Let’s start from the beginning. How did you get started in photography, and how is it that you’re shooting celebrities?
I have always had a passion for documentary photography. Early in my teens I was fascinated with newspapers and books by photographers like Robert Capa and Margaret Bourke Wright. This lead to an obsession with working photographers. I was hooked.

In 1992 I was ready to go to work and I wanted a job at a newspaper. The Globe and Mail didn’t use enough pictures, so I went to the Toronto Sun. There weren’t any job openings but I went anyway with a small portfolio looking for work. I hung around until they gave me an assignment.

What did you learn at the Sun?
They taught me the difference between “making pictures” and “taking pictures”. I have been tainted ever since. The ability to anticipate pictures is what makes a great news photographer. At the Sun I sometimes shot eight jobs a day and often didn’t have time to wait for “the moment”. So I’d make a picture and split. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t faking the news. It was more like creating an image to illustrate the story. Learning this early on was a great help in my career.