About Me

Or is it about you?

About me

I wear a few different hats. I'm a photographer and I'm a scientist. I could say I'm a photographer with a day job, but that would be unfair to my day job. Let's say that, as far as artistic pursuits go, I am my own benefactor.

As a scientist, I am formally trained. As a photographer I am self taught. A science background, especially in optics, does comes in handy in photography, at least in the technical part of it. The other thing a science and engineering background will do for you is the ability to manage projects and solve problems. And in scientific research, one is always asking oneself: What am I trying to accomplish? What have others done in this field? How original is my contribution? How useful/interesting is this likely to be?

My photography pursuits are thus, for better or for worse, influenced by my science activities.

So what am I doing? I've taken an urban documentary and history approach to most of my projects, and have been studying thus cities in which I have lived. Quebec city was my first photographic project. I had no other objective than making a few interesting and representative images of the city. Having moved to Ottawa, I took interest in the local history and architecture and decided I would make a portrait of Ottawa. I have put together my images and some of my historical factfinding into an exhibit that is currently (as of January 2004) exhibited at the Ottawa Public Library (Main branch). Another thing I do in these lines are historical/sightseeing scavenger hunts, which I have been doing for the last three years.

I have a few other projects in the works. Many of them seem to gravitate around Ottawa's urban evolution, which I am exploring from several angles. Another theme I'm exploring is the collision of nature and urban development, which I am expressing through slightly tainted landscapes. You can see some of these images in the abstract collection. I believe my next exhibit will illustrate the evolution of Ottawa in recent years.