03•12•11

New galleries are here. I've been working on organizing my back catalogue whenever I get the chance. So, feel free to click the photographs link to check out some new and some updated galleries.

_______

01•03•11

Happy 2011. I hope last year was a good one for you, and that this year treats you well. It's been an interesting one for me, and I figured this would be as good a time as any to look back on the last 12 months (give or take).

So, big changes, starting with the most important: after more than a decade together, my girlfriend became my wife. That was pretty amazing. A few days later we moved across the country to where we currently reside, in Smithers, BC. A month after arriving here we bought a house (down payment aside, the cost of buying is pretty much equal to the cost of renting here). There are no sewers or drains here tall enough to stand up in, but there are plenty of other interesting places for me to photograph next spring and summer. So there will be no new contributions to the Buried Waters project for the time being; the good news is there are still many photos that haven't been printed yet, as well as a backlog of photos from a number of past projects that haven't been seen by many people yet.

So, in the midst of planning for all that fun wedding and moving stuff, as well as trying to make my way into the last sewers in Toronto I wanted to photograph before I left, I managed to take part in four outdoor shows, as well as flying back to Toronto for a week to help open my first solo gallery show. Thanks to everyone that came out to enjoy the buried waters work last year, it was amazing to meet all of you, and hope to see some of you again in the future. The show at gallerywest was great, it was very satisfying to finally have a proper sound component as well, since I've been recording sound for the last two years or so. Evan did an amazing job facilitating the show, many thanks to him.

As for the outdoor shows last summer, I managed to win a few awards. At the Sunnyside show in May I was awarded the Grazyna and Martin Kabat Award (also known as 'second place,' behind the talented Mark Stebbins). For this year's Riverdale Art Walk, I was given the Jury's Choice award (a.k.a. 'best in show'). Most exciting for me, I was chosen as the Best In Category for photography at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (incidentally, Mark Stebbins won not only Best in Category for drawing, but also Best In Show).

Which brings me to some more current news. The TOAE is running a Best of TOAE 2010 award winner exhibition at First Canadian Place in Toronto from January 17 to February 25. Each winner from the show will have a piece on display, so it should be a pretty stellar show considering the quality of work that was on display in July (I know I went home with several new additions to our art collection).

Also, for the month of January, a selection of photos will be on display at Full Of Beans coffee shop in Toronto, where my friend James Cameron (the amazing Toronto artist, not the movie director responsible for Dances With Smurfs) is organizing regular art showings. The coffee is pretty amazing too, I had a chance to try it when I was in town in November. The shop is at 1348 Dundas West, about halfway between Dufferin and Ossington. They're open until 6 most days, tell James I said 'hi' if you stop in.

One more piece of business for now - just before Christmas, my hard drive decided to fail. Thankfully I had a bit of warning, and managed to save a backup on my external drive; unfortunately, a disk image of my hard drive doesn't do any good if it's corrupted and won't open, and I fail to test the backup before replacing the drive. In short, my mailing list has disappeared. If you were on it and want to remain on it, please hit the contact page and email me, and I'll continue to email two or three times a year when there's news related to photos and the underground and art shows and such.

tl;dr version: Happy New Year, I got married and moved, more pictures (not of sewers) coming soon.

_______

10•31•10

So I just got back from gallerywest. Evan and I spent the day setting up the Buried Waters show, and I think it's going to be good. It runs until the end of November, at 1332 Queen Street West (in Toronto), although if you can make it, November 4 is going to be the evening to be there. The normal hours are roughly 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the opening on Thursday runs from 7 to 10 p.m.

I've added a sound element, , which I'm pretty excited about - hopefully it should add a new element to the experience. If you get the chance, please stop by and check it out. I look forward to seeing old and meeting new friends on Thursday, hope to see you there.

_______

08•03•10

Time for some good news announcements. Although I was saddened by the DK Photo Group's decision to close their gallery on Queen West, I know it was something they had to do. I'm very pleased now to announce that Evan Tyler will be taking over their former space, opening Gallery West in October. He's planning on hosting my Buried Waters series for the month of November, with an opening reception on November 4. The show will also include, for the first time, an audio component, which I'm pretty excited about. Hopefully it will add another dimension to the experience.

If November is too far away, I'll be back at Sunnyside Beach from August 27 to 29, for the summer's second installment of the Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show & Sale. This will be the last of the outdoor art shows for the summer (at least for me), so, as my wedding approaches, all I can say is that if you've been mulling over the idea of buying a photo of a buried river or sewer at one of the shows this year, August would be a good month to finally make that decision.

On that note, one more thank you to buyers at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, and to everyone that just stopped in to chat - it's been a great summer, made all the more rewarding in the interest that many of you have taken in the Buried Waters images. Hope to see a few of you in August, November or both.

