Tag: <span>Nova Scotia</span>

Published March 8, 2017 by

When your faucet resembles a face

pareidolia, perception, reflection, face,
Window Reflection, 2013                                   © Avard Woolaver

Have you ever looked at the front of a house and seen a face smiling at you? Or looked at some tree bark to see a profile of Elvis Presley? Grab your camera, and take a photo. There may be thousands of others who want to see it, or even buy it.

Pareidolia is the phenomenon of the mind seeing a familiar pattern of something that doesn’t really exist. The most common examples are animal shapes in clouds, the man in the moon, and faces found on various surfaces, including toast.

It is not new—Leonardo Da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as an artistic device, “Look at walls splashed with a number of stains, or stones of various mixed colours. If you have to invent some scene, you can see resemblances to a number of landscapes… Also, you can see various battles, and lively postures of strange figures, expressions on faces, costumes and an infinite number of things, which you can reduce to good integrated form.”

So, the next time your toast pops up, or you find yourself in front of a stone wall, have a good, long look; who knows what your imagination may discover.

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Photo tip:  Look for reflections in windows. People and objects in the reflection can mingle with what is in the scene to create interesting, imagined narratives.

“Window Reflection, 2013” is from the series: Wish You Were Here

Blogging Colour Observation Photography Social Landscape

Avard Woolaver face Nova Scotia pareidolia perception photography reflection The Image Journey

Published March 4, 2017 by

Photography can be our therapy

photography, art, therapy, painting,
Photo Therapy, NS, 2015                                     © Avard Woolaver

You have probably had the experience of taking a casual walk with your camera and feeling your mood improve as you see and capture some interesting scenes. Or had a wonderful experience looking at an old family photo album. Art therapy has been used forever, and photography is just one of its applications.

When I was eighteen I came down with mono and had to drop out of my first year of university. It was a low point in my life. Walking outside with my camera made me feel better—it healed both my mind and body. Some forty years later, I’m still taking walks with my camera and still feeling the positive vibes.

Hungarian photographer Marton Perlaki, whose photos often have a surreal and quirky aspect that I admire, told British Journal of Photography interviewer Tom Seymour, “I think my pictures have a certain childish, absurd humour which plays an important role in my work. I think about photography as a sort of therapy for the mind. I am trying to understand something about myself through the process and the final work.”

Psychotherapist Joshua Miles observed, in a Counselling Directory article, “There is a meaningful and real connection between the creative and therapeutic processes.”                                                                                      —

Photo tip: Look for words on signs that can be used to used to make interesting juxtapositions–for example, a stop sign or a yield sign.

Colour Observation Photography Social Landscape

2015 art therapy Avard Woolaver Canon Rebel T3 colour Nova Scotia photography Windsor

Published February 28, 2017 by

The winter blues are not so bad

colour, winter blues, landscape, snow,
 Newport, NS; 2015                         © Avard Woolaver

The winter blues are not so bad; they calm the mind and aid in concentration. And according to one study of Instagram posts, “mostly-blue images receive 24 percent more likes than photos with high concentrations of reds and oranges.”

Colour psychology is widely used in advertising and marketing and it’s something to consider when you are out taking photos. According to Wikipedia, “Many marketers see color as an important part of marketing because color can be used to influence consumers’ emotions and perceptions of goods and services. Research shows that warm colors tended to attract spontaneous purchasers, despite cooler colors being more favorable.”

One of the pioneers of colour photography was Ernst Haas. He used techniques like shallow depth of field, selective focus, and blurred motion to create evocative, metaphorical works. His colour work was based on keen observation, or “dreaming with open eyes.”

“You become things, you become an atmosphere, and if you become it, which means you incorporate it within you, you can also give it back. You can put this feeling into a picture. A painter can do it. And a musician can do it and I think a photographer can do that too and that I would call the dreaming with open eyes.” – Ernst Haas

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Photo tip: Taking photos at midday when the colour temperature is high (about 5500k) produces blue results as does shooting just before dark. You can also play around with the white balance setting on your camera. The tungsten setting will give a nice blue hue in daylight conditions.

Colour Landscape Light Photography

Avard Woolaver colour colour field landscape minimalism Nova Scotia photography winter

Published February 24, 2017 by

Wabi-sabi and worn out street signs

wrong way, sign, wabi-sabi, Kentville, Nova Scotia,
Kentville, Nova Scotia;  2006    © Avard Woolaver

Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept that roughly translates to “imperfect beauty.” It’s an aesthetic that comes from Buddhist teaching; it describes a beauty that’s imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

Though there is something appealing about fresh new things wrapped in plastic, we often prefer old, worn-out things. I think of my old LPs with their crackle and pops; my t-shirts from Japan in the 1980’s; a faded hockey team photo from 1972; a baseball glove from 1987. You have your own long list, I’m sure.

Lots of times you may find yourself seeking this wabi-sabi aspect in your photographs. It’s something I do often in my photography–preferring to shoot a run-down street sign over a shiny new one. The lyric I’ve seen most often invoked in discussing wabi-sabi is from “Anthem” by Leonard Cohen: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

There could be many interpretations of the faded “wrong way” sign in the photo above: this is the wrong way to maintain a street sign, or it’s just a sign of the times. It might as well say, “Nothing lasts forever.”

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Photo tip: Juxtaposition can lead to visual interest. Try including an object in the foreground that seems incongruous with the rest of the scene.

Colour Documentary New Topographics Photography Social Landscape

Avard Woolaver decay Kentville new topographics Nova Scotia sign social landscape wabi sabi

Published February 23, 2017 by

Scale can be deceiving in photographs

scale, photography, Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia,
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, 2010   © Avard Woolaver

Scale can be deceiving in photographs, and sometimes it intended to be that way. A photograph can be both fact and fiction, both a document and a lie. It may contain numerous narratives that spring from our imagination. It can be staged or manipulated in Photoshop, yet still be a document. These days the line between fact and fiction has become blurred.

According to photographer Martin Parr, “Most of the photographs in your paper, unless they are hard news, are lies. Fashion pictures show people looking glamorous. Travel pictures show a place looking at its best, nothing to do with the reality. In the cookery pages, the food always looks amazing, right? Most of the pictures we consume are propaganda.”

My photography has always been rooted in the documentary tradition–I’m not one for manipulation, or post-production. Most everything is achieved by where I stand and when I take the photo–(light is a crucial component as well). But sometimes I aim to take photos that are ambiguous. They look like manipulated photos, yet they are not. Using scale is one way to achieve this sense of ambiguity.

This photo was taken in Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia,–a place that is both beautiful and surreal. The rocks in the frame are actually much smaller than the house, but you may disagree!

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Photo tip:  Scale provides a frame of reference. A person or object is often put in the frame as a reference point. Try creating tension by including an object of unknown size in the frame.

Black and White Documentary New Topographics Observation Photography Social Landscape

Avard Woolaver black and white documentary house Nova Scotia Peggys Cove rocks scale