Ever looked at a photo of the Flin Flon Bombers in action at the Whitney Forum? In all likelihood, the person responsible for that image is Cranberry Portage photographer Kelly Jacobson.
The old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but Jacobson’s best shots, whether they’re of on-ice action or the softer side of Canada’s winter game, speak volumes. Within the pages of The Reminder during the past five seasons, her work has accompanied hundreds of thousands of words of Bomber coverage.
Jacobson, originally from Kelvington, Sask., has experimented with photography her entire life.
“I first picked up a camera when I was a teenager. I always wanted to. It didn’t matter if it was a house party, a volleyball game, at the rink, I always had some kind of camera,” she said.
“I shot cousins, brothers, but it wasn’t too fancy and I was never too thrilled with it.”
A lifelong fan of the game, Jacobson’s kids have been involved in hockey for years, with games often featuring the proud mama at ice-level, lens at the ready. While she had experience, she rarely shot games in Flin Flon until a family member made the trip up north to join the Bombers.
Midway through the 2014-15 season, Joel Kocur joined the club. The son of Kory Kocur and cousin of NHL figures Wendel Clark and Joey Kocur is Jacobson’s nephew. With family on the ice, Jacobson wanted to shoot photos to send back to their relatives across the country.
“My real passion came when Joel joined the team. I was so nervous. I didn’t even know if I would be allowed into the rink with a camera,” she said.
“That’s when it took off.”
Not long after, some Bomber officials took notice of Jacobson’s work. Former team president and longtime volunteer Tanya Benoit struck up a report with Jacobson and helped her distribute photos to the players’ families, using social media and the team’s existing list of contacts to send the shots out. If there was a Bomber event in need of a photographer, Benoit would get in touch.
“She’d make sure, when games were on, that she’d always text me. She’d always ask, ‘Can you be here?’ or ‘There’s an event we’re holding, can we get you there?’” she said.
Jacobson has been at most Bomber home games since then, with her Canon camera and telephoto bazooka of a lens - “it’s heavy, it’s expensive, but it takes some good photos,” usually at ice-level. She’s travelled for key games, including last year’s crucial but unsuccessful Game 7 matchup between the Battlefords North Stars and the Bombers.
“I remember the first time one of my photos was published in The Reminder, I just thought ‘I’m a somebody,’” she said.
A key for Jacobson is to document each player not just as an on-ice figure, but as a human being. When she describes the players on the teams she shoots, she always refers to them as “my kids” or “my boys”. Some of her favourite photos involve players joking around or having fun in the pregame skate.
“My passion is hockey and I think you can see that in the photos. The smiles the kids are giving, the little gestures – when I’m looking through the lens and you see a couple of the players on the sidelines, joking and smiling, that’s what I go for, the faces and the eyes. You can really see the soul of the kid,” she said.
These days, Jacobson shoots pictures in an official capacity with the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard in addition to shooting with the Bombers. She got involved with the Blizzard the same way she did with the Bombers – by having a family member join the team.
Jacobson has been given all-around access to the Blizzard, joining the club on a recent southern road trip and coming into the dressing rooms pre- and post-game.
“To be allowed in there is an honour. To share the photos with the parents, who may not get to the rink or see the dressing rooms, the stuff on the walls, they get to see the world their sons are in. Some of them are in the States or the east coast, the west coast. It’s for the memories of their kids doing what they love,” she said.
In 2017, Jacobson’s photos took on a new meaning. Following the Humboldt bus crash, photos Jacobson took of Broncos players during games at the Whitney Forum were often used by news outlets reporting on the disaster. One photo featuring crash victim and organ donor Logan Boulet, taken by Jacobson during a pre-game skate in his last game in the Forum, was used by Boulet’s family as part of the Green Shirt Day organ donation campaign in his memory.
Closer to home, Jacobson occasionally shoots photos for other northern Manitoba teams, including the junior B OCN Storm, the Norman Wild girls’ bantam AAA team, minor hockey clubs and others. Both the SJHL and MJHL frequently feature her photos on league pages and social media profiles. Late last year, her work was featured in a GameOn magazine piece about indigenous players in northern Manitoba.
“I love it. I love being in the rink,” she said.
“The north is like a gold mine for talent and it’s untapped.”
Jacobson’s photos for the Bombers and Blizzard are featured on separate Facebook groups made for both teams. Most of the members are players’ parents, siblings or other relatives, with some team organizers, league officials and media people added in for good measure. Her Instagram page boasts thousands of in-game photos from several northern teams. Even opposing players get in touch with Jacobson through Instagram when they come north to see if she can shoot some spare shots before or during the game.
“I’ve got kids from La Ronge, Nipawin, Yorkton, all over that are following me. Last year in Battlefords, three of the boys said ‘We’re going to be in your town playing, can you get some photos of us?’” she said.
Jacobson also shoots photos at events involving her employer, Frontier School Division. If there’s a photo of an event in Cranberry Portage featured in The Reminder, whether it’s a fiddle jam or a fun run, there’s a good chance Jacobson shot it. While photography in the outside world is all well and good, the real magic happens inside the rink.
“If I could do this full time, get a paycheck and have the confidence to do it... maybe I would,” she said.
“It’s for the parents. It’s for the memories. Their parents have made frames and scrapbooks and had them there for them when they come home after the season.”
