{"id":37565,"date":"2017-10-16T20:02:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T02:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=37565"},"modified":"2017-10-17T07:24:50","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T13:24:50","slug":"sait-photo-instructor-steps-into-the-spotlight-himself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/16\/sait-photo-instructor-steps-into-the-spotlight-himself\/","title":{"rendered":"SAIT photo instructor steps into the spotlight himself"},"content":{"rendered":"

G<\/span>eorge Webber is not only one of Alberta\u2019s top photographers, he is a SAIT instructor and now a short film star.<\/p>\n

O<\/span>n Sept. 25, a short film entitled Lost Horizons: The Photography of George Webber<\/em> <\/a>premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF).<\/p>\n

A second showing on Sept. 30, was attended by Webber.<\/p>\n

\u201cI turned 65 earlier this year, so I like the idea of there being a permanent record that shows me working and talking about my work,\u201d Webber said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very happy this opportunity came up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film, directed by Laura O\u2019Grady, follows Webber as he makes pictures and tells the story of how he became a photographer.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in Drumheller I saw First Nations people, Hutterites, and folks living in small towns, and when I started to take photos in my late 20s I wanted to see how these people and places had changed,\u201d Webber said.<\/p>\n

It has been an on-going inspiration for him because Webber finds the changes fascinating.<\/p>\n

One example of this is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Chu.<\/p>\n

In the short documentary, Webber talks about a gentleman by the name of Mr. Chu.<\/p>\n

In 1988, Webber stopped in New Dayton, Alta. where he had the opportunity to photograph the couple.<\/p>\n

He learned of their story after they had both passed away.<\/p>\n

Many years ago, Mr. Chu had moved to Canada from China with the intent to bring his family here.<\/p>\n

Sadly, he and his wife were not reunited until 1986, the couple had not laid eyes on each other for 55 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I am there I sometimes imagine what it must have been like for him to be living in that tiny little community all by himself for over 50 years,\u201d Webber said.<\/p>\n

Webber feels his type of work has the power to open people up to feel empathy and more tenderness toward others.<\/p>\n

Not only is he now the star of a short film, but Webber<\/a> is an award winner, as well.<\/p>\n

He has published seven books on photography and has his photos in museums all over the world, including the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Professor Photography: <\/strong>George Webber teaches his students about contact sheets at SAIT in the Senator Burns Building in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. (Photo by Ashley Sloan \/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Webber’s started at SAIT as a writer for educational media services. He now teaches a basic photography course as a continuing education instructor.<\/p>\n

Kevin Udahl, a SAIT photo instructor in the journalism program, has known Webber for many years.<\/p>\n

Webber photographed Udahl when he won the Canadian Press photo of the year award right after he graduated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SAIT Link was doing a story on me and George was doing the photography for that publication, so we picked a time to meet in one of the studios and he took my picture for the story,\u201d Udahl said.<\/p>\n

Webber put Udahl at ease with his easygoing\u00a0personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not used to being photographed because I am the one who takes the photographs,\u201d Udahl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made me feel very comfortable and I have known him ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udahl said that some of Webber\u2019s projects have influenced how he takes photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis project on Hutterites resonated with me because its such a long-term project and such a long-term commitment that he has put into this that it really taught me the value of taking on personal projects and sticking with them,\u201d Udahl said.<\/p>\n

Webber says his subjects appeal to him because of the chance to learn something that may be a value to his own life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to pick subjects that can sustain many years of going back, and I think that makes the stories and the photographs much deeper and much more real,\u201d Webber said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George Webber is not only one of Canada\u2019s most prestigious photographers, he is a SAIT instructor and now a short film star. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":37889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-campus-2","9":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37565"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38776,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37565\/revisions\/38776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}