Mike Grandmaison (born 1954) is a Canadian freelance photographer specializing in nature - landscapes, plants and wildlife. Grandmaison is well known for his images created of Canada. His commercial assignment photography focuses on architecture, agriculture, nature, the environment, travel and Canadian tourism. Photographs from his extensive and eclectic stock photography collection are licensed through his own website as well as through stock agencies in North America. Grandmaison markets his fine art photographs principally online through 'The Canadian Gallery' of his website.
Early life and education
Mike Grandmaison was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada on April 25, 1954. His parents were Jean-Marie and Thérèse (born Emery) Grandmaison. He studied biology and graduated from Laurentian University in Sudbury with an Honors Bachelor of Science Degree (Hon. B.Sc.) in 1972–1976. During the summer periods, Grandmaison worked at various jobs including as a laborer at Falconbridge Nickel Mines and Ecole Secondaire MacDonald-Cartier, as well as a biology student for McMaster University, Laurentian University and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. He also managed a small camera store, Canadian Camera Center, in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario for a brief period from 1977–1978.
Biology career
Upon graduation from Laurentian University in 1976, Grandmaison worked on short-term contracts for Laurentian University as a Herbarium Assistant and for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment as a field assistant in Water Quality. In late 1978, Grandmaison moved to Edmonton, Alberta in search of permanent work. He found work as a Research Technician in Air Pollution Biology for Alberta Environment in Edmonton from 1979 – 1980 and then as a Water Quality Technician for Alberta Environment in 1980, also located in Edmonton. Grandmaison was then hired as an Insect & Disease Technician for the Canadian Forest Service at the Northern Forestry Centre in Edmonton from 1980 to 1985 after which he transferred to Winnipeg, Manitoba to assume similar duties from 1985 to 1996. He left the Canadian Forest Service in April 1996 to pursue a career as a full-time, professional freelance photographer.
Introduction to photography
Grandmaison remembers taking his first "real picture" with his mother's Kodak for a school project in grade 11 (circa 1968) when he photographed the old wooden barn on his aunt's farm in Estaire, Ontario using black & white print film. That was the extent of his photography until his graduation from university in 1976. Grandmaison's interest in photography began soon after he bought his first 35mm camera, a Nikkormat EL. Being primarily interested in botany and ecology, his objective was to make photographic records of plants and the environments they grew in. Grandmaison's interest in photography ignited when he joined the Sturgeon Falls Camera Club where he first learned the craft of black & white photography.
Shortly after moving to Edmonton, Alberta, Mike Grandmaison joined Images Alberta Camera Club (IACC) where he took on the roles of Newsletter Editor, 2nd Vice President and Programs Chairman. He then joined NAPA, the National Association for Photographic Arts (now called Canadian Association for Photographic Arts (CAPA) and volunteered for the positions of district representative for Edmonton, prairie sone director, vice president and finally president. As a member of NAPA, Grandmaison met a number of excellent professional photographers like Freeman Patterson, Ernst Haas, Frans Lanting, John Shaw, George Tice, Paul Caponigro, Courtney Milne, Pat O'Hara, Craig Richards and John Netherton to name a few. Seeing the works of these photographers first hand, and listening to their approaches and their stories, was invaluable. Two of those photographers, Freeman Patterson and Ernst Haas, would have a profound influence on his photography. Grandmaison immersed himself in anything that pertained to photography and he cites Brett Weston, Minor White and Harry Callahan as important black & white influences.