I was commissioned by the Globe and Mail earlier this month to take a portrait of Patrick Kabongo, an offensive lineman with the Edmonton Eskimos’ CFL football team. The story was about how much he volunteers and gives back to his community. Patrick is a 6-foot-6, 315 pound small C celebrity here in our northern city. Fans love him because of how he plays on the field but he’s also known for his personality. Every time I’ve seen him he usually sports a huge smile or a great laugh. But, he seemed almost serene in every photo I took of him.

Patrick and his family fled the African city of Kinshasa in 1982 when the Zaire government was battling rebel forces in a bloody conflict. He came to Canada and grew up in Montreal and got started in football through an organization that runs sports programs for underserved children. He ended up playing at Vanier College and then to Nebraska University. Sometimes we forget that these athletes playing in our CFL are all top ranked football players coming from prestigious US football schools.

The Technical Stuff: This portrait involved three lighting scenarios. I used my Nikon D700 with a 50mm f/1.4 for the blue photo and a Nikon D300 and the 17-55mm lens for the other two. The first photo is obvious, with two Nikon speed lights with white shoot thru umbrellas on either side. I also use a Honl 1/8 grid on a Nikon SB900 for very focused lighting on his face (for both lit photos). In the third photo I put the speed lights behind him. BTW, that’s the roof he’s holding on to.

Meet Marie, Earl and Abenezer (age 22). Earl is from Toronto and has run into some bad luck but he’s described as working homeless. He is trying to make ends meet and save enough to be able to find a home. Marie is from the Yukon. Abenezer has been in Canada for five years and has been living on the streets for the last four years.

If you have any winter clothing lying around in your storage, please donate them to a local charity. Or even better, why not make a donation in honour of a friend or family for Christmas.

The Technical Stuff: These photos were shot with a Nikon D700, ISO 2500, with a 50mm lens at F1.4 (which is why you get that beautiful shallow depth of field). The catch lights in their eyes show up because I made sure that a brighter part of the sky (deep blue) was behind me and they would have to face that way.