Berries, Branches: Calgary, AB

I made this photo on a cold, overcast late fall day, on the type of day that makes it seem as though the winter will stay forever.  Even the city's busy roads seemed muted and detached, the usual roar of cars blending to a steady hum in the pale white sky.

This bush grows between an asphalt path and a giant parking lot.  There was something deliciously rebellious about its faded red berries.  They added tiny sparks of surreal energy to the surrounding grey and white, flying in the face of boredom and mediocrity with bright colours and an unmanageable lack of structure.

I photographed the bush with a wide lens from below, sharply overexposing the white sky and encouraging its chaos.  I love this photograph – it reminds me that creativity and energy can be hidden anywhere, and that my job is to amplify it, to frame and interpret it, but never to capture it.

Berries, Branches: Calgary, AB, 2006