I have taken many thousands of photographs in my lifetime and today they fill up the majority of space on my computer hard drive. My first photos were taken with a simple box camera used on family holidays.
By the time I was twenty, I was using a Kodak Instamatic in my first trip abroad to Europe.
Finally, a few years later, I bought my first SLR camera and began exploring the ravines of Toronto where I discovered the fascinating world of wildflowers.
The world of digital photography was still some years away then. Every photographic sojourn was accompanied by anxiety over whether or not I would run out of film and even, more pressing, the worry about whether I could afford to print all the exposures. Time and time again, I would ask myself, should I buy a roll of 36 exposures or just 24?
The world of digital photography was still some years away then. Every photographic sojourn was accompanied by anxiety over whether or not I would run out of film and even, more pressing, the worry about whether I could afford to print all the exposures. Time and time again, I would ask myself, should I buy a roll of 36 exposures or just 24?
In the era of digital photography, these concerns have largely evaporated, yet old habits linger. I do not take pictures of everything—far from it. I do not try to document an experience or worst yet a life. I look for visual moments that are somehow unique or iconic or just heart-breakingly beautiful. I have taken photos of the same tree, or same mountain, or same river over and over again, trying to capture just a little more precisely the magic of the place or moment. It is an ongoing project. Moreover, I am fully aware that almost everything I photograph has been photographed already by a professional and generally more successfully. So why do I bother? Why must I take the photo? Why must I re-invent the wheel, so to speak?
It’s a good question; the best answer I can give is that, for me, photography has always been an act of adoration. It is my intimate way of responding to the universe. To quote from one of my favourite movies, Avatar, when I take a good photo, I am saying to the object of my attention; I see you . . . .
It’s a good question; the best answer I can give is that, for me, photography has always been an act of adoration. It is my intimate way of responding to the universe. To quote from one of my favourite movies, Avatar, when I take a good photo, I am saying to the object of my attention; I see you . . . .
Over the past few months I have been reviewing my collection of digitized photos (I still have some quite ancient black and whites to add to the collection!) with the aim of sharing some of my favourite “moments of adoration”. I have tried to limit myself to fifty photos in each category which has been a great challenge in many cases. I’m starting with “Winter Photos”. I’ll keep them posted for the rest of January and post from a different category the following month.
