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Gary Crallé

The Art of Travel Posters

Updated: Mar 29, 2023

Canada Post / Poste Canada has done itself proud with a commemorative 5-stamp set of vintage Canadian travel posters. Their June 9, 2022 issue date celebrated the emergence of post-covid travel. What better way than highlighting a golden age of commercial illustration with some stunning examples of art deco design?


Ii was only recently that I spotted this set in our local post office. I've always admired the fine detail of stamp designs from my younger days of learning about the world by collecting stamps from everywhere. At the time it seemed odd that the largest, most beautiful stamps came from the smallest countries. But that was before I realized that image is everything and stamps were international advertising.


I liked the romantic aura of these new Canadian stamps and decided to put together a tabletop still life to showcase them. Here's how I did it.


Assorted props for tabletop photo setups

Next I selected one of my favourite coffee table books as a background

The book and a selection of props were lit by window light (from the top of the picture) and tinfoil as a reflector to fill in the shadows. I stood on a folding kitchen ladder for an overhead view.


The final composite included the folder of stamps and small leisure-related items atop the cover of the Canadian Pacific coffee table book, which is appropriately about travel posters.

© Gary Crallé 2023



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liz
Mar 23, 2023

I've always admired your photography...now I understand why it's so wonderful. The final shot is a work of art.

I'll never complain again on a press trip when you steal my plate of food to photograph before I can take the first bite!

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hominicks
Mar 21, 2023

Hi Gary - Loved the story of how you created the fantastic final image of the poster memorial stamps. The stamps are superb. As a recipient of snail mail from Canada on special occasions (like Louise's birthday tomorrow) , I often wonder why so many of Canada's stamps are so tiny. Beautiful images of the country, and you need a magnifying glass to see them. Now these stamps are on the right track and your composite shows them off with the Cralle magic. Good job. Bill Hominick, Wokingham, England

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