Can passion be lost? A friend recently expressed his belief that he had lost his passion for photography. During an email conversation with members of a photo group I belong to, he shared his newfound interest in learning about artificial intelligence.
This conversation prompted me to reflect on my first blog article of 2026, where I discussed how my priorities had shifted. In that article, I mentioned that I hadn’t taken many photographs in the Kelowna area over the past couple of years. Instead, I had started photographing seasonal subjects. My favourite subjects include the yellow balsamroot flowers that blanket the Okanagan Valley in the spring, vintage trucks, rustic barns that look especially beautiful covered in snow, and, of course, the vibrant fall colors. When I’m home in Kelowna, these are my favourite subjects to photograph. I don’t photograph much else when I’m here. However, when we travel to Vancouver Island, other nearby less-traveled locations, or abroad, my camera is always busy.
So, if I haven’t lost the passion for photography, and my camera isn’t really that busy, what am I doing?
The short answer to that question is, I’m working with my images, and there are thousands of them. Since getting into digital photography, I’ve built up a substantial collection of images. They are fairly well organized, so for the most part, what I’m looking for is easy to find. The same can’t be said for images I made with film cameras.
I loved black and white film photography. I bought bulk 35 mm film, loaded my own film cassettes, and developed my images in my makeshift darkroom. What fun! All of my black and white negatives were properly organized in sleeves accompanied by matching contact sheets.
Regrettably, my colour film negatives, prints, and slides didn’t benefit from those organizational procedures. I didn’t develop the colour film myself; instead, I took it to photography outlets like London Drugs in Kelowna for processing and printing. I received the slides in small boxes and the prints and negatives in envelopes. Today, the prints and their negatives remain in their original state and are stored in large plastic tubs in our basement. Most of my colour slides have been digitized and added to my digital catalog. The remaining colour prints will need to be sorted by date, culled, and categorized. This will take time, but once done, I’ll explore the possibilities for displaying some of them.
So yes, I still love photography. I’ll continue to dedicate my creative energies to making and developing photographic images.
Most of the images I’ve included here showcase my passion for winter photography. I’m particularly drawn to the captivating effect of old vehicles and buildings blanketed in snow. The image of the old wagon axle was made over 50 years ago. Here, at my uncle’s ranch in the Quesnel, B.C. area, the field surrounding the axle was blanketed in white daisies.
Notably, the two rodeo images were also captured over 50 years ago. Back then, I had the privilege of finding myself outside the fence of the Calgary Stampede’s main event corral. However, today, security would be highly unlikely to allow a non-accredited photographer like me to be in such a restricted area.
