James Wilson

James Wilson has been making photographs for more than 30 years. He began with two years of study at the New York Institute of Photography. Later, he worked part time at his father's photography studio in Saint John, taking workshops with artists such as Cole Weston, Lucien Clerque, George Tice and John Paul Caponigro. James now works from his heritage home and studio located on the Kennebecasis River in rural Hampton, New Brunswick.

Renown for his panoramic landscapes, Jamie uses large format cameras to capture fine detail. He also uses infrared photography when he wants a more surreal or impressionistic look to his art.

Jamie says, "For my landscapes, I use a special large format panoramic camera which allows me to make large detailed prints. I am always looking at the lay of the land and when I see a good composition, I return when the lighting is right to make that image. I sometimes have to do this many times to get it the way I want, but the results are worth it, as are the efforts we must all make to preserve this precious landscape of ours."

"My work as a fine art photographer often takes to the other ends of the world. Once while working in the tropical rainforests on a project, I had the good luck to be visited by a family of Orangutans in Borneo. I stood still and shoot two rolls of film as four large long orange-haired beauties climbed down out of the trees and walked right by me. It was a real thrill!"

"Another time in the jungles of Costa Rica, I was alone on a trail just easing along with camera and tripod and suddenly a large 3-pound seedpod was hurled at me from above. Another followed. And another. I looked up and it was a large male white-faced monkey throwing one pod after another and making a huge fuss. These monkeys are very territorial and this one thought I was just another male monkey coming to take his lady friends away."

"Sometimes I really don't have to go very far to make good photographs. It's nice when it happens right in my own backyard. One image I made close to my house is a personal favorite and it happened on a day when it snowed for the first time that year. It's called Blackberry Canes - First Snow. It was purchased by the actor, William Hurt, when he was making a movie in Saint John and was a large print 60 inches long. He hung in his New York home and wrote me a kind note saying how much he loves the tranquility of this piece."

Below is Blackberry Canes - First Snow owned by William Hurt.

Come out and visit Jamie's special natural light studio built onto his heritage Loyalist home on the shores of the Hampton Marsh. This studio is designed like those used in the 19th century by artists and early photographers using the beauty of natural window light. Jamie's studio has a cathedral ceiling, and a 15-foot north light window. Long ago he fell in love with the special quality of north window light and had to have this feature in his place of work.

Selected Collections

Public

• Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography,Ottawa
• Canadian Embassy, Tehran, Iran
• Canadian Embassy, Algiers
• Canadian Embassy, Netherlands
• Canadian Consul General in New York City, USA
• Beaverbrook Art Gallery
• New Brunswick Art Bank
• New Brunswick Museum
• City of Saint John, NB
• Saint John Public Library

Private

• William Hurt (the actor) owns First Snow blackberry canes first snow
• The Royal Bank
• Grant Thornton
• Aliant Inc.
• Irving Oil Limited
• JD Irving Ltd.
• Rogers Cablevision Limited
• Moosehead Breweries
• Kodak Canada
• Xwave Inc.

Framed Limited Edition prints are available from

Wilson Studio, 358 Norton Shore Rd., Hampton, NB
Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John, NBG
Gallery 78, Fredericton, NB

Studio Tour Location

358 Norton Shore Road
Hampton, NB

Contact Info

PO Box 1348
Hampton, NB E5N 8H3
506-832-7019
studio@jameswilson.ca
www.jameswilson.ca