About Canadagraphs
Canadagraphs is a 1 person company (that's me. *waves*) started in September 2000 as an ebay hobby business originally. Before that, I was getting autographs for more than 10 years and selling locally to hobby shops and other dealers.
Starting off with hockey autographs, Canadagraphs has grown into 1 of Canada's largest authentic TV & movie memorabilia suppliers. I still dabble in NHL items, but have moved the focus of my business to the actors & actresses of the world.
At one time, Canadagraphs was 1 of the 5 highest feedback rated sellers of autographed memorabilia in Canada. As the years went on, Canadagraphs moved to a private site (eventually becoming this site in 2009) after repeated disagreements with ebay about policies they have developed.
I stopped selling on ebay in June 2010 after a bitter dispute with the site over their policies once again. I walked away from making easily 10X what I making off this site over $45 out of principal. So if you think its greed that drives me to do this, think again. I do this because I want to help others get items they would have trouble obtaining most other ways. I still price items accordingly, but I am always willing to listen to reasonable offers.
Since then I have grown this site to become the top google search in several notable categories relevant to my markets, despite not advertising for my sites products. "Supernatural Autographs", "Fringe Autographs", "Once Upon A Time Autographs", "Arrow Autographs", "Psych Autographs" & "The Flash autographs" as well as being the #1 google search for for "Twilight Autographs". I am 1 of the top 40 google search ranked sites in just "celebrity autographs".
This site has ranked in the top 350,000 sites in the world at one time on the popular website ranking site http://alexa.com & these days we rank often between 700,000th & 1,500,000th most days. This is not because of a decrease in viewership, so much as a re-defining from Alexa of what they rank (for example...they now rank individual tumblr pages)
Along with the autograph memorabilia business, Canadagraphs has been a long time supplier of candid & behind the scene photos of celebrities. Before my website, I used to post them on free sites like MSN groups, as well as selling them on ebay.
The candid photo business for me originally started off with WWE wrestlers. There was no market for candid photos of them when I started it, within 3 years of me doing it, dozens of sellers around the continent popped up doing it after they saw the money there was to be made. Since then I have moved on more to photographing TV & movie stars both on & off set.
MOST Photos displayed on this site are for sale thru the "candid photos" subsection on the left hand side. Only photos that will not be sold individually are proof photos. They will however at times be sold as part of lots of individuals or events.
Above all the other parts of this site, it is not my autograph galleries, my candid photos or even my celebrity blogs that create my most traffic driven success. My annual Best Of TV Awards that are held between October & April every year have generated over 2.5 Million votes in the 10 years of its existence. It has had countless actors & several TV shows post on their social media outlets to vote for them on the awards. It has been hyped by some fans of some fandoms as "Canada's People Choice Awards" which is a moniker I don't see a problem with since there really is not such a thing currently in Canada.
If there is more that you would like to see in here, drop me a line & ask. If I think its relevant, I will add it.
Canadagraphs is a 1 person company (that's me. *waves*) started in September 2000 as an ebay hobby business originally. Before that, I was getting autographs for more than 10 years and selling locally to hobby shops and other dealers.
Starting off with hockey autographs, Canadagraphs has grown into 1 of Canada's largest authentic TV & movie memorabilia suppliers. I still dabble in NHL items, but have moved the focus of my business to the actors & actresses of the world.
At one time, Canadagraphs was 1 of the 5 highest feedback rated sellers of autographed memorabilia in Canada. As the years went on, Canadagraphs moved to a private site (eventually becoming this site in 2009) after repeated disagreements with ebay about policies they have developed.
I stopped selling on ebay in June 2010 after a bitter dispute with the site over their policies once again. I walked away from making easily 10X what I making off this site over $45 out of principal. So if you think its greed that drives me to do this, think again. I do this because I want to help others get items they would have trouble obtaining most other ways. I still price items accordingly, but I am always willing to listen to reasonable offers.
Since then I have grown this site to become the top google search in several notable categories relevant to my markets, despite not advertising for my sites products. "Supernatural Autographs", "Fringe Autographs", "Once Upon A Time Autographs", "Arrow Autographs", "Psych Autographs" & "The Flash autographs" as well as being the #1 google search for for "Twilight Autographs". I am 1 of the top 40 google search ranked sites in just "celebrity autographs".
This site has ranked in the top 350,000 sites in the world at one time on the popular website ranking site http://alexa.com & these days we rank often between 700,000th & 1,500,000th most days. This is not because of a decrease in viewership, so much as a re-defining from Alexa of what they rank (for example...they now rank individual tumblr pages)
Along with the autograph memorabilia business, Canadagraphs has been a long time supplier of candid & behind the scene photos of celebrities. Before my website, I used to post them on free sites like MSN groups, as well as selling them on ebay.
The candid photo business for me originally started off with WWE wrestlers. There was no market for candid photos of them when I started it, within 3 years of me doing it, dozens of sellers around the continent popped up doing it after they saw the money there was to be made. Since then I have moved on more to photographing TV & movie stars both on & off set.
MOST Photos displayed on this site are for sale thru the "candid photos" subsection on the left hand side. Only photos that will not be sold individually are proof photos. They will however at times be sold as part of lots of individuals or events.
Above all the other parts of this site, it is not my autograph galleries, my candid photos or even my celebrity blogs that create my most traffic driven success. My annual Best Of TV Awards that are held between October & April every year have generated over 2.5 Million votes in the 10 years of its existence. It has had countless actors & several TV shows post on their social media outlets to vote for them on the awards. It has been hyped by some fans of some fandoms as "Canada's People Choice Awards" which is a moniker I don't see a problem with since there really is not such a thing currently in Canada.
If there is more that you would like to see in here, drop me a line & ask. If I think its relevant, I will add it.
Who IS Canadagraphs? What made me get into this?
Canadagraphs is a business name I chose in 2000. I have run the business single handedly (with occasional workers behind the scenes doing mailing, scanning & other tasks over the years) most of the time. Most of you who have interacted with me through sales, emailed questions or elsewhere know me as John.
