Watershed started in 2001 more as a fun, muddy adventure with a dog than a photo project.

Near the start of our adventure – 4×5 Black and White straight from the camera.

My dear old dog and I wondered behind our house where the little creek flowed. I put on rubber boots and we followed it upstream to the headwaters of the little creek – a large beaver pond in Gatineau Park. The hour or two adventure took us along the little creek’s path through areas that very few people have ever seen.

Watershed lead me through tunnels, over waterfalls and into an ever changing landscape. The wooden bridge in the background got washed away a couple of years ago.

I came home wet, smiling and curious to see where the creek went. And for a few years I explored the creek further and further. The nameless creek joined Chelsea Creek and wanders under a major highway, through backyards & Gatineau Park. Parts of the creek’s path are well known while other areas are rarely seen.

It dawned on me that the creek offered an amazing art project… to photograph 25km of a watershed through all seasons over many years. The project has art and educational possibilities. So far the photographs have been presented in schools, exhibited in galleries and hang in private collections.

Watershed in exhibition

I have photographed the creek on panoramic, medium and large film formats. The lightest camera weighs a few hundred grams. The heaviest rig ( 8×10 camera and tripod) weigh almost 25kg.

My current work uses a B&W photo paper mounted directly in the large format cameras. Using an unusual process I can create a single positive image from the paper. The finished product offers no chance to post process in the dark room or computer. It’s a single chance to create one perfect photograph using only a shutter and lens. I love the challenge.

8×10 large format camera

The headwaters of the creek start at a nameless beaver pond and Fortune Lake near Camp Fortune ski hill in Gatineau Park. The creek eventually falls into the Gatineau River which flows into the Ottawa, St Lawrence Rivers and eventually into the Atlantic ocean.

My goal is to get to the Gatineau River. So far I have covered most of the 25 km of the goal.

Watershed Photography