Doug van Hemessen (dvh), photographic artist, grew up in Toronto and London, Canada. He bought his first camera at sixteen and has followed the photographic path, with some detours, since then.

Doug graduated from the H.B. Beal Special Arts program ("Bealart") in London with a major in photography in 1981. He spent some years working as a studio assistant and custom black and white printer in Toronto. He temporarily departed the photography scene and completed Geography studies at Trent University in 1990. He has worked with a variety of conservation programs and groups over the past twenty years.

Doug's photographs have appeared in numerous publications. He currently lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Why Do I Photograph?

I am compelled to create and am visually oriented. Photography is simply my chosen medium. My aesthetic constitution is a careful sense of composition using space, form, colour, and pattern. The content is informed by a deep curiosity about, and formal training in, geography - the essence of which is place and arrangement - and by my personal sense of place in the landscapes I find myself. A strong attraction to the natural world is another influence. A sense of subtle irony is also a common ingredient. The work is further shaped by my exploration of photography as a "way of seeing" and its nature and role in the scope of fine art.

"Doug van Hemessen is an artist-at-large of the 'subtle yet profound'. He has an uncanny ability to breath interest into the mundane, and to reveal underlying ironies in our lives. His work is positive and playful, soft but bold, and curiously reverential. It builds layers of meaning that draw the viewer in - to their own reflections and revelations. " - Brad Peterson