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Photos are wonderful in how they can evoke emotions. They show us lives, objects and stories from someone else's perspective. When I first started taking photos at age 11, my family's new kitten, Cuddles, was the subject of many rolls of film my mother paid to have developed for me. Now the photos were not very interesting or exciting but there was a story - Cuddles taking an afternoon nap, Cuddles showing off her acrobatic skills, Cuddles perched on the floral swivel chair gazing outside. It was all about Cuddles - from an 11 year old's perspective! Boring I know, but I knew at that point in time that I loved taking photos. I loved storytelling with my camera. I was always the girl with a camera and definitely that girl with piles of Superstore envelopes filled with prints (this was before digital cameras and smartphones).
Granted, the subject matter in my photos has changed over the years, although Jerry (my brother and his girlfriend's awesome schnoodle) does make it into a lot of shots. He's hilarious and his personality really shines through in photos. See!
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| Jerry loving life on Inverness Beach in Cape Breton. |
So, besides animals, my collection of photographs include landscapes, sunsets, vibrant colours, doors and windows, bicycles, people living life, objects with interesting lines and texture and dilapidated structures. I grew up in rural Cape Breton and I'm fascinated by barns and buildings and homes that have been abandoned and left to nature. It's a common occurrence for me to pull over to the side of the road or to even turn around because something has caught my eye. The photo below was a result of that. The setting was perfect – sun shining, blue sky, rolling green hill in behind the house, completely still.
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| Prince Edward Island near the ferry terminal. |
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| Inch by inch... |
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| Idyllic setting but I'm a bit timid to get up close – time for a telephoto lense! |
In my coffee table art book – twentythree, every question is paired with a photo. When I originally designed twentythree (as a school project), I completed the entire project in 5 weeks – photos included. It was spring and I had been home in Cape Breton. My brother offered to drive so that I could take photos. It made my life so much easier and helped that he knew some pretty cool places for me to photograph. We were driving through Deepdale and took Loch Ban Road. At one point we got a little bit lost and had to turn around but once we got back on track we saw this: Wheeler House. It was magical! Honestly. I normally love looking at dilapidated houses but getting up close and personal - not my thing! This was so different. It was very calming on that piece of property.
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| This photo from twentythree belongs with the question: "Describe something that someone has said or something you have read that has had an impact on you?" This photo is called Impact. |
I had heard about Wheeler house from Tom Ryan, a good friend of mine. It was near his family home and he played on the property as a child. In addition, I had seen whimsical paintings of the front of this house done by Virginia McCoy. This house and property are actually in Frank MacDonald's children's book: T.R.'s Adventure at Angus the Wheeler's.
These photos are so full of history. Perhaps that's why I like photographing dilapidated structures. They make me curious about the lives that were lived there and what led to its state of destruction. And, there's a natural beauty, yet sadness, in seeing a man-made structure left to nature.
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| The front of Wheeler House. |
