The trained eye of a sharp photographer

A native of Pointe-St-Charles, the artist moved to Île-des-Sœurs a few years ago and has been taking magnificent photographic shots of the island. He has however been increasingly attracted to the St-Henri district since the Lachine Canal re-opened and the urban renewal programme for the area started. While waiting to move to this place, he is taking in the island’s natural attractions and taking his time to appreciate them. The island was once inhabited by sisters of the Notre-Dame congregation.

“People go about their lives so fast even during their leisure time. They don’t take the time to stop and see what’s around them. Like biking around Île-des-Sœurs is over in a matter of hours”, he said. For him, he’d rather wake up in the wee hours of the morning; or waits until nightfall to seize extraordinarily beautiful moments: the reflection of the light on the water, a bird who repeatedly kisses his partner, or a light breeze in the springtime that caresses the wild grass around the island.

“I am keenly aware of nature, its beauty and all things related to it. And if one takes the time to observe it, one can understand it better,” he says.

His second exhibit in the island in two years entitled Les quatre saisons de l’île (the island’s four seasons), consists of four provocative prints featuring the abundant natural charm of this privileged place of Verdun Borough. The exhibit can be viewed in Île-des-Sœurs Second Cup during all of summer.

Wayne Mckerness has caught just about everything with his eyes and camera: a magnificent frosted winter landscape, a foggy and troubled forest, a green zen profile of the woods and park and of lac des Battures overlapping with rose-like veil.

Wayne Mckerness has been living in l’île-des-Sœurs for four years and has made it his all time “playing field”. It is the point of his spiritual journey which takes place through the lenses of his camera. In recent times, however, a dream has been brewing in his heart and mind: to take pictures of the beauty and mystery of the Galapagos Islands, a kind of Garden of Eden where animals live. This dream signifies a logical next step for someone who lives on Darwin Street! “It was the place where it all started, where the theory of evolution developed. It’s like going back to one’s origins”, he explained.

He prefers to work alone. He creates photos on contract in his studio – just a hobby for now. It is not his bread and butter.

The artist has a web site you can visit at www.studiovisual.com. Visitors can view several landscape photographs and order copies. To contact Wayne Mckerness directly, send him an e-mail at: wayne@studiovisual.com.