_______

06•15•10

I'm in a post-RAW, pre-TOAE state of mind. I've delivered most of the prints ordered at the RAW, and am now in the process of printing, framing and matting prints for July's show. Many thanks to everyone that stopped in to say hello at Jimmie Simpson Park, and of course special thanks to those that left with a print- I'm always honoured and still slightly surprised every time someone opts to spend money on one of my photos, especially considering all the other amazing work that was on display at the RAW.

Some of you might have already received an update from my email list; if you haven't and you signed up for it, check your junk mail, or send me a note through the contact page and let me know you still want in on the inside info. A few email addresses were downright doctor-like in their clarity, so if I couldn't read your handwriting, hopefully you'll stop by here and see this.

In website (non-)news, things will probably be slow in the photoblog department for a few weeks, as I'm waiting for the circus to arrive, do their dog and pony show, and leave town again. Until then, the long list of unphotographed underground infrastructure will have to wait, as I have no desire to trigger any drastic overreactions from our billion dollar security team. In the meantime, a few long-promised new photo galleries are actually nearing completion. And if any of you have any connections in the publishing industry, I think we need to talk.

_______

05•28•10

Two updates since the last update:

First, I'm sad to say that the planned exhibit at GalleryDK has been cancelled. The gallery will likely be closing soon, and so I'll be looking for another home for my first solo show.

On a more positive note, I've been accepted to the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. I'll be in the green section, which is the few rows just north of Queen Street. In the meantime, I'll be at Sunnyside for the next two days, and Jimmie Simpson Park on June 5 and 6. Hope to see some of you at one of the shows.

_______

05•04•10

Almost a year has passed since this version of the site was launched, and I want to just say a quick thanks to everyone that keeps coming back, and hello to any new visitors. The big news is that the coming weeks promise a trifecta of exhibitions. First up, chronologically speaking, is the Sunnyside Beach juried art show & sale, part of Doors Open Toronto 2010. The show will run from May 28 to 30, at the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion. For a more exact schedule, download the flyer here.

The next week, I'm pleased to announce my first solo gallery show. From June 3 to 27, I'll be showing highlights from the ongoing Buried Waters series at galleryDK, with an opening reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. The gallery is open from noon to 5, thursday to sunday, and by appointment from monday to wednesday. I'll likely be there most weekends. The gallery is on Queen Street West in Parkdale, incidentally steps away from the first apartment Amanda and I shared in Toronto (anyone remember the studio on Noble Street?).

I won't, however, be at DK during the first weekend in June, which marks the return of the Riverdale Art Walk, held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 5 and 6 at Jimmy Simpson Park. I'm also incredibly pleased to announce that I've been given the 2010 Jury's Choice Award, which I understand is a less canine way of saying 'Best In Show.' Last year's event was my first outdoor show and was a great experience, and the show was full of great artists. I expect this year's show to be no less enjoyable, so stop by and say hello, and go ahead, feel free to ask me how I get down there and whether it smells.

_______

04•07•10

It's been a while since I updated this particular page, so I'm not sure if anyone's reading this; if you are, though, I thought I'd mention that there's a new gallery of paintings for sale, you can find it here. Money from painting sales will be used to pay for our wedding, so feel free to overpay if you're so inclined. I've finally set up a paypal account too, so if you're interested in any photo prints, email me through the contact page and we'll make it happen.

_______

10•19•09

Thanks and good to have met you to everyone who stopped by and said hello at the Queen West Art Crawl, it was a hectic but enjoyable weekend. This page will likely be quiet for a bit, while I work on some new projects and try to catch up on some older ones. Keep an eye on the photoblog for more or less regular updates on where I've been and what I've been shooting.

_______

09•07•09

The Queen West Art Crawl is only two weeks away, and I'm happy to announce I'll be at Trinity Bellwoods Park with underground prints on September 19 and 20. My booth number is C36, near the tennis courts, and I'll be there all day both days, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. As a point of curiosity, parts of the former Garrison Creek actually flow directly under the park, although you'd be hard-pressed to find signs of it today. If you're a little further west, I'll also have one piece (East Don River (York Heights) No. 5 - a.k.a. the skull) at a coinciding show at the Gladstone Hotel during the same weekend. For more info on the Queen West Art Crawl, check out the website.

_______

09•06•09:

Welcome to version 2.0 of me.ca. This is my first proper attempt to use css, and I imagine I'm not likely to get it right the first time, so if any glaringly bad or weird design issues pop up, please drop me an email via the contact section and either send me a screenshot or let me know what's going on. Thanks, much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the new look.