ABOUT

 

Gary Crallé

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Since childhood I've felt compelled to observe and record the world around me. My grandfather passed along a talent for sketching, but I opted for a camera over conté crayons.

 

My photographic career was nurtured on small newspapers, grew into portrait, commercial, public relations and corporate work, then finally into stock photography based mainly on travel.

 

Shortly after opening my own business I received a 3-month global photo and film assignment for a non-profit aid organization. That trip revealed the best and worst of everything but also our common humanity. And sense of natural wonder.

 

I remember a young girl at an Indonesian orphanage gently pulling the hairs on my leg to satisfy her curiosity. In a small notebook I wrote 22 life lessons gained from that trip and returned home bitten by the travel bug.

 

Travelling well requires 3 attributes: curiosity, appreciation and a sense of humour. The first motivates, the second gives pleasure and the third gets you through (almost) anything. Travel has seen me variously receive Maya, Inca and Celtic blessings; survive earthquakes, hurricanes, riots and explosions; be taken into police custody; voted Miss Congeniality ((I'm heterosexual); elude thieves; drop my pants on stage in China; dance in the Andes; back up a Beefeater at the Tower of London, and suffer the indignity of mistakenly being named in a press release as an air-cured Crallé ham from the Alto Adige region of Italy (!).  

 

As an Olympus Visionary I’ve tested equipment, produced social media content, given live presentations and contributed to the design of the company’s flagship cameras. Oly cameras were my entry into the digital world and continue to serve me well, although I am no longer affiliated with either the company or its successor, OM Digital Solutions.

 

My photo mojo is simply to appreciate excellence in human achievements and beauty in the natural world — from simple elements to universal principles, from self-discovery to appreciation of ourselves and the world around us.

 

The challenge, of course, is to show the essence of a subject. It’s not what you see, it’s what you feel.

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Photo Travel Awards

* 2021 SATW Gold - Single Subject category - Bill Muster
* 2020 TMAC - Best People Photo
* 2020 runner up Best 'Overheard in El Paso' tweets
* 2019 SATW Canadian Chapter - Gold - Best People Photo
* 2019 SATW El Paso Photo Quest - Gold + Bronze + Silver
* 2017 SATW Silver - Single Subject category - Bill Muster
* 2017 Third - Places photo - SATW Canadian chapter
* 2017 TMAC - Second Place Photo series
* 2016 TMAC - Second Place People Photo
* 2016 SATW Special Award - People Portrait - Bill Muster  
* 2014 Finalist - Photography, Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence
* 2014 TMAC Hon. Mention Best People Photo
* 2014 SATW Bronze award – Animals – Bill Muster Photo Showcase
* 2014 SATW  Bronze award – Scenics – Bill Muster
* 2013 TMAC  Two Honorable Mentions – Travel Photography – Places
* 2013 SATW Honorable Mention – Scenics – Bill Muster
*2 012 SATW Honorable Mention – People – Bill Muster
* 2011 SATW Bronze award – Cultural – Bill Muster 
* 2009TMAC  Best Travel Photography – Portrait
* 2009 SATW  Honorable Mention – Action – Bill Muster
* 2008 SATW Honorable Mention – Animals – Bill Muster
* 2007 TMAC Best Travel Photography – Portrait – Starwood Hotels
* 2007 SATW Silver and Honorable Mention – Scenic – Bill Muster
* 2006 SATW Photographer of the Year – Bronze award, Bill Muster
* 2005 Ontario Tourism Summit Travel Photography award
* 2004 CTC Northern Lights – 2nd place, Excellence in Travel Photography, NA
* 2004 NATJA, First Place, Overall Photographic Excellence
* 2002 TMAC – Best Travel Photography, Faces category
* 2001 Travel Media Showcase, Best Photography Illustrating a Travel Story

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