John Giles

As a child in the 1970s, John Giles purchased his own Kodak Ektralite camera with a built-in flash at a yard sale because he was tired of being told he couldn’t use the family pocket instamatic as the flash cubes were too expensive. At that moment, a lifetime love for photography was born. Within a year, he was learning to use his parents’ Pentax SLR and became member of his elementary school’s photography club where he learned the ins-and-outs of the darkroom. His photography hobby was soon forced onto the back burner however, as the time demands and financial responsibilities of adulthood approached.

Early in the 21st century, he contracted a debilitating chronic illness which prevented him from working any longer. He also discovered a further complication of the illness had caused chemical sensitivities which prevented him from returning to his beloved hobby in spite of having time for it for the first time in his adult life.

Fortunately, the dawn of the digital camera age was at hand. In 2004, a dream was finally realized: he purchased an entry-level digital SLR camera and an inexpensive zoom lens, and began capturing images of the world around him once again.

Since then, he’s cycled the shutter over 40,000 times and accumulated a library of tens of thousands of photos of just about anything you can capture on film or digital sensor. He’s always up for experimenting with new subjects and techniques, but his preferred subjects have been birds and animals both wild and domestic, flowers and other flora, and insects.

As a child, John spent many a summer visiting relatives who lived in and around Prince Edward County. When his health issues demanded a move away from cities and suburban areas, the County was a natural choice. In 2005 he escaped the smog and pollution of the endlessly expanding Durham Region, and took up full-time residence on the outskirts of Picton. Since then, he’s enjoyed getting out onto the back roads of the area in all seasons and capturing images of the local wildlife and scenery.

In the second half of 2008, a move to the hamlet of Milford further fueled his interest, thanks to the beautiful surroundings and numerous subjects available, virtually on his doorstep. Most recently, he has found the world of macro photography of insects and plants both fascinating and challenging.

John and his wife Ril, home school their two children in Milford. With his wife by his side as a photographer’s assistant, he is actively shooting again and is delighted to be able to show some of his work at the Animal Art show.