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Fashion Editorial Photographer Farrah Aviva Showcases Her Capture Photography Festival Exhibit on London Drugs Photolab Prints

Vancouver-based actor and photographer Farrah Aviva is one of the latest talents to step into our photolab and work with our passionate team of Photolab Technicians. Farrah was chosen as a featured photographer as part of the Capture Photography Festival, and was given the opportunity to showcase her photography project The BANGBANG at the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, with prints provided by our London Drugs Photolab.

Playing off the work of Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and David Bailey, Farrah’s work takes a fresh look at fashion editorial-style photography, using it to spark a discussion on contemporary sociopolitical culture. The BANGBANG is meant to re-examine sartorial images, which not only represent beauty, but also represent topics that engage and spark a greater conversation.

We caught up with Farrah in the photolab as she worked with Photolab Manager John Goldsmith to print her collection of 6 fashion editorial images for the Capture exhibit. All of her images were printed using our Epson P9000 large format printer, with high quality Epson inks that have an archival stability of 200 years.

“The printing process was the thing I was most nervous about. As a photographer in the digital world you don’t often get to see your work printed. Everything is on a computer screen,” Farrah explains. “I really didn’t know if the colours were going to translate the same onto paper and carry the same power, but the London Drugs Photolab Manager, John Goldsmith, was a dream to work with. Everything turned out better than I could have hoped.”

After the prints had been given a good once-over by Farrah, they were packaged up and sent off with Farrah for framing. The framed prints were then installed on the walls of the OPUS Hotel, where they would be showcased for the duration of her Capture exhibit.

This was Farrah’s first photography exhibit and she was thrilled to have her prints on public display, after spending over a year working tirelessly on The BANGBANG.

“I had imagined it for months so when they were finally hung I was relieved and excited, but it really didn’t hit me until the next day. I went back to the Opus to drop something off and suddenly I was standing in a room full of my images. It didn’t seem real. I had to do the iconic eye rub to see if I was dreaming. A flood of pride surged in and the fantastic feeling of hard work paying off really set in.”

Farrah has been back to our photolab a number of times since we printed her exhibit, to order more prints to sell during her official exhibit launch and through her website. We’re over-the-moon, knowing that Farrah’s prints will be showcased in homes and offices all over North America!

You can order prints of your own photos, in gallery quality just like Farrah’s, by visiting our London Drugs Photolab.

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Life is filled with all kinds of defining moments and milestones. From birthdays to anniversaries, and even funerals, these moments in time are an opportunity for us to appreciate and celebrate the life we have lived.

For over a hundred years, photos have been an essential way of preserving life’s moments, allowing us to look back and celebrate each and every one of them. What has changed in those one hundred years, however, is the expanded variety of ways to showcase those precious photos.

Milestone Birthdays

Every birthday is special, but milestone birthdays, like the 30^th, 40^th, 50^th (or even 90^th!) birthdays, are extra special. A great way to commemorate that special year is with a Poster Collage or Photo Book of their best moments – from birth to now.

Dig through old snapshots to find some adorable baby photos, some of the awkward teen years, and some that are more current. In the end, you’ll have compiled a collection of photos that tells the story of their life…so far! We even offer a variety of birthday templates, to help design and customize your Photo Book. Wrap it up as a gift, or put it out on display at their birthday party so guests can flip through it.

If you need some help digitizing a collection of old photos to add to your Poster Collage or Photo Book, our Photo Scanning Box Service will make the process seamless. Just fill the box with up to 800 photographs and documents, bring it back to your local London Drugs Photolab, and our Experts will digitize them for you.

You can even use those digitized photos to create all kinds of other birthday gifts, from personalized t-shirts and puzzles, to photo calendars and jewelry boxes.

Anniversaries

Whether it’s your first wedding anniversary or your 15^th, you’ll want to make that relationship milestone special. Why not celebrate by surprising your significant other with a gift that truly captures your love?

If you’re planning to give your hubby or wifey a traditional anniversary gift, we have a few suggestions that will show them just how much you appreciate the time you’ve spent together.

1^st year: Paper

Don’t just go with regular old paper for your first anniversary, gift them luxe, glossy photo paper! Choose from any of our Photo Books, Enlargements, or Poster Collages and customize with your favourite photos together. Your wedding photos are a good place to start. In fact, we have lots of wedding-themed templates you can use while personalizing your photo gift.

