Socality And Canon Creator Lab’s Sail Into Summer: A Toronto Creative Experience 2023

Location: The Kajama, Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

During the evening of Friday, June 30, 2023, I attended Socality and Canon Creator Lab’s second Sail Into Summer event.

Last summer, the same event was one of the most enjoyable I experienced, and leading up to it, I engaged in one of the most fulfilling tours of my solo Project T-Dot photography exhibit at Toronto’s City Hall, following what was or could have been a near-death experience.

During the early morning of Thursday, June 30, 2022, I was in Hamilton, Ontario, working as the unit still photographer on one of the outdoor sets of the Corus Entertainment, Global Television, and Boat Rocker Media television production of Robyn Hood’s first season; a show whose creator was, and still is my colleague and mentor Julien Christian Lutz professionally known as Director X.

We were far behind schedule as usual, and I found myself exhausted, alongside the rest of the cast and crew, who were undoubtedly as, if not more exhausted than I was.

Managing and promoting my largest art exhibit to date while working long hours on Robyn Hood’s sets, in addition to working on a plethora of other projects that required me to excel at a variety of skills and tasks, was taking a toll on me and I was undoubtedly at my physiological capacities. Such problems were, as usual, largely self-imposed.

Not to mention the different physical workouts I engaged in and that all of my professional endeavours required me to sustain levels of optimism and professional decorum, no matter how tired I was.

Senior Marketing Communications Manager: Nicholas Tomic, Photographer, Marketing Coordinator, Model: Ayanna Allen, Location: The Kajama, Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

I was new to television production, at least on a scale comparable to Robyn Hood. I had no idea that I could have asked our production manager Karen Doble to arrange for me to sleep overnight at a hotel in Hamilton, which would be covered by the production’s budget and which would have been a far wiser and safer option than any alternative courses of action on my part.

Due to my ignorance, at around 4:00 AM, knowing that I was scheduled to give a tour of my solo Project T-Dot photography exhibit to Nicholas Tomic and Brett Gaskell of Canon Canada’s marketing team that afternoon, I unwisely packed up my gear, the thousands of photographs and a bunch of video footage I had shot that day, and began driving to the downtown core of Toronto via various highways, in an unfocused state.

Canon Canada was one of my exhibit’s sponsors; I had yet to show the exhibition to anyone at Canon Canada in-person, although some Canon Canada executives visited on their own accord, and as one of the company’s ambassadors, I reported and still report to Brett and Nick.

As such, I felt compelled to attend our tour no matter what.

Based on my observations of many leaders in a myriad of industries, working with them, and my observations of my life and consciousness, I know that there is a very thin line between a strong work ethic and absolute insanity.

My career, businesses, clients, and colleagues are all important to me, but I cannot engage with them without my health, well-being, and safety.

I drank a coffee from our production’s craft truck and blasted Prince’s classic Purple Rain album to keep me alert on my drive back to the downtown core of Toronto, some parts of my journey were nearly pitch black due to construction and some power outages, and it took the culmination of years of daily meditation and other mindfulness practices and years of driving for me to focus on the road and my destination; my building’s parking garage.

Thankfully, as I entered the downtown core of Toronto, more than an hour and fifteen minutes after I departed, I felt an immense sense of relief, and I estimated I would have fallen asleep at the wheel had I been required to drive for an additional fifteen to thirty minutes on any highway. I was running on fumes.

It was a mistake I will not soon forget. The next time I am exhausted and on a film or television set outside of Toronto, or anywhere else that is at least somewhat far removed from my domicile, I will ask the production manager to provide me with sleeping accommodations close to the set instead of going on a highly-questionable drive.

The next day, I gave a great tour of my exhibit to Nick and Brett, and soon after, Nick drove us to Sail Into Summer as Brett explained to me that he had not been in the downtown core of Toronto since months before the COVID-19 pandemic became a national emergency in Canada.

This year, partly because my upcoming art exhibit has been pushed back, I was far more alert and well-rested when I arrived at Sail Into Summer.

It was wonderful to see the fantastic community that Canon Canada has created over the years through Socality and the Canon Creator Lab. I felt welcomed and at ease as I approached the Kajama. This beautiful, spacious, vintage sailboat was the mobile venue for the same event in 2022 via Tall Ship Cruises Toronto.

Many of the usual suspects were there, including members of the Canon Creator lab, part of the Socality team, some Canon Canada executives, some of the past Canon FUTURES program creators, plus several new faces.

It was only nine days after the first official day of summer. The weather and ambiance could not have been better, with one exception: Toronto was experiencing the tail end of an elevated level of smog perpetuated by wildfires in nearby Quebec. Hence, the air quality and visibility were less than ideal but still much better than 48 hours before the event.

Days before the event, it was unwise to step outside. I had never experienced such poor air quality in Canada when the impact of the Quebec fires was at its worst, my outdoor workouts stopped completely, and New York City looked like it was experiencing an apocalypse at the time (according to social media and conventional news platforms).

I comfortably wore a plain white t-shirt with a black Canon logo on my chest, white Nike Air Force Ones and my vintage gold Carrera sunglasses glistened in the sunlight as I watched the Kajama’s sails being unfurled by the boat’s crew in preparation for the start of our journey.

