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Confederation Bridge, - © Isabelle Levesque

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Featured Photographer: Paula Lirette, MPA

Photographer Paula Lirette
Paula Lirette never really found photography, it found her. She first joined the PPOC in 1990, while studying in the 2-year Applied Photography & Lab Technician program at CCNB Dieppe, from which she received her diploma in 1992.

Paula is the mother of two amazing children, and a proud grandmother to her sweet granddaughter, Catherine. She lives and operates her studio in Grand Barachois, NB, and has accreditations in Fine Art/Photo Decor, Nature Photography, and Child Portrait. Over the years, Paula has received numerous awards from the association, and she earned her Master of Photographic Arts (MPA) designation in 2019 and her Distinguished Service Award from PPOC Atlantic in 2020. She considers herself very fortunate to be able to follow her dreams as a photographer and has given so much back to the association and the photography community, through her years of service on the PPOC Atlantic regional board of directors, and the many events, workshops and art shows she has organized.

As Paula would say, "La Vie est Belle!"

 

A black and white portrait of a white haired man with a long beard, by photographer Paula Lirette.
Reminiscing

This man in the image is a very special soul who taught me a lot about unconditional love and humanity.

This was a man I had to privilege to have met on streets and in homeless shelters, I am grateful he let me capture his soul in this image!

"Reminiscing" received the Frank T. PRITDHAM AWARD FOR Best Portrait of the year at the PPOC ATL with:

** 2 Ribbons for Judges Choice,

**Best of Class for Portrait,

And was my top-scoring image ever

~Excellence Award~ 

 

A gritty black and white portrait of a man with a weathered face and a dilapidated building in the background, by photographer Paula Lirette.
M. Poly 

As a portrait photographer I meet and photograph a lot of amazing people, but the ones who always come to reach me the most are the ones I bump into on an everyday basis. I went to photograph his land. He came out to talk a while with me and mentioned that they were going to make him tear down his grandparents' old house that you see in the back. He had 3 weeks to bring his family's history down or they would do it for him and send him the bill. You could see in his voice he was very sad to have to bring it down.

I spent a good 30 minutes listening to him, hardly saying a word...yup I know for those who know me well it's hard to believe I was not talking LOL ... as a photographer who is a people person, I realized way back that each person on this Earth has a story to tell and a mission here to explore and experience for a reason and to teach us all. He talked about his life and past and I was so moved by his big soft heart. He spoke so profoundly he had tears coming down his cheeks. I could have listened to him for hours, but understood right away he simply needed to have someone listen. At first, when I asked him if I could photograph him he said "no", and he told me that he wasn't photogenic. But you know what? This man is a beautiful person. Sometimes you meet strangers and it doesn't take long for you to connect right away with them. I asked Rod if there was anything I could bring him as a thank you gift for letting me photograph on his land. At first, he said he wanted nothing, but I insisted...then he replied "a Gumdrop cake". 

Elders have an extra special place in my heart.

The image received a score of Merit in the portrait category, won Best in Class for Portrait and Award for Best Overall Portrait at the PPOC Atlantic competition in 2014, and I was also Nominated for Atlantic Portrait Photographer Of The Year. It went on to score Accepted at the 2015 National image competition. 

 

A monochrome portrait of a man with a heavily lined face and piercing eyes, by photographer Paula Lirette.
Scarred

My image titled Scarred won the Prestigious Best in Class Award in the Editorial Class, was chosen for a Judge's Choice Award and received a score of Merit at the Professional Photographers of Canada Atlantic Region 2018 annual competition. It went on to score Merit again at the 2019 National Competition and was selected to be part of the Loan Collection.

I am very grateful and blessed to have been given the chance to photograph David on the streets. He is a very kind man with a story in his eyes. Eyes are the door to the soul.

Photographing authentic people on the streets is probably one of my strongest passions nowadays in photography!

 

A photo of a green boat next to water, with pine trees in the background, by photographer Paula Lirette.
"A man's chapel "

This photo was captured on one of my photography coaching trips at the "Parc national de la Gaspésie, Lac Paul " in Quebec

In 2014, it received a score of Merit and Best Pictorial/Floral image of the Year in the Atlantic Region and scored accepted at the National level.

 

A photo of a bald child with a blood pressure cuff on his arm, holding hands with a person in a white coat. By photographer Paula Lirette.|
Healing Hands

As a photographer that covers many aspects of photography, I also have a passion for editorial photography.

In 2009 I started covering the life of this little one who I had the honour to cover his medical journey till the last days. It made a huge impact on who I have become and to have a new mission to document life in a new way.

Earth angels come in all colours, sizes and ages. We may not always recognize them when we meet them but they are heavenly just the same. Earth angels come in our time of need and help us on our journey and teach us many things. Sometimes people may not always realize that everything they do can touch others. I feel I was blessed to have had met Hugo and he entered my path to teach me many life lessons and the importance of NOW....he's surely one of my Angels!  I believe, too, that angels bring us peace, love and gentleness. As you well know, the world needs much more of these amazing people. Earth Angels help us celebrate the wonderful mystical spirits that surround and watch over us all. There are many times that we see glimpses of Heaven right here on earth ... in people that I call "Earth Angels." I believe that God very often places people in our paths of life to give us encouragement, love, skills and hope when we need it the most or when we feel that something in our life seems confusing. I feel so blessed to have been touched by an angel on his passing on Earth!

 

A warm summer scene of a toddler with a bow in her hair, dressed in white. By photographer Paula Lirette.
Child Photography 

Paula received her very 1st Accreditation in 1997 in Child Photography. Portrait photography has always been her true passion and what a blessing as a photographer to be able to photograph her own grandchild, Catherine. Paula is a very proud grandma. Paula mentioned that what counts the most to her as a portrait photographer is to be able to capture all the little precious moments life has to offer.








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