2^nd year: Cotton

Get creative with your second anniversary gift by ordering a Canvas Gallery Wrap. The textured print surface is made of cotton, so you’ll be on the dot with the traditional anniversary gift, plus your other half will be super impressed that you’ve turned a photo of you two into a piece of fine art for your home!

9^th year: Pottery

A Photo Mug is the perfect way to fulfill that traditional ‘pottery’ anniversary gift, while also making them something thoughtful and personal. Just pick a mug colour (their favourite colour, perhaps?), a few photos, and some text (your anniversary date?) to completely customize your gift. It’s sure to impress!

10^th year: Aluminum

The traditional ‘aluminum’ anniversary gift is meant to reflect your marriage’s resilience. What better way to share that than with a beautiful photo, printed on one of our highly durable Aluminum Metal Panels? Pick one memory you’d like to showcase from your 10 incredible years together, or if you can’t choose just one, create a collage with all your favourite moments.

15^th year: Crystal

Just when they think you’ve run out of great anniversary gift ideas…you gift them a beautiful, personalized Photo Crystal for your 15^th anniversary! A truly unique gift that showcases a favourite moment in time together. Choose from our selection of photo crystals, or our crystal ornaments (we think the heart-shaped ornament or crystal with base would be especially fitting).

Funerals

There’s a reason funerals are often called a ‘Celebration of Life’. It’s a time when family and friends can come together, in memory of someone special, to celebrate a life well lived.

A very touching way to help preserve and celebrate their memory is with photos. Start by combing through old photo albums and digging through shoe boxes full of old photographs. To make things a bit easier, use our Photo Scanning Box Service to have up to 800 photos and documents digitized for you by our Photolab, so you can easily personalize all kinds of beautiful photo keepsakes with the digital files.

To create a truly sentimental and heartfelt memento, personalize a Photo Book with images of their life, and blank sections for family and friends to add personal message and stories by hand. It’s a keepsake the family can take home at the end of the funeral service, and read over the kind words from supportive family and friends.

Another thoughtful gift for the family is a personalized Fleece Blanket. The cozy blanket will feel like a warm hug, as they cuddle up in the memories of their loved one. Choose one photo, or a selection of photos, to feature as a collage on the blanket’s surface.

Need a little help creating your photo gift? Speak with one of our Photolab Experts at your local London Drugs! Or, if you’re ready to go, you can start personalizing your gift on our Photolab website, or at any of our in-store Photolab kiosks.

Q&A with Photolab Technician and Capture Photography Festival-Featured Photographer, Gabriel Martins

Photos by Kai Mallari

Ever wondered who prints your photos for you, after you submit your order to our Photolab? Especially if you’ve made an order like a fine art print, or a photo that’s particularly near and dear to your heart, you might be a bit nervous about who will be overseeing the printing, ensuring the sizing and colours are just right, and that the print comes out flawless.

Luckily, many of our Photolab Technicians are photographers themselves, which means they fully understand what it’s like to be in your shoes. Meet Gabriel Martins: a relatively new addition to the London Drugs Photolab team, and a local photographer in Vancouver. Gabriel has a passion for photofinishing and photography, and uses his experience as a photographer to ensure every print order he works on receives the same attention to detail as he would give his own work.

During the Capture Photography Festival this year, Gabriel was chosen by a panel of judges to be a featured photographer with not one, but two gallery exhibits in Vancouver. As part of this opportunity, Gabriel was provided space for his gallery exhibits, Rues de Montréal Part 1 & Part 2, and had his fine art work printed by the London Drugs Photolab. It was a unique and special experience for Gabriel, to be on the other side of the Photolab counter, as a photographer ordering prints for his gallery exhibits. To share a bit more about his experience, we sat down with Gabriel for a short Q&A:

Q: Tell us a little bit about your exhibit, Rues de Montréal.

A: Rues de Montréal portrays the streets of Montréal through 13 photographs taken during the summer of 2017, when the city celebrated its 375th anniversary. The images show the vibrancy of Montréal and question our use of public spaces and how people interact with them.

Q: What kind of print surface did you choose for your exhibit, and why?

A: All photos were printed and mounted on Metallic Canvas Gallery Wrap. I chose this media and finishing because it makes the colours pop out and creates more of a 3D effect.

Q: What was your first thought when you saw the final prints up on the gallery walls? How did the print surface look and feel?

A: I got tears in my eyes. It was the outcome of 7 months of hard work to make it happen. The texture of the canvas definitely made me feel almost like the photos were paintings.

