Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence: Juried Exhibit Winners

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SPARK Showcase Exhibit
Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence: Juried Exhibit Winners

sparkphotofestival.org
facebook.com/sparkphotofestival
instagram.com/sparkphotofestival
twitter.com/sparkphotoptbo

YMCA Balsillie Family Branch
123 Aylmer Street South
Peterborough
(705) 748 9642
ymcaofceo.ca/
facebook.com/YMCAofCEO
instagram.com/ymcaofceo

Hours
Mon to Fri: 6 am to 9 pm
Sat & Sun: 8 am to 5:30 pm
(subject to change)

Note: Easter Weekend Hours
Friday, April 7: Closed
Sat, Sun & Mon: Regular hours

2023 Showcase Committee

Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence: Juried Exhibit Winners

Annually, since the inaugural exhibit in 2014, the SPARK Photo Festival hosts a themed juried exhibit. A theme is selected by the committee to define a photographic technique or subject. The theme is meant to challenge the photographer to either create new work or reassess previous work.

The Call for Entries is open to submissions from any photographer, of any skill level, who is a resident of the province of Ontario. The submitted images are required to be the same standardized aspect ratio (size and shape) to ensure all works are judged on their inherent value rather than on any other factor.

A jury of photography professionals is selected by the committee. The jury members evaluate all submissions received and determine the images they collectively deem as the best for the exhibit. Images are judged anonymously with all identifying information removed. Evaluation criteria by the jury include technical excellence, originality, creativity, composition, representation of the theme and overall quality and impact of the image.

The selected images (25 or 30 for these past exhibits) are printed, matted and framed in a standardized size and format by the committee and installed as the SPARK Photo Festival Themed Juried Exhibit. In recent years, with the growth of the number of submissions, additional selected images are curated into a virtual exhibit to be shared online.

From the top 25 or 30 in the print exhibit, the jury determines the top 4 as the award winners. The names of the awards varied over the years; each year featured a Best in Show for the top image, with 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and Honourable Mentions awards for the remaining 3 places.

Over the 10 years of the Juried Exhibit, hundreds of photographers have submitted well over 1100 images for consideration. Here, we celebrate the top four from each year!

SPARK Photo Festival Exhibit Juried Themes:

• 2014 SPACE[s]
• 2015 Parallels
• 2016 Shadows
• 2017 Framed
• 2018 Reflections
• 2019 Family Life
• 2020 Motion
• 2021 Nourish
• 2022 Monochrome
• 2023 Water

Thank you to the many volunteers, sponsors, jury members, host venues and participants who have contributed to the SPARK Photo Festival Juried Exhibit and the audience who have visited the exhibits. This celebration of excellence is a toast to you all.

Jury Members Over the Years:

• Rick Bell
• Wayne Eardley
• Rita Godlevskis
• Wendy Gonneau
• Bill Hornbostel
• Michael Hurcomb
• Darcie Kennedy
• Bonnie Kubica
• Fynn Leitch
• Sam Moss
• Gary Mulcahey
• Randall Romano
• Brian Tyson
• Paul Van Damme
• Charles van den Ouden
• Arnold Zageris

SPARK Photo Festival Signature Exhibit

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Click an image to see full-size versions.

Texture

Texture is tactile yet can be conveyed in a photograph. 

The variation and depth of a surface may be dramatic or microscopic, or a combination of both, and works with patterns, colours and details in composing the overall texture of an object. 

An object may appear smooth from far away while upon closer observation variations in the texture are revealed, providing a completely different visual with a change in focal length.

The use of light and shadow, angle, focus and composition all play into bringing textures to life for the eyes to experience and signal the viewer to imagine the feel of the subject.

Capturing and conveying the characteristics of texture in a two-dimensional media challenges the photographer in many ways. How do you show the viewer the feel of a surface? When photographed successfully, texture stimulates two senses in tandem for a collective experience. Textures can captivate the viewer with intrigue and awe.

