By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

A Kindersley man’s long-time passion for photography inspired him to be one of the individuals who started the Kindersley Photographer’s Gallery Facebook page. Twelve years ago, Doug Elmhurst from Kindersley started the ‘Gallery’ along with former Kindersley resident Laura Wyman. Since then, the page has grown to include 584 members.

“It’s a selective group of people interested in photography and people who lived in Kindersley at one time. Some of the photos go back to 2013,” Doug explained. Doug is involved in the administration of the page.

Doug’s love of photography began when he took a photography class in high school and has been expanding ever since. “I always wanted to be an artist, but I’m not that good, but I am OK at taking a photo,” Doug said.

Having travelled extensively throughout the years, going to such places as Hong Kong, India, China, England, France and more. “The times I enjoyed most taking photos was when I was sailing down the Nile,” he said. Doug has taken most of his travelling photos with his small Canon SX. However, he recently acquired another new camera. Nevertheless, he has come to realize there’s much more involved in taking a great photo than having an expensive camera.

“You have to be at the right place at the right time,” Doug said. He recalled admiring a photo an elderly friend had taken. When he asked what camera she used to take the photo, she told him she had used a disposable camera. “I learned it’s not so much about having an expensive camera; it’s whatever your eyes see,” he said. “Another friend told me to think like a child when taking a photo. Don’t always stand; get on your knees. There’s been a few people who have inspired me.”

Doug also has photos on the weather network. “I have lots of photos on there. I have 284 pages of pictures there. Most viewing I get are photos of flowers. I get up to 60,000 views,” Doug said. “I did a photoshoot on the town dam, and in one day, I had over 3,000 views. It’s all about Kindersley and the beauty that we have here. There’s lots of beauty in Saskatchewan.”

One of his best photo experiences took place at an old ghost town north of Harris, Sask. “I see everything artistically. I just want to share what I see and the beauty this area has,” he said. “From the stone wall to the Great Sandhills, there’s lots of good material.”

Doug enjoys spending time at the walking trail in Kindersley. “I’m out at the walking trail in the winter, summer, fall and spring, even during hail storms. I’ve got thousands of pictures from morning photos to late in the evening,” he said.

Although he doesn’t consider himself a storm chaser, he did find himself stuck in a storm last week. “We came to D’arcy, and there’s always a storm front that goes through there, and I got some good photos of the storm front coming in,” he said. “I’m just a radical photographer. That’s what I call myself.”