Guy Ridgway

My Story

I was 11 when our family acquired a Bell & Howell Super 8 camera, likely 12 by the time I started making movies with three of my neighbourhood friends. These were full-scale adventures for us. We would plan scenes, locales, and props (often involving fake blood for our epics). The results were all very campy, cliche, and perfect. Head shots were filmed from below looking up at a distraught face to add drama. Chris's dad would drive us from our Agincourt street to the Greenwood Conservation Area to catch an early Sunday morning fog to film a war story. That too brief a time pushed me towards SLR photography and the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SPII. I spent part of my teen years capturing images in and around Toronto using that cherished instrument. Film and prints were developed in the basement darkroom built by my father.

Through subsequent years of distracting pursuits (physics and engineering at University of Toronto and working at General Electric, Peterborough) I developed a bad case of photography hiatus. It went down most of my left side and kept me up nights scratching constantly. That itch didn't wane appreciably until I purchased a Canon 20D in late 2004. I know, that's 31 years since the Unionville image (People).

Marrying in 1991 meant spending my life with a artist and thereby developing a particular way of looking at the world. It's all about composition, design basics, and light. I am inspired by a compelling photographic image, the one that simply can't be ignored.

Born in Scarborough, Toronto, in 1956, I've been a resident of Peterborough, Ontario, since 1980, where I get to enjoy the art of living with my wonderfully talented wife, Caroline. Caroline's work can be found here.

I’ve been a member of the Peterborough Photographic Society since February, 2017 (The Viewfinder, February 2018, Featured Photographer)