I, for one, have never been keen on visual art. But with finding inspiration in photography, I feel that I’ve found an art form that I can grasp. I finally settled on photography, because I find the capturing and direct recording of life around us to be a better representation of my idea of visual art than any other art form. I came across Peter McKinnon, a photographer based in Toronto2. One thing that struck me about his pieces on Instagram is the breathtaking beauty of his work. The vibrant colors and level of detail in each photo made me gravitate to his work the moment I first found his page.
I’ve been particularly interested in the most recent work that he’s been uploading to his Instagram, which I’ve unofficially titled ‘The Autumn Collection’. I love the detail that he brings out with this body of work. These photos brought about something I’d never encountered before with photography, which was the feeling of smelling and breathing in the scenery. I’d never even thought about getting a whiff of the smell of autumn from a photograph before, but something about his work truly gives that feeling. When I look at this photo, I’m seeing some obvious details, like the leaves on the ground and the background setting of the forest. But beyond that, I can also think of the leaves as a central theme to the piece. They may remind one of the fall season and the feeling of a chilly breeze on a Sunday afternoon walk in November. I get reminded of holidays like Thanksgiving and I reflect on things like my family or my friendships. I think these things happen for me because the piece has this remarkable ability to strike at emotions that we don’t normally associate with a simple photograph.
Now of course this particular photograph does have quite a few different elements to it. Of course, we have objects like the cabin/house in the foreground as well as the abundant leaves on the ground, but we also have numerous trees in the background, with orange-leaved and green-leaved trees scattered around the woods. All of these pieces of the photo give depth to it, you almost feel as if this very scene could be taken straight from your neighborhood during the fall. In my opinion, this photo gives the essence of the fall mental image because of how easy it is to copy and paste that same scene into one’s own life.
Another piece that I love to look at right now is another from this unofficial ‘Autumn Collection’ on his Instagram. I think what makes this photo speak to me is the blending of two distinct yet connected elements. The first being the autumn trees and beautiful slightly cloudy blue sky, giving a pleasing and calming background to the scene. The other element is this forceful whitewater rapid that is charging through this river stream. I feel that these two elements are well connected because we get an intriguing contrast between calmness and restlessness. Although it is harder to relate this photo to other things in one’s life just based on if you could feel yourself in this scene (it is less likely that you have whitewater rapids in your local public park), You can analyze these elements and think of conceptual parallels. For instance, I see the trees and sky as my home or my comfort zone, where I feel that most things are constant. When I see the rapid, I think of conflict or action, like doing classwork or having to do errands. It’s something that I know won’t be taking me forever to do, but having to be involved in it will take skill and patience to navigate it smoothly, quite like a rapid. That duality is fun to think about, and again, something I’d never thought I’d get from a photograph.
While it may be apparent that I am in love with the work of Peter McKinnon, it was also interesting to find out that he has a whole YouTube channel with videos on anything from filmmaking tutorials, to vlogs, to reviewing his fans’ photography3. Normally I wouldn’t think that a photographer would be interested in having content on a platform like YouTube, but McKinnon seems to take advantage of the internet culture and spreads out as far as he can to build his fanbase. One other photography YouTuber, Joris Hermans, created a video that reviews Peter McKinnon’s work that he posts regularly on his Instagram4. It doesn’t take long to see that Hermans is critical of the fact that McKinnon exclusively uses Instagram to showcase his photography as opposed to a more traditional portfolio on his own website. He mentions, “…A lot of photographers like to use Instagram as a portfolio, but it’s not the same platform anymore, and I think it’s a good thing if a photographer has a personal website to showcase their work.” I feel that this is a valid critique because it might feel to some as if Peter McKinnon is less of a professional photographer because he doesn’t have a portfolio on his website. This detail may also lead newer fans of McKinnon’s work to be confused as to where they can find photos because we normally expect an online portfolio on an artist’s website. Hermans goes on to say, “I’m missing a true place for his photos to live and be shown as they’re meant to be shown.” Even though Hermans spends a fair bit of time covering this detail, I do agree that it’s awkward and slightly less professional to use Instagram as a portfolio and would have also preferred a dedicated area for his work somewhere on his website.
This was a hopeful demonstration of what I think to be a very exciting form of visual art. In my opinion, photography brings out more emotions than a painting can. I think that this happens because I can feel myself in these scenes way more than I can with a painting. That feeling of immersion is inspiring and exciting, and I don’t think I would’ve found it if it hadn’t been for Peter McKinnon. Hopefully, this gives you a taste of how photography can affect you and your artistic experience.
Works Cited:
1. https://www.instagram.com/petermckinnon/ (All photos, I don’t know how to put his Instagram link as a source under the photos)
2. https://www.petermckinnon.com/
