This Is New Brunswick

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.

No, this isn’t New Brunswick. It is merely a superficial view of some
of the prettier, more touristy faces of New Brunswick.

The text, a two-page skim of history mixed with promotional hype, sets
the tone for the 80-plus photographic plates. At least 95 percent of
these are bright, clean, timid, trite. And boring.

Childs is a true master of composition, to the point where he opts for
composition at all costs, including sacrificing sharpness. He is drawn
to bright colors: autumn leaves, red paint, pink roses, colorful
balloons, and carnival tents. He also likes the pastoral clichés: white
churches, setting suns, fluffy clouds, reflections in still waters.
I’m not aware of any value in these direct, no-thought snaps—unless
it is as a substitute for picture postcards.

In only four or five photos scattered throughout the collection does
Childs indicate that he wants to share his interpretations with the
viewer, to use photography as an art form to communicate more than
superficial prettiness.

Childs’s strong sense of composition, together with his love of
color, indicates potential. When his photos can do more than capture
surface images, his work will merit a second look.