Bill Mason (4)

Bill Mason was a Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christian sermons in his films. He was born in 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and graduated from the University of Manitoba School of Art in 1951. He developed and refined canoeing strokes and river-running techniques, especially for complex whitewater situations. Mason canoed all of his adult life, ranging widely over the wilderness areas of Canada and the United States. Termed a "wilderness artist," Mason left a legacy that includes books, films, and artwork on canoeing and nature. His daughter Becky Mason is a canoeist and artist. His son Paul Mason is also a canoeist and artist. Mason died of cancer in 1988.


Canoeing
In his review of James Raffan's 1996 biography of Mason, Michael Peake refers to Mason as "the patron saint of canoeing." To many Canadian and American Paddlers and Canoeists growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, his series of instructional films were the introduction to technique and the canoeing experience. In many ways, Bill, Joyce, Paul and Becky Mason were the "faces" of Canadian Canoeing in the '70s. Mason's good friend, filmmaker Blake James, also frequently appeared in his films.

Although he used a variety of Chestnut models in his films, including the "Pal", his favourite boat was a red "Fort" Chestnut Prospector, a 16-foot canvas covered wood canoe that he claimed was the most versatile design ever manufactured, in spite of the popularity of more durable and modern construction techniques and materials. After his death, this canoe was donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario, where it is on display. His wife, Joyce, and children, Paul and Becky, frequently travelled with him and contributed to his later books and films, and have continued his life work and environmentalism.

Honours

Mason in a canoe with overhead camera
Mason won several honours, including being featured on a Canadian postage stamp in 1998. After his death, a warden at Nahanni National Park Reserve informally started calling the dramatic rock spire, in the midst of Virginia Falls, "Mason's Rock". This usage appears to have become widespread, although it has not yet been made official. His films can be viewed for free on the internet through the website of the National Film Board of Canada.

Works by Bill Mason

Books
* Path of the Paddle ISBN 1-55209-328-X, on the technique of Canadian style canoeing
* Song of the Paddle ISBN 1-55209-089-2, on wilderness canoe travel
* Canoescapes - a compilation of text and his paintings wiki

Director (23 credits)
1996 Path of the Paddle: Quiet Water
1996 Path of the Paddle: White Water
1986 L'aviron qui nous mène, Volume 2 (Documentary)
1984 The Land That Devours Ships (Documentary)
1984 Waterwalker (Documentary)
1983 L'aviron qui nous mène, Volume 1 (Documentary)
1983 Pukaskwa National Park (Documentary short)
1981 Where the Buoys Are (Documentary short)
1980 Coming Back Alive (Documentary short)
1978 Song of the Paddle (Short)
1977 Path of the Paddle: Doubles Basic (Short)
1977 Path of the Paddle: Doubles Whitewater (Short)
1977 Path of the Paddle: Solo Basic (Short)
1977 Path of the Paddle: Solo Whitewater (Short)
1975 Face of the Earth (Documentary short)
1974 Wolf Pack (Documentary short)
1974 In Search of the Bowhead Whale (Documentary)
1973 Cry of the Wild (Documentary)
1971 Death of a Legend (Documentary)
1969 Blake (Short)
1968 The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes (Short) (as William Mason)
1966 Paddle to the Sea (Documentary short) (as William Mason)
1959 Wilderness Treasure (Documentary short) (as William Mason)

IMDB

Enlaces completados:
OK Paddle to the Sea (Bill Mason, 1969)

Films que no estan en HmB:
OK Blake (Bill Mason, 1969)
OK Waterwalker (Bill Mason, 1984)
OK Wilderness Treasure (Bill Mason, 1959)

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