John Sylvester remembered for telling P.E.I.'s story through his photos

An Island photographer is being remembered as a storyteller who captured beautiful images of people and landscapes around the world, with a particular focus on his home province of Prince Edward Island. 

John Sylvester died peacefully at his home on Jan. 19 with his daughters at his side, according to his death notice.

"He was the… original voice that I looked up to and he was the original photographer that I kind of studied his work," said Stephen DesRoches, a photographer and collaborator with whom Sylvester co-authored the 2018 book A Photographer's Guide to Prince Edward Island.

"I think most people that have worked with him or most photographers that have taken a class from him will say that he was an open book."  

Mainstreet PEI9:32Remembering John Sylvester

Photographer John Sylvester captured the beauty of Prince Edward Island in his work that spanned close to four decades in many published books. John passed away this week - he was mentor and collaborator with Stephen DesRoches, who joins us to share memories and reflections on John's work.

Sylvester's willingness to share was to the benefit of his fellow photographers, DesRoches told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie. 

"He didn't hold anything back." 

'Drawn to the natural landscape'

Sylvester knew a lot about photography, but he also knew a lot about this province. 

In an interview with CBC in 2018, Sylvester said he spent plenty of time in P.E.I. National Park and areas around the coast, and that he tended to be "really drawn to the natural landscape in Prince Edward Island" 

When Sylvester and DesRoches first started their book project, they did a road trip around the coast and checked off locations to write about in the book. 

"We would stop and we would talk about, 'This is a good location.' But also he would mention, like, 'This is how the fishing industry at this harbour works and this is how… the farming industry works over here,'" DesRoches said.

"It was fantastic."

As a photographer, Sylvester's business was "telling the complete story," DesRoches said. 

DesRoches has six of Sylvester's published photography books, some of which are now out of print. He described them as "treasure." 

"It's covering everything about P.E.I. It's… coastline, it's the interior. He's got pictures of the flowers, the wildlife."

Photos will 'live on'

While Sylvester's photographs have been circulated by organizations like Parks Canada and Tourism P.E.I., the collection of included in his published books are especially meaningful, DesRoches said. 

"Those are the images that he chose and those are the ones that he would consider his best," he said.

"While digital files and his hard drives will find a home somewhere else, these printed ones will be the ones that will live on." 

Visitation will be held on Jan. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Central Queens Funeral Home. A celebration of Sylvester's life will take place Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. 

If so desired, donations made to the Island Nature Trust or a charity of choice, Sylvester's family said in the death notice.