Artist's Bio

Ann Lanceley was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and spent her early years in Shilo, Manitoba. She attended high school in Brandon, and after "seven years of wandering" she returned to Brandon to raise her own family. She is, in her words, "a prairie person".

"My favourite wanders are the places where earth meets water, and where water captures the light of the sky. Along the river's edge, through paths of grasses and river rock, on the beach in a sudden rain or when the ice breaks up in the spring. Rock and water, cloud and sky.

"Because I was trained first as a photojournalist, I prefer to find my subject and capture the images without the benefit of filters and flash. I like to work with available light and on the prairies, there is plenty. I carry my camera all too casually with one or another lens attached. I don't want too much weight to enjoy my rambles. Occasionally the right light will appear. For me the whole art of photography is capturing the right light for the film I happen to have in the camera. Because I'm lazy, I rarely focus on early morning shots. Other photographers say it's a great time but somehow I linger too long to take advantage. I prefer following storm clouds and chasing rainbows. I also like to work with dark, overcast snowy days. One particular time that I work hard to attend is the break-up of the ice at Pelican Lake. I am trying to record that particular phenomenon, when the seasons change in front of our eyes. In the spring ot 2000 the breakup roared for hours, with the ice crashing and shattering on the rocks and grinding the beach into sand. At other times the ice slowly disappears into the calm."

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