Matt Goerzen’s photos of the year
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2022 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Every now and again throughout the year, I have a chance to get out of the office and take up a camera for the paper, an action I very much enjoy, however rarely they occur.
Many of the photos I took over the past year felt like brief moments in time when luck played a significant role in me being in the right place at the right time. I imagine it can often be that way for career photographers who do this kind of work day in and day out, unlike myself. Such photos are often good for anchoring a front page, or breaking up text with a visual on an inside page, as they tell a story all on their own.
For a few examples of this, consider the image of Brandon University’s director of marketing and communications, Grant Hamilton, in a hug with the driver of a vehicle that claimed one of Hamilton’s fingers when the car collided with his bicycle. The Sun was doing a followup story at the time, and a reporter and myself had followed Hamilton to the former crash site so he could explain what happened. Within minutes of our arrival, a car passed by and suddenly stopped, and a young man got out and began talking with Hamilton. I was some distance away and out of ear shot, but when they embraced I took a picture of the scene in front of me out of instinct, not knowing the hug in front of me would do both men some good in the healing that needs to come after such a traumatic event.
Brandon resident and cycling enthusiast Grant Hamilton accepts a hug from Trevor at the corner of Lorne Avenue and Park Street, the same location where on June 27 Hamilton was injured in a collision with a vehicle while cycling home from a family birthday party, losing his pinky as a result. While speaking with the Sun about road safety for cyclists, the driver of the vehicle who hit him happened to drive by and stopped the car to talk with Hamilton and ask about his condition. It was the first time the two had met since the collision. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Other versions of this kind of image include the picture of a little Hutterite boy throwing a pail in the air during a pick at Grand Valley Strawberries; the child at the spray park on a hot summer afternoon; the flock of waxwings I stumbled across in Rivers one day last January; the picture of Bob Desjardin, operations manager for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba scrubbing a flag pole at the Dome Building; or even the turkeys trotting across the street in Souris in fall.
Though the others are a bit more calculated as I knew what kind of image to expect when out covering an event or location, that does not detract from the impact of the image on the page.
At any rate, these have been my favourites of 2022.
» mgoerzen@brandon.sun
Section 6 brewer Ben Loewen walks down the stairs from a platform in the brew house, while giving a tour of the building at 1126 Princess Ave. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
A Bohemian waxwing hangs down on a branch while foraging for fruit in a cherry tree in Rivers. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Sitting in a radio sound booth at the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, then-Coun. Jeff Fawcett (Assiniboine) speaks with Sun reporter Colin Slark about his intention to run for mayor in the municipal election. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Three-year-old K'Mor Morgan plays with father Rurian Morgan's graduation tassel while mother Natashalee Thompson — who is also graduating — looks on during afternoon convocation services at the Brandon University Health Living Centre. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Large drops of water during a summer rainfall bounce off of a metal surface in downtown Brandon, creating splash patterns. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
A restless boy from the Newdale Hutterite Colony tosses a bucket after dumping the pail into a crate at Grand Valley Strawberries. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Bob Desjardin, operations manager for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, preps one of the flag poles atop the Display Building No. II for painting. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Parks Canada resource conservation officer Tim Town holds up a freshly caught smallmouth bass on the end of his tri-point spear as he emerges from the waters of Clear Lake. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Leon McLenon watches the water spray at the Rideau water park on a sunny and hot afternoon. (File/The Brandon Sun)
Alyssia Kajati gives Finn, a three-year-old Bernese Mountain dog, a drink of water on a hot afternoon in Brandon while out for a walk with Kelsey Simpson along the elevated walking trail near Eleanor Kidd Park. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Painter Brayan Webber with Malereii Painting, seen here through a window of one of the four domes, adds another coat of white paint to the roof of the Display Building No. II, also known as the Dome Building. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
A sleepy grasshopper clings to the dried-out remains of a wildflower in the cool morning air at sunrise, near the Assiniboine River. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Brandon mayoral candidate Elliott Oleson watches results from the 2022 municipal election crawl in on his phone while out with friends at the Guinness Tavern on Rosser Avenue on election night. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Gunner Robert McHugh with the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, takes a moment to speak with Grade 1 student Baylor Taggart from Valleyview Centennial School about a grave stone for a member of the Canadian Forces following the No Stone Left Alone ceremony at the Brandon Municipal Cemetery. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
A flock of turkeys trot across the street in front of traffic near Victoria Park in Souris. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)
Vincent Massey High School students Danika Robb as Mal (left) and Ryan DeGroot practise a scene for the production of "Disney's Descendants: The Musical" at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)