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I am an award winning professional Canadian Creative Director, film & digital photographic artist, photographer & photo restoration artist. Photography connects me to The Holy Spirit, emotions, people, places, moments & fascinating objects. Sharing these moments & memories with people that appreciate what I see, really excites me.
My photography work has been published in the LCBO Food Guide, tourism magazines in Eastern Ontario & a Canadian military history book. I also have an extensive background in Film & Television as an Assistant Director & Writer/Producer. I am very skilled with Project Management for large scale creative projects.
I surround my life with creativity & I am trying my best to live & love like Jesus.
Find me online @petermackinnonphoto
I am available for *Commercial Projects * Commissioned Portraits * Commissioned Creative Work * Commissioned Critical Work * Prints & Framed Prints * Photo Restorations * Collaborations * Exhibitions. My Focus - Portraits, Architecture, Design, Still Life, Abstract, Minimalism, Street & Documentary, People Together (Lifestyle).
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About me
I was born in Truro, Nova Scotia and was brought up in Downtown Toronto where I went to elementary & high school. I graduated high school from Jarvis CI.
After graduating high school I went to work in the film & television industry after deciding not to study film theory in university. I joined the Director's Guild of Canada & became an Assistant Director where I worked on major US & Canadian films & TV series.
I met my wonderful wife Janet Martel on a TV Series set where we both worked as Assistant Directors.
After several years as an Assistant Director I became a Film & Television Writer & Producer; I wrote a movie for LifeTime Network in the US & I wrote treatments for various production companies.
Janet & I left Toronto in 2007-2008 after getting married & moved to Eastern Ontario where I began work in non-profit as an Arts & Culture Business Advisor & then an Executive Director for an Arts Council.
I am now focusing on my creative fine art photography practice.
I work & consult with Janet, my wonderful life giving wife on almost all my projects. Janet is a Creator, a Producer, a Photo Restoration Artist, a Business Manager, & Photo Assistant all wrapped into one amazing person & partner. We have been together for 20 years, sharing in experiences & creative journeys together.
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Photography in my Life
My exploration of fine art photography began when I was a very young teenager living in Toronto. I was walking the streets of Toronto with a friend when we found a darkroom kit on the side of the road, destined for the garbage. We bundled everything we could, including the trays, pans & enlarger & proceeded to carrying everything on our backs to my house.
As soon as I go back home, I set up my new darkroom & I quickly learned all I could about creating photographs & developing film by reading books & studying what I considered to be the 'greats' in the art of photography. I would spend hours in my families half unfinished basement developing print after print, photo after photo, until I completely stunk of darkroom chemicals & no one wanted to socialize with me anymore. I would photograph the streets of Toronto & my friends & lovers.
I am a professional film & digital photographer who has been photographing in one form or another since I was a young teen. Photography is both a tool & form of expression for me.
Available art is a big part of who I am. I want my work to be accessible to people. I want people to feel they can connect to me & my work in a way that suits them & makes them comfortable.
My Christianity & relationship with Jesus is a big & important part of my work. I am learning to understand that I use my Spiritual Christian eyes to take photographs. To learn more about how Jesus & my Christianity influence my work please read my Artist Statement, Why I Photograph.
I love photographing in black & white. It allows me to see things more objectively. Colour is also a powerful tool that brings vibrancy & expression, so I also love to photograph in colour as well.
I photograph on medium format film using a 1965 Bronica & a Mamiya RB 67 ProS. I also photograph on a 35mm film using Canon FTB QL & digitally with Canon 1DX MK II & 60D.
Photographers I'm into are, Louis Draper, Edward & Brett Weston, Eli Reed, Cindy Sherman, Paul Strand, Sally Mann, Fred Herzog, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Lee Miller, Aaron Siskind, Berenice Abbott, Annie Leibovitz, Andrea Kertesz, Saul Leiter, Vivian Maier, Joel-Peter Witkin, Gordon Parks, Edward Burtynsky & all my friends on 500px, ViewBug, Instagram & Fine Art America.
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My Creative process
I document my day-to-day experiences through my lens & then decide how to categorize each photo after I've finished developing & editing them. I am guided by emotional & spiritual principles that lead me to capture a photograph. It is only after a lot of meditation, consideration, prayer & scripture consultation that I truly understand what I have captured and collected though my lens.
Each photo is a presentation of a moment, of something that caught my eye & required my attention.
I tend to see balance & form, light & shadow.
I find the abstract in everyday things & I find unique & interesting moments with people on the street.
I see God's Work everywhere & want to photograph it.
