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I've been writing poetry since I was a baffled teen, about forty years. I have published four books of poetry and have just completed my fifth collection, "The Invisible Library". I am also a culture worker, editor, and publisher (Hagios Press).






Wednesday 28 March 2012

Celebrating a Quarter Century, SIAST Applied Photography, 1986 – 2011

“No matter how slow the film, spirit always stands still long enough for the photograph it has chosen.”   Minor White

 The above quote from the brilliant American photographer, Minor White, has always summed up my love of photographic images. What the accomplished photographer captures within the frame is imbued with a sense of reinvention that transcends time itself. 

This elegant volume of photography traverses time on many different levels. Each of the photographers featured in the book is a graduate of the Applied Photography program at SIAST in Regina. On every page, as I made my way through the book I encountered clarity of intent, and many excellent photographs.  In its entirety, it points to the legacy of SIAST program which will live, long after the misguided decision to discontinue the program.  

In this celebratory book, we enter the strong current of photography and the photographer's craft; from the deeply personal images that engage the heart, to adamant commercial photographs arrest the eye, this is a book that is difficult to put down. In reading the profiles of the photographers it is interesting to note how many are still engaged as professionals. This in itself is a strong endorsement of program and the faculty, but it is the photographs themselves that speak to the potential that was realized during a quarter-century of teaching photography at SIAST.  

I will refrain from naming photographs and photographers who had the strongest impact on me, the list is long. I would recommend this book to anyone, like me, who loves the “spirit” quality of photographs. There is much here to immerse yourself in, and for the professional or perhaps an educator in photography, this book is a must, and will be one you return to again and again.  


On the cover of the book is black and white image of a tree. Despite the misty landscape that surrounds it, the tree stands with clarity and definition. Like photography itself the image is evocative of resilience and remembrance.  In many ways the tree represents for me the impact the SIAST Applied Photography program has had on its many graduates.  Even though the program has been ended, each year there will be new growth, another season of light.

Celebrating a Quarter-Century, SIAST Applied Photography 1986 – 2011is available for $135 from AP Press, 2140 Montague Street, Regina S4T 3J9.

You can e-mail:  publisher@ap-press.ca  for further information.

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