Fundy Photography
My hometown is Kentville which is part of the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. Growing up I can remember borrowing my fathers old 35mm Pentax to try and get that perfect picture of our family cat. My passion for photography was evident to me early on in life, I can remember by the anticipation that I would feel when I got that package of photos back from being developed, frantically opening the package to see how they had turned out.
After high school I attended Dalhousie University where I received my degree in Biology. My aspirations of moving to Danger Bay and working with Dr Grant Roberts never really panned out, things just always seemed so exciting on that island. All kidding aside, while Dalhousie was a life changing experience, it was difficult for me to translate my passions towards nature and wildlife into a full time position as a Biologist.
At the age of 25 I took up painting, which kind of came out of left field, yet quickly turned into a daily
routine. Part of this experience involved gathering reference images, which was great because it got me out into the woods
and along the coast taking pictures. For me painting and photography have allowed for the best of both worlds, I have lots
of time to take pictures and my studio is in my kitchen so I can paint at night or days when it is raining.
My painting led me to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2006, which really opened my eye to all the avenues for artistic expression that are possible, and how every one of them rely on certain basic rules such as composition, negative and positive shapes and proper use of the value scale. Intro photography was one of my first classes, and I was quickly humbled by the complexities regarding the proper use of the camera. This was mainly because we were using 35mm black and white film and responsible for the entire process from getting the negatives ready to be printed, to printing and fixing the photos in the dark room. We also learned a great deal of the history behind photography which put things in perspective in terms of how far the technology has come and how easy we have it today. The great thing about this class was that we went right back to the basics, learning the mechanics of achieving a proper exposure. That class ended in April and by May I my first digital SLR camera and I have not looked back. The final two years at NSCAD were really focussed towards my painting, yet I was always out getting photos when I had the chance and finding ways of incorporating my photography into other aspects of art.
The past two summers I have been lucky enough to photograph a few of my friends weddings and I found it to be an exciting new challenge. Putting to use my skills both from school and out in the field, where often times you only get one chance to get the shot , so you really need to be on your toes and thinking ahead.
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