Created by nature, by hand or machine. Macro or from a distance. Abstract or defined. In colour or monochrome. We challenged Ontario photographers to capture “textures” for this year’s SPARK Photo Festival Juried Exhibit theme.

Visit the YMCA Balsillie Family Branch in Peterborough April 1st to 30th to view the Top 25 print exhibit.

Award Winners will be announced at the SPARK Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony, Sunday April 7.
Click here to register for your free tickets on Eventbrite.

Scroll down to view the 2024 Texture "SPARK Selects" virtual exhibit.

SPARK Themed Juried Exhibit Texture

YMCA Balsillie Family Branch
123 Aylmer Street South
Peterborough
(705) 748 9642
ymcaofceo.ca/
facebook.com/YMCAofCEO
instagram.com/ymcaofceo

Hours:
Mon to Fri: 6 am to 9 pm
Sat & Sun: 7 am to 5:30 pm

Opening Reception and Juried Awards Event:
Sunday, April 7, 2 pm to 4 pm
YMCA Balsillie Family Branch, Peterborough
Click here for free registration on Eventbrite

2024 SPARK Photo Festival Juried Exhibit Acknowledgements

2024 Juried Committee:

• Allen Rothwell - Chair
• Heather Doughty
• Jennifer MacKenzie

2024 Jurors:
Charles van den Ouden, Isabel Veldhuis, Ash Nayler

Thank you to our jury of professionals for lending your expertise to the SPARK Photo Festival. Read more about our talented jurors on the
Meet the Jury page.

Thank you to:
our host venue YMCA Balsillie Family Branch

Print Partner

View the 2024 Texture "SPARK Selects" virtual exhibit! There were more than 200 images submitted and only 25 are in the print exhibit so here's a selection of bonus images for you to enjoy.
Click the image to open the online exhibit. 

SPARK Photo Festival Exhibit

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Light the SPARK: Emerging Artists Exhibit

SPARK Photo Festival

sparkphotofestival.org
facebook.com/sparkphotofestival
instagram.com/sparkphotofestival
twitter.com/sparkphotoptbo

Peterborough Public Library; lower foyer
345 Aylmer St N
Peterborough
705 745.5382
www.ptbolibrary.ca
facebook.com/PtboLibrary
instagram.com/PtboLibrary
twitter.com/PtboLibrary

Hours
Mon to Fri: 10 am - 8 pm
Sat & Sun: 10 am - 5 pm

Note: Easter Weekend Hours
Friday, April 7 through Monday, April 10: Closed

Light the SPARK: Emerging Artists Exhibit

Curator: Darcie Kennedy

Photographers:

• Sioux Dickson
• Elayne Linn
• Keith Manser
• Jonathon McKinney
• Shirlanne Pawley-Boyd
• Lezley Woodhams

With funding support from:

New and emerging artists are an important part of our local art community. Often looking to the local landscape and urban areas scattered throughout the region as inspiration, they explore, document, investigate, and challenge the areas we call home. Each of the participating artists allows a glimpse into lens-based art practices; a medium that has fascinated creatives and continues in present day through both traditional, digital, and interdisciplinary approaches, equipment, and technologies.

This SPARK Photography Festival Exhibit is a collection of emerging photographers from Peterborough, Northumberland, and the Kawartha Lakes regions. Through workshops with the SPARK Team, leading experts in printing technologies, and a local curator, these photographers received guidance on how to select work, consider subject matter and theme, as well as print, frame, and prepare an exhibition. We invite you to share this unique experience.

Photographers:

Sioux Dickson
Sioux Dickson is an interdisciplinary artist who has called Nogojiwanong/Peterborough home for almost 35 years. She is a graduate of both Fleming College and Trent University. Her work explores difference and disability as it bumps up against the social imperative of uniformity. Sioux and her cat, Schrödinger, live in East City, where she practices hyperlocal photography.
Instagram @SiouxLilyDickson

Sioux Dickson’s exhibit is sponsored by INSPIRE: The Women’s Portrait Project.

