Today is rife with mixed emotions at aasman. While we're saddened to be losing our friend Naomi to the big city, we also celebrate the success of our programming and web guru Nicolas whose fantastic lynx picture is the National Geographic Photo of the day!

If you've given us a call lately you've no doubt met Naomi, our Media Buyer extrodinaire. Joining our team six months ago, Naomi worked on a variety of projects handling media planning and organization with poise and professionalism, her time here was too short and she will be missed. We can only hope her budding photography skills will continue to be a creative outlet for her as she moves on to her next adventure.

When you check out the Arts Center website, the Yukon News online or Yukon Energy's website you've seeing the fruit of Nico's efforts. That northern lights shot floating around facebook last week from Jackson lake was pure Nicolas.

Thanks Naomi and congrats Nicolas, waffles for everyone!

One of the things that Lytro living photos featured in Monday's blog does not accomplish is patience. If you haven't seen it yet, wildlife photographer Nicolas Dory, known to us as aasman's web developer is the subject of this month's feature article in Yukon, North of Ordinary. Nicolas shares the stories behind some of his summer shots, and the delicate relationships formed with his subjects as they get close. 

When I am not in front of a computer, I like to be outdoors watching wildlife through the lens of a camera. November is one of the best times of the year to watch two of my favourite animals in the north: bald eagles and Dall sheep.

 >  Dall sheep in Kluane National Park

 >  Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Nicolas Dory is an aasman web developer by day, and a nature photographer by…well, by any other time he can grab. He currently has an exhibit at Baked Café, running April 9–May 6. I sat down with Nicolas to talk photography, passions and mating calls.

When–and how–did your love of photography begin?  I started with architectural photography, actually, but then began bird watching. It sparked a passion in me.

What is it about nature photography that attracts you?  I love taking the time, whether it’s watching animals or landscapes…I love the process of waiting for those perfect moments to appear in the lens. I love watching animals in their natural surroundings just “doing” life.

What has been your most memorable photography experience?  I am from France and, in Europe, the Shetland Islands is one of the most important seabird colonies. I spent an entire month in this archipelago, between Scotland and Norway, just living in and photographing the nature that surrounded me. It was definitely a memorable experience.

Can you share one of your all-time favourite photos with us?  I took a photo series of deer roaring that I love. Deer in Europe are smaller in size than their Yukon elk counterparts, but come mating season their “roar” blows away the competition. It’s really something to hear.

Website: www.nicolasdory.com

Aasman's Art Director, Valérie Théorêt, currently has work featured in Through a Feminine Lens, a photography exhibit at L'Association franco-yukonnaise.

The loose theme, of women photographers featuring women, presents a range of related topics and styles.

Théorêt's piece "Nord et Blanc," challenges the stereotype of the rugged northern woman in nine images that collage photographic portraits, illustration and hand-rendered text. Her process involved a personal and affectionate exploration into the lives of nine Francophone women living in Whitehorse.

Upon arriving in the Territory in 2006, Théorêt's own perceptions of the courageous northerner were confronted by a community of creative and sensitive women. Three years later, an invitation to participate in Through a Feminine Lens provided an opportunity to examine her discovery more closely. Each of Théorêt's subjects were interviewed about their relationship with the North, with Yukon being the personified character. The result is an intimate and colourful arrangement of portraits. Théorêt frames the gentle Yukon woman in her work and unveils the layers of their fluctuating love stories with the North.   

The other participating photographers are all based in Quebec. The work of Pilar Marcias photocollages the life story of her models exploring aging, Nadine Boulianne fragments the natural feminine form, and Marie-Espérance Cerda investigates the lives of real women in Mali.

This is the exhibit's second installment. It first showed in Rivière-du-Loup on International Women's Day in March.

Through a Feminine Lens runs at  L'Association franco-yukonnaise (302, Strickland) until November 13th, 2009.

Check out Yukon News' article @ yukon-news.com/arts/14480/