About me

I am a documentary and environmental portrait photographer living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have travelled to locations in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Myanmar, India, Egypt, Barbados, Philippines, Vietnam and China. I have been to some of these places multiple times. I am proud to say that I am both eccentric and perhaps a little odd?

Just in case it wasn’t immediately obvious, that’s me in the middle there. You might be able to better understand my logo from looking at my haircut in this picture?

It took all I have to call myself anything, let alone a photographer. Only until recently have I shown anyone any of the thousands of images I have captured during my 20 years of carrying a camera. It is against every natural rule of mine to put myself out there in such a vulnerable and personal way. Pictures from my camera have always been about my own memory or trying to capture a specific feeling that was there. It was almost never about the art of it. Photography was always a reason to do stupid, careless things or to seek out remarkable adventures. I was doing it for the thrill and that feeling of fear that makes you solid and whole. Even for traumatic moments, my memory can be sketchy at best, which is at once a saviour and tormentor. Photography allows me to play back a moment now missing.

Some tell me I have a natural eye for composition. It is something I thankfully didn’t have to learn. That’s totally different from the camera itself. At first I let it do its own thing ruling over me like a tough parent. If light was not right, then it would punish me with some crappy photo that reminded me that I had once again wasted an expensive roll of slide film. I soon realized that it was going to be really expensive to keep my memory going if I wasn’t going to learn to take control. I soon fell in love with the dark and how I could find light within it. I learned to test the limits of my camera and once going to digital, those limits stretched again; so did my opportunity to experience failure and triumph right next to one another.

It was only later that I understood that a good photo requires intimacy. This was the turning point I was after. The adventure and courage required me to get close to someone and that came only somewhat naturally. Getting close enough to establish trust and emotional context before taking a few steps back to capture that engagement directly through the lens was important for me. To my surprise, these memories created were stronger and were of that bond and not really of the details of the moment. I am more comfortable looking for tension, courage, fear, strength and endurance as time has passed.

This is where and when my photography skills flowered and my hobby became something more. These photos I am showing here encapsulate me as much as they show others what I saw. If you have a reaction to any of them, I would love to hear from you!

James

About me

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