Snapshot of Gerry,

Gerald Richard Gooderham was born in 1953 in North Bay, Ontario but lived in Oakville for most of his younger life. It would be twenty years before he came back to his northern roots and made Temagami his permanent home. This became a main focus of his work.

It was actually his grandfather, Gordon Stewart Gooderham, who was the first of the family to come to Lake Temagami in 1901.  In 1926 he started a tourist fishing camp, Camp Chimo, on island 665.  It was during these summers spent working as a lad that drew him back permanently years later.

Gerry became interested in photography in grade school, starting with a Kodak brownie and experimenting with developing some of his own photos.  He took a rather long break through high school but after leaving Sheridan College (General Arts) Gerry bought a 35 mm camera and traveled extensively in Europe, the Mediterranean and parts of Africa. For over a year he adventured and explored, re-igniting his passion for the art of pictures.  Ironically, and extremely unfortunately that is also where both film and camera disappeared. However, the spark for photography had been re-kindled. It was on returning from Greece when he decided to leave Oakville once and for all.  He moved north to Temagami and began to make his way in the construction business.

      It wasn’t until 2000 that photography became a serious part of his life. Gerry started with several courses at Canadore College. After a few years he gained a better understanding of the digital process and digital cameras. Film was still important in his life and so remained loyal to the darkroom for two more years. Gerry’s education is ongoing and he continues to participate in courses and workshops.

This long journey with the camera has given him an extensive working knowledge of photography with both digital (Canon a50, Nikon 4500, d70, d100, d300) and film cameras (Konica, Nikon f-80, Nikon f-100). Gerry has a great deal of training in both the chemical darkroom and digital darkroom (Photoshop 6 to CS3 and Lightroom 2).

Most of his work is done in a small home studio.  His most recent focus has been on portraits by request, custom assignments, commissioned work and several local projects. Currently, he is working with the Community Foundation of Temagami creating a community portfolio of the town’s elders.

The northern landscape and the people who inhabit it hold a richness of sprit and air of endless possibilities. This is what captivated Gerry as a young boy and what has held him here to stay. His passion for this art can be explained no better than in his own words; “To find a unique and beautiful wilderness shot is thrilling but to capture it in the eyes of someone who lives here, that is completion. Look closer, move in, refocus, the possibilities are unlimited.”

Sincerely,

Krista L. Gooderham