Fernie & Elk Valley Culture Guide Issue 4 - Spring 2017 | Page 23

FEATURE ARTIST
Kyle Hamilton
When you visit the Fernie museum this
spring, be sure to spend some time in
the upstairs gallery taking in the latest
temporary exhibition: I Am Fernie by
local photographer Kyle Hamilton.
Like many Saskatchewanian Fernieites,
Kyle’s childhood visits to Fernie
gradually became longer and longer
until he found himself living in Fernie
and visiting Saskatchewan. Following
the completion of his second university
degree, a law degree was put on hold as
a photography career began to unfold.
An old film camera—a gift from his
father following graduation—resulted
in some inspiring travel photos. These
led to a few small family portrait
commissions, then the job of wedding
photographer for his sister that
led to more wedding commissions.
After 4 years Kyle decided to pursue
photography full time and opened
up a studio and framing business in
downtown Fernie to serve as a base.
Kyle is a founding partner in
Laundromat Studios, whose digital
channels include Catskiing Canada,
Heliskiing Canada, and Surfing Canada,
among others. In addition, he provides
commercial videography and wedding
photography, both in Fernie and as far
afield as Mexico and the Caribbean.
To answer the need for creativity, Kyle
began the I Am Fernie project as a
content-creation initiative which slowly
morphed into a desire to capture a
likeness of every man, woman, and child
in Fernie, both as a personal passion
project and also as a photographic time
capsule for future generations to enjoy.
To date, over 1000 portraits have been
captured. 150 of these are on display
at the Museum’s exhibition along
with personal essays from many of
the subjects. A coffee table book and
Volume 2 are due to follow. I Am Fernie
is at the Fernie Museum until May 31st,
2017. Kyle Hamilton lives in Fernie with
his wife and daughter.
www.kylehamiltonphotography.com
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