photoED Magazine - WINTER 2024/ 2025- COLOUR

WINTER 2024/2025

THE COLOUR ISSUE

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COREY ISENOR Halifax, NS “This photo is from my

explorations of Halifax with my converted infrared full-spectrum camera. Anything that reflects infrared light is represented by various reds, and anything that doesn't looks how we would see it, creating a new window into what is and isn't visible.” coreyjisenor.com IG: @coreyisenor

CONTENTS 8

A RAINBOW OF RESOURCES by Meredith Poirier

32

PORTFOLIO Featuring: Amanda Devison, Manfred Mueller, Stephane Alexis, Daphne Faye Boxill, Eva Kolcze, Monica Rooney, Paul Gravett, Trina Turl, Vanessa Pejovic, David Dorrance, Ryan Puchalski, Marie-Louise Moutafchieva, and Tessy Morelli

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PATRICIA PARSONS: PERCEPTIONS OF COLOUR An interview by Rita Godlevskis

56

THE GALLERY Submissions by our readers

58

“A WHOLE STRING OF PEARLS” THE HAND-TINTED LANTERN SLIDES OF MARY SCHÄFFER WARREN by Mina Markovic

10 SCARBOROUGH MADE: CULTURE IN COLOUR by Sid Naidu 13

FINN O’HARA: CONDUITS IN COLOUR In conversation with Craig D’Arville

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MICHAEL SELESKI: AFTER ALL

20 THE COLOURISTS: PEPPA MARTIN REFLECTS ON THE ART OF LESLIE HOSSACK AND PETER OWUSU-ANSAH 26

BRIANNA ROYE + WANNA THOMPSON PORTRAITS OF MAS: FOR SHE/FOR HE/FOR THEM

by Corinna vanGerwen

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EDITOR’S NOTE

COLOUR MAXIMALISM INSPIRES ME TO NO END.

Photo by Margaret Mulligan

MY EYES AWAKEN WHEN I SEE a building in my grey city where an architect has had permission to splash colour into their design; I feel hope when a brightly coloured wildflower pops through a crack in the sidewalk; and I am energized by the work of artists who wholeheartedly embrace colour such as Iris Apfel, Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama, David LaChapelle, and Sarindar Dhaliwal, just to name a few.

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”

— Wassily Kandinsky

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Colours can be used to direct our navigation (red stop signs), signify a social issue (Orange Shirt Day), or signal corporate brand awareness (McDonald’s yellow), directing our attention, consumer choices, and emotional responses.

The artists in this edition work with colour to guide viewers’ gazes and analyses in new directions. Leslie Hossack and Peter OwusuAnsah are artists who have quite literally zoomed in as close as one can get to analyze single pixel colours to explore the emotional impacts of chroma combinations. Michael Seleski’s fashion work was inspired by the idea of light travelling through the colours in pride flags. Meanwhile, Patricia Parsons works to make images to describe how a person with achromatopsia (a form of colour blindness) may see the world.

Looking ahead, our 2025 season will take a fresh direction, with unique themes that will push our ideas about photography into daring new territories. This Spring, we’ll be showcasing work by photographers on the theme of MELD, photography as a creative blender.

What passions does your photography meld?

A physical combination of sculpture and images, or a blend of sources such as AI and dioramas? Readers can expect these possibilities and more!

The later half of 2025 will consider MEMORY, photographs that look backwards to move us forward, and MOVEMENT, community, momentum, and motion. If your work resonates with these ideas, find out more about making a submission on our website.

Follow us on Instagram, Patreon, and Facebook, and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up with all of our adventures!

Your editor, Rita Godlevskis

PHOTOED.CA @photoedmagazine PhotoED Magazine is published 3×/year, SPRING, FALL, & WINTER. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40634032 PhotoED Magazine 2100 Bloor St. West, Suite 6218 Toronto, ON M6S 5A5

WINTER 2024/2025 ISSUE #72 ISSN 1708-282X EDITOR/PUBLISHER ART DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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This issue was made possible with the assistance of the Government of Canada, and the Ontario Arts Council.

COVER IMAGE

Rita Godlevskis /rita@photoed.ca Ruth Alves Craig D’Arville Djenabé Edouard Mina Markovic Peppa Martin Sid Naidu Meredith Poirier Corinna vanGerwen Deborah Cooper Marie Louise Moutafchieva From the Standing Rock series, “On the Heavens,” by Finn O’Hara

CURATORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Tobi Asmoucha, Patricia Ellah, Anthony Gebrehiwot, John Healey, Jonathan Hobin, Vicki Hoysa, Pam Lau, Peppa Martin, Eric Stewart, Mark Walton

It’s gonna be a piece of cake.

Are you sweet on shooting colour with analog equipment? Are you interested in a new camera but don’t want to spend a lot of dough? Then nothing could be easier than checking out the Photographic Historical Society of Canada’s November Auction where great pre-owned photo merch struts its stuff.

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LOOKING TO LEARN?

The dreamy colour palette of Kodak Ektar perfectly suits the mid-century modern aesthetic of Palm Springs.

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A FEW RESOURCES TO EXPAND YOUR COLOUR PALETTE

BY MEREDITH POIRIER

COLOR PALETTE CINEMA JOEL MEYEROWITZ: A QUESTION OF COLOR

By Joel Meyerowitz

Colour photography is a given in 2024.

