#keithbiggins

Audrey PrettyWoman Chanel. Fort McMurray, AB 

Explaining to the guys at work that I was taking a week off to travel to Fort Mac simply to "hang out and take pictures of strangers" left them astonished and bamboozled. Once referred to as a town best experienced "as a disappearing sight in your rear-view mirror never to return again" it's understandable that a person might avoid such a frigid and frenzied boomtown as a destination of leisure. 

Fort McMurray was stressful and annoying, I won't lie, but yet it was somewhat exciting to finally make a pilgrimage to this famous and controversial "shit hole" and to experience it myself. I spent the week sleeping in my truck while parked behind a shipping container in the parking lot of the MacDonald Island Hockey Arena. During the day I explored the town in search of characters and personalities: Mingling with rednecks at the Newfie sports bar, tromping through the snowbanks of the Tower Road mobile home park, chatting with Filipino cleaning ladies while on their lunch break at the Lebanese pizza parlour.    

Alice & Angela. West End Chinese Restaurant. Prince Rupert, BC

It's not very often that I photograph high profile celebrities, so when I was asked to shoot Alice and Angela for "Extremely Friendly & Charming Asian-Canadian Waitress Magazine" I absolutely couldn't refuse. Housed in a 1950's - style diner and renowned for it's pancakes and Wonton soup, the West End Restaurant is now the first Michelin - starred restaurant in Northwestern British Columbia to feature a menu entirely under $20. Recently hailed as "The Momofuku of Prince Rupert", this formerly low key eatery has attracted exclusive international guests including Zack Morris, Oprah, The Queen of Puerto Rico, Pharell Williams, Fat Mike from NOFX, Willy Nelson and Penelope Cruz's uncle. 

The morning of the shoot was windy and cold and a thick fog creeped in off the coast settling over the downtown. Despite the weather and the early hour, a mob of crazed fans and paparazzi had gathered outside the restaurant in eager anticipation of the celebrity duo. I forced my way through the crowd and began setting up inside with the help of my nine assistants while enjoying my usual organic, non-fat, triple hot, handcrafted, goat's milk Cappuccino with gold flakes sprinkled on top. Shortly after, Alice and Angela arrived as the squawking of seagulls was drowned out by the screams of adoring fans outside. In a clever yet unsuccessful move by their PR team, instead of arriving by limousine, Angela discreetly showed up on foot while Alice was dropped off by her husband in a late 90's Jeep Grande Cherokee.