The Rise of
Creativity.
A Short Biography of Blake Ferguson Photography.
Browse the scope of how it all came together— enjoy a formal, in-depth biography revolving around the rise of Blake Ferguson. Learn the story behind this London, Ontario-based creative and how his passion for professional photography, fine-art photography and graphic design unfolded.
The Sweet 90s.
Blake Ferguson was born and raised just North of Toronto, Ontario, in a small town called Newmarket. Raised as your typical, happy boy with two parents always looking out for their two sons and what their futures held. His mother figure, Lynn, was profoundly creative and made many attempts to reach out to Blake and open his mind to such aspects at a young age.
Blake remembers describing simple cartoon character ideas while his Mother sketched them, creating homemade colouring books. Alongside scribbling through many of those from the love of his Mother or even a generic copy off the shelves of the local Dollarama Stores, this rubbed off on Blake, leading into the future. It all started with some simple crayons, while thinking of ideas for characters to pitch to his Mother.
During the era when the internet came shocking to everyone and simply— the days where the internet was hard to take for granted; Blake was introduced to those unaesthetic, bubble-screened desktop Windows PCs. You know, the computers with the type of monitor that would have a loud screech when powered on. How could those who experienced the early 90s forget?
How the Creatives Forces Took Over…
Blake was always excited and enthusiastic about gaming. Growing up with a Nintendo 64 — he also played a number of the select few games stationed on Miniclip back in the day. The brothers soon acquired game discs such as Roller Coaster Tycoon, Mall Tycoon, and other Atari games that came as prizes from cereal boxes. Without a specific memory of how it came about, Adobe Photoshop suddenly appeared with these games. There were only so many parks, venues, and locations to conquer among previous games before Blake grew tired and soon headed on to installing Photoshop.
At a young age, Blake would create all that he could imagine without having a basic understanding of how the software worked, let alone at this age, and an ideology for technique behind Graphic Design. While this led to questionable pieces and outcomes, Blake would create random, manipulated pieces, logos, and other abstract artwork creations in Photoshop. Blake knew his concepts had no value, but he felt attuned to the process, and a release of self-expression came about through the creativity he articulated. Aside from his poor drawing capabilities, his obsession with demonstrating an idea and turning it into a tangible matter articulated surreal feelings. Escalating to the consistent and everlasting fascination behind everyday Graphic Design material, whether cereal box designs, labels or other formatted information.
Through the earlier years of 2000-2005, Blake continued as a creative mind yet to be further sculpted. Blake remains regretful that he did not persist with Photoshopping as consistently and often as he wanted, given where his creative urges have led him to this day. Blake wonders if he had stayed with it throughout, where he would be today. Being reintroduced to creative means at an older age, it was not until age 16-17 that his creativity sparked again. Enduring many years of sports, education, and all that is proposed of family triumphs.
During this time, everyone had a BlackBerry Curve, or still did, but many began rolling out to iPhone 3S & iPhone 4S, and soon after, the Instagram platform. Everyone in the student body was prone to having an Instagram. If you chose not to include yourself, you felt left out in discreet ways. Being connected to Instagram, Blake found fascination in connecting with family and friends more closely in their everyday lives. Blake also found satisfaction in the feeling of such a global connection. As Blake used Instagram further over the horizon, he found himself having a lead on another creative fascination, then again.
Street
Intrigued.
The Instagram algorithm back in the day did a superb job of pushing out urban, city, and street photography, which ultimately sparked the fascination from within. Blake was curiously fascinated with where others would climb and the general sights he would witness second-hand of other concrete jungles. From a small, square-shaped town such as Newmarket, Ontario, there was not much urban exploration to take place or to match Blake and his curiosity. With his general surroundings and his— what he thought to be the ideal camera— his iPhone 4S, he began capturing all that he could. Blake found interest in capturing his perspectives on ordinary, everyday subjects, finding a gap between normal subjects, articulating abstract and aesthetic compositions. He found it proposed a relief and satisfaction to acquire unique compositions of regular subjects, topped by a fascinating aesthetic.
Here are some photographs and captures we can look back on to bring further tangibility to the history of Blake and his photography. Enjoy some unique compositions from previous years when Blake was attached to his Apple iPhone 4S.
That Freelance Photography Feeling.
The feeling Blake acquired through photography, he wanted to seek that thrill continuously. Comparing his photographs and circumstances to what he saw on Instagram, Blake concluded his philosophy that with a narrow budget, the focus cannot be on equipment but only on capturing.