I started getting autographs in the early 1980s. My mother was a hockey fan, and of course, I ended up one too. She would take me down after the games to meet the players on the Vancouver Canucks & I would always get the programs signed by the guys. But that was not where my autographing business took off. Back then, I was still just an excited kid who liked to meet the men he saw on the ice that night.
The business side of things started for me in the 1990-91 NHL season. It was a new world for hockey card collectors with the creation of card sets from Upper Deck, Pro Set, Score & Bowman. The card business was starting to take off & everyone had the same cards 100 times over. I wanted an edge, a way to give myself a leg up on those that had a financial edge since I didn't have a lot of money at the time. So I took the knowledge I had as a kid & went down to the Pacific Coliseum to get some of the cards I had signed. My goal was take some of the cheap hard to move cards I had, and make them slightly easier to move. My 1st ever venture was the Chicago Blackhawks. I brought about 20 cards with me, and a piece of paper. I went away that day with 3 signed cards and a piece of paper signed by 3 people. One of those 3 was Ed Belfour, who went on to win the Calder Trophy as leagues Top Rookie & the Vezina as leagues top goalie. More importantly was 1 of the cards I got done was a 1989-90 OPC Chris Chelios Norris Trophy card. To date, it is easily the most valuable autograph I have sold or traded. When I went back to school, I showed off my conquests of 2 hours of waiting and found a kid willing to trade with me. He wanted the Chelios. He wanted to trade me several hundred single cards from a product called OPC Premier. It was a product that was at the bottom of the barrel price wise at the time. If you shopped around, you could get a pack for 20-30 cents at that time. But that didn't last. Word came out only a week or 2 after I traded the card for all these singles, the product was short printed. Suddenly, the $30 worth of singles this kid traded me, was increasing in value daily. While I never cashed in on all of them at their peak prices, I still turned that $30 worth of trade into over $1000 over the next year. That deal is what got me hooked. Of course, like the lottery ticket buyer who hits the big one the 1st time out, I've never had a deal as successful since.
This hobby & business has helped me see events I wouldn't have ever gone to. I have had the opportunities to go to Stanley Cup Finals games, NHL All Star Games, NBA Championship, NCAA Final 4, A Winter Olympic Hockey medal game, WrestleMania, Toronto International Film Festival red carpets, and various awards. While it has not been void of tough times and scary times, I think I would do most of it over again.
A bit more about me? Well, I'm a single male in my 40s. I live in Vancouver, Canada. I have various minor medical issues that are both noticeable & un-noticeable. For someone who was once athletically gifted, being limited in the ways I am now is not fun. Some say I am a bitter person, perhaps I am. I at least feel I would have good reason to be if it is true. I came from a fairly small family. Raised by just my grandmother & mother. I complain, a lot. I usually feel for good reasons. I am opinionated. I don't believe every story has 2 sides. I like animals, even after 1 nearly killed me by accident. I never really got into TV as much as I am now till I started doing the autograph business more from a TV & movie celeb standpoint. I now watch between 25-40 different programs a season sometimes. Not to mention I try to check out most pilots at least once each year. I am incredibly astute and oblivious at the same time sometimes. I am a master at being "pretty good" at lots of things, but not being the best at any of them. I have probably 1 of the most unhealthy diets of anyone you know. Much like how I am no longer athletic, it didn't used to always be that way either. If you really want to know what shows & movies I like, those lists are readily available in the "My Best & Worst Lists" on the left side of the page. Until early 2017 I lived in 1 of the poorest areas in Canada, now I live right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. I don't drive (cant because of 1 of those medical issues), so all the adventures you see on here from me are either on foot, by transit, or when friends drive me around.
Canadagraphs is a business name I chose in 2000. I have run the business single handedly (with occasional workers behind the scenes doing mailing, scanning & other tasks over the years) most of the time. Most of you who have interacted with me through sales, emailed questions or elsewhere know me as John.
I started getting autographs in the early 1980s. My mother was a hockey fan, and of course, I ended up one too. She would take me down after the games to meet the players on the Vancouver Canucks & I would always get the programs signed by the guys. But that was not where my autographing business took off. Back then, I was still just an excited kid who liked to meet the men he saw on the ice that night.
The business side of things started for me in the 1990-91 NHL season. It was a new world for hockey card collectors with the creation of card sets from Upper Deck, Pro Set, Score & Bowman. The card business was starting to take off & everyone had the same cards 100 times over. I wanted an edge, a way to give myself a leg up on those that had a financial edge since I didn't have a lot of money at the time. So I took the knowledge I had as a kid & went down to the Pacific Coliseum to get some of the cards I had signed. My goal was take some of the cheap hard to move cards I had, and make them slightly easier to move. My 1st ever venture was the Chicago Blackhawks. I brought about 20 cards with me, and a piece of paper. I went away that day with 3 signed cards and a piece of paper signed by 3 people. One of those 3 was Ed Belfour, who went on to win the Calder Trophy as leagues Top Rookie & the Vezina as leagues top goalie. More importantly was 1 of the cards I got done was a 1989-90 OPC Chris Chelios Norris Trophy card. To date, it is easily the most valuable autograph I have sold or traded. When I went back to school, I showed off my conquests of 2 hours of waiting and found a kid willing to trade with me. He wanted the Chelios. He wanted to trade me several hundred single cards from a product called OPC Premier. It was a product that was at the bottom of the barrel price wise at the time. If you shopped around, you could get a pack for 20-30 cents at that time. But that didn't last. Word came out only a week or 2 after I traded the card for all these singles, the product was short printed. Suddenly, the $30 worth of singles this kid traded me, was increasing in value daily. While I never cashed in on all of them at their peak prices, I still turned that $30 worth of trade into over $1000 over the next year. That deal is what got me hooked. Of course, like the lottery ticket buyer who hits the big one the 1st time out, I've never had a deal as successful since.
