Resilient: The Portraiture of Wayne Simpson

Stunning images are beautifully presented alongside biographical essays that enhance the soulful nature of this unique portfolio.

Many people wear a lifetime of experiences on their face, yet who that person is and what they have experienced often remains a mystery. In Resilient, Wayne Simpson's first book of photography, readers will encounter a collection of portraits accompanied by individual stories of inspiration, tragedy, and humanitarianism. The book's overall narrative is an emotional journey in which readers will inevitably see aspects of themselves in the stories of some truly remarkable individuals.

With compassion and respect, Wayne Simpson has befriended individuals and discovered personal stories such as an 89-year-old homeless man's struggle to survive, an 18-year search for a lost brother, a man's 40-year devotion to building a ten thousand square foot nuclear fallout shelter, and many more. Intertwined with each story is the subnarrative of the photographer learning who he is as each connection is forged.

Always compelling and at times haunting, Simpson's portraits keep storytelling at the forefront. The atmosphere and mood are often crafted with multiple studio lights on location. Many of Simpson's portraits are graced with intricate details, each adding additional layers of complexity to the portrait and in turn making each portrait a visual story on its own.

Wayne Simpson is a professional photographer originating from Aamjiwnaang First Nation and from Lindsay, Ontario, who specializes in dramatic portraiture and landscape photography. Whether he is photographing a person or a place, Simpson's ultimate goal is to create images that evoke emotion and a sense of mystery. Exceptionally executed, his portraits hold a mythic quality and hint at a deeper story, beckoning the viewer to wonder about the subject's life and experience. He actively seeks out many of his subjects and builds a rapport with them before creating a portrait. Simpson's signature and award-winning style has firmly established him in the Canadian photography scene. As an educator, he conducts portrait and landscape workshops both at home and throughout Canada, and he is a proud contributor to OFFBEAT, one of the nation's leading photography communities. His work has been published in such magazines as Outdoor Photography, Outdoor Photography Canada, Photo Life, Canadian Geographic, Legion, League, and Canadian Rockies Annual. He lives in Elora, Ontario.