When it comes to mental health problems, say depression and anxiety, most of what is offered are responses to the problems such as medications, support, and counselling. We look at getting verbal help when we deal with things like depression or anxiety. But most often, we are left after wondering "now what!?" "If I didn’t find out about you guys I would probably be doing cuts on my arms and I would be probably still in my depression putting myself down," -Keara Tinker, youth photographer. There are so many reasons why photography can be therapeutic. Photography can be used as a way of expressing yourself with the use of a camera. Without even saying a word, people can take pictures to express their emotions and feelings. Youth are encouraged to go outside, connect with nature and get physical exercise. "I love going outside and exploring, looking for things to take pictures of," Tinker. They come to the club, meet new people, make new friends and bonds with others. "It feels like our own little family" Louis Iron, youth photographer. Photographs often allow positive feedback from others, which can be huge when going through depression or dealing with anxiety. "Kids share their pictures on social media, they get likes and messages from people all over the country," Dre Erwin, President of the Pinehouse Photography Club. "Having the club and all of you support me encourages me to do more and start helping others to do the same." -Charlene Halkett, photographer With so many youth feeling isolated and alone especially in northern and rural communities, "having this positive feedback, something they created, is such a rewarding experience for us all", Erwin. “Keeping your emotions all locked up is something that’s unfair to you. When you clearly know how you feel. You should say it.” — Taylor Swift Those that practice therapeutic photography begin to see life in a different way. "I never seen Pinehouse the way I see it now" says Angelina Ratt, youth photographer. It provides a shift in perspective (you’re literally looking through a new/different lens, often seeing the world differently). "Photography helped me a lot in life. Before, I was going through depressing and negative thoughts all the time" -Louis Iron Using photography helps give people a positive focus. It begins to help, especially youth, in how they perceive the world around them. Youth practice focusing through the lens, say to get a clear or sharp picture, eventually they begin to apply this technique to everyday life. "The more you look for beauty, the more you practice looking for the perfect shot, the more you see in even without the camera in front of your face," Dre Erwin, President of the Pinehouse Photography Club. Focusing through the camera leads to "increased ability to focus in your life and focus on what positive things that you want in your life. "It is the law of attraction" Erwin. "What you think of the most is what you will attract," -Erwin When youth begin practicing this, they begin to always looks for beauty and the perfect shot, "wherever they are and whatever they are doing, they begin to focus on what is good in life, and no so much on what is bad or maybe what happened in the past" Erwin. "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes." – Gandhi Photography acts as non-verbal communication, which can be huge when dealing with issues like depression or anxiety that are hindered by stigma. "So many of our youth have never talked about thoughts of suicide or depression with anyone before. This is so enlightening to see how photography opens the door to talking about your thoughts and feelings" Erwin. Youth begin expressing themselves through their pictures, a perfect opportunity for self expression and reflection. "We ask youth questions like 'what inspired you to take these pictures; how do they make you feel and what were you thinking and feelings when you took them; how do you want others to feel when they see them.'' Erwin. Therapeutic photography also works like a form of meditation for the youth. It provides them like a “flow” state with photography, but often it simply helps youth to focus externally — rather than getting caught up in the thoughts racing through their mind. "Photography was my escape from the pain I was going through. Whenever I was having a bad day, I knew I could always go to my camera" -Chris Triffo, Wavelength Director Photography can be a connection to your subconscious mind, helping youth to discover powerful personal insights about the cause behind their depression. Often the answers we seek externally are found within us. For more information, you can contact the PPC here or visit their Facebook group.