Click to read more about Sioux Dickson’s exhibit

Elayne Linn
Elayne Linn is a hobby photographer who seeks the little things in Nature for her wellness and joy. For her, the little things are big and magical. She also finds joy in road trips throughout the countryside, photographing old things like barns, abandoned rides, and forgotten cemeteries. In recent years she has completed online digital photography courses, including Secrets of Better Photography and Photographing Nature with Your Digital Camera through Gale Education Courses. She has also recently joined the Northumberland Photography Club and the Willow Beach Field Naturalists. Find a glimpse of her work on @Hopeful_Caterpillar through Instagram where she shares her love of nature and photography, as well as her passion for pottery and wellness. Elayne lives in Cobourg with her husband, son and whippet.
Instagram @hopeful_caterpillar

Elayne Linn’s exhibit is sponsored by INSPIRE: The Women’s Portrait Project.

Click to read more about Elayne Linn’s exhibit

Keith Manser
Keith Manser immigrated to Canada in 1968. From the moment of his arrival, he has had a love affair with Canadian landscapes, nature and wilderness. Being a Fish and Wildlife Technician, an avid outdoorsman and a photographer, provides Keith with the tools and insights to find his wildlife and landscape subjects. To quote Keith, “Sitting in a blind, listening to the sounds of nature and watching for that magical moment when I can capture an intimate image, is my heaven”.
Instagram @keithmanserphotography

Keith Manser's exhibit is sponsored by Griffin's Greenhouses

Click to read more about Keith Manser’s exhibit

Jonathon McKinney
Jonathon McKinney is a young photographer based in Peterborough, Ontario. His work is abstract in nature, and focuses on finding unique perspectives for everyday objects and scenes. Jonathon is passionate about both analog and digital photography, and enjoys spending his days in the darkroom. Jonathon graduated from the Photo Arts program at the Haliburton School of Arts and Design wherein he learned useful skills in print production, studio work, and historical processes.
Instagram @jmckinney_photography

Jonathon McKinney's exhibit is sponsored by Bellwether Family Wealth – Weichel & Associates

Click to read more about Jonathon McKinney’s exhibit

Shirlanne Pawley-Boyd
Shirlanne Pawley-Boyd has lived in Peterborough most of her life with periods of time spent living in Toronto and Vancouver. She and her husband, Stephen, have two sons, Nick and Cameron, who for many years kept their parents busy as supporters while they pursued athletic endeavours. For over three decades Shirlanne has been a professional fundraiser working for organizations in the Education, Health Care and Arts & Culture sectors. Her passion for photography, gained while attending college, was put on hold while she focussed on family and work priorities. Now as an “empty-nester” Shirlanne has picked her camera up again with a re-ignited spark for capturing what surrounds her and brings joy.
Instagram @gardengirl440

Shirlanne Pawley-Boyd's exhibit is sponsored by The Dennis Group Inc.

Click to read more about Shirlanne Pawley-Boyd’s exhibit

Lezley Woodhams @lezleywoodhams_photography www.lezleywoodhamsphotography.com
Lezley Woodhams is a landscape photographer based in the city of Kawartha Lakes. Most people stop noticing locations they pass by every day. But Lezley tends to see these places in a different way. The visual drama and artistry of her photographs are born of a keen eye for the many moods of nature, and a life-long passion for observation. Her success derives from pursuit of all the unique moments that generate the magic and energy of nature.
Instagram @lezleywoodhams_photography
www.lezleywoodhamsphotography.com

Lezley Woodhams' exhibit is sponsored by Stoneguide Realty Inc.

