In 1999 I started to build film-based pinhole cameras. I don’t remember my motive now, however I am still fascinated that light passing through a small opening, with no lens, can project an image that can be captured on film. Other than the characteristics built into the camera, there are only two decisions to be made at the time of creating an image: which direction to point the camera and the length of exposure. With experience, it becomes intuitive. This is photography in its simplest form.

This project explores the memories linked to objects from my childhood that without an encounter with the physical object would otherwise be lost. The objects were found while clearing out my parents home. Stored in cardboard boxes that had long been forgotten, the items stirred memories of events marked by distinctive time and place. The objects are portrayed in triptych to reveal perspectives that parallel the convoluted effect of time and memory.

Innisfil, in Southern Ontario, has transformed rapidly from a cottage, rural township on Lake Simcoe to a thriving, growing community. Planning for the near future details even faster growth.

I have lived in Innisfil for many years. It is fascinating to see how quickly a farmer’s field is transformed by infrastructure and subdivision plots. Once the ground is touched, it rapidly changes due to the efficiency of the machinery used . The changes are inevitable.

Photography grants a license to wander. It puts the photographer in places that would not otherwise be visited at a time that would not otherwise be experienced. It facilitates connection. The image is the bond.

The camera is like a time machine. It captures a tiny moment in time and puts it in a vehicle called a photograph. Photographs are a record of people, culture, places and things that can be sent forward to observers in the future - tomorrow, next year or next century. Since the mid 1800s the world has been inundated with photographs. Many early images have suffered through the passage of time. Most will fade away and be lost but some are worth saving. They can be restored and revitalized to continue their journey forward.

The work on this page will be examples of my attempt to pull images from the past and push them forward. I will not be the creator of these photographs; my contribution will be rebuilding the vehicle so to speak restoring the image to extend its journey forward.

If you have an image that has significance to you, please contact me. I would be pleased to work with you on the journey.