“Most of the these youth have never had this opportunity to go to BC before. Many of them haven't barely even left their home community of Pinehouse, so we were very excited to do this for them” Dre Erwin, President of the Pinehouse Photography Club. "I love the PPC family!!!" -Tyson Ratt Sponsored by Six Rivers Fund, 13 youth were given the opportunity to do photography this summer at Tie Lake, British Columbia, close to the USA border. With the power of taking pictures, youth learned the value of group therapy and using the camera to talk about their personal feelings and emotions. Often the youth would take pictures, then come back and talk about them, what inspired them to take the pictures, reflecting on their thoughts and emotions. The club was also sponsored by the Community Initiatives Fund (CIF) and was awarded $9000 towards the purchase of 30 Nickon CoolPix cameras. "These cameras are so easy to use, the quality is amazing, and the youth just love using it," Mallory Lariviere, program director. Louis Iron, 16 year old who attended the trip says "the pictures are amazing and we can connect using WIFI and Bluetooth to our Ipads and phones." "I was so happy being there" - Dakota Natomagan, youth participant The Pinehouse Photography Club (PPC) uses therapeutic photography with youth to help start the conversation about mental health. Jonathan Durocher, a 13 year old who attended, says he loved the trip. "I really miss it and wish we could do it again right away", says Durocher. Durcocher was one of 13 youth, between the ages of 13-18 from the Pinehouse Photography Club (PPC) had the adventure of a lifetime this past summer as they all got chosen out of a hat to go for a week. "I dont think about being sad or depressed when we are taking pictures. BC was so amazing and I made so many new friends," Durocher. "I was able to feel like myself and open up about my feelings" -Louis Iron Therapeutic photography provides youth with an outlet to express their feelings and emotions. "Having all these youth together with us, we were able to spend some quality time with them for an entire week," Erwin. "We could be out taking pictures together, relaxing at the cabin, or in the vehicle, but we all had the opportunities to share a lot of personal things. We all shared a lot of laughs and even tears," Erwin. "I really feel like I am important now. Photography really did save my life" -Keara Tinker, youth participant. Youth were all given an all expenses paid trip to BC and back. A lot of fundraising was needed. Jon Ray Durocher, volunteer and Vice President of the PPC, "We all worked tirelessly for months before the trip, making and selling pizzas, selling ice cream, so we could provide the kids with some spending money too". Youth ended the trip in west Edmonton mall and were all given $100 each for spending money there. Shortly before arriving back in Pinehouse, youth were able to witness and take pictures of the northern lights. "It was such an amazing way to end the trip," Zackary Warren, youth participant. Louis Iron was just talking about the recent suicide of his step father. "And then I get a chance to see these lights and take pictures of them. It was like a sign from him that everything will be ok", Iron. For final evaluation, youth were asked to write short evaluations about their experiences and how it helped with their mental health. This also included depression scoring and follow up. For more information and to see their personal stories, you can join their club on Facebook.

"Adam" phenomenon was recently witnessed in the early hours of Aug 26th, 2018 near Pinehouse Lake, Saskatchewan. Clouds occupied most of the sky until about 1am when a group of aurora hunters backed up their gear and drove all across town and out into the country to get their shots. Aurora hunter Jon Ray describes what he saw: "Well we were out late last night and all through the morning when we witnessed this wriggly part of Steve. That's when we decided it needed a name too. So what better name then Adam and Steve lol". Jon says Steve is often a line and rarely has these wriggly waves in them. Steve likely forms when electrically-charged particles from the sun collide with magnetic energy found in Earth’s atmosphere. It streaks across the sky at a speed of approximately 21,600 km/h Jon Ray says, "it's just an amazing experience being out there you know. We never know when it's going to get good or even if it will. So there is a lot of standing and waiting going on...Lots of excitement too :)" The group hopes to go out again this week and witness "Adam" and Steve once again.

So what goes through your mind when your out and about taking pictures? Do you have a plan, do you go out to capture a certain picture or moment, or do you go out and just take a bunch of pictures, hoping for the best? If your like most people, you just hope to get a bunch of good pictures to post or enlarge but planning ahead can help you out in the long run. 1. Straight and Level One of my biggest pet peeves in photography is when a picture isn't straight. Sometimes its difficult to do perfectly and often can be corrected in post production. This also applies to camera shake and how you hold the camera. Focus on deep breathing while taking pictures - much like being a marksman sniper. It is also important to try to follow the rule of 3rds - your horizon should be 1/3 from the top or bottom. 2. Is your picture telling a story? One of the biggest challenges in photography, but regardless, you should be taking pictures that tell a nonverbal story. Are there emotions that you want to convoy to the viewer - maybe the love shared between two people. Ask yourself "why am I taking this picture? What is it's purpose and what message do I want to convey?" 2. Focus What are you focusing on. What do you want viewers to see. What do you want your viewers eyes to be drawn to and look for competing focus points and ask yourself if they are distracting or not. Should you reposition yourself? Think of the rule of thirds for example. 3. Are you close enough? Another common mistake in digital photography is taking shots where your subject is too small in the frame. Shots that fill the frame with your subject tend to be much more dynamic and show a lot more detail of your subject. To get this effect you have the option of moving yourself closer, moving your subject closer or using a longer focal length to give the effect of closeness. 4. Is there enough light? Always give consideration to how your subject is lit. Without light you’ll lose detail and clarity in your image and your camera will have to compensate by doing things like increasing ISO and lengthening shutter speeds (which could lead to noisy and blurred images). What is the main source of light, where is it coming from, is there enough light, do you need artificial light sources (flash etc), do you need to stabilize your camera on a tripod to stop camera shake due to low light etc. Read more on using artificial light here and here as well as photographing moving subjects in low light conditions.Crooked-2 5. How will someones eye travel through this image? This is related to asking about focal points but gets in touch with the fact that while you’re photographing a still image your viewers eyes don’t remain still as they look at an image. People tend to follow lines and are attracted to shapes and colors so considering all of these different visual elements and cues can help improve your shots considerably. Read more on horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines and how they impact a shot.