ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Where: Vancouver Island, Canada
When: Summer 2017

Context: I was quietly walking in a park and came across this beautiful hedge while I was sitting on a bench. The delicate details of the leaves struck me as being exceptionally interesting.

Medium: Large format 4x5 black and white film, Ilford Deta 100

AUTHOR
As one of Canada's very few large format photographers, Kevin J Mellis started creating photographs as an art form after graduating from the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts in March 2012. He initially learned photography using a digital camera and then transitioned to an analogue process in the latter part of 2012. He now exclusively uses a large format view camera to create all of his work. His motivation for this shift stems directly from a profound need to connect more deeply to both his artistic process and to his subjects. His artistic intention is to create images that evoke a deep sense of emotionality, timeless sensibility and also to open up an important dialogue about the fragility of life. His work is heavily influenced by his concurrent profession as a Medical Social Worker in the largest trauma centre in Southern Alberta. He works directly with individuals and their families who often find themselves in utter crisis stemming from unexpected illnesses and physical traumas: car accidents, shootings, and stabbings for instance. Sadly, such incidences often lead to life-altering severe injuries and even death. He has been a witness to thousands of deaths since 2007 when he first joined the trauma team. He also draws considerable artistic influence from great master photographers, such as Sally Mann, Andrea Modica, Alec Soth and Sebastião Salgado. As a visual artist, he seeks to create images that engage the viewer and to offer them time and space for reflection, contemplation, and solitude.

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