Cathy Mackelvey

Vital Stats

Born in Halifax Nova Scotia; Raised and now live  in Dartmouth NS.

Occupation

Artist, Photographer (which sometimes includes teaching photography)

Book that changed my life

The Art of Color, Johannes Itten

Favorite places to eat

Jane's on the Common, Halifax. Best food in Halifax!
Neighbours Pub, Dartmouth. Friday night's prime rib special.
Two if by Sea, Dartmouth. Oh the espresso and croissants

Interests/Hobbies

Photography, Cooking, Sailing and kayaking (gunkholing), biking and  reading

Latest Projects

Let's Play: A series of photos of children. What is play? The answer varies from one child to another. In process. I am shooting, looking for subjects and processing images.
Hope : A show at the Craig Gallery of photos of tulips representing people with Parkinson's disease in support of the Parkinson Society Maritime Region.

Accomplishments

●    3 solo shows, published a blurb book, Hope. The proceeds from my most recent show, Hope, went to the Parkinson Society Maritime Region
●    Member of ViewPoint Gallery, a coop photography gallery in its 11th year.
●    Swam 1500 m as part of a fundraiser for the Cancer Society of NB.
●    I find and organize speakers and facilitate the Print review at Viewpoint Gallery.
●    read French and speak French imperfectly. I read enough Spanish to get me into trouble or on occasion, out of trouble.
●    completed Comprehensive Art Program Certificate from Saidye Bronfman School of Fine Art, Montreal.
●    While living in Montreal I helped an Iraqi woman learn to read English. (Laubach Literacy).
●    Co-Co-ordinated  Clinical trails for Alzheimer's Disease.
●    Volunteered in various schools in various capacities.

Most Frequently Used  Gear

(I had to go look up some of this. I research carefully what equipment I buy. After that it's just a means to an end. I use what works.)
Canon 5D Mark ll
Canon 50 mm 1.4 L
Canon 70-200 mm 2.8 L USM
Canon 17-40 mm L series
Canon 580EX ll flash
Timbuk2 bag, love it. Doesn't look like a camera bag.
Gaffer tape, black Lens coat (I have covered the brand and the red on my lenses and back. I don't use a camera strap. My camera looks rather nondescript to the casual observer. The way I like it!)
Macbook, Mac Mini with many external drives , Samsung 193p  monitor
Epson Stylus Pro 7900  printer. (We share a printer at Viewpoint Gallery)
lots of black velvet, white paper, and reflectors
1 large ziplock bag (to prevent condensation inside the camera coming inside from freezing temperatures)
3 x 4 ft softbox & strobe (Elinchrom Style 600S)
Manfroto tripod and head ( I broke 2 cheap tripods, I need a solid one )

Favorite Software Programs

Adobe Photoshop CS4, Lightroom, iTunes, Firefox, Skype and Openoffice
(and now Joomla)

Favorite Websites

Blogs in my igoogle

Personal Philosophy

Celebrate diversity. Be curious. Look with intensity. People are amazingly unique.