A bad family photo continues to inspire Abigail Anderson when it comes to capturing memories.
Standing by a collage of photos displayed on a wall of her new downtown Salmon Arm business, The Dark Room Photography Studio, Anderson recalls a moment from her childhood when her mother hired a professional photographer to take some family pictures.
"All I remember is that my sister and I were fighting, and my parents weren’t getting along at the time so for me, whenever I looked at those pictures, I didn’t like them," said Anderson. "I didn’t like the energy that was attached to the pictures. And because of that, it’s so important to me to create a good and fun experience for people in their photo shoot. Because the photo, when they look at it, they’re going to remember the experience that they had…
"It wouldn’t matter how pretty the pictures were. Even if the light was nice, if you have bad memories, your picture reminds you of that forever."
Growing up in Vernon, Anderson said whenever a camera came out, she would cover her face with her hand. Yet she developed an appreciation for photography, and the experience of being behind the lens. The first photo to inspire Anderson was one taken by a family friend, a black-and-white photo of her cousin in a doorway standing in front of a screen.
"It just stood out to me, " said Anderson. "My parents loved pictures as well – I used to go through their shoeboxes of pictures all the time."
By the desk in her studio, Anderson keeps a Ms. Pac-Man arcade machine (to entertain her kids) and, on the wall, another collage of images captured in her photography journey. One of them is a black-and-white image of a ball of cotton balls. She explained this was for a Grade 11 photography class assignment.
"It was so boring, it was take a picture of something white on white and something reflective," said Anderson. "The purpose of it, of course, is to help you see things, see light and shadows and things like that. But I just remembered thinking the course was the most boring thing ever because I just wanted to take pictures."
Still driven by the photo bug, through her Grade 11 work experience program Anderson landed an opportunity to work for a Vernon photography studio. Though she admired the work done by the photographer, Anderson was less than thrilled with the work she was given, which she said was mostly filing paperwork.
Another photo by Anderson's desk is of her face, digitally placed behind the wheel of a red BMW. This was done by a high-school friend in a Photoshop class.
"He took this picture of me laughing at grad and then he put me in a red BMW… that was like the James Bond car that year which I loved," laughed Anderson. "So he put those pictures together and… I started learning Photoshop because I thought it was the coolest thing."
In 2013, Anderson wound up working for a Kamloops film studio/video production company. She said the experience put her back in touch with her love of photography.
"I started taking pictures again and I decided that was what I was meant to be doing," said Anderson. "So I started a company in Kamloops and built that for four years, and moved here and just keep taking it one step at a time."
Anderson and her family moved to Salmon Arm in 2018. Three years ago she bought the building at 251 Alexander St., with the goal of opening her first storefront photography studio.
"I believe in investing in yourself," said Anderson. "I think it’s exciting to be a part of the community of local downtown business owners."
Anderson shoots both in the field and in studio as time allows.
"I do weddings, portraits, I do small businesses and head shots," said Anderson, whose time goes to family, her studio work on Saturdays, and her job as an electrician with Valid Manufacturing.
"I'm in the third year of my apprenticeship, that’s why the studio is only open on Saturdays," said Anderson. "I take appointments whenever I can and then I just work around that and my kids."
Anderson said she loves connecting with people and creating photographs that capture memories they'll hold onto.
"I think life is hard and people work really hard, and my favourite kind of photo shoots are ones where people want to capture a moment of their life and tell a story…," said Anderson.
The Dark Room Photography Studio is currently open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Photo shoots are also available by appointment. For more information, visit The Dark Room Photography Studio on Facebook and at thedarkroomstudio.ca.