This hobby & business has helped me see events I wouldn't have ever gone to. I have had the opportunities to go to Stanley Cup Finals games, NHL All Star Games, NBA Championship, NCAA Final 4, A Winter Olympic Hockey medal game, WrestleMania, Toronto International Film Festival red carpets, and various awards. While it has not been void of tough times and scary times, I think I would do most of it over again.
A bit more about me? Well, I'm a single male in my 40s. I live in Vancouver, Canada. I have various minor medical issues that are both noticeable & un-noticeable. For someone who was once athletically gifted, being limited in the ways I am now is not fun. Some say I am a bitter person, perhaps I am. I at least feel I would have good reason to be if it is true. I came from a fairly small family. Raised by just my grandmother & mother. I complain, a lot. I usually feel for good reasons. I am opinionated. I don't believe every story has 2 sides. I like animals, even after 1 nearly killed me by accident. I never really got into TV as much as I am now till I started doing the autograph business more from a TV & movie celeb standpoint. I now watch between 25-40 different programs a season sometimes. Not to mention I try to check out most pilots at least once each year. I am incredibly astute and oblivious at the same time sometimes. I am a master at being "pretty good" at lots of things, but not being the best at any of them. I have probably 1 of the most unhealthy diets of anyone you know. Much like how I am no longer athletic, it didn't used to always be that way either. If you really want to know what shows & movies I like, those lists are readily available in the "My Best & Worst Lists" on the left side of the page. Until early 2017 I lived in 1 of the poorest areas in Canada, now I live right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. I don't drive (cant because of 1 of those medical issues), so all the adventures you see on here from me are either on foot, by transit, or when friends drive me around.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Autographs For Sale and Shipping
How do I know the autographs on your site are real?
Unless you have stood beside me as it was signed, you cant. Its impossible to ever 100% "know". You can be "reasonably sure". I tell people this all the time when they ask this question to me. Simply put, if you don't know the entertainers autograph you are looking for, and I mean REALLY KNOW it (not, I saw 1 on so & so's wall that they got from some guy who knows the manager of the guy who has the same hairdresser of the person in question) you probably should not buy from anyone, myself included. But 99.9% of autograph sales ever made disregard that advice anyways.
I post the proof photos & blog posts on my encounters to show you of my encounters with them. There is not much more I can do outside of buying a hidden video camera to document the encounters.... of course, if I did that, you can be sure 30-60% of the celebs wouldn't sign for me again once they caught wind of that.
I do not buy from people for re-sale. I only trade in situations where I was there as the item I am trading for was obtained in front of me. Simply put, I leave 0% chance of an item ending up on my site that is fake.
Where do you get your autographs from?
Lots of hours of standing around, generally being bored at film sets, hotels, airports, arenas, special events, awards, and various other interactions.
Will you provide 1 of the photos on your site of the celebrity signing my item?
No. Proof photos are not for sale. They are for visual confirmation only of interactions.
Reasoning is simple. People over the years have used proofs they get from 1 item to sell other items they got from other people that may not be legitimate. Ontop of that, at last count I have over 1,500,000 photos in my database of photos I have taken of celebs since I went digital. Even though there is SOME level of organization of them, it is still a lot of work to find a specific set & then take 1 of them to a lab to get printed.
Do you provide COAs?
No. Here is a free tip for you. A COA is useless. Utterly useless. It is not a legally binding document. Think of it this way. If someone was going to knowingly sell you a fake item, don't you think they would also knowingly give you a COA that they know they don't have to back up?
Problem is, like the proof photo question above. COAs often are removed from real items, matched up with fakes & sold off. So besides the damage to the environment on all that wasted paper, I don't see it as a good idea for me. I would then need to catalogue what item goes with which COA #, not to mention actually filling out all the info of each COA, and that is just far more paperwork than I, as a ONE PERSON company ever intends to do.... especially for something that is useless.
What if I believe your item is fake after I get it?
Did you read the 1st FAQ? Yes? And you still bought it & now are having buyers remorse?
If you send your item to ACOA, or Beckett & it for some reason fails (which before I say my next part, let me just say, that industry is still wrong at least 1/5 of the time from the experiences on stuff they DO know and are not experts in most TV shows that film in Vancouver. But of all the "authenticators" out there, they are generally the most likely to have a clue on various items.) I will buy the item back from you at full price long as you return it without any notable damage.
I WILL NOT refund for items you send to any of the other even less reliable "authenticators". ACOA, or Beckett are the only ones that I feel is "most of the time right". The others are simply jokes. I will not value their opinions on any matter.
I WILL NOT refund for items you, or the postal service has damaged accidentally or on purpose.
I WILL NOT refund for items you have decided "you don't want"
I WILL give a partial refund (amount tbd per case) on an item for special circumstances if I believe there is a reasonable case for one.
Do you authenticate other peoples items?
No. However, if you ask me about a seller/site, I will give you my 30+ years of expertise opinion on the seller/site. I will explain in some detail why I feel the seller/site is legitimate or fraudulent and will charge you nothing for it. I may however, limit you if you were to get into the habit of asking me too often for opinions.
What do you ship your items in?
- A small order (10 or less photos) 9x12 inch envelope, a magazine bag with a cardboard backing & a magazine board over top. In nearly 20 years I have been sending things to customers in the mail, I have not yet heard of a single item being damaged with this set up outside of times where the postal service purposely bent the item, which no amount of safeguarding can prevent.
- A larger order (11+ photos or a magazine) 9x12 or 11x14 envelope, a regular or extra large magazine bag and either cardboard & magazine board, or two magazine boards, depending on how large the order is. Again, never had anyone complain that an order arrive damaged with this set up.
How long after I pay will it be shipped/will I receive it?
- Shipped. That will depend on a lot of things. As stated above, I do this entire business myself. That includes the shipping & packing. This means that there are times, depending on scheduled & unscheduled events, items may not get shipped for several days. In general though, I try to get them out within 4 days of payment.
