Backwoods Farm On Salt Spring Island with Maasa & Jade

Today I had the chance to spend time photographing Maasa and Jade at Backwoods Farm on Salt Spring Island, a place that carries so much of what I love about this island. It is quiet, hardworking, deeply local, and full of the kind of beauty that comes from care rather than performance.

There is something special about photographing people in the places they tend every day. At Backwoods Farm, that meant rows of greens, hands moving through the plants, the texture of the soil, and the feeling of a farm that is alive with purpose. Maasa and Jade have created a space that feels rooted in the land and connected to the community around it.

One of my favourite parts of shoots like this is being able to bring Flynn along with me. He arrived with his little wooden camera, ready to document the day in his own way. Watching him wander through the rows, curious and engaged, reminded me how important these experiences are. I want him to grow up knowing that food comes from real places, from real hands, and from people who put so much of themselves into what they grow.

The unexpected highlight was seeing him eat more greens than he ever has, straight from the plant. There is a special kind of magic in that. No convincing, no bargaining, just a small child in a field, tasting something fresh because the moment invited him to.

Photographing Maasa and Jade at Backwoods Farm, Salt Spring Island felt like a reminder of how much richness exists in the everyday work of growing food. These are the kinds of stories I feel grateful to document: people rooted in place, food grown with care, and family woven into the rhythm of island life.