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Toronto Portrait Photographer || HEARTshots || Black + White Photography

Memoirs and musings of Darius Bashar. Toronto portrait photographer and writer, in pursuit of all things real, raw and intimate. 

Photoshoot or Podcast?

Some of my favourite photoshoots feel like a private podcast just for me. Not a stuffy, boring podcast, but a juicy one where the people are incredibly honest and willing to dive deep together.

I love it when people honestly share their dreams, past failures and grand visions for the future. 

Within two minutes of meeting Melanie Sodka (AKA Mel) at my studio I knew she wanted to go deep.

Working with Mel felt like two old friends just hanging out. She has so much passion and wisdom to share. We talked about everything from books, to podcasts, to family life, burnout and even basketball. 

Of course we talked about many other topics too, like Mel’s dreams, her visions for her future, and some really amazing stories about how she became the person she is today. 

In addition to being a sought out speaker, writer and professor, Mel’s got a new podcast coming out soon called the Hustle Hypocrisy. It tells the stories of highly productive people who share their personal strategies on how they both respect and abuse their own capacity and boundaries.

I was honoured when she asked me to be a guest. Recording the episode felt like part two of our epic deep dive convo that started during our photoshoot. She asked many great questions. 

I can’t wait to hear our convo. 

For now, I will share a few photos from our HEARTshots session. 

Big love, 

D

PS: I've got a great promo this month. If you are interested in making something beautiful together with me in the next year, let's chat.