Our editor, Kevin Bourne, recently wrote an article for Apt613 about Ottawa street photographers. Below you’ll find an excerpt of his article. Street photography is a genre in transition. It can be traced back to Eugene Atget, recognized as the father of the genre, in mid-19th century Paris. Used as a way to capture design, his subjects were mainly buildings, streetscapes and gardens. Street photography would later undergo another change as the main subject became people. Traditionally it’s about capturing candid moments of people going about their everyday lives in urban settings- crossing the street, kissing, running for a bus.…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne is the co-founder and editor of SHIFTER magazine. Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin currently resides in Ottawa with his wife Koliah and their three children. He's a big fan of hip-hop, pop culture, and urbanism and spends most of his time keeping up with the Kardashians.
Breaking into the fashion and entertainment industries can be exciting and daunting at the same time. Most aspiring actors and models are often inundated with misinformation and wonder where to begin. Here are a few things to know about these industries before getting started. 1. Understand The Market You’re In It’s important to know your market as each season represents new opportunity. In the fashion world, there are men’s and unisex fashion weeks. In film and television, there are film festivals, awards season, pilot season and episodic season. Many of these represent great opportunities to network and get your brand…
Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Movie fans and critics alike are now living in an age dominated by the hundred million dollar blockbuster, with big stars and even bigger explosions and fight sequences. Marketing for these films can start years in advance, beginning with just the mere announcement of the film. Batman vs. Superman is a prime example of this, and actually the inspiration for this opinion piece. In July 2013, when the film was announced, the internet almost literally exploded. The sequel to the incredibly, even annoyingly divisive…
The second article in The Creators Article Series comes from Dimitri Boweya-Ngombo, Creative Director of Sans Façon, who shares his inspirational journey in becoming a fashion entrepreneur. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You start a fashion business with passion and diligence. Study. Create a sustainable business plan. Cross all your T’s and dot all your I’s, then register your business and open shop. By all accounts, if you take these basic steps, voila, you’re in business. How long will it last? What will you do if you run out of resources? Will you quit or will you stay in this business? Chances are if…
The following article marks the beginning of The Creators Article Series featuring how-to’s and insights from creative entrepreneurs in business, music, art, fashion and entertainment. In this article Sola Ogunbitan, CEO of Role Model Records, gives you some practical steps to starting a record label. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I grew up listening to my older brother blasting classic albums like The Infamous, 36 Chambers and Doggystyle from his room in the basement of our metro Toronto housing complex. Growing up, hip-hop culture surrounded me. It was how I lived, dressed, talked and even how I viewed the world. I remember nights when…
In time for Black History Month, we spoke with fashion designer, Mandela Legacy Ambassador, and event organizer, Gwen Madiba. Koliah Bourne: So you’re the Nelson Mandela Legacy Ambassador for Canada and North America. What does it mean to you personally to be the ambassador for Mandela’s legacy in North America? Gwen Madiba: For me it’s such a great honour that the family has trusted me to represent them in North America. It’s a real honour. Part of me feels like it’s destiny because my last name is Madiba as well, which is part of Mandela’s name and the title of…
The week of Monday, March 21, 2016, SHIFTER Magazine will be presenting its first article series called The Creators. We’ve brought together a roster of creative entrepreneurs in business, music, fashion, art and entertainment to bring you insight into how to get started in these industries. Our contributors include: SOLA OGUNBITAN, CEO of Role Model Records Sola Ogunbitan is the founder and CEO of Role Model Records, where they don’t aim to be successful, but strive to be significant. Current artists include DJ Lagit, Juliem, Shopé and DruBex. DIMITRIOS SEYMOUR, President of Dimitrios Management Group Dimitrios Seymour- Canada’s Top 100…
It was a few minutes before midnight on Sunday, February 28th, 2016. Some had already shut their eyes and drifted off to dreamland, while some still had theirs glued to their TV screen watching the 88th Academy Awards. All fixated on Julianne Moore as she opened that envelope to announce the winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role. And she finally says the name that most us have been waiting for a presenter to say for several years now, Leonardo DiCaprio. After six nominations, DiCaprio finally brought home his first Oscar and broke the internet while doing it. With…
If you haven’t noticed, television is in a period of nostalgia. Some of our favourite shows from the past are coming back and introducing us to our favourite characters once again. Classics like Full House, Boy Meets World, The X-Files and Twin Peaks, and even newer hits like Heroes, 24 and Prison Break, are being rebooted for old and new audiences alike. The big and small screens are even swapping brands as Rush Hour and Minority Report are coming to television and Baywatch is being made into a movie. What do these reboots say about where creativity is at on…
J’maine Jones. If you are unfamiliar with this name now, WRIN [We Rock It Natural] assures you won’t be for long. The singer, songwriter and actor was as a semi-finalist on Canadian Idol and toured internationally with the Idol team for almost a year but upon his return to ‘The Six’, he made a bold decision to move to the US to further pursue his dreams. In 2014, J’maine walked out onto the historic stage at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and stood before music legends Micheal Bivins, Dougie Fresh and Gladys Knight to belt out his rendition of Stevie…
Jasin Dollin is an artist and designer from Toronto, Canada, now residing in San Diego California. His motto is he “loves design, from the grand to the gritty, graffiti to fine art”. Jasin is unhindered to create in whatever tool, material or situation inspires him. As a visual artist, Jasin has learned to branch from paper and pen to an array of materials to communicate new concepts, rethink materials and bridge old ideas into new thoughts. For more information about Jasin Dollin check him out on Instagram, Facebook and at JasinDollin.com or click here to read his SHIFTER Magazine creative…
Originally published by hannahroseprendergast.com. Reposted with permission from the author. New York, London, Milan and Paris are all fashion capitals of the world and so lovingly touted as “The Big Four” when referring to fashion week. Toronto Fashion Week, although not part of the quartet, is the second largest fashion week in North America, behind New York. Founded in 2000 by the Fashion Design Council of Canada, Toronto Fashion Week has expanded to showcase over 60 designer runway shows. The semi-annual event takes place in March to show the Fall/Winter collections and again in October for the Spring/Summer collections. Toronto Fashion Week…
