Individual Exhibit

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African Photo Art

Bennett’s Furniture
13 Front Street South
Campbellford
(705) 653 1188
mab@bennetts.ca
www.bennetts.ca

Hours
M to Th & Sat 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
F 9:30 am to 8 pm

Mike Gaudaur
Trenton
(613) 970 4241
mike@quintestudios.com
www.africanphotoart.com

The world is charged with the grandeur of God. My goal as an artist is to seek out the beauty that has been packed in to the natural world and draw attention to it.

Years of study and training have instilled in me a visual awareness of the world around me. Quality and direction of light, highlights and shadows, lines, forms, and textures, subjects and backgrounds. These are the fundamental elements of composition and design. I notice these things in my surroundings – constantly.

Experience on over 80 photo safaris in Kenya over the past 15 years has refined my photographic vision and technique. Tack sharp, beautifully lit animal portraits are no longer enough for me. I now endeavour to capture intimate interactions between animals, a striking posture, a gesture, direct eye contact. This adds emotional impact to any image.

An animal’s environment is a critical part of who they are, but I choose to minimize the distracting elements of the African bush and include just enough of an animal’s surroundings to suggest where it is. I often desaturate colours and blur backgrounds in order emphasize the subjects in my compositions.

I take great artistic liberties with my photo art images. I will manipulate pixels, add graphic elements, enhance textures, paint in tonalities, clone out distractions, and gradually craft the image I want to share with my audience. I want to show them wildlife in a way they have never seen it before.