Mike Grandmaison and I are currently proofing our new book, Natural Reflections, now in pre-production at Rocky Mountain Books. It’s a project we started on together back in the late 1980s… finally coming to fruition. More info here…
An inspiring and highly original book of photography takes the reader on an unforgettable walk through the vast and wide beauty of “Natural Canada.”
Natural Reflections captures natural beauty from the exceptional viewpoint and unique perspective of Mike Grandmaison’s lens. A singular gallery of images is curated, amplified and informed by the observations of Robert L. Peters.
Filled with insightful musings, truisms and parallel quotations from some of the world’s greatest thinkers, this book is bound to inspire and truly engage both halves of the brain. Divided into five contemplative chapters – On Inspiration, On Seeing, On Intimacy, On Order, On Change – this lavishly produced volume comprises a rich and seamless interweaving of image and word.
This is a book not to be missed by anyone interested in the natural world (and its preservation), the art of outdoor photography, the creative process or this vast land called Canada.
The photographer and author, long-time friends and avid nature-lovers, share the humble view that, like a Mother, the Earth both bore us and sustains us, asking little in return but love and respect. This book is their reciprocal tribute and holistic offering.
Solace House, along with a beautiful 40-acre parcel of woodland in Eastern Manitoba, is now home to a new young family. It’s been hard to “let go” of this low-energy passive solar “retreat” that we designed and built 37 years ago… but there’s also much to say about achieving closure, and as they say, “the time had come.” I feel blessed to have been able to spend those three-and-a-half decades living in the forest, accutely aware of the sun’s power, and being intrinsically engaged in a “real-time experiment” in conservation and sustainability.
Congratulations and best wishes to the home’s new owners!
Solace House, the low-energy passive solar house that I designed and built in in the woods of Eastern Manitoba in 1980, (together with my wife and numerous family members, friends, and volunteers) has undergone a year of extensive renovations and has now been “put on the market.” Huge thanks to Evelin and my steadfast brother Jim for their tireless help in the past year.
You can learn all about Solace House at an informational/marketing website I’ve created here.
Watch a TEDxManitoba talk about Solace House (now viewed over 5000 times on YouTube) here.
Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba
On Saturday night, Ev and I enjoyed a long evening of fire-pit fellowship with her daughter Jennifer and son-in-law Derek… and in spite of a shockingly bright (almost full-moon) sky, watching shooting stars and dancing Aurora Borealis. Ev’s grandsons Sam and Jayden meanwhile spent hours playing moonlight soccer, and gleefully staged stealth-attacks on the fireside grown-ups (the hundreds of too-bitter-to-eat pears falling from her tree offered an unlimited supply of ammo).
Unbeknownst to me, my outstanding photographer friend Mike Grandmaison was at the same time capturing images of the Northern Lights at Matlock, just a few clicks south along the lake… shown above is one of the images he’s just shared with me.
Our First Nation peoples thought of Aurora Borealis as a manifestation of deceased ancestors; ancient Norsemen envisioned warlike virgins on horses armed with helmets, swords, and spears; and though I know the phenomena is caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere, I like to think of the Northern Lights as waves of experiential unction sent to us as a gift of metaphysical affirmation.
Milan, Italy
Recycled furniture meets greenery in Peter Bottazzi and Denish Bonpace’s recycled planters—presented at the recent Milan Furniture Fair. The pair breathes new life into abandoned wooden furniture… each unique planter is repurposed from everyday objects—chairs, shelving, carts, tables, and stands fused together and given new life as a home for lush greenery. (source)
(even as they recede…)
When traveling across glaciers, it’s obviously best to avoid crevassed areas if at all possible. While skis lessen the possibility of punching through the snow layer in winter (a ski distributes your body weight more broadly than a boot), negotiating snow-bridges and moving safely above the snow- or firn-line* where underlying crevasses can lurk can be harrowing as well.
Photos (from the top): crossing The President Glacier, BC (photo by friend David Cormie); the sphincter-tightening process of negotiating melting snow bridges; belaying my partner Peter Aitchison as he jumps icy streams atop the firn (the water disappeared into bottomless sink-holes here and there with a terrifyingly-deep flushing sound); happily roped-up with colleagues on a Bugaboos ascent; crossing a tricky bit of steep glare-ice using French technique (pied à plat) for good crampon purchase, trying not to think about the long run-out below.
* the firn-line is the highest level to which the fresh snow on a glacier’s surface retreats during the melting season, or the line separating the accumulation area from the ablation area
Winnipeg, Canada
I’m happy to be able to announce the launch of The Canadian Gallery, a collection of exquisite outdoor and nature photographs by friend and client Mike Grandmaison. The Canadian Gallery offers images of our great land specifically selected for their appeal to collectors—as fine art pieces, for corporate decor, and for use as corporate gifts.
My CIRCLE colleagues and I have been working with Mike over the past half year in preparation for the launch of the gallery’s new website (which went live earlier this week) and in preparation for the opening of The Canadian Gallery’s physical exhibit space (which is scheduled to open here in Winnipeg two months from today). Check out the imagery on display here.
Above: a few select images from The Canadian Gallery. All ©2011 Mike Grandmaison.
below the ice…
I’ve experienced the great privilege of spending time both on and underneath glaciers (in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, as well as in the Canadian Rockies)… but my own photos pale in comparison to the work of Portland-based photographer Eric Guth, who has seemingly made it his mission to track down the most spectacular glacial caves underneath massive, slow-moving bodies of (mostly) alpine ice. Eric has been known to spend days and nights in freezing temperatures in pursuit of spectacular images.
Read more about Eric Guth and his work here. (Thanks to climber friend Gerald Brandt for the link).
Ottawa, Canada
Canada Post today released its largest stamp to date. Like the wildlife definitives that preceded it, the Blue Whale stamp was produced using a combination of two printing techniques: intaglio (for the whale in the foreground) and offset lithography (for the colours in the background). Each stamp, illustrated by Suzanne Duranceau (and featuring the work of master engraver Jorge Peral), measures 128 x 49 mm (5″ x 1.9″).
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest animal ever known to inhabit the earth. It can grow up to 33 m (108 ft) long and can weigh up to 180 metric tons (198 tons). The blue whale’s gargantuan proportions remain hidden beneath ocean waves, only to reveal themselves for a brief, awe-inspiring moment whenever this majestic creature rises to the surface to breathe—a whale watcher’s dream on Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic waters. Due to severe hunting practices in the 1900’s, the blue whale is listed as an endangered species under COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada).
Thanks to Matt Warburton for the heads-up.