Click to read more about Lezley Woodhams’ exhibit

Curator: Darcie Kennedy
Kennedy holds an Honours Bachelor of Art, Specialist in Art & Art History & Minor in Political Science, from the University of Toronto, a Diploma in Art & Art History from Sheridan College, and a Master of Fine Art from the University of Ottawa. Previously, she completed an internship with the Canada Council for the Arts in the Audience and Market Development Department and was the Gallery Manager and Programming Coordinator at Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto. She has worked in the non-profit sector at the Toronto Entertainment District Business Improvement Area (BIA) and was a Teaching Assistant at Sheridan College and the University of Ottawa. Kennedy's own art practice explores the relationship of predetermined methodologies and their application to contemporary painting. Through process and mechanical paint application, she examines structure and control, specifically the often repetitive and cyclical tasks present in the domestic environment historically occupied by women. Her work has been exhibited in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Oakville, Mississauga, Peterborough, Gatineau, and Japan. Kennedy grew up on a farm just outside of Fenelon Falls and is excited to be back home, using her skill set, education, and experience to expand the already thriving arts and cultural scene in the area.
Visit: Colborne Street Gallery

Individual Exhibit

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Elizabeth Popham Micro-landscapes

The Food Shop
374 Water Street, Peterborough

705-775-7467
ptbofoodshop.com
instagram.com/ptbofoodshop
facebook.com/ptbofoodshop

Hours
Mon to Fri: 9:30 am to 6 pm
Sat: 10 am to 5 pm
Sun: Closed

Reception
First Friday Ptbo
Friday, April 5
5 pm to 9 pm

Elizabeth Popham
bethpopham@gmail.com
elizabethpophamfineart.ca
instagram.com/bethpopham
facebook.com/beth.popham.9

Micro-landscapes

Elizabeth Popham

I have recently circled back to the visual arts after a career focused on words — teaching Renaissance and Canadian literature in Alberta, Arizona and Newfoundland, and most recently, at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.

Although I am also a painter, photography has been essential to my re-immersion in the realm of the visual, in long walks with my camera and my subsequent experiments with the processing of these images.

Looking out to the horizon in this beautiful natural environment is a gift to any artist. But I enjoy shifting focus to the beauty that resides along the edge of the trail — to what I call “micro-landscapes” — remembering William Blake’s hope that we retain the ability to “see heaven in a wildflower, and eternity in a grain of sand.” And so for the past four years, I have been engaged in a project of exploration of the smaller things we too often ignore. This project began with photography, and continues to be grounded there. But it has expanded into painting (often with palette knife) and other media, including block printing. At their most extreme, whether on canvas or in photographic images, my “micro-landscapes” evolve into "natural abstracts": extreme close-ups of natural objects in which the subject threatens to be lost and the focus shifts to pattern — an intricate arrangement of shape, line, colour and light.

Community Organization Exhibit

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Activity Haven -Through Our Members' Eyes

Activity Haven - A Recreation Centre for Adults 50+
180 Barnardo Avenue
Peterborough

activityhaven.org
facebook.com/ActivityHaven
705-876-1670
janetbuchanan@activityhaven.com

Hours
Mon to Fri: 9 am to 7:30 pm
Sat, Sun: Closed

Meet the Photographers Event
Tuesday, April 16
3 pm to 5 pm

Activity Haven – Through our Members’ Eyes

Activity Haven is a recreation centre for older adults (50+) serving Peterborough and surrounding areas. Activity Haven’s goal is to help fulfill the recreational needs of our members by providing a wide variety of fun and interesting activities. Through intellectual, physical, creative and social engagement, we encourage our members to be active and involved, to develop friendships and to maintain an independent and healthy lifestyle.

A focus of the centre is to provide a friendly, healthy and caring environment for older adults, where we treat each other with honesty, courtesy and respect.  We offer more than 80 programs, including both instructor led classes and casual drop-in activities, as well as numerous special events throughout the year. There’s something for everyone at Activity Haven!

This is the third year of Activity Haven’s participation in the SPARK Photo Festival. Our exhibit is titled: “Through Our Members’ Eyes”, and our objective is to showcase the “well-seasoned” photographic talents of our members. Our exhibitors range in age from their mid-60’s to early 90’s and, as in previous years, it has been wonderful to see the diversity and beauty of the images presented.

