Photographing Canada from Flying Canoes

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

This book about the role of aerial photography in the development of the
Dominion is divided into three parts. Part 1 describes the
organizational events from 1919 to 1939 that shaped the aerial
photography movement across the country. The anecdotally detailed
narrative covers the founding of the Canadian Air Board, the
proliferation of new air bases, the use of developmental photography,
the growth of the aircraft industry, the introduction of new aircraft
designs, the initiation of northern operations, improvements in aircraft
instrumentation, the innovative use of infrared film, the invention of
the NRC camera, and the impact of World War II.

Part 2 depicts, with humor and humanity, the courage and derring-do of
Canadian aerial photographers, including S.C. Dearaway, who rose from a
mechanic with the Canadian Air Board to become a wing commander; C.R.
Dunlap, who took three years to photograph the Queen Charlotte Islands
because of continuously inclement weather; K.M. Guthrie, who went on to
become an air vice-marshall; and C.R. Slemon, who became well known for
his eventual role as deputy commander-in-chief of NORAD.

Part 3 is a detailed review (including specifications and photographs)
of the aerial photography aircraft known as “flying canoes” because
of their resemblance to the traditional cedar strip canoes that once
skimmed over Canada’s many rivers and lakes for similar exploratory
reasons. Shaw’s account of the aerial mapping of one of the largest
countries in the world is meticulously researched and compulsively
readable.