RED DEER -- Two Alberta photographers are selling masks with their wildlife photos on them.
Keltie and Stan Masters have been avid wildlife photographers for eight years. The husband and wife both said being out in nature has helped them through some hard times.
“We both use nature as our medicine all through our lives,” said Stan.
“We’ve both been through different hurdles in our life, valleys and peaks, and nature has always been there for us,” said Keltie.
The two have turned their love of nature into a business by putting their wildlife photos on clothing and selling their unique wearable works of art. Recently, they started making face coverings after they saw there was a demand from their customers on Facebook.
“We posted it out on our Facebook to see what kind of response we would get, and, within a day, we got a hundred comments that people really wanted these masks and wanted our images on them,” said Keltie.
Since June, they have sold more than 700 masks with a portion of the proceeds going to wildlife rehab programs. Thus far, they have raised more than a total of $3,500 for multiple programs.
“I know most of the organizations are hurting, and they’re looking for donations,” said Stan. “So, anyway we can help by donating a little bit of money is always good.”
They have seven different styles of mask with each having a picture of an animal they took out in the wild. They have masks with a moose, chickadees, wild roses, a black bear, a grizzly bear, a wolf, and a great grey owl.
“We have a lot of people coming back to get their second or third. A lot of people are buying them for Christmas gifts as well,” said Keltie.
“We thought this is a great way to bring nature back into people’s lives.”
They hope their masks are a reminder of the beauty of nature and the role we all play in protecting it.
“We have a feeling that the more people come to respect and appreciate nature, they’ll want to help look after it as well,” said Keltie.
