Happy Canada Day!
Happy Canada Day fellow Canadian writers! I wish you all a great day of celebrating this wonderful country we live in. I hope everybody’s ready to pick up some mini Canadian flags and wear your Canada hats! We really do live in an amazing country, and it deserves to be celebrated.
“It is wonderful to feel the grandness of Canada in the raw, not because she is Canada but because she’s something sublime that you were born into, some great rugged power that you are a part of.”
– Emily Carr
I hope Canada Day brings on inspiration!
Happy Writing!
Robert Pohl Photography: Special Guest Post
Alexis Marie: I have loved sharing the stories and inspirations of some truly interesting individuals during the InFocus Alumni photography blog series. Are you excited about InFocus 2016? We will soon release the call for submissions and we would love to see your work. For now, I’m pleased to introduce Robert Pohl, a modern photographer engaging traditional processes.
Welcome Robert!
GUEST POST
“Piano” copyright Robert Pohl
My name is Rob Pohl. I was born in Edmonton over half a century ago and have lived here my entire life. I’ve been photographing the area specifically, but the world in general for about 35 years. I started out shooting film, and have stayed with it. I spend my working days in an office staring at a computer monitor. When I want to escape from that world and immerse myself in my photography, the last thing I want to do is spend yet more hours staring at a stupid monitor. While the masses have embraced digital photography and image manipulation software, I continue to work with film and traditional wet photography. I enjoy the relaxation and escape of the darkroom, the mixing of the chemistry, the experimentation, and the process of creating something with my hands. I shoot black and white film and process and print everything myself. In this age of digital photography that makes me a dinosaur. But I also think that it sets me apart from the masses that blast away with digital cameras. My approach is much more methodical and measured and I try to make every shot count.
“Schoolhouse” copyright Robert Pohl
Most of my work is shot with a large format 4″ x 5″ view camera. A dabble a little with medium format roll film, and with the even larger 8″ x 10″ format. I shoot mostly landscapes, landscape details, and historical images. It disturbs me somewhat that our province is falling victim to massive population growth and extensive development. Mankind seems too wrapped up in economic growth and development and seems to place little value on the natural world, and a responsibility to our planet. We all need to step back and take a deep breath and garner a little appreciation for the world around us, and what our lifestyle is doing to it. Hopefully my imagery helps to illustrate an appreciation for where we have come from, where we are going, and what the consequences are.
“Rock Pool” copyright Robert Pohl
In early 2015 I became involved in the InFocus Photography Exhibition that has expanded from Calgary and Banff, to the provincial level. The YEG show in Edmonton that I was involved in was curated by Alexis Marie Chute. I felt privileged to be included in that show, and hope to take part in future exhibitions. I’ve included a selection of images that are typical of my work. I regularly post work to my Flickr account, and to my blog…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130527519@N08/
Wilfred Kozub Photography: Special Guest Post
Alexis Marie: Are you enjoying the InFocus Alumni photography blog series? Today I would like to introduce you to Wilfred Kozub, photographer and artist of many mediums.
Welcome Wilfred!
GUEST POST
Wilfred Kozub, Multi media Artist
These are exciting times as I seem to have a lot of art projects on the go. I have gradually branched out from being a painter and pop/electronic musician to becoming a multi media artist.
“Treads” copyright Wilfred Kozub
I feel that colour and motion are the most conspicuous features in my paintings. These are elements that I typically bring to my photographic images, and to my music, too. I am now applying the same sensibility to my recent ventures in making little lyric videos to post on YouTube for my tunes. An extended music-based film titled “The Weather” will come out in the fall of 2015.
“Go North” copyright Wilfred Kozub
My paintings are frequently populated by swallows, magpies . . . and electrical activity. The goal has always been to engage the viewer with interesting ideas in an accessible format – keep it simple and make it striking! My painting, No One Gets Zapped is a good example of the electrical motion and vibrant colour that I’m talking about, and you can hear its audio equivalent in my song, Wilfred In The City.
“Delirious World” copyright Wilfred Kozub
Although photography isn’t at all new to me, I have recently brought my camera into action more and more with my photographic images now sharing nearly equal billing with my paintings on art cards and prints that I regularly show at the Royal Bison Art & Craft fair. My paintings have also been displayed in group and solo art shows with The Works, at the Artery, and other Edmonton gallery venues. It was a proud moment for me to ‘come out’ officially as an artistic photographer at the inaugural InFocus show for the Exposure Photography Festival in Edmonton (February, 2015). What a fine show it was, and such an excellent opportunity to have some of my new photographs displayed alongside the works of terrific Edmonton photographic artists.
