A THOUSAND WORDS

Anna Buske Photographs Fast-Paced Sports and Tranquil Landscapes

“I'm always looking at things with a photograph in mind,” says Thunder Bay photographer Anna Buske. Her love of photography started in childhood and really took hold when she learned analog photography from geography teacher Brian Shields as a student at Hillcrest High School, where she and fellow students worked on the yearbook and developed film in the school darkroom. As a radio, television, and broadcasting student at Confederation College, she learned more skills in photography instructor Ray Baker’s class.

Work and family commitments sidelined her interest for quite a while though, and it wasn’t until about 10 years ago that Buske started moving from “dabbling” to a more serious focus. She taught herself digital photography through online and local photography groups, and her camera started coming with her everywhere in her downtime from her job as a registered nurse at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Buske’s portfolios reveal several areas of interest: sports photography, nature photography, and a dash of travel photography too. The challenge of documenting high-speed sports ranging from barrel racing to ice motocross to kiteboarding intrigues her. “I’ll go just to try and improve my skills and try to capture that one good shot that you’re always trying to achieve and attain,” she says. The natural beauty of the northwest’s wildlife and landscapes is close to her heart as well. “Wandering the back roads of Northwestern Ontario lets me disconnect, recharge and rejuvenate.” One of the images that was most rewarding to capture was a close shot of a moose in Minnesota’s Gunflint Trail area. The appeal of wildlife photography, she says, is that “it’s difficult. It is challenging. And it takes a lot of patience. Sometimes you have to sit there for an hour, a few hours or whatever to try and capture something that’s elusive.”

After recent trips in North America, Buske is looking forward to travelling again, and would love to visit Iceland or go on an African safari with her camera in hand. “There’s so many beautiful places in the world,” she says. “And the thing is that you don’t really have to go that far either,” pointing to the Sleeping Giant as an example. “When I retire [I want to] capture a sequence of photographs of the Giant, because it is different every day.”

A member of Professional Photographers of Canada, Buske meets with a small local PPOC group monthly to go out for a shoot together or to critique each other’s work. “I like to hear what’s wrong with my photo!” she says. “So many people like to look at a photo and say, ‘Oh, that’s beautiful, that’s great, that’s a lovely photo’ and I’m thinking, ‘Well, it could be better.’”

To see more of Anna Buske’s work, visit @anna.buskephotography on Instagram or find Anna Buske Photography on Facebook.

Tech Specs

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III Lens: Canon 70-200 2.8, Canon 100-400mm 4.5, Canon 6-35mm 2.8