitut and French.

Always Fresh - Iqaluit, Nunavut

I really felt at home in Nunavut.  There is a slower pace of life there, sometimes this is because you have no choice but to adapt to the extreme weather but also because the people are very laid back and seem to genuinely be interested in taking time to get to know you.  I'll back someday to spend more time discovering the beauty of this amazing place.

Dear Abercrombie & Fitch...

It isn't often that I am controversial or express my political views in any public way.  It's not that I don't have opinions, I have plenty, it's just that I am normally somewhat reserved when it comes to making them known to the world at large.  Lately, however, I have been feeling very frustrated about certain decisions made by the garment industry.

The recent disaster in Bangladesh, which has killed over 1,000 workers, really got to me because it was preventable.  The garment industry and retail kingpins in North America turned a blind eye to what they KNEW was a huge safety issue... but they chose profit over the relatively small expense of ensuring these innocent workers were protected even to a laughably minimum level compared to North American standards.  These decision makers could have easily approved measures to ensure the basic safety of these poor workers, and still driven their Bentley's home...

Enter the revelation of comments by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries that were recently brought to light on new sites and social media.  The comments affirm a policy that women who wear sizes XL shirts or are larger than a paltry size 10 are not welcome to shop in their establishment.  (I've included a link below to a Forbes article if you are not familiar with these comments)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2013/05/13/abercrombie-and-fitch-v-dove-or-how-a-ceo-can-wreck-a-brand-in-1-interview-7-years-ago/

To add fuel to this fire it had earlier been reported that Abercrombie & Fitch has a policy to destroy any unsold clothing in their inventory rather than donate it to people in need because it would be bad for their brand. (It turns out they are not alone in this policy by the way.)

So what can a small time photographer in Calgary, Alberta do about all this...

I was struck with the idea to drive to my local Abercrombie and buy some t-shirts and give them away to the demographic they fear so much.  After venturing into their store (for the first and last time) I purchased a few shirts and struck out for downtown Calgary.  It was a beautiful sunny day and it took me less than five minutes to meet Randy.  Randy was minding his own business and so I introduced myself and told him what I was up to.  I asked Randy if he would be willing to pose for me and that he could keep the shirt afterward, he happily agreed.  I had brought some pieces of cardboard and a felt pen with me and quickly wrote "Too Poor for this Shirt" on it.  We found some open shade and I took one picture... then I heard a voice asking what we were doing.  It was the local business owner and he ordered us to move away from his establishment!  I must admit I felt very excited as I'd never been kicked of a location before for my photography.  I felt like I had made some right of passage, I felt like a real photographer.  It was wonderful.  Thank you Randy!

Randy

After my encounter with Randy I walked down to the pathway next to the beautiful Bow river.  There I met Ron.  I approached Ron because he wasn't wearing a shirt, so I thought he'd probably appreciate one.  Ron, as it turns out, had just come to town to help his daughter who was at the homeless shelter.  Even in poverty there is generosity... I felt humbled by this.  Here, I was assuming that Ron was down and out but he was trying to help others too.  When I explained my project Ron quickly agreed and gave me a great pose. Thank you Ron.

Ron

I met Brandis next.  I had written "Too Fat for this Shirt" on another piece of cardboard and honestly I was afraid to show it to her.  I didn't want to hurt her feelings.  Who was I to ask someone something so personal and so sensitive?  Brandis, however, was amazing.  When she saw the sign she exclaimed "F#@k them, I've got big titties and I'm not afraid to show them off!"  She eagerly grabbed the sign and put on the shirt after (somewhat discretely) removing the top she was wearing... while I found other places to look!  Thank you Brandis.  You are beautiful, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Brandis

Thanks for reading my little rant.  Feel free to share these images as much as you can.  Companies like Abercrombie & Fitch need to know that we don't accept their out-dated prejudices and discriminatory attitudes.

Mike Heywood - May 9th, 2013