Canada.

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto broadcaster and public relations
consultant.

Books of photography in general and of Canada in particular are not rare. It is therefore a great pleasure to view a collection of Canadian photos as unique as these.

Born on the Canadian prairies, Daryl Benson is a professional photographer whose images have originated from every corner of the globe: Antarctica, Europe, Africa, China, Australia, to name but a few. He, however, feels most comfortable and satisfied when photographing at home, in Canada.

In the book are Benson’s photographs of Canada in all its natural glory. One shot, “Homage to Lawren Harris,” could, in fact, be a Harris; another evokes a glorious Jean-Paul Riopelle image; “Windy Day, Parry Sound, Ontario,” a Tom Thompson. There are images of wonderful sunsets and sunrises; lakes and waterfalls; wind turbines and endless fields; forests and flowers; wildlife. Sections are prefaced by folksy advice from Benson on how to drive across Canada and confessions of his fondness for souvenirs, souvenir vendors, and hotel windows, and his inability to identify much wildlife in Nunavut.

Benson’s lens captures the majesty, beauty, and diversity of Canada from its easternmost point, Cape Spear in Newfoundland and Labrador, to where it meets the Pacific Ocean on the western side of the North American continent. Among his most exquisite shots are those he took up north in Nunavut.

His extraordinary sense of colour, superb framing, and his ability to catch perfect moments and optimal shades of light all contribute to making this book a treasure, one that the Canadian viewer is compelled to return to time and time again, feeling smug and patriotic all the while about living in such a spectacular land.