This year we are also including a small photo display to celebrate the beauty of the Queen Alexandra Community Centre, the grand old building that many of our members consider their “home away from home”!

Participation in SPARK has been a great opportunity to bring our members together to share their common interests in photography. We know that friendships will form which will last long after this year’s Photo Festival is over!

Photographers:
Don Anthony
Elaine Birtch
Lily Blin
Mathilde Colley
Lillian Cranley
Maggie Eaton
Linda Langlois

 
Maureen MacDonald
Martha Macfie
Lori Pettersone-Green
Steve Russell
Lori Shuett
Mark Tinkler
Marianne Warren

Group (6 or more) Exhibit

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Lakefield College School Photography Club

Canoe & Paddle
18 Bridge St
Lakefield
705-651-1111
 www.canoeandpaddle.com
instagram.com/canoeandpaddle
facebook.com/canoeandpaddle

Hours
Everyday 11 am - 9 pm

Lakefield College School Photography Club

Lakefield College School photography club is a small special interest group where we are learning about the art of photography. We run all year long and enjoy taking photos around the beautiful waterfront campus, so this year’s theme of water was perfect for us! We are mostly learning about the medium of digital photography but have also been learning about film photography and are very curious about what we can learn from the older style of the art. We are very excited to be a part of the SPARK photography festival this year and we hope you enjoy our exhibit at The Canoe & Paddle!

Photographers:

Lily Gaudrault
My name is Lily Gaudrault and I’m a 15 year old photographer. I am currently in Grade 9 and in the LCS Photography club. I have always loved taking photos ever since I was little. As I came into high school I got super happy to see a photography club that I could join. I’ve had lots of fun in this club, there’s always laughing and happiness that fills the room. The club leader, Mrs. Darby, is an amazing photographer, teacher, and leader. She has helped me pursue my Photography interests and helped me increase my skillset and confidence. My favourite thing to take pictures of is photos of nature. I love to take pictures of all seasons, rain or shine, day or night.

Molly McCulloch
My name is Molly McCulloch, I am 14 years old and a grade 9 student at Lakefield College School. My artistic mission is to have fun and to do photography with a light heart. I love gazing at my school's waterfront and I enjoy passing time with my friends by my side; which is what inspired me to take this photo. I hope you enjoy looking at my photo as much as I enjoyed taking it!

Willow Roberts
My name is Willow Roberts and I am currently in grade 11 of Lakefield College School. I grew up in Kenya my whole life, exploring the bush, camping and fishing took up most of my childhood. I love being in nature and around animals and birds, taking photographs is a way for me to get outside and explore. My favorite things to photograph are birds, animals, and landscapes.

Linus Rybcznyski
I am Linus Rybczynski, I am a Grade 11 Student at Lakefield College School. I come from Hamburg, Germany and I love taking pictures and videos with my drone. Most of the time I take pictures of the beautiful nature around me. I am also filming some of the videos for my school. I love biking and all sorts of water sports.

Educator: Wendy Darby

Community Exhibit

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Women's HIV/AIDS Initiative (WHAI) at PARN
The Love Positive Women Photography Project

Studio 5
Commerce Building
129 1/2 Hunter Street West
Peterborough
705-957-0808
parn.ca
instagram.com/whai.parn
facebook.com/whai.parn

Hours
Tues, Wed, Thurs: 10:30 am - 2:00 pm
Mon, Fri, Sat, Sun: Closed

*Open Friday, April 7: 5 :30 pm - 9:30 pm* for First Friday Art Crawl

Reception
TBA

The Love Positive Women Photography Project
By Women’s HIV/AIDS Initiative at Peterborough AIDS Resource Network

Brooke Dewhurst, WHAI (Women’s HIV/AIDS Initiative) Coordinator at PARN

The Love Positive Women Photography Project pulls from the annual international campaign to engage the community in showing love for and empowering women living with HIV. The purpose of this project is to create a visual component to WHAI’s community education work while centering women living with HIV throughout the process.

