Bill Mason

Bill Mason ( born 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba as William Clifford Mason; † 29 October 1988 Meech Lake, Canada ) was a naturalist and conservationists, writers, filmmakers and nature painter. He has a special reputation among canoeists because of its educational films and books.

Life

Mason was born in 1929 in Winnipeg ( Manitoba ). In 1951 he graduated from the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. His love of nature urged him again and again into the wilderness, to which the Canadians him an important equipment was, he turned his life a lot of attention. Here he developed and refined various paddle strokes and driving techniques, especially for challenging white-water sections. The fascination of canoeing and wilderness made ​​Bill Mason with several films accessible to a wide audience.

Bill Mason died in 1988 from cancer.

His wife Joyce and his children, Paul and Becky led pursuing his work.

Work

As a writer and filmmaker Mason produced several works of high quality. With his family, he created a series of training films, which earned him the title of " patron saint of canoeing " or " paddle - Pope " and since the 1970s, influenced generations of canoeists. His book and his films about paddling technique made ​​him famous in Europe.

• Path of the Paddle, via the technique of canoeing ( translated into German by Elmar Engel and Arno Gatz ).
• Song of the Paddle, on canoe trips in the wilderness
• Canoescapes, a compilation of texts and paintings by Bill Mason

Movies

• The Voyageurs (1964 )
• Paddle to the Sea ( 1966) ( nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film, 1968)
• The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes ( awarded the BAFTA, 1968)
• Blake ( 1969) ( nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film, 1970)
• Death of a Legend ( 1971) ( documentary about the threat to the wolves)
• Cry of the Wild ( 1972)
• Gold Wood ( 1974)
• In Search of the Bowhead Whale ( 1974) ( Expedition film )
• Wolf Pack (1974 )
• Face of the Earth ( 1975)
• Path of the Paddle ( 1977) ( film series about paddling technique, which won the BAFTA Award)
• Song of the Paddle ( 1978) ( wilderness canoe trip of the Mason family)
• Coming Back Alive ( 1980)
• Pukaskwa National Park ( 1983)
• The country did Devours Ships (1984 )
• Water Walker ( 1984) ( feature film length about Bill Mason's trip on Lake Superior)

Painting

Mason brought many impressions which he experienced in nature, expressed in his paintings. Therefore, he took almost every time his Malausrüstung with his extended canoe trips. Mason painted in oil, from the style, it kept his great idol William Turner.

Honors

Bill Mason has received several honors, including the representation on Canadian postage stamps in 1998. A Tribute from the population, the unofficial but widespread name from a rocky outcrop in the 96 m high Virginia Falls of the Nahanni in Nahanni National Park as " Mason's Rock" dar. several canoes, which are based on the shape of the Chestnut Prospector in 1910, bear his name as a series or as a special model. His favorite boat, a canvas -covered wooden Prospector is now on display at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough (Ontario).