Meet the Photographer

The Man

Steven Vandervelde is a professional photographer and teacher based in Markham (Greater Toronto Area), Ontario, specializing in landscape, nature, and portrait photography.

The Passion

Steve’s passion for photography was instilled in him at a very young age by his father, an enthusiast photographer, from whom he learned about angles, composition, lighting, depth of field and being patient in waiting for the best moment to get the perfect shot. Many things have changed since those days, we are no longer constrained by film and have moved into the digital age, cameras and picture quality have advanced, but all those years of experience have helped him become the photographer he is today.

The Studio

Six years ago, Steve converted the family room in his home into a portrait studio, complete with backdrops and strobes in an effort to capture all stages of life despite what curve balls weather throws at us. He also created a web store in which he sells prints of his landscape, nature, and artistic images.

There’s More to Life

But Steve’s life doesn’t just revolve around photography. He is a father of two beautiful girls, husband to one beautiful wife, and owner of one beautiful golden retriever. And recently he has reduced the number of client projects he takes on in an effort to focus more on other facets of photography, his family, and his teaching. It’s a delicate balance to say the least. With that said, Steve still takes on client work as much as he can manage.

The Magic of Photography

In Steve’s words, this is what photography means to him.

Photography is all about making emotional connections. When I am there, photographing the scene, it’s all right there in front of me, it’s all tangible—I can touch it, smell it, taste it, it’s an orgy for the senses. All those senses come together to create a feeling deep inside, an indescribable emotional response and for that moment, I feel connected, one with the scene. After the shutter is released and the image is transferred to my computer, a good picture continues to evoke that emotional response from the comfort of my home. But if others view the picture and feel a similar emotional connection, if they feel so immersed that they too are drawn in to the picture, like they are right there in that moment, experiencing the beauty for themselves, then you know you have a great picture. That to me is the magic of photography and my hope is that one of my pictures will evoke such an emotional response.

The world is a filled with breathtaking scenery and beautiful people and Steve’s photographic portfolio is a testament to this. His passion for photography allows him to meet those people, hear their stories, and takes him all over our beautiful world in an effort to capture life on this planet.