Jeff Oates Photography

from fire chief to photographer: it’s been an unusual combination of skills and experiences that led me to become a professional photographer. born and raised in vancouver, i earned a business degree from sfu in the 70’s. from there i joined the fire department, retiring as fire chief in 2008 after 30 years. as a young firefighter, i raised my kids and was an independent contractor during my days off, building and renovating homes. i also had a retail store at lonsdale quay. later, when i was promoted to management, i earned a ma in leadership and training from royal roads university. after retirement i had the great experience of working for the 2010 vancouver olympic games as a deputy venue manager for security screening on cypress mountain. through all of this, i always considered myself a serious amateur photographer. my skills – from composition and technique to post production and printing – have developed over years of practice and formal training. whether it’s getting to know p