IF YOU REQUIRE AN ITEM BY A SPECIFIC DATE please let me know before paying, so I can 1- guarantee that I can get it there by then & 2- let you know if there will be an additional charge required to assure it gets there by then.
- Received. Regular mail - That depends on the postal industry, and if you are not in Canada, your countries Customs Service. Average, uninterrupted delivery times (once item is sent) in Canada 3-7 days, USA 5-12 days, Overseas 7-14 days. These are general averages, there is occasional delays, especially Christmas time. Occasionally your item might catch just the right time of day & get there sooner. I have had items go by general mail get from here to Florida in 2 days, but the time ranges stated above, are the common average.
Do you offer any specialty shipping services beyond regular mail?
Yes. I can ship items Overnighted, With a tracking # or Insurance if you require it. The minimum price for any of these services is about $12 and can range up to over $100 depending on the size of the item, destination and time needed by.
Orders OVER $100 comes with tracking at no charge.
I want this specific item signed by this specific person. Will you get it done for me?
My answer to these requests is almost always no. For a couple reasons. Mostly though, the risk of losing it or damaging it. I would feel bad if you sent me an item that meant a lot to you & it got stolen, damaged, or simply the celeb scribbled a terrible autograph in a bad spot on it and you aren't happy with the finished item. Additionally, items that are not 8x10s are a nuisance to carry around for me personally. Doesn't mean you cant ask me...just don't be surprised if I say no, I usually do.
Autographs For Sale and Shipping
How do I know the autographs on your site are real?
Unless you have stood beside me as it was signed, you cant. Its impossible to ever 100% "know". You can be "reasonably sure". I tell people this all the time when they ask this question to me. Simply put, if you don't know the entertainers autograph you are looking for, and I mean REALLY KNOW it (not, I saw 1 on so & so's wall that they got from some guy who knows the manager of the guy who has the same hairdresser of the person in question) you probably should not buy from anyone, myself included. But 99.9% of autograph sales ever made disregard that advice anyways.
I post the proof photos & blog posts on my encounters to show you of my encounters with them. There is not much more I can do outside of buying a hidden video camera to document the encounters.... of course, if I did that, you can be sure 30-60% of the celebs wouldn't sign for me again once they caught wind of that.
I do not buy from people for re-sale. I only trade in situations where I was there as the item I am trading for was obtained in front of me. Simply put, I leave 0% chance of an item ending up on my site that is fake.
Where do you get your autographs from?
Lots of hours of standing around, generally being bored at film sets, hotels, airports, arenas, special events, awards, and various other interactions.
Will you provide 1 of the photos on your site of the celebrity signing my item?
No. Proof photos are not for sale. They are for visual confirmation only of interactions.
Reasoning is simple. People over the years have used proofs they get from 1 item to sell other items they got from other people that may not be legitimate. Ontop of that, at last count I have over 1,500,000 photos in my database of photos I have taken of celebs since I went digital. Even though there is SOME level of organization of them, it is still a lot of work to find a specific set & then take 1 of them to a lab to get printed.
Do you provide COAs?
No. Here is a free tip for you. A COA is useless. Utterly useless. It is not a legally binding document. Think of it this way. If someone was going to knowingly sell you a fake item, don't you think they would also knowingly give you a COA that they know they don't have to back up?
Problem is, like the proof photo question above. COAs often are removed from real items, matched up with fakes & sold off. So besides the damage to the environment on all that wasted paper, I don't see it as a good idea for me. I would then need to catalogue what item goes with which COA #, not to mention actually filling out all the info of each COA, and that is just far more paperwork than I, as a ONE PERSON company ever intends to do.... especially for something that is useless.
What if I believe your item is fake after I get it?
Did you read the 1st FAQ? Yes? And you still bought it & now are having buyers remorse?
If you send your item to ACOA, or Beckett & it for some reason fails (which before I say my next part, let me just say, that industry is still wrong at least 1/5 of the time from the experiences on stuff they DO know and are not experts in most TV shows that film in Vancouver. But of all the "authenticators" out there, they are generally the most likely to have a clue on various items.) I will buy the item back from you at full price long as you return it without any notable damage.
I WILL NOT refund for items you send to any of the other even less reliable "authenticators". ACOA, or Beckett are the only ones that I feel is "most of the time right". The others are simply jokes. I will not value their opinions on any matter.
I WILL NOT refund for items you, or the postal service has damaged accidentally or on purpose.
I WILL NOT refund for items you have decided "you don't want"
I WILL give a partial refund (amount tbd per case) on an item for special circumstances if I believe there is a reasonable case for one.
Do you authenticate other peoples items?
No. However, if you ask me about a seller/site, I will give you my 30+ years of expertise opinion on the seller/site. I will explain in some detail why I feel the seller/site is legitimate or fraudulent and will charge you nothing for it. I may however, limit you if you were to get into the habit of asking me too often for opinions.
What do you ship your items in?
- A small order (10 or less photos) 9x12 inch envelope, a magazine bag with a cardboard backing & a magazine board over top. In nearly 20 years I have been sending things to customers in the mail, I have not yet heard of a single item being damaged with this set up outside of times where the postal service purposely bent the item, which no amount of safeguarding can prevent.
- A larger order (11+ photos or a magazine) 9x12 or 11x14 envelope, a regular or extra large magazine bag and either cardboard & magazine board, or two magazine boards, depending on how large the order is. Again, never had anyone complain that an order arrive damaged with this set up.
How long after I pay will it be shipped/will I receive it?
- Shipped. That will depend on a lot of things. As stated above, I do this entire business myself. That includes the shipping & packing. This means that there are times, depending on scheduled & unscheduled events, items may not get shipped for several days. In general though, I try to get them out within 4 days of payment.
IF YOU REQUIRE AN ITEM BY A SPECIFIC DATE please let me know before paying, so I can 1- guarantee that I can get it there by then & 2- let you know if there will be an additional charge required to assure it gets there by then.
