“Manipulation is not my thing either; the sky that was is the sky I offer.”
Moment by moment
In the early years I used a Nikon F, then adopted a Leica M4, mostly with a 35mm lens to best approximate my field of vision. My analogue photographs are now scanned and printed digitally. Today I use a mirrorless Z6 III, often with handheld flash, as I learned to explore with my Leica.
Every photograph here is available as a signed, numbered print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, and can also be licensed for publication.
“I embrace and render what is offered, open to an ever-changing world.” Eleven bodies of work, each a room of its own. Open one and walk through every photograph in it.
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Montreal
Spirit of the City
1970 to the present
54 photographs
Resisted Destinies
Paris, Milan, New York, Berlin
1981 to 2023
39 photographs
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Unter die Mauer
Berlin ’84
April 1984
49 photographs
Vintage Spain
La Transición
May and June 1978
25 photographs
Ireland
Memory of Stones
September and October 2023
92 photographs
Silhouettes and Solitudes
Montreal, in the present tense
2021 to 2023
23 photographs
-1.avif)
Nantucket Island
Madaket, the dunes, the bunkers
2007 to 2012
22 photographs
Finding Daytona
“Everybody’s looking for something...”
2009 to 2017
93 photographs
Îsle-Verte
Quebec, an ongoing project
2010 to 2018
26 photographs
Recent work in Spain
Gibraltar, Ronda, Estepona
February 2023
13 photographs
Natural Bounty
Landscapes and weather
1984 and 2018
3 photographs
The print
“I am delighted you are adding my work to your collection. I can assure you your print will be of the highest possible archival standard and hope you will enjoy it for years to come.”
20 × 30 in (51 × 76 cm), including the 1 in border
PHOTOGRAPH
Budding Mechanic, Montreal, September 1983
Montreal, Spirit of the City
Or open any room above and choose Order this print on the photograph you love.
• Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, archival, to museum standards
• Signed and numbered discreetly on the border, and/or with a signed Certificate of Authenticity
• Limited editions, most of 7 or 15
• Shipped in a cardboard tube; framing with a mat can be arranged
• iPhone photographs print at 15 × 20 in, $300
My take
Taverne du Pont Pie IX, Montreal, June 1979
Really what first comes to mind as an ongoing theme is solitude, that sense of otherness, of separateness the photograph provides as window and reflexive mirror. The act of photographing is a participation in that exploration.
Kindred spirits shared in this silent language, one of the most influential being the artist and photographer Charles Gagnon. My Master’s thesis at Concordia was on Winogrand and synchronicity, or how the good fortune of chance rewards those on seeking it with meaning.
Gentle and not-so-gentle ironies, moments of light and air, of empathy, silent understanding and even denunciation, all find their way into my worldview. People disappear and life goes on.
“When reality shows itself, I appreciate its generosity.”
Lost in the No-Zone
Written, directed and produced by James Rae. Made entirely from still photographs, it premiered at TIFF. It follows Guillaume, who is trapped in an alternate reality trying to prove that angels exist. The only way he can free himself from his enigma is by becoming one.
James Rae
Montreal-based photographer creating observational work across street, documentary, landscape and fine-art photography. His professional acting career spans more than three decades, in film and television, in both French and English, and his background in performance continues to influence the way he observes people, emotion and narrative.
BA in Communication Arts and Theatre, Loyola of Montreal; Master of Fine Arts in Photography, Concordia University, 1979; Banff Centre masterclass in photography, 1979. He has taught photography at Concordia and the Saidye Bronfman Centre, shot commissions and worked as a set photographer on films.
EXHIBITIONS
2026 · Monad, Montréal
2026 · PhotoPlace Gallery, Composed, online and hardcover catalogue
1998 to 1999 · Galerie Mistral, Montréal: New York, Images nouvelles, Images latentes
1984 · Toronto Photographer’s Workshop, Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto
1984 · The Photographer’s Gallery, Saskatoon
1983 · Ovo Galerie, Montréal, portraits group show, also exhibited in Mexico
1983 · Heritage Montréal, Architectural Details
1983 · Saidye Bronfman Invitational, Montréal
1982 · Galerie Articule, Montréal
1979 · Yajima Galerie, Montréal; YUFAM Gallery, Toronto
1978 · Recent Trends in Canadian and American Photography, Optica, toured in Italy
1977 · Yajima Galerie and Concordia University Gallery, Montréal
1975 · Loyola Workshop Gallery, Montréal
COLLECTIONS
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
Ministry of External Affairs, Ottawa
Concordia University
Private collections
FILM
TIFF · Lost in the No-Zone, Toronto International Film Festival catalogue, p. 139
PUBLICATIONS
2026 · Around Magazine, selected photographic works
2026 · PhotoPlace Gallery, Composed, hardcover catalogue
1991 · Matrix Magazine No. 35
1990 · Ciel Variable No. 13, photographs from India
1990 · Matrix Magazine No. 31, from moon-blind
1985 · OVO Magazine, As a Ghostwriter Seeks the Shadows of Dreamless Nights
1984 · Blackflash Magazine, interview by Raphael Bendahan
1981 · Passion Magazine, Paris
1978 · Harper’s Bazaar, Italy
1977 · Critique in Arts Canada
Write to James
For a print, a custom size, a licence for publication, a commission or a conversation about the work.