I took some photos in Dartmouth in 1978, apparently forgot about them altogether, and rediscovered them 40 years later, tucked into a negative sleeve with the cryptic notation, “Dartmouth — The Enchanted City.” (What a title!) I realized that I have been taking photos in Dartmouth off and on for a long time.
My wife Martha worked in Dartmouth for several years, and sometimes I would accompany her and spend some time walking around this laid-back, homespun city. These photos (that span 2012-2022) are not meant to represent Dartmouth as a whole, rather little moments that caught my eye.
I do social landscape photography and am interested in New Topographics—the human-altered landscape–recording how human behavior and activity has affected the world. I also look for whimsical scenes, as well as elements of surrealism found in everyday life. My work is firmly planted in the documentary tradition, making photos through observation rather than through set-up and image manipulation. Photography keeps me in touch with the changing seasons and the passage of time. My images are intertwined with childhood memories, music, and locations around Hants County, Nova Scotia.
My work has been exhibited in Canada and, internationally, in France and China. The City of Toronto Archives has a collection of 1150 of my digital images. Also, I have eight self-published photo books that are available online through Blurb Books, and at ViewPoint Gallery.
A selection of photos from my current exhibition at The Craig Gallery in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Dartmouth Now and Then
I took some photos in Dartmouth in 1978, apparently forgot about them altogether, and rediscovered them 40 years later, tucked into a negative sleeve with the cryptic notation, “Dartmouth — The Enchanted City.” (What a title!) Delighted by this find, I went back to rephotograph the same locations. This exhibition also includes some photos of Dartmouth taken in the past few years. It’s amazing how the area’s natural landscape and urban landscape have transformed over time. When we live our daily lives in a particular place, the change is so gradual that we barely notice it. But when the change is seen as a jump-cut after 40-plus years, the transformations can be drastic. And sometimes there has been barely any change at all.
When I was a young man, I was excited about the future, and yet a part of me dreaded any sort of change. The photos I took then were my way of pinning down moments in time, of grasping and understanding things I’d never seen before in my life. Changes in the physical world—as in our lives—are inevitable.
I do social landscape photography and am interested in New Topographics—the human-altered landscape–recording how human behavior and activity has affected the world. I also look for whimsical scenes, as well as elements of surrealism found in everyday life. My work is firmly planted in the documentary tradition, making photos through observation rather than through set-up and image manipulation. Photography keeps me in touch with the changing seasons and the passage of time. My images are intertwined with childhood memories, music, and locations around Hants County, Nova Scotia.
My work has been exhibited in Canada and, internationally, in France and China. The City of Toronto Archives has a collection of 700 of my digital images. Also, I have eight self-published photo books that are available online (through Blurb Books.)
I took a lot of photographs in my early years in Toronto in the 1980s, capturing street scenes and ordinary aspects of daily life that happened to catch my eye. I had no way to anticipate how significant these Toronto photos would seem to me 40 years later. They show things that no longer exist, even though it hasn’t been that long. Without necessarily trying to, I caught images of buildings, cars, fashions, gadgets that are no longer part of our world. Toronto’s entire skyline is utterly changed, part of the inevitable growth and evolution. So, I thought I’d go back and rephotograph some of the scenes to highlight these changes in the topography of the city. It was both fun and challenging, trying to find the spot where a photo was taken 40 years earlier, using the same focal length. It took me back to familiar places like Yonge Street, Queen Street, and the Junction.
Here is a sneak peak at my upcoming photography exhibit at the Viewpoint Gallery in Bedford, Nova Scotia, July 4-28, 2024.
My “Featured Member” exhibit at ViewPoint Gallery is a selection of photos covering my photographic journey from the late 1970s to the present day. The exhibit runs from Feb.1 – March 3, 2024.
I do social landscape photography and am interested in New Topographics—the human-altered landscape–recording how human behavior and activity has affected the world. I also look for whimsical scenes, as well as elements of surrealism found in everyday life. My work is firmly planted in the documentary tradition, getting photos through observation rather than through set-up and image manipulation. Photography keeps me in touch with the changing seasons and the passage of time. My images are intertwined with childhood memories, music, and locations around Hants County, Nova Scotia.
