Blog Review: First Gate Dreamer

Photo by Ron St. Louis (Creative Commons)
www.firstgatedreamer.com

I first came across the photo-blog First Gate Dreamer while working on a round-up of local photographers.  From the moment I looked at these beautiful images, I knew this was one blog that I wanted to promote.

"The photos on this site are not always posted for their aesthetic appeal but for the stories and the feelings behind them and what they mean to me," writes photographer Ron St. Louis on his site. "I chose this name to honour the lost art of DREAMING.  More specifically, Lucid Dreaming as practiced by the ancient Toltecs."

Photo by Ron St. Louis (Creative Commons)
www.firstgatedreamer.com

There are several steps to master lucid dreaming, explains St. Louis.  "The first step or 'gate' to lucid dreaming is to bridge your everyday consciousness into your dreams by attempting to orient yourself in your dream and to become aware that you are in fact dreaming.  One technique is to try to look at your hands while dreaming."

The photos on this blog cover a wide range of themes.  Some of the images have a spiritual feel to them, such as this one and this one, both of which were taken in India.  Then there is this fabulous photo of a boat, which I originally wanted to use for this review, but decided against it after determining that it is much better to view the original on St. Louis' photo-blog.

Photo by Ron St. Louis
(Creative Commons)
www.firstgatedreamer.com

Some of my favourite photos are a series of poignant black-and-white images taken in Ottawa during a snowstorm, such as the shot of the statute of Terry Fox on the right (see the original here).  There is an expression in Portuguese called bella tristeza, or beautiful sadness, that came to mind as I saw these photographs of downtown Ottawa in the middle of winter. There is this wonderful image of a stairwell with icicles, an intriguing shot of a chip wagon covered in snow, and a postcard perfect photograph of a lamppost.

St. Louis' skill extends to landscapes shots, creative photos like this distorted image of a board game, and surreal images like this of what looks like a huge flame of fire.  While the photo-blogs' archives go back to 2006, postings have been sporadic lately.  "I have been far too busy to post much this last year let alone pick up my camera," Ron tells me in an email. "Hoping that changes soon."  I second that motion, as I really enjoy his work.