With a rifle as a hunter or with a camera as a wildlife photographer, Jason Sudlovenick loves to point and shoot. He lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut but grew up in Pond Inlet and Resolute Bay. Throughout his life, he has lived across Canada while serving in the army, Canadian Army. After receiving an honourable discharge, he moved home to Iqaluit. Now that he’s left the military, Sulovenick works for the government of Nunavut as an HR coordinator, something he’s done for seven years. 

Outside of his day job, he has a freelance photography business, taking photos for passports, firearms licenses, permanent residency cards and doing 3d real estate tours. Between his job and his business activities, he stays busy. His freelance work affords Sudlovenick freedom and the ability to set his own schedule, but the rewards come with costs and risks, too. 

After leaving the military, Sudlovenick was working a couple of casual jobs but they weren’t working out so he applied for an HR job and has been doing that ever since. He picked it up fairly quickly. Photography was something he got into during the pandemic, spending time on the land and wanting to share what he saw. Given the high cost of camera equipment and also of living in the North, putting his camera to work was a decision that helped bring in more revenue for his family. “I don't regret it. I'm glad I followed through with it,” he beams. 

His advice for youth who are thinking of leaving their home community to pursue work or school recognizes that going away can bring homesickness, culture shock, and time away from family and friends. “It doesn't have to be forever, you could always go back. You could gain your valuable skills, your experience, and your education, and bring that back home with you. There'll be challenges, but the rewards are there too,” he recommends. 

"You could gain your valuable skills, your experience, and your education, and bring that back home with you. There'll be challenges, but the rewards are there too."

As for his own life choices, he doesn’t regret joining the military, though he’s glad he’s no longer part of it. He’s grateful for the skills and discipline he gained in the process and how those have added to his life. “Going back, I’d do it all over again,” he affirms. 

In the military, he was able to overcome those obstacles by forming close bonds with his colleagues. He describes the connection among his team as a brotherhood and that’s what helped him get through challenges. The discipline and structure also helped him through, and he appreciated the lower cost of living and easy access to other communities when he was in the South.

If he could give his younger self advice it would be to take his education more seriously. Currently, Sudlovenick is pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce through Athabasca University. While it’s something he juggles between his job, his family and his business, he wishes he had gotten started earlier. Now 39 with his employer paying for his education, he got an A- on his first course. 

With so much to juggle, Sudlovenick has to prioritize. First, he focuses on meeting basic household needs financially and helping with household chores and family responsibilities. With the time left over, he works on his schooling at his own pace. The courses he works on have six-month deadlines and extensions are possible. When all that is taken care of, he engages in his hobbies like hunting, which also allows him to provide country food for his extended family while spending time with friends out on the land. The dilemma he faces as a photographer is whether to shoot with a camera or a rifle. Hunting is an expensive hobby but he does it as much as he can. 

When it comes to inspiration, Sudlovenick is inspired by the success of others. By his estimation, success is not narrowly defined as financial wealth but also by having positive family relationships. He’s working towards a better work-life balance for himself and seeking more freedom in terms of working fewer hours, working less over the holidays, worrying less about bills and spending more time with his family. What he would love to do with more free time is spend more hours photographing wildlife. He’s grateful to have the opportunity to take passport and real estate photos but he would love to take more pictures in nature and get to share them. 

Spending time in nature with a rifle as a hunter or with a camera as a wildlife photographer, Jason Sudlovenick loves to point and shoot. He left the military with skills and discipline to apply to civilian life in the North. Providing for his family, following his dreams, and working on his education, he’s in pursuit of the hunt, the perfect photo and better balance every day.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.