September 2008
The Archives
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09.28.08The Rape of Europa[caption id="attachment_160" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="At Schloss Neuschwanstein in southern Bavaria, Captain James Rorimer supervises the safeguarding of art stolen from French Jews and stored during the war at the castle (April-May, 1945). Photo: National Archives and Records Administration"][/caption] "Art belongs to humanity. Without this, we are animals. We just fight, we live, we eat. Art is...what makes us human." - from "The Rape of Europa" I saw the most moving film last night. The Rape of Europa tells the epic story of the methodical theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Second World War. The movie includes ...
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09.22.08The demise of Kodachrome[caption id="attachment_152" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The first photograph of me with my Grandmother."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_153" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The only photograph of me with my Grandfather."][/caption] The pictures of my earliest days on earth were recorded on Kodak's Kodachrome film. In fact, our entire family history, for 18 years, was documented on Kodachrome. My father's first job here in Canada, after we emigrated from England, was at the Kodak plant on Black Creek Drive, here in Toronto (the building was torn down last year). He was given and endless supply of the film as a young employee and photographer, and thus, the trays of ...
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09.12.08Mexican MennonitesDuring an uncharacteristically sunny and warm week this summer, I got a call from Myles McCutcheon, the Photo Editor at Chatelaine magazine, to see if I'd be interested in shooting a piece on Mexican Mennonites and their traditional cooking. As I had finished a workshop this Spring with Larry Towell, who has documented their community extensively, I was pretty much up to speed on who the Mexican Mennonites are. Larry's considered, intimate and honest photos of their community can be seen here. So, who are the Mexican Mennonites? Well, back in the 1920's, their community was angered by the Canadian government ...
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09.09.08Fashion Spreads, Celebrities, and Fast CarsSometimes this job throws you a curve, and you either let it go by, or you swing hard. Well, that time came for me a few weeks back, and I swung hard. I got a call from an old University friend, Kelly Kirkpatrick, in mid-August, asking if I could help her out with a shoot. She had just started at a men's fashion and lifestyle magazine as Art Director, and had to pull off a cover, story feature on the cover subject, and a fashion spread. In two days. As in, in two days time, I need all of this shot, all ...
