Art collectors, gallery owners and photography lovers across the globe will now have the chance to view Squamish-based photographer Paul Bride's latest collection.
The Silvershotz International Journal of Contemporary Photography selected Bride's newly released "The Elements" collection for its Folios 2010 journal. Through a rigorous selection process, a panel of renowned photography experts reviewed thousands of applicants before selecting 35 photographers from 12 different countries.
"I was incredibly happy when I heard the news that my work would be featured in Folios 2010," said Bride. "Silvershotz is a very well-known photography journal read by art collectors, gallery owners and photography aficionados the world over. For my work to be exposed to that kind of international audience is a huge honour and an amazing opportunity."
Bride is one of five Canadian photographers chosen and his work is featured alongside photographers from the United States, Australia, Europe and Malaysia.
Pages of diverse, unique and stunning photos demonstrate different artistic techniques - Mark Kelly from Australia features a derelict shipyard, Nenad Saljic from Croatia features Matterhorn Peak, Christina Karagiannis from Greece takes photos of architecture on the island of Santorini and Gery Oth from Luxembourg takes photos of trees but moved the camera during the exposure to create a hazy effect.
Bride's "The Elements" is the product of two years spent roaming the globe - a retrospective of travel photography depicting the world's most hostile and powerful natural forces; water, fire, desert, and ice.
Capturing these elements photographically was an arduous process, and one that required patience, persistence, creativity and perfect timing.
Bride travelled to Teahupoo, Tahiti on a few hours notice to capture one of the heaviest waves on the planet and to Ilulissat, Greenland where he shot the largest icebergs in the Northern Hemisphere.
He survived the penetrating heat in Sossusvlei, Namibia, home to the largest sand dunes and oldest desert on record and visited Kilauea, Hawaii where the planet's most active volcano erupts.
Despite his dramatic and engaging collection, Bride said he was nervous about applying for such a prestigious magazine, not having had a lot of international exposure until now.
"I didn't think I had a shot but I wanted to apply anyways," he said. "I had seen the magazine and I really liked it. I thought, 'there's a lot of beautiful work in here and it's something that might expose me to a larger audience,' so I went for it."
Bride dreams of showing his collections in galleries worldwide and is hoping Folios 2010 will generate some offers.
"I've always had dreams of working in grand galleries," he said. "Right now I'm aiming small and just hoping to be invited to show in some of the larger cities - maybe in New York or Philadelphia - they both have very good art scenes and are considered international events even though they're just across the border.
"That would be a great place to start and then hopefully London and work from there."
Bride also plans to start work on another show in February, this time featuring the natural elements of storms across Canada and in the some of the southern states.
