Robin O’Neill entered photography from an oblique angle during her university years. Heading to Guyana, Africa, for humanitarian work, she borrowed her dad’s film camera, reading the manual on the flight. Dad’s camera in hand, more humanitarian trips to the southern hemisphere followed. To help with fundraising, Robin sold prints from her travels in BC coffee shops, sending some of the proceeds back to the communities where she’d volunteered. 

It was a beautiful life, but it wasn’t a living. So Robin went back to school for photography. Armed with a second degree she moved to Whistler and learned to ski. Later, she applied for a job with the resort as a photo editor. They hired her. It was a window to a new career. 

At a Whistler Blackcomb colleague’s request, Robin signed on for what, at the time, was the biggest photography contest in the outdoors, Whistler’s World Ski & Snowboard Festival Photo Challenge. Her slideshow was a stark departure from the norm—banger images broken up by afterthought filler shots. 

The Photo Challenge confirmed for Robin that she was better suited to field work than the office. Today she takes assignments on skis and bikes from the likes of Arc’Teryx, Dakine, Giro, Mountain Equipment Coop, CamelBak, Whistler Blackcomb and more. Clients return to Robin because she understands that a brand story is still storytelling. It requires more than a single jaw dropping image—although she captures plenty of those too. As she’s done her entire adult life, she makes a human connection with athletes and brand managers to deliver on vision.