I tend to capture memories & emotional moments. I love strange & haunting still life, minimalism & photography that tells a rich detailed story.
My creativity is hardwired to my emotional state & Jesus.
A lot of my inspiration is driven by the concept of transformation, dreams & symbolism & these themes can be found in a lot of my work.
When I see something that connects to a feeling inside me, I want to capture it, I want to study it & I want to share it.
I like to let time influence my creative decisions, so I will let photographs sit for years before I develop & post them.
Listening to music is a big part of my creative process & my personal life. Music influences my creativity & my emotional state. Music helps me explore my inner life & helps formulate expression through my work.
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Personal Outlets
I adore vinyl records & listening to music.
Musical Artists I am into are, Paul Simon, Chet Baker, Miles Davis; We The Kingdom, Brandon Lake, TobyMac, Casting Crowns; The Decemberists, The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons; U2, INXS, Tom Petty; The Black Crows, Soundgarden, Nirvana; Mozart, Bach, Beethoven; Aphex Twin, Marconi Union, Loscil; John Mellencamp, Kings of Leon, Tragically Hip; Gretta Van Fleet, The xx, Empire of the Sun, Sarah McLachlan, and so many, many more. If the music is good, I will listen to it.
I am a big collector of things. I collect World of Springfield Simpson toys & yes, many of them are still in box & mint. I cherish my collection of records & books. I also love collecting personal experiences - my own & others.
Cooking & hanging out with my friends & my wife, Janet are the best things in the world to me.
My dog, Princess (aka Bailey) & my cats, Chicken, Bubbles & Ludo ground me & I love communing with them.
I really dig playing tabletop & card games.
Camping & riding my bike long distances with Janet are amazing things to me.
Emotional intelligence & functional empathy are top on my list.
I unplug as much as possible to keep my mind clear of undue influence & content. I am into a more analog approach to my social/professional networking. I am into meeting people face-to-face & talking on a phone versus connecting over social media.
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what i photograph
Anything that makes me feel something.
I love photographing & I want to have fun doing it, so i will photograph anything that meets the above criteria.
I don't want to put myself into too many photography genre boxes. I want to photograph everything around me & use my cameras as creative & expressive tools.
I photograph architecture & design, street photography, still life & creative fine art, portraits, lifestyle, abstract & minimalism (or anything I find creative & inspiring).
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DESIGN WORDS THAT INspire MY WORK
Inspired + Refined + Honest + Elevated + Well-appointed + Transformative
Aspirational + Reimagined + Eclectic + Artistic + Tailored + Clean + Curated
Aspirational + Reimagined + Eclectic + Artistic + Tailored + Clean + Curated
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my approach to film photography
My first love is film. There is something magical about putting a roll of film into a camera, knowing that for the next 24 to 36 exposures my world will be processed through a certain type of grain, colour, contrast & exposure. There is also something amazing about leaving a roll of film sit for a bit before developing it. Let memory & nostalgia be an influence on creative choices.
I like the permanence of choices through film.
Film feels real.
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My Approach to digital photography
I have learned to really love & respect digital photography. I am able to do some really creative things in low light & difficult situations. Digital also gives me tremendous flexibility with creative choices so that I can push limits & take my projects where I want them to go for me & for my clients. Phone photography is a great creative tool I use all the time. The experience of shooting with a phone reminds me of when I would shoot with a Polaroid, except with a phone, I have more creative options.
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My Core Values
Mindfulness & emotional intelligence
I think, I see, I consider other perspectives & I value emotions when making decisions & choosing actions.
Creativity & curiosity
Always looking, always wondering, always inquiring, always taking chances, always trying, always seeing things in new ways.
passion
When I get excited about something, I become passionate almost to the point of obsession. I learn & explore all every aspect of my subject through my work & through my life & I channel it into my art, into my photography.
open mindedness
I always strive to keep an open mind & heart in as many situations as I can. When someone is speaking I always attempt to be open to what they have to say, even if it hurts or I disagree with it because it may just have value & it may just be the right thing to do & I may just learn something.
respect
I am grounded in a sense of understanding & or value for another person even when I may disagree with their actions or beliefs. Respect allows me to stand in my own values while voicing my opinions in a fair & kind manner.
empathy
I have an ability to feel & share in emotions with others in a healthy & functional way.
courage
For me courage is strength of self in any situation. I value it because it is authentic & has value based on the person in front of me. Your courage is your own & I see strength in it no matter what.
compassion
For me it is important to share in our emotions even when it is difficult to do so, but important for the soul of someone else. Compassion is providing someone an emotional break or understanding in a situation.
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- Above photos captured with my phone & 35mm camera.
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