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Doug McMillin Photos
The highlights of my early years, 2010-2020:
Sunrise
My very first 'show' was my photo club's first group show, Eclectic Visions 2010. I was 68 years old. My main entry, seen above, was printed on canvas measuring 36"x 46", which cost me over $500 to print and frame (canvas was fairly new in 2010). I had taken photos every five minutes at sunrise then patched six together, adding one enlarged detail. My source file was 9,792x12,240 pixels, 90MB jpg. That incoming mallard was a pure bonus, as was also the anticipatory ripple.
Surface Tension 1
Just to be safe, I also entered a couple of matted paper prints behind 16"x 20" glass in studio frames, a more conventional presentation. In this image a crane fly was the unexpected bonus.
The Elements
Our club's next group exhibition was the first of what would become known as the Lobby Shows. This one had a theme, 'the elements' and I did a poster using a shot in my kitchen at night, with flowers for Earth, the sink for Water, the moth on the window for Air (another flying bonus), and the real flame from a small slash fire burning outside, for Fire. The photo was not contrived, nor photoshopped in any way. The concurrance was entirely serendipitous.
Separation
Members of our club also had exhibitions of their own from time to time at local businesses. This is my first of such shows, in a small cafe attached to one of our supermarkets, in 2011. My theme was 'separation in personal relationships', something happening to me at the time
Smart Phone World
A call went out in 2012 for smart-phone photographs to be exhibited at a Vancouver photographer's co-op gallery/workspace. They accepted two of mine, printing at my expense what I emailed. The top image here is the 'gallery', a hallway with prints clipped to clotheslines. Lower left is my main image and lower right is a closer look in which one can read the distant sign. I have no idea about the laboratory, but the snowmen did need help
Paper Faces
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I photographed a number of paper portraits posted publically around Salt Spring Island in 2011 and I presented my summary of this project by some unknown photographer as a show of my own at a local bakery and cafe, in 2012. I don't recall the exact year. My show ran all summer and felt good. The whole series is posted in a mini-gallery on the 'Sundry' page.
Here's Looking at You
In 2015 a call went out for submissions toward a curated exhibition on the theme of 'self-image and selfies'. I had taken this photo in a local cafe as part of testing a remote camera control, not paying much mind to my surroundings. The surroundings turned out to be a bonus. The über- bonus came later, when this photo won the $1000 first prize.
Surfacing: Explorations in Two Dimensions
The next year, 2016, saw a call for a second curated exhibition, this one on the theme of 'surfacing: explorations in two dimensions'. I entered these three photos and got an honourable mention on the first one, 'Yellow Things'.
SSNAP (2017)
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SSNAP (Salt Spring National Art Prize) is a big deal, happening every two years since 2015. I submitted these three photos in 2017, while I was exploring long exposures using a neutral density filter. None were accepted for SSNAP, but the centre one, 'Burnt Grass', was accepted for the companion Parallel Art Show (PAS).
Nighttime Explosions
The only other time I submitted to SSNAP was in 2021. I hoped 'Explosion' in my titles would politicize my images somewhat, but no way. Then the show organizers lost my proof of PAS eligibility (SS residency). I gave up.
In 2018 I was invited to participate in the annual Photoynthesis show, mounted by a long-standing group of accomplished photographers on the island (apart from the photo club).
Invited Photographer, Photosynthesis (2018)
Salt Spring Public Library: Solo Show (2018)
In September 2018, I expanded my photographic presence by mounting a solo show in our local library, titled 'transmigration & fragmentation (socio-digital landscapes)'. To make hanging easier, I used my image editor to create a virtual version first. I hung forty-one 12"x 12" photos, most fastened tightly together in groups of six.
PhotoFest (2019)
In June 2019, the Photo Club and Photosynthesis members agreed to show simultaneously and encourage local businesses to pitch in and 'flood the island' with photogaphy exhibitions, a regular 'PhotoFest'. I mounted a solo show at the SS Wild Cider House, whose interior is seen above in my preparatory virtual hanging.
Library 2 (2020)
My second show at our library was a slightly complicated affair. I am very fond of street photography and candid portraits and I planned my show around that theme. In a preliminary setup in 2020, I had one person object to the fact he had not given me permission to include a photo of him. Regardless, the whole show was cancelled due to COVID. I solved both of these problems by mounting a show in 2021 in which I fastened surgical masks and black eye-bars to all faces, thinking I had a unique opportunity to represent those troublesome times. I hung fifty 12"x 18" photos, most fastened tightly together in groups of eight.
COVID FACES as finally hung in 2021
When my 2020 show at the library was cancelled and we were all living in COVID-stasis, I decided to try social media as a way of 'showing'. Instagram's grid layout of square images (then), appealed to me. Instagram more or less replaced the photo club's website for me.
Then I created this website
www.dougmcmillin.photos
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'Slot 5' is where I park while at my dentist.
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