Killarney! Artist in Residence

As of Monday 28 July, I’ll be taking up my post as Artist in Residence for a week at Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario. Organized by the Friends of Killarney Park, I am thrilled and honoured to be their first photographer in the programme.

Killarney is one of Ontario’s true gems of a provincial park. It is classic Canadian Shield: ancient rock billions of years old, hundreds of lakes and rivers with a mix of rocky outcrops and hills covered in northern Great Lakes mixed forest, verging on coniferous boreal in places. Killarney began life billions of years ago with what is now the LaCloche range of low white quartzite hills, once the core of mountains higher than Everest is today. A couple of billions years later, the Grenville Orogeny (mountain-building) shoved the pink granite into place along the southern edge of the park, providing the startling contrast of billion-year-old pink granite and 3-billion-year-old white quartzite.

In the billion years since then, there have multiple and long periods of glaciation which further shaped Killarney: carving deep valleys, polishing the rock smooth in some places and etching the rock in others with chatter marks, deep gouges and smoother scour marks caused by flowing water.

I’ve visited Killarney a number of times over the decades, twice in the depths of winter. Between the biota and the landscapes, there is always more than enough to keep an outdoor photographer busy. This goes right back to the Group of Seven. A.Y. Jackson along with members of the Ontario Society of Artists lobbied the Ontario government for protection, which was achieved in 1964.

Sadly, some of the lakes still feel the effects of ‘Acid Deposition’ (a.k.a. Acid Rain) from the 1960s and 70s. Emissions from the Sudbury Superstack and coal-fired generating stations wreaked havoc throughout the region. The lakes are perfectly clear and blue due to the lack of biota and fish in the lakes.

Artist in Residence

Each of the outings (see below) will be an informal “Walk, Talk & Shoot” session. We’ll take advantage of photo ops along the way for instruction and guidance, with a bent towards nature, outdoor and landscape photography. The goal won’t be finishing the trail but rather capturing some engaging photographs. We may go 500m, we may only go 5m—it all depends on what there is to photograph.

The programme is as follows:

• Monday, 10am to Noon: We’ll meet at the Nature Centre and have a look along the Trout Creek Trail + bridge over to start of La Cloche Trail;
• Tuesday, 10am to Noon: We’ll meet at the Main Gate and Walk, Talk & Shoot along the Granite Ridge Trail
• Wednesday, 7pm at the Amphitheater: I’ll be presenting Ontario’s Natural Gems: Nature and Outdoor photography in our backyards—an inspirational look at photographing the beautiful places close to home
• Thursday, 10am to Noon: We’ll meet at Second Beach to discover photographic gems along the Cranberry Bog Trail
• Friday, 10am to Noon: We’ll meet at the Nature Centre and have a look along the Trout Creek Trail + bridge over to start of La Cloche Trail;

Everyone is welcome, though I’m sure there is a sign-up list at the Park Office. On a personal note, I’m greatly looking forward to meeting people who want to take their photography further. Photography is all about seeing, so, whether it’s a phone camera, a DSLR, mirrorless or a point-and-shoot, the best camera is the one that’s with you!

I’m also looking forward to discovering Killarney in the summer, from the early morning blue and golden hours, right through to the dead of night. Yes, that includes working on some astrophotography. I’ll be working on both colour and black-and-white photographs, as always, trying to capture the essence of place and the art inherent in nature.

So, join me at Killarney!

---

Recommended reading:
Killarney GeoTour (OMNRF PDF): I find that the more I know about the place I’m photographing, the more meaningful and informed my photographs are. This an excellent overview of how the landscape of Killarney became what it is today.
Killarney’s Beating Heart: The Park Which Painters Saved: Blog Post by Zac Metcalfe