Q: You had a particularly interesting print that’s caught the eye of gallery visitors. Tell us about it.

A: That’s the “Black Moon”. Before I went to Montréal, I knew about the revolutionary work of INSA, who’s a renowned British muralist, and his project called “GIF-TI”, which consists of photographing each layer the artist paints by hand. These images are then uploaded and overlaid to create the final piece, a looping GIF file. The viewers can download his app and point their smartphone camera towards his mural, which scans and recognizes the mural and plays the animation, bringing the piece to life. I wasn’t expecting that his app would work with my print and I got really stoked about it. The augmented reality effect is definitely an extra attraction in this exhibit.

Q: What was it like to be on the other side of the Photolab counter, as a London Drugs Photolab customer?

A: It was a great experience from the beginning to the end. All the Canvas Gallery Wraps were packed separately, which made the logistics easier and safer. Besides that, the colours, contrast, and sharpness turned out exactly how I was expecting.

Q: Do you find it important to build a trusting relationship with your Photolab Technician?

A: As a professional photographer, I believe that this relationship is extremely important because we put so much love and effort into the execution and post-production of all photos, so the printing and finishing processes have to be high caliber. The delivery is as important as the medium.

Q: Has this experience helped you with your own interactions and work as a London Drugs Photolab Technician?

A: Absolutely. When I’m printing, mounting, framing or doing anything else in the lab, I always treat the customers’ photos as if they were mine.

Gabriel (left) pictured here with his Photolab Manager, Bill Storey (right), who came out to support the opening of Gabriel’s exhibit

You can see Part 2 of Gabriel’s exhibit, Rue de Montréal, at Dunn’s Famous BC Restaurant in Vancouver from April 16^th to June 16^th. For more details on the exhibit, visit Capture Photography Festival.

A Gift from the Heart for Mom’s Special Day

Have you looked high and low for a heartfelt gift to give Mom on a special day? We’ve got you covered!

It may be past Valentine’s Day, but thoughtful, personalized gifts never go out of style. Here’s a creative way to use our LD Photolab services and add a whole lot of love and your personality to a mug, coaster, t-shirt, blanket and more.

Use any custom drawing, graphic or photo that captures your sentiment, and easily upload it online in minutes. Think of the smile on Mom’s face when she sees a sweet drawing from her son or daughter! Our order (for the mug and coaster shown in the video above) arrived in a single day—but you might want to give it a few days, just to be sure.

This LD Solutions gift from the heart will have your giftee smiling ear-to-ear, cherishing something she’ll always remember.

Create your own original drawing, graphic or photo.
Add a lot of love.
Snap a photo of on your phone.
Upload the photo to LD Photolab online in minutes and create your gift.
Pick up your gift in-store.
Surprise Mom on a special day!

If you’re ever stuck on finding the perfect gift, London Drugs has you covered in store and online.

Check out more LD Solutions ‘lifehack’ videos below:

How to Charge Up Your Morning Smoothie

How to Polish a Stained Kettle

How to Clean a Messy Microwave

How to Quickly Smooth a Wrinkled Shirt

Surprising Way to Remove a Stuck-On Ring

Special Ways to Spend Time with Mom This Mother’s Day

Moms of all sorts deserve a treat (not just this month, but always!). And what better gift is there than a little quality time with her kids? Whether yours likes to rest up or rev it up, go high brow or get down and dirty, we found some of the most interesting experiences for sharing special time with your favourite lady.

Natural Woman

Reconnect with Mom and nature at the same time on an leisurely walk. The Meadowlark Festival offers more than 30 educational nature tours over five days across southern British Columbia. Introduce yourself to some of the Summerland locals with the Introductory Birding Workshop, or brush up on your photo skills with the Nature Photography Workshop in Penticton.

For young families or moms with grandchildren, a family nature walk offers a curiosity-based pace and a guide with lots of patience for lots of questions. The Canadian Wildlife Federation offers WILD Family Nature Club programs and events in and around Vancouver and Calgary. Adults and kids can connect with other families who love the awe and wonder of the natural world. How does an afternoon of hiking, picnic-ing, bird and bug watching sound?

To truly test mom and offspring cooperation, travel by kayak. The Wings Over the Rockies Festival offers a guided river tour of the Upper Columbia Wetlands to Lake Windermere near Fairmont, BC. You’ll discover intricate facts about this great North American river and its ecologically important wetlands, along with its abundant birds, fish, reptiles and mammals.

Zippety-do-dah!