When we see black and white photos, we may assume that the photographer is trying to make an artistic statement. It wasn’t that long ago though that colour photography was quite rare and in some communities seen as an amateur endeavour. A Question of Color works through a timeline of colour photography in photographer Joel Meyerowitz’s life. Meyerowitz took on a project that seemed strange at the time.

He carried around two cameras and took (essentially) the same exact photographs, but one was with colour film and the other with black and white. The results are moving and incredible. They make the viewer think critically about the difference between colour and black and white. Is one better than the other? Do they convey different messages? This book shares many amazing photographs, side-by-side and back-to-back, allowing the reader to compare and question what we associate with colour.

Paperback, 2024, 224 pages $36.95 + shipping Thames & Hudson indigo.ca 8 photoED

Movies that stand out for their use of colour such as La La Land (Crave), Barbie (Crave), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Disney+) are always fun, but if you’re interested in diving a little deeper, check out the Instagram account, @colorpalette.cinema This Instagram page shares colour palettes relating to specific stills, scenes, and videos from the big and small screen. This account will surely stop your scroll and perhaps inspire you to break down the palettes in your own frames.

THE SECRET LIVES OF COLOR

By Kassia St. Clair

A love letter to colour, Kassia St. Clair’s book looks into the science behind how we see colour. This book is beautifully crafted, with an in-depth preface on the science, language, politics, and histories behind colour, diving deep into families of colours. Each new colour family section starts with a two-page spread of lovely hues. Each colour’s history and culture is discussed in depth. Flip through this picturesque and informative book and learn some neat facts about your favourite colour.

Hardcover, 2017, 320 pages $36.99 + shipping Hodder indigo.ca

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A RAINBOW OF CINEMA Brighten up your day with these must-watch movies full of colour.

PRETTY IN PINK (PRIME VIDEO) TURNING RED (DISNEY+) BLACK SWAN (DISNEY+) MOULIN ROUGE (DISNEY+) FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (PRIME VIDEO)

CAMERON D E V E L O P M E N T C O R P O R AT I O N

SCARBOROUGH MADE: CULTURE IN COLOUR

BY SID NAIDU

SCARBOROUGH MADE (SM) IS A SOCIAL IMPACT ORGANIZATION that champions documentary storytelling through photography and filmmaking in Toronto’s East. Co-founded by Alex Narvaez and Sid Naidu in 2019, the collective aims to shift how underserved communities are portrayed in the media and support BIPOC youth artists in pursuing careers in the creative industries.

When we started SM, we saw a lack of positive media representation for the community we grew up in. We wanted to innovate and create change through lens-based storytelling in and for our neighbourhood. Our work has brought documentary stories, public art, and creative youth mentorships to Toronto’s East. The community’s response has proved that this arts intervention was long overdue.

TOP: Masquerader Caneisha Edwards from Tribal Carnival Mas Band in her costume ready to compete in the female individual category for the Toronto Caribbean Carnival King & Queen Showcase.

INSET: SM founders Sid Naidu + Alex Narvaez.

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Our productions begin by meeting local people and exploring places to find the stories that need to be told. SM youth artists Huma Hamid and Junior Repancol went behind the scenes of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival celebrations. Anyone who has witnessed carnival knows that it is an event best seen in colour, which is why we shifted from our signature black and white aesthetic to tell this particular story in full colour.

LEFT: Junior King pageant winner Amari Bowen-Atchere from Tribal Carnival at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Junior Carnival parade. Photo

by Huma Hamid.

ABOVE INSET: SM youth artist Huma Hamid at the Junior Carnival. Photo by Ziyaad Haniff.

“Anyone who has witnessed carnival knows that it is an event best seen in colour, which is why we shifted from our signature black and white aesthetic to tell this particular story in full colour.”

FAR RIGHT: Portrait of Forest Creek Steel Orchestra’s band leader at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Junior Carnival parade. Photo by Junior Repancol.

RIGHT INSET: SM youth artist Junior Repancol. Photo by Ziyaad Haniff.

Scarborough is a special gathering place for the Caribbean community. Young masqueraders participate in the Junior Carnival parade in Malvern, which later gives way to the larger event in central Toronto.

Huma took the opportunity to document the festivities while also taking part in the event for the first time. She says, “I’ve never been a part of this event before, but experiencing the culture and seeing all the beautiful costumes and colours made me want to continue going back every year.”

The impact of SM programming has always been about connecting both cultures and communities. Huma reflects on this and shares, “I felt there were a lot of similarities that I found with my own culture being South Asian from Pakistan, like the colourful costumes, the handcrafted elements and music. It was nice to see how we’re all a little different but not too different.”

It was also Huma’s first time documenting a live event where she learned how to work with the SM team in the field. “Things were constantly moving with the parade, so I had to keep moving to find the best angles for pictures and make decisions on the fly while trying to capture different stories; it was a great learning experience,” she states. Through SM, Huma received mentorship and guidance on how to document a large public event. Based on this experience, she’s now interested in working as an event photographer for more live celebrations.

Junior was part of the same cohort as Huma and worked to document the steelpan bands. Junior first saw SM at the local Nuit Blanche festival, where he was drawn to our work through a public installation. Junior shares the change he has seen through SM: “I’m seeing art around Scarborough, where previously there was nothing. I feel that SM has been pushing for it to be a regular thing here, and I think that’s beautiful.” photoED 11

“Eventually, you’ll find someone who wants to participate and, just like that, a beautiful story comes up.”

