Ted Grant And The Art of Observation – Video Biography and APH Speaker

Growing up and living in the United States, I had never heard of Ted Grant or been exposed to his photojournalism, so I was not really sure who this keynote speaker was at the Association of Personal Historians 2010 Conference in Victoria BC earlier this month. For some reason, his name kept conjuring up the news anchor on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. ( Then I found out I had been confusing the editor, Lou Grant and the anchor Ted Knight and created my own fictional character Ted Grant!)

Considered the father of Canadian photojournalism, Ted Grant is most well known for his image of Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada during the 1970s, sliding down the banister of a hotel stairway as well as runner Ben Johnson taking the gold during the 1988 Olympics.

We were treated to not only meeting Ted Grant, but also watching a video biography created about Ted entitled “The Art of Observation”, written, co-produced and co-directed by Heather MacAndrew for Bravo Canada.
The video was truly a joy to watch. Apart from learning about Ted’s rise through the ranks as a staff photographer to being considered the “father of Canadian photojournalism”, we learned so much more about the personality and vision of someone who sees the world through a camera. Even after illness took away his ability to see through his lens eye, he fought through that painful time to get back on top of his skills and continue to pursue his passion of photography.

Read the complete blog entry here...>