Jordan River Winter Surfing
January 2, 2010 | Filed Under Personal Project, Photography, Photos, Sports | 1 Comment
Just another Vancouver Island winter day with the surf kicking up along the coast. Lots of surfers and kayakers out on the water. Weather ranged from pouring rain to a light mist although the sun came out on the drive home (typical). Word was spreading about the waves as more and more surfers were turning up throughout the morning.
Surfers head out
Beautiful BC wheel cover and surf board
Boarders and kayakers on the water
Waiting for the right wave
Catching a wave
Stand up surfer paddles back out
Surfers walk along highway
Dog on the beach, surfer on a wave
Happy New Year 2010
January 1, 2010 | Filed Under Personal Project, Photography, Photos | Leave a Comment
Who knows what surprises the new year will bring?
Merry Christmas
December 24, 2009 | Filed Under Personal Project, Photography | Leave a Comment
Working On Projects
November 11, 2009 | Filed Under Personal Project | Leave a Comment
It’s always interesting when working on a project how certain themes or subjects start to repeat themselves, often threaten to become a project in themselves. Boats have begun to show up in many of my island photos, it makes sense as we have such easy access to water but until you start looking you don’t realize how many people do have boats and how they store them in unusual places and how often they’ll have several, just sitting in the yard year after year the way people in other locales store old automobiles.
I was out this morning to Goldstream Park to work on another project dealing with spawning salmon. This male chum was still alive but barely, still breathing while lying on his side partly out of the water.
On Conscientious
November 10, 2009 | Filed Under Personal Project | Leave a Comment
It was more than a pleasant surprise today during my daily check of photo sites to click on Joerg Colberg’s Conscientious site and see one of my photos from the Salt Water &Rain project.
It was especially heartening as this is one of the first projects where I’ve moved away (or at least I feel like I have) from my newspaper photojournalism background.
The project is based on the idea that despite increasing globalization and commodification of culture we are all, no matter where we live, still strongly shaped and given identity by our landscape and weather. Those two factors work to keep us distinct. Living on the western edge, actually off the western edge, of Canada on islands, surrounded by the ocean and often, certainly in the fall and winter months, living in the rain and fog does affect how you live.
These photographs are an attempt to look at and understand that effect.
Suddenly Eye Surgery
June 21, 2009 | Filed Under Personal Project | Leave a Comment
What I thought was dust in my eye turned out to be a detached retina, so after a very quick round of eye doctor exams I found myself in surgery. Luckily the surgery (not my shooting eye, even luckier) appears to have been a success. After 72 hours of remaining upright (to keep everything in place) I’m now coping with a large black bubble bobbing about in my vision (the bubble was injected there to keep the reattached retina in place) that will take about 6 weeks to dissipate. A bit disconcerting but better than the alternative on not seeing at all.
While waiting in the hospital for my turn with the doctor I ran into Toni Tata, daughter of the late Sam Tata, the great Montreal based photojournalist and buddy of Henri Cartier-Bresson, so got to chat about Sam and his work before going in for my eye job.
Tried driving today and took this photo, will be part of a personal project on the west coast islands.
Good Friday Cross Procession
April 12, 2009 | Filed Under Personal Project, Photography | Leave a Comment
I’ve been shooting, as a personal project, the Good Friday cross procession that some churches organize every Easter. I’m fascinated on two levels, first as a purely visual event and second, as an expression of faith by mainstream church members who tend not to brandish their beliefs. This year’s walk by members of Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican) yielded a number of photos I was happy with but the image of the cross carrier stopping to give change to the panhandler really stood out. The Canadian Press picked up some of these images which was a nice bonus.
