North River Photography
Story by Ashley Crompton, Photos by Andy Beaver
When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say? Local photographer Andy Beaver (aka North River Photography) would likely know. Although Beaver is only 22 years old, he has already been sharing his skills for two years now. He started with his phone, taking small candid photos and exploring the beauty around him. He soon found passion in the career and graduated to a Canon Rebel camera, which he says is “one perfect camera for landscapes.”
Education is very important to Beaver—it’s what brought him to Thunder Bay, where he currently studies at the Matawa Education and Care Centre. “Everyone was telling me, ‘get your education’ and so on so I decided to take that advice,” says Beaver. “I’ve been in school here for three years now.” He has been practicing the art of editing and photo merging. In Beaver’s future he plans on expanding into his own studio and travelling to Iceland, which is his dream location for photography.
Beaver is inspired by all the beautiful landscapes and wildlife of his home, Nibinamik (Summer Beaver), located 530 km north of Thunder Bay. As Beaver’s favourite subject is hard to capture, he feels like he lives in the wilderness. “Everything there is living as a family…it helps give me strength,” he says. “Basically my plan is to show people how precious things are.” Beaver uses photography to capture particular moments in the ever-changing scenery of the northern landscape, “just taking pictures and seeing how beautiful the landscape is.” Rather than choosing a focus for a picture, he says it “calls out” to him. “There is this one picture of a loon couple that wasn’t really scared of me,” he says. “I was able to get amazing pictures of them.”
To those just starting out, photography can be really intimidating at times. Beaver suggests beginners should “go out and take pictures, don’t stop, just keep taking pictures,” As North River Photography, Beaver also does side jobs that include portraits and weddings. He is very proud of his work and continues to strive for his success to further his career and his passion.
For more information visit facebook.com/NorthriverStudios/
