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Staff Profiles

Ed Burtynsky | Jeannie Baxter | Lisa Binnie | Francine Lemieux | Bernice Lyons-Page | Robert Poon

Edward Burtynsky

President and Founder

Ed is the founder of Toronto Image Works. An accomplished and internationally exhibited artist, he is best known for his compelling large-scale landscapes which document the impact of industry on the natural world.

Burtynsky was only eleven when he shot and developed his first roll of film: 36 pictures of his dog playing in the snow. "It was a magical experience for me, when those pictures started to emerge," he recalls. "I fell in love with it immediately." But he was never interested in being a traditional weddings-and-portraits photographer. Burtynsky wanted to pursue his hobby as art. After graduating from the Ryerson photography program, he began to practice fine art photography using large format colour negs.

Early in his career, Burtynsky saw that local photographers didn't have adequate access to darkroom facilities. In 1985, he established Toronto Image Works out of a desire to offer the visual art community a place to produce photographs, process film, learn about the medium and equally importantly, to provide a focal point for the photographic art community.

Launched as Toronto's first professional darkroom rentals facility, Toronto Image Works is now a fixture on the Toronto scene, and the facilities have grown to 35 staff, not including instructors, who provide services such as custom printing and digital imaging. TIW, with 11,000 square feet at 80 Spadina in Toronto's Fashion District, also has state of the art computer classrooms where high quality education is provided on desktop publishing, web and new media design.

Ed brought his vision to Toronto Image Works, and it continues to grow. His dream of being a fine art photographer is also flourishing, and these days, he divides his time between TIW and his own work. He has just completed a mid-career retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada, and will be represented this year at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Please visit the artist's website.

Jeannie Baxter

Managing Director

Jeannie Baxter is the driving force whose passion and energy makes Toronto Image Works run smoothly.

After graduating from Ryerson University with a BAA, Jeannie received her CAAP certification from the Institute of Canadian Advertising. She worked as an Advertising Account Director until 1988, when she joined Image Works as Managing Director.

Jeannie came to Toronto Image Works at a point when it was beginning to take off in growth and diversification. She enjoys working with the creative professionals at TIW, and has been their champion and quarterback as the company set off in new directions with its digital service bureau and education institute.

A hands-on manager, you might catch Jeannie helping out at the front counter, dealing with TIW's corporate clients, or bringing a fresh view to design work. And if there is a big job to do or a problem to solve, Jeannie is there.

Lisa Binnie

Inventory Control, Project Co-ordination, Customer Service

Lisa has been keeping Toronto Image Works humming for the past five years with her work in customer service and inventory control. She is also well-known to photographic students and professionals alike for her work and teaching, notably as instructor in 35mm and black & white photography at TIW. Before coming to TIW, she worked as a video producer at University of Toronto, and as a theatre technician.

She has been taking photos since she was a teenager and she spent three years at art school and many more years learning on her own. Lisa prefers photo-based art of a sculptural nature or with a landscape theme. An aficionado of archaeology, she sees and photographs the beauty in the patina and inner meaning of old objects. Her metalwork studio has recently found a home in a barn at her new property in the Haliburton Highlands.

Of her teaching at TIW, Lisa says that she loves to see the spark of insight that students get as they explore the photographic process. And she enjoys the opportunity that she has at TIW to meet so many artists working in many different media.

Francine Lemieux

Customer Service Manager

Francine has been customer service manager at Toronto Image Works for the last five years. She has loved photography for as long as she can remember, and she enjoys working in the industry while she absorbs herself in her hobby. A veteran of the photographic and retail industry for 17 years, managing stores, training employees and overseeing mini-labs, she didn't hesitate when TIW offered her a position.

Now she gets to work on the pro side of photography and she has never looked back. She commends her great staff and customers for making her job a delight. Francine always goes the extra mile for customers, but if you happen to come in with a dog or a baby, don't expect quick service! "I am the manager, so I get to take care of the kids and dogs," she quips. "And we have a huge bucket of dog biscuits, and free scratches. What else could someone ever want?"

Bernice Lyons-Page

Administration

Artist and gallery manager Bernice is the calm centre in the eye of the hurricane on a typical busy day at Toronto Image Works.

Bernice's gallery days go back to 1979 when she opened SPLASH Gallery in Ottawa; it was a unique combination of three businesses in one: a hair studio, retro clothing and a photography gallery. It filled a niche at a time when photographers in the area had very few venues to display their work. Some of the artists who exhibited at SPLASH were Justin Wonnacott, Thaddeus Holownia, Robert Walker and Susan King.

Bernice went on to become administrative manager at SAW Gallery, where she co-ordinated two international video festivals and a satellite simulcast with the Pompidou Centre in Paris. In the '80s, she pursued full time studies at Ontario College of Art and Design, graduating from the Experimental Department with post grad work on performance and video in New York City in 1989. Her favourite piece was a tightrope walk she did at ARC (Artist Resource Centre). "The world of steel cables, winches and scaffolding opened up for me." She has been a Board member of FADO Performance Art Collective since 1993, and is currently president of the Board.

At TIW, Bernice enjoys being surrounded by artists, and she applies her administrative talents to keep the front office running smoothly. She also has her eye on some exciting programming for the TIW Gallery.

Robert Poon

Evening Supervisor, Customer Service

Robert joined T.I.W in December 1999 and has become an invaluable member of our team. He brings many years experience, more than he is willing to admit to, to a demanding job, with knowledge and training in both the photographic equipment field and various photographic processes.

Robert makes his presence known on many fronts, from changing the light bulb up on the ceiling, to changing clients' orders or trying to fix an enlarger that's broken. A master at multi-tasking he will attempt to serve as many clients as possible, limited only by his skill on the computer keyboard. So next time you are in please be patient and if you don't have any problems don't make one just to watch his amazing ability to solve it.

NEW WINTER/SPRING COURSES

IMPORTANT NOTICE

We regret to announce that effective September 6, 2005 Scala processing will no longer be available at Toronto Image Works.

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