15 Facts About Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky's works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of industrialization and its impacts on nature and the human existence.

Edward Burtynsky was born in St Catharines, Ontario, a blue-collar town where General Motors was the largest employer.

Edward Burtynsky's Father, Peter Burtynsky, was a Ukrainian immigrant who found work on the production line at the General Motors plant.

When Edward Burtynsky was 11 years old, his father purchased a darkroom and cameras from a widow whose late husband had practiced amateur photography.

Edward Burtynsky was given two rolls of Tri-X film and told to make do with that or support the habit through his own means.

Edward Burtynsky obtained a diploma in graphic design from Niagara College in Welland, Ontario, beginning his studies in 1974.

Edward Burtynsky enrolled and completed the four-year undergraduate program and obtained a Bachelor's in Photographic Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Ontario, in 1982.

Edward Burtynsky briefly worked in photography departments for IBM and the Ontario Hospital Association peri-graduation and in architecture post-graduation.

Edward Burtynsky describes the act of taking a photograph in terms of "The Contemplated Moment", evoking and in contrast to, "The Decisive Moment" of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Edward Burtynsky currently uses a high-resolution digital medium format camera.

In 2003, Edward Burtynsky developed a series of images conveying China's contemporary transformation into industrialization which was included as part of the exhibit.

Edward Burtynsky photographs sweeping views of landscapes altered by industry: mine tailings, quarries, scrap piles.

Edward Burtynsky has made several excursions to China to photograph that country's industrial emergence, and construction of one of the world's largest engineering projects, the Three Gorges Dam.

In 1985, Edward Burtynsky established Toronto Image Works, a commercial photography lab, which has evolved into a facility that offers darkroom rentals, equipment use and digital new-media courses.

In 2006, Edward Burtynsky was the subject of the documentary film, Manufactured Landscapes, which was shown at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.