My wife and I were visiting my brother in law on the occasion of his birthday. Her present was an offer to paint his bathroom. While they were upstairs discussing color choices I found myself at loose ends with little to occupy myself. Both newspapers we subscribe to had been read during the ferry crossing. I had forgotten to take a book and there were few magazines of interest. Well aware on how long a discussion of color can take, I decided to use the situation to see what I could find in the way of photographs inside the townhouse. The result is series of images, dominated by the close-up. They are offered in the same order that they were photographed. There were a few deletions for technical faults. One of my continuous interests since 1969 has been exaggerated colour and enhanced contrast and detail. I applied several recently discovered new concepts and manipulations to this series of images. Color, 37 photographs, 50 pages
About the Author: The world presents itself and occasionally, I take the time to observe. There are times when the observation takes on the form of obsession, at other times it is the casual encounter. These moments become photographs. Believing that the normal needs to be elevated by exaggeration or simplification, I apply my skills to interpret these instances. I've exhibited in group and one person shows since 1969; exhibiting photographs, painting and prints. My work, since 1998, has focused on computer manipulated photographs. The prints have been exhibited extensively through 147 exhibitions, primarily in US university, college, and community galleries. The exhibitions have been in; BC, Alberta, Ontario and in 31 American States. Also an exhibitor in 12 virtual web galleries, associated with academic conferences focused on digital imaging in Australia, China, Thailand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2006, I began publishing my completed projects as books, and have completed thirteen books to date, with three others in development to be published in 2010. A recent award was the Jurors Award, best overall in show, for my photograph "Tradition Comforts Revelation", LOOK Victoria 2008, Community Arts Council of Victoria, the first time a photograph placed first in 30 years of competition. In 2008 and 2009, I exhibited as a finalist in the Ultimate Eye Foundation (California) grant competition for creative digital photography. I continue to be involved with experiments in expanding the range of color normally seen by an observer or the camera. Color is not added to the image. It is the exaggeration of existing color that becomes manifest through image manipulation. Coupled with the exploration of exaggerated color, are explorations of its near relatives, contrast and detail. This process is an extension of similar experiments I conducted with film based photography between 1970 and 1973. The film based system was excessively complicated and became a deterrent to productive image creation. The digital equivalent has more potential, greater variability and can be easily reproduced as prints or in book form. Born and educated in Alberta, I have been living in Victoria, on Canada's West Coast, since 1984.