I got my start I photography in the late 70s at the Acadia University camera club, and I took photos for the school paper, The Athenaeum. After that, I studied photography at TMU (formerly Ryerson) in Toronto and worked for a time doing freelance jobs, as well as street photography.
Over the years I’ve learned always to carry a camera, and, even more important, to take time to study details of the world around me. In refining my vision and technique, I also strive for images that, I hope, carry some deeper meaning.
My work has been exhibited in Canada and, internationally, in France and China. It’s also featured online and in print: in blogTO, iNPUBLIC, the Toronto Star, the Japan Times, Eyeshot Magazine, Camera Canada, and Photo Life.
I have eight self-published photo books that are available online (through Blurb Books) and at the gallery.
In October 2023, I became a member of ViewPoint Gallery–a vibrant photo co-op with a group of talented photographers. It has been a pleasure connecting with like-minded people who are passionate about photography.
I had a summer job on a railway gang in Alberta while studying at Acadia University. I started to explore the potential of street photography and using juxtaposition in my compositions.
This collage is all about the transition from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to a new life in Toronto. When we move to a new place, some things are kept while others are left behind.
Mountain worshippers of the Shugendou religion watch the sunrise over Mt. Fuji. I’d climbed the mountain two years earlier, but seeing the sunrise from this location was a more powerful experience.
I found this birch bark in Algonquin Park on a canoeing trip, and used it as a mat. I always welcomed opportunities to get out of the city and into nature.
I was still doing some of the adjacent frame diptych work that I started in 1982. I received two 12-exposure rolls of Kodak “Cosmos” 400 in a promotion, and this was shot on that rare and mysterious film.
In 2010, I discovered Flickr and started posting photos online. It started a renaissance in my photography that has continued for the past 14 years. I look for hooks to make my photos more interesting, like juxtaposition, scale, reflections, and unusual subject matter. My daughter Jane took some painting classes at NSCAD in 2022, and did a nice representation.
Beauty and chaos in the modern world. Interesting photos can be found anywhere–even in a McDonalds.
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Viewpoint Gallery in Halifax, NS., Canada exhibits fine art photography. Viewpoint offers monthly exhibitions and a variety of photography focused events.
1475 Bedford Highway Unit 109, Bedford, NS B4A 3Z5
In November 2023, I traveled to Toronto for the opening of “Hickox, Pahwa, Woolaver – Scenes from Toronto,” an exhibit at the City of Toronto Archives. The showfeatures photos from the 1980s to the late 2000s, and explores how contemporary artists capture the ever-changing city. The reception was well attended and I had a chance to meet some interesting people, including Patrick Cummins–a former City of Toronto archivist.
My portion of the exhibit is a digital slide show with 250 images on 90 slides. The slides are shown at 7 second intervals. They are drawn from my collection of 700 digital images contained in the archives–primarily street photographs taken in the 1980s. There are also two vinyl enlargements of a street scene, and a phone booth on the wall beside the monitor. The curator of the exhibit, Naoise Dunne, did a wonderful job sequencing the images and identifying themes in my work. It an honour to have my photos in the City of Toronto Archives and I’ll mark this as a highlight in my photographic journey.
April Hickox’s photography documents the unique landscape of Toronto Island and seasonal changes.Vik Pahwa captures the city’s built environment, focusing on forms and shapes, creating abstract images. The three digital slide shows encourage viewers to explore the city through the photographers’ perspective and picture-making methods.
A second exhibit, “If These Walls Could Talk – Researching the history of where you live,” focuses on the unique stories of 11 homes. The exhibit opened on October 19, 2023 and runs until August 2024.
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m – 4 p.m. Free entry
City of Toronto Archives
255 Spadina Rd.
Toronto, ON M5R 2V3
Promo poster for “Hickox, Pahwa, Woolaver – Scenes from Toronto”
