George Qua-Enoo
August 13th, 2010 by adminFrom time to time Discover Milton finds some great talent in this community, we then ask if we can showcase that individual’s talent to our members and visitors.
We were happy to discover George Qua-Enoo, this months featured Milton talent. His friends call him GQ, and since you will be connecting with him below by getting a glimpse of his work and things he has to say about Milton, you can also call him GQ , we don’t think he will mind, he’s cool like that !
The latest development for this talented, up and coming Photographer is that he’s been recognized as one of the top emerging Photographers in Canada by Photo Life Magazine, which is a major Canadian photography publication. They also used one of his images(afro with a comb) of on their online current page here: http://photolife.com/currentIssue.php
GQ was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa. His family immigrated to South Africa in his mid teens, not long before South Africa gained independence from apartheid in 1994.
His story of how he got into photography differs from most; neither one of his parents nor his grandparents handed him a camera when he was little. GQ didn’t grow up looking through fashion magazines or photography books compiled by some famous photographer. He never studied photography formally either; everything he knew was self-taught.
Q & A with GQ:
Discover Milton: What made you want to move and live here in Milton & how long have you been a resident in Milton?
George Qua-Enoo: My wife and I bought our home here in Milton two years ago, after living on a farm in Halton Hills for two years prior. We like the small town feel of Milton. Everything seems to be within five minutes drive.
DM: What is one thing that you would love to see in Milton that is not here?
GQ: I would love to see more variety in cuisine and arts and entertainment venues.
DM: How would you describe your photography style?
GQ: Authentic
DM: What advise can you give to other photographers trying to break into the Industry?
GQ: Differentiate yourself from the pack and master your craft. What would make someone come to you for their pictures and not elsewhere? Take as many photographs as you can. Practice the ABS Theory (Always Be Shooting). Challenge yourself and try new things. Learn from other photographers and develop your own aesthetic. Photography is a continual learning art. Just when you think you know it all you then you realize you are not even half there. Create your own style and you won’t blend in like everyone else.
DM: One thing that the general public does not know about you?
GQ: My interest in photography initially started through modeling. I quickly realized I prefer to be on the other side of the lens!
DM: What do you rate the Town of Milton so far from your experience from a scale 1 to 10? And why?
GQ: 9 out of 10.
It has so much to offer, it’s growing and that’s exciting and hopefully the infrastructure like roads, hospitals and schools can keep up.
Thanks GQ for answering our questions, your work is very unique, we wish you nothing but success for the future! Always Dream and Believe! Don’t forget us when you make it as one the top photographers in the world :)
see George’s site for more work:
George Qua-Enoo is a commercial, portrait and editorial photographer based in Toronto, but available Worldwide.
For inquiries regarding availability, email George at georgeq@gqart.com
T: 647.237.4141
E: georgeq@gqart.com
Twitter: @GQart
Recent news, images, and articles can be found on George Q’s blog.
Do you have Talent? can be anything at all!! We want to talk to you! Don’t be shy or do you know someone that has talent please let us know by dropping us a line at info@discovermilton.com with some deets. We will contact them and showcase them to our Milton community. it’s our way of showing Milton Rocks! If you are resident living here and have some things to say about our community we are always looking to profile people like you, drop us a line as well !
Naveen Sidhu
May 1st, 2010 by adminMilton Talent
By Laura Steiner & Staff @ DiscoverMilton.com
Milton’s Own Whiz Kid recently gained a lot of buzz for his game and we can see why: you can easily get addicted trying to finish it. However, we believe Naveen is more than a Whiz Kid; he is humble, focused, patient, and he has respect for his parents. Would you believe us if we told you he comes home from school finishes his all homework first? Now this is why we’re excited about his story, he’s a good example to our own kids. Good Job to Naveen’s parents.
We recently interviewed Naveen and his dad for an article, at DiscoverMilton Headquarters. We were glad they were able to fit us in their busy schedule. After all every newspaper picked up the phone to do the same, beginning with the Toronto Star who first ran an article on him a few weeks back. We told Naveen we had the Ipad and that he could play his game on it, but we think he was more excited about the Ipad than being interviewed. All joking aside read more of his story and what he has to say about Milton as well.