Blake pushed his photographs among his friends and family. His Mother slowly grew tolerable when reviewing photos and chiming in with her constructive criticism. Over time, as his captures improved, so did the escalation of interest from his peers. Many grew fascinated with his ability to capture through the sights of a cell phone. At the time, his Mother had a digital point-and-shoot camera she acquired for family gatherings and special events— but it was not long after the purpose changed. The family point-and-shoot was now his camera. Using it until it became of embarrassment— Blake still has captures he is proud of from Main Street, Newmarket. As Blake shared his photographs on Instagram, many friends and family grew to understand his passion for photography and the arts.
The Career of Commercial
Photography.
How did Blake push through amateur status, finding the breakthrough to his lifelong photography commitment? Blake had a great friend and co-worker, Ben Cowderoy, who was upgrading his photography equipment. Previously equipped with a Sony A300, Ben found himself without use, so he offered it up to Blake with the faith it would be in great hands.
From a digital point-and-shoot, Blake found his passion rocketing to the moon as he could now change lenses, adjust settings, and feel limitless through a fully equipped DSLR camera. During these times, it was in sync when his brother Behn and his good friend Jon Hoseman owned their Volkswagen Jettas. Jon and his father have always been avid car enthusiasts- spending many years accustomed to garage king status. What rubbed off on Jon soon followed suit to Behn, his brother, and he found himself far into car modifications himself. The boys were tightly knit alongside other close friends, leading to cruises to Strada and those pop-up Krispy Kreme meets in Mississauga.
At the start, Blake was not the most intrigued by car culture, but the intrigue was in line to capture new subjects. Blake found a new audience appreciating his photographs, pushing Blake even further. The reactions, joy, and overall excitement of car owners witnessing their vehicles through his captures made Blake eager to deliver that feeling continuously among others.
Learning more about automotive functions and the modifications at hand, Blake acknowledged the intricate creativity and fell attuned to the process. Over time of attending alongside Behn and Jon, the passion grew.
To keep history flowing in a sequence of events, Blake has attended years' worth of car shows and auto event gatherings throughout his high school years and post-secondary education. But more so, we want to highlight events that gave Blake the confidence to pursue the arts and the ability to make a living.
To keep the pieces of history in order, you can browse the history behind Blake and his car show coverage from 2016 to the present and the privately booked sessions occurring throughout.
Post Secondary Digital Media Studies.
It was not until Newmarket High School, his senior year, that his past Photoshop and Graphic Design experience came into play. Blake felt pressed between staying focused on studies and determining what else life had in store for him. Time was winding down. The pressures for applying for post-secondary education were quickly on the rise. Blake went through two levels of Sports Marketing as a quick decision to fulfill his schedule. Playing sports for many years throughout his childhood, he figured that, from this aspect, his sports understanding would be justifiable.
Running hand-in-hand with his many years playing sports and his past Photoshop experiences, these classes came with a breeze to Blake. His peers questioned how he completed his projects quickly and with such techniques. These projects were based on marketing, branding, and Photoshop Techniques to create a digital presence for make-believe sports teams. Unfamiliar with, but Blake found his professions were unfolding all in sync. Over the years of professional pursuits, Blake looks back to these semesters in high school as revolutionary to where he is now. Blake would not have known the worth of his creations if he had not stepped a toe into these non-mandatory, elective-based courses. Unfortunately, at the time, Blake still did not have the utmost confidence, and when it came time for the discussions with graduation counsellors, Blake was unsure of his path.
Alongside a firm belief from his Mother in pursuing Web Development and Graphic Design, Blake still felt unsure about a full-fledged commitment to creative studies. Recognizing the underlying development of all creative aspects throughout his life, he decided to commit. Blake made conclusions with his guidance counsellor and continued with his first choice of the Fundamentals of Photography, secondly, Graphic Design, following Web Development programs as an alternative. Soon enough, Blake received offers back from various colleges across Ontario.
Blake received an offer for Photography at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. As London had a large population and considering this placed him in the concrete jungle he always longed for, Blake was fascinated to study while being able to explore those city and street-like atmospheres. As London continues to urbanize, Blake compares this to a less chaotic Toronto. Blake felt this could be his new, creative home. Shortly after weighing his offers, he accepted what Fanshawe proposed.
Blake thoroughly enjoyed his two-year program while developing his portfolio and studying alongside current photography industry leaders. Meeting other creative acquaintances and aspiring peers, Blake had opportunities to learn from and collaborate with other creatives, models, and photographers.
Your New Favourite Professional Photographer.
If you’re looking for Blake Ferguson Photography, he’s not hard to find. Subscribe on YouTube to learn more about Blake himself or inspire second-hand through his journey as an indepedent graphic designer and content creator.
A Statement for Artists.
Where does the fuel of the art originate from? Learn more details in the Artist Statement for his photography mediums and the aspirations of his subjects in fine-art.
Your Dreams are Bound to Flourish.
Gather your ideas and review the services of Blake Ferguson to ponder the digitally innovative ways to implement him for your next photoshoot or graphic design request.