Lucy Lu Photography

Me this summer solstice 🌞🌿💤

Yeye’s yard, 2024. It was hard going to Da Pi Yuan this year without my grandfather. I write about my experience in my latest newsletter plus some exciting news, link in bio. 🌿

A rainy, muddy hike on the Bruce Trail 🍃

Tony Genua, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments, for the May 2024 issue of Report On Business 😊

Shapes of the earth, where my heart lies still, where I feel most inspired 🖤

I’ve known about this eclipse since elementary school. We had scientists come into class one day to teach us about space, and I was completely enthralled. I committed to memory that there will be a partial eclipse over the Toronto area in 2017 and a total eclipse in 2024. Back then 2024 was still so far away, and 30 felt so old. I went to Niagara for the eclipse with a few friends, I didn’t take many photos, I wanted to be present. The weather was not working in our favour with cloud coverage almost the entire time, but we did get a few glimpses. The temperature still turned cold where we could see our breath, the sky still went dark like someone switched a k**b in the Truman Show. During totality the clouds parted a few brief moments. It was like a dream, the epitome of the sublime as I was filled with awe and the lingerings of a primordial fear. Thousands of strangers around me sharing that same experience.

I’ll admit I was skeptical when I heard people touting that seeing a total eclipse is emotional, spiritual, life-changing. But I did feel emotional, it was something felt and not just seen. I’m tempted to become an eclipse chaser now, or maybe I’ll wait for the next one coming to North America in 2044. I will be 50, I wonder what life and the world will look like then…

A little desert panorama 🌵
Valley of Fire, Nevada

Sharing some images from the First Person I did with CBC about how having tea with my mom and learning traditional recipes has connected me with our culture and brought us closer. This women’s day and every women’s day I am thinking of my mom and all the women in my family who has raised me and made me the person I am. ❤️💜💛

The link to this story is in my bio if you haven’t read it!

De-Mario Knowles for ! Last month I got to photograph three University of Toronto students who are making an impact in their communities.

De-Mario is a second-year clinical psychology student at University Toronto Scarborough. He is collaborating with the university’s Health and Wellness Centre to produce content that raises awareness about the department’s services, and promote mental health care in general. So inspiring to meet all these motivated and compassionate young people. Read more about De-Mario’s work at magazine.utoronto.ca 😊

Riley Yesno for ! Last month I got to photograph three University of Toronto students who are making an impact in their communities.

Riley is an Anishinaabe activist and scholar who is currently doing her PhD at U of T St. George. Riley wants to bring more awareness to the injustices Canada has committed and continues to commit towards its Indigenous peoples. As well, she is a leading voice in the “landback” movement. Read more about Riley’s amazing work at magazine.utoronto.ca 😊

Giovanni Williams for ! Last month I got to photograph three University of Toronto students who are making an impact in their communities.

Giovanni is a first year student at U of T Mississauga who mentors Black youths at local high schools to encourage and help them pursue higher education. Read more at magazine.utoronto.ca 😊

Colin Campbell and his daughter for Nature Conservancy Canada . Colin shares how his child carrier backpack is a symbol for their family’s collective journey and their love of the outdoors in the latest issue of the NCC magazine. It has helped foster a sense of adventure and love of nature for his young daughters. Always a great time shooting for 💛

Cat Bohannon for the latest issue of

In her new book Eve, Cat looks at evolution through the perspective of the female body.

Thanks for the call ☺️

Hi friends, as the year comes to an end I want to share some personal work on 35mm. To be honest it’s been a struggle for me to work on personal work this year, and it’s also been hard to keep up with posting on Instagram. I’m still navigating how I want to use this space, and how I can make posting feel less pressured and performative. If you haven’t seen, I’ve been sharing work through a newsletter that goes out quarterly, which I find to be a more personal and deeper way to connect. You can sign up to the mailing list through my link in bio. Thank you to everyone who I’ve worked with and connected with this year. Thank you for your support, friendship, and guidance. See you in 2024 ✌️❤️

I got the chance to photograph a super cool artist for this fall. Hilary Lipkin , an artist who works primarily with wood, creates miniatures of mid-century modern furniture, or “vignettes” as she calls them, with primarily found and recycled material. Hilary has created over 100 miniatures that scatter throughout her home. Her home itself is an embodiment of her and her family’s artistic expression. Paintings, decor, furniture, children’s’ toys, all created by her and some by her daughter, a painter. Hilary’s passion, resourcefulness, and love for her craft truly inspired me! I also found out she lived in my old neighbourhood where I’ve walked past her home probably a hundred times during the pandemic, oblivious to the wonderful things being created inside. Check out more images and Iris Benaroia’s article on the Toronto Life website.