A year ago Naveen Sidhu was searching for a quiz game to download to his IPOD. Finding none that challenged him enough, he did the next best thing: he invented his own. Over the next few months he learned everything about designing a game through online tutorials and created the Impossible Test. In August, 2009 it was released on the Application store.
Naveen is 18, and lives in Milton with his family. The family moved to Milton 4.5 years, ago from Mississauga and like the town, because of its diversity, and small town feeling. “It’s quiet and peaceful, and it’s close to Mississauga where my parents live,” (Naveen’s Dad).
Overall Naveen would give the town an 8, out of 10. One thing Naveen would like to see is more electronics stores. “I know there’s a best buy about to open, but I like going to future shop, or an apple store,” Naveen mused. The reason he’d give the grade was because of the roads. “They’re always making roads they say they’ll be made.” Naveen shared. After he’s finished high school, he hopes to go onto university at the University of Waterloo for Computer Engineering, and after that his goal is to work at Apple in San Francisco.
The kind of games he’d like to design is the quick pick-up and play games. “You don’t have to play the game for a few hours. You can pick it up, play a few levels and just put it down,” Naveen described; something perfect to keep the kids busy in the car on long rides. The game he created: The Impossible Test is made up of 65 questions. Some questions deal with shapes, others deal with having to touch the screen or shake the phone. His game has been downloaded over two million times.
Besides high school, Naveen also keeps busy running his own company: Pixelcube Studios. His advice to others who want to follow in his footsteps is to have patience. “Sometimes if something won’t work, it could take forever to figure out why doesn’t this work. You have to go back and keep checking it; all the programming code, and on your device.”
We wanted to thank Naveen and his dad for sharing his story with us and taking the time to visit DiscoverMilton Head Quarters. We wish him all the best for his future. This bright kid has just started to make things happen, he’s on to his 3rd app game and we can’t wait to download it. If I were in the business of making games, I would definitely call Naveen. Don’t take my word for it just look at the numbers. The last thing we want to say to all the kids out there is – ‘Dream & Believe,’ Naveen did.
For more information on his game or to download visit Naveen’s Company website at:
Please leave a comment below if you have any comments or feedback for Naveen
Milton Artisans
April 23rd, 2010 by adminSupport Local Milton Artisans – Open House Sunday April 25th
Aron Goss
April 5th, 2010 by adminAron is a long time resident of Milton, moving to the area almost twenty years ago from Toronto. Growing up in the area has given Aron a genuine connection to the town and its residence and has been honored to give back to the community with his talent. After shooting with a prior studio for many years, Aron took the leap to start his own company last year with resounding success. Calculated Style Photography was voted 2009 Photographer of the year by the Milton Champion and was also awarded the Diamond Award for Best Photography Studio of 2009.
Aron’s mantra “I Hate Boring Pictures” resounds over and over again while looking through his portfolio. Yes, these are wedding pictures but not the way I have seen them time and time again. Aron has a unique way of capturing the personality of his clients and portraying the love and connection between his couples. “I want them to be themselves. I want to capture what makes their relationship unique and real.” Aron calls shooting a wedding for a couple as a “gift”. “This is your wedding, this day, these moments will only happen once. And to be given the honour of witnessing these moments and documenting the most important day in their lives is such a gift that I try not to take lightly.”
We asked Aron A few questions about himself and Milton
1) What made you want to move and live here in Milton ?
My family moved to Milton in 1991. Having the chance to grow up in a small community, after living in Toronto for so many years gave me the chance to grow as person. To interact with other friendly strangers on the street, leave your front door unlocked and play in the park without worry is why life in Milton is so sweet. My wife and I now own our own house in town and look forward to our children enjoying the same benefits of such a wonderful community.
2) how long have you been a resident in Milton?
Almost 20 years…yikes.
3) What is one thing that you would love to see in Milton that is not here?
