Wednesday, March 8, 2006     « Southern Ontario Charm »

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It's funny. I go all the way to the west coast and take four rolls of film, totaling 48 photos (an all-time low I'd say). Then, I take a 2 hour train ride to little 'ole Stratford, Ontario and snap off 10 frames within a short 15 minute walk through a random neighbourhood. There's just something about the familarity of this landscape and the architecture that inspires me. There's a lot I hate about these parts. Having grown up here I am regularly confronted with design elements that are reminders of not-so-great experiences, but on the other hand I feel more and more like I am not finished here yet. Sticking around has been meaningful to me on some level. And photographing it has been a real window into my own head.

It's hard to see in this image but there is a tiny Canadian flag hanging in the window of this cottage-style house. Everything about this scene is really, really familar in a way that is both comforting and sinister. I know EXACTLY what it smells like inside that house.

And I have said it before but it seems I will NEVER get over the scallop fixation. I have been continuously using scallops in my design work for more than six years now and I have photographed scallops countless times over the last few years. Sometimes I worry about becoming a one-trick pony but man, scallops are something. I guess it's because they're a design element that are both very simple, yet loaded with meaning.

« Southern Ontario Charm »