Afropan Steelband performs during the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Pan in D Park.

Photo by Junior Repancol.

For this project, Junior interviewed Albert, the band leader from Forest Creek Pathway Steel Orchestra. Junior’s biggest takeaway from the experience was about approaching new people: “You have to go look for the story and ask people if they’re up for it. People are busy during festivals, and some decline but that’s fine.

Eventually, you’ll find someone who wants to participate and, just like that, a beautiful story comes up.”

Over the past five years of community arts programming, SM has shared countless local stories while providing employment opportunities to youth such as Huma and Junior. We are excited about our next chapter and our plans to share, inspire, and innovate beyond our Scarborough borders. Stay tuned as our celebration continues.

For more information about this project, please visit: scarboroughmade.com IG: @scarboroughmade

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FINN O’HARA

CONDUITS IN COLOUR A CONVERSATION WITH CRAIG D’ARVILLE

“Astronomia,” Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Park, Collingwood, ON, 2023

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For many creative people, pandemic lockdowns provided an opportunity to bring to the forefront ideas that had previously been simmering in the background. Finn O’Hara dedicated his time to exploring the natural world, as he came to realize that his personal imperative is to use his talents to create compositions that direct viewers towards noticing what is at stake as we slide, together, into a calamitous climate emergency.

Finn is a Toronto-based, award-winning photographer and filmmaker whose work has featured in contexts ranging from sport photography to fine art gallery exhibitions across Canada.

I posed some questions to him about his ecological concerns, his fascination with birds, and how his professional life informs his fine art work.

CRAIG: Your path to fine art photography has been a progression from a career as a commercial and editorial photographer. What is different for you when working for a commercial client as opposed to creating your art?

FINN: Commercial photography is fast-paced, creative, and requires decisive decision making. The job is to develop a vision for how a photo campaign will look and feel objectively for a client, keeping pace with a tight schedule and a limited budget. In my personal work, without these pressures, I can slow down, think about my vision, and apply new ideas at my own pace.

PAGE LEFT: From the Standing Rock series, Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Park, Collingwood, ON, 2023.

TOP LEFT: “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” BOTTOM LEFT: “On the Heavens”

PAGE RIGHT: From the Bird in Hand series. Images taken at Long Point Bird Observatory, Old Cut Research Station, Port Rowan, ON, 2023.

TOP LEFT: “MODO + AMHU,” Mourning dove (MODO) held by Amalie Hutchinson (AMHU).

TOP RIGHT: “SOSP + ELGR,” Song sparrow (SOSP) held by Elora Grahame (ELGR).

BOTTOM LEFT: “DOWO + ELGR,” Downy woodpecker (DOWO) held

by Elora Grahame (ELGR).

BOTTOM RIGHT: “MAWA + LILU,” Magnolia warbler (MAWA) held by Lucas Liu (LILU).

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From the Birds of Prey series, Toronto, ON, 2022.

TOP LEFT: “Through the Virginia Creeper” [Harris hawk].

BOTTOM RIGHT: “Cat’s Crossing (for Bill Cameron)” [Great horned owl].

CRAIG: Your confidence and skill working with unknown and unpredictable variables in your commercial work translates seamlessly into your work with nature. What prompted you to embark on projects with birds?

FINN: It’s been a bit of a rabbit hole. I started off during the pandemic by photographing birds at my backyard feeder. But it was limiting, and I wanted to get back on the road and get out with more of a mission to create work that was tied to a message of concern and hope for the natural world.

Originally, I reached out to the Royal Botanical Society in Hamilton, which connected me to a scientist working at a nearby nature reserve banding birds. At the time, I had no clue what banding was, but it sounded intriguing. That connection led me to the Long Point Bird Observatory in Port Rowan to photograph bird species I’d never seen before for my next series, Bird in Hand.

In my Birds of Prey series, I really got obsessed with encounters with large birds in the city at night in Toronto alleys, urban parks, and forgotten back laneways. I wanted to create images of these species in a way that spoke to how difficult their migrations are, with a hulking, unfriendly city in the way of their ancient migration paths. Unfortunately many are too elusive to document in the city, so I worked with an animal wrangler who professionally raises and trains birds for commercial and educational assignments based on a farm in rural Ontario.

I then recreated my lighting setups back in urban locations where nature was pushing through despite the odds to create the backgrounds for each bird. The location choices were based on recollections, personal stories, and news items featuring birds in the area. Working with a digital artist, I then composited the bird into the background, allowing it to look as if it was all captured in camera.

Composite photography allows me to bridge the gap between my vision and what’s physically possible to help tell a story.

CRAIG: Colour serves a carefully considered role in your work, lending a dramatic framing device to your birds. How did you reach this aesthetic approach?

FINN: In the past, I was shy to use colour and, after looking at my grey wardrobe coming out of lockdown, I literally asked myself “Why?” I had no logical answer. I thought of the birds I was photographing and their vast array of colours. I thought if they were all on neutral backgrounds, how dull that would be.

CRAIG: Laser survey equipment you used in the Standing Rock series, evokes temple-like spaces — and nightclubs.

The mapping of these spaces suggests ritual and an impulse to catalogue places and things, also evident in your work with birds. Can you talk about that desire in your work to categorize things?

