A Pivotal Day (Chebucto Head, Nova Scotia)

Canada Day. Mid afternoon. Hot, sunny, and to be honest, a little boring. A friend called and asked if I was up for going somewhere to photograph, so I said "Sure, what about Chebucto Head - it's a hot day and there at least we'll be by the sea and be able to catch some breezes."

6x12 cm film

So we went out for a little while - I could have done with twice the time, but as it was I who had to get back to the city, I really can't complain. The thing is, the session was really good - I got the strongest image yet of the summer (above), and was hot on the trail of several others - time and technical screw-ups precluded any other successes though. It was a strange day, as I took photos of things I would have previously ignored.

4"x5" film

That I was seeing things differently is a direct result of correspondence with Joy Yourcenar, a poet from Maine. She had written me in response to my photographs, proposing a collaboration between us. Over our correspondence, poems and ideas have flown back and forth challenging and provoking me, and making me itch to get out and photograph in a way I'd never itched before.

4"x5" film

Canada Day was the first time the influence of Joy appeared in my work, and I was really quite surprised at how much my visual frame had changed. Joy's poems, and her comments on my work had altered how I looked at things - trite but true none the less. The image of the granite rock with the water pool would never have been taken made without Joy's involvement in my creative vision.