About Me
I was born in St. Johns, Newfoundland in 1994. My family moved across the country to Salt Spring Island in 1996. Currently I work as a full-time nurse, but photography is what inspires me. My interest in photography was inherited from my mum and her father who were both drawn to photography themselves. I delved into photography after being gifted a Canon DSLR by my mum in 2010 - the interest has grown into a lifestyle for me ever since.
After many years of shooting varied subjects from landscapes to product work, I found my niche after an unanticipated, magical experience photographing pacific coastal wolves. Since then my inspiration has been drawn from nature and wildlife photography, with a focus on advocating for ethical conservation and protection of our wild spaces.
I am strictly an ethical wildlife photographer. A practice where no wildlife is baited, trapped or lured and is left undisturbed. Additionally, I do not share any photograph locations in an effort to protect these special animals and their safe spaces.
Past Exhibits & Donations
- Three prints exhibited at Art Barn fine art exhibition on Salt Spring Island, 2012
- Product photography contract with SunWind Solar. 2014
- Two prints donated to Pacific Wilds, "Wild Auction ". 2020
- Two prints donated to First Annual Takaya Arts Festival, silent auction. 2020
- Volunteer work with CoExisting with Carnivores Alliance. 2021 - ongoing
- Contract work with Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. 2022 - ongoing
- Interviewed for podcast - Salish Harvest, Wild Ideas Podcast. 2023
- Contract work for Access to Media Education Society & Institute for Multidisciplinary Ecological Research in the Salish Sea. 2023
Please continue scrolling to view a showcase of video projects I have worked on.
Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail Camera Project
Above is a short video from a project I had the opportunity of working on. I was initially brought in by Nitya Chari Harris, a director of the Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance. I worked alongside Dr. Chris Bone from the Surreal Lab based out of the University of Victoria in collaboration with the Capital Regional District, who granted permissions and access to the park the project took place on.
Dr. Chris Bone, myself and his students worked hard to install 50 trailcameras throughout the Sooke Hills Wilderness Park. These cameras were placed at calculated locations designated by an algorithm designed by the Surreal Lab. We traversed the Sooke Hills Wilderness Park over a few months, typically placing between two and four cameras in a single day. Dependent on the terrain we had to traverse and how easily the cameras were to install.
This is a long term project, with a goal of having the cameras installed for roughly 10 years to monitor human and wildlife use of the park as well as environmental change and plant distribution.
Surreal Labs statement on the project is as follows:
“University of Victoria researchers are currently conducting a study on wildlife, climate change and recreation in the Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park located in southeastern Vancouver Island near the city of Victoria. As part of this project, motion-detection cameras will be installed starting in mid-August 2021 at various locations along trails and wildlife corridors to count wildlife and hikers passing along trails at various locations.
To protect the privacy of park visitors, we are utilizing an advanced image recognition software application that detects and blurs human facial features in the image by aggregating pixels. Once facial features have been blurred, the original images are then destroyed. This process takes place as soon as the images are uploaded to our secure server storage site to ensure that visitor's faces that appear in images will not be seen by anyone.”
More information on this project can be found at the links below:
T'Sou-ke First Nation Trailcamera Seminar
Above is a short video I filmed for the Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance from a seminar on trailcamera usage held in T’Sou-ke Nation in January of 2022.
This project was enabled due to the generous funding provided by the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
We had three speakers; Dr. Chris Bone of the Surreal Lab based out of University of Victoria, Nitya Chari Harris, a director of the Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance as well as Scott Harris, a citizen scientist with a focus on trailcamera usage. The speakers educated the group on trailcamera use in relation to wildlife and land use management, flora and environmental monitoring, anticipated equipment necessary for installation as well as a variety of other technical considerations.
Following the classroom session the group went into the field for a hands on demonstration of trailcam installation as well as an insightful Q&A period. The members walked away from this seminar with the knowledge of how to initiate, monitor and maintain a science based trailcamera study.
For more information on this project please visit the Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance' website below:
https://coexcarnivores.org/projects
Recommendations:
"When PacificWild.org launched their 2020 online art auction I was attracted to the framed photograph “Mother Wolf” and placed my bid. Lucky for me, I ended up being the winner of the item. The photograph, taken by Tilai Ellis-Stairs is of an alpha female wolf in the early morning light, scavenging along the coast to find food for her family. She has 7 pups hidden in the nearby woods to feed! I received the framed photograph today (packaged with a lot of care) and am absolutely astounded at how beautiful it is. Tilai captured the wolf looking directly towards the camera and the image is crystal clear. The wolf’s eyes are captivating and relay the intelligence of this most majestic apex creature who is entitled to live a life in natural, pristine British Columbia wilderness without fear of being hunted or culled. I originally bid on the piece with the intention of giving it to my husband for Christmas but I think it will now be hung on the focal wall of my office. It is absolutely stunning!
-Corinne Robson, Anmore, BC"