PHOTO ATTIC

  The profiles of my rather limited social media presence usually state: “Regular dad, a passionate amateur with lifelong weakness for photography / videography / filmmaking / video editing / color grading.” While that is usually enough, I feel this website warrants stepping out of my comfort zone to share a bit more.

  Those who know me understand that I value privacy and shy away from public life. I prefer quiet corners over loud rooms and small talk. Solitude in the middle of a forest with my camera is where I feel most comfortable and at peace — second only to being with my family, of course (wink wink, my crew).

  My name is Daniel Dvorsky. I grew up near the High Tatras mountains in what was then Czecho-Slovakia and immigrated to Canada in 1999. I now call North Vancouver my home.

  As far as I remember my dad and most of my uncles had cameras and documented our family life on a regular basis.  I admired their toys, massive flash power supplies in leather cases slung over their shoulders. In my early teenage years my dad bought me my first camera, just a tiny black plastic box that took 35mm film and shot in half frame mode, BELOMO Agat 18K. I will never forget the magic of watching my first photographs materialize on paper dipped in developer; in my memory, they were masterpieces. During a recent visit to my parents, I actually rediscovered one of those prints after they cleared out the attic where my old darkroom equipment had been stored: a shot of Swedish cross-country skier Torgny Mogren signing autographs after a race. My dad, an avid cross country skier himself was impressed, cocktail of those memories triggered my photography passion, passion that I always try to infuse into my images. It is also what I try to trigger in my kids, I call it soft photography indoctrination. Will it work ? I don’t know, if not the unavailability of BELOMO Agat 18K cameras will be the scapegoat.

  I learn from tutorials, from films and from other creators whose work quietly challenges my assumptions. I have no formal photography related education, my "classroom" was the photography aisle of a former Chapters bookstore, where I spent countless hours. My wife and I still laugh about how I’d hide bookmarked copies at the back of the shelves so I could pick up exactly where I left off during my next visit. Mind you, those were the good days when they still had comfortable chairs and couches … and good coffee. However, my most valuable lessons are learned in the field—embracing mistakes and returning, hopefully, with incremental improvements over and over again.

  Since late 2023 I have been photographing Vancouver’s North Shore forests almost exclusively, this focus is reflected in the selection of images presented on this website.