My artwork and photography frequently can be seen in the graphic design for albums by my band, Wilfred N & the Grown Men. I have come to recognize the decorative quality of many of my paintings which use repetitive images (see I See By The Colour of Your Eyes That You Are One of Us). A new painting titled Delirious World has become the centerpiece for new cards and prints – and for my freshly designed, Delirious World printed silk scarves. That image is going to be expanded and transformed to be re-purposed as the cover art for my upcoming tenth Wilfred N & the Grown Men album titled Passing Through Time. A debut solo Wilfred Kozub album, “What’s Gonna Become of Us” is also in the works, and my photograph Ancient Flowers, Rome will be the cover image for that one. Lots going on! . . . I had better get to work!
Listen to “Wilfred in the City”
Wilfred Kozub
Contact Info:
Email: wilfredkozub@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wilfred.kozub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wngm
Links:
The Wilfred Kozub Art & Ponder Tumblr Page:
http://wilfredkozub.tumblr.com/
Wilfred Kozub on Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/wilfred-kozub
Wilfred N & the Grown Men on Bandcamp
https://wilfrednthegrownmen.bandcamp.com/
Wilfred N & the Grown Men on AmazingTunes
http://amazingtunes.com/wilfrednandthegrownmen
Videos:
Nobody Has To Know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yab2dUwo6J0
Wilfred In the City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGA9YpxXPo
Thunder on the Tundra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmQUZgcR_U
Gerry Dotto Photography: Special Guest Post
Alexis Marie: Continuing on in the InFocus Alumni photography blog series, I am pleased to introduce Gerry Dotto. Taking the everyday and making it interesting is quite a feat. I hope you enjoy Gerry’s images and the way he expounds on them.
Welcome Gerry!
GUEST POST
On a recent trip to Boston, I visited the Museum of Fine Arts to see an exhibition of works by two historically prominent photographers: Herb Ritts and Gordon Parks. It was a great show, and the impact of seeing iconic photos up close and in person really left an impression. This experience truly underscores the importance of getting one’s photographs printed and, if the occasion arises, put on display. It’s one thing to look at a digital image on the screen, but it’s no comparison to a well-printed photograph that allows you to truly appreciate the tone, the light and the detail.
“Stickers or Stamps, Crutches or Stilts” 2014, Digital print on photo paper 22” x 17” (55.9 x 43.2 cm) image size Edition of 30, copyright Gerry Dotto
I recently had the opportunity to participate in the InFocus Edmonton exhibition, where I showed a photo from a series I’ve been developing called “Flow of Traffic Theory.” My work is conceptual in nature and is based on exploring our interaction with everyday forms of visual communication. This series originated from my fascination with the simplicity and universality of the imagery used on road signs. Specifically, signs whose words and symbols have become obscured or distorted in some way.
Peach Inspediment – Composite 1, 2014,
Digital print on photo paper, 22” x 16” (55.9 x 40.6 cm) image size, Edition of 30, Copyright Gerry Dotto
Over the course of the last several years, I’ve kept a keen eye out for road signs that have been damaged, run over, victims of adverse weather or compromised by construction. The interesting thing is that these signs are generally overlooked by drivers—no need to look at a sign that can’t be read. The signs, in effect, become “invisible.” The value of these signs, relative to the message they once carried, has been lost. They now take on an aesthetic value of their own, either in their appearance, the reinterpretation of their message or based on the context of their physical location. The images in this series set out to reveal the relative beauty of these objects that have lost their inherent value.
“Red Cross” 2012, Digital print on photo paper, 22” x 15.5” (55.9 x 39.4 cm) image size, edition of 30, Copyright Gerry Dotto
During the run of the InFocus Edmonton exhibition, I met a few photographers whose work I was familiar with but hadn’t had the occasion to meet yet. Seeing my work in relation to theirs, as well as other photos in the show, fostered some new perspectives on how I approached my own picture making. I realized that many of my photos of road signs were taking on human characteristics, in the sense that I was portraying them like they were portraits of people—people wearing masks. What are they hiding? Is it about insecurity? A secret identity? Is it a game? In the end, these photos offer more questions than answers.
Ultimately, photography is a medium about “showing” what’s in our world and, in theory, it captures “truth.” The photographic print remains the best medium for revealing the photographer’s vision. Personally, I benefitted from this exhibition experience when deeper aspects of my own work were revealed to me. While I set out to show the world my vision, I’m hiding from it, too. You can see more of my work on my website, gerrydotto.com, or contact me at gerry@gerrydotto.com
Alexis Marie Uncensored Debut Article in Edmonton Woman Magazine
I have been reading Edmonton Woman Magazine for years, so when they offered me a column in their glossy pages, I was honored to accept. My first article in my Alexis Marie Uncensored column was published in their May/June 2015 issue. The topic: Motherhood, just in time for Mother’s Day.
While I could write a book on my almost six years’ worth of practice being Mom, I chose to focus on what has changed and what has stayed the same over the years. In the end, moms are still crazy busy, they still put their kids first though take time for themselves and their careers, and moms still drink crazy potions their children mix together. Being a mom really is the best job.
The July/August 2015 issue is just around the corner. No spoiler alerts but I will share about my article here once it hits the newsstands.
Happy reading!