I noticed that, like last year’s event, there were several models on board to facilitate portrait photography by anyone that brought a camera and lenses or anyone that had the good fortune of renting some gear that was provided and consequently brought on board by Vistek, one of Canon Canada’s many partners, and a chain of stores that have been offering still and video cameras, computers, commercial printers and rentals for the last forty years.

One of the models was my talented Canon FUTURES student Ayanna Allen, who coincidentally attended the Claude Watson School For The Arts as I did as a kid, and my colleague and fellow Canon Canada ambassador Pamela Lau organized the models.

Marketing Coordinator, Model: Ayanna Allen, Photographer, Director: Pam Lau, Operations Director: Jonathan Zoetman, Creative Director: Scott Bakken, Events Manager: Braden Dam, Location: The Kajama, Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

We set sail at about 7:00 PM EST, and the soothing summer sounds of Lake Ontario and the music on board put everyone at ease. The scenery provided a picturesque backdrop for many conversations and impromptu photo shoots.

I had my Canon EOS R5, my second favourite camera, and many lenses with me as I felt compelled to document the special occasion.

Seeing the crowds of people enjoying themselves filled me with joy, and I felt grateful that my workload was much more manageable than last year. However, reducing it further was, and probably still is, a good call.

I also felt gratitude for the fact that I am a Canon Canada ambassador, a position that I wanted for years and to which I have done everything in my power to embody and add my unique brand of value to since 2020.

I enjoyed a few slices of pizza, which were available below the deck, a few meters away from the arrangement of the rental equipment provided by Vistek and their friendly on-site staff.

The boat’s staff was equally friendly, and I felt honoured to be among photographers, filmmakers, and other creatives of all kinds and experience levels.

As a photographer, I was once an amateur with no experience, especially at twelve when I first began. And now I am professional.

I was with my people and contemplated that I was once at the same level as almost everyone at Sail Into Summer within the context of many skills.

It was also great to see my wonderful colleague Yasmine Perez-Achig, one of Canon Canada’s content and event production associates and the woman overseeing Canon Canada’s ambassador program.

My fellow Canon Canada ambassador Kishan Mistry was also in attendance. I had not seen him since last summer, when we were simultaneously covering part of Drake’s OVO Fest, specifically documenting Lil Baby's and Chris Brown's performances.

Among other topics, I spoke to Kishan about my contributions to Canon Canada’s FUTURES program and how it focuses on the psychological and philosophical nuances of being a professional creator and the cultivation of mindfulness, mental health, and specific values and goals as a creative professional, as opposed to the technical skills that most people often associate with photography, filmmaking, and so on.

I reiterated the fact that, quite often, creatives neglect so-called soft skills to their detriment. Strong technical skills, like the capacity to produce a compelling film or to shoot a beautiful portrait, are insufficient for potentially stressful business scenarios or operating a business while dealing with the death of a loved one or a global stressor like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the most prolific artists that humanity has seen are no longer alive due to a lack of foresight and necessary tools.

I was also happy to see photographer, director Oladimeji Odunsi and past Canon Canada employees Christina Licastro and Josiah Joseph.

Christina was the Canon Canada executive that recruited me on behalf of the company’s relatively new ambassador program, and we both often laugh at the fact that we realized that we were neighbours after months of negotiations.

Marketing Director, Designer, Photographer: Kishan Mistry, Location: The Kajama, Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

She since moved, but our buildings once shared a driveway, and she was once a mere 30 to 60-second walk away from me. She used to drop off equipment at my condo on foot.

With that said, the fact that former Canon Canada employees and associates regularly attend Canon Creator Lab events is a testament to the fact that Canon Canada is as much a company that excels at cultivating relationships and understanding human consciousness as it is a technology company (and my favourite brand of photography and filmmaking equipment).

As the cruise continued, I helped a couple of women access the manual settings on the Canon EOS R3, which is my favourite camera and one that I used almost every day last summer, primarily as part of my role as the unit still photographer for the production of the television series Robyn Hood’s first season.

Soon after, Socality’s operations director Jonathan Zoetman, who I began speaking to about potentially collaborating with months before I signed my first contract with Canon Canada in 2020, began organizing everyone on the ship to take an epic group photo, much like last year.

Photographer, Cinematographer: Randy Shao, Director: Cai Grodek, Location: The Kajama, Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Surprisingly, a drone collided with part of the ship after group shots were taken and barely recovered. It is a miracle that it is not at the bottom of Lake Ontario right now.

Sailing back to shore was an enjoyable experience; the lighting was beautiful during sunset and dusk, and the second Sail Into Summer was successful and a precursor to the fun I would continue to have in the following weeks.

The event also reminded me to learn from last year’s summer and to take far more time to slow down, far more time to rest, far more time to meditate, and far more time within supportive communities, work-related or otherwise. I am also long overdue for a vacation.

I strongly recommend that all Canadians interested in joining a creative community and photographers, filmmakers, or other creators join the Canon Creator Lab to be notified of future events like Sail Into Summer.

Socality And Canon Creator Lab’s Sail Into Summer: A Toronto Creative Experience 2023

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