Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

One of the biggest projects I worked on last year was with Lethbridge Family Services for their 2020-2021 Annual Report. The report is presented each year in a magazine style with local stories to illustrate their past year. Over several photoshoots, I got to work with many of their staff members and clients (and even got to snuggle a baby Corgi). Their designer let us know what she needed for layouts, and we got to turn each idea into a reality! LFS does great work in the community and it was awesome to see that reflected in the people we photographed.

I currently have the honour of having my photography on display at the Galt Museum. Last year I was contacted by curator Tyler Stewart to contribute to his music inspired exhibit “From Pianos to Power Chords” and I eagerly jumped at the chance. Music has been very important to me my whole life, from my first concert at the age of 8, to the various instrument lessons I have taken, to being heavily involved in dance for the last 12 years.

Concert photography is literally the reason I became a professional photographer. What started out as a hobby quickly grew into a passion. It was this passion and the overwhelmingly positive feedback I received from the local bands I photographed that convinced me to switch my major into photography and I have never regretted that decision. It is such an honour after all these years to see my band photography as a part of this exhibit of Lethbridge’s history. A couple of my photos go WAY back… for example, the Grady photo (Gordie Johnson) at the Roadhouse was taken the first day I owned my first digital SLR!

The exhibit runs until April 30 at the Galt Museum and I highly recommend checking it out! My photos here only show off my contribution but there’s so much more on display that paints an amazing picture of the history of music in Lethbridge.

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They even wrapped it nice :)

Earlier this month I was contacted by a medical company based out of Maryland to take some photographs for a feature they were doing in their annual report on one of their patient success stories. When I arrived for the session the next day, I was instantly aware that Cassidy and her mom Sonya were such genuinely nice, generous people. They were surprised to have received the phone call from the company for this story, so we joked that maybe it was all an elaborate April Fool’s joke ;)

I loved capturing the special relationship between Cassidy and her mom. There was so much love and connection between them. They are both amazing people and it was a pleasure to work with them. My contacts in the medical company were also a delight to work with and were so pleasant I even looked forward to their emails!

More photos of Cassidy and Sonya after the jump: (more…)

For ArtsBridge Magazine, I did a quick photoshoot with Starsha and Steve for the article about South Country Fair. Here are my favorites from that – and these ones worked in black and white! (more…)

I had the honor of having my photography in the latest issue of the Allied Arts Council’s Artsbridge Magazine, which is published biannually. Their main theme in this issue was the relationship between arts and the environment, and I was also asked to photo illustrate a couple of the stories within the magazine. My photo of Marie is across the front and back cover, with two photos of Starsha within. It was so much fun photographing for Artsbridge and I’m so thankful to have been given the chance :)

You can pick up a free copy at the Allied Arts Council office located at 318 7 Street South in downtown Lethbridge. (more…)