James Smeaton Photography

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James Smeaton Photography At the intersection of photography and word craft you find James Smeaton Photography. It all began by scrubbing floors.
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I was a janitor in a high school for a summer job while putting myself through university and I saved my money to get a Kodak DC290, a powerful rig in 2000. I purchased it primarily for my efforts in building websites... essentially to take pictures of folks businesses or products. Turns out it was a great compliment to the family gatherings, vacations and hikes in the forest. It did not take long before I started to pay attention to composition and genuinely try to create a nice photo. Now 17+ years later I have taken over a 160,000 images and I get the supreme comfort of reliving my beautiful experiences on this planet with the click of a button. The icing on the cake is taking you fine folks along with me. A big thanks to the universe for my mom, she bought me my first DSLR and has always been my biggest fan. Only after years of her nagging me did I build up the courage to print my work and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. My love of the lens is firmly seated in the moment and working diligently not so much to capture it but to set it free from the bounds of time.

Uncropped FungusSorry, folks, I published this series to FB & Insta via the Meta Business Suite earlier today, and the I...
10/14/2026

Uncropped Fungus

Sorry, folks, I published this series to FB & Insta via the Meta Business Suite earlier today, and the Instagram forced a crop on all my images, even on FB. As I am a bit of purist on photo composition here they are uncropped. I will watch for this carefully next time. As the algorithm will likely punish this double publish your comment helps to ensure folks can see these uncropped versions. Big love.

From The FloorThe Story:In the early  fall I made a trek dedicated solely to the little worlds. The adventure took place...
10/14/2026

From The Floor

The Story:
In the early fall I made a trek dedicated solely to the little worlds. The adventure took place in Brierly Brook Antigonish near the ice caves. The vertical inclines have made the forest unattractive for harvesting and as such a bounty of species have persevered in the spaces left in all that peace. I took along my crystal ball to add a new dimension to some of these photos. The doorway was created by me inside an old stump that had a little dig out. I like to think some little creature on some part of his journey found refuge there. The silver pin had a broken clasp so I thought this would be a lovely place to repurpose it. I added the sticks, however the fungus was natures own addition to the project. The fiery candle stick mushroom was one of a series of them on the other side of the stump.

If you like these photos be sure to give me a follow as I have a number of more shots from the season I have yet to release. These were taken with my 90mm macro lens and my Nikon Z8 mirrorless which I purchased from Stephen Jewekes at the 5 cents to a dollar on Main St. in Antigonish.

The Bride To Be// Greencorn Wedding - Sneak Preview 03
10/12/2026

The Bride To Be

// Greencorn Wedding - Sneak Preview 03

All the Kings SoldiersFlanked on both sides by his generals the line is held. God damn I love the brown town with the w*...
10/12/2026

All the Kings Soldiers

Flanked on both sides by his generals the line is held. God damn I love the brown town with the w**e accent.

// Greencorn Wedding - Sneak Preview 02

Greencorn Wedding - Sneak Preview 01 - Space LaunchThe idea was simple, have the boys launch the groom into the air for ...
10/11/2026

Greencorn Wedding - Sneak Preview 01 - Space Launch

The idea was simple, have the boys launch the groom into the air for a nice action shot. Instead poor Daniel was shot to the moon. Please note this was the second attempt and I think the look on his face in the initial frame is a fore runner of what's to come. Please note the gentleman who took the shoe to the head was ultimately okay, but he definitely took one for the team.

Wanda The Woodpe**er  The Story:We made an effort to put out some seed this summer for the birds. This attracted the usu...
10/10/2026

Wanda The Woodpe**er

The Story:
We made an effort to put out some seed this summer for the birds. This attracted the usual fare in the way of the Robins, Blue Jays and so on but one day this super huge wood pe**er showed up and gave me a show. Flying from post to post she let me get a number of different angles and within a few feet. This would be fortuitous to capture her needle like talons. I can only imagine how finely tuned her grip must be. I was able to determine the s*x because she has a black cheek stripe and the front of her forehead is dark rather than red. Be sure to zoom in to see those talons.

A Moody Meandering The Story:I have a significant blessing geographically speaking. I live in an area called Brierly Bro...
10/10/2026

A Moody Meandering

The Story:
I have a significant blessing geographically speaking. I live in an area called Brierly Brook just outside of Antigonish. I came here because there was a really cheap school house, that needed A TON of work, but was inside my budget and would give my three dogs a place to roam free in the fields. The years have rolled by and my perch has only grown wider and taller. There are few tree's I have not seen, few bends I have not walked around. I am in love with this land. In this photo you are witnessing where the river has slowed and the undulating bends become more pronounced. With a perfect compliment of fiery trees on either bank and just a shaft or two of light to illuminate them it is a scene of tranquility and balance. With just a breath, it will change in a day and what was will not be again for another year. It is good to take ones time when the mood strikes and the light is right. Blessings to you and your family during this Thanksgiving Weekend.

Lunar Ascent The Story:If you pay attention you can catch the very first part of the moon rise and create some pretty sp...
10/03/2026

Lunar Ascent

The Story:
If you pay attention you can catch the very first part of the moon rise and create some pretty special photos due to it perceived massiveness at its low angle in the sky. In this case the trees on the far horizon added a nice silhouette to its pock marked surface. I am always impressed that even my 300mm can reveal a ton of craters and other fine details at 384,000 KM away! I did a little digging and it would have been 110 million years ago (the time of the dinosaurs) when you would have been able to see a major impact on its surface for the Tycho Crater, which is 2000 miles across.

Thy Nimble NavigatorThe Story:Max has never been one to be shy of a steep incline. For whatever the reason he never lets...
10/03/2026

Thy Nimble Navigator

The Story:
Max has never been one to be shy of a steep incline. For whatever the reason he never lets the sheer verticality of his curiosity interrupt his path. In this instance his perch was to get a good visual as much a sniff. Lucky for me he knows when he is being photographed and always takes a pause to look around and offer me up these perfect side profiles. It was a bonus that I was down low so I could get a ton of sky in the shot to create some nice contrast around his beautiful visage.

The Brierly Brook today…
10/01/2026

The Brierly Brook today…

Address

219 Main Street, Suite 206
Antigonish, NS
B2G2C1

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+19023183335

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