It is no coincidence that Chris de Laat’s pictures have a way of capturing Thorold's beauty. The Port Colborne photographer grew up in Port Robinson, and he has never been able to let the place—and its people—go.
“I love the history, I love the old buildings, the atmosphere—I like the small-town feel,” says de Laat, while sharing his photographs with ThoroldToday readers.
Back in 2019, the city of Thorold asked de Laat to snap a series of pictures to showcase on the walls of City Hall.
“These were taken when they redid Thorold City Hall," says de Laat. "It was through a picture I had taken of the Twin Flights Locks. One of the employees contacted me through Instagram and that’s how it all transpired.”
De Laat doesn’t like taking pictures of people, so it's a good thing he's so talented at capturing structures.
“I cannot do portraiture, I don’t do people well,” he laughs. “I like architecture, buildings, landscapes. People don’t really take the time to realize what’s right in front of them. With my nighttime photography, a lot of the colours pop a lot more. There’s a lot of detail that you see. Everything is so much more dramatic.”
What makes de Laat's photos even more impressive is the fact that he is colour blind.
“For me to take a picture I’ve had to learn what my limits are on what I can adjust colour wise,” he says. “I can see red and green, but not all shades. Seeing colours at a distance is a real challenge for me. I think it may give my photography a different look.”
De Laat’s favourite picture in the Thorold series? The one he took of the Allanburg Bridge.
“It just looks so gigantic and the colours—I love everything about this picture,” he says. “I followed a ship from Thorold to Allanburg to get the bridge up because I wanted to get that shot.”
After City Hall hung up his photographs, de Laat went to take a peek.
“I was really impressed,” he says. “They are huge. They’re like four feet by five feet. It was really sharp.”
To get in touch with de Laat, or to order prints, check out his Facebook page or website.
