About

I am a photographer

Four simple words, carrying a lifetime of meaning.

As a child, I was always chasing moments—burning through Instamatic cameras, film cartridges, flash cubes, and those long waits for Triple Print envelopes to arrive. I didn’t know it then, but I was already learning to see the world differently.

I was also a child of the outdoors. I lived outside from dawn until the streetlights flickered on. Forts in the field, feet in the creek, pockets full of treasures only a kid could find. Nature was my first classroom, my first refuge, my first love.

Years passed. My first DSLR arrived—still film, still waiting for prints—and life moved forward. I raised two incredible boys. I built a career. I did all the things adulthood asks of us. But something inside me was restless. I craved passion, adventure, something that fed my soul instead of draining it.

So I went west.

The moment I stepped into the Canadian Rockies, I knew. Those mountains felt like home. I hiked. I photographed. I felt alive in a way I hadn’t in years. When I returned to Ontario, I kept hiking, kept photographing, kept breathing again. A passion had finally found its name.

That was over 10  years ago. Today, I hike and photograph as often as life allows. I spend hours in the quiet of forests, beside still lakes, under skies that feel endless. I try to bring that peace home through my lens. I return to my mountains every year—they remind me of possibility, of strength, of who I’ve become.

Nature and photography have carried me through grief and joy, through loss and renewal. They feed my soul. And through the Black Shutter, I want to share that feeling with you. I want you to stand in the scene with me—feel the weight of the mountains, the rush of the water, the hush of the forest.

I hope my work makes you feel what creating it makes me feel: passionate, alive, at peace.

Yes… I am a photographer.

Janice Buyers

I carry a simple philosophy with me wherever I go: show the world as I saw it, and make art something everyone can reach.

My images are honest. When you see one, you’re seeing the exact moment I stood in—the colours, the light, the feeling. I edit lightly because I want the truth of the scene to stay intact. I want you to feel like you were right there beside me, breathing in the same air.

Art shouldn’t be hidden behind barriers. It should be part of everyday life. That’s why I support local artists, join community groups, display my work in local galleries, and volunteer wherever I’m needed. Everyone deserves the chance to experience art and feel inspired by it.