About
Ottawa River. Copyright © Andrew Ross.
H ave
you ever wondered where a river could take
you? I sat on the banks of the Ottawa River
several years ago and wondered just that.
I made a decision that day which changed
my life and opened my eyes to a whole new
world, a world I have learned to see through
the viewfinder of a camera.
I
was working weekends guiding white-water
rafting trips on the Ottawa when I decided
to quit my job in a synthetic rubber factory
in Sarnia's Chemical Valley. Three
generations of my family had worked in The
Valley, but it was time for me to go.
I left the good paying, but mentally stagnating,
job and went to Ottawa to study print journalism.
It was at Algonquin College that I developed
my love for photography. After graduating
with honours I completed an internship and
freelanced as a photojournalist with the
Canadian Press, where I covered politics
on Parliament Hill. During this time my
images were published in major daily newspapers
like the Globe & Mail and the
Toronto Star. After a few years in
Ottawa my wanderlust got the best of me
and I decided to use my skills as a river
guide and kayaker to travel and work in
Mexico and South Africa. When I wasn't working
on rivers I was out taking photographs.
It
was the rafting business that took me to
those countries, but once I was there the
doors of opportunity swung wide open. In Mexico I spent two months volunteering with a group
of Mayan writers and photographers in Chiapas.
I taught them desktop publishing skills
and collaborated with them on their first fotonovela (photo-comic book). In
South Africa I was welcomed into the tribal
community where I lived for five months,
and I experienced the true meaning of the
Zulu word Ubuntu, which means "largeness
of spirit". Traveling the world and
working as a rafting guide was a wonderful
experience, but after several years and
more than a thousand river trips I decided
to settle in Toronto and pursue my passion
for photography on a full-time basis.
That's me whale watching in Tofino, British Columbia.
Like
many photographers, I started as a generalist
and shot many different types of subject matter while searching for my niche. However, my life eventually
came full circle when I re-discovered one
of my interests from high-school: architecture.
As a high-school student I excelled in drafting,
design and the arts, and often thought about
studying architecture in universtity. That
wasn't in the cards for me, but architecture and interior design
has now become the focus of my photography
career and I take great joy in exploring
the proportions and perspectives of the
built environment. My goal as a photographer is always to find the image that
best captures the architect's or designer's
original vision.
Changing careers hasn't always been easy,
but it is a decision I have never regretted.
When
I was working in the suffocating heat and
stench of the rubber factory I never imagined
that I would one day teach computer skills
to Mayan Indians or listen to wondrous African
drums and voices in a tribal church in Zulu
Land. I also never imagined that I would
build a career as an architectural photographer
in Toronto, but I put my faith in the river,
I learned to trust in the flow and it has carried me
toward my dreams.
Andrew
Ross
“I would love to live
Like a river flows
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding.”
~ Irish poet John O'Donohue