Politicians at play

Port de Grave, Newfoundland - John Efford served as a Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, holding the title of Opposition critic for Health and Social Services, Consumer Affairs, Public Works as well as Fisheries. Later, he served as Minister of Works, Service and Transportation, Minister of Social Services and Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. In 2002 he was elected to the House of Commons, re-elected in 2004 and was then named Minister of Natural Resources. He has since served on several standing committees including Aboriginal Affairs and Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.


He has been retired due to medical issues since 2005, but says given his time back he'd have gone back for one more election. In his spare time he and his wife sail their yacht around the Newfoundland's Coastline.

Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland - - Sheilagh O'Leary is a Councilor at Large for the City of St. John's, who has worked diligently on issues she promised she would address. In the last year she has worked towards a cosmetic pesticide ban, supported the start of a curbside recycling program and advocated for responsible development and preservation of established Heritage districts, advocating against the build of high rises and sub-divisions along scenic Signal Hill. She is also a single mother of three and an award winning fine art photographer. Her film, 'Motions,' won several awards and her work has appeared in popular publications such as MacLean’s, The Globe and Mail and Arts Atlantic. For more then 15 years now, her work has been shown in international exhibitions.

In her spare time she loves to hike and finds inspiration in her surroundings.
Please check out Sheilagh's work at: http://www.sheilagholeary.com

Bowring Park, St. John's, Newfoundland - Dennis "Doc" O'Keefe , is the 13th Mayor of St. John's and is often referred to as, "The Walking Mayor." Elected in 1997 as a Councilor at large, Doc moved up to eventually replace Mayor Andy Wells upon his resignation and won with a staggering 57.44% vote in the 2009 election.

In his spare time he walks as much as possible and is popular around town for being known to do so. Typically he starts off with an early morning trot in Bowring Park before heading to the office for the day.


       This is a little piece I recently started while on a trip back to Newfoundland over break week. Knowing that I wouldn't be making it that way for Christmas this year (which will be my first and deserves a blog post all of its own), I wanted to make the most of time with family but also be productive in work.

I'm the first to admit that I'm probably the worst to talk serious politics with. In fact, I'm really not even into them at all, it interests me very little in the bigger scheme of things. So I set my tasks on shooting politicians in a way I could enjoy it, and shoot them while they do something they enjoy in their spare time. As per expected with anything, a couple of them fell through or bailed at the last minute, or had me waiting for an hour in one case just to not show up. So, here are the beginning three of a piece I hope to continue as time and opportunity allows.