FINN: Well, it was definitely a nightclub for the bats that were flying around our heads that night! I think the desire to catalogue comes from an impulse to take something that we all think we know and look at it from different angles. If we really do truly care about the Green Belt, protected lands, wild birds, and the spaces they depend on for survival, then maybe we just need to see the spaces, places, flora, and fauna in a reimagined setting to better understand and appreciate what we have. I think it also serves as a way for me to bear witness to the things in life that I truly care about. It could be viewed as a sort of indexing before it all disappears, as dreadful as that sounds.

CRAIG: What projects are you looking forward to next?

FINN: I’m continuing all these projects with a focus on the Niagara Escarpment region. I plan on heading back to Long Point to continue working with the scientists there and have been working with a guide up north to photograph wild Ontario orchids. Our native plant species will be the first to feel the effects of climate change, so I’m hoping this series will raise awareness to these forest enigmas.

My ambition for all this work is that it will serve as a conduit that reminds people of what’s out there and at stake, to bolster the progressive ecology movement.

Craig D’Arville is co-founder, along with Stephen Bulger, of FFOTO.com, an online platform that offers photo-based works by established artists and talented newcomers.

FINNOHARA.COM 16 photoED

IG: @FINNOHARA

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MICHAEL SELESKI:

AFTER ALL After All is an ode to the richness and diversity of gender and identity within the queer community. Inspired by the idea of light travelling through the colours in pride flags — powerful emblems of solidarity and belonging — Michael Seleski (they/them) crafts images that celebrate colour, fluidity, diversity, and fashion.

Michael says, “Gender is not a static ‘result,’ but a dynamic spectrum. Through my imagery, I like to blur binaries and embrace the nuanced complexities of gender and queerness. I am interested in the powerful queer body and reject the idea of portraying queerness in a passive light. Fashion serves as an impactful form of selfexpression. Intimately connected to our body and sexuality, it becomes a language through which we communicate our identities to the world.”

Intentionally, Michael leaves the interpretations of the title of this work open. They say, “It felt like this project needed an ambiguous statement, one that acknowledges the past but also directs towards the present, similar to the sayings, ‘after all that’s said and done’ or ‘after all this time.’ I felt like these statements hold the same weight my images do, acknowledging the references and ideologies I was thinking about but bringing it back to today, the here and now.”

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Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here Caption here

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: Halyna, Gabrielle, Roney, Tia, Jules.

BOTTOM ROW: Zody, Cohen.

MICHAELSELESKI.COM

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THE COL LESLIE HOSSACK

“REGALIA. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.”

“Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.” ― Marc Chagall 20 photoED

OURISTS Curator Peppa Martin reflects on the art of LESLIE HOSSACK and PETER OWUSU-ANSAH

“Joy on the Blue 2, 2021.”

PETER OWUSU-ANSAH

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LESLIE HOSSACK Ottawa-based artist Leslie has stretched her application of colour beyond convention by researching and developing palettes in her series Constructed Recollection. This work explores representations of memories from her childhood.

For Leslie, the Constructed Recollection works draw on personal memories of growing up in the 1950s in Canada. Turning inward for inspiration, the result is abstract and autobiographical. She tells Peppa, “I believe we are all moulded by the colours that surrounded us in our formative years. This collection presents a colour-coded record of my childhood, as unique and indelible as my physical DNA. These colours defined a decade and shaped a generation.”

Peppa notes Leslie’s unique ability to turn raw data and information into art. Leslie’s work comes together through extensive historical research and travel, blending factual documentation with the emotional component of colour. Her artistic strength lies in visual storytelling and in distilling sweeping concepts into a sharply focused narrative.

Leslie states, “I use colour to reinforce the message. As a photographer, I have always been consumed with creating colours that precisely represent my vision. However, as artists we cannot control every aspect of colour reproduction, nor can we know how a viewer may actually perceive the colours that we have painstakingly created.”

LESLIEHOSSACK.CA/CONSTRUCTED-RECOLLECTION 22 photoED

RIGHT: “CRAYOLA. I learned about colour from crayons. I see in colour.

I think in colour. I work in colour. I have never worked in black and white.”

“This collection presents a colour-coded record of my childhood, as unique and indelible as my physical DNA. These colours defined a decade and shaped a generation.”

PAGE LEFT LEFT: “PONTIAC. Based on early memories of our family car.”

RIGHT: “WINTER. Heavy blankets were piled on the beds.”

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LEFT: “Autumn Pop 2019.”

RIGHT: “green in red 2021.”

PETER OWUSU-ANSAH Ghanaian-Canadian artist Peter is based in Toronto. His signature eye-popping works feature saturated, bright, bold colour, in a celebration of spontaneity and freedom.

For Peter the process of creating his images comes from a quest for creative expression.

“I originally started with abstract painting. Then I tried street photography. I made a street photograph that I loved, however it was blurry. I attempted to edit it using Windows photo editor. I screwed it up, but it became pop art. For months, I turned a lot of photos into pop art, but I wasn’t satisfied. As a random thought, I zoomed in very closely on one of my images to isolate the colorful pixels. I wanted to see what would happen if I zoomed in and continued to manipulate the pixels. I continued to manipulate to try to generate more intense colours. It’s hard to make the pixel colours stay intense from the screen to a print. I had to figure out how to make the colours remain. I find all possible colours to observe. I capture my joy out of them and share with the world.”

Of one of his early pieces, “Violet in Blue 2019,” Peter says, “When I first created it, I was like wow! Looking at it in stillness, I could sense my own inner excitement. It reflected my own cells and pathway from my mouth to the stomach.”

