Daniel Pinet - Connecting with creativity

See all the photos in this series at Flickr.

Daniel Pinet first met Daniel Haché when they were high school students in New Brunswick, but the two friends lost touch after university. Many years later Daniel Pinet stepped into Daniel Haché's barber shop in Montreal ... and Daniel Haché inspired Daniel Pinet to pick up a camera and start taking pictures!

Daniel Pinet is from Verdun, Quebec but he spent his high school years in Paquetville, New Brunswick on the Acadian Peninsula. That's where he met Daniel Haché, who lived a few kilometers down the road in Bertrand. The two attended the Université de Moncton at the same time and they shared an apartment with friends. Daniel Pinet was in Dramatic Arts and he acted in plays as an undergraduate. He had also acted in plays in high school, where he was in enriched French classes. His training helped him to come out of his shell and gave him more self-confidence.

Daniel Pinet eventually made his way to Montreal, where he auditioned for the National Theatre School. Although he wasn't accepted, he liked Montreal and decided to settle here.

One day many years later Daniel Pinet needed a haircut and he stepped into Ça décoiffe, a barber shop on Papineau Avenue. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that the barber was Daniel Haché, his old roommate from New Brunswick! Daniel Haché had moved to Montreal a few years earlier and had recently started to organize photography exhibitions at his salon.

Daniel Pinet began attending the openings at Ça décoiffe and he liked the energy of the photographs he saw. Before long he was picking up a friend's Nikon Coolpix and taking photographs of his own. Now he's exhibiting at Ça décoiffe, too.

Daniel Pinet enjoys photography because it gives him the chance to reconnect with the creative side of his nature. His day job at the Montreal Casino is rather routine and photography turns him on. Montreal is an inspiration for Daniel and he particularly enjoys photographing city life.

The next exhibition at Ça décoiffe will open on December 2 at 9:00 PM. The barber shop is located at 4526 Papineau Avenue (map), just above Mont-Royal Avenue.