The WHAI program aims to educate and engage with the community about HIV-related issues, and this project is one of the many ways we hope to do that. With a special interest in community-based art, the WHAI Coordinator, Brooke Dewhurst, plans on experimenting with different methods of collaborative art creation to reach a wide range of audiences. The long-term goal of this project is to create an exhibit that can be displayed in different locations over time, with an emphasis on health-care spaces, education centres and other relevant community spaces.

Oftentimes, projects involving the folks living with HIV focus on the illness rather than the person, and this project aims to instead capture the fullness of their lives. This is a person-centred photography project, with women living with HIV and their complex lives as the main focus. Throughout the process of this project, we aim to create safe, collaborative and empowering spaces where women can write their own narratives. While HIV is a life-changing illness, this project works to embrace the ways women living with HIV can and do experience love, joy, bodily autonomy and community.

A guiding factor that fuels this project is the understanding that there is a strong presence of stigma in our community, and that there is a need for more well-informed, person-first information surrounding HIV. This project works to spread awareness about HIV by illustrating the importance of harm reduction work, combating harmful stereotypes, and letting women living with HIV lead the way. Drawing upon ACT UP organizing and other social movements, this project believes that “silence=death,” and “nothing about us without us.” There have been a lot of community developments surrounding HIV-related work over the past few years, but we still have a ways to go. WHAI and the folks involved in this project hope to be part of shifting the narrative and paving the way forward for women’s HIV-related work in our community.

Individual Exhibit

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Barb Callander A View from Above

Peterborough Public Library
Upper Foyer
Main Branch
345 Aylmer St N
Peterborough
705 745.5382
www.ptbolibrary.ca
facebook.com/PtboLibrary
instagram.com/PtboLibrary
twitter.com/PtboLibrary

Hours
Monday to Friday: 10 am - 8 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm

Note: Easter Weekend Hours
Friday, April 7 through Monday, April 10: Closed

Barbara Callander
Pontypool
Rolling Hills Photography

barb.callander@icloud.com
www.rollinghillsphoto.com
instagram.com/barbcallander

Barb Callander

Barb Callander is a Manitoba born wildlife photographer living in the Kawarthas. She frequents remote locations photographing at risk wildlife in their natural environment. Barb’s work has been published by Canadian Geographic and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. She has exhibited her work at the City of Kawartha Lakes City Hall, SPARK Photo Festival, the Victoria County and Rolling Hills Studio Tours and publishes an annual wildlife calendar to raise funds for the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

A View from Above

There is a saying that a change is as good as a rest. For my SPARK Photo Festival exhibit I decided on a change in perspective and headed north to the Iceland Highlands with a drone to create this year’s exhibit A View from Above.

64 degrees north, Iceland is an island of stark contrasts. Forged from volcanic activity millions of years old and still active today, it’s an island of black sand beaches, stunning ocean vistas, volcanic desolation covered with new growth, and receding glaciers feeding an endless array of waterfalls. Sheep and horses' range free and are often found in the most unusual places. While consistent with my focus on Arctic and Sub Arctic ecosystems, this year’s exhibit is a departure from my wildlife roots as I took to the air to capture the wild beauty of the Icelandic landscape.

As a novice drone pilot, the task at hand was sometimes daunting. Battling high winds and obstacles, getting up above the landscape uncovered hidden gems when looking at things from a different point of view. It’s a small reminder that things are not always what they seem, and we should consider many points of view to get the real picture.

Next year I’m back to wildlife and I hope you enjoy this brief detour into the Iceland Highlands for A View from Above.

