The Journey

The Newal Post at the University of Toronto taken 1911

Through the past couple of months I have been gathering information from my Father and Grandparents to piece together more of Edwin's story. I have completed the biographical part of his life from birth onward. There are some holes here and there within his schooling and teen life. I'm going to search out some archival information to add to his background.
I have written down the background information that my Father and I can compile, but now I feel the rest lies within Edwin's photographs. In some odd way this has made some sort of full circle though the different generations of my family. These photo's came to my Father at a time when he was working in photography as a professional and when I happened to be taking a photography and popular arts culture class. I sit within a section of time where I will be graduating University with a degree in film and hope to go onward in making documentaries. There is something to learn from Edwin's photo's. If not just on a technical level but also on a basis where I re-connect to my familial history and roots. Somehow I feel like I belong in some cosmic order of things and that I am where I am supposed to be, to be putting together this kind of project with this material.

I have decided on the format of my project as a photo album. I will be recording some personal and factual findings here online. Further I will be taking photo's of the original glass slides to capture their actuality, choosing selected images from his repetorie of photos taken over time (I will provide the background information I have on these images) and further will re-create 3-4 of his photographs taken within Ontario.

I will be searching U OF T for something called the Newal post which, he photographed many years ago. I also hope to find the fire hall that he captured during the Great Fire of Toronto 1904. I will also be hoping to take a portrait re-creating the self portrait he took of himself. I will be using my Father as my duplicate subject.

The factual, autobiographical and literal photographic journey continues.