Mike Gilbertson

My Photography

I've been involved with photography for more than 50 years. I used a camera for class projects in high school, shooting 35 mm film and slides, and even dabbling with Super 8 film. After university I had a couple of short stints as a reporter/photographer for weekly newspapers back when they were still a thing. This was in the before times when film was the only option. So I learned to develop film and print black and white photos in the darkroom.

I was a late adopter of digital photography. But I eventually gave in and acquired a modern mirrorless digital camera. For the gear curious, I went with the Fujifilm XT-5 body and prime lenses because it still gives me the comfort of that analogue look and feel.

I still enjoy black and white, but shoot in colour when it works. I've been experimenting with a number of techniques/styles, including intentional camera movement, long exposure, high-contrast, low-key, and modern pictorialism. And while digital images are with us to stay, I'm old-school enough to believe a photograph is not truly complete until it is printed. I prefer to do my own printing and recently upgraded to a Canon Pro 1100 printer.

My photography falls broadly into two genres: landscape and portrait photography. My landscape work focuses on local Island scenes, with an emphasis on the North Shore, particularly the area in and around PEI National Park. While my recent portrait work often features dogs as subjects, I do photograph people. I shoot both classical and environmental portraiture.

My Story

Originally from Nova Scotia, I've lived in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and Manitoba, and now make my home in Prince Edward Island. My wife and I live in an old farmhouse with our two dogs.

I'm retired after more than 40 years of work as a civil servant at the municipal, regional, provincial, federal, and national level. My work mostly centred on environmental management and parks. Among other jobs, I worked as a National Park Warden for Parks Canada, as a Program Coordinator for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, and as Director of Parks for Manitoba Conservation. Somewhat unexpectedly, my last gig before retirement was working as an Animal Protection Officer with the PEI Humane Society for seven years.

My formal education includes a bachelor's degree from the University of New Brunswick and a master's degree from Dalhousie University.