Chris Bickford book – After The Storm

August 30, 2009 | Filed Under Photography | Leave a Comment 

I first came across Chris Bickford’s work on the NY Times LENS blog a couple of months ago and really enjoyed his dark contrasty surfing images from North Carolina, not the first place that springs to mind when you think of surfing ( and I live on Vancouver Island where the main surfing happens during the cold, wet winter months, again not the first place you’d think of surfing). Chris self published a book of the images which is entitled ‘After The Storm”  and I ordered a copy which arrived a few weeks ago and it’s a great book, a combination of the images as well as text that explains the Carolina surf world in a way that both explains to novices and would appeal to seasoned surfers. Chris has sold out of the first edition but has another on the way and you can order through his site here on his July 20 posting although if you want to check out his work, here’s the main page for his website. Chris also sells prints from the series..

It’s always such a great moment when a package arrives in the mail that contains an item you’re really been waiting for and there was an added little cool moment when I noted the return address on the envelope – Kitty Hawk,.  I know when you live in a place it all seems commonplace but when you were a kid in school and heard about Kitty Hawk as the place where the Wright brothers made the first flight it became one of those places that doesn’t seem quite real. The NY Times mentions that Chris lives in Kill Devil Hills, a name that I would imagine would be a real conversation starter.

Back cover image

Globe and Mail Feature

August 28, 2009 | Filed Under Photography | 1 Comment 

Tom Hawthorn wrote a nice piece in the BC section of the Globe and Mail about a photograph I took of my son that was used for a book cover.

Update: Here’s the original photo and a new photo of my son with the book cover:

Original

Going To The 2010 Winter Olympics

August 28, 2009 | Filed Under Photography | 1 Comment 

Here’s the official company press release:

Subject: Olympic coverage team announced

To all Group Presidents, Publishers and Editors: (Please forward to your Publishers and Editors)

In just six months, B.C. will host one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world – the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. It is a very special opportunity for the province, and Black Press,
both in terms of marketing initiatives, and showcasing our unique and high quality brand of community-focused editorial coverage. The Canadian Olympic Committee has granted Black Press four media
accreditations – two photographers and two reporters. Expressions of interest were recently invited from all Black Press editorial staff, across B.C. A total of 34 applications were received
by the senior regional editors. The level of interest, and the depth and range of experience was very impressive. Factors including tenure, skill levels, experience and career achievement were taken into consideration in preparation of a shortlist of candidates for the regions’ presidents, who selected the four individuals who will form the Black Press Olympic editorial coverage team. There were many more very qualified applicants.

Congratulations to Don Denton, Kevin Mitchell, Jenna Hauck and Grant Granger. All four represent the top-notch journalism for which Black Press is known provincially and nationally.
Thank you to all those who expressed their interest in this opportunity. Your enthusiasm and passion for your craft is noted and appreciated. As we go forward, the Olympic coverage team will be meeting with regional editors to discuss coverage structure, and to establish other key components, such as a coordinating editor, support staff, and a work location.

Don Denton
Staff photographer at the Victoria News for the past five years, Don has extensive newspaper experience, including many years at the Calgary Herald. He has covered the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, and numerous other major sporting events in his career, including world downhill skiing at Whistler, Grey Cups, Stanley Cups, and international skating in Europe. He has earned a number of Black Press, provincial and national awards, and also writes for the News, for print and the web.

Kevin Mitchell
Kevin is the sports editor at the Vernon Morning Star, where he has worked for about 18 years. He broad experience includes daily newspapers, and coverage of the ’88 Calgary Winter Olympics, and other
major sporting events. Kevin is a talented writer, who has earned Black Press and provincial recognition for his work. He has a background in general news and political reporting, and also includes
photography in his skill set.

Jenna Hauck
Jenna has been with the Chilliwack Progress since 2000. She is a motivated and talented photographer who has won many Black Press, provincial and national awards for her work. Writing is among her
range of considerable skills, and she is the acting editor for The Progress in the editor’s absence. While studying photojournalism in Ontario, she interned for several months with the Toronto Star. She is
a member of several professional photography associations, and coordinated the Western Canadian News Photographers Association convention in Vancouver in 2007.

Grant Granger
Grant joined Black Press in 2004, as a sports/general news reporter for the Burnaby/New Westminster News Leader. He is the acting editor of The News Leader in the editor’s absence. Grant has a background in daily newspapers, including 16 years at the Winnipeg Sun. He has covered the Pan Am Games, and numerous other major sporting events, including the CFL. Grant recently earned Black Press and provincial recognition for his sports feature writing.

The goal of this group will be to focus on athlete’s who come from our coverage areas in BC, Alberta and Washington as well as provide more general coverage of the games and the associated events surrounding the staging of this major event.

Regards,

Rick O’Connor
Chief Operating Officer
Black Press

Sea King Helicopter Surprise

August 23, 2009 | Filed Under Photography | Leave a Comment 

The return of the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg after a six month tour of duty Friday provided all sorts of photo opportunities with the big ship sailing into port with all hands on deck, the waiting families, the tearful reunions etc but the big surprise was the flypast of a Sea King helicopter from the ship, dangling crew member Master Corporal David Tillotson. Tillotson  who was holding the ship’s flag and fellow chopper crewmen  are part of the 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron.

The crew of local photographers covering the event nearly missed it as the ship had already moved past the point at the entrance to the harbour and was heading to the dock where families and friends waited to greet the crew. We were ready to head down to the dock when the helicopter came from behind with Tillotson hanging from the aircraft.

