Halifax widower uses photography to remember wife, fundraise for ovarian cancer

HALIFAX – A Halifax man is raising money for Ovarian Cancer Canada using the moving power of photography.

Colin Campbell, 67, lost his wife Lynn Crosby two years ago to the deadly disease.

Crosby, a family doctor, discovered she had ovarian cancer after a routine ultrasound detected the tumour. She died two months after she was diagnosed.

“Lynn was an amazing woman. She loved me dearly, and I her,” Campbell said.

“It was a terribly traumatic time. Words cannot describe the pain that we went through.”

For a few months after her passing, Campbell, an avid photographer, found it hard to pick up his camera. But a trip to New Mexico with some photography friends got his creative juices going.

Soon he got the idea to put together a photography exhibit called The Topography of Wonder, with all proceeds going towards Ovarian Cancer Canada.

Campbell describes Crosby as funny, adventurous and a nature lover, which is why all the pictures in the exhibit are in the outdoors.

The photographs, some of which Campbell took with his wife by his side and others after her passing, are captured in places as far away as Iceland, France and Italy and as close as Cape Breton and Shubenacadie.

Some of the scenes captured by Campbell show breathtaking mountainsides, gushing geysers and beautiful rock formations.

“We loved being out in nature. We loved to travel. We loved to discover new things. We had a lot of excitement when we saw interesting and beautiful things,” he said.

“The kings of things that fascinated Lynn – interesting lines, textures and patterns – those are the things I’m trying to convey.”

Campbell wants his photos to spread the sense of awe he and his late wife had about the world around them.

“We were just fascinated by the mystery of everything. We were just awed by natural forms.”

Emilie Chiasson, regional director for Ovarian Cancer Canada, said about 300 women in Atlantic Canada are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. Unfortunately three-quarters of those diagnosed will die from the disease.

Chiasson said there is no screening test for women, which means women sometimes do not find out they have cancer until it is too late.

“When Colin donates his money to us, a large portion of that gets directed towards research, which is so important because there isn’t a screening test. We need to fund research because otherwise ovarian cancer doesn’t really get much attention in the big scale of things,” she said.

Campbell wants people to look at his pictures and get a glimpse into their souls, and with each snapshot, he is baring his.

“I think she would be very proud of what I’m doing. I know she would love my photography.”

So far the exhibit has raised more than $7,500.

The Topography of Wonder runs at ViewPoint Gallery in downtown Halifax until August 3.

For more information on Campbell’s work, click here: http://wonderscapes.ca/