Gage Minard Photography

Over the McMaster reading week, I wanted to take advantage of the nice, fall weather, hoping that the climate would be ideal for birds and wildlife. On October 14, I went with my family to the Hendrie Valley Sanctuary (Cherry Hill Gate) at the Royal Botanical Gardens, a favored spot in our family over the years to go and interact with various forms of life from birds to squirrels and chipmunks.  Photographing animals throughout the day, I noticed that I often had to escape to quieter areas and allow life to come to me. This seems like an obvious task to take, but it’s something that can easily get lost when you are eager to be taking photos of whatever you immediately see. It is in these silent moments, away from the yelling kids and loud families who were sharing the trail that day, that I actually became exposed to the greatest number of birds. Patience, here, was the key. Normally when I go to Cherry Hill, I am also consistently trying to feed the wildlife, to get the birds to c...

Is it bad that I can’t remember when I first started taking pictures of wildlife? For as long as I know I have always been captivated by animals - their presence, aura, beauty, difference. As an artist, first and foremost, drawing and painting animals has been a frequent task of mine ever since I was little. Going to zoos, visiting parks and trails, or even just going into a pet store are all simple day to day actions that have fulfilled my love for animals. Because of this, my close attention to wildlife has never not been constant, and perhaps that is why I don’t exactly remember when I really started to undertake wildlife and animal photography as a hobby.  While I do appreciate capturing wildlife in their environment, my photography practice has definitely had a focus on portraiture, trying to capture the true details and essence of an animal in a cropped, close-up frame. The saying that the ‘eyes are the window to the soul’ sounds cliche, but it is true! I try to capture the e...