Lucia Martinez for Toronto Life’s Cost of Living section. Lucia makes a minimum wage salary and talks about how she budgets with the rising cost of essentials like groceries. Meeting Lucia, it’s l clear that she’s incredibly hardworking, resourceful, and trying to make the best of what she has. It’s an awful reality that the minimum wage can’t even begin to cover the all the costs of living in this city today.

See the full article on the website

Phone camera observations. Throwing it back to 2015 ig.

A very cool assignment I did for where I visited the Prehistoria Museum and Skullstore Oddity Shop ( ) in Toronto’s east end. Owner Ben Lovatt, collects strange and eclectic artifacts from all over the world. From dinosaur and whale skeletons, to ancient ritual paraphernalia, to undergarments belonging to Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler’s wife, the museum houses an incredible collection items that will captivate and transport you. Perfect place to visit for October.

1. Ben Lovatt, owner of Prehistoria Museum & SkullStore Oddity Shop in, posing in front of Tinker the T-Rex.
2+3. Taxidermied animals, skulls, and other specimens line the walls at Prehistoria Museum & SkullStore Oddity Shop in Toronto, Ontario
4. Jim Byrnes, staff and in-house magician
5. “Justin’s Toe” When a SkullStore client lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, Lovatt’s team reassembled a rendering of the limb bone by bone. As a token of appreciation, the client gifted his toe to the museum’s collection
6. On May 13, 1978, this black bear killed three children in Algonquin Park—one of the worst bear attacks in Ontario history. Originally on display at the Algonquin Park visitor centre, the animal was stuffed to help educate the public on wildlife safety
7. Staff offering rum to a Haitian Vodou Altar, an artifact in the museum. The museum prides itself on collecting artifacts ethically and with consent, while honouring the traditions and rituals that may come with the item.

A few weeks ago I covered the National Ijtima (Annual Gathering) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association for the . The gathering marked the launched the Light of Quran campaign, a response to the Quran burnings in Europe. Each year, thousands of Muslim youth (youth defined as 7-40 years of age) come from all over Canada for a three day gathering, where they participate in knowledge sharing, spiritual study, and special workshops and competitions.

1+2. Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association of Canada with their children pray before opening ceremonies at their annual gathering at the Baitul Islam Mosque Complex in Maple, Ontario.
3. Flag raising ceremony for the annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association of Canada, where both the Canadian flag and the flag of the association are raised to mark the commencement of the three-day event.
4. The Baitul Islam Mosque Complex in Maple, Ontario where thousands from across Canada gather from August 25-27, 2023 to engage in knowledge sharing and study of the Quran.
5. Usman Ahmed, 21, is from Vaughan, Ontario. "I've actually been involved with this community since I was seven years old. At the end of the day, I feel like all these types of events, they just bring a sense of community, a sense of brotherhood more than anything else. […] At the end of the day, our motto is love for all hatred for none. And we've always stuck to that motto forever. And no matter what happens in the world, we're still going to stick to that and respond with peace.”


Rock climbers everywhere in Yosemite 😉 Along the mist trail.

Windswept tree on top of Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park.

Panorama atop Sentinel Dome, with an incredible view of Half Dome. Highly recommend the Sentinel Dome hike, relatively easy with the most amazing 360 view of Yosemite.

Along the Mist Trail, Yosemite Valley 🎣

Yosemite Valley 😌

Let the Yosemite images begin! Lenticular clouds above White Mountain, spotted from the Lembert Dome trail.

Yosemite houses some of the most amazing landscapes I’ve ever seen. I was inspired and humbled by nature. Only a place like this can exhaust and energize me at the same time.

Today we welcome Toronto’s new mayor, Olivia Chow .
It was an honour to take her portrait, thanks for the assignment ! Check out her Q&A on torontolife.com

Portraits for writer and my dear friend, Tom Froh ✨

Hi friends, I’m back after a little unplanned hiatus from posting on IG. I want to share one of my favourite assignments from the last few months. While most of my work revolves around portraiture, I was excited when Toronto Life called with an assignment that offered a bit of a change in pace. I was asked to capture a few locations for a mortgage fraud story about the infamous real estate fraudster Courtney Wallis Simpson. This story really got my creative gears turning, thinking about how I can make interesting photographs from these seemingly mundane places. How can I evoke the essence of the story? 

I loved the meditative experience of driving, walking around, finding good light, and thinking about the poetry of the suburban landscape. Check out the fascinating story on the website!

An ode to summer 🌞 can’t wait for more of this warm weather!

For the latest issue of the , I photographed the co-founder of .ca , Scott Morrison. Muuse is trying to reduce plastic waste in cities, offering an alternative for plastic waste found in coffee shops and restaurants. Muuse supplies participating cafes and restaurants with reusable containers that customers can “sign out” and return to the same or other participating restaurants.