When considering Peter’s more recent work, Peppa notes, “For many, colour emits an energy, or a vibrational frequency. Peter’s newest creative direction speaks to an increased desire for simplicity, with an emphasis on open, negative spaces. There is a sense of randomness, freedom, and less formal composition.” Peter says, “I don’t believe that anyone has a clear idea of what life is. So when we are born into life, there is a sense of random places and things. That becomes our body experience, good or bad or nothing.”

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“Violet in Blue 2019.”

As a deaf artist, Peter is an active advocate for his community: “My journey of life means seeing. I found the visual art world to be my favourite place to find something to see. I have been observing the art world for a long time, but I found that deaf and disabled artists’ experiences haven’t been included in major art galleries, museums, auctions, art fairs, or art magazines. They only appear in small local galleries every once in a while, but able-bodied people who control the art spaces in society do not count us in the dialogue.

For me, not having dialogue about deaf and disabled artists in major art platforms is depriving our voice from existing. In my art, I aim to leave my marks in life where anyone may find it enjoyable by looking at them. They may also be wondering who the artist is, that will bring you to a deaf artist. I hope the enjoyment someone feels can lead us to have a conversation, or the enjoyment is enough in itself.”

As a deaf artist, Peter is an active advocate for his community: “My journey of life means seeing. I found the visual art world to be my favourite place to find something to see.”

Although both artists use similar tools, their works are from distinctly different perspectives. Peppa notes, “Colours infer information and can imbue emotion.” These two artists offer viewers exciting possibilities: their seemingly simple compositions have incredible emotional impact.

IG: @PETEROARTS photoED 25

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Brianna Roye + Wanna Thompson

PORTRAITS OF MAS: FOR SHE / FOR HE / FOR THEM

BY CORINNA VANGERWEN

Dazzling costumes. Energetic music. Jubilant dancing. Thousands of people parading in joyous festivities.

The tradition of the Grand Parade of Caribbean Carnival began in the 1800s with the emancipation of slavery in Trinidad and has spread to countries around the world. Its history is rooted in the celebration of freedom, and for those who play mas — that is, masqueraders who dress up in full costume and walk the parade — the experience can be liberating, an opportunity to let loose and connect with their cultural history.

But that freedom to be oneself at Carnival isn’t necessarily open to everyone.

Chelsi, photographed in 2024 with a Mamiya RZ67 using Kodak Portra 400 film.

Toronto-based photographer Brianna Roy didn’t play mas until a visit to Jamaica in 2023, because she hadn’t felt that her queer identity would be

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accepted. “It’s one thing to be queer,” she says.

“It’s another thing to be visibly queer.”

Traditionally, Carnival dress is very binary, says Brianna; women dress in “women’s” costumes and men dress in “men’s” costumes. She prefers to pick and choose what she wears from across the spectrum of clothing options, and felt the Grand Parade’s either-or dichotomy didn’t fit who she is.

“I never felt comfortable playing mas and being very visible,” says Brianna, “and not feeling like I had a choice in what I wanted to wear.”

In contrast, Wanna Thompson’s experience of Carnival has been largely positive. “Mas and Carnival have always been an integral part of my life,” says the writer and creator, whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue and Refinery29. “I remember my grandmother taking me to see kiddie parades in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and that was a transformative experience for me.” Ever since, Wanna has attended and participated in carnivals at home in Toronto and around the world, such as in the Bahamas and Jamaica.

It was Wanna who convinced Brianna to join her in playing mas in Jamaica, and it was this shared experience that was the impetus for their project Portraits of Mas: For She/For He/For Them, an idea Wanna had been thinking about for a while but hadn’t brought to fruition yet.

The first part of their project is a series of vibrant portraits showcasing people from the LGBTQ2S+ community dressed in Carnival regalia. Conceived and produced by Wanna, the images were photographed by Brianna, whose commercial clients have included SickKids hospital, Google, and Converse.

The duo felt that their Caribbean community had a diversity problem — they couldn’t see their queer identity represented within Carnival. Even though many of the people working behind the scenes, like those designing and making the costumes, are LGBTQ2S+, “they’re not spotlighted,” says Wanna. “They’re not really being spoken about. We wanted to do a project that showcases these people.”

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THIS PAGE: Abi. LEFT, TOP: Jordior.

LEFT, BOTTOM: Abi. Photographed in 2023 with a Mamiya RZ67 using Kodak Portra 400 film.

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“They’re not spotlighted.

They’re not really being spoken about.

We wanted to do a project that showcases these people.”

Using a medium format Mamiya RZ67 single-lens reflex camera and Kodak Portra film, Brianna crafted her images in two locations: in studio and outdoors at Toronto’s High Park.

Some of the people she photographed have played as masqueraders for years, while others donned costumes for the first time during the photo shoot. For example, Cheffy — in peachcoloured feathered wings and sparkling face gems — stepped out of her comfort zone and discovered a confidence that has her thinking about playing mas in the future.

“While working with Wanna and Brianna, I experienced love and acceptance without judgment, especially considering the challenges of being Haitian and queer, where accepting oneself can be a struggle due to the stigma associated with Caribbean descent.” This quote from Cheffy is part of the text that accompanies her portrait.

Wanna collected quotes from each person showcased in Portraits of Mas: For She/For He/For Them to tell their stories. These accompanying texts speak to homophobia within Caribbean culture, the barriers LGBTQ2S+ people face when trying to participate in mas, and the joy and liberation of being able to fully embody both their Caribbean and queer identities.

