One week ago this evening we arrived in Montreal; wow, that went fast! Throughout the week I only used one lens, walking here and there, getting oriented, and trying to get a sense of where I wish to focus my photography. I have dabbled with different subject matter and different styles of image making. Basically, […]
photography
Montreal Residency – Day 5
Last night Rita and I took the Metro to Old Montreal for a stroll through cobble stone streets. Hand-held. I started by making a few representational images. I couldn’t resist the strong lines and dramatic contrast. After a welcomed beer in an underground pub, it was time to become more expressive. Rita window shopping! Eventually, […]
Montreal Residency – Day 4
Wow…what a day yesterday was! I could make 10 blog posts from just a single days shoot! Here are a few. Hard to believe but one of those three blue doors on the right is where we are staying in Montreal! Fabulous. My day always starts by taking the Metro to my days destination. This […]
Montreal Residency – Day 2
Today was my first real day of exploring the city. I felt rather uneasy photographing with so many people around; using a camera other than a smartphone meant people were always staring at me. There was also the issue of photographing buildings; the ones I found most interesting were private ones, usually row-buildings. Without permission […]
Montreal Residency – Day 1
During the month of October I am doing a self-directed residency in Montreal. I am here to photograph the city where life began for me in 1939; full circle! Photographing a city is something new for me; a huge change from the wilderness of central British Columbia, but I am looking forward to it. I […]
Volcanic Landscapes Come to Life
This is the fourth in the series of volcanic blog posts comparing our experience in the Hawaiian and Chilcotin shield volcanoes. Originally, many millions of years ago, spores released into the wind from a fern in Southeast Asia were carried by air currents high into the jet stream, where they drifted eastward. Eventually they settled […]
Water Eroding Old and New Volcanic Landscapes
This is the third in the series of volcanic blog posts comparing our experience in the Hawaiian and Chilcotin shield volcanoes. After hiking over a very recent lava flow that added about 4 sq. km of land to the Island of Hawaii, we reached the coast. The following three images show ocean waves pounding this […]
Two Distinct Lava Features: Hawaii and the West Chilcotin
This is the second in the series of volcanic blog posts comparing our experience in the Hawaiian and Chilcotin shield volcanoes. One day, Rita’s aunt, Ruth Beauchamp (who lives in Hawaii), took us to visit Lava Tree State Park. It was like walking through a lava forest. When the Kilauea eruption sent red hot lava […]
Exploring Two Volcanic Landscapes: The Chilcotin & Hawaii
Nothing excites me more than hiking and exploring a volcanic landscape. In 2010 I published a major natural history coffee-table book on British Columbia’s volcanic plateau titled Motherstone. The most exciting explorations were within the three great shield volcanoes of the West Chilcotin; the Rainbow, Ilgatchuz and Itcha volcanoes. Last month, my partner Rita and […]
Real or Imagined?
In most cases, we are more concerned with the material life as opposed to the spiritual or the imaginary life. This image is of a wood splitter. Most people see it in terms of its functionality in everyday life; others may look at wood splitters in an imaginative way. Artists, for example, might look at […]
Now it’s Physics that Excites me!
As I walked along the road looking down on the lake, I was so intrigued with the shapes. How did they all come to be? I could hear the ice creaking and groaning; sometimes the sound of a high-powered rifle would send a fissure travelling across the entire lake. I presumed the heat from the […]
Why do I get so excited about Line!
Continuing my walk , the contrast I was looking at yesterday (previous blog post), also revealed lines. Lines can be curved, straight, diagonal, or oblique, and each evokes a different emotional response. Light also plays a role in our response; direct light creates a different feeling than diffuse light. You can check this out by […]