Creating The Canadian Fall Flag

How I created The Canadian Fall Flag. A number of people who have it hanging on their wall love it. It may be my most popular print series.

Walking through the park on a beautiful fall day, searching for locations for a couple’s photo shoot, I came across what would become The Canadian Fall Flag. Here’s the story.

Sunnidale Park was at one time the Barrie Country Club, which was purchased by the City of Barrie, and turned into beautiful parkland. There are playing fields, an arboretum, nature trails and a great off leash park for dogs. It’s a quiet gem in a city that is becoming more hustle and bustle every day.

A beautiful autumn day in 2016 at Sunnidale Park in Barrie, Ontario

While I was walking through the arboretum during this crisp afternoon, looking down at the leaves, happily snapping away at the ground cover for what I thought would be interesting abstract images, I came across the fallen leaves of a red maple… lots of them. I was attracted to the back sides of the leaves that were a light colour of pink, almost white.

Here are the raw ingredients of The Canadian Fall Flag.

That’s when it hit me. I had the makings of a Canadian flag made out of red maple leaves right under foot. I started assembling the main parts of the flag, the two side pieces with the red tops, and the central part of the flag showing the underside of the leaves. It’s interesting to see the variety of shapes and colours of the individual leaves, as each one is unique. I surrounded the “flag” with a variety of other leaves that were more yellow, brown and green, in order to create some contrast for the border.

I asked my Facebook friends which version they preferred. Almost 60% said B

For the central leaf I chose three versions, which had different colourings. There was one that was almost all red, one with a yellow tinge through parts of the leaf, and one with a lot of black. I took a number of different angles of each version, and some that were in the distance, in order to give me some options of presentation. I knew for sure, however, that I would have a straight on version that would be the main flag. In the back of my mind, while I was compiling the leaves, I was singing “Oh Canada” (I always have a song going through my head. It can be annoying at times, but I’m used to the constant soundtrack to my life). Maybe someone will convince me to bring the other versions out from the editing suite for a limited edition series.

Once the images were captured, I started editing them. I couldn’t decide which version was going to be the definitive one, so i put it out to my Facebook friends and followers. I asked them to choose their favourite. Overwhelmingly, they chose the one with the black fringe. It wasn’t even close. Armed with this knowledge, and some feedback from fellow photographers, I created “The Canadian Fall Flag”. I love how it symbolizes my favourite time of year. The piece is my tribute to Canada 150.

The photo alone is interesting in itself, but it really comes to life when it’s paired with a rustic barn board frame created by my friend, Keith Tribe, of RusticWorks. Who‘d have guessed that fallen leaves and weathered boards would make such a beautiful combination. Keith and I have been friends for quite a while. As we both have strong entrepreneurial leanings, we always thought we would do something together. Well, this was it. A match made in nature.

The Canadian Fall Flag, completed with a barn board frame. A match made in nature.

My first barn board framed print didn’t even make it to my first show. One of my friends snapped it up from the pictures that Keith and I had posted on Facebook.

The happy new owner of The Canadian Fall Flag with rustic frame. I love how it matches her decor.

Just yesterday, my mother showed me a picture of my Canadian Fall Flag that was on the central table during the memorial service of a veteran at the Sunnybrook Veterans Wing, who had passed away on his 100th birthday, on July First. Canada Day. It was an honour to see my photo there, and I was humbled that I could be part of such a beautiful memorial service. My Dad lived at Sunnybrook for the last year of his life. I know he would have been proud to see my work as part of this tribute.

Memorial Service for a Veteran at Sunnybrook Hospital’s Veteran’s Wing

I’m looking at creating more versions of The Canadian Fall Flag. In the barn board series, each one is unique, with it’s own personality. There may even be an ultra-sized, custom varnished, floating barn board frame version that, hopefully, will adorn a prominent position in some permanent collection.

Interested in your own copy of the Canadian Fall Flag? Get in touch to discuss the details.

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Ian_G_ McIntosh Photo Blog

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The chronicle of my journey into photography by Ian G McIntosh Photography, from the beginning of time (at least what I can remember).

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