- Received. Regular mail - That depends on the postal industry, and if you are not in Canada, your countries Customs Service. Average, uninterrupted delivery times (once item is sent) in Canada 3-7 days, USA 5-12 days, Overseas 7-14 days. These are general averages, there is occasional delays, especially Christmas time. Occasionally your item might catch just the right time of day & get there sooner. I have had items go by general mail get from here to Florida in 2 days, but the time ranges stated above, are the common average.
Do you offer any specialty shipping services beyond regular mail?
Yes. I can ship items Overnighted, With a tracking # or Insurance if you require it. The minimum price for any of these services is about $12 and can range up to over $100 depending on the size of the item, destination and time needed by.
Orders OVER $100 comes with tracking at no charge.
I want this specific item signed by this specific person. Will you get it done for me?
My answer to these requests is almost always no. For a couple reasons. Mostly though, the risk of losing it or damaging it. I would feel bad if you sent me an item that meant a lot to you & it got stolen, damaged, or simply the celeb scribbled a terrible autograph in a bad spot on it and you aren't happy with the finished item. Additionally, items that are not 8x10s are a nuisance to carry around for me personally. Doesn't mean you cant ask me...just don't be surprised if I say no, I usually do.
On set Blog Post Reports and photos
Why don't you cover (insert show here) more/ever?
Lots of reasons. First, you have to understand what I said at the very beginning, that I am 1 person still stands. That means, I sometimes cant be everywhere. Blogging does not pay me much. In 2010-2019, I made less than $1200 TOTAL in ad sales off blogs. So when I do it, I am essentially doing it for you for FREE. So, whatever coverage I give you, you really should just be thankful. Some shows aren't as fan friendly, so I am less inspired to waste my time going to those. Other sets simply don't film much in downtown Vancouver. I occasionally travel outside of the area, but 95% of my reports will be on productions filming within a 45 minute walk from my house... which is just outside the downtown core. So if your show films a lot in the forest, don't expect a lot of updates from me on it. Like I said earlier, I don't drive... so traveling 3 hours by bus to get photos of a production to then spend 2-5 hours editing, and posting on my site for you for essentially FREE is not something I am inspired to do.
Your photos seem a bit blurry sometimes. Why don't you take better photos? Or get a better camera?
Feel free to buy me a nice $3000-$5000 camera. I wont turn it down.
I assure you I would improve my photos vastly then.
My current camera cost me $500. It takes great daytime outdoor shots from 200 feet away or so, once it starts to get dark, that diminishes substantially. Since a large portion of our filming season is during the fall & winter when its dark at 5 PM, that means a LOT of night time shoots...where the camera isn't going to be crisp and clean more than 20 feet away and standing still. I do the best I can with the equipment I have. I am NOT going to waste thousands of dollars on a camera to takes shots that I am not charging you for...so quit bitching about the quality of photos you get from me on night time shoots. Yours would suck too unless you have a professional camera.
Can I buy your photos for my fan page/website/personal use?
Yes. I do charge fees for use of my photos unedited whether its for personal use, or for your site. The prices are quite reasonable compared to what you would pay from an agency for them.
You have a photo of me (fan) with a celebrity. Can I get it from you?
Usually, yes. This is no problem. Contact me thru my website. I will ask you to verify that you are who you say you are (so that people aren't just trying to get some free photos.) and will send you the pics requested once verification is made & any terms on where/when you can use the photo are agreed upon.
You have photos of me (an actor/actress) or a client I represent. We would like them.
The 1st time this happened to me, I will be honest I thought it was a joke. However, now that its happened a couple more times. I realize sometimes, especially for up & coming newcomers, any publicity is good publicity. I have had photos used by a talent agency on their website, and by an actress representation on Imdb.
If you would like material I have shot of your client, or you. Do not hesitate to contact me thru the contact for on the left hand side. I will ask you to verify you are who you are saying you are, but will happily give you materials you request at no charge as long as terms discussed are met.
Why did you post that spoiler? Now the shows ruined.
No its not. Quit being a drama queen.
Spoilers NEVER tell the entire context of a scene or episode. Even when they do paint a pretty good picture of things, theres still things before or after that scene that make a scene still worth seeing played out. I have on more than 1 occasion known practically the entire layout of an episode, and still been fascinated, shocked and entertained by the finished product. When I post a spoiler, I add a massive bold & large texted warning at the beginning telling you not to continue if you don't want to see any spoilers... so whos fault is it you saw it? Mine? Or yours for continuing on in the article? I have shot probably 100+ spoiler scenes on various shows, out of ALL of them, I'd say MAYBE 5 of them (probably being generous) was it a major spoiler that told an epic vital moment, and actually played out that way in the finished product. 98% of the time, you are seeing a few pics of a scene that takes up 10-45 seconds of screen time in a 40-45 minute episode. A TV commercial for it can be longer.
Spoilers enhance the experience for the people that love them, and doesn't diminish for those that don't...since you simply don't have to click on the page, or continue reading or viewing the pics.
Do you post all the spoilers you know?
No, not even close. I will post any that I saw. I often hear about many more, and don't post those because my policy is if I didn't actually see it myself...theres a chance it wont happen. Even then, theres usually 2-4 times a season where something I photographed ended up on the cutting room floor. Imagine if I posted all the things I was told or read as well how often I would be called "wrong" by people. In the 2013-14 season, I saw, heard about, or read no less than 8 notable scenes for a finale of a show. Only 6 of those 8 ended up airing. The two that didn't, I read right on their call sheet of shots they planned to do. If I had blogged about the things I read, imagine how many people after the finale aired would have come and yelled at me for being wrong. So when I hear or read about a spoiler, even if I know its likely true, I don't post it...unless I also saw it filmed.
Do Actor A & Actor B get along on & off set?
