Natural Photography

I have grouped my photographs  in a variety of folders and galleries under the four topic tabs: "Nature," "People," "Travel" and "Topic Collections." The first three topics cover my areas of principal photographic interest, namely, "Nature" (galleries of fauna and flora), "Travel" (galleries by country, or folders for countries with galleries of smaller divisions for often-visited areas) and "People." Under the "Topic Collections" tab, you will find the following folders and galleries: "World Cities",  a folder with galleries by city, "Best Selling Images," "Black and White," "My Favourite Images," and a folder "Suttons Fishing" (with galleries by province).

Travel photography was the beginning of my interest in photography (my 1967 Centennial project - a cross-Canada trip by train and hitch-hiking). I continue to enjoy travel, and have had the good fortune to be able to travel widely (primarily on business). In this travel photography, I try to provide a feel for the places I have been, including images of the usual iconic sites. Thus, it is varied in its content. Although the travel photos are sometimes captured in less than ideal circumstances because of time and other constraints related to business travel, I hope that these images will provide the viewer with a glimpse of some of the world's interesting places. A sometimes more detailed, though less artistic, view of world cities can be found in the "World Cities" folder under the "Topic Collections" tab.

Nature photography is my passion, and the subject to which I have devoted most of my photography time. That is the subject which most inspires me artistically, as well as providing me with the opportunity to be at one with nature and a higher power. I try not only to find that little unknown element (see the de Maupassant quote on the home page),  but also to share it with others in my photographs, with the hope that I will increase awareness and enjoyment of the natural world and all it has to offer.

People photography comprises two  distinct types for me . The first type includes those images captured on the street, usually taken on my travels, where I control little or nothing about the subject or the light, although in some cases I have a brief personal interaction with the subject. The street photography is found in a gallery under the topic tab "People."  Some may think of these images as snapshots or candid shots (and some are), but many are more than that, taken on my request after involvement with the subject, and some even being posed to a certain extent. Indeed, the interaction with some of these subjects is a big part of why I enjoy travel photography.

The second type of people photography includes "modelled" portraits and glamour photography, where I control all of the circumstances, including the lighting, and typically have considerable interaction with the subject. These photographs are in a private gallery "People - Portraits," where the photographs demonstrate more control over the light and circumstances. These photographs are about my relationship with the subject, and the control of light and of pose. Out of respect for the privacy of the subjects, I make this gallery available only to the subject and only on request. The portrait photography is about achieving an effect desired by the subject, and about controlling the light as an artistic endeavour.

A second private gallery is called "Family", a collection of images from a variety of sources, covering an extended period of time, to share our family history with my family members, who are the only ones who have access to it, and only after requesting it and registering. A third private gallery called "Jim" is a collection of family photos that include me, usually among others, spanning the period from 1947 to 2018; again, available only to family members and only on registration and request.

Under the Topic Collections tab is a gallery called "World Cities."  The point of this gallery is to share as much pictorial information as possible about some of the wonderful cities I have visited around the world. While I have visited many other places, this list of cities is limited to those the names of which I consider anyone in the world would have heard of. Unlike my other galleries, where the quality of the work is foremost in my mind, in these galleries, pictorial excellence is sometimes sacrificed in aid of breadth of coverage. The numbers following the city name are the years in which I visited the city.

Also under the Topic Collections tab is a gallery called "Suttons Fishing." For the most part this gallery is not even my own photography. It is added for the benefit of friends and family who understand what a passion fishing has been for our family over the years, particularly for my Dad and my three brothers, all of whom are reflected in the photos. I have left it an open gallery so that anyone who is interested in our family fishing tradition can see it. I am grateful to my family members, and other witnesses to that tradition, for supplying images. I take no responsibility for the quality: they are here for memories, not examples of fine photography.

The subject matter of the other three galleries under "Topic Collections": "Black and White," "My Favourite Images," and "Best Selling Images" is readily understood from their names.

Some images appear in more than one gallery. For example, some colour images appear in their original colour in one gallery but also have been converted to black and white and thus appear in the black and white gallery. Other images appear in one of the Flora or Fauna galleries as well as in the original source (location) gallery. In addition, I have taken photos from a variety of galleries to include in the "My Personal Favourites" gallery. The appearance of a photo in  my favourites gallery means that the photo is either one that I would hang on my wall, or one where the surrounding circumstances are meaningful to me.

A word about the numbering system is in order. My numbering convention is based on the chronological ordering of my image storage. A number including 6 digits in the form of '45-35-20' , for example, indicates an image scanned from a slide original. So, for example, image number 40-35-20 is an image for which I can find the original in seconds in binder 40, page 35, slide number 20 on that page. A similar 6 digit number with the first number being '45N' instead of '45' means it originates from a negative instead of a slide original. In both cases, the lower the first number, the earlier the photograph in my career (the 01-01-01 series, for example, starts in the early summer of 1967, and that particular number represents the first photograph in my collection). A number with 'DSC' or "_DCS" means the original image is a digital file.

I offer a word about some recurring naming convention short forms: NP=national park; SP=state park; PP=provincial park, in each case explaining where the photograph was taken. Otherwise, the title indicates in a general way where the photograph was taken, with more or less specificity.

I hope you enjoy the images. I would enjoy receiving your comments, which you can do through this website, or by emailing me at the contact address provided junder the "Contact" tab.