A few years ago I had the good fortune to be asked to helm a project in Canada called Dominion Day. I knew very little about Canadian military history but dove right in. With the incredible research that had been done by John Wood on the team I was given a binder at least four inches thick and I studied it like a fiend. The material was meticulously put together and I learned the story of how, General Sir Arthur Currie, rose from obscurity to command the most powerful fighting force on the western front, The Canadian Corp.
WWI became real to me and not some distant out of focus story that happened, "over there" in the very distant past. The stories I read were filled with emotion and very real to me and for the film I wanted to make it as vivid to viewers as possible. One of the creative decisions I made was to use, as part of the visual look, colorized stills of iconic scenes. We hired perhaps the best Photoshop® designer in the country and he went to work. He studied the fabrics used, the paint colors on tanks, flags, wall paper and just about everything else. Once he delivered his first colored WWI photo it hit me hard - suddenly the people had life... the days had sun, the grass was green - the story was up close and personal.

The production unfortunately decided to go off in a different creative direction as happens with projects and the stills were never used or seen...until now. I have held onto these images as I thought them absolutely stunning and I now believe they should be shared with the world. I just released a book based on the script I wrote for the Dominion Day film called, How Canada Won The Great War and these photos are in sequence and follow that story. My favorite photo is the last one in the series and when you see it you'll know why. I hope you enjoy these images and I can say with confidence this is the only place in the world and on the web you will see them. Best wishes and prepare to be transported back in time.