The Saskatchewan Prairie Light Photography Competition had as its prize exhibitions at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery. The Bronze Award saw three photographers present their work together at a joint exhibition. Todd Schick, Janice Weber and Jeff Wizniak showed their work as part of Photography: Between Art and Object.
Originally from Yorkton, Wizniak says he began taking photos as a form of stress relief. He would go out for a drive with his camera, and found himself taking an ever increasing number of photos, trying to go out finding interesting and unique items.
“It has become part of my life, I always have my camera with me, and I’m always looking to capture something beautiful or interesting. It’s my passion.”
Wizniak decided to participate because he wanted to see what would happen.
“There are a lot of photo contests on Facebook or around the internet where it basically turns into a popularity contest... I figured it would be interesting to see how others would critique my work.”
Schick has begun taking photos relatively recently, and his work is drawn from exploring his home community. He admits he doesn’t know why he is compelled to take photos, but believes it keeps him in the moment.
For Weber, she has taken photos and collected photos for a long time, and believes it’s a form of communication.
“I think the way I take pictures, it’s almost like taking notes, visually. I think it’s a way to communicate, in a silent way without words. I do a lot of observing, I think that’s why I take pictures.”
Weber was intrigued by the nature of the portfolio prize, because she felt that she did better with a body of work than she would by taking a single image.
“I take a lot of pictures, and I think sometimes they work better together than to try to pick them apart from each other.”
The three photographers put on a cohesive show, even if they were working completely independently when creating the work. Schick theorizes that there’s a certain Saskatchewan look to the work, which the judges noticed when putting the show together.
One tie between the three photographers is that they all make their work by exploring, whether it’s Melville, Saskatoon or the prairies that surround them. Each mentioned a love of exploration in their words to the crowd.
“Some people, their joy in life is listening to stories. Others is making a story, whether it’s a photo, a book, a song, some people are just born to create and share. Part of that is you have to get out, you have to explore,” Wizniak says.
There is also some credit that needs to be shared with Don Stein, executive director of the gallery, Weber says, because he was the one who selected the work overall and had to tie the three artists together. She says from her own portfolio, he selected some unexpected work, and that helped bring the show together.
“I think his eye really pulled us together as well.”
All three intend on continuing their work, continuing exploring and continuing to take photos. Schick has his eye on going bigger, and he wants to have a solo show with larger images. Weber hopes that she can do more prints, because seeing the images in print transforms her work and makes it more permanent. Wizniak wants to continue on the same path.
“To keep exploring, to keep seeing new stuff, to keep challenging myself and try to find some beauty in this world,” Wizniak says.