Does your mom get a little squirrelly over the winter? Try zipping her through the forest from the perspective of a flying squirrel. There are plenty of safe and fun zipline tours to choose from. Many allow children as young as 6.

Some zipline tours emphasize wildlife and nature like this Zipline Eco-Tour at the Canadian Rockies Adventure Centre in Canmore, AB, while others offer more gladiator-style obstacles like this one in Chase, BC (near Kamloops) with its optional adrenaline-raising drop swing.

If your mom likes the view from above but not the need for speed, this non-zip Treetrek tour in Whistler offers spectacular views of the river valley from nine suspension bridges.

Getaway Girl

Those who can split costs with siblings may like to surprise Mom with a holiday weekend. For some maternal harmony, sign her up for the Banff Yoga Festival from June 1-3. Whether mom likes her yoga on a mat, hanging from a rope or floating in a canoe, she will find classes to suit any preference or ability.

If y’all are more of a down-home bunch, the Sooke River Bluegrass Festival (Jume 15-17) may be just your jamboree. Located on the southern-most tip of Vancouver Island, the festival is family-friendly and features an array of local and visiting acoustic talent, food and merchandise vendors, instrument workshops and beautiful scenery.

All Dressed Up

Some Moms jump at the chance to get gussied up. Here are a few cultural events worthy of couture.

The always inventive Alberta Ballet is presenting their newest ballet entitled All of Us, May 2-6 in Calgary and May 10-12 in Edmonton. Inspired by the Tragically Hip’s most loved songs, this post-apocalyptic rock ballet is the newest creation by Jean Grand-Maître. The gritty yet hopeful story combines the artistry some of the country’s most talented dancers with the beloved music from Canada’s favourite band. A fantastic night out for any mom who’s a fan of the arts.

On another note, Vancouver Opera is staging a spectacular new musical treatment of Gogol’s beloved story, The Overcoat – a musical tailoring, from April 28-May 12. It’s a reimagining of Morris Panych and Wendy Gorling’s landmark movement theatre piece of the same name – a bold operatic voice to the beloved rags-to-riches tale of a lowly office worker and his beloved overcoat. Entrancing with spectacular choreography and darkly-funny storytelling, this genre-bending Overcoat is one of the must-sees of the opera season.

Whether your mom is a tracksuit or a tiara type, she’ll appreciate the gift of time with her kids–especially when the activity perfectly suits her personality.

May Book of the Month

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet – sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. As familiar streets are turned into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, the couple begins to hear whispers about doors – doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through…
An epic compressed into a slender page-turner, Exit West is both of our time and for all time.

Reviews
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is a timely story about immigration and refugees with a twist. In light of current events I would say it’s a must read to open your eyes to the plight of refugees in the world today. It’s a quick moving story that is beautifully written. I found myself going back time and time again to re-read lines that were so well-written that they needed a second read. I highly recommend this book. – Review by Carolynn

Exit West is interesting and riveting. It gives you an inside look at the effects of civil war, as seen through the eyes of two lovers living in this time and trying to make a life during a time of unrest and tragedy around them. There are lots of issues going on in the world today that help us relate to the issues they must cope with and the decisions they must make. It gives you a ‘bigger picture’ feeling with regards to how people deal with certain stresses and keeping a relationship going despite things going on around them. – Review by Angela

Book of the Month
Every month we will be featuring a new book to be showcased in our Book of the Month. Staff members and friends will be reading the book and posting their reviews. We’d love to hear what you thought of these books as well. Post your comments and let us know. Exit West is available at London Drugs along with many other great titles and is on sale for the month of May.

Mother’s Day Giveaway: Enter for a Chance to Win a Collage Poster Keepsake for Your Mom!

With what seems like a lifetime of digital photos to choose from, picking one great photo of mom in her element can be tough. So this Mother’s Day, why not create a beautiful Collage Poster keepsake for mom with a whole bunch of her best moments?

To help surprise one lucky mom this Mother’s Day, we’re giving away a 24×36 Collage Poster (valued at $29.99) and a $100 London Drugs gift card so you can create your own special photo gift for mom, with all your favourite snapshots!

To enter for a chance to win this Mother’s Day Collage Poster Package:

Follow @LDPhotolab on Instagram or Twitter
Comment on our Instagram giveaway post or send us a tweet, telling us why you would love to gift your mom a Collage Poster for Mother’s Day.

