Photography

Shooting Paddlers: Photographic Adventures With Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafters is the first book published anywhere designed to help all paddlers strengthen their ability to see, recognize and record meaningful images. It presents an original approach to the study of photography, concentrating on specific possibilities and problems unique to the paddling environment. Most of the 238 black-and-white and colour photographs are discussed through the presentation of one or several pictures on a page, each accompanied by an analysis that includes explanations, tips, recommendations and other useful background information. Shooting Paddlers provides a wealth of specialized knowledge, difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere.

Winner of the 2013 Heritage Toronto Award of Merit

A Toronto Album 2, companion edition to Mike Filey's immensely popular original album, is a photographic journey through bustling Toronto from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. Among the 100-plus photographs is a quartet that shows the remarkable changes to Toronto's skyline over a half-century. Others capture the 1939 royal visit, steam trains in their twilight years, the evolution of the Hospital for Sick Children, a look at Christmas past, and glimpses of a few landmark buildings we weren't smart enough to keep. A Toronto Album 2 is a keepsake Torontonians will treasure.

Mike Filey's collection of pictures of Toronto from the earliest days of photography had gained a reputation as one of the most interesting visual archives of the city's history. This classic look at old Toronto portrays scenes of public life from 1860 to 1950, illustrating how dramatically the urban fabric and environment have changed. There are photographs of the beaches and the islands, of mud streets and gas lamps, of steam engines and trolley cars, amusement parks and the everchanging waterfront. Especially striking are the early photographs of downtown and the aftermaths of the fire of 1904.

Out of print for over 20 years, A Toronto Album has sold over 50,000 copies in various editions. It will appeal to Torontonians young and old - and to anyone interested in the evolution of one of the world's fastest growing cities.

During the Great Depression, promoter, salesman, and pilot Richard Thorne McCully became an aviation pioneer, capturing much of the Maritime region from the air. Along with photographer Harold Reid and pilot Marty Fraser, McCully spent the early 1930s flying over Atlantic Canada. The photographs they took offer a rare glimpse into prominent homes, vibrant businesses, churches, farms and waterfronts that are no longer standing or have been significantly altered. Each photo has been annotated with the natural features, architecture, streetscapes, industries, sporting events and other pastimes, and colourful characters depicted.

These unique bird's-eye views from 1931 to 1939 capture the feeling of that first day in May 1931 when McCully's small twin-engine took off from the tiny Moncton airport.

This album follows the history of Kingston from the founding of Fort Frontenac and the accompanying French settlement of Cataraqui in 1673 to its present-day incarnation as a popular tourist and travel destination. In addition to its fine military tradition, Kingston has also been the centre of commerce, shipping, industry, education, and government in the region.

Many local citizens have prospered greatly from these diverse endeavours. Others have been less fortunate. From the boom times of Dilene Dexter Calvin's huge shipping industry and James Richardson's grain enterprise to the corruption and cruelty of Kingston Penetentiary under Warden Henry Smith Sr., the ups and downs of Kingston's citizens have mirrored the city's own.

As Kingston's importance grew, so too did the influence its inhabitants had during the last days of the unified colony and the first of the fledgling Dominion. Sir John Graves Simcoe made Kingston his home for a time, as did Lord Sydenham and Sir John A. Macdonald.

More than one hundred black-and-white photographs accompany the text, granting an intimate look at all facets of life in Kingston over the last century. From the prisoners' quarters at Fort Henry during World War I and the fire in City Hall, to the bustle of market square at the turn of the century and the lonely stretch of road which was Division Street, these photos display both the momentous occasions in the city's history and the mundane. Hand-picked from the collections of the National Archives of Canada, the Archives of Ontario, and Queen's University Archives, these beautiful photographs capture the pride and the pain of a city constantly in transition.

The human side of birding comes to the fore in The Reluctant Twitcher, a serious yet humorous account of birds and birding and the art of chasing rarities. Richard Pope, a lifelong birder, had successfully avoided this latter pursuit for many years but capitulated in 2007 when he embarked on his "Big Year," the object being to record at least three hundred birds in Ontario within that calendar period.

Almost instantly, a relatively normal birdwatcher morphed into a "twitcher," albeit reluctantly, pursuing rare species of birds from Rainy River to the Ottawa and well beyond his wildest expectations. Though it was a challenge that was not without trials and disappointments, Pope describes all his adventures with self-deprecating humour. Not just another book on birding, Pope's unique approach is supported by an array of exceptional colour photographs.