Daniel Marchand

Resuming this blog soon

2011-04-07T11:53:00.005-04:00

Below Majors Hill Park

2010-02-24T13:16:00.003-05:00

Both of these photos and were taken from the same vantage point, below Majors Hill Park in Ottawa, three months apart. An abandoned coat hangs from the same branch.

If I did not know that these were mine, I could have mistaken them for shots taken by Dalton Rooney. Dalton, a landscape photographer based in New York, has a series on Wyman Park in Baltimore which I like very much. Probably because we seem to see the same things in nature. Check out Dalton's blog "Third Nature" here.

New website and Print Giveaway

2010-01-21T15:13:00.009-05:00

New website

At the beginning of this year, I decided to redesign my website. I have made it simpler and easier to navigate. I have made the images larger and have introduced a new series on "Urban Parks". I have also combined the seasonal landscapes into a single group and removed the series on dead and frozen flowers. In doing so, I have tried to follow the good advice gleaned from blog entries of people whose judgment I value, such as Jörg Colberg (here and here).

New Series: "Urban Parks"

Whenever I travel to a new city, I always make a point to spend some time in some of its urban parks. The way parks are designed and how they are used always provide me with an insight to the community and its citizens. I am only beginning this "Urban Parks" series. The new website is presenting some of the images taken in London, Berlin, Paris and Ottawa recently. My intention is to continue this series, as I visit other world capitals and major cities.

Print Giveaway

I welcome meaningful and constructive comments on the website, its content and its design. I am particularly interested in getting some feedback on the "Urban Parks" series. As an incentive, I will send one 8X10 print of one of the images from the "Urban Parks" series to each of the first ten (10) people who send me their comments by e-mail, before January 31st, 2010. Please send the message to daniel(at)danielmarchandphoto(dot)com and use "New Website Comments" as a title. If you indicate which of the photos you prefer, and are among the first ten to send comments, I will send you that print. The photos will be printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber paper, on an Epson printer. And, yes, I will cover the shipping costs. Don't include your mailing address with the initial message if you don't want to; I will contact you if you are among the first ten. There is no catch. All I ask for is some constructive comments. I will take the bad with the good and will use the comments too improve my site.

Some Holga work

2010-01-13T10:18:00.004-05:00

Some Holga shots from my November trip to Europe:

At Covent Garden in London

Paris, Louvre

Vincennes

London

Urban Parks - Paris (1)

2009-12-29T17:14:00.002-05:00

Paris, Les Jardins du Luxembourg

Urban Parks - Berlin (3)

2009-12-22T12:30:00.003-05:00

What would Berlin parks be without some walls?

Urban Parks - Berlin (2)

2009-12-21T16:28:00.004-05:00

From the Berlin Zoo, which I think is a great inner city park. I will not comment on the treatment of animals however.

Urban Parks - Berlin (1)

2009-12-18T16:00:00.004-05:00

From Tiergarten in Berlin:

Urban Parks - London (3)

2009-12-17T10:21:00.005-05:00

More of Battersea Park

Urban Parks - London (2)

2009-12-16T14:29:00.003-05:00

Garden adjacent to the Tate Modern in London:

Pond in Battersea Park, London:

Urban Parks - London (1)

2009-12-15T11:17:00.006-05:00

Battersea Park, London
©2009 Daniel Marchand

Parks in Capitals

2009-12-07T15:22:00.009-05:00

When we accepted the suggestion of friends to travel to London in November to take in some theatre, I thought of adding a photographic assignment to the journey. We planned a one-week stay in London for which we rented a flat on New Globe Way with this view of St-Paul's Cathedral.

We decided to spend an extra week in Europe and visit Berlin for the first time and end up in Paris for Paris Photo.

For my "photographic assignment" I thought that I should concentrate on landscape and take only a film camera, the new Bessa III 667 by Voigtlander. Actually, I also packed the Holga for the fun of it, and the iPhone for the inevitable snapshots. My goal was to get photos of some urban parks in each of the cities visited and to juxtapose them with photos taken, also in November, in Ottawa. A visual comparison of sort of urban parks in four capitals cities, in the same month of November.

I will be posting some of the photos here over the next few days and weeks and hope to have a complete series ready for my website early in the new year.

New photos soon...

2009-12-02T15:51:00.001-05:00

As soon as I have scanned my photos (22 rolls) from London, Berlin and Paris.