Like the Grand Parade, Wanna and Brianna’s Portraits of Mas is a celebration of liberation. The photo series brings queer joy and Black joy together in vivid exuberance. It gives representation to, and makes space for, Black queer people to embrace both communities that they are part of. Says Wanna, “It’s a love letter to queer people in the Caribbean diaspora, giving them a voice and also making them feel seen.” It’s an opportunity for them to experience the freedom that Carnival represents.

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BRIANNAROYE.COM

THIS PAGE: Cheffy.

LEFT, TOP: Tenn.

LEFT, BOTTOM: Darynel Photographed in 2023 with a Mamiya RZ67 using Kodak Portra 400 film.

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PORTFOLIO

COLOUR

AMANDA DEVISON Riverview, NB

[ kuhl-er ] “Colour is my day-long obsession, joy, and torment.”

– Claude Monet IG: @exposure_alchemy

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MANFRED MUELLER Kanata, ON

NEBULOUS “Inspired by the images of nebulae produced by the Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescopes, with a hint of inspiration from Douglas Adams’s work “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe,” glass shapes are arranged to create new visions.” manfredm.ca

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STEPHANE ALEXIS Ottawa, ON

GHOST “Life is filled with uncertainty, and we often grapple with forces beyond our control.

Ghost emerges from a near-death experience I had at four years old. This diptych explores the tension between a world that seeks to kill us and one that longs to give us life. I invite viewers to reflect on the complexities of existence and the journey toward liberation.”

IG: @stephane_alexis

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DAPHNE FAYE BOXILL Toronto, ON

BLUE NIGHTS “Hope Zanes Butterworth was the first photographer I ever knew. She was also my idealized mother who I, at age three, called my “blue mama.” When she passed in 2024, to celebrate her life, her daughter and I lit fireworks she had stashed away for three decades, as a tribute to her brilliance.” molelovesbokeh.work IG: @molelovesbokeh

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EVA KOLCZE Toronto, ON

PENDULUM evakolcze.com IG: @evakolcze

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MONICA ROONEY Toronto, ON

“CONTEMPLATION” from the CELLOPHANE PORTRAITS SERIES monicarooney.com IG: @monicarooney

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PAUL GRAVETT Vancouver, BC

COLOUR STUDY paulgravettphotography.com IG: @paulgravettphotography

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TRINA TURL Toronto, ON

BRIGHT JELLIES trinaphoto.com IG: @trinaphoto

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VANESSA PEJOVIC Cambridge, ON

THE COLOUR OF JOY Return to observe The glow of a memory Through half-lidded eyes The remains of a banana popsicle Cling to the lips While the skin along the spine Prickles from the heat And the cradle of grass beneath

A dandelion-stained chin Tips toward the sky The haze washed with gold While petals like satin Slip between fingers Autumn whispers her impending arrival Beneath the chorus of cicadas Wait A bit longer Just a little longer vanessapejovic.ca IG: @vanessa.pejovic

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DAVID DORRANCE Greenfield Park, QC

MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS “Attractive colours are like fishing lures. Traps. I am drawn to them.”

IG: @focusfolkes

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RYAN PUCHALSKI Lethbridge, AB

REFLECTING A HAZE OF PRESSED FLOWERS “Play with a defective ribbon foil printer.” ryanpuchalski.com IG: @puchalskirya

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MARIE-LOUISE MOUTAFCHIEVA Woodbridge, ON

HUNGRY FOR GREEN “From the garden to the chef ’s table, this diptych is from a series that celebrates refreshing palettes of divine experiences with travel and food.” marielouphoto.com IG: @marielouphotography

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AWARD WINNER

Congratulations to Tessy Morelli!

This image was selected by the team at Tamron Americas for outstanding use of colour in photography.

We look forward to following her future adventures with her new Tamron Fast Standard Zoom Lens!

TESSY MORELLI Ottawa, ON

KIVENIA tessymorelli.com IG: @tessymorelli.photography

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PATRICIA PARSONS

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PERCEPTIONS OF COLOUR AN INTERVIEW WITH RITA GODLEVSKIS

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THE ISLAND OF THE COLOUR BLIND

is both a book title and how the island of Pingelap has become known since neurologist Oliver Sacks launched his book into the world in 1997. The Micronesian atoll was again brought to worldwide attention for its high percentage of population with achromatopsia through a photo book and National Geographic project (of the same title) by Belgian photographer Sanne De Wilde.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology describes achromatopsia as “a rare, bilateral inherited retinal degeneration that results in reduced visual acuity, photophobia, hemeralopia, and severe loss of color discrimination.”

This rare, genetic, male-dominant condition also runs in Ottawabased photographer Patricia Parsons’ family. Her images attempt to provide viewers with a glimpse of what her family members experience. Patricia tries to translate her perception of what her father and son experience. Her vision of their vision.

When composing an image, Patricia considers that, for a person with achromatopsia, colour has no effect on mood. Red doesn’t represent anger or love. Yellow does not suggest happiness or warmth.

Through the use of various filter combinations, and experimentation with film and colour separations to alter colour in images, her work asks viewers to “pause and reflect on the experiences of others.”

played a big role in changing the colours in my photos. Repeatedly, I tried to re-create my variations through time of day, the kind of sun, and where I placed the reflector, but nothing ever captured the same results. Depending on the filter being used, where I angled the reflector, and how strong the sun was, all of these conditions made a difference.