Barb Callander

Individual Exhibit

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Jillian Ackert moving through

Selwyn Public Library, Bridgenorth Branch
836 Charles Street
Bridgenorth
(705) 292 5065
librarian@mypubliclibrary.ca
www.selwyntownship.ca/en/library/library.aspx
instagram.com/SelwynPublicLibrary

Hours
Exhibit now closed

Jillian Ackert

jillian.ackert@gmail.com
www.jillianrumseyart.com
instagram.com/jillianrumseyphotography

Reception

moving through

Jillian Ackert

Jillian Ackert is a self-taught artist, living and finding home in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough). While she often utilizes digital photography in her business and art practice, her home and heart lie with film. Primarily a portrait photographer, Jillian fell in love with film early on in her learning for the intimacy and softness that it brings to her photographs, and its profound or perhaps magical ability to capture what people are feeling in their hearts at that moment in time.

It’s been 8 years since she picked up her first film camera, and still, imperfections are found on every roll. Blur, light leaks, grain, and over/under exposure are all elements you will find in her photographs. To Jillian, she has come to appreciate these as offerings… a special way to view the world through her lens– not to mention the joy, relief, and lessons that come from working with a medium that she will never fully control or predict.

Her collection presented through this year’s SPARK Photo Festival is titled “moving through”, and it presents a handful of 35mm film photographs that Jillian took over the last 3 years. Through the pandemic, her camera offered a space to settle in and grasp on to feelings of familiarity, knowing, and comfort. As a result, the stills presented in her collection capture quiet reflections on moving through the grief, learning, disruption, and calm that came (and continues to come) with living in COVID times. They tell a story of a person who both struggles and refuses to move on, from a pandemic that is not yet over. Her hope is that these photographs might serve as a place where people can linger, where it is safe to remember, and where ongoing feelings of grief, anger, fear, confusion, and of course, immense and profound love, will forever be welcomed and valid.

Jillian is grateful to SPARK Photo Festival and the Bridgenorth Public Library for offering her this opportunity to share this deeply personal collection.

Small Group Exhibit

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Ian Davis & Ken Solilo - Two Perspectives of Water

The Colborne Art Gallery
51 King St. E.
Colborne
905-355-1798
www.thecolborneartgallery.ca
facebook.com/colborneartgallery

Gallery Hours
Thurs to Sun: 12 pm-4 pm
Mon to Wed: Closed

Ian Davis
ian@iandavis.photography
iandavis.photography
instagram.com/iandavis.photography

Ken Solilo
kensolilo@gmail.com
kensolilophotography.com
instagram.com/kensolilo3

Reception
Saturday April 15, 2023
12 pm to 4 pm

Two Perspectives of Water

Ken Solilo and Ian Davis first met as new members of The Colborne Art Gallery. As the only photographers in this artists' cooperative, they recognized that they were kindred spirits, viewing and interpreting their world through a lens rather than a paint brush or some other artist's tool. It didn't take much discussion for them to decide to participate in the SPARK Photo Festival (Ian was in the 2018 edition).

Bouncing around ideas for their exhibit's theme, they thought something connected to the SPARK Juried Exhibit might work. Hence, Two Perspectives of Water. Building on this, and in recognition and support of Ken and Ian's exhibit in SPARK, the opening show for The Colborne Art Gallery is entitled "SPLASH". Both SPLASH and Two Perspectives of Water run from March 10 to May 7, 2023.

Ian and Ken bring two different sensibilities to photography. Ken is often more literal while Ian tends to be more abstract. Both use colour and black & white photography to better emphasize mood and interesting lighting conditions on the subject. And, for each photographer, capturing beauty, be it subtly or boldly, is paramount.

Ken Solilo
Capturing that unique moment or one image is everything to me in my photographic work. When I look at a scene my eye is trained like a camera lens where I am able to pick out a portion of that scene. Part of my inspiration is how the light and colours transform a landscape. An image I see through the viewfinder and captured with my camera can be shared with others to replicate a feeling or trigger a memory. Photography is my form of expression and allows me to share with others the light and shadows that create the beautiful images that surround us.

Bio
I first learned about photography from my Dad when I was about 8 years old. Growing up in Regina Saskatchewan when it was too cold in the bitter prairie winters to go on the outdoor rink or on the street for some pick-up hockey I would take over the laundry room and convert it into a darkroom. There I learned to develop negatives and make photographic prints.

