Courtney Milne
Photographer Courtney Milne has made a career out of photographing and presenting the landscapes of Saskatchewan and the world in ways that awaken deep appreciation for the beauty and mystery of nature.
Always enthusiastic about his love for the earth, he has been called "an ambassador of the land, depicting how its beauty nourishes the human spirit and how we are responsible for protecting it." Milne has also contributed images and proceeds of shows for causes such as the preservation of the Saskatoon Natural Grasslands.
Milne was born in Saskatoon in 1943 and, after obtaining master's degrees in psychology and in journalism/mass communication, became a freelance photographer in 1975. He has concentrated on landscape and nature and his first three books were on the Canadian Prairies: Prairie Light, Prairie Dreams and Prairie Skies. In 1988-89, Milne and his partner Sherrill Miller completed a 10-month global photographic expedition, returning with more than 60,000 images of some of the world's most exotic landscapes. In 1991, they completed a 20-city tour to promote the book The Sacred Earth, based on their expedition.
In 1994 and 1995, they produced Spirit of the Land and Sacred Places in North America. Visions of the Goddess, a portrayal of the sacred feminine in the landscape, co-authored by Miller and Milne, was published in 1998. Three books followed, W.O. Mitchell Country (1999), Emily Carr Country (2001) and Old Man on His Back (2002, with Sharon Butala ). His most recent book, Saskatchewan: The Luminous Landscape, "explores the beauty - subtle and spectacular - that surrounds and shapes us"* as residents of Saskatchewan.
Milne is credited with being able to see pattern, shape, and colour in the seeming ordinary and in so doing to evoke a sense of the perfection, wholeness, and sacredness in the natural world. Canadian Geographic described this quality thus: "Far more than mere depictions of the land, Milne's pictures evoke its spirit, the mystery that made people kneel there in worship and prayer and awe." To date, Milne has made more than 475,000 images, from 35 countries and all seven continents. He has written more than 180 illustrated articles for photographic magazines and has conducted workshops, seminars, and worldwide photographic tours.
A specialty has been the production of creative multimedia shows featuring images, music, and narration. To date, he has offered more than 200 public performances. The 1991 Canadian tour of The Sacred Earth Concert, a multimedia presentation, raised money for local environmental projects and for the Endangered Spaces Campaign of Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF), Canada. Showcased at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero in 1992 and the follow-up Eco-Ed World Congress, the Concert is also featured on Cunard Cruise Lines and multiple international locations.
Courtney Milne's extensive slide library has been used for international presentations such as UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (1990) and the United Nations traveling exhibit To Care for the Earth (1992).
In 1993, Milne was awarded the Gold Medal for Distinction in Canadian Photography by the National Association for Photographic Art. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Regina.
For Saskatchewan's centennial, Milne, with the support of SaskTel, created an on-line gallery of Saskatchewan images for use free by teachers and students in Saskatchewan schools. It can be viewed at http://www.coolscapes.sk.ca/index.php and is designed to encourage students to appreciate Saskatchewan landscapes.
Courtney Milne's website can be found at http://www.courtneymilne.com/main.html.
* From the Introduction to the book by Her Honour, Lieutenant Governor, Dr Lynda Haverstock.