October is a busy month for our community, and we kicked it off with an exciting workshop in Canada. After the success of our 2023 workshop in Hoodsport, Washington State, the team knew we wanted to run another. Since our membership is international, we decided we would like each one to support and host a different region. We had several areas in mind.

Canada Camera Rentals, a new rental kit house based in Canmore, Alberta, and run by cinematographer Will Nicholls of Bow Valley Films, called and offered their warehouse space and gear use as a donation to our nonprofit for any upcoming events or workshops. This generous offer made the decision much easier. We have a large contingency of members in Canada and having a set location to train and teach in was ideal.

Fundraising began in August. Samantha-Lynn Martinez, an active member of our board, set up a pitch deck and began researching different accommodations for the cohort. The response from the industry was overwhelming. Within weeks, we had support from ten companies, and they continued to trickle in.

The Canadian support was inspiring - including financial donations from Plankton Productions, River Road Films, and Mathur & Co. River Road Films additionally donated cinema tripods and a camera trap system to be used during the workshop. Our other financial sponsors were from all over the world including Wildstar Films, Leopard Rock Films, Nuru Film Institute, Jackson Wild (along with swag), RED (and a RED camera loan), and Act 4 Wildlife. Kuhl, a former donor for the 2023 workshop, sent complete sets of outdoor gear for all 12 members of the cohort, organized by their team members Manu Carrasco and Linsey Lane. Sound Off Films, another 2023 donor, immediately stepped when we were in need of additional accommodation to support one of our community’s moms so she was able to attend while still nursing her baby. Chef Kaia Garcia, a talented personal chef from Seattle, volunteered to cook for the workshop in order to allow us to be in the field or training for as many hours as possible.

We capped our workshop cohort at 12 members and began taking applications from our North American Wildlife Camerawomen Community members. There were many exceptional applicants, and over three times the amount we could host applied. Our selection process went through several of our board members, and we narrowed down the cohort to 12 Canadian current or aspiring cinematographers. We chose a variety of field and camera experience in order to have a wide range of shared knowledge throughout the cohort - our idea is that not only are they learning from our instructors, but they are also learning from each other. Every single person that was initially accepted into the workshop attended.

The workshop ran from October 4-7 in Canmore. The logistics are a huge part of these workshops, and Samatha-Lynn went above and beyond to ensure that all the details were in place. The attendees arrived in Calgary and were shuttled to the accommodation, a shared house where everyone could spend time getting to know each other. The first night included introductions, distribution of the Kuhl and Jackson Wild gear, and a pizza dinner. We had an early night for the busy few days ahead.

Though it was dark when the group arrived in Canmore, the first morning greeted us with beautiful Autumn weather, providing a perfect backdrop for a workshop centered around outdoor skills and camera testing. Over the course of several days, from 7 am to 10 pm, the workshop covered a variety of topics: long lens, macro, camera traps, gimbal systems, drones, interview lighting, verité/sync and more. Everybody had hands-on time with the amazing kit at Canada Camera Rentals and got to practice the skills necessary for both camera assisting and operation. For each topic, we went over the different lenses available for different camera brands, support and safety, low light options, filter options, and frame rate and resolution choices. Canada Camera Rentals had rigs including the Ronin 4D, full lighting set ups, Sony FX6, Inspire and Mavic drones. They also provided in-house support by their staff, Calder Pennie, who offered great setup advice for corporate and commercial shoots. The RED V-Raptor [X] that was loaned to the group by RED provided our members time with an industry standard wildlife cinema camera. On the last day, the group took a hike up to a beautiful mountain pond surrounded by Autumn colors, and practiced setting up camera traps along the way.

At the end of each day back at the house, instructors presented on other practical topics. Board member and instructor Sara Matasick went over a thorough lecture in cinematography basics, and I deep dove into feminine hygiene and menstruation in the field. Other sessions included outdoor preparedness, freelance business advice, tips on navigating unsafe situations in the field, establishing rates for work, showreels, and ethics. Every night ended with a movie night featuring the members’ own films. The cohort showed their personal work, whether it was a completed film or work in progress. We watched a variety of work from a beginning showreel, to pitches for films, to completed programs, and were incredibly impressed with their breadth of topics, vision, and skill.

Throughout the week and during the nightly screenings, it was inspiring to see how supportive this group was of each other. Hosting this workshop for members who live in the same country means they can become a micro-camerawomen community of their own and lift each other up, one of the core motivations of the WCDF. The workshop overall was a great success thanks to the support of the community, industry and our volunteer instructors that joined me, Sara Matasick and Samantha-Lynn Martinez, in planning and coordinating the workshop. We are so grateful for the ongoing support.

Thank you!

WCDF Chair

Erin Ranney

Canada Camerawomen Workshop

Wrap Up 2025