photography Archives - Page 4 of 18

Published December 8, 2021 by avardw

Toronto Hi-Fi – a camera full of film and a head full of songs

My latest self-published photo book is titled Toronto Hi-Fi – available through Blurb Books.

Music has accompanied me wherever I’ve lived. When I moved to Toronto in 1980 to study photography at Ryerson, naturally my stereo system came with me. I had bought it three years earlier in Halifax–my first proper stereo with hi-fi sound. With an Akai 60 watt-per-channel amp, Dual turntable, Akai reel-to-reel, and Bose 301 speakers, it was my pride and joy.

The purchase of this stereo in 1977 coincided with the dawn of my interest in photography. I learned to process and print black and white film in the Camera Club at Acadia University and was instantly hooked. My newfound fascination with Lee Friedlander, Robert Frank, and Elliott Erwitt paralleled my discovery of John Coltrane, Howlin’ Wolf, and the Allman Brothers.

Throughout the years these two interests have remained intertwined–walking around with film (or a memory card) in my camera, and songs in my head.

The Toronto Hi-Fi photo seen below, and on the front cover, was taken before I moved Toronto. I had flown up in August 1980 to find an apartment and shot it on my first night in the city; it’s one of my very first Toronto photos.

Toronto Hi-Fi
Photographs by Avard Woolaver
Hardcover, 42 pages; 89 b&w photos
20 x 25 cm / 8 x 10 in.

Keele Street, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

View from Toronto Camera, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

Self-Portrait (One), Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

Photography

Avard Woolaver black and white music photo book photography Toronto Toronto Hi-Fi

Published October 11, 2021 by avardw

Sometimes the big picture is elusive

Sometimes the big picture is elusive because of all the distractions before us. (Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees.) On the other hand, if infinity spreads outward to the stars and also inward into the smallest atoms of these trees, then the big picture doesn’t matter. It’s all a big picture.

An infinite universe exists in the bark of these trees, in our bodies, and in outer space. We can start anywhere. It doesn’t matter if we see the trees in the forest, or the forest within the trees.

This photo was taken on our annual family Thanksgiving walk at First Lake in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. A chance to do some forest bathing. I’m so grateful to be alive for this brief time on earth, and grateful for a wonderful family.

Photography

Avard Woolaver big picture black and white forest bathing infinity landscape nature photography photography Thanksgiving trees

Published October 7, 2021 by avardw

These roads near my home

These roads near my home are so familiar to me. I know them like a friend, having traveled them literally thousands of times. Every corner, every dip and hill, every bump remains in my memory. Most of my childhood dreams were set on these roads, so at many places I could recall a dream. It’s a pleasure to photograph them in all seasons, under different lighting conditions, and at all times of day. I usually do this when I’m alone as it can annoy family members–“you’re getting out of the car again?”

These road photos are usually taken when there are few cars on the road and taken at spots where it is safe and convenient to pull over. And I have my favourite spots that I photograph again and again. My wife sometimes remarks that I have taken that same shot a hundred times. She’s right, in a sense. But there are subtle things like light and colour that can make the same scene look unique in a photo.

Roads are powerful metaphors. We each travel our own road in life and no one else can live it for us. These images are like little poems from Hants County, Nova Scotia, stops along the road.

roads, photos, Hants County, Nova Scotia, — Route 14 – Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2021 – © Avard Woolaver

Photography

Avard Woolaver Hants County Nova Scotia photography roads Route 14 Wentworth Road

Published September 21, 2021 by avardw

Recent Black and White Photos

Here are some recent black and white photos, taken over the past few months. With these images, I revisit familiar themes of juxtaposition, societal symbols, isolation, humour, and the human-altered landscape. In the absence of colour, the photographs gain a level of abstraction; we must use our imagination in a sense to complete the picture. The tones and contrast of the black and white also serves to highlight the graphic elements.

Though I shoot mainly colour these days with a digital camera, monochrome takes me back to the 1980s when I shot tons of Tri-X and spent countless hours in the darkroom. I miss those days sometimes, but feel that I can much the same results with digital technology. For me, it’s what you see, and capture, that’s most important, whether it’s with film or digital; Leica or Brownie box camera.

Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2021 – © Avard Woolaver

New Topographics Observation Photography Social Landscape

black and white digital new topographics nostalgia photography

Published August 18, 2021 by avardw

On my morning walk today…

… I saw beauty and decay. The two kilometer walk was meditative and enjoyable and gave me a chance to see nature’s interaction with the human-made world. Skid mars like these are becoming more prominent on Nova Scotia roads. I’ve heard them called “redneck art” and fool’s signatures”–they seem both wasteful and unattractive. At the curve ahead is the 45th parallel–exactly half way between the equator and the north pole. I confirmed it with an app on my phone. There used to be a sign but it was taken down.

Grass growing up in the cracks, discarded cigarette butts, new paint barely covering the old. There has been a road paint shortage this year in Nova Scotia because of supply chain issues with the paint plants in Texas and Louisiana. It’s interesting how the business world relies on a myriad of connections, just like the natural world.

The cigarette butts in the previous photo are just the tip of the garbage iceberg. The shoulders and ditches along this scenic road are littered with trash–bottles, cans, coffee cups, fast food bags, CDs, toys, and much more. It seems that many have lost touch with the natural world and no longer respect it. Most of the cans and bottles once contained alcohol, meaning that plenty of folks are drinking and driving. It wouldn’t surprise me that the guy who made the skid marks threw this out shortly afterwards.

Animals get hit crossing the road, and it’s not unusual to see porcupines, raccoons, skunks, deer, birds, and turtles as victims of road-kill. There is no easy solution, but if people drove slower, it might happen less. And if they weren’t drinking and driving they might be better able to see the poor animals crossing the road.

Clear-cutting of forests in Nova Scotia has been an issue for many years. It’s doubtful that the recently elected Conservative government will improve the situation. The removal of the trees destroys the habitat for the very animals that end up as road-kill.

In the words of Bob Dylan: “Everything is broken.”

Nature, if given the chance, takes over everything and reclaims it. There is a certain beauty and comfort in that.

Photography

beauty and decay human altered landscape morning walk photography

Tag: <span>photography</span>

Toronto Hi-Fi – a camera full of film and a head full of songs

Sometimes the big picture is elusive

These roads near my home

Recent Black and White Photos

On my morning walk today…