Should it matter if they do? I mean does the on screen product suffer? Probably not. So it really should not matter if they do. Let me ask you... do you get along with everyone at your work? Do you hang out with them after work? Answer for MOST people will be NO to both of those questions... yet you manage to do your job just fine and don't let it interfere with your productivity. Why should actors be any different? I'll summarize it this way. In my experiences, I'd say 95% of actors get along on set with each other. But some don't. They just don't let it affect their work. Those that do let it affect their work, usually don't stay employed for too long. Just like at your job. I wont speculate. If I ever see an actor tell another actor they think the 2nd actor is a prick or useless, perhaps I'll post about it..but I am not going to fuel speculation. Theres enough fansites around getting things wrong with out me adding onto it. Summarize - MOST actors get along with each other JUST FINE.
Why don't you cover (insert show here) more/ever?
Lots of reasons. First, you have to understand what I said at the very beginning, that I am 1 person still stands. That means, I sometimes cant be everywhere. Blogging does not pay me much. In 2010-2019, I made less than $1200 TOTAL in ad sales off blogs. So when I do it, I am essentially doing it for you for FREE. So, whatever coverage I give you, you really should just be thankful. Some shows aren't as fan friendly, so I am less inspired to waste my time going to those. Other sets simply don't film much in downtown Vancouver. I occasionally travel outside of the area, but 95% of my reports will be on productions filming within a 45 minute walk from my house... which is just outside the downtown core. So if your show films a lot in the forest, don't expect a lot of updates from me on it. Like I said earlier, I don't drive... so traveling 3 hours by bus to get photos of a production to then spend 2-5 hours editing, and posting on my site for you for essentially FREE is not something I am inspired to do.
Your photos seem a bit blurry sometimes. Why don't you take better photos? Or get a better camera?
Feel free to buy me a nice $3000-$5000 camera. I wont turn it down.
I assure you I would improve my photos vastly then.
My current camera cost me $500. It takes great daytime outdoor shots from 200 feet away or so, once it starts to get dark, that diminishes substantially. Since a large portion of our filming season is during the fall & winter when its dark at 5 PM, that means a LOT of night time shoots...where the camera isn't going to be crisp and clean more than 20 feet away and standing still. I do the best I can with the equipment I have. I am NOT going to waste thousands of dollars on a camera to takes shots that I am not charging you for...so quit bitching about the quality of photos you get from me on night time shoots. Yours would suck too unless you have a professional camera.
Can I buy your photos for my fan page/website/personal use?
Yes. I do charge fees for use of my photos unedited whether its for personal use, or for your site. The prices are quite reasonable compared to what you would pay from an agency for them.
You have a photo of me (fan) with a celebrity. Can I get it from you?
Usually, yes. This is no problem. Contact me thru my website. I will ask you to verify that you are who you say you are (so that people aren't just trying to get some free photos.) and will send you the pics requested once verification is made & any terms on where/when you can use the photo are agreed upon.
You have photos of me (an actor/actress) or a client I represent. We would like them.
The 1st time this happened to me, I will be honest I thought it was a joke. However, now that its happened a couple more times. I realize sometimes, especially for up & coming newcomers, any publicity is good publicity. I have had photos used by a talent agency on their website, and by an actress representation on Imdb.
If you would like material I have shot of your client, or you. Do not hesitate to contact me thru the contact for on the left hand side. I will ask you to verify you are who you are saying you are, but will happily give you materials you request at no charge as long as terms discussed are met.
Why did you post that spoiler? Now the shows ruined.
No its not. Quit being a drama queen.
Spoilers NEVER tell the entire context of a scene or episode. Even when they do paint a pretty good picture of things, theres still things before or after that scene that make a scene still worth seeing played out. I have on more than 1 occasion known practically the entire layout of an episode, and still been fascinated, shocked and entertained by the finished product. When I post a spoiler, I add a massive bold & large texted warning at the beginning telling you not to continue if you don't want to see any spoilers... so whos fault is it you saw it? Mine? Or yours for continuing on in the article? I have shot probably 100+ spoiler scenes on various shows, out of ALL of them, I'd say MAYBE 5 of them (probably being generous) was it a major spoiler that told an epic vital moment, and actually played out that way in the finished product. 98% of the time, you are seeing a few pics of a scene that takes up 10-45 seconds of screen time in a 40-45 minute episode. A TV commercial for it can be longer.
Spoilers enhance the experience for the people that love them, and doesn't diminish for those that don't...since you simply don't have to click on the page, or continue reading or viewing the pics.
Do you post all the spoilers you know?
No, not even close. I will post any that I saw. I often hear about many more, and don't post those because my policy is if I didn't actually see it myself...theres a chance it wont happen. Even then, theres usually 2-4 times a season where something I photographed ended up on the cutting room floor. Imagine if I posted all the things I was told or read as well how often I would be called "wrong" by people. In the 2013-14 season, I saw, heard about, or read no less than 8 notable scenes for a finale of a show. Only 6 of those 8 ended up airing. The two that didn't, I read right on their call sheet of shots they planned to do. If I had blogged about the things I read, imagine how many people after the finale aired would have come and yelled at me for being wrong. So when I hear or read about a spoiler, even if I know its likely true, I don't post it...unless I also saw it filmed.
Do Actor A & Actor B get along on & off set?
Should it matter if they do? I mean does the on screen product suffer? Probably not. So it really should not matter if they do. Let me ask you... do you get along with everyone at your work? Do you hang out with them after work? Answer for MOST people will be NO to both of those questions... yet you manage to do your job just fine and don't let it interfere with your productivity. Why should actors be any different? I'll summarize it this way. In my experiences, I'd say 95% of actors get along on set with each other. But some don't. They just don't let it affect their work. Those that do let it affect their work, usually don't stay employed for too long. Just like at your job. I wont speculate. If I ever see an actor tell another actor they think the 2nd actor is a prick or useless, perhaps I'll post about it..but I am not going to fuel speculation. Theres enough fansites around getting things wrong with out me adding onto it. Summarize - MOST actors get along with each other JUST FINE.
The Site Awards (BOTVAs) and Honours (May Madness)
How do you decide who wins?
Well, I put it up for a vote to the public, and they decide. A variety of rounds of voting will take place over a few weeks till we get to the finalists, and a vote for the winner takes place.
