@afterhoursretouching
@jessdleaphoto_official

I'm is an established Canadian arts & culture photographer working in music, burlesque and live events and recently began working as a pro retoucher, expanding my work in photo & media.

My first live entertainment stills emerged when she happened upon a burlesque show in Vancouver, Canada and was struck by the raw unapologetic performances and the eclectic crowds. I photographed countless performers and shows for over four years, becoming the official photographer for the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival at the historic Vogue Theatre for two consecutive years.

Expanding my documentation of live performance, I took the chance to approach Cirque Du Soleil and landed an opportunity to shoot in the big top tent for their production 'Totem." The experience was so exhilarating, I shot 'Toruk' as well as 'Varekai' in Toronto, where I was also invited to shoot rehearsals behind the scenes. Perhaps equally to the theatrics of the stage, is her love of documenting performers and the process backstage - the co-existence of the two worlds is always an infinite possibility for imagery. For Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre NYC she had the unique opportunity to photograph both the stage production and an intimate two-person rehearsal with acclaimed principal dancers Rachael McLaren and her partner, Yannick LeBrun.

With a long time love of photojournalism and performance photography, I pitched my first piece to VICE Media after seeing an intriguing segment on Michelle DuBarry, LGBTQ icon and activist, on the news one night and wanting to further explore her story. When the pieces was accepted, Jess had the rare opportunity to spend three days with Michelle (aka Russell Aldread) in her home, at a charity event and backstage. She and Dubarry talked about the longevity of DuBarry's career, and what it meant to be a touring drag queen in 1950s Canada, a history that's still very much unrecorded. The piece was published with Vice Media Canada and in the US and exhibited in London, England's OXO Gallery.

2018 marked my launch of After Hours Retouching, as I love supporting the work of others and wanted to explore the world of post. I'm excited about the world of retouching right now, because we're finally in an era of minimal retouches and using retouching to amplify a look or concept, rather than change it entirely. I've had the pleasure of working with Melbourne based publication Archer Magazine, retouching imagery for them as well as Cat Scratch Studio.

Tags

See All Tags (2)