IMAGING THE URBAN FABRIC

2009-09-23T15:04:00.006-04:00

For Architecture Week (October 2nd-9th, 2009) instructors, alumni and students of the SPAO Portfolio Program will present a selection of architectural photographs examining Ottawa’s urban fabric.

Selected works will be on view in SPAO’s Red Wall Gallery and/or displayed in the NCC Infocentre during Architecture Week. Two of my photos will be shown at the NCC InfoCentre and one at SPAO.

Vernissage at SPAO: October 2nd, 2009, 18:00 – 21:00

ON VIEW
October 2nd to October 9th, 2009
Mon-Fri 11:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-15:00, Sun and late evenings by appointment or chance.

LOCATIONS
Red Wall Gallery - School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa
168 Dalhousie Street at Bruyère, Ottawa
+
National Capital Infocentre
90 Wellington Street at Metcalfe, Ottawa

Canada's War Museum

2009-09-02T14:19:00.002-04:00

mus-mus @Paris : Results announced

2009-08-25T12:04:00.015-04:00

The team at mus-mus has just announced the results of @Paris, their second on-line collaborative show. 122 invited and selected photographers are part of this show.

The members of the jury for this year's competition were Denise Wolff who recently left Phaidon to become Book Editor at the Aperture Foundation, well known photographer and promoter of color photography Stephen Shore, and photographer Gil Blank.

I am happy to say that the photo I submitted is included in the final selection.

I am doubly happy to find myself in the company of photographers whose work I admire such as Magnum photographer Alec Soth, Beth Dow , Brian Ulrich, Shane Lavalette , Stephen Shore and Corinne Vionnet .

Thanks to the mus-mus Team and congratulations to the selected photographers.

Return to film for landscapes

2009-08-18T10:19:00.004-04:00

I have neglected using film for my landscape photography recently. I find the 35mm too confining and the 4X5 too cumbersome and too heavy to walk around with. With the arrival of the new Bessa III folding camera, I think I have found a happy medium. Here are some of the first shots I have taken with this medium format camera:

Mer Bleue Bog, Ottawa

2009-08-06T14:07:00.004-04:00

Just because I was looking at these a few days ago:

...both taken with Diana+.

L'Express - Hors Série

2009-07-17T17:30:00.006-04:00

Last March, I received a message from a Photo Editor of L'Express, the French magazine. She had just seen my website and was interested in commissioning me for a portrait of a French family who had recently immigrated to Canada. On a nice spring day, I went to the village of St-Sixte, Québec to photograph the members of the family surrounded by their three horses.

The Special Issue of L'Express on Immigration to Canada, "S'installer au Canada" has just arrived here and one of my photos has been published to illustrate the article on the National Capital region.

New portraits

2009-07-16T15:29:00.006-04:00

After taking a very interesting portrait lighting workshop at SPAO last weekend, I have added new images to my website. I should concentrate on honing those skills. I am very happy with the results.

Paris - Walk in the park!

2009-06-26T17:36:00.004-04:00

I spent some time updating my Flikr accoun t over the past few days and have included some photos taken in Paris in November 2007.

While in Paris for Paris Photo, we took a walking tour of Belleville, one of the working-class neighborhoods of Paris. The walk ended at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont where this photo was taken. I find it particularly idyllic.

Sally's portrait

2009-06-17T10:22:00.003-04:00

While visiting the Karsh exhibit at the National Archives, I could not resist being inspired to take this portrait of my wife, Sally.

The Maple Project (final version)

2009-06-14T17:23:00.003-04:00

Further to my earlier post, here is the final version of the month long exercise of shooting the same branch of the same tree, at the same time of day, from mid-April to mid-May. The size of the original print is 36 x 24 inches. Please read the progression clockwise, starting at the lower left hand corner.