How do you decide who is selected?
There are several ways, depending on which event it is.
For BOTVAs - past winners and finalists from the year before still eligible for the category are automatically nominated. Any Emmy, Golden Globes or People's Choice Awards winners in the last year, still eligible in a category are automatically nominated.
Some other major website "winners" from the prior year still eligible in a category are automatically nominated.
After that, a nominations thread is open for approximately a month in October and people can nominate any eligible challenger in the category they are eligible in.
Finally, I will go thru a category and if I see any omissions I feel should be added, I will nominate them myself.
For May Madness - Past winners, runner ups and BOTVA winners are automatically eligible.
A nomination thread will be open in March and April for people to select their shows & characters not yet up. If there is more nominations than there are spots available, a variety of pre-tourney votes will take place to get the field down to 64 challengers. They then will be seeded, with former May Madness winners taking the top seeds, then BOTVA winners, then higher scoring nominees till the field is filled out.
How do I nominate someone?
Approximately 1 or 2 months before the event a Nominations thread will open up for people to nominate candidates in the proper categories.
How are votes tabulated?
Multiple facet system is in place.
Votes are tabulated by a reputable 3rd party hosting site. They host the polls, and I can opt to make the polls results public or private, to allow 1 vote only, or multiple votes.
Once voting ends, there is a second process of going thru and looking to see if anyone has tried to circumvent voting rules in place. Thanks to an app a friend of mine created for me a several years ago after some very aggressive cheating happened in the 1st of the BOTVAs, I now can easily tell if someone has cheated on a massive scale. Those votes will be discarded when that's happened. As the years have gone on, the amount of these attempts has diminished considerably.
Can someone cheat?
Yes, in theory. No system is fool proof. But my system is "reasonably fool proof". To protect how I catch the cheaters, I cant say exactly what someone could do to cheat...but the 1 thing I can say is, even if they do, it will be minimal and would take considerable effort. Maybe 3 or 4 votes if they are lucky could slip in before my system would likely flag it to be reviewed. Its not impossible to cheat, but I would say it is on any level to severely impact an event.
Why did you put so & so against so & so from the same show, that's not fair?
Actually, its quite the opposite. Its the most fair system there is.
In May Madness the bracketed system means that if some competitors were spread out the wrong way, a show could theoretically end up populating the entire final 4 or elite 8 round if they had enough challengers. That would be fun for no one, outside a few fans from 1 show. So to insure the most fan interaction, and to eliminate pretenders from contenders on a show, I will as much as possible set up match ups to have characters from the same show compete to eliminate the less popular 1, and advance the more popular 1.
Can I vote more than once?
The nominations rounds or 1st round of BOTVA voting usually have an unlimited voting total.
However, later rounds it is 1 vote per "person" (1 vote per IP address). I realize this can be unfair to a household with multiple computers all connected to the same account.. unfortunately the world hasn't figured a way to individualize things enough to separate them. Its not a perfect system, but its the most fair system there is.
Why not just let people vote as often as they can? I mean its better for your site.
While the traffic it would produce IS better... its not a very truthful result. Which is what I think is more important. All it would do is show which fanbase has the most devoted select few fans. Things like the PCAs have that system in place, and it is why no one ever takes them seriously despite having a televised awards show. While I am not expecting Studio executives to look at my polls & decide that's the shows to endorse, I also pride myself on being more reputable than the PCAs and several other web based awards shows who have an unlimited vote philosophy. Perfect examples of why unlimited voting is a flawed system can be found by looking at the round 1 results, compared to the semi-finals & finals of BOTVA voting year after year. Several times in round 1 some candidate amasses a substantial amount of votes, completely obliterating the other challengers. However, when the limits are placed, those challengers fall far back & often don't even make it to the finals. The reason being quite apparent, that contender had a small number of ACTUAL voters who spent a lot of time voting. So 1 or 2 voters were deciding the results. This is not the result of the majority of voters in most cases, but a select few who have voted more. So a single vote system in the later rounds exists so that the results are a true result of the amount of voters, and not which one(s) spent the most time voting.
How do you decide who wins?
Well, I put it up for a vote to the public, and they decide. A variety of rounds of voting will take place over a few weeks till we get to the finalists, and a vote for the winner takes place.
How do you decide who is selected?
There are several ways, depending on which event it is.
For BOTVAs - past winners and finalists from the year before still eligible for the category are automatically nominated. Any Emmy, Golden Globes or People's Choice Awards winners in the last year, still eligible in a category are automatically nominated.
Some other major website "winners" from the prior year still eligible in a category are automatically nominated.
After that, a nominations thread is open for approximately a month in October and people can nominate any eligible challenger in the category they are eligible in.
Finally, I will go thru a category and if I see any omissions I feel should be added, I will nominate them myself.
For May Madness - Past winners, runner ups and BOTVA winners are automatically eligible.
A nomination thread will be open in March and April for people to select their shows & characters not yet up. If there is more nominations than there are spots available, a variety of pre-tourney votes will take place to get the field down to 64 challengers. They then will be seeded, with former May Madness winners taking the top seeds, then BOTVA winners, then higher scoring nominees till the field is filled out.
How do I nominate someone?
Approximately 1 or 2 months before the event a Nominations thread will open up for people to nominate candidates in the proper categories.
How are votes tabulated?
Multiple facet system is in place.
Votes are tabulated by a reputable 3rd party hosting site. They host the polls, and I can opt to make the polls results public or private, to allow 1 vote only, or multiple votes.
Once voting ends, there is a second process of going thru and looking to see if anyone has tried to circumvent voting rules in place. Thanks to an app a friend of mine created for me a several years ago after some very aggressive cheating happened in the 1st of the BOTVAs, I now can easily tell if someone has cheated on a massive scale. Those votes will be discarded when that's happened. As the years have gone on, the amount of these attempts has diminished considerably.
Can someone cheat?
