Local photographer Chris Borschowa has put together a book celebrating his body of work, entitled Shadows of the Soul.

He said it shows how his medium has grown over the past seven years.

“Ultimately, it's a portfolio, because it spans from when I first started shooting in 2012 to present day, which is really cool because, as an artist or maybe even as an art viewer, you can see the progression in my style and my technique,” he said.

Borschowa’s original style blends photography with post-production techniques, with no photograph left untouched by his artful embellishments. Several layers are added to each of the pieces to create the desired outcome of conveying the intended feelings and ideas.

He said his body of work from the past seven years is a solid stream of imagery he wanted to turn into something physical that wasn’t on a screen.

“I wanted to be able to sit at home, have a nice little book,” he said. “I just want something physical that's from where I started to where I'm at. I want to see that progression, I want to have those memories.”

Borschowa said he wanted others to be able to enjoy the first chapter of his creative exploration of all things evocative.

“I went into this knowing that everything would be an evocative concept, that's just what I naturally gravitate towards,” he said.

He said he sets out to shoot with a deliberate concept, but he tries not to stay too married to an idea.

“Even if I have the general idea when I'm shooting, it's likely going to be wildly different when I edit, just because there's room for growth even when you're editing,” he noted.

“As long as it has some sort of emotional connotation to it, then I'm golden,” he expressed.

The book even features some local subjects and models, most of whom are Borschowa’s friends, including Rickee-Lee, Regan Lanning, Syd Schultz and, of course, Borschowa’s own fiance, Tanya Musk.

He said he relied heavily on his friends at the beginning, when he was first learning to take pictures, to carry out a concept with him.

“I had no idea what I was doing. I'm self-taught, so it's easier to work with your friends just because you’re comfortable with them,” he said, noting that once he found his style and carved his niche, he began working also with professional models.

The cohesive theme of the book is the culmination of Borschowa’s works exploring themes of raw emotion and the beauty of life and death.

“Life and death are strong concepts in my work, because they’re so, like, together. You can’t have life without death and you can’t have death without life,” he explained. “They’re both beautiful things in that aspect, and that, to me, is really inspiring.”

He explained the meaning behind the title of the book, since many of the included works do explore some of the darker sides of life.

“We experience these things and that's what makes us human,” said Borschowa. “As dark as they are, it's still a part of our soul, right? Each little thing makes us who we are, so that's kind of where the title spawned from.”

He said the title was submitted by a local fan of his works after he held an Instagram contest offering a free book to whoever came up with the coolest title. The title was submitted by Heidi Vogel, who is from Weyburn.

“It works so well, I love the concept of it,” he said.

Borschowa said the cover model, Noah Katchuk, is a friend of his who also happens to be a professional model. The image is of a person being lifted up off of the ground, illuminated, even bearing the resemblance of a halo. He is casting off his crown, which symbolizes for the artist the relinquishing of society’s expectations.

The model is also clothed, which is not always the case for Borschowa’s projects. He said he doesn’t do nudes in an obscene way, but to peel away the layers of the emotional being, revealing the raw, vulnerable humanity.

“The human body is fascinating to me because it can form so many shapes, and tell so many different stories, even without the crazy graphics I do,” he explained. “I wanted the cover image it to be very simplistic, I wanted the attention focused just on what the model is doing.”

Borschowa, who won this year’s James Weir People’s Choice award, said the book will eventually become available online for order, but for now he is taking book orders for people who may wish to purchase one.

He said, in fact, it has been a labour of love, for he doesn’t make his art ‘for the money’.

“I have a day job for that. This is my creative outlet,” he said. “This is fun for me. It’s cool to see my work printed. I’m so used to seeing it on a digital screen. The occasional time I’ll show it in a gallery, one piece. But this is cool because it’s 42 of my favourite pieces spanning seven years, so that’s really cool.”

Boschowa said every book from his first printing of the book has been spoken for, but anyone who would like to order one from the next run can contact him via Instagram and Facebook.