Gordon Hiebert, ASA
-- juried photographer with Alberta Society of Artists based in Calgary
In my late 20's I came to a desperate place where I needed to express myself or else. I owned a camera, so I picked it up and began to experiment with images. I soon realized photography, for me, was a way I could pour out my thoughts and emotions. since I was a bit of a nerd and liked gadgets (still am) the attraction of using photographic equipment was hard to avoid. There being no art background in my family at all, mostly technical and farming, I began to study art books at the local library for an entire year. I included in my reading books on how inventors invent and how they use their imagination. I found I needed to be like an inventor, able to switch at will from everyday logical thinking into a different mode of thought altogether, which in my case was to begin to 'see' shapes and form, colors and nuances, relationships between light and objects in my environment. This was a new, totally intuitive, way of living, but eventually with practice I did thankfully gain that ability. It has served me well, for I can now switch from logical to intuitive mode at will, eg whenever I need to go out and capture scenics in a creative way.
Initially I earned money from side jobs to buy a robust RB67 film camera (120mm film) and a darkroom color enlarger. In order to print my own work using that enlarger I looked for and found a strange-looking drum-roller type print processor. I set up a darkroom and learned to make prints. I put all my studying of art to work by photographing the beautiful rivers and forests around Chilliwack, BC.
BUT it did not go completely well, I was evidently not adept at observing a scene properly, a problem every new camera user has. Every photograph I took was composed well enough, but looked dead and lifeless. Why? I was devasted. All that work and study for nothing, apparently. So, I was brought finally to the point of complete mental breakdown and tears. I looked around for answers, and found them in part in books by Andreas Feininger - famous Life photographer of the 40's. From him I learned that in addition to what I had legitimately learned about art and creative thinking, I had one more step to go. I needed to now 'see' as the camera sees. I learned that one must not consider at all what the human eye perceives, that is only a beginning clue. Rather, one must carefully think of what and how the camera sees. The camera has but one eye, perceives two-dimensionally and can record limited colors and levels of light. That revelation carried me far over the hurdle before me, I was then able to translate my emotions into the camera viewpoint, and was able to take steps to make up for the shortcomings. Before I long my images had gained life, were more dynamic. After that I was exhibiting in local art galleries and shows, and was selling well.
A different way of describing the overall experience is that my work was now 'saying' something, it contained a real message to the heart because I had learned the language.
By that time our family had to move to Alberta. I packed away my gear, thinking it was all over. After all, what could the flat non-mountainous prairies possibly offer in terms of light and composition? And at first I was right, The Alberta prairie landscape was nothing like BC at all! I had nothing of the environment I grew up with. No compact countryside where you can move from riverside to mountain top in a few miles. No parks and ponds and leafy trees of all kinds around every corner.
Or so I thought. One summer afternoon, bewildered by the new life, I placed myself on an high outcropping looking over a vast golden wheatfield on a sunny day, I was soaking it all in, the incredible wide expanse of sky along a vast array of barley and wheat fields poised so magnificently before me. But something occurred to me right then. It came to me 'What if I could adopt a wide panorama style of photography?'. This was the 'aha' moment. As I considered this in the next weeks, I came to believe that in order to fulfill this vision I needed to learn how to capture landscapes all over again in a different way, using new techniques. I became excited and got ready to work hard.
But as if this was not enough, there was further revelation. One day, kneeling by a wooden corral fence somewhere near Hixley with my view camera, trying to photograph an old abandoned barn through the rails, I began somehow to experience in my deepest being the actual pounding and sounds of cattle hooves digging into in the ground as they moved and jostled in the corral. An astounding moment I will never ever forget! It was real. At that very moment an utterly convincing and vivid sense of the history of this place came over me, From then on, all those deserted corrals, all the crumbling old houses of former prairie life became a complete reality to me. Armed with that, I began to wander about as much as I could, capturing sky and homestead, spirit and life, I began, finally, to truly see Alberta.
My first successful panorama:
While we were home one evening a long threatening line of dark gray storm cells formed across the western horizon. I took my thoughts about how to make panoramas, and my trusty old camera and tripod, and marched up a great hill to get the panoramic view. I did not know then that I was a potential target for lightning. Roiling black clouds churned overhead, a great line of storm cells before me from left to right. With rain pelting down and deep thunder shaking the rocks, I took my first panorama, a series of five 30-second timed images from left to right. It was on film, and so a week alter I printed them, placing the five images side by side. Behold, there it was! That life-changing experience of raw nature laid upon the table before me in clear print form. I mounted them side by side ina float mount frame with glass, and brought that out for display. Once the print was seen publicly, local landowners, including our MLA, purchased this print. It was popular the public too.
"Approaching Storm"
That initial success began a new career of wandering about, capturing all the panoramic aspects of the prairies, that is, all of the prints that you see in my catalog today. Since that year, 1996, I have worked hard to capture the disappearing charm of our old buildings and forgotten farms, rusting farm implements, and hard-won fertile fields of grain. Our wild ever-changing weather and everything else that makes up the prairie experience is my subject.. Farmers and truckers and outdoor works all recognize my scenes, for they have all seen these amazing things for years.
That was just with film. Eventually technology moved on, and I was faced with yet another challenge. Challenges never end! With a growing lack of chemical supplies, I needed to switch to digital cameras and digital printing. It was back to schooling myself from scratch. But I had learned how to learn. I took the leap of faith, spending thousands on new equipment. I started all over. New mediums, new methods, a new kind of camera that was not view camera. By the time 2014 came around I was finally up and running, fully functional again, and have not stopped since that time.
Most of the catalog of images I have are from around my home turf here in Central Alberta, Of course I have some from BC too, for it is natural to visit my former home and family there. I have found some great subjects for panoramas in both places. For BC green and blue prevails instead of our gold and cyan. I am a fan of either.
Currently I am slowing down, getting older. But I do photograph the landscape, I do participate in exhibits and events throughout Central Alberta. I post them on my home page, also in the Events on Facebook. What I really just want is to relay my uplifting experiences to you who love the landscape. When I look up into the heavens I see God at work, I see his hand in motion, a hand that never stops creating and displaying his power. I place these experiences and other thoughts into print so that you are able to share with me the things that amaze me about life and our surroundings.
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