Rick Bogacz

For Toronto- based photographer Rick Bogacz, taking a minimalist approach has been key in developing his working style over the past several year.

"I want the viewer to be drawn to what is important. It's always more difficult to try and determine what needs to be taken out of the frame instead of what needs to be left in."

While he always had a passion for taking pictures, Rick decided after graduating from Ryerson University's journalism program in 1981 that his career path would be more focused on the printed word. He became a newspaper reporter and spent a good chunk of his early years with the St. Catharines Standard when it was a family-owned newspaper dedicated to covering the Niagara Region.

However, after 13 years Rick decided it was time to acquire some formal photography training.

“I thought that if I was going to take the plunge, doing so at a younger age probably made the most sense."

Rick enrolled in the Creative Photography program at Humber College where he honed his technical proficiency. Upon graduation, he freelanced as a photojournalist combining his skills as a photographer and writer for clients across Southern Ontario.

The late 90s and 2000s saw his career path evolve in digital media. All the while though, he was taking photographs. More recently, Rick decided to rekindle his passion for fine art photography with a focus on black and white landscapes.

Combined with the Japanese philosophy of Ma - the celebration of the space between things – his goal is to evoke a calming esthetic that is both gentle and elegant. Negative space becomes as important to developing the image as the key subject matter itself.

“I do this to try and capture a sense of tranquility and peacefulness in a world that has experienced less of these attributes.”

Rick’s work has been shown in galleries in Canada, Europe and the US and has also been published in Noir Magazine, Artistonish, Black and White Minimalist Magazine and Black and White Magazine in the UK.