After a morning of picking apples in 30 C heat, members of the Baildon Hutterite Colony cool off with ice cream at the Snow Hut in Moose Jaw. This is one of my favourite photos from my time in Moose Jaw. I like it because it doesn’t depict these kids as some kind of “other.” It depicts them as people who, like everyone else, enjoy a cold treat on a hot day.

Focal Point - Focal Point

Mark Taylor BA’00, BJ’04 has put his University of Regina degrees to good use over the past 20 years as a reporter, photojournalist and educator. Since July 2019, Taylor has served as the department head at the School of Journalism. He also serves as the school’s internship coordinator, social media editor, design director of The Crow magazine, and print lab instructor.

Darian Durant waves to the crowd after the last ever CFL game at Mosaic Stadium (and what turned out to be Durant’s last game as a Saskatchewan Roughrider). Five generations of my family watched sporting events in that stadium. My first job was selling peanuts and popcorn there. During games, I remember watching the photographers, not the players, and thinking that’s what I want to do. And that's what I ended up doing, mostly 
for The Canadian Press, who I’ve 
covered Rider games for since 2010. 
It was an emotional farewell for many in attendance that night. I like to think this photo sums up the attachment many of us had to the place.
Richard Wolfe sits at his kitchen table in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask. Wolfe and his late brother Daniel (in picture) founded the Indian Posse street gang. Daniel was murdered in a prison brawl in 2010. This was shot on assignment for The Globe and Mail in 2011 shortly after Richard completed a 15-year sentence for attempted murder. He told me all about it – how he chased a guy down a street and shot him over an unpaid debt. I also remember when I arrived at Richard’s house, a serviceman was installing a security system. Richard told me young gangsters could really make a name for themselves by killing him. Richard ended up going back to jail, where in his lifetime he spent a total of 640 days in solitary confinement. He died in the Prince Albert Penitentiary in 2016 at the age of 40.
Keith Richards takes the stage for the first of two sold-out Rolling Stones concerts in Regina in October, 2006. I’m a huge Stones fan so when the shows were announced 
I immediately began inquiring about a press pass. Turns out the greatest rock and roll band on earth doesn’t need the Moose Jaw Times-Herald (where I was working at the time) for publicity. But I kept calling and after a few weeks, the promoter got back and said, “If I get you a press pass, will you stop calling me?” Deal. Before the show, everyone with 
a press pass had to gather in a special area behind the stage. When the lights finally dimmed, we were escorted out towards our spots. Seeing our silhouettes approaching the stage, the crowd briefly thought we were the Stones and let out a massive roar. Keith himself has said that feeling is better than any drug he’s ever tried. Getting to experience that feeling myself, if only for a second, and this moment when Keith came so close I could smell him, has been the highlight of my career so far.
Ralph Crawford works his way down an aisle in his bookshop in Perdue, Sask., population 334. I’ve always loved driving Saskatchewan’s back roads and finding places like this. Exploring Saskatchewan is even more enjoyable when a magazine is picking up the tab, which Macleans did for this week-long assignment in 2018 for a story about rural Canada.
Second Lieutenant Leah Scott climbs into the cockpit of a Harvard aircraft before a flight at 15 Wing Moose Jaw. Shot for The Globe and Mail in December 2006, this was my first ever freelance assignment. I remember being so nervous about screwing up not just my big break but an important story. At the time, many women (including Scott) were being rejected by the Canadian air force because of outdated admission standards dating back to the 1960s. Research that reassessed those standards gave Scott a second chance and she and five other women were accepted. My goal is always to recognize and capture significant moments. I like to think I did that here.
My eldest son was diagnosed with autism in 2011. So when the provincial government announced in 2012 it was closing Valley View Centre, an aging institution near Moose Jaw for people with intellectual disabilities, I decided to document Scott Lister’s final days there. Lister, left, is non-verbal and was one of the first people to move into Valley View when it opened in 1955. Here he is 62 years later on the day he moved out, thanking his sister as he settles into his new room in downtown Moose Jaw. I like this photo because it shows that people like Scott, and people like my son, know more than many give them credit for.