The people behind the pictures: Meet the prolific shutterbugs snapping CTV Skywatch weather photos

Colourful lightning illuminates the sky in Knee Lake, Man. on Aug. 29, 2022. (Wayne Boychuk)

Every day that CTV Weather Specialists Colleen Bready and Terri Apostle clock in for work, before they step in front of the green screen to deliver the day’s forecast, they check the weather inbox.

The climate prognosticators scan dozens of emails from loyal CTV viewers, chalk full of incredible photos of radiant sunsets, fields of golden canola, or, depending on the time of year, towering and treacherous snowbanks.

“Some of these people, they're amateurs, but they could easily be professional photographers,” Apostle said.

“Sometimes they’re telling us about the different cameras that they use and the different lenses that they're using and the techniques that they're doing.”

They carefully choose a few shots to show on air as the Skywatch Pictures of the Day alongside the day’s forecast.

Over their combined 26 years in front of the CTV News Winnipeg cameras, a few names of talented budding photographers have appeared time and time again in the weather inbox.

“We do have some contributors who have submitted frequently and very thankfully over the years,” Bready said.

“We've had folks who have shared with us, for example, why they pursue photography, why they like it. It might be something that they find therapeutic or otherwise enjoyable. There’s been a few folks that I've developed a nice rapport with over email.”

CTV News Winnipeg reached out to a few of the most prolific submitters over the years to hear their stories.

‘Somebody can enjoy a photo I took’

Neil Longmuir’s fascination with photography began when he was four years old.

He grew up in Winnipeg’s West End, but spent a lot of time visiting his grandmother in Ingolf, Ont., whiling away the days with a Kodak Brownie box camera, taking pictures of foxes, chipmunks, and squirrels.

In high school, he met a friend whose father was a commercial photographer.

“He did the Bombers, he did McConnell School of Dance, and he did high school graduations, so I was with him all the time, learning about how these things all worked.”

Neil went on to spend 35 years working at the University of Manitoba’s Agricultural Economic and Farm Management department, but still practiced photography in his spare time, carrying his camera with him everywhere.

His lens also proved to be a love connection of sorts.

After meeting and marrying his wife Carrol, he discovered her in the crowds in photos he had taken at not one, but two Winnipeg Santa Claus Parades in 1967 and 1968—years before they met and fell in love.

“Talk about coincidences,” he said.

Photography was a shared passion in their 43 years together.

“She wanted to learn photography, and we were always out together taking pictures.”

The Longmuirs began submitting weather photos when Neil got a new camera in 2004. Their first was of some crocuses in their front yard. Neil sent it in, and Sylvia Kuzyk showed it on that night’s six o’clock newscast.

Today, even after Carrol’s death, it’s unusual for a week to go by without a photo from Neil showing up in the inbox.

“It’s great. Somebody can enjoy a photo I took. I will watch all the pictures. I like to see what other people are doing too. There’s lots of people out here doing really good work, having fun.”

Photographic dispatches from the remote north

Prolific Skywatch shutterbug Wayne Boychuk’s interest in photography began not behind the lens, but in the dark room.

The Shoal Lake, Man. native worked at a photo lab some 30 years ago, long before digital photography was a thing.

“I developed the black and white negatives and printed and developed the prints by hand. At that time, I was very interested in the process of developing the pictures by hand, and then I got more into the picture taking,” he said.

“It’s kind of backwards.”

Today, the 64-year-old caretakes a remote fly-in fishing resort in northern Manitoba, hundreds of miles from Winnipeg.

He spends months on end by himself. One way he deals with the isolation is through photography, and his remote home offers plenty of material for stunning shots—be it the Northern Lights or the scads of wildlife that surround him.

“When I go out for a photoshoot during the night or day, especially at night, it is kind of a rush to be at a location where I am the only person around. I am the only person that sees and records the event.”

Photography as therapy

If you see an image of majestic horses flash across your screen as the Skywatch Picture of the Day, chances are it was taken by Kevin Friesen.

The 63-year-old from Steinbach, Man. has been behind the lens since he was a kid, using his mother’s Kodak point-and-shoot before graduating to an SLR in his high school photography class.

What was a passion for many decades turned into a form of therapy after a health crisis in 2019.

Friesen was diagnosed with encephalitis—inflammation of the active tissues of the brain that causes it to swell. The symptoms have been debilitating and run the gamut—fever, headache, fatigue, hiccups that won’t go away, and anxiety—a lot of anxiety.

Faced with early retirement at the hands of his illness, he turned to photography as a form of comfort.

“Anybody that has any kind of brain trauma and if they have a creative outlet - use it because it really helps the brain a lot. You can just get lost from all the craziness that's going on in your head.”

Another form of therapy—horses. He spends many afternoons at Sandy Ridge Stables in Friedensfeld, Man. interacting with mares Nevaeh, Harley, Ollie and barn cat Rupert.

“Horses are amazing. They can sense things about you that you need. They just have this thing in them. They can feel your emotions, and that's amazing.”

In fact, a photograph of equine Nevaeh and her unlikely feline friend Rupert became the subject of Friesen’s first Skywatch Weather Pic of the Day in 2021.

Friesen’s mother, who passed away the year before, always encouraged him to submit his photos.

He decided to do just that, and it was shown on air that night on CTV News at Six. It turned out to be the first of many Friesen originals to appear on the broadcast.

“I get phone calls from all kinds of people, especially if I haven’t had one in a while. People want to know why,” he said.

“So it's been fun, you know? A lot of people just really like to see that kind of stuff on their televisions, so I’m so happy to provide that.”

‘I take a lot of pictures’

For many Manitobans, Churchill is a remote, bucket list destination.

For April Lundie, it was the backdrop to her childhood. Growing up in the northern Manitoba city, she spent many of her formative years outside.

Though she has spent much of that time taking pictures, she is hesitant to call herself a photographer.

Lundie isn’t lugging a DSLR around with her along with a host of pricey lenses. Her tool of choice?

“An S21.”

That’s a Samsung smartphone, for those not in the know. (I was not.)

She has used it to take stunning photos of sights many Manitobans will only see in books—polar bears, beluga whales, and the arctic tundra.

Working for Manitoba Conservation for most of her adult life all over the province, she’s had plenty of material. She first began submitting her smartphone snaps to CTV over ten years ago.

“Growing up in Churchill, I spent a lot of time in the outdoors, and I just kind of enjoy it. So now, when I'm out and about throughout the province and through my travels, I take a lot of pictures,” she said.

“The ones I send into CTV News is mostly for my family and friends. They see where I am and what I'm up to.”

If you’d like to have your photo considered for our Skywatch Picture of the Day, you can submit them by email.