Interview with Tobin Grimshaw

No one forced a camera into Tobin Grimshaw's hands, but a love of visual arts and an interest in documenting his adventures evolved into a career in photography. After traveling around Europe with his camera, Grimshaw began to look at photography more seriously. He landed a job as an assistant photographer, which led to an internship at the Toronto Star. His infatuation with adventure and new life experiences helped him to master the art and build an impressive portfolio. Now, nearly a decade later, Grimshaw photographs subjects ranging from people to sports to fashion for publications such Maclean's, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post and Canadian Geographic, to name a few.
In the July/August 2011 issue of CG, Grimshaw traveled across Canada by train to capture the people and places of the Canadian railway system for 'Glances from a train'.

		PHOTOGRAPHER Tobin Grimshaw From a young age, Tobin Grimshaw was interested in creating art. Now a successful documentary photographer based out of Toronto, Grimshaw's photography has appeared in publications such as Maclean's, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, Cottage Life and Report on Business Magazine. To see more of Grimshaw's photos, check out the July 2011 issue of Canadian Geographic or visit his website.
View photo gallery Tips from photographer Leave a comment

Q How did you photography evolve from just an interest to a full-fledged career?

AMy father was a photojournalist with Canadian Press for 20 years. While, he never pushed me to be a photographer, I was always interested in visual arts. When I started travelling, I began taking photographs, but not seriously. It was only when I went backpacking through Europe, that I seriously considered photography as a career. I didn't know what I wanted to photograph when I started out, but during the high-tech boom in Ottawa around 2001-02, I landed a job assisting Ottawa-based photographer Tony Fouhse. Within the first couple weeks, Fouhse and I were in Los Angeles. Since he was so busy, I gained a lot of experience early on. I also got to travel with him, which helped me gain life experience.

Q Your portfolio is varied, spanning a wide range of subjects. What is your favourite subject to photograph?

AThis assignment for CG was one of my favourites. I've traveled across Canada by train before, but this time it was interesting to be given closer access to the trains and the railway. I'm really attracted to moody, somber subjects, so I enjoyed photographing the gritty, greasy freight trains.

For a long time the artist in me just wanted to take pretty pictures. But the more I photograph, the more I want to produce images that have the potential to last; to withstand time.

QThis assignment required you to travel across the country from one train to another. What challenges did you face?

AThe 'Glances from a train' assignment was supposed to last only two weeks, but it evolved into a month-long job. There are many different companies operating within each port, where I was shooting at some points of the assignment, so there were some restrictions.

Also, the size of the trains made this assignment difficult because I had to get up as high as I could in order to fit the subject in the frame. Also, while trains are very photogenic, the shots can look tend to look similar after a while. It's difficult to capture a different angle or perspective on life in and around trains, especially freight trains.

QDespite these challenges, how did you maintain your creative eye and continue to take great pictures?

AIn situations like this, I just have to enjoy the experience and realize that even if I'm having a bad day, I'm shooting an assignment that many people would love to have. Some days are good and some days are hard. An assignment can often take on a life of it's own ' photographers just have to look forward to the next great photo.

Interview by Jessica Harding