Biography
My serious involvement with photography began in 1971, when I spent the first of two summers working at a biological research camp in the Canadian Arctic. To record the experience, I bought a basic 35mm camera. I taught myself to use it, made some good pictures, and fell in love with the medium. I also fell in love with the North.
As a result, I decided to become a professional photographer and to live in the North. After several years of building up my technical skills, I moved to Watson Lake, Yukon, where I lived from 1975 to 1979. While earning a living doing other work, I explored some magnificent wild lands and made my first ventures into freelance photography. I then moved to my first professional photographic job, in Alberta, where I spent two years as photographer/darkroom technician for a small newspaper publisher. While there I learned the technically demanding skills of operating a process camera, which proved extremely valuable later in my career.
Missing the North badly, I accepted a job with Transport Canada that took me to Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories for two years, then in 1983 to Yellowknife. In 1986 my technical skills led to a position at the Northwest Territories Archives, part of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. This suited me extremely well as I had long been a student of Northern history.
I enjoyed a 20-year career with many interesting projects involving technical photography, event photography, documentary work, development of online access to archival photographs. and a wide variety of other activities. I was very fortunate in traveling to some quite unusual places and making the acquaintance of some wonderful northerners. My photographic work as an employee is held at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.
As an added bonus an office romance early in my tenure led to marriage with MJ Patterson.
In 2006 we took early retirement and moved to Gabriola Island, British Columbia with our daughter Annie.
Through my time in the North and since moving to Gabriola I have been very active with personal and stock photography. This website highlights the personal work. My primary interest is in making and exhibiting fine prints.