"TWO PASSIONS"
Member presentation, by Peter Graham

Monday, October 29, 2018
(First half of Print #1)

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PETER GRAHAM

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© Peter Graham

© Peter Graham

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I took up what you may call serious photography when I retired in Istanbul a few years ago. I don’t really regard myself as a photographer since I have had no training and know little about the camera, photography, or image‑processing except to make myself “dangerous” (in UK terms), so I prefer to say that I take images.

I cannot aspire to compare myself to you experts in the camera club, most of whom can photograph anything anywhere with precision and skill.  However, maybe some of you others have had an interesting time trying to find a subject to be passionate about, especially if, in North America, nature, landscapes, and snow are not your thing. I’ve been lucky enough to find three engrossing subjects in the last few years, and I propose to talk a little about two of them in this presentation.

Compound Photography:

I have a passion for line, form, colour, and design, which led me to choose the imperial mosque interiors in Istanbul as a beginning
subject. After a short while I began to play with line and
perspective in my details of mosque interiors. Then I woke up one morning with the idea that developed into what seemed a new way of
representing mosques and other interiors. Interestingly, this subject also reignited a passion I have for surrealism.

Performance Photography:

After going as far as I could in compound photography (there are
only so many imperial mosques in Istanbul!), I started to photograph street musicians in Istanbul. When we moved to Montreal, I thought to continue this, but it was less interesting here — the quality and type of the music is a vital stimulant for me. However, through the MCC and one of its model sessions, I got an intro to the club, pub, theatre
and festival performance arenas, and this is the area I am concentrating on at the moment.

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