Photographer Reveals "Ghosts" of Lake Erie

By Veronica Volk

Dave Sandford is has been a professional photographer for 20 years. He’s based in London, Ontario -– about a half hour from Lake Erie. Over the years he’s dabbled in several genres of photography, from sports to wildlife, but says he always returns to the Great Lakes in his spare time.

We wanted to know more about his connection to the Great Lakes. Here are excerpts from our conversation, edited for clarity.

How would you explain your unique style?

A lot of people tell me when they see my images of the Great Lakes it brings them back to the old school paintings from hundreds of years ago of ships, and crazy waves, and that tone that's in the images. They have a little bit of a darker tone, more of a moody feel, I guess.

What is it that you see in the lakes that you're trying to reveal?

Ever since I was young I've been fascinated with all the myths and the legends that surround Lake Erie, whether it's the Lake Erie monster or the Storm Hag or the Witch of November across the Great Lakes. I have a cousin that has a cottage down at Turkey Point on Lake Erie and he's always had books and articles about plane crashes and ships sinking; he had a map on his cottage wall of the hundreds -- thousands, actually -- of shipwrecks around Lake Erie.

There have been thousands of lives lost on Lake Erie and one of the things that I started to notice when I was shooting the lake on a regular basis is the things that you see within the waves. I often see these faces and figures within the waves. People can call me crazy but I almost swear the lake is haunted. There are a lot of trapped souls in the lake and it's like I'm seeing the faces of these souls in images that I'm taking. It's almost like the lake is taunting or teasing these souls and they're almost escaping from the lake, but at the last second the lake is reaching up and grabbing them and pulling them back down to the depths.

Tell me about your most recent shoot.

It started out kind of average but the light was gorgeous, and it probably ended up being the greatest day I've ever had out on Lake Erie. It was mainly overcast throughout the day so that provided these ever-changing lighting conditions, almost like Mother Nature was doing professional lighting for me. She was opening up holes in the sky and lighting areas that I was shooting. It was as perfect as I could ever have imagined, and I was kind of giddy about it.

Do you have any advice that you'd give people who wanted to shoot the Great Lakes?

Number one: Be safe. Have the utmost respect for the water, because no matter what, the water is always going to win. Even if you're shooting from shore, always be aware of your surroundings. Keep an eye out, because the water can surge up pretty quickly and sneak up on you. If you're shooting somewhere where there's a pier or a drop off, be careful, because a lot of people don't expect rogue waves. Especially at this time of the year, you're not going to last long in that water.

Be confident, but not over-confident. You don't want to be cocky because when you start to get over-confident, that's when you can find yourself in trouble. 

See more of Dave Sandford's photo on his website.