James Daubney

James Daubney spent his early childhood in Banff, returning to live there in 1972. He attended the Banff Centre’s Visual Communication program (1973-1974) and studied with the photographer Ansel Adams between 1974-1976, but considers himself mainly self-taught. Daubney’s photographs ask viewers to consider the importance of silence for listening. They blend black and white, 19th century portraiture, and hand-colouring techniques to celebrate Canada’s mountain landscapes—and occasionally people, including Stoney Nakoda First Nation Leader Hanson Bearspaw and composer John Cage, both of whom he met in Banff—as friends.

His work has shown at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (formerly Peter Whyte Gallery, Banff), the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Vancouver Gallery of Photography, and can be found in the collections of the Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada. Daubney is now semi-retired in Cochrane, AB.