Meet our Idle Eyes Community
Our members are the core of our studio, each of us unique in our work and lives but collectively working together to create an inclusive and safe space where photography lives and breathes.
If you would like information or to apply for our membership opportunities visit here
Lionel Migrino
Hi everyone, my name is Lionel Migrino and I'm a photographer in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I’m just an ordinary guy living with a disability called Cerebral Palsy. I do not solely define myself as a person with a disability because I live my life without any limitations. My goal is to show people that your obstacles should not stop you from going on adventures and chasing your dreams. I’m excited to continue growing as a photographer and breaking barriers.
I was first introduced to photography 4 years ago while I was modelling for some of my photographer friends. I was fascinated by how they used their cameras and communicated with their models to get the perfect shot. From that point on, I knew I wanted to try photography myself and so I bought my first camera (a Nikon B500 to be exact) and gave it a shot! I initially saw photography as an opportunity to hang out with friends, but soon after I quickly fell in love with it. I love photography because it allows people to connect with one another and every photo taken has its own story to tell.
My passion is to create content for different individuals and businesses. I love to capture the various lifestyles of individuals and the unique stories of multiple different brands. My mission is to help promote a strong sense of inclusivity in our community through photography.
Emma Mullen
Emma got her start in photography over a decade ago after hijacking her parents camera. Since then she has worked as a freelance photographer and gained an expansive portfolio touching on many different walks of life. An Irish Canadian, Emma has primarily enjoyed travel photography, exploring the arts and culture through her own ancestry and throughout Europe. However, her passion resides in documentary photography through portraiture.
Emma aims to create a lasting emotional response through her work, both through relatability and eye-opening revelations. Raw and unfiltered, she works to create photos that exemplify her subjects' character, be it extensively loud and creative, or stripped down to the bare bones with nothing left to hide behind.
Having spent her career working as a solo artist, she is incredibly excited to join such a talented team and hopes to create deeply emotional, wild, and unique portraits of her community.
Darren Ballingall
Darren is a portrait photographer of both people and animals. His style is a mix of renaissance painting meets airbrushed boogie van mural with a preference towards creative people in their own creative spaces. He has a deep love of using a portable light to capture people perfectly misplaced in a spur of the moment “let’s shoot right here” spontaneity where everywhere is a studio.
Sara Kuefler
Operating under the moniker Grey Hills Studio, Sara Kuefler is a Calgary based photographer. Her fondness for capturing images began with plastic point and shoot cameras as early as grade 2. Progressing in sophistication with the acquisition of her 35mm Canon SLR at the end of high school, followed by dark room classes at the University of Calgary, Sara has been seriously engaged in photography for 2 decades.
While her preferred subject matter has gone through several evolutions over time, currently Sara is heavily focused, and quite in love with, music photography and creative portraiture. Shooting both digital and analogue Sara enjoys exploring new techniques to communicate the energy, emotions, and experiences of her subjects.
Social norms or stigmas are something she seeks to deconstruct, or discuss, through her work. In camera effects on film are a favourite means of exploration. Published in several arts / music based magazines, and recently having begun a personal blog, music journalism is also a focus for Sara as she recognizes the incredible value that a city’s art scene has towards the vitality and quality of life for its occupants.
Michaela Neuman
Michaela is a multidisciplinary LGBTQIA+ artist with a focus on photography. She is heavily inspired by vibrant, saturated colours, and the aesthetics of fashion and film, specifically designers such as Thierry Mugler, Jeremy Scott and Alexander McQueen and films like Suspiria, Marygoround, Polyester, Midsommar, Black Swan, and many more.
Michaela’s signature photographic style combines bold experimentation of creative lighting and emotion with unconventional usage of 35mm film and digital techniques. A current goal of hers is to do more shoots using solely 35mm film within the Idle Eyes studio.
Michaela has been a photographer for most of her life, though in recent years she has found great inspiration within the drag, art, and local music communities. She has documented Snoop Dogg, Cub Sport, Alexisonfire, The Backstreet Boys, Orville Peck and King Princess, and has worked with drag artists such as Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, BOA, and more. Media publications to date include CBC, DailyHive, BeatRoute and various other outlets.
In the past Michaela has worked with The Calgary International Film Festival, Femme Wave, Big Winter Classic, Music Mile, The Calgary Public Library, BUNS YYC, Discreet, and many more. In addition to doing portraits, Michaela has plenty of experience with event photography. She is constantly looking for new artists to collaborate with in the studio and beyond.
Heather Saitz
For over 15 years, Heather has been merging her skills as a photographer and creative director to create compelling, highly conceptual work, rich in both cultural context & character. Born and raised in Ontario, she studied Photography at Sheridan College and Communications Design at Seneca @ York, followed by a busy career working in Toronto’s photo industry and a move to Calgary in 2005.
Now at the helm of her own creative namesake company, the majority of Heather’s work involves photography and video direction for musicians and artists, while fashion photography and creative portraiture remain staples in her commercial work.
A few career highlights so far include winning a Gold AMPA Photography Award for her motel series Rooms for Tourists , and publishing The Building Project, a grant-funded photo book featuring portraits of Calgary’s artist community. In 2019, she co-curated an all-female photography exhibition called The Female Lens.
Outside of work, she’s likely to be found digging for treasures in thrift stores, or browsing the jukebox in a dive bar somewhere on the planet.
Doug Wong
Doug Wong is a supporter of the creative arts with a particular interest in photography. He views captured images as a medium for telling a story especially from a historical perspective.
The majority of his work is in documenting experiences of both others and his own. Because of his 40 years in the music and entertainment industries, some of his favorite experiences have been photographing concerts, festivals, fashion shows and special events.
He is delighted to be a part of the Idle Eyes community and looks forward to learning and growing in collaboration with a very talented group.
David Fenton
Meet David, a multi-disciplined creative specializing in portrait photography, art direction, and graphic design.
From a young age, David spent hours sketching, flipping through magazines, and dissecting his favourite music videos. He has always been fascinated by the power of visual communication and how photography and design can convey complex messages.
During his time at the Alberta University of the Arts and Capilano University's IDEA School of Design, David honed his craft behind the camera and the canvas. Following his studies, he has worked solo and in a variety of agency, in-house, and startup environments.
David sees value in collaboration, and works closely with clients to understand their vision. He believes his best portraits are the result of a genuine connection with his subject and a willingness to be vulnerable with one another. Most importantly, David strives to create a positive and comfortable environment for everyone involved.
Sebastian Buzzalino
Sebastian Buzzalino is a Canadian-Argentine photographer based in Calgary, Canada. His photography is found at the intersection of bodies, between subjects, environments and himself.
Primarily a music photographer, Buzzalino has been working with bands in across Canada for six years, starting with editorial shoots while he was Editor at BeatRoute Magazine, then shooting album artwork (Daniel Romano, Ancient Shapes, Mariel Buckley, T. Buckley, Too Attached ft. Cartel Madras) and going on tour across North America and Europe (Daniel Romano, Ancient Shapes, The Velveteins, Miesha & the Spanks).
In his street photography, he deals with themes of navigating a bi-cultural identity, searching for the idea of home and how people make community where they are.
Buzzalino’s photography is informed by an organic sort of intimacy and closeness, a sense of nostalgia for the recent past that seems to frame moments in time as iconographic. He is co-founder of Idle Eyes Collective.