Nova Scotia

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Serenity seeps from the pages of this colourful album of Nova Scotia
scenes. The adjectives “peaceful,” “tranquil,” and “serene”
appear frequently in the captions accompanying the 86 photos. They could
be applied with equal accuracy to all the shots, as Nicholson presents
only the idyllic and beautiful, undisturbed by people, activity,
hardship, or poverty. Even nature puts on her best behaviour for the
lens—no storms or even dark clouds. Nicholson’s subjects are
glorious sunsets, perfect blossoms, apples polished to glowing, blue
skies, green grass, and pristine snow.

The collection includes views from across the province—South Shore,
Eastern Shore, Halifax, Annapolis Valley, Cape Breton, and so forth. As
would be expected, water and sand are part of many shots. Subjects
include tourist attractions, historic sites, beaches, ships, landmark
buildings, flowers, tall ships, farmland, schooners, rocks, and (gentle)
surf.

The strengths of Nicholson’s photos are composition and understanding
of light. The composition of each photo is masterful, allowing the
beauty of each scene to be revealed without stretching to editorialize.
His work shows a huge range of lighting; that the light is always right
for the shot is a statement of his mastery of his art. The collection is
a powerful homage to Nova Scotia.