Like many 2020 events, organizers of the Far North Photo Festival are having to get creative due to the Covid pandemic.

This year, the festival will take place outside City Hall in Somba KSA国际影视传媒檈 Civic Plaza in order to adhere to the chief public health officer's safety regulations. Now in its second year, the festival will showcase representation from each circumpolar region as well as a gallery full of submissions from anyone living in, or with ties to, NWT, Yukon or Nunavut. 

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 going to have a different look, different feel, different vibe, but itSA国际影视传媒檒l be cool,SA国际影视传媒� says Pat Kane, creative director and co-founder of the festival. 

In addition to the photo exhibition, the Far North Photo Festival (FNPF) will offer workshops including an introduction to photography, pitching to editors and photojournalism. Workshops will be a mix of live-streamed webinars, and SA国际影视传媒渋n the fieldSA国际影视传媒� tutorials. Kane says those workshops will range from photo walks, photographing the aurora borealis, landscapes, and others. He says itSA国际影视传媒檚 a space SA国际影视传媒渨here people can get together, be socially distant, but also do something fun outside at that time of year.SA国际影视传媒�

While Kane is disappointed that they wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be able to invite in-person keynote speakers because of travel restrictions, he's not shaken about having to adjust the festivalSA国际影视传媒檚 plans. 

SA国际影视传媒淭here are actually some really good, maybe even better, opportunities for doing things through video,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淓ven having the exhibit outdoors in the park is more accessible to a lot more people. If people are just going for a walk or a run they can stop and check it out.SA国际影视传媒�

Kane, a professional photographer, says that photography and visual storytelling are tangible ways of sharing perspectives that resonate. FNPF allows Northerners to showcase their own stories. 

SA国际影视传媒淚 think as Northerners, as people who live and work here, we see a lot of people coming from outside, from the south or from Europe or the States, who come and tell stories about the North, and then leave,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淲e see the festival as a place for Northerners to reclaim Northern stories and to share images and perspectives that are unique to the North and that people might not see all the time but to us is daily life.SA国际影视传媒�

Kane views FNPF as a way of giving back and helping to SA国际影视传媒済ive opportunities to other people who may not have the opportunities that I have had.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭his is a way for us to bring the photo community together, to encourage each other as peers, as friends and as colleagues,SA国际影视传媒� he says.

The festival will take place from Sept. 11 to 21, and the workshop schedule will be announced in August. Submissions are open for anyone from the North, or with a connection to the North. Guidelines are on the FNPF . 

For anyone hesitant about submitting their work, Kane says, SA国际影视传媒淒onSA国际影视传媒檛 be afraid. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e always excited to see what people have, because even if people say SA国际影视传媒極h, I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know if thatSA国际影视传媒檚 any goodSA国际影视传媒� or SA国际影视传媒業tSA国际影视传媒檚 just an everyday life kind of thing,SA国际影视传媒� sometimes those are the most special moments really to see the aspects of peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 lives that not a lot of people get to see.SA国际影视传媒