The Hillside Summit is a photojournalism lecture series taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on September 25, 2010.
It is the result of a few Ottawa photogs coming together to support the community and raise funds for a worthy cause. The goal of the HSS is to preserve the memory and legacy of former Canadian Press staff photographer Tom Hanson by raising money for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award and to inspire the Canadian photojournalism community. If we happen to inspire a few Nationals along the way, all the better! After many lattes and a few head bashing sessions the Hillside Summit was born. The HSS is100% volunteer driven. The speakers have their airfare and accommodations covered, but receive no fee for their participation. Likewise, the coordinators receive no payment for their many hours spent organizing and running the event. All of the proceeds from the HSS summit benefit the THPA.
Blair Gable
Blair had a desire to bring a photojournalism conference to Ottawa after taking a few years off during his transition from being single and a staff photographer, to being married, a father and self employed. Blair was one of the founding members of the popular Great White North Workshops and had to convince Tom to be a speaker at GWNW’03 shortly after he arrived home from Afghanistan – all Tom wanted to do was spend time with his wife Catherine. Blair is currently living in Ottawa and works predominantly for Reuters, Maclean’s Magazine and the Globe and Mail.
Sue Bird
Sue’s desire to bring all types of photographers to together to learn with and from each other kick started the whole process. This Urban Dog Photog worked with Tom for years before leaving the world of newspaper photography behind her for furrier pastures. Sue worked as a newspaper photographer in major daily news departments for close to 10 years before leaving the biz to apply her photojournalistic chops to mans-best-friend. Through her photography she supports numerous rescue groups committed to helping animals live better lives, including the Ottawa Humane Society, B.A.R.K. & Galgos Rescue.
Tony Caldwell
Of the three, Ottawa Sun photographer Tony was the closest to Tom and spent more than a decade working along side him in the Nation’s Capital. Tony felt compelled to help Tom’s wife Catherine fund raise for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award to ensure that Tom’s legacy continues.