keri coles

Behind the scenes of the Bella Bella trip.

ByKeri Coles

My trip to Bella Bella involved beautiful landscapes, good friends, small world run-ins, and fabulous boat rides. Thank you, Yoey, for being such a wonderful friend, host, and inspiration. It was so great seeing your place and all the incredibly beautiful work you have put into it. It is a little slice of heaven. Thank you, Anna, for being such a fun, passionate, and thought-provoking friend and adventure buddy. I look forward to our next project. Bella Bella Wharf: The wonderful Yoey: Anna capturing the seascape: Yoey’s place and our home away from home for the week: I *heart* adventure…

Joint Review Panel Hearings in Bella Bella.

ByKeri Coles

After the JRP inappropriately and disrespectfully cancelled the first day and a half of the hearings in Bella Bella, the hearings finally began on Tuesday afternoon. I was so impressed with the poise and resolve of the Heiltsuk people. They refused to be intimidated by the panel’s actions yet they were equally determined to prove the panel’s negative assumptions and prejudices wrong. They were respectful and complied with the panel’s requests in regards to how the hearings should proceed yet they cleverly showed their solidarity in ways that were not forbidden by the panel. A great example of this was…

Bella Bella rally against Enbridge pipeline.

ByKeri Coles

I flew to Bella Bella yesterday to witness and photograph the Joint Review Panel Hearings being held there for Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline. Sharing my flight were the panel members as well as Heiltsuk’s high ranking Chief Woyala. The community came to the airport to greet their chief and to stand in solidarity against the pipeline. The demonstration was powerful, respectful, and peaceful. The panel members were taken in a van from the airport into town and over to a resort called Shearwater.  The rest of us walked into town where there was a feast, speeches, and dancing. The afternoon was a moving…

Gitga’at Rally to protest the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.

ByKeri Coles

It was so moving being up at the rally in Prince Rupert and seeing community come together with such solidarity against the Enbridge pipeline. Many remote and coastal communities depend directly on the lands and waters for their food, livelihood, and cultural practices. If there was a spill in the area, it would not just be an inconvenience, it would completely desecrate the way of life for thousands of people, not to mention sealife and wildlife. In opposing the pipeline, these communities are fighting for their lives. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about getting personally involved as…

Beautiful & Brilliant Bif.

ByKeri Coles

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bif Naked up at the Prince Rupert rally. I had never seen her live before. She has a casual and intimate air about her that made it feel like she was playing for us in her living room. For someone that has had to face some major challenges in her life, it is apparent that she rolls with the punches and comes out smiling. I will definitely try to catch her show again.              

Jordan River Bliss

ByKeri Coles

This is the second part of Lilie’s debut photoshoot. You can check out her newborn session here. For this one we headed out to Jordan River on a gorgeous morning at the end of October. Lilie’s parents love spending time on the beach and in the waves and I wanted to capture them in their element. It is always so nice to get out of town and head up our gorgeous coast. Three cheers for beach time!

Pender Island Wedding

ByKeri Coles

Here is a “quick” sneak peek of Theresa and Witek’s wedding on Pender Island. It was so hard to pick just a few as this was such a gorgeous and unique wedding. Not only were the bride and groom stunning but the setting was brilliant as well. Theresa’s family has been on Pender since the late 1800’s (I love that!). Her father used to fly Theresa in his airplane and land on the private airfield seen in some of the photos below. I loved that the backdrop of their wedding had such personal history and meaning to them. Theresa &…

Mighty Quinn

ByKeri Coles

I am 100% completely in love with the name Quinn, and here the name couldn’t be attached to a more perfect baby. For the record, Quinn was on my name list for my own child but my husband vetoed it so I’m thrilled that it lives on in another close to me! I love watching young children interact with their new baby siblings. These times are so precious. My heart melted at the photo below where Owen is counting Quinn’s toes. So cute! The table that Quinn is on in the latter pictures was made by her grandfather. It holds…

Lawyers in Love

ByKeri Coles

Amanda & Brian got married in a gorgeous ceremony in Hawaii. Not everyone could make the trip down though so they also wanted to throw a reception party in Victoria. That’s when I got a call from Amanda. Because this fabulous couple live in Ohio we didn’t get a chance to meet until the day of the party. While this situation sometimes makes me nervous as I prefer  getting to know each other beforehand, I was amazed upon meeting these two that it felt like we had been friends for years. We had such a blast hanging out with them…