The Maple Project

2009-05-29T14:01:00.004-04:00

In early April, I set to take a daily photo of the same branch of a Crimson King Maple we have growing on our front yard, just to see the evolution of nature. I did not know what I would do with those, but I soon became fascinated by the development of the buds into blooms and leaves. This also gave me a summary of what the weather has been from mid-April to mid-May. With all the images in Aperture, I placed one from each day on a light table and assembled them in chronological order. First, I put them on a 6X6 grid going from left to right, but it was not pleasing to the eye. I finally settled on a sort of spiral, starting at the lower left hand corner, that centers on a larger image of the fully developed leaves. Here is the screen shot of what the final product could look like (although I may change the centre image):

Brian Ulrich

2009-05-26T12:44:00.002-04:00

Brian Ulrich's photos are always among my favorite.
This one courtesy of Flack Photo today:
May 26, 2009

Photos from Pinhole Photography Day (26 April, 2009)

2009-05-03T12:21:00.005-04:00

Some of the results I got from a home-made 4X5 pinhole camera. All photos were taken on sunday, 26 April, 2009, Pinhole Photography Day.

Kodak Provia 160 VC, 6 sec., f300, 85mm.

Trees getting ready for another season...

2009-04-27T14:18:00.001-04:00

From the "Weathered Beauty" series

2009-04-10T13:47:00.004-04:00

I have added a new series to my website.

Living in a country where winter lasts for months and where snow is abundant, we often forget about the beauty of our gardens. The flowers that we so enjoyed faded in the fall, were cut and put to compost. A forgotten few remained on bushes and hid under the snow to re-appear in early spring. Can they still show some beauty despite their weathered look? Is beauty still there, only different? With "Weathered Beauty" I show that beauty never disappears completely, it only changes. If we could only look closer!

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-29T10:43:00.003-04:00

A few shots from a walk in Ottawa during Earth Hour last night.

Some played...

Some were closed...

Some just walked around, unseen...

Winter is close to an end...

2009-03-01T18:31:00.004-05:00

...when the ice starts to break on the Ottawa River.

Friday video

2009-02-20T14:58:00.002-05:00

Canon is launching its new TS lenses this week; a replacement for the 24mm/3.5 and a new super wide 17mm/4.

This Keith Loutit time lapse video (Bathtub IV) gives a good idea of what can be done with TS lenses. The song "Clementine" by Megan Washington is also very catchy.

Winterlude

2009-02-17T13:59:00.012-05:00

Last weekend was particularly good for the second weekend of this year's Winterlude.

However, skaters had to wait until noon on Saturday to get on the Rideau Canal.

This gave them time to see some of the artists carving their ice sculptures at Confederation Park. Here are a few pictures of Suguru Kanbayashi, at work carving his prize winning sculpture.

On the Gatineau side of the River, families were enjoying the activities of Jacques Cartier Park.

I was particularly attracted by this snow sculpture. Wonder why?

Ottawa Winter Night Sky

2009-02-08T11:57:00.007-05:00

"Maman", Louise Bourgeois' sculpture of a spider seen on a very cold winter evening (-23 C) earlier this week.

Snow Carver

2009-02-08T11:28:00.004-05:00

A lonely snow carver working on his sculpture yesterday afternoon on Dow's Lake.

Ice Skating in Ottawa

2009-01-29T18:34:00.003-05:00

"Expiration Notice" vs Magenta's "Flash Forward"

2009-01-05T17:06:00.006-05:00

As I am reminded that the deadline for submission to Magenta Foundation's "Flash Forward 2009" competition for emerging photographers is being extended to January 17, 2009, I discover a new blog and website for emerging photographers: "Expiration Notice".

I, along with many of my contemporaries, have long wondered why Magenta, and many other organizations for that matter, are limiting participation to their competition to photographers who are 34 years of age or younger. Can't anyone over 34 be "emerging"? Stan Banos and Mark Page have heard the same cry and are providing us with an alternative, "Expiration Notice", which will be limited to photographers worldwide who are over 35 years old with no current gallery representation. They are now taking submissions for the first edition which will go live in February 2009. The deadline for submission is the 31st of January.

TS lens trials

2008-11-26T11:56:00.005-05:00

After being so impressed with the photographs done by Vincent Laforet with the TS (Tilt-Shift) lenses (check the CN Portfolio series), I decided to rent the Canon TS 24mm f3.5 lens for the weekend and try it with my 5D. Although it takes some getting used to, I managed to get some shots I am happy with. If you check Vincent Laforet's blog entry for today, do not miss the HD videos he is making with the new EOS 5D MkII soon to released by Canon. In particular the aerial shot of New York taken with a TS lens.

I am no Vincent Laforet, but here are two of the shots taken on Sunday with the TS lens (click the photo to enlarge):

Early winter shots

2008-11-18T16:55:00.004-05:00

Winter is slowly coming. It has been snowing lightly for the past two days and the temperature has been below the freezing point.

