Background and process

I remember, as a child in British Columbia, spending many long wonderful summers with my grandmother in the small Kootenay town of Nakusp located on an expansive portion of the Columbia River known as the Upper Arrow Lake. In the late 1950's and early 1960's there still remained large pockets of virgin interior rain forest. These ancient trees were hundreds of feet tall and measured 6 to 10 feet in diameter at their base. The woodland caribou were abundant. Large stately cottonwood trees ringed the Arrow Lakes which rose and fell with the natural rhythm of the seasons. This was my playground and my classroom. My natural sense of curiosity was my teacher. My childhood experiences have had a lasting effect in focusing my attention on the natural landscape. Here the plants and animals are like old friends because of my familiarity with them. The forest is my neighbourhood.

Even though the pristine forests of my youth have all been eradicated and the Arrow Lakes turned into a reservoir and the woodland caribou is on the verge of extinction, I find it more compelling than ever to share my nature imagery in all its forms with people, especially urban dwellers, who are unfamiliar with natural pristine ecosystems. The latter currently are under significant threat by the effects of global warming which may well initiate many more extinctions. Current drought conditions in our temperate rainforests is resulting in larger and more numerous fires that hasten the warming process. My home of North Vancouver which is in a large urban area has been shrouded in thick smoke from these fires for several days now.

Although nature as I now it is currently under significant threat, it should not be forgotten that nature is vital for human health and well-being. My objective is to help people reconnect with nature through my imagery (over 4500 photographs at naturphoto.com) which, I am often told, has a strong subconscious effect on the viewer over time. I use a very high resolution digital camera system (Phase One with 60 mp back and Schneider Kreuznoff lenses) so that I can produce very high quality prints of my work up to 8 feet x 11 feet in black and white or colour on paper, canvas, glass or aluminum to create an all-encompassing effect. Of course I also do smaller prints as well. All my images are captured using a cable release with the camera firmly secured on a Gitzo tripod with an Arca Swiss tripod head. Image quality is my number one priority when producing my images.

Some of the proceeds of the sale of my photography helps to support my endeavors in finding solutions for the global warming problem.