Rules and Regulations:

To enter this @LDPhotolab Instagram & Twitter contest:
Step 1. Follow @LDPhotolab on Instagram or Twitter
Step 2. Comment on the @LDPhotolab Instagram giveaway post OR send @LDPhotolab a tweet, telling us why you would love to gift your mom a photo collage for Mother’s Day.
Contest is open to all residents of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who, as of the date the prize draw is made: (i) have not won a London Drugs contest since May 1, 2017; (ii) have reached the age of majority in the province in which they reside as of May 1, 2018; (iii) are not employees of London Drugs, their respective advertising and promotional agencies, the independent judging organization (if any), or any family member living with any such employee.
No purchase necessary. Limit one (1) entry per person per social network per contest. Entries must be received no later than 11:59 PM Pacific Time on May 8, 2018. London Drugs is not responsible for entries that become lost or misdirected. All entries become the property of London Drugs Limited and will not be returned.
The winners will be randomly chosen on the day the contest ends (see dates below) in Vancouver, British Columbia, from all eligible entries received per contest. To win, selected entrants must correctly answer a skill-testing mathematical question and must sign London Drug’s declaration and release confirming compliance with the contest rules and acceptance of the prize(s) as awarded, releasing London Drugs from liability in association with the contest and prize and consenting to the use of their name, photograph, voice and statements for promotional and publicity purposes.
There will be one (1) prize awarded to one winner: 1 prize pack consisting of: one 24×36 Collage Poster (valued at $29.99) and one $100 London Drugs gift card. See details and contest dates below. Prize must be accepted as awarded, are non-transferable and no substitutions are permitted. Prize will be awarded at the closest London Drugs location to contest winner.
Contest dates – Tuesday, May 1, 2018 12:01AM to Tuesday, May 8, 2018 11:59PM Pacific Time
Draw date – 12:00PM Pacific Time Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Only one prize may be won by any one person and household. In the event that any selected entrant incorrectly answers the skill-testing question or is otherwise unwilling or unable to comply in full with these rules, a new entry will be drawn.
Selected winner will be contacted by email or on the social network they were drawn from. No correspondence will be entered into except with selected entrants. If the winner does not respond then she/he will be notified for the second time, 3 (three) days after the first notification. If the winner still does not respond within 3 days of the second notification, a new winner will be chosen in the same manner until a winner is successfully contacted.
The chances of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible entries received. Decisions of the judges in respect of all aspects of this contest including, but not limited to, eligibility of entries and correctness of answers given to the skill-testing question, are final.
London Drugs and their respective advertising and promotional agencies, the independent judging organization, and their respective agents are not liable to an entrant in any manner relating to the contest or the awarding and use of the prize(s).
This contest is subject to all federal, provincial, and municipal laws and regulations. By entering the entrant consents to the collection of all personal information included on their entry and agrees to the use and disclosure of such information by and between London Drugs, an independent judging organization and their agents. The winner(s) also agrees to the collection, use and disclosure of their name, entry, photographs, voice and statements for London Drugs’ publicity purposes without further compensation. All personal information collected from entrants will be used only for the purposes of administering the contest and for marketing and promotional purposes as contemplated by these rules; under no circumstances will any personal information be sold or rented to third parties. All personal information collected by London Drugs will be kept in accordance with the privacy policy of London Drugs, which can be viewed at www.londondrugs.com, and in accordance with all applicable privacy laws.
The right is reserved by London Drugs to terminate this contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the contest, and/or these rules in any way, should any cause beyond the reasonable control of London Drugs or its agents affect the proper administration thereof.

Fashion Editorial Photographer Farrah Aviva Showcases Her Capture Photography Festival Exhibit on London Drugs Photolab Prints

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Q&A with Photolab Technician and Capture Photography Festival-Featured Photographer, Gabriel Martins

A Gift from the Heart for Mom’s Special Day

Check out more LD Solutions ‘lifehack’ videos below:

How to Charge Up Your Morning Smoothie

How to Polish a Stained Kettle

How to Clean a Messy Microwave

How to Quickly Smooth a Wrinkled Shirt

Surprising Way to Remove a Stuck-On Ring

Special Ways to Spend Time with Mom This Mother’s Day

Natural Woman

Zippety-do-dah!

Getaway Girl

All Dressed Up

May Book of the Month

Mother’s Day Giveaway: Enter for a Chance to Win a Collage Poster Keepsake for Your Mom!

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Check out more LD Solutions ‘lifehack’ videos below:

Natural Woman

Zippety-do-dah!

Getaway Girl

All Dressed Up

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter

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