Here are two shots taken yesterday in Gatineau Park.

Sunday afternoon stroll

2008-11-02T17:29:00.011-05:00

mus-mus.org launches its experimental website with the project @600

2008-11-02T10:43:00.002-05:00

Several photographers around the world have been invited to take part in the @600 project on November 4, 2008 @600 Internet time. The organizers have reserved 25 spots for other photographers. The final selection will be selected by a jury and will be announced on November 21.

All participating photographers will take one photograph at the same moment. These photographs will be joined and archived on the mus-mus.org website for a unique document of that special moment.

The organizers are still looking for photographers from Canada and have asked me to pass on the word.

Please c heck here for the details .

Fall Colors

2008-10-14T13:22:00.007-04:00

For the past several years, Fall colors have been at their peak for the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Colors are never the same year after year, so I always look for different landscapes to photograph.

Yesterday, on our way back from the upper Ottawa Valley, we came across a yard full of discarded dumpsters that were in complete harmony with this year's yellows and oranges. Here are a few shots.

Canon 5D MKII

2008-09-23T11:20:00.002-04:00

Those who have not been following the buzz created by Vincent Laforet who blogged last week on his limited (72 hours) experience with the 5D replacement, the 5D MKII, have missed some great moments.

Vincent posted last night the result of his work, the first HD video shot entirely with a DSLR. The arrival of the Canon 5D MKII, expected in late November, is bound to change how photographers work.

Day 3 of the Canadian Election Campaign - The Arts

2008-09-09T15:23:00.003-04:00

No new photo today.

Instead, I suggest you spend some time viewing this interview with Prime Minister Harper in which he presents his policy on the arts, recent cuts notwithstanding.

Day 2 of the Canadian Election Campaign

2008-09-08T20:59:00.004-04:00

Signs supporting candidates are popping up all over Ottawa. Some are even covering both the Canadian and the American campaign.

This one is not directly linked to any campaign, but the messages are notheless relevant.

Launch of the political campaign 2008

2008-09-07T18:20:00.004-04:00

They're off.

Protesters were waiting for Prime Minister Harper this morning outside of the Governor General's residence.

Festival X

2008-08-29T12:11:00.005-04:00

The second edition of Festival X is coming up. The opening is just 3 weeks away and many of us are getting ready. Some of my new work, including the piece below will be on display at Patrick Gordon's Gallery September 18-28.

Vincent Laforêt in Beijing

2008-08-11T17:11:00.002-04:00

On July 30th, a few days before he left for Beijing to cover the Olympic, Vincent Laforêt, started his own blog. Vincent is a young (relative to me), New York based commercial and editorial photographer.

He was recognized as one of the "100 most influential people in photography" by American Photo Magazine in 2005 and was named one of the "30 photographers to watch under 30" by PDN in 2002.

In my humble opinion, he is by far the most creative and innovative of today's photographers.

Well... follow what he is now doing in Beijing, either through his own blog, or through the Newsweek blog. His daily entries are must reads.

He continues to produce some amazing photographs, including this one, and this one.

Daniela Edburg - "Drop Dead Gorgeous"

2008-07-30T09:58:00.003-04:00

I first saw some of Daniela Edburg's work at Paris Photo last year and was impressed by her photographs. Daniela Edburg was born in Houston. She now works and lives in Mexico City. Her series "Drop Dead Gorgeous" could also have been called "Death by Food".

Read her interview by Nicole Pasulka of The Morning News (Black and White ans Read All Over).

Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project

2008-07-22T14:37:00.004-04:00

For the seventh year, Kiwi Gardens of Perth Ontario, in collaboration with the Edward Day Gallery of Toronto is holding its Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project. The 2008 Sculpture Project runs from June 22 to August.

The exhibition is worth a visit if you are in the Ottawa region. Kiwi Gardens is located a few kilometers past Perth, on Harper Road. Here are a few of the sculptures displayed.

"Bird Hotel" by Christian Bernard Singer

"Cloche" by Penelope Stewart

"Untitled" by Anne O'Callaghan

"Adirondak Chair" by Mark Thompson

Proud to be Canadian...

2008-07-03T12:40:00.007-04:00

We left early on Tuesday morning (July 1st) to get to Parliament Hill before the Canada Day invasion. We noticed that new Canadians who were almost a majority, were very proud to display their love for Canada.

