Ed White
OWNER & PHOTOGRAPHER
Ed is the founder of the Hair Club for Men. And although that isn’t even remotely true, he is a very talented Vancouver based photographer. Unlike many professional photographers, Ed actually studied his profession. In fact he has an honours degree in the field from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. And also unlike many other professional photographers, Ed does not do weddings. Ed does architectural. Hotels, schools, condo towers, houses, libraries – anything with walls and no weddings.
Over the last couple of decades, Ed has photographed projects locally, across Canada and in the US for many award winning architects, interior designers and developers. His work appears on web, in brochures, glossy magazines and in coffee table books.
Ed will surprise you with his easy going manner. But don’t be fooled. That mop of hair hides an obsessive intensity for doing whatever it takes to get “The Shot”. Before he picks up his camera, Ed works every angle, check-listing with clients, refining site logistics and timing the ideal lighting conditions. It’s physical work requiring artistry, patience, collaboration and skill. And he doesn’t quit until he gets it right.
Erin Fitzsimmons
ASSISTANT
Erin got into photography because he sucks at drawing and painting. And because he missed the application deadline for Intergalactic Space Lord. Growing up in a family with an interior design and furniture business, he prefers to photograph things that don’t move so much. Like Ed, he’s all about buildings, inside and out.
Erin is the guy who makes sure Ed doesn’t set up his tripod on a crazy angle and holds the rope when Ed is dangling for a shot. He is patient, resourceful and “gets” Ed. And doesn’t mind sharing his opinion, which Ed finds helpful – most of the time.
As an exhibiting artist, Erin focuses on the rapid and sometimes terrifyingly beautiful degeneration of high density urban environments mostly in China and other parts of Asia. When he doesn’t have his camera in his hand, he is indulging in his unhealthy obsession with bicycles.
Tina Chin
DIGITAL RETOUCHER
Tina went to photography school to shoot food. Was it her aversion to all things melon-related that instigated her detour to the darkroom? Happily, for Ed, Tina morphed her technical wizardry from the world of film to hone her eye for depth and tone in digital retouching.
Most of us can’t appreciate the time it takes to take a great image and make it even better. Ed does. Because he and Tina share that intense desire to gets things right. And that’s why they have been a team for over 20 years.
When you find Tina at her Mac, she could just as likely be working on her passion project to raise awareness of childhood cancers through the BC Gold Ribbon Campaign.
On a lighter note, Tina hopes she will never have to retouch Ed’s hair.
Mariette White
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Yes, Mariette is Ed’s partner in life as well as in EWP. Having endured jibes about their matching hair since school, they have been a team for over 30 years. No small feat if you know what it’s like to work with your spouse.
Since Ed had this thing for photography, Mariette graduated in marketing at BCIT so she could get a real job.
While it may look like Ed is the breadwinner, Mariette is the one who saves Ed’s bacon at EWP keeping operations and the home front humming. Job benefits? The commute and dress code – or lack thereof – are some of the pluses to the challenges of managing Ed’s hectic shooting schedule. In raising their daughters and working with Ed, Mariette uses lots of very big carrots and a very small stick.
If you happen to catch Mariette digging a big hole, she’s not trying to bury Ed’s Grateful Dead paraphernalia. As a certified Master Gardener, she volunteers at public garden projects and is an adviser to the gardening community. And Ed digs that.
