About

Yousuf Karsh used photography to capture "moments" of greatness in the lives of all people - the most famous and the most humble. Phil Culhane shares this passion for celebrating the magic, the greatness, which is in each human being. In each moment, Phil works within whatever environment he finds himself to represent each person in his imagery in their best possible light.

Phil has photographed figure skating since 2006, and has shot at local, regional, national and international competitions. He has photographed as Skate Canada photographer on several occasions at Junior Nationals, and is the photographer for Eastern Ontario Section in 2009-10. Phil shoots over 200,000 frames each year, and is known as one of the most competent figure skating photographers in Canada. His particular joy is capturing unguarded moments between dance teams on the ice, and those final seconds between a skater and their coach before they go out to compete.

"Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can. The revelation, if it comes at all, will come in a small fraction of a second with an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize."

- Yousuf Karsh