Every October I host an open-call Halloween photo shoot here in Nanaimo, and this year's Witch's Coven theme, our second year running it, might be the best one yet. Nineteen women showed up ready to transform, and the results were some of the moodiest, most striking images I've captured all year.
The shoot is open to anyone who wants in. There's a requested $25 donation to help cover props and location costs, but showing up matters more than paying, so no one's turned away over it. Everyone registers ahead of time, then shows up in whatever witchy interpretation speaks to them. This year that ranged from costume-shop classic to dark and authentic to downright sultry, and honestly, that mix is what makes the energy of the day so good. Nineteen women, nineteen completely different takes on one theme.
For props, I brought smoke bombs, a black cauldron, electric candles, and a candelabra, simple things that do a lot of heavy lifting once they're in frame and the light hits right.
We shot at Morden Mines Provincial Park, a former mining site turned park just outside Nanaimo with some genuinely incredible old stonework still standing. We moved through a few different spots in the park over the afternoon, including a series shot inside a stone archway that turned out incredibly moody, all shadow and texture. A generous neighbour who lives behind the park also let us shoot at her property, where she has this stunning stone hearth that became one of my favourite backdrops of the day.
We started at 4:30 in the afternoon, which in October is always a gamble, some years you're fighting fading light by 5:30, other years the sun hangs around. This year we lucked out with a clear, sunny afternoon, which somehow made the images moodier rather than less, the low golden light playing beautifully against the smoke and stone.
Throughout the shoot, I grouped participants in small clusters based on costume style, pairing similarly-themed witches together. It gave us two flavours of images: fun, playful, interactive shots between women who clicked instantly, and quieter, more authentically eerie portraits for those leaning into a darker character.
This shoot has become one of my favourite traditions of the year. There's something about a park with real history, candlelight, smoke, and nineteen women fully committing to a character that makes for unforgettable photography. If you're in Nanaimo and want in next time a coven calls, keep an eye out for registration each fall, or reach out and I'll make sure you're on the list.
