Meet The Candidates

Ward 6 of Lambton Shores currently has 2 candidates running, and often we as the residents have very little chance to hear the plans our candidates have on their minds, as a result I have decided to make the post today and tomorrow concentrated on getting to know our local candidates – some things you may  know, others, you may be totally surprised by.  Each candidate was asked to make a submission for the blog.  In order to be unbiased, I am simply going to go by alphabetical order, beginning with Doug Cook – owner/operator of the Arkona Home Hardware followed by Sushil Nakhwal – owner/operator of the Arkona GoCo.

Doug Cook – Owner & Operator Of Arkona Home Hardware

Questions or Comments you wish to address with Doug Cook can be emailed to:  atkcook1@execlink.com 

Here are the questions answered:

For the councillors at present, Why have you decided to re-seek your position as councillor for Lambton Shores?

For those stepping in, Why have you decided to do so?

What issues will you address if you are voted in?

Provide details on your political experience and background.

Tell us about yourself: What town do you live in and how long have you lived in Lambton Shores? Occupation? Family? Leisure activities? Volunteer community work and accomplishments.

In one sentence, What will you do for the residents and community of Lambton Shores?

Answers by:

Doug Cook

1. Councillor – I have only been on council since February, therefore, I have not had much opportunity to establish myself, other than understanding the issues as they arise.   I am hoping that the next four year term will allow me to work closely with council on issues and investments throughout Lambton Shores.

2. The main issues I would like to address are Capital Investments in Ward 6, the ongoing sewer concerns in the Grand Bend area and economic development in Lambton Shores.

3. This is my first venture into municipal politics.

4. I have owned Arkona Home Hardware since 1999 and moved to Arkona in 2000.  I am married to Pam Atkinson.  My son, Jeremy and his wife, Valerie and our granddaughter, Mia, live in Forest.  I am the President of the Arkona Lions Club, volunteer with Victim Services of Sarnia-Lambton, assist with Communities in Bloom and participate in the Trash Bash Clean up Days.  I enjoy golfing, walking and spending time with family.

5. I will bring a balanced and unbiased approach to council, to ensure that major issues are properly discussed and that necessary Capital investments continue, keeping the overall tax burden of Lambton Shores in mind.

My Classy Snap Pac

It has been quite some time in the making and searching, but the day finally came – I now have my own version of the shoot sac and after a few weeks of using it, I’m proud to say – it works Fantastic!!!. Yes, it’s true – I do like the Shoot Sac, but for reasons I’m sure you could figure out for yourselves, I chose to go a different route – and came up with my own version of what I have been looking for but never found.  Basically I wanted to be able to have on me at least one other lens, specifically while shooting weddings, something that didn’t get in my way, and it needed to look classy without standing out.  I thought through several different options, finally I decided to make my own Shoot sac using a neoprene laptop case.  During my search for the beginnings of my project though, I came across a bag that had a starting point for exactly what I wanted.  Once again it was a laptop case to begin with, but with a few alterations, it became my dream lens case – Yeah!  With some help from my professional seamstress neighbour Anne Marie, the case now holds up to three lenses easily while having very little bulk (it’s actually not as fat as the Shoot Sac which I like),  it curves around your hip stores my bounce card for when I’m not using my sto-fen, and has a great spot too for a carabiner style watch (I don’t like wearing a watch at a wedding-strange but true)  Currently I tend to keep 2 Canon L lenses and a 580 EX 11  flash with Sto-fen filter on inside of the pac , and then switch out the lenses for the reception allowing me to carry very little during each section of the wedding, and yet always have what I need.  That’s it, top it off with personal embroidery of your business logo, and you have one very classy looking lens pack!

The Latest From Gary Fong

The Lightsphere is the big claim to fame for Gary Fong – one of the best flash diffusers of it’s time – a great piece – biggest con – very bulky.  Lately though,  Gary Fong has come out with a piece of equipment designed to help avoid the thief issue!  I have yet to have a problem with this – and I hope to never obviously, but I thought I would post this here for those of you interested in such a gadget.  My best advice though – Prevention.  Carry as little on you as possible during a shoot – use a shoot sac or a small bag, or something like my snap sac (I’ll show this off tomorrow on the blog),  keeping everything else in your vehicle, and when you arrive at the reception – Talk to the DJ if you are wanting to bring in more equipment, often they will allow you to put your equipment next to them -  safe and sound – just don’t put your camera cards on their large speakers with the Magnets though ;)  

   

***images & video by Gary Fong

Now Playing

Now Playing at the Forest Kineto Theatre

Eat Pray Love

Sept. 10,11,12,14

Doors open at 7:30, Show Time 8:00PM  All Seats $5

Katie K

Katie comes from a family of extremely creative siblings, whether its skating, singing, funning team sports,  or  – acting, there is at least one in the family with these talents!  This past weekend Katie and I had a chance to meet up to get some head shots done for some future talent applications.  It was fun seeing the many faces of Katie, she can definitely switch it up on demand – Good Luck Katie!

 

Second Shooting

I’ve mentioned before how I really enjoy the opportunity to second shoot at a wedding – it gives me the chance to shoot without the pressure of being the one who is directing the photography end of the day, while being able to capture some interesting angles.  This past weekend Josh and Julie Anne were married, some of you may remember that Josh and Julie Anne were the couple with the auction wedding package which helped raise money for The Kaeden Brown Foundation.  Because of their support for this foundation, I really wanted to do a few extra’s for the couple.  This included showing up early for during the hair and make up session and staying later during the reception, but there became one more Bonus!  I decided to put out an offer for someone wishing to be second shooter for the day, someone with photography experience, and who were able to show some of their work online, and to simply email me with this information.   Out of those who

  responded I chose John Heenzy – this turned out to be an excellent decision!  John was professional, stealth, and did  a great job with his images. On top of this – John was not afraid to do what it took to get the shot, including gather burs on his clothes, or climbing the silo the father of the Bride made note of as a great spot for a picture, shortly after we arrived!  For more information, and to see more of John’s work, click Here.  Great Job John!

 

 

 

And just in case you missed the sunset Saturday night…

14 Years In The Making

Fourteen Years – that’s how long Josh & Julie Anne have been waiting for this day, Josh’s brother (also in the wedding party) was only 5 months old when they began dating!  Well, the day finally came, and was it  was well worth the wait!   For this amazing day John Heenzy came out as second shooter, doing a fantastic job, and taking on some dramatically unique angles!  Also on hand was Videography by AnneMarie, capturing the action on video.

Find out more about the guy up top the silo on tomorrow’s blog!