Hi there!
Welcome to North of 55 Fine Art Photography’s official blog!
If we haven’t already met, my name is Janet Ketonen and I’m a photographer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I am originally from Nova Scotia, and was fortunate enough to attend the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2000 I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (Fine Art Major, Art History Minor), after four years of study in the fields of photography, painting and art history.
As much as I enjoyed the creative process, I wasn’t entirely convinced that I wanted to devote my entire life to the arts when I graduated. At that point, my life took an entirely different path, and I obtained my commercial pilots license. My artistic pursuits were somewhat relegated to the sidelines for a few years as I etched out a career in aviation.
In 2005 I found myself relocating for a flying job to Thompson, Manitoba. My time in Thompson allowed me to catch my breath, and to reassess my life’s goals. Flying for a living is a great job, but I realized that my artistic side wasn’t being fulfilled. Subsequently, I decided to fix that problem and to take the next step with my photography. With the support of my friends and family, I began to market my photography skills beyond my social circle and to the rest of the world (well, Manitoba at least!) and to start my own photography business. Fortunately my style of photography has been warmly embraced by many, and these days rarely a week goes by where I’m not photographing several Manitoba families or events!
An “about me” post just wouldn’t be complete without some random facts about my life, so here goes…
- In additional to photography, I am also a painter. With few exceptions, the paintings on display in our home were created by me.
- Speaking of painting, we currently live on a street rich with art history! Our house was immortalized in oils by the great Canadian painter, and Group of Seven member, L.L. Fitzgerald. Our home can be seen in several different pieces by Fitzgerald, some of which can be viewed at the National Gallery of Canada.
- I am happily married and the mother of an awesome little boy. We also have two silly cats to keep us company.
- I love visiting other parts of the world, and thus far my favorite countries to visit would have to be Japan, Turkey, Italy and France. I don’t really have a least favorite, although I did find the hustle and bustle of Cairo to be pretty overwhelming when we visited there in 2008.
- I’ve tried most of the top/common camera brands over the years but currently am deeply invested in Nikon, if you were wondering. I don’t necessarily think that the magic is all in what camera you own but the tools I currently use do make it easier to accomplish my artistic goals.
Thanks for reading!
Yours truly,
Janet Ketonen
November 2009