Why did you work with floral compositions?

Florals are an everyday object that people think they know the colours of; but do they? It was a subject I could arrange and play with in my studio in order to keep one thing fairly consistent.

Everything else changed so much. I think my partner enjoyed bringing flowers home, knowing he was contributing to my creativity. I also really enjoy putting the arrangements together. It’s fascinating how just one little movement of a petal or a leaf can make all the difference in composition. With my final results, I aim to give the viewer a subtle sense that something is off in the image.

Perhaps some people look at them and don’t notice anything is off.

Do they have colour blindness or do they just see things differently? We really do make assumptions in interpreting colour.

You have also worked with your son to achieve images that, when paired together, “matched” in his view. Tell us about that experience.

Pardon the pun, but this was very eye opening. I grew up with my father having achromatopsia so I knew there were certain limitations in his vision, but I didn’t really understand it. My father didn’t want to talk about it. My son Brandon, on the other hand, is open and wants to share. Sometimes his comments really surprise me.

I asked her some questions about what she does and why she does it.

What equipment and techniques did you use to produce the images in the Consistently Inconsistent series?

With the aim of exploring the possibilities around a simple, single still life, I employed the trichrome technique in this series. I also varied light conditions, filters, and reflected light to present images that would have viewers question the authenticity of the colours presented.

This series was photographed digitally on my Canon 6D Mark II, with the images presented as prints (on MOAB Entrada 190 matte).

Each image was captured with daylight, on sunny days, between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. At first, I used “proper” RGB filters (Red 25a, Green 58, and Blue 47b) to shift colours, but the fun started to happen when I started to play with cheaper, lesser quality coloured filters. The yellows were not quite yellow, the reds nowhere near the expected reds.

I was curious to see how sunlight specifically affects how we see colour. My family members experience sun blindness. They prefer cloudy days, even nightlife to beautiful beaches. The (reflected) sun

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Colour can affect many aspects of one’s life. Many trades require colour: for example, electricians and welders. Many industrial standards are colour coded. Sometimes, it’s the little things, like the board games we play; they just aren’t the same for people with achromatopsia.

In the series that Brandon and I produced as a book, I would select a photo and digitally manipulate its various colour levels to what I understood him to be able to see. He would look at the photo and tell me I changed this or I changed that or something was missing.

We would eventually come to a point where he would review the two photos and say, “I don’t see a difference.” In my perception, the two images are vastly different.

Our little experiment was very rudimentary but it certainly gets a visual point across. On top of almost complete colour blindness, his acuity is reduced, and he also has astigmatism. For him, indoor photography was perceived differently because of artificial lighting, while photos from bright sunny days outside were washed out, showing the least amount of colour. Night shots have a lot of contrast in his eyes and the streaking of city street lights comes into play.

Recently, I showed Brandon two photos of a blue glass vase with

From the Consistently Inconsistent series.

TOP, LEFT:“March 6 2681.” RIGHT: “March 18 2829.”

BOTTOM, LEFT: “February 23 2489.” RIGHT: “March 27 3037.” photoED 51

Trichrome images LEFT: “Bog trail start.”

RIGHT: “Teepee in trees.”

yellow flowers. One shot I captured quite normally, the other using an infrared filter on my digital camera. The normal photograph was a blue vase and complementary yellow flowers. When photographed with an infrared filter, I was taken aback that the vase rendered as transparent. When the infrared filter is used, foliage appears white. Chlorophyll in leaves becomes transparent as light travels through or is reflected back by the plant. Sunny days can look like winter scenes. My yellow flowers took on a ghostly white.

When I showed these photos to Brandon, he thought I was fussing over the flowers looking white in the infrared photo, but the vase looked the same to him in both images. He could clearly see the stems of the flowers through the dark glass equally in both images.

At the same time, I had heard of trichrome images and wanted to try this technique out for myself. I quickly realized how much one could do with the shifts of colour and composition with colour.

Trichroming is the process of taking three identical black and white photos layered with three different colour filters. I use a medium format Pentax 645 with Ilford Pan F 50 for this process.

The film is scanned and the images layered in different colour channels digitally. I learned that anything photographed with a yellow filter would disappear for Brandon. He would miss the subject matter entirely.

Achromatopsia isn’t the same experience for everyone who has it. Can you share any other reactions to your work?

My nephew also has this, as it is a sex-linked recessive gene. My father’s daughters passed it to our sons. If our sons were to have daughters, they’d pass on this gene to their own sons. However, both of our sons have only had sons, so far. I didn’t talk to my nephew about this project but he made a beeline to the exhibit as soon as it opened. He told me that he found the book project I did with Brandon to be very relevant and matched how he sees things too.

What projects can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

I am far from finished experimenting with trichrome. To think that black and white film can be shot with filters and you can create a colour photo is so bizarre to me. There are so many variables to explore. I am going to start experimenting with stylized colour movement and playing with neutral density filters to photograph flowing water. I would like to see how it will look to capture motion.

My enjoyment of colour is something that pings me with a bit of guilt because I feel it is missed by my son but, then again, maybe he experiences something even more spectacular.

PPARSONSFOTO.CA IG: @PATRICIAANNPARSONSPHOTO

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A pair of Patricia’s images that “match” in Brandon ‘s view.

LEFT: "Canada Day." RIGHT: "Canada Day Brandon 02 02."

Trichrome image, “Ocean waves Harris.”

