I immigrated to Canada
from Great Britain in 1979. As a youth living in England much
of my time was spent dreaming about adventure in the outdoors.
On weekends and school holidays I would travel up north from
the midlands. Most of these trips where taken with a local climbing
club or the scouts, whether camping, climbing or just rambling
amongst the hills anything outdoor related would keep me happy.
It was these small adventures that ultimately shaped the direction
I have taken in life.
As a teenager, the move to Canada was and still is an exciting
wilderness adventure. In relation to the wilds of England and
much of Europe, Canada is extremely expansive and somewhat unpopulated.
With a population of roughly 25 million people and 80% of Canadians
living along or close to the US border ‘getting away from
it all’ is not that hard to do. The challenging part about
travel in Canada is getting from A to B, which usually involves
hours/days of driving, hiking or air travel.
I spent much of my youth and early adulthood exploring North
America. Rock climbing, mountaineering and hiking throughout
N. America led to some quite remarkable wilderness situations
that I feel quite privileged to have experienced, however it
wasn’t until I picked up a camera that I really noticed
how much more there was to see in nature and how much I was actually
missing.
My first camera was a huge Polaroid camera that I used to
haul up climbs with me. I liked it because of the instant results,
I still have some of those images and to this day cannot figure
out what I was actually photographing. Poor photography led me
to find out what I was doing wrong. Rather than figure out things
for myself I took the more formal approach and studied photography
at a Community College in Vancouver. In the long run a more formal
approach has proven beneficial, especially on the business side
of things.
Up until a couple of years ago I exclusively used 35mm equipment
for all my work. Unsatisfied with the results that I wanted to
achieve in my landscape photography I switched to a 4X5 and to
be honest wish that I had changed over a long time ago. The 4X5
seems to suit my slow methodical style of shooting; I just wish
the equipment were a bit lighter, especially on those uphill
grunts.