Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 02/05) - When a back injury took Ed Hardy away from his job as a full-time frontline firefighter last year, he left a part of himself behind, he said.

Today he works behind a desk at City Hall, overseeing business licensing and building permits. The transition to a nine-to-five job also impacted his other passion - photography.

"I've always been inspired by photos," Hardy said. "I'd rather look at a photo than read a book."

On his days off from the fire hall, Hardy used to drive his family to work and school, finish jobs around the house then head out on the streets and trails to capture extraordinary moments in Yellowknife.

"In my previous schedule as a firefighter, I would have periods of time off where I could drive around for two or three hours and chase the light and capture some very unusual events," he said.

"My new change in schedule really changed my approach to photography."

Hardy helped organize and run the Yellowknife photo club for six years before it collapsed from exhaustion last year.

Hardy has worked as a camera for hire on commissioned shoots for music festivals, official functions, websites and corporate advertisements. But he prefers to shoot for the love of his art, he said.

Hardy's photos can be explored in more depth on his website, at www.edhardy.ca.