jane weitzel

2008 - will be a year of living overseas once again. So far, Jane has been to India, returning to the Sivananda Ashram, in beautiful Kerala, India, serving with the yoga teaching staff & counselors, plus attending the advanced teacher training program. She returned YVR April 2008, now shooting fantastic actors' headshots, teaching yoga asana classes & providing yoga therapy to her clients. She will remain in Vancouver into Fall 2009 when she, and her best friend, Michael plan to return to India for further yogic education and seva service.

photographer
certified yoga teacher
certified yoga therapist

goals

Jane's goals are:

• to "record humanity on this Earth in this new time"

• to "continue to collaborate with those who seek her visual perspective through visual arts and teaching"

• to "help weave the resources, of our culture's talents, to form a peaceful celebration of why we are here in this sandbox together"

• to "physically, emotionally and spiritually assist those on their journey, their quest of who they truly are and why they are here on this planet, this plane we call Earth"

Jane's studio is the world, and its people, her subjects.

relevant past

1985 - launches Jane Weitzel Photography at 402 West Pender in Vancouver, Canada. She begins shooting headshots and fashion portfolios as well as teaching and designing photography courses at the college level. First photography exhibit located in Vancouver, Canada.

1990 - Renames business as Weitzel Studios. Moves studios to larger facilities at Century House located at 432 Richards St, Vancouver. The new studio is dubbed as the "Tuscany Villa" for it's double doors with brass handles, grand marble staircase & bathroom fixtures and twin crescent-shaped balconies covered in granite sculpted grape vines. Jane seeds a satellite darkroom business (growing into today's Rocket Reprographics) and an events production business. She holds a second photography exhibit, shown across Canada with a group of 8 other photographers, sponsored by Kodak. Jane launches a fourth business in Los Angeles, photographing actors, celebrities, editorials, commercials and fashion.

1994 - photo exhibit in Vancouver, Canada - "Fast Forward"

1996 – collaborates as photo editor/director of Capsule Magazine, Vancouver. She opens a black & white photo exhibit - "Environmental Nudes". She moves the main studio around the corner to 440 West Hastings, after a dream came to her while shooting in Santa Fe, of a studio with 2 arched floor to ceiling windows and shining white floors.

1997 – 2001 – scales down studio operations in preparation for a vision quest journey of 4 years, May 1st 1997 to May 1st 2001, to the day, living in the deserts of North America, Asia and India. Questions: "what makes an artist great?" and “why are we here on this planet?”

The Pakistan leg of her journey took her into the deserts of Baluchistan to live with tribal communities as cinematographer/DOP on a documentary video, filmed by a Canadian crew in conjunction with a NGO associated with the Pakistan Government. India provides the foundation for one of Jane's personal projects of late - a book with the working title "One Woman in India", a visual perspective of the rapidly changing outlook of women's position within Indian cultures in India as well as the countries of chosen migration. Jane continues her studies in humanity studies, cultures, globalization and comparative religious studies while abroad. She gathers DV footage for two Canadian documentaries on India and Cambodia.

Jane witnesses the answer to question number one after spending weeks in the desert in the grace of painter Francesco Clemente, photographing his daily activities and painting his large canvases. What makes an artist great? The answer, shown by the motions of Francesco, is “great artists are allowed to dream." Their life paradigm is such as they are allowed to step away from the material realm. They are supported in order to do so. And when supported they can travel through dream and intuition, experience the higher realms, then bring the experience back to the material world. Their mission is to manifest the new experience into a material form, in order to share this dream so those deep into the material world can stand in front of the art form and, in a split second, experience the same dream the artist experienced.

The quest of the artist is to share the intuitive realm.

2001 - returns to Vancouver to resume photography, plus her new favorite sport, riding her motorcycle. Jane co-produces, with Michelle McKay, a collection of Vancouver artisans and performers interpreting the Self through an exhibit named 11SelfPortraits. Jane goes DIGITAL! Jane focuses on digital still photography, shooting digital headshots, fashion and editorial stills plus several digital video projects and EPKs as DOP and producer.

2003 - places a deeper focus into Canadian Independent film-making, while sustaining a photo still photography business. Her other focuses, yoga asana and philosophy, have Jane’s attention when not shooting.  In 2003, Jane participates in three Canadian independent features, six shorts, one music video as director of digital photography, primarily utilizing the Panasonic DVX100 24P camera.

2004 - unfolds her yoga mat for the summer of 2004, breaking ground a new career phase. She graduates from the Sivananda yoga teacher training as a Siromani teacher of classical hatha yoga. She begins teaching yoga as soon as she returns to Vancouver. Jane participates as one of the founding members of an on-line yoga magazine and directory for Canadian yogis – yuj.ca. She continues to consult and photograph people's documentaries, headshots, catalogues and editorials. Two films Jane DOPs, everyone and Male Fantasy, are well received on the film festival circuit. Jane also films several award-winning short films.

2005 - joins creative forces with Tracy D. Smith to film Taming Tammy, an independent feature shot in Vancouver. She continues teaching hatha flow and restorative yoga.

2007 – graduates as a certified Yoga Therapist. Her personal practice explores ashtanga yoga asanas, deep sadhana meditation and vedanta philosophy. She continues teaching hatha flow yoga and yoga therapy to 60 people a week. She edits two monthly yoga web newsletters in between artistically photographing headshots for actors from all over North America. She celebrates with the Taming Tammy crew and cast upon its screening at the Vancouver Film Festival 2007.

Jane continues experiencing the answer to Question Number Two: "why are we here on this planet?"

" Healthy Body... Healthy Mind... Happy Soul " - Janaki

© 2008 jane weitzel