Oct 13, 2008 Social Butterfly Club Member Interview: Tristan Casey, Photographer
Reporter: Alice Zhou

A world traveler turned photographer with a passion for people. Working in Portraiture, Fashion and Weddings, with a strong love and connection to natural light (though full studio work available). Intimate photo sessions where time is never a concern and getting the best image possible always is.

A: Where were you born, and how has that effected you?
T: I was born in the suburbs of Vancouver, but my parents were the only ones of our family outside of Ireland & England.
This equaled more trips to europe than I can count. Planes and very long road trips were common growing up.
So travel only seemed natural after graduation.
 
A: What was your education and what other type of learning have you partake on your own for your growth?
T: I would skip entire days of school to develop photos in the dark room in
high school. It's pretty hard to tell if your supposed to be in there or not when no one can tell who you are.
I suppose it never clued into me that i had found a passion until my mother couldn't figure out how i was getting
up for school every morning but was told that i was never showing up. Years later i moved to Toronto for Ryerson University
to Major in a degree in photography. Though eventually I realized that it made more sense to start up my own business
and learn along the way as opposed to spending well over forty thousand dollars for a piece of paper and a lot of debt.
Great school though!
 
A: What music is playing on your ipod currently?  Do you go to concerts?
T: The Kooks, Ryan Adams, Jimmy Eat World and Van Morrison. I do but tend to never make it to as many as I'd like to.
 
A: What book is on your night stand?
T: I read the chapter 'On Houses' last night from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
 
A: Tell me about your journey as a male model and how this evolved you into a photographer?
T: Oh geez. You really brought this up? Well all I can say is that straight from the get go, I felt like I
was on the wrong side of the lens.
 
A: Where have you traveled, and your thoughts on those cultures?
T: The two places that I had closest in my heart are Romania and Egypt. Romania has been a very personal experience for me, as I've been
back there now three times. For a lot of the country, it can be considered a time machine for any North American. A lot of small towns
have Just as many people on horse and carriage as in car. If not more. The struggles are high and the opportunities for the people are so
low and yet it is a land of the nicest, most beautiful and intensely intelligent men and women. As for Egypt, well, it should be left at
that it is something everyone should see before they die.
 
A: What is your opinion about the fashion industry?
T: Everyone seems to enjoy clothes on some level or another. It should be left as something more so fun than serious.
 
A: You're a keen observer of people and society, and all things beautiful and ugly.... any observations from the keen eye?
T: Everyone notices the person walking down the street with the big smile. And
a lot of the time people will question why that person is smiling. Though shouldn't we be asking ourselves why we arn't smiling?
 
A: Tell us about your family?
T: Well we're Irish, and we'll always be upfront and honest.
 
A: What do you do for fun when you do have free time?
T: Anything new! Be it a new destination or meeting new people, I try to bring my travel mentality to my day to day life.

A: Where would be your dream shoot?
T: I love unscathed fields. Nature that is foreign to human touch. Somewhere with warm weather
and miles of open land with varied terrain. Maybe somewhere in Scotland or Ireland with a beautiful girl and a lot dresses on the hottest
day of the year from sunrise to sunset.
 
A: Why do you love photography, and what does it do or mean to you?
T: For more reasons than I can explain. I love telling stories through imagery. I love that there are some feelings or moments that words
just can't justify. There is a lot of power in a moment, and be it through words or photography, if you able to capture that, it could
mean the world to someone. I also love it when someone isn't confident yet is so beautiful and can finally understand just what the rest of the
world sees from a fantastic photo.

A: What are your plans for the next 5-10 years?
T: The plan is to ground myself as a professional photographer within Vancouver so that in the years to come after, I can take my career with me across the globe.

Deal: Headshots for $200 from $400 originally.