Originally from Northern England, Alan Norsworthy has been a photographer since the late 1960's.

He moved to Canada in 1973 and has made Guelph Ontario his home for the last 24 years.

" I remember visiting the CN Tower in the early 70's and the guide said that as far as you could see in any direction is the best farmland in Canada. That comment echoes down the years as I watch subdivisions eat up the landscape."

The area around Guelph offers up a plethora of rural images which Alan captures with his artistic vision. His work covers everything from macro photographs of flowers, sweeping landscapes, historic buildings and old abandoned farms in both colour and Black and White.

"This is where I find my inspiration, I have a need to show people the beauty I see as I walk the woods and fields of Southern Ontario"


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Photo of the Weekend - Sisters


Elora Urbex - Sisters
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

This is what makes urbex and rurex adventures so rewarding.
Hidden away in the dusty, dark, recesses of the upper floor of an old abandoned church I found this.
Of course after photographing it we left it where we found it.
Our intent is not to steal or destroy, simply to record what will all to soon be gone.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My response to a question

A photographer I know, Tom McGory  raised the question "in light of the new camera's announced by both Nikon and Canon, where do we go from here"?


I think that we are rapidly reaching a point where photographic skill becomes secondary. Soon, if it is not already possible and I suspect it is, we can shoot a high def sequence at video speed and pick a frame. Where is the artistry in that?
I gave up being a part of the megapixel race with the D300 !

There will always be those who want more, so this headlong dash for your money will not stop. So if you can afford to drop $5000 - $10,000 every year on a new gadget, good for you but I doubt you will be a better photographer because of it.

I am one of the people Paula Russell talks about, my F4 is now my constant companion when I go out.

Last weekend I shot more film than I did digital. In fact the number of shots taken has dropped from hundreds to less than 50 per outing.

I have subconsciously taken a step back, composition becomes more important, I look at the edges of the frame more now, I recheck my exposure, etc. I think about what I am doing before I press the shutter button. This is something that, to me anyway, had slipped away with digital. Having the ability to shoot a score of shots of the same scene makes you lazy. Which in turn destroys your creativity.

I could never relate pixels to photographs, photographs were and are a reaction of chemicals to light! Rediscovering the thrill of opening the tank and seeing all those little photographs in a strip brings a bigger smile to my face than staring at my monitor as my camera 'downloads' images.

Photography to me is a journey, not a destination I am rediscovering the joy of the process not just the first step and the end result. For me the race is over, I'm happier now doing it this way :-)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Photo of the weekend - Oct 18

It looks like the fall colours are just about at their peak.I went to visit Balls Falls nr Vineland on Sunday with a crew from the Guelph Photographers Guild

I spent so much time in the woods chasing shadows, literally, I never made it to the top of the falls but I did get to the bottom. :-)

My choice for "photo of the weekend" is not the falls but the old mill located on the property. Autumn in South Western Ontario, I wait all year for this :-)


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Photo of the Weekend - Oct 11

A busy weekend, what with  Guelph Photographer Guild   brainstorming sessions each morning and stuffing myself with turkey dinners in the evening there wasn't much time for shooting let alone processing!

From my re-visit to Progreston Falls in Carlisle Ontario:

"Resistance"


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Back !

After a false start and being shamed into trying again by my friends I'm back.

The weather here is slowly sliding into Fall, my favourite season. This last weekend we decided to re-visit some of the area waterfalls, days of rain are good for waterfalls:-)

This is Sherman Falls in Ancaster, taken with my Nikon F4 and Kodak BW400CN film. Yes film