contact & bits
Bobbi Barbarich is a professional freelance photographer and writer. As wordsmith, I write about adventures, health and significant moments for publications like Vue Weekly in Edmonton, Alberta Views, Unlimited, the West Kootenay Weekender, Kootenay Mountain Culture and others. I’m a contributing editor for Canadian Running Magazine. In the ‘adventure’ section of my photos, the links below the photo connect to the article.
If you’d like me to capture an event or you—in words or in photos—email info@bobbibarbarich.ca.
I grew up in a small town in northern Alberta. Though I was scared of chickens because they have penetrating eyes and sharp beaks, I still had to clean the chicken coop. I liked to wear running shoes to run away from those chickens.
On a sloppy spring morning, the coop was particularly slick and my mom made me wear gum boots. I didn’t like them because only old farmers wore gum boots and they stuck to my legs when I ran. But on that day, the chicken’s beaks didn’t hurt my toes. I’ve been in love with gum boots ever since.
My first camera was a 110mm Kodak Ektralite. I took pictures of my teddy bears in my green bedroom/makeshift studio and hoped I’d meet a bear one day.
I moved to a big city when I thought I’d grown up. I liked big buildings with square corners and straight window rows because they were the complete opposite of bubble bath clouds. I loved riding my bike along the river because there were hills to climb and surprises around corners. The light through the trees reminded me of the stories in the clouds I could see for years in the flat north.
I made pictures of mud cracks in the bike tracks and sun flares through those windows.
I moved to a small city in some big mountains when I realized I hadn’t yet grown up. Mountain sides are longer fun than hillsides, especially when covered with snow. Though I try to avoid bears, I know where to find a pretty chicken.
The photos I make and the stories I tell draw on these elements: growing into your boots, finding your mountainside, and beauty in the unconventional. I strive to capture subtle grandiosity, fleeting moments, and the little things we move too fast to remember.
