Sarah Boland is creative in both the noun and adjective senses of the word. She is in constant exploration of her creativeness through multiple mediums including photography, film making and blogging. One of these creative outlets for sharing her passions is the lifestyle blog BOLANDIA which includes style, travel, décor, eats and DIY projects.
Further entrepreneurial spirit is framed on her Etsy shop which features really neat Vancouver craft brewery maps. When Sarah is not busy expanding her photography portfolio, she also works as an Editorial Video Producer for Clearly.ca.
What got you interested in photography and film making?
Growing up with a Mother that had also had a passion for photography and always had cameras around is what initially sparked my interest. But the moment I knew I wanted to make a career out of photography and filmmaking was in high school when I took film photography classes along with a placement at the local television station.
How did you take your passions from a hobby to profession?
After high school I dodged the traditional university route that all my friends were taking and attended the Toronto Film School where I took an 18 month course for Film Production. After that I had various jobs from production assistant and unit still photographer on indie film sets to client service liaison at Sim Digital.
Where did you study film and what is the greatest non-technical thing you learned?
Toronto Film School. Hmmmmm…..greatest non-technical thing I learned. When it comes to working in the film industry I would 100% say it’s not what you know it’s who you know. Network as much as possible and don’t burn any bridges.
Why the move from Toronto to Vancouver?
Change of scenery. There wasn’t an exact reason other than I wanted to try living in a new city and Vancouver has a film industry. I had never even been to Vancouver when I moved out but couldn’t imagine living anywhere else now! (I still route for the Leafs occasionally though, haha).
What does an Editorial Video Producer do on a day-to-day basis?
I work with different teams in the marketing department to conceptualize, shoot and edit video content to support campaigns running on the website, email, blog, social media, etc. I do everything from location scout for shoots, look for talent and props, light, shoot, edit and execute the videos to appropriate channels. You can see most of my work on the Clearly.ca YouTube channel.
Is there a distinct style to your photography?
I would describe my style as naturally lit candid moments with a hint of the occasional lens flare.
Does the name of your blog, BOLANDIA, also stem from Portlandia?
Yes. My friend Jonah thought of the name for me while we were on a work trip in Kenya. Having the entrepreneurial mind that I do, I expressed dozens of ideas that I had over the course of the 10 day trip to Jonah and other co-workers. I would say that I’d have an empire one day selling everything from t-shirts to relationship advice. Haha. He said it should I should call the empire BOLANDIA and boom, a blog was born. It’s not quite an empire yet, but it’s slowly getting there.
How does a lifestyle blog serve as a creative outlet for you?
I have an appreciation for style and design and the blog allows me to have 100% creative control in everything that I do. From how I want to display food on a plate for a recipe post to how I pose a person in a photo. BOLANDIA inspires me to continue to be creative and share projects online.
What is your greatest social media tool?
Do I have to choose 1? lol. Instagram is my favourite…duh… but I want to point out that Pinterest and Twitter have been awesome platforms for getting traffic to my site.
What do you do in Vancouver when you’re not working on a creative project?
When I’m not working you’ll probably find me hiking, travelling, by a lake/ocean, on a patio sipping a wheat ale of sorts. Such a Vancouver cliché thing to say, right?
Advice for aspiring young creatives like photographers, videographers and bloggers?
Never stop being creative and having personal projects on the go, you’ll be surprised what opportunities could arise! A friend shared a quote on Facebook a couple months back and it really resonated with me. “Your portfolio is not the work you did, but the work you’re going to do next.” – See more
Follow Sarah Boland on social media Facebook | Twitter |Instagram
Interview by Amar Mirchandani @amarmirch