The hobby inspired me to go to Ryerson University in Toronto to take the Photo Arts course. I majored in Cinematography turning a hobby into a career that spanned over 40 years. I started at CFTO in Toronto in 1972 as a film editor. Later I moved into the position of a cinematographer which was the direction I wanted. In 1976 a position opened up with the CBC in Calgary and I spent the next 8 years working there. About this time the technology was changing and film was being replaced by video tape and a cinematographer became a videographer.

In 1984 the CBC was increasing its coverage in Southern Saskatchewan and I moved back to Regina for the next 7 years. In the early 90’s the CBC experienced budget shifts which resulted in station closures and in 1991 I moved to Toronto, working for the CBC for the next 20 years. I worked on many CBC shows including ‘The National News’, local news programs, ‘Living In Toronto’, ‘Sports Journal’, ‘Hot Type’, ‘On the Arts’ and many features which were included in other programming.

Even though the body of the camera has changed there are still lenses to use and a viewfinder to look through to compose the shot. Retiring from the CBC at the end of 2011 and still with a keen interest in the art of Photography I started my own business based in Port Hope, Ontario. For a sample of my work visit kensolilophotography.com

Ian Davis
When I'm shaping images, I want the viewer to enjoy the moment without having to find “the story”. Just soak it in. When I look at other works of art, I might say “wow”, “cool”, or “that's beautiful”. I simply want to feel the visual experience and not think about it. And I want my own art to reflect this.

I'm guided by feelings such as beauty, amazement, wonder, and peacefulness. The final image needs to elicit these. Shocking, disturbing, depressing, anger, alarm . . . these are thoughts and feelings I avoid in my work. I really hope the viewer can chill and just enjoy the image. No thoughts, just peace.

For most people, digital photography isn't a tactile experience. For me, however, it is. I have a very high-quality printer, I use wonderful archival quality inks and papers, scratch build many of the large frames, and mat the image myself. In all, this is a very tactile experience for me, something I feel compelled to share.

Bio
While Campbellford is now my home, I’m originally from St. Catharines. Along the way, I made stops at various points in Northwestern Ontario, Labrador, and then back to Niagara for a few years. From 1988 to the present, my wife Trish and I live alongside the Trent Severn Waterway.

My grandfather was my first inspiration in photography. He would go out and take pictures “just because”. Grandpa spent time in darkrooms, owned many different cameras, had hundreds and hundreds of slides and prints. He showed me what a contact sheet was and talked about darkrooms (he had a tiny one in his basement). Unfortunately, just as I got started with one of his older cameras, he passed away. But at least he gave me an important introduction.

Throughout the years, I shot photos with various film and digital gear. When I was a bush pilot flying in northern Canada, I always travelled with two things: a fishing rod and my manual Mamiya SLR. After I left flying and entered university, my photography was put on pause other than for recording family and life events. (However, I did enter a few northern landscape photos into university photo contests and did rather well.)

It was my brother and adult sons that prodded me back into photography but in a serious way. In 2015, with their help, I acquired the necessary drones and updated camera gear to get me started in real estate photography. While that gig was somewhat short-lived, my passion for fine art photography had mushroomed.

Nowadays, I shoot with a Sony mirrorless with various prime and zoom lenses spanning 12mm to 350mm (and a DJI Mavic drone). This gives me tremendous flexibility in how and where I can shoot. I also use speed lights off-camera. My imagery interests are fairly wide and I've sold several prints. The prints I've sold have almost entirely been of some sort of “scape” while video I've sold for stock footage has mostly been shot at night. (My most recent video sale was of the Cobourg marina . . . at night.) Today, particularly since becoming a member of Spirit of the Hills and The Colborne Art Gallery, sales of my various prints, cards, calendars, publications, and stock video footage have slowly increased. Yay!! I'm certainly not got to get rich doing what I do nor do I expect to. But photography is very good for the soul and that's the most important reason I do what I do.