Tag: <span>social landscape</span>

My latest self-published photo book is titled Found Fields – available through Blurb Books.

Found Fields refers to my approach when taking photos: scenes found in my field of vision. Photographers often call it being a gatherer rather than a hunter—finding scenes by chance, rather than intentionally hunting them down. Many of my photos are taken during my daily routine, or just going somewhere ordinary. Of course, I’m attracted to novelty–going to new places, seeing new things. But I also love seeing familiar scenes, places that I have photographed many times before, and discovering once more that nothing ever looks the same way twice.

Over the years I’ve learned always to carry a camera, and, even more important, to take time to study details of the world around me. In refining my vision and technique, I also strive for images that, I hope, carry some deeper meaning.

The photos in this book show some themes that I have been exploring for a long time now (societal issues; climate change; the failure of capitalism), along with wonderment, and, sometimes, the sheer absurdity of life. I think of the photos collected here as being both optimistic and pessimistic, in roughly equal measure. Ultimately, though, I have a great deal of hope for the future, and I trust these images reflect that. Photography has always been magic for me, and the camera a loyal memory maker.

Found Fields
Photographs by Avard Woolaver
Softcover, 54 pages; 50 colour photos
20 x 25 cm / 8 x 10 in.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2023 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Windsor Forks, Nova Scotia, 2015 – © Avard Woolaver

.

New Minas, Nova Scotia, 2012 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Amherst, Nova Scotia, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

Photography Social Landscape

Hants County, Nova Scotia
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

Photos taken recently rambling around Hants County, Nova Scotia, with my camera. I’m usually on my way to somewhere and stop to take a few photos. It works better when I’m alone, as I get complaints from family members.”You’ve taken this photo a hundred a hundred times. Let’s get going!” (Perhaps they’re right.)

According to Wikipedia, the name Hants is an old abbreviation for the English county of Hampshire, from the Old English name Hantescire. It’s beautiful here, especially in autumn.

Hants County, Nova Scotia
Scotch Village, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Kennetcook, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Kennetcook, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Hants County, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Hants County, Nova Scotia
West Hants Sports Complex, Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Hants County, Nova Scotia
Scotch Village, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Drive Thru, Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Upper Rawdon, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Hants County, Nova Scotia
Gypsum Mines, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

 

 

Photography

laundry
Laundry Day, Montreal, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

I’ve heard that line drying of laundry still takes place in Montreal, though it’s not as prevalent as in the 1980s. In Canada, the rules for line drying seem to vary from city to city, with condos probably never allowing it. In rural areas, nobody cares if you hang your clothes out to dry. If you look at the world in terms of a carbon footprint, it should be encouraged everywhere.

This photo was shot on Kodachrome 64 using a Konica T4 camera, with a 28mm lens.

Photography

New Minas, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

This scene reminded me of a sign I saw as a child at a restaurant beside a gas station. It read: Eat and Get Gas. I found the double meaning quite amusing and never forgot seeing it. Some fifty years later I saw an opportunity to illustrate that sign.

I plan on spending more time on my blog and will be posting a photo every day–recent photos like this one, taken yesterday, and also older images from my archives. And if you haven’t done do already, please subscribe to the Image Journey. Cheers!

Photography

Lee Friedlander, social landscape,
Digby, Nova Scotia, 2020 – © Avard Woolaver

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lee Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban “social landscape,” with many of his photographs including fragments of store-front reflections, structures framed by fences, posters and street signs. For the past forty years my own photos have focused on the social landscape, and I owe a lot to Lee for setting me on this course.

I’ve been a fan of Friedlander since I discovered his photographs in the 1970s, in a Time-Life book called Documentary Photography. The writer described the photos as chaotic: “There is a brooding message of disorientation, of something having gone askew in these pictures.” For me, his photos are bursting with creativity, intelligence and deadpan humour–they seem to be the visual equivalent of jazz music. He welcomed foreground obstructions such as poles and trees, and also his own shadow, as a way of creating visual interest. When I was a student at Ryerson, I used to look at a leaf through a book of Lee photos before going out to take photos. He has been one of my main sources of photographic inspiration over the years.

Eric Kim writes in his blog: “Friedlander was interested in capturing “The American social landscape.” This included photographs that included people and also photographs that didn’t include people. I think one of the biggest cruxes in my street photography career so far is the idea that all of my shots had to include people.

If you look at some of Friedlander’s best work, many of them don’t include people. Rather, he focuses on signage, interesting sculptures, numbers, words, letters, cars, and other intimate objects. I think this is actually what makes Friedlander’s work stand out from all of the street photographers from history; the fact that his photos that don’t include people still have so much humanity– and tell a lot about American society.”

Everyone has their own visual take on the world. My photos represent my own vision of the social landscape that has evolved over time. It’s important to give a nod to those who inspired you. Most of the photos in this post were taken quite recently. Lee has been on my mind.

social landscape, Lee Friedlander
Graves Island, Nova Scotia, 2020 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, Lee Friedlander
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2020 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, Lee Friedlander
East Ferry, Nova Scotia, 2020 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, Lee Friedlander
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

.

Lee Friedlander, social landscape,
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, black and white photograph,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, black and white photograph,
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

.

social landscape, Lee Friedlander
Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2011 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography Social Landscape