I was lucky enough to get some shots of the empty space, including this one...

...and this one of a new Canadian who had travelled from Toronto to attend the celebrations. He was very carefully writing his message for the Prime Minister and the Governor General, hoping that his attire and his flag would catch their glance.

In the evening, while waiting for the fireworks, I got those of a family of recent immigrants who were among the most enthusiastic of participants, very proud to be Canadian and displaying it loudly.

New winter image

2008-06-30T14:42:00.004-04:00

New (older) image I have thought of adding to my Winter series.

Rockliffe base

2008-05-22T13:17:00.003-04:00

The former CFB Rockliffe is one of Ottawa's largest brownfields. Its location close to the centre of the city makes it a prime target for residential development. The land will however require some environmental clean-up before it can be fully developed.

Canada Lands Corporation was set to purchase the land and create an eco-district that would eventually house up to 15,000 people. The project had to be shelved in early 2007 because of a native land claim.

Here is the first of a series documenting what is left of the base.

Farm series continued

2008-05-14T12:50:00.006-04:00

I have finally received my new scanner and can proceed with the production of my 4X5 work. Here are the first two images. I intend to include these in the new series on early spring growth.

For the new series

2008-05-05T13:42:00.004-04:00

I have been returning to the same location at the Ottawa Experimental Farm for a few weeks to witness the evolution of the regeneration of growth after a long winter. I intend on doing a series that will centre on the same bushes. Here are a few more shots taken yesterday. These, taken with the digital camera and the ones taken last week, may or may not be part of the series in the end. I will see later this week what the scans of the shots taken with the 4X5 will produce, once I get the new scanner.

Earth Day

2008-04-22T11:40:00.000-04:00

A few Earth Day shots that may become part of an on-going series...

SPAO #3...

2008-04-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

...opens tomorrow.

I am looking forward to seeing the result of the work of this year's students. I have seen some photos and it promises to be a great show.

PURPOSE

2008-04-01T11:19:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, I discovered the "webmag" Purpose which was created in January 2006. Purpose, published in Paris, is free and entirely dedicated to the presentation of photographic work.

The spring 2008 issue is just out and includes some great photographic work. I am particularly fond of the Laurent Malone series on Living in Marseilles and Joakim Eskildsen's The Roma Journey.

Save Polaroid...

2008-03-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

Please visit this site to help save Polaroid...

Guerilla #15

2008-03-07T11:29:00.000-05:00

Guerilla has just published its #15 issue which includes amazing work from SPAO students. SPAO continues to improve and the creativity demonstrated by the students proves that great photographic work can come from centres other than New York.

Among my favorites are the three below.

The very contemporary look offered by Greg Zenha:

Jeremie Roy's paper neg print:

... and Michelle Wilson's:

New Series in the making...

2008-02-27T17:59:00.000-05:00

As winter is coming to an end (we hope), I am busy working on additions to my winter landscapes. Here are samples of what the additions may look like:

New York 1970...

2008-02-13T13:33:00.000-05:00

Last week's blog entry by Brian Ulrich had me search for some of the photographs I had taken while on a school trip to New York in 1970. Of those, two were very vivid in my mind.

The first was that of a man standing on the corner of a Manhattan street, dressed as a viking, totally immobile. I saw him on each of my outings at the time, but did not know who he was. For years, I wondered who he might have been. It was only last October, reading a New York Times article, "Sidewalk Hero, On the Horns of a Revival" (John Strausbaugh), that I discovered that his name was Louis Hardin Jr., and that he had been part of the New York landscape from the late 1940's to the early '70s. Moondog, as he was known then, was a blind, classical musician/composer. A festival exploring his life and works was held in November 2007 at the Advent Lutheran Church at 93rd and Broadway.

The second photograph which had haunted me for years after my first visit to New York, was that of a street vendor who was selling ice. I had taken the photograph, near where I had seen Moondog earlier the same day.

When in New York last August, I tried to identify the location of where I had taken the photograph, but was unable to do so with certainty.

I would appreciate any information readers may have on the person in the photograph and where I might have taken it.

Why I start this blog?

2008-02-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

As I launch my new web site, I am starting this blog to chronicle the evolution of my photography. I will also use the blog to comment on contemporary photography in general and on emerging artists.