I was born, but have never been contained, within the boundaries of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  As a mover and a shaker with an international soul, I have already lived and worked in two continents other than North America, and it is through these eclectic wanderings that I realized my talents: I am a poet with pictures and a photographer with words.  I felt compelled to change direction in my life’s journey and pursue my passions with all my energy.  Perhaps this was one of my decisive moments.

I honed my photographic abilities at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) where I graduated from a two-year college program in 2006 with a Diploma in Photographic Technologies.  I am trained in both studio portraiture and aspects of commercial photography, however I discovered my photographic passion in photojournalism. 

I was thrilled to receive the 2005 Student Portfolio of the Year honour from the Western Canadian News Photographers Association in May 2006.  Immediately upon my graduation from NAIT, I completed a summer internship with the Edmonton Journal, where I was given the opportunity to photograph awide variety of assignments and learn from some of Canada’s top photographers.  I currently reside in the northern Alberta oil boomtown of Grande Prairie where I worked full time as the staff photographer for the local daily newspaper, The Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune, from 2006-2007. I am currently dedicating my energy to my freelance photography business: Visual Cocktail and a new media documentary on the Alberta Advantage through the eyes of the citizens of Grande Prairie, Alberta.

I would describe myself as an anthropologist with a camera, an artist and a free spirit.  I believe I see the world from a different perspective and that my photographs reflect this through their creative composition and artistic flair.  Needless to say, a traditional approach to photography is not what Visual Cocktail is about.

I am interested in the extraordinary found within the ordinary. 

I love the expressions that give us a glimpse into someone’s personality. 

I intend to capture fleeting moments.

I am about lighting that is magical.  

I dream in oversaturated colour or in black and white- nothing in between.

I notice lines and curves and see the minute details that others miss. 

I think in circles, not squares.

~OLIVIA KACHMAN~