Scott Murphy

Still Light

A winter river at dusk with snow along the banks and bare trees reflected in still, partially frozen water. The low sun glows through thin cloud, and the sky remains light at 4:30 pm.

I must confess that I haven’t been out shooting much these past weeks. The cold settled in, the snow kept coming, and the days seemed to contract around that reality. Recently, though, I’ve reenergized myself and returned to exploring the Rideau Canal shorelines once again. Yesterday I made my way back to Upper Brewers Lockstation.Continue reading “Still Light”

True Stray: Specimen B/13•B/21

An overturned shopping cart frozen at the edge of a river in winter, partially embedded in ice, with smooth long exposure water surrounding it and a rail bridge visible in the background.

A field note informed by Julian Montague’s taxonomy of stray shopping carts. An overturned cart at the river’s edge is examined as a Class B True Stray, shaped first by human intervention and later by water, ice, and time.

Under London: Concrete, Steel, and Light

Smaller escalators at Canary Wharf Station.

The Jubilee Line reveals London’s Underground as a series of grand public spaces where infrastructure becomes experience. From Westminster to Canary Wharf, these photographs trace moments of stillness within movement, exploring how concrete, steel, and light shape the act of passing through the city.

Named Featured Artist: Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health

A black and white promotional graphic announcing Colonel (Retired) Scott Murphy as the Featured Artist for JMVFH 11.5, showing a self-portrait on the left and a silhouetted figure walking through a tunnel on the right.

I’m honoured to be named a Featured Artist in JMVFH 11.5. This recognition builds on the earlier cover announcement and highlights the story and intention behind the work I created during my transition from military service. Grateful to CIMVHR for the opportunity to contribute.

First Ice – Haskin’s Point

Metal staircase leading into thin ice on the Rideau Canal at Haskin’s Point, Seeley’s Bay, photographed in winter.

Early winter stillness settles across Haskin’s Point as the Canal begins to freeze. A mindful observation of changing seasons and inner recovery, part of Meditations on the Rideau, exploring the landscape as a place of transition and healing.

Happy Accidents

Historic stone mill on the Rideau Canal captured as a pinhole photograph

A soft, imperfect pinhole photograph of Watson’s Mill became an unexpected favourite. A moment where the past and present briefly coexist, a happy accident.

First Journal Cover Published: Supporting Military and Veteran Health Through Photography

Silhouetted figure walking toward daylight at the end of a tunnel, representing military transition and recovery.

A photograph created during my transition away from military life has found a new home as the cover image for the Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, Vol. 11, Issue 5 (2025).

(Open-access journal link in article)

Published in Rideau Reflections, Friends of the Rideau Newsletter

My Meditations on the Rideau project is featured in Rideau Rflections, the Friends of the Rideau newsletter, highlighting my analog photographic approach to the waterway.

First Snow, Open Water – Jones Falls

Medium-format digital photograph of the Lockstation at Jones Falls on the Rideau Canal, high detail in snow and water reflections, converted to black and white.

A quiet afternoon at Jones Falls, where the first snowfall had settled but the water remained open. Two long pinhole exposures, upstream and downstream, capturing stillness in the shoulder season along the Rideau Canal.

Windows and Mirrors

What is the nature of photography? One analogy, proposed by John Szarkowski, is that a photograph could be seen either as a mirror or as a window. In the first instance, such as with a self-portrait, it’s an expression of the photographer’s self. In the latter, such as a crime scene evidence photo, a photographContinue reading “Windows and Mirrors”