Biography
Tara Wilkinson
Tara has been taking photographs since she was 11 years old when she won her first camera from the Toronto Star. “When it arrived in the mail, I handled the small plastic instamatic as though it were the crown jewels. Little did I know how profound this little black box would be on my life.”
Her father, Tom, was a photofinisher at the time, so having endless rolls of film developed wasn’t a barrier to exploring the medium. “I still remember the butterflies I felt when my father pulled in the driveway with my prints neatly bundled in a stack on the front seat”.
Her grandmother, Enni, made it possible to purchase her first 35mm camera as she headed off to college to study Corporate Communications. “I arrived in the big city with only $200 in my pocket, but with that camera in my hand, I felt that everything was possible.”
Her beloved Godfather, Veli, shared her passion for photography and would loan her various filters, flashes and other gizmos to experiment with. He would sit quietly looking over her photos at the kitchen table while smoking on his pipe, his shoulders gently bobbing as he giggled at the wonder of it all.
Years later, as she travelled extensively in her role as Public Relations Director for an international hotel company, weekend layovers gave her the time to take her camera and explore the world around her. “From baskets of peppers to bicycles, statues and landscapes to watery reflections, everything came alive through my viewfinder.”
For a milestone birthday (and at a crucial turning point in her personal life), Tara’s mother, Tuula, gifted her with a photography course at the Haliburton School of Fine Arts. It marked a defining time on Tara’s creative journey. “Now, I not only understood equipment and processes, but I could finally SEE like a camera. I have happy memories of being on a course assignment in the countryside with my loaded camera on the front seat beside me — the road ahead waiting with open arms and possibilities.”
Her passion ignited, she began to make framed prints and photo greeting cards with the loving help of her grandmother, who organizes the images and packages them for sale. Exhibits, home parties, art shows and retail opportunities soon followed. Customers dubbed them “Cards for Keeps” because they couldn’t part with the beautiful images once they got them home.
Tara’s photographs capture the details hidden from most. Bringing them into focus with a fresh perspective allows the viewer to enjoy the most ordinary of things. Her unique images take viewers on a visual journey.
All of the creative, emotional and spiritual experiences on her journey — as a woman, mother, artist, photographer, writer, wingmaker and businesswoman — now come together at Love Nest Photography to help you celebrate your pregnancy to the fullest.
Tara resides in Bloomfield, Ontario, in gorgeous Prince Edward County, with her husband and best friend, Andrew, and their sparkling daughter, Andie.
She is a founding partner of Fire Engine Inc, a Toronto-based creative and design studio ... serious about fun for business and igniting imagination!
Visit their on-line studio at: www.fireengineinc.com