Model Airplane Airshow

August 16, 2009 | Filed Under Photography | 1 Comment 

Every year the Victoria Radio Control Modelers Society puts on the Largest Little Airshow to raise funds for local charities. It’s a challenge to shoot the small fast aircraft in flight and it’s a lot of fun to photograph the contestants and their planes.

Model Airplane Show Canada - Don Denton 1 Victoria:BC:Canada:August 16/09 - Dave Sullivan, from Sacramento, California, hovers his Yak 54 radio controlled model aerobatic airplane just off the ground while performing during the annual Largest Little Airshow held in the greater Victoria municipality of Central Saanich. The aircraft fuselage on the giant model is 8 feet long. The two day airshow raises money for local charities.

Model Airplane Show Canada - Don Denton 2 Victoria:BC:Canada:August 16/09 - Tony Richardson, of Victoria, BC, holds his Curtis Hawk P6E radio controlled model aerobatic airplane while waiting to perform during the annual Largest Little Airshow held in the greater Victoria municipality of Central Saanich. The two day airshow raises money for local charities.

Model Airplane Show Canada - Don Denton 3 Victoria:BC:Canada:August 16/09 - Dwayne Matear, of Victoria, BC, carries his P51 Mustang radio controlled model aerobatic airplane to a workbench to fine tune the craft before performing during the annual Largest Little Airshow held in the greater Victoria municipality of Central Saanich. The two day airshow raises money for local charities.

Model Airplane Show Canada - Don Denton 4 Victoria:BC:Canada:August 16/09 - Ron Turner, of Victoria, BC, shows off his Flying Clothing Iron radio controlled model aerobatic airplane while waiting to perform during the annual Largest Little Airshow held in the greater Victoria municipality of Central Saanich. The battery powered craft is made of foam. The two day airshow raises money for local charities.

Model Airplane Show Canada - Don Denton 5 Victoria:BC:Canada:August 16/09 - Participants carry a large radio controlled model aerobatic airplane over their heads as spectators watch them go past during the annual Largest Little Airshow held in the greater Victoria municipality of Central Saanich. The two day airshow raises money for local charities.

Brian Howell in the NY Times

August 13, 2009 | Filed Under From the Newspapers | Leave a Comment 

The New York Times’ Home and Garden section has a slide show on the second house that writer (and artist)  Douglas Coupland bought in Vancouver  (behind his existing house) and turned into a gallery for his personal art collection. Slide number four shows a a photograph on the wall by BC photographer Brian Howell, from his series on wrestlers.

Photographs and Words Collide

August 10, 2009 | Filed Under Blog | Leave a Comment 

Jorg Colberg at Conscientious had a post about a mini controversy at the new site Black Snapper. They had posted a set of photos by Thai photographer (living in Paris) Supanet Riansrivilai, street photography from Poland. The fuss seemed to be not so much about images but about her written comments about her project and how the two matched up.

I was struck by some similarities with a recent posting on Burn of a set of images by Canadian photographer Mike Berube. A lot of the comments on the images related to how Berube’s statement matched (or didn’t) match his photographs. Berube’s statement says, in part, “Hometown is a collection of images that centers around the effects that the current recession has had on the place i call home. Oshawa Ontario in rural Canada in particular, has been hit very hard by these changes, with General Motors factory closures and home evictions and rising drug trafficking.  So far, close to 250,000 people have lost their jobs, and as the downtown sector closes down, stores and shops become a haven for drug dealers and gangs turning a once peaceful downtown into violent ground.”

One viewer who posted comments, Sacco,  is also from Oshawa and some of his/her comments are, “If your intention here was to manufacture a news story then I’d say you did an admirable job. You had a preconceived notion about Oshawa and deliberately went out to support your idea with images that are misrepresented. The crumbled building at the beach in Whitby has been in that state for the 20 years that I’ve lived here, I’m not sure what it originally housed but it sits waiting for permits to turn it into a pub or restaurant. The snow covered field is land that is zoned for new housing development. The large parcel of land with apartment building in background is farmers field which I believe still grows crops (just blocks from my home in downtown Whitby). The boarded up homes appear to be the Whitby psychiatric hospital that was closed many years ago and the land sold for development. As for the 250,000 jobs lost, the population of Oshawa is about 150,000, do the math.”

Berube’s photos have a dark beauty and stand on their own as images but I have to agree that they don’t really match his project statement. I think there’s a lesson there, if you’re going to have a project statement or essay accompanying your images then that statement had better be at least accurate (250,000 jobs lost in a city of 150,000 !!!) and your images should match words (current doesn’t describe a 20 year old derelict building).

The ever loquacious Bob Black, who advised Mike on his project, tries to defend Berube from some of the critical comments. His defence and here’s a brief section here ‘It is more lyrical, more evasive, more transient. the images themselves are broken, detail decay and loss and sadness, that is probably less to too with the economic reality than it has to do with Mike’s own sense of loss, history, disappearance of things. It is a very personal and almost hermetic work” is really not a defence but more a lesson in what Berube should have said himself.

If your photo essay is more ‘art’ than ‘straight journalism’ then the statement should reflect that.

The thing about these postings though is that they are (aside from showcasing good photographs) getting people talking about photography and that can only be a good thing.

Don Denton Website & Blog Updated

August 2, 2009 | Filed Under Blog, Website | Leave a Comment 

My website www.dondenton.ca and blog have been updated and given a bit of a new look and a couple of new galleries added, thanks to Tristan Shouldice at Introvenus Design. Please check back over the next few weeks as I’ll be adding more photos to existing galleries and posting new projects. Thank you.

New Web Site

August 1, 2009 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment 

The invisible side of dondenton.ca is getting a major upgrade.  We hope to have it up as soon as possible with improved usability and accessibility!

Check back often!

From Introvenus Design.