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1. Juan Rodriguez • USA 2. Guy Wilson • Israel 3. Bhaskarjyoti Prasad • India 4. Americo Sequeira • Portugal 5. Julien Serarre • Mexico 6. Jason Choi • Canada 7. Cynthia van Golen • USA 8. Paolo Barozzi • Italy 9. Manfred Blaha • Austria 10. Christian Barret • France

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11. Roy Egloff • Switzerland 12. Lisa Tang • Hong Kong 13. Daggi M • Germany 14. Joshua Campbell • USA 15. Bobbi Brandstatter • USA 16. Sheri Fresonke Harper • USA 17. Janouk Elzinga • Netherlands 18. Nemo Beads • Croatia 19. Hasan Ttp • Turkey 20. Saurav Dutta • Germany

20 See more entries from this challenge online: photoed.ca/post/gurushots-extraordinary-architecture

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THE GALLERY SUBMISSIONS BY OUR READERS

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1. RUSS ROWLAND New York, USA NIGHT BLOOMS IG: @russrowland 56 photoED

2. EMILY WELZ Edmonton, AB NATURE NOSTALGIA IG: @empireofwelz

3. LORI RYERSON Toronto, ON AUTUMN IN CANADA loriryerson.ca IG: @focalocity

4. NICHOLAS AIDEN St. John's, NL MY WINDOW nicholasaiden.ca IG: @nicholasaiden

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE...

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5. E MCDONOUGH Toronto, ON TRUE COLOUR PAINT COMPANY “A Unique Paint Collection that Brings the Real World into Your Home” IG: @edphoto123

6. GABRIELLE DE MONTMOLLIN Welland, ON CHANCE ENCOUNTER ON AN OPERATING TABLE artishell.com IG: @demongab

AARON BONK-RICHARDS ADRIANA BALABAN ALEXANDER STEVENS ALY GRAY AMANDA DEVISON BOB ST-CYR CARLEE DIAMOND COREY ISENOR COURTNEY FAIRWEATHER DAPHNE FAYE BOXILL DAVID DORRANCE DAWN GEORGE E MCDONOUGH EMILY WELZ EMMA CHAN EVA KOLCZE GABRIELLE DE MONTMOLLIN GARETH JONES GUN ROZE GUSTAVO JABBAZ HAILEE MACQUEEN HENRY VANDERSPEK JANICE STORCH JOANNE WHITE JODY VAN DER KWAAK JONAH ATKINS JORDAN DONNELLY JULIA NATHANSON LEAH OATES LORI RYERSON MANFRED MUELLER MARIE-LOUISE MOUTAFCHIEVA MATT GALLANT MELISSA RICHARD MICAH KLEIN MICHELLE HAZELL MIRANTI PUTI AISYAH MONICA ROONEY MYRIAM FARAH COBB NICHOLAS AIDEN NOBLE NEWMAN PAUL GRAVETT ROB GRAHAM RUSS ROWLAND RYAN PUCHALSKI SANDRA LAURIN SOFIA LUCAS STEPHANE ALEXIS TARA SELLIOS TESSY MORELLI TRINA TURL VANESSA PEJOVIC XIATONG CAI

+ MORE!

Check it out online:

photoed.ca/digital-issue

LEFT: Chamaenerion augustifolium.

1896, 1905, n.d. Mary Schaffer fonds (V527 / PS 1 – 550) Archives and Library, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

RIGHT: Fortress Lake at Head of Athabasca R[iver]. [1907]. Mary Schaffer fonds (V527 / PS 1 – 24) Archives and Library, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

“A Whole String of Pearls” THE HAND-TINTED LANTERN SLIDES OF MARY SCHÄFFER WARREN

BY MINA MARKOVIC

FORTRESS LAKE GLITTERS in the setting sun, hues of orange, blue, and dusky grey producing a quintessentially sublime Canadian Rocky Mountain scene. Whether these colours reflect the originals in the landscape is known only to the photographer, Mary Schäffer Warren (1861–1939).

Mary achieved an extraordinary amount of autonomy during a time when North American middle- to upper-class women were confined to the domestic sphere. Encouraged to pursue an education from a young age, Pennsylvania-born Mary seized the opportunity for adventure when she and her first husband Dr. Charles Schäffer began taking trips to the Canadian Rockies. Mary assisted her husband in his botanical research by pressing, sketching, and painting wildflowers. Widowed and grieving in 1903, Mary reinvented herself as a photographer, writer, naturalist, skilled mountaineer, and surveyor.

of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and men, she became the first non-Indigenous person to explore Chaba Imne (colonially named Maligne Lake), which she described as “a whole string of pearls.” In later years, Mary travelled through present-day Banff and Jasper national parks, making her one of the first non-Indigenous women to do so. On her trips, she produced lantern slides—positive transparencies on glass—of landscapes, botanical species, travel companions, and communities encountered on her journeys.

Perhaps realizing colour was integral to authentically capturing her surroundings, Mary hand-tinted her lantern slides. Tinting slides with watercolours or thinned oil paint was one of the few means of creating colour photographs in the early twentieth century. Mary’s vividly tinted slides are now part of the colonial visual narrative of the Canadian Rockies as a land of promise and beauty, beckoning tourists and new settlers alike.

Mary returned to the Canadian Rockies to survey the land and, by 1912, had settled in Canada permanently. Assisted by a team This feature was produced with the support of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada. www.phsc.ca 58 photoED

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