I've always had a passion for visual arts.
As a child growing up on a farm, I would often borrow the family Brownie Hawkeye to take photos of rocks, fences or time exposures of lightning or by moonlight.
After obtaining an education as a surveyor and working in the trade, I realized I was much more interested in capturing and creating photos of landscapes and people than recording spatial distances and details.
Ryerson University taught me the tools of the trade and life experiences taught me to never take things for granted and to look for moments often overlooked by many.
Besides formal photographic studies, I studied with master photographers, William Albert Allard, Harvey Lloyd, Freeman Patterson / Andre Gallant and Karin Rosenthal. Much like accomplished musicians, these photographers have honed their skills to a fine art and distinction. I feel very fortunate to have had their feedback and encouragement.
My first professional work, was that of a custom mural printer for the very reputable McRae Custom Colour Lab in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I printed with the long forgotten (and quality - yet to matched) Cibachrome process. I used an 8x10 enlarger, mounted on steel tracks to produce strips of 3 x 8 ft panels to assemble 9 or 12 foot murals, displayed at the Ontario Place dome.
I learned quickly that producing quality was paramount to success and there really is no second chance. Fast forward to the digital world of today ... the process has changed but the quest for quality and well composed imagery has not. A lesson, which I'm sure will follow me forever.
Whether it be traveling by dugout on the Sepic River - PNG, hitchhiking in Kono - Nigeria or soaking in the solitude of the Burin Peninsula in NFLD, Canada - I seek to show the contrasts, similarities and the unexpected, which bond us together in this beautiful life.
Photographs for sale on this site are also available as digital downloads with various assignable rights.
Chris
Represented by: The Canadian Art Concepts Corporation