Yes, in theory. No system is fool proof. But my system is "reasonably fool proof". To protect how I catch the cheaters, I cant say exactly what someone could do to cheat...but the 1 thing I can say is, even if they do, it will be minimal and would take considerable effort. Maybe 3 or 4 votes if they are lucky could slip in before my system would likely flag it to be reviewed. Its not impossible to cheat, but I would say it is on any level to severely impact an event.
Why did you put so & so against so & so from the same show, that's not fair?
Actually, its quite the opposite. Its the most fair system there is.
In May Madness the bracketed system means that if some competitors were spread out the wrong way, a show could theoretically end up populating the entire final 4 or elite 8 round if they had enough challengers. That would be fun for no one, outside a few fans from 1 show. So to insure the most fan interaction, and to eliminate pretenders from contenders on a show, I will as much as possible set up match ups to have characters from the same show compete to eliminate the less popular 1, and advance the more popular 1.
Can I vote more than once?
The nominations rounds or 1st round of BOTVA voting usually have an unlimited voting total.
However, later rounds it is 1 vote per "person" (1 vote per IP address). I realize this can be unfair to a household with multiple computers all connected to the same account.. unfortunately the world hasn't figured a way to individualize things enough to separate them. Its not a perfect system, but its the most fair system there is.
Why not just let people vote as often as they can? I mean its better for your site.
While the traffic it would produce IS better... its not a very truthful result. Which is what I think is more important. All it would do is show which fanbase has the most devoted select few fans. Things like the PCAs have that system in place, and it is why no one ever takes them seriously despite having a televised awards show. While I am not expecting Studio executives to look at my polls & decide that's the shows to endorse, I also pride myself on being more reputable than the PCAs and several other web based awards shows who have an unlimited vote philosophy. Perfect examples of why unlimited voting is a flawed system can be found by looking at the round 1 results, compared to the semi-finals & finals of BOTVA voting year after year. Several times in round 1 some candidate amasses a substantial amount of votes, completely obliterating the other challengers. However, when the limits are placed, those challengers fall far back & often don't even make it to the finals. The reason being quite apparent, that contender had a small number of ACTUAL voters who spent a lot of time voting. So 1 or 2 voters were deciding the results. This is not the result of the majority of voters in most cases, but a select few who have voted more. So a single vote system in the later rounds exists so that the results are a true result of the amount of voters, and not which one(s) spent the most time voting.
CLOSING NOTES
This site has existed now for 11 years (as of April, 2020). I have run it almost single handedly. The blogging, awards, autographs, sales have been handled by me in more than 99% of those instances. This site is MINE. Some day, I may give the option to other contributors. If/when that happens, I will revise this page to show that.
I rarely, if ever, apologize for any opinions/facts I may express/show on this site. I do not care if you like me, or believe me. Anyone that knows me can attest to that. So before you go to whatever corner of the internet & suggest I did something for page views or to be liked, know this. I upset fandoms often and don't care if I do. Someday, I might upset yours. I have a growing list of subsections of fandoms who "boycott" this site yearly. I frequently allow other sites to post more sensational stories that I had 1st for no other reason than I either could not verify it, or did not think it was something the public needed to know yet. I am not here pandering for views or friends. If I take the time to respond to something you say about me specifically, or something I said, it is usually with the intent to educate you & clarify things I have noticed that you misinterpreted or purposely skewed. It is NOT to "be liked". I have gone into discussion boards where everyone disagrees with what I said and argued for days on end with dozens of people at once. I didn't do it to try & win them over. I do it to let anyone who wants to read it know what ALL the facts on the particular debate are.
I am NOT a paparazzi. I don't work for an agency, although a few times my photos thru a 3rd party have been sold to some with my permission. I am NOT a journalist. I have no degrees in journalism, writing or English. In fact, I did not even graduate high school. So before you criticize any spelling errors, or grammatical errors. Remember, I don't get PAID by anyone (minus minimal ad revenues) for any of the posts I make. This is all here, for you, FOR FREE. You are not paying for the service. So if you see an error, and its really bugging that much. Feel free to ASK me thru the contact form on the left side to fix it... and I'll consider it... but I don't owe it to you.
Posted May 9, 2016
Last revised May 1, 2020
This site has existed now for 11 years (as of April, 2020). I have run it almost single handedly. The blogging, awards, autographs, sales have been handled by me in more than 99% of those instances. This site is MINE. Some day, I may give the option to other contributors. If/when that happens, I will revise this page to show that.
I rarely, if ever, apologize for any opinions/facts I may express/show on this site. I do not care if you like me, or believe me. Anyone that knows me can attest to that. So before you go to whatever corner of the internet & suggest I did something for page views or to be liked, know this. I upset fandoms often and don't care if I do. Someday, I might upset yours. I have a growing list of subsections of fandoms who "boycott" this site yearly. I frequently allow other sites to post more sensational stories that I had 1st for no other reason than I either could not verify it, or did not think it was something the public needed to know yet. I am not here pandering for views or friends. If I take the time to respond to something you say about me specifically, or something I said, it is usually with the intent to educate you & clarify things I have noticed that you misinterpreted or purposely skewed. It is NOT to "be liked". I have gone into discussion boards where everyone disagrees with what I said and argued for days on end with dozens of people at once. I didn't do it to try & win them over. I do it to let anyone who wants to read it know what ALL the facts on the particular debate are.
I am NOT a paparazzi. I don't work for an agency, although a few times my photos thru a 3rd party have been sold to some with my permission. I am NOT a journalist. I have no degrees in journalism, writing or English. In fact, I did not even graduate high school. So before you criticize any spelling errors, or grammatical errors. Remember, I don't get PAID by anyone (minus minimal ad revenues) for any of the posts I make. This is all here, for you, FOR FREE. You are not paying for the service. So if you see an error, and its really bugging that much. Feel free to ASK me thru the contact form on the left side to fix it... and I'll consider it... but I don't owe it to you.
Posted May 9, 2016
Last revised May 1, 2020
