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Gordon Ross Photography

24 Nov 2023
Church, Mandalay, Burma Diptych

Dangerous Jobs

Changing the lights on a cross in Mandalay, Burma.  I took this picture while leading a tour years ago in Burma. When I look at this image, I wonder what conversations brought them to do this risky job.  What would lead these 2 to risk their lives to change the lights on a cross high above the ground, on an old structure, without safety gear, in bare feet? Was it the priest that asked them to do it? Was it a […]

03 Dec 2021

Portrait Genres For All

Portraiture has been one of my principal genres at my home base on Vancouver Island. It’s also one of my principal genres abroad. Portraiture is a dynamic interplay between the photographer and the subject. I love it because I get to meet and get to know so many amazing people. I feel blessed with all who have entrusted with me this deeply personal task. What kind of portraits do I shoot? My portraits fit into the categories of traditional/formal, environmental, […]

20 Sep 2021

Wildlife

I have taken photographs since I was a boy and I have explored a number of photographic subjects along the way. Wildlife photography is a genre that stayed with me and matured with me as I grew older. To see a wild creature fully inhabit its wild space with its raw natural energy is powerful and captivating. To capture it photographically is my icing on the cake. From Antarctica to the Serengeti, our planet has an amazing variety of landscapes […]

28 Mar 2021

World Portrait Photography

World Portrait Photography A portrait should convey some important aspect(s) about a person that leaves you with the feeling that you know something about the individual beyond the image. I’ve had the great fortune to travel widely and photograph thousands of people. It’s so fulfilling to quickly engage someone, get them to relax, to connect with them and then to capture that moment. One of my recipes for a successful portrait is to make eye contact with my subjects right […]

08 Mar 2021

Burning Man

Burning Man 2011 It was my first Burn and as such, I was affectionately known as a Virgin Burner. I had heard about this festival for years and was always curious. Simply put, it transcended everything that I had imagined it would be. This festival is the poster-child of the Counter Culture Revolution. On the Black Rock Desert, commonly referred to as The Playa, the world’s largest participatory festival unfolds with a density of over 50,000 Burners. It is intense. […]

08 Mar 2021
Blue Ice-1

Antarctica

Antarctica Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest, windiest continent we’ve got. And it’s beautiful. Of all the wild places I’ve explored, Antarctica is right up at the top of the list. There’s something about the rarefied air and the clear light that is spectacular bordering on surreal. Surrounded by the Southern Ocean it is our fifth largest continent, nearly twice the size of Australia and 98 % of it is covered by ice. Due to the weight of that enormous […]

22 Sep 2019
Antarctica -67

Leopard Seal, Antarctica

Leopard Seal, Master of the Southern Ocean Here’s a short video of a Leopard Seal that I filmed several years ago. These seals are number 2 in the top predator rank; their only natural predator in the Southern Ocean is the much larger Orca.  They are “true seals” and do not have external ears. Instead, they have an opening on the side of their head that connects to the ear canal. Their muscular bodies, massive head and jaws make them […]

12 Sep 2019
Portrait, Tibetan Bon LamaGeshe YongDong

Geshe YongDong, Portrait of a Tibetan Lama

Portrait of a Tibetan Lama, Geshe YongDong Geshe YongDong is the spiritual director and main teacher of Sherab Chamma Ling, a Tibetan Bon Buddhist Centre located in the Comox Valley. I took this portrait for CV Collective magazine.  There are 5 lineages in Tibetan Buddhism, Bon being one of them. Bon is the oldest of all the spiritual traditions in Tibet; Bon, a shamanic spiritual tradition, was the main spiritual tradition of Tibet before the arrival of Indian Buddhism in Tibet. […]

03 Jul 2013
Gelada Baboon

Gelada Baboon in Audubon Magazine

Gelada Baboon, northern Ethiopia This shot of a gelada baboon was published in Audubon Magazine as part of a story on the geladas’ vocalizations and its resemblance to human speech. Years ago while I was guiding in northern Ethiopia, I had the chance to go into the Simien Mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands. Also known as the Roof of Africa, per sq. km. it’s the highest chunk of land on the continent. I took this shot at about 3000 meters […]

30 Apr 2013
Mali Recyclers Market

Sweating at a forge, Bamako, Mali

As if being close to the equator isn’t warm enough, this guy works at a forge all day. The beads of sweat tell the story. Mali’s average life-expectancy is 53; poverty mercilessly grinds people down. The Recycler’s Market is on the outskirts of Bamako, the capital of Mali. Here, metal waste is recycled into useful products from car parts to cooking utensils. It’s amazing what resourceful people can do with so little. And it’s also amazing just how hard they […]

16 Apr 2013
Sri Lanka

An Engagement Photo, Sri Lanka

Portrait at the Botanical Gardens in Kandy As I wandered through the green expanse of Kandy’s Botanical Garden, I came across this lovely couple out for a shoot with their hired Sri Lankan wedding photographer. I asked if I could take their picture. They obliged and everyone, including their photographer, seemed happy with the request; their photographer took a picture of me taking a picture of them. My guess is that I am now in their wedding album. The observer […]

09 Aug 2009
Yoga-on-the-Beach-11

Yoga at Long Beach

I took this shot at Long Beach in Canada’s premier west coast park, Pacific Rim National Park. As you can see from the beach, you can walk for miles. You can also do handstands. I love this shot for its balance, if you’ll pardon the pun. And she held the handstand for quite some time.