Category Finalist 2007: wings

Ray Demski

I was born in 1985 in the Rocky Mountains of western Canada, where I was homeschooled, skiing and playing ice hockey every day in the winter. I'm just coming off a six-year world sailing voyage for which I was navigator. We visited over forty countries, during which I pursued diving, martial arts, boxing, kitesurfing, and piano. Also during the sail, I became passionate about photography. Exploding onto the hip-hop scene in early 2005, I photographed several world championship breakdance events, which led to assignments for MTV France. My photographs have been published in magazines such as MAX, Radikal, Groove, and Shoes-Up and used as DVD covers, book illustrations, and promotions for musicians and dance companies. 

I previously specialized in low-light action photography, but now am more interested in staged production. Beauty and power of the human form, dancers and athletes; that's where you'll find me, using the great outdoors as background and mixing ambient and artificial light for dramatic results. I am now based in southern France, where I'm attending EPSE Danse university training in classical, contemporary, and modern jazz dance. As a semi-professional photographer, I'm looking for an apprenticeship with a creative, successful photographer in advertising/fashion/sports in order to advance on the professional level.

Nationality: Canada