The Dance of the Waves: Photographs from Georgian Bay

Ruth Mittelholtz

October 2005

The moving water is a canvas on which light paints in colours of emerald, sapphire, and deepest ultramarine. In this series of close-range photographs of Georgian Bay at Indian Head Cove in Bruce Peninsula National Park, I set out to record the fleeting compositions created by the dance of the waves and the flash of the sunlight. Using a digital camera, a computer graphics program to give nature a nudge, and pigment-based inks, I have produced a series of giclée prints to try to reveal some of the infinite number of ephemeral colour and shape configurations that unfold from moment to moment.

I am fascinated by water, and have used it as subject material for some time in drawing and photo-based works. Water has strong symbolic and metaphoric meanings but in this portfolio of wave photographs I am interested primarily in taking a close look at the appearance of moving water, specifically that of Georgian Bay, so notably transparent and intense in its colours.

I was first prompted to take photographs of the surface of Georgian Bay when I found myself entranced by the hypnotic swirl and sway of the waves along the rocky coast. I tried to catch with my camera the movement of the waves and their beauty and power. When I viewed my images, I discovered compositions that were too fleeting to observe readily in the waves themselves, and I began to search for likely locations of these transitory designs of nature. Indian Head Cove with its cliffs, submerged rocks, ledges, and great depth, all within a very small area, proved to be the most productive for images, and it also happens to be one of the most beautiful spots in the Bruce Peninsula.

Ruth Mittelholtz will be at the Gallery to respond to visitors on October 15 and November 5 between 1:00 and 4:00 pm.