Vistek’s Online and in-store Photo Gallery continues to bring to you a wide range of amazing and talented photographers from across Canada.  Currently showcasing at our downtown Toronto location, until the end of May as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival…

Meet Heather Saitz! 

What is your background/education?

I studied Photography at Sheridan College in Oakville and Communications Design at Seneca @ York. Fresh out of photo school, I went to work as a studio assistant for a Toronto catalogue house, shooting “glamorous” stuff like tools and bedding for clients like Zellers and Home Depot. I eventually left the commercial studio to work as a freelance assistant for several years with many successful Toronto photographers, some of who have gone on to do really amazing things. I wouldn’t trade my art school experience for anything, but I’ve learned way more assisting and working in the “real world” of photography.

How long has photography been a passion?
How did you get your start? Did you have a special mentor?

I’m going to lump these into one question as they both relate directly to each other.

I’ve been doing photography for over 17 years. I got my start through my Dad – he worked as a photojournalist in the early 1970’s in Toronto. He both influenced and nurtured my love of photography. He bought me my first camera and built me a darkroom in our basement when I was 17. I was also fortunate to have attended a high school known for its Integrated Arts Program, where I first studied photography in a formal setting.

Any favourite photographers?

Oh there are so many – where to start!? I had the opportunity to see Fred Herzog speak in Calgary recently, and it was a truly moving experience for me as I admire his work and process so much. Other favourites include Tim Walker, Martin Parr, Mel Bles, Olga Chagaoutdinova and Alec Soth to name a few.  Commercially, I’ve always admired Annie Leibovitz, but mostly for her older work when she was at Rolling Stone and her portrait work around that time.

What/who (where?) inspires you to shoot?

Travel always inspires me to try new techniques, and I will often travel with film cameras. I also draw a lot of inspiration from the things happening around me. I’ve sort of trained my eye to look below the surface image of things – to see everything in the world as a potential photograph.

How would you describe your style?

I’ve described my style in the past as a type of stylized photojournalism. Someone told me once my photos sometimes look like paintings. I think this is due to my graphic design background, which definitely influences my photographic style in terms of having a very strict eye for colors and composition.

What has your greatest career accomplishment been to-date?

My greatest accomplishment happens daily: the fact that I wake up each and every morning and do what I love for a living — that’s the greatest feeling of all.

What was the inspiration behind Rooms for Tourists?

I’ve been photographing motels since approximately 2009, but even earlier than that, before I consciously realized I was documenting them. My entire body of non-commercial photographic work explores the narratives of yesteryear in order to provide a subtle social commentary on contemporary society. Motels fit right into this concept (I guess the reason why I’ve always photographed them.) I’m fascinated by the Motel’s rise and fall in society, its relationship to the automobile, and the “American Dream”; it’s post-war entrepreneurial expression and “Googie” architecture. Motels are so fascinating to me on so many levels, I just can’t pass them by.

What was your greatest challenge in shooting this series?

I found that a lot of people directly involved with the Motels didn’t want anything to do with the project, which was upsetting to me as I envisioned getting to know some owners and managers of the establishments and taking their portraits. Research was also very time consuming and not always accurate. I would spend hours researching motels I wanted to photograph, but when I finally ventured out to photograph them, some had been torn down, others renovated and were no longer photogenic, or many just weren’t as interesting as they posed to be on the internet. So I’d travel all the way there to leave with no great shots.

This series was shot over two years in a wide variety of locations across the country, do you have any travel tips for photographers?  How did travelling affect your photographic process?

The two things I’ve come to rely on when travelling and will spare no expense on now are:

1. a really great camera bag. One that is light and comfortable but that will hold a lot of gear and still classifying as carry-on luggage size. My bag now is Tenba. I can fit two cameras with lenses in it, plus it has a super handy and fast zipper slit in the top for easy access. It’s a great travel bag.
2. a lightweight tripod. You never know when you may need it, and it’s an important tool to have when you do realize you’re suddenly in that ‘right place at the right time’ scenario.

What was your most memorable experience shooting this series?

The abandoned motel we came across in Quebec. It literally looked like someone walked away in the middle of the 1960s and just locked the doors. All the bedding, curtains, lamps, beds, towels, everything was left just how it would’ve been placed when the motel was functioning. Unfortunately, the ceilings had caved-in in many of the rooms so I was unable to fully get inside to shoot it. But wow – what a surreal and creepy place. It will stay in my mind forever.