Motherhood figures strongly into photographer's own art

Motherhood figures strongly into photographer's own art This week I visited a friend in Parksville, a new mother who had just given birth at the house of photographer Gordon Lafleur. It wasn't until 1984, when Lafleur moved to Parksville, that he began doing portraits. C. He admits it definitely became "an obsession. He completed a two year photography program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1971 and did commercial and industrial photography for a number of years after. Lafleur says that as opposed to the fleeting nature of many other forms of media, he is enamoured with the concept that when he does a portrait or family photo for someone, though the audience is small, to that really limited audience it is an extraordinarily precious thing. The process of making family photos can be very moving and complex on a wide variety of levels, says Lafleur. He thought he had found his vocation, and didn't consider portrait work at the time because back then the industry wasn't taken very seriously. This Mother's Day marks the 13th year Lafleur has been making his "Tribute to Mothers and Daughters" exhibit, a display of his portraits of mothers and daughters, at the Quality Resort Bayside in Parksville. Either that or work for National Geographic," he says. People often suggest Lafleur also do a father-son exhibit, but he says "guys will not do this," explaining that the majority of his clients are women, as it is women who initiate portraits and family photos. "Men can be very emotional about it when they see the photographs and so on, but if it were up to the men to organize this stuff it would never happen," he says. "Of course this was the '60s and early '70s. Though he says portrait photography ended up being much harder than he thought it would be, Lafleur both liked it and was good at it, and it has kept him busy ever since. Part of what keeps him interested in portraiture is its longevity. He says though he is not a woman and can't speak from personal experience, he has noticed there is a connection between mothers and daughters that is quite different than that of mothers and sons, or sons and fathers, and it is something he seeks to capture in his portraits. "I mean, I have a hard time right now because I work on my own and I do not have women telling me what to do anymore," he says with a laugh, reflecting on the two women he worked with in his studio for over 20 years. Lafleur knew he wanted to be a photographer since his high school daysin Edmonton, Alberta when he had a darkroom stationed in his bedroom. Photographer of the Year" by the Professional Photographers Association of B. He gives an example of a woman who came in who was recently widowed and commissioned what he says were some "really poignant" photos with her two young daughters. "You put your family picture on the wall, it's a statement to individuals who come and look at it. "When you do a photograph like this, you're helping them make a statement, and you're helping them to define a point in their lives, whatever that point is," says Lafleur. Motherhood figures strongly into photographer's own art Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 13/05/2012