All the folk who viewed The Granaries on Bear Mountain B&B during last summer’s DC Horticulture Tea and Tour and suggested it should be in a magazine will be pleased to learn that professional stylist Heather Cameron and photographer Janis Nicolay recently trekked to Dawson Creek to shoot The Granaries for a feature article in Canadian Home and Country, an up and coming Canadian decorating publication.
The duo arrived with a van packed with photography equipment, some styling props and fresh flowers to complement the wildflowers and blooms currently on display in the Peace. Because the forecast was not encouraging, they were anxious to start shooting early in the morning before the weather deteriorated. There was some frustration trying to capture the elusive prairie light as it’s no small feat to drive 14 hrs to take pictures. Luckily, the Peace Country axiom” if you don’t like the weather, wait awhile” proved true enough and just as they decided to take a break and head into town for lunch, the clouds magically melted away and the sun beamed down.
Ten rolls of film later, by about 4 o’clock, all of the exterior and interior shots and vignettes had been taken. “ It’s quite an art”, explained Heather Newman of The Granaries. “While the décor might look perfect to your eye when you take in the whole room, the narrow focus of a photograph has to be carefully crafted for the magazine.” Heather C. and Janis spent much time popping back and forth between the viewfinder and the setting to get just the perfect arrangement of objects and furnishings to tell the story and spark the readers’ imagination. “I’m not sure I’ll recognize my own place when the issue hits the newsstands next May or June,” lamented Heather Newman. “I’m sure it will look beautiful though. They really seemed to know what they were doing. It was interesting to watch them play with all the little details when I wasn’t kept busy fetching new articles to include in the scenes”
Once the editors and producers have poured over the photos, a 2 hr interview is arranged, likely by phone in this case. This is the chance to tell the tale of the transformation of the granaries into a B&B and get all the details and credits sorted. The whole process often takes over a year from the time homeowners are contacted for a story till actual publication. “ Heather Cameron contacted me in March after hearing about The Granaries from a friend in White Rock” said Ms Newman who created the unique cabin from the ubiquitous prairie icons. “ It’s not too often that northern rural spreads grace the decorating magazine pages but they were obviously intrigued by the concept and the pictures I copied to help Heather Cameron pitch the idea. Hopefully, it will help to promote the region as an interesting destination.”
Canadian Home & Country article
