Blair Ketcheson is an architectural and fine-art photographer who shares his time between Europe and Canada.
Travelling to both famous and obscure locations to shoot, he searches for opportunities to create structured abstractions from the remnants of human endeavour.
I lived in England and New York before settling in Western Canada. From a young age I hiked, skied, canoed and camped in the Rocky Mountains around Banff and Jasper, areas known and admired for their natural beauty. In my late teens I lived for a year in London, England and developed a love for history, architecture and travel which has stayed with me ever since.
In the early 1970's I enrolled at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, graduating with a Diploma of Visual Communications in 1974. My studies were centred on photography and directed in particular by two inspirational teachers: Bob Alexander, having come from the Brooks Institute of Photography in California, and Bob Pfeiff, formerly of the Rochester Institute of Technology. It was at Banff that I learned the traditional crafts of photography: visualization and composition, lighting, camera work, and the darkroom. After graduation, I received a Canada Council grant to spend a year documenting historical architecture throughout western Canada.
My early photographic work in the late 1970's and 1980's was documentary based, focusing on the performing and visual arts, wilderness adventure, travel, and the urban landscape. The projects were diverse and engaging: musical instrument builders, the Kirov Ballet's first tour outside of Russia, the Expo '86 World Music Festival in Vancouver, Ironman Canada, and many collaborations with artists including the Canadian sculptor Tony Bloom, and the musical groups 'Nexus' and 'The Glass Orchestra'. Throughout this period I continued my studies of the classical guitar, was active in alpine mountaineering education and pursued an ongoing interest in architecture and the building arts.
I then settled in Vancouver and for twenty years specialized in architectural photography. I concentrated on editorial and commercial assignments photographing interiors, public and institutional buildings, urban environments, landscape architecture, and gardens for design firms, magazines and advertising clients. I was fortunate to have the opportunity of working with many talented individuals including Canada's pre-eminent architect Arthur Erickson, Richard Henriquez Architects, and the internationally respected urban design and landscape architecture firm PFS Studio.
In parallel with my commercial work, I pursued fine art work, principally landscape photography in black and white. I spent time on many trips through Europe photographing in particular the parks and gardens of Italy and France. I have had immense pleasure visiting and working at sites such as Pompeii, the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Versailles, and the garden of the Rodin Museum in Paris. It is a privilege to witness and interpret such timeless, sublime and often achingly beautiful scenes.
In 2007 I was commissioned to photograph the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France. The Battle for Vimy Ridge was a defining event for Canada in the First World War. The black and white work from this project has formed the basis of an ongoing project entitled, "The Healing Fields."
In the early 1970's I enrolled at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, graduating with a Diploma of Visual Communications in 1974. My studies were centred on photography and directed in particular by two inspirational teachers: Bob Alexander, having come from the Brooks Institute of Photography in California, and Bob Pfeiff, formerly of the Rochester Institute of Technology. It was at Banff that I learned the traditional crafts of photography: visualization and composition, lighting, camera work, and the darkroom. After graduation, I received a Canada Council grant to spend a year documenting historical architecture throughout western Canada.
My early photographic work in the late 1970's and 1980's was documentary based, focusing on the performing and visual arts, wilderness adventure, travel, and the urban landscape. The projects were diverse and engaging: musical instrument builders, the Kirov Ballet's first tour outside of Russia, the Expo '86 World Music Festival in Vancouver, Ironman Canada, and many collaborations with artists including the Canadian sculptor Tony Bloom, and the musical groups 'Nexus' and 'The Glass Orchestra'. Throughout this period I continued my studies of the classical guitar, was active in alpine mountaineering education and pursued an ongoing interest in architecture and the building arts.
I then settled in Vancouver and for twenty years specialized in architectural photography. I concentrated on editorial and commercial assignments photographing interiors, public and institutional buildings, urban environments, landscape architecture, and gardens for design firms, magazines and advertising clients. I was fortunate to have the opportunity of working with many talented individuals including Canada's pre-eminent architect Arthur Erickson, Richard Henriquez Architects, and the internationally respected urban design and landscape architecture firm PFS Studio.
In parallel with my commercial work, I pursued fine art work, principally landscape photography in black and white. I spent time on many trips through Europe photographing in particular the parks and gardens of Italy and France. I have had immense pleasure visiting and working at sites such as Pompeii, the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Versailles, and the garden of the Rodin Museum in Paris. It is a privilege to witness and interpret such timeless, sublime and often achingly beautiful scenes.
In 2007 I was commissioned to photograph the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France. The Battle for Vimy Ridge was a defining event for Canada in the First World War. The black and white work from this project has formed the basis of an ongoing project entitled, "The Healing Fields."
My work has been exhibited and collected in France, Italy, Monaco, Canada and the United States.
For five years I lived with my partner and son Sean in the south of France. Our home and workspace was surrounded by olive and fig trees, wild rosemary and the warm, sweet air of the Mediterranean.
For five years I lived with my partner and son Sean in the south of France. Our home and workspace was surrounded by olive and fig trees, wild rosemary and the warm, sweet air of the Mediterranean.
I currently divide my time between Canada and Europe.