Happy 150th Canada!

Thinking back to 1967, it was a big deal when Canada turned 100. I was 8 years old when I received my centennial coin at school. It was also the year my Dad’s company printed a book called Canada – A Year of the Land. The book celebrated Canada’s 100th birthday.

Dad brought home tear sheets for me to put up on my walls. The photos really stuck with me. I wanted to be one of those photographers travelling across Canada taking wonderful images of the landscape.

That desire really never left me. I still love what I do and hope to continue for many more years.

As Canada celebrates it’s 150th birthday, I will continue to travel and capture images. I’m fortunate to be in two books that celebrate Canada's sesquicentennial. The first book is called The Colour of Canada by Roy MacGregor:

Here are my images from The Colour of Canada:

Red Canoe

Covered Bridge in Wakefield, Quebec

Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec

The second book is called, True North: The Canadian Song Book by Eleanor McCain:

Included with the publication of this coffee table book are two CDs Eleanor has recorded of classic Canadian songs. She is performing these songs across Canada with a slide show of the images from the book.

Here are my images from True North: The Canadian Song Book:

Fundy Mudflats in New Brunswick

Bison, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

Of course our self-published book “Canada through our Eyes” is still available on Blurb:

I have spent the last 27 years travelling across our great country. I’m proud to be a Canadian and I’m proud to help celebrate its 150th.

Happy Birthday Canada!

The Quest

Burleigh Falls, Ontario

The frost is melting from under my feet. You can smell the earth as it warms up after a long winter. It’s time to get outside and watch the world wake up.

Below High Falls, Ontario

Lately I’ve been busy working on a few projects and haven’t been out to shoot as often as I would like. I suspect that will change soon. With the spring bird migration and the leaves about to sprout, I will be drawn outside to the light.

The last few weeks I’ve spent “data mining”, going back through old images and finding gems hidden in the weeds. We are working on a project for a client and they wanted an image with a specific look, a “typical Canadian landscape”. We have been fortunate to travel extensively across Canada many times. I have watched the tide come and go on all 3 coasts. With all that this country is how do you say that with one image? If you were asked to pick an image that screams CANADA where would it be? The Rocky Mountains? Newfoundland? Algonquin Park? It reminds me of a time we were in France and someone said they “cook Canadian” all the time. I looked at them confused. Canada is so diverse it is hard to sum up what we are in one dish, one scene or one sentence.

Here are a few images I missed selecting the first time through.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Alexandra Falls, Northwest Territories

The Palisades, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta

Male Willow Ptarmigan

The quest for a great image does not end with the click of the shutter. There is so much more to my ever-changing workflow that contributes to a finished image. Judging by the images above, I need to have a look at my selection criteria.

The quest continues.