Since 1975, the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts (BMFA) has enhanced the cultural landscape of the Southern Georgian Bay region by supporting artistic expression in all its forms. Our goal is to inspire excellence in visual arts through educational and creative opportunities. We support and promote the work of our 200 members through annual community events, juried shows, workshops, art talks, mentoring and operating an art shop and gallery in downtown Collingwood.
Our members are talented artists of all ages working in a wide range of creative fields and mediums. Through impactful programs and initiatives, the BMFA aims to be a catalyst for positive change, fostering creativity and inclusivity in our community.
For the past 30 years, the BMFA has held an annual Juried Photo Show competition and exhibit to showcase and celebrate student and adult photographers from the South Georgian Bay region. On average, the Juried Photo Show receives 80 to 100 photos submitted by 50 photographers, with the top 60 photos selected to be part of a public exhibit running from September 13 to October 27, 2023, at the BMFA, 65 Simcoe Street, Collingwood.
Each year, professional photographers from the region ( adjudicate the Juried Photo Show using the ASA blind jurying process. We were privileged to work with local professional photographers Gayle Shotlander and Rrampt’s Nelson Philips as the jurors for this year’s show.
The Juried Photo Show has become a staple program for the region’s photographers, allowing artists of all ages and skill levels to participate and promote their work.
Here are some of the winners from 2023:
Arlo White – CONGLOMERATE
Arlo White, a young artist from Walter’s Falls, is fascinated with capturing the unnoticeable in time. He enjoys photographing the tiny details in nature that spark joy, and framing them in a beautiful way and takes the ‘ordinary’ and presents it from a new perspective. This often includes using bugs as subjects and highlighting other creatures and aspects of life that are looked at from a more dismissive or negative view.
White notices these things that are usually disregarded, and is eager to share his appreciation for them. There is a whole world in these details that is yet to be explored in the public eye, and White bridges this view with his work.
In CONGLOMERATE, White applies this passion for small found items to tell a bigger story – one that reflects pieces of the photographer’s identity. This photograph is compiled of small objects saved from different moments, each holding special meaning and significance to the artist. They are a marking in time – the leftovers of memories that are powerful in displaying the photographer’s hopes and values. CONGLOMERATE is meant to inspire others to seek out and give a voice to the unrepresented and under-appreciated.
Marshall Postnikoff – Fall Reflections
Collingwood-based award winning photographer and visual opportunist whose work encompasses landscapes, abstract patterns, wildlife, travel and life photography .
“I love creativity and learning. I think it’s the combination of creativity, learning and photography that keeps my enthusiasm up each time I grab my camera to capture an image. Every time the shutter clicks is an opportunity for my imagination to connect with something in you. Ultimately I learned that digital cameras and digital post-processing provide the means for creating very, very fine photographic images and prints.
Over the many years that I’ve been active capturing images as I travelled, my portfolio has grown substantially. I’m not sure whether my passion for travel has fuelled my love of photography, or the other way around. Either way, my photographic goal remans to draw the view into the photograph and transport them into my world.
I consider myself a jack of all photographic genre. I love landscape photography, I love shooting wildlife (with my camera of course). And I love photography in all its forms equally as much as I love sharing my images with the world.”
John Steele – I’m Flying
John Steele developed his passion for photography at a young age growing up in Toronto as the family photographer. Later, after graduating from the Creative Photography Program at Humber College, he discovered his passion for Studio Photography, using light and shape to define an object. He refined his skills working for Commercial Photo Studios shooting Catalogue and Retail Photography.
“Lighting has always been the key element in crafting an image. Colour, shape and texture define how the light caresses an object to reveal its innate identity. Using large format cameras and sheet film to capture the image was a skill in itself. Then suddenly the word “Digital” arrived and the buzz of Photoshop quickly followed.
I moved to London England and jumped straight into the Digital Photography scene and the steep learning curve that came with it: Apple Macs, Digital Camera backs, Photoshop, Colour Correction, Compositing of Images, Retouching and the really big one – converting to CMYK for print! Fast forward to the present, and Digital Imaging is the standard and allows us to create images we only dreamed about in the film era.”
