Low Down Articles
Artist Profiles - Mike Beedell
Article 1 of 73
From the book Artists of the Gatineau Hill by Catherine Joyce. This article first appeared in the "Artist Profiles" column in the November 30, 2005 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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The Fantastic Journey
To discover what we are meant to become is often to remember what absorbed us most in childhood. Many of us forget, going on to do whatever life offers. Not so Mike Beedell. As a young boy in school Mike would drift off in daydreams of incredible voyages, travelling in his mind to the farthest reaches of the earth. By his 20s these dreams would become reality.
Mike's evolution embodies a Canadian ideal. Growing up by the Ottawa River in Rothwell Heights, he was given tremendous freedom to roam, to find his place in the natural landscape. He spent hours fishing for eel and carp, watching birds migrate, or tracking the slow progress of a garter snake swallowing a leopard frog. He hiked and skied in the Gatineau Hills where his dad was a ski patroller at Vorlage. By the age of 19, from his roots as a camper at On Da-Da Waks and counsellor at Camp Y, he became a wilderness guide with Blackfeather and Trailhead.
In 1978, leading a group from the headwaters of the Coppermine River 300 km to the Arctic Ocean, Mike bought a camera to document the experience. Twenty-one days later he returned, overwhelmed by the vibrancy of the life he had witnessed: golden eagles high on their nests, falcons soaring, thousands of caribou swimming past his canoe on a pristine lake. He had always been a keen observer; now the camera became an extension of his visual pursuits.
Still a student, Mike mounted an exhibit of his photos at Ottawa U, where a director from Parks Canada viewed them. Within days Mike was offered a contract to photograph northern national parks. Soon his work was featured in National Geographic, Geo Germany, Equinox, Audubon and Canadian Geographic. Over the years he would go on to develop his own company, "O Canada! Expeditions", leading small groups on wilderness journeys with his partner, Bonnie Kulmer.
For over 30 years Mike has travelled the globe, documenting unique lands, remote peoples and wildlife. The first of his books, Magnetic North, a Canadian bestseller, came out in 1983, celebrating his passion for the Arctic. With an innate humility and seasoned skills, he learned to read body language of bears and wolves, snowy owls and eagles, to capture intimate and serene images of their lives. There have been some close calls with large predators but he undertands the limits of safety and accepts the risks.
"So many of us look but do not see. It is very challenging in the modern world to live in the moment and to glean joy from simple pleasures. A deep spiritual connection to nature allows me to travel the path of rewarding inner journeys. I am compelled to create imagery of my experiences and treasured landscapes. It is a privilege for me to move slowly and thoughtfully across rugged ground, drink from a gurgling spring and paddle through swift river currents. I love to create a sense of place with my imagery - the colours, textures, the mesmerizing play of light on water - I am forever searching for the poetry of light in the landscape.
"I am also a preserver of what I value most. A powerful photograph has the ability to heighten people's perceptions and concerns. It can be a great tool to inspire people to take control of their destiny, to help others and to save endangered parts of this planet for generations to come."