Longer summers? The new infrastructure that was attracted by all of the new Milton residence has been such a welcome addition to our community. I would love to see our neighbors continue to choose local restaurants and vendors, making our town just as viable to work as it is to live.
4) How would you describe your photography style?
Different. Modern. Editorial. Thoughtful.
5) what advise can you give to other photographers trying to break into the Industry?
Practice. That being said, shooting people is so much more than technical prowess or top end gear. Your clients need to feel comfortable, look comfortable and the relationship between a photographer and client is often the difference between a good and great set of images. Your clients need to trust you and if you are spending all of your time playing with your camera or second guessing yourself, it will show in the images. Team up with an established photographer that will show you the ropes. Learn proper lighting and posing techniques and do not accept a penny from a client before you deserve to charge for your work.
6) One thing that the general public does not know about you?
My wife was due with our first child yesterday. If you are reading this, we are probably in the Milton hospital…come and say hi!
7) What do you rate the Town of Milton so far from your experience from a scale 1 to 10? and why?
10 out of 10 – Milton is home. This is where I chose to live and raise a family. If I had rated my town any lower, it would be a sign that we should move elsewhere.
Zameer Rizvi
February 7th, 2010 by adminMilton Talent:
We are glad to have a talented and inspirational Toronto’s top 10 live performers live right here in Milton. Welcome Zameer !
Zameer Rizvi, a brand new resident of Milton. Zameer teamed up with the Paralympic Committee to help promote athletes with disabilities through his music video which was programmed on MuchMusic and MTV worldwide. In this video, Zameer features Bradley Bowden, a two-time Paralympic Gold Medalist at the age of only 24. United by their love for the sport, Zameer and Brad teamed up to create this sensational video in hopes of raising awareness of Sledge Hockey and the Paralympic games. He also performed the Paralympic themed song “Win or Defeat” at the Rogers Centre for 30,000 spectators and worldwide broadcast on TSN.
ZAMEER’S BIO: OFFICIAL
Zameer is an award winning singer/songwriter ranked amongst Toronto’s top 10 live performers. Having performed in Canada, Pakistan, the US, and Norway to promote the release of his album, Zameer’s highly anticipated debut ‘From Under The Bleachers’ is in stores now.
Zameer’s influences range from bands like Wham and N’Sync, Metallica and Alice In Chains, all the way to Eric Clapton and Sting. The result has spun Zameer’s music into a unique pop/rock fiber that attracted five-time Grammy award-winning producer, Steve Thompson, to produce his work (Steve has produced Madonna, John Lennon and several others). Zameer’s unique musical style led him to an invitation to exhibit his craft at a music industry showcase at the Fairmont Royal York during Canadian Music Week 2008, and to perform at Toronto’s Rogers Centre (Skydome).
read more on his website: Zameer Music
or check out Zameer’s myspace page: www.myspace.com/zameermusic
Director: Nelson Navarro Navarro, Island Films S.A.
Producer: Cherie Sinclair, The Field Inc.
Ian Ridpath
February 6th, 2010 by admin
Ian Ridpath is a local Milton landscape impressionist oil painter who grew up in Toronto in a family of artists. He began charcoal and pen & ink sketching in his school years and then followed his father’s coaching in turning to oils. Several years ago an older brother further encouraged him to delve deeper into oils and mentored him by example.
Because of his love for the ‘Group of Seven’ he has followed this style of impressionism and has produced several ‘impressions-of-the-Group’ as well as many of his own subjects. His love of the Canadian landscape has been a major influence in his choice of subject.
Locally, Ian has been invited on more than one occasion to take part in the ‘Through the Eyes of an Artist’ week held each August at the Mountsberg Conservation Area and loves capturing the area in oils. He regularly displays at the Arts Milton (AM) Gallery in the Milton Mall and has a small permanent display at Sweetie’s Café on Martin Street.
He lives in Milton with his wife and is a member of the Fine Arts Society of Milton.
He may be contacted through his website at: http://www.ianridpath.ca
Here is some work of Ian’s - his creativity, attention to detail makes this artist Fabulous in our books
