Monday, March 18, 2024

Looking for hope beyond the storm

There's always light
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Beyond every storm, there’s a slash of light that holds hope for a better future.

Maybe it’s hard to see or appreciate, but it’s there. It’s little more than a matter of perspective, really, simply because of where we happen to be standing at any given moment.

Like the skies here, where angry clouds do their best to hide the brilliance behind and above. Soon enough, though, the winds will come along and sweep the fear away.

We simply have to trust forces so often feel beyond our control. That time always seems to find a way to brighten the skies above us.

Feels like a reasonable thought to hold onto on a Monday, doesn’t it?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sun #sunset #sky #tree #trees #cloud #clouds #cloudspotting #weather #wx #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Gloomy, desolate beauty

Monochrome landscape
London, ON
January 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We’re days away from winter giving way to spring, and we’d be forgiven for thinking we didn’t have much of a winter at all this year.

So I’m sharing this image, taken on a gloomy January morning, as a reminder that in between the record-shattering warmth and lack of snow, we had a few fleeting moments where things looked and felt somewhat normal.

All of this begs the question: what’s normal, anyway?

I don’t think that question can ever be answered.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwcack #tree #trees #fog #weather #wx #onstorm #monochrome #highbury #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Saturday, March 16, 2024

The things we find in the gutter

Halfsies
London, ON
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The world can be a pretty ugly place, and proof of that is often as close as the ground beneath our feet.

I found this on a Saturday morning while out with the dog for her first walk of the day. She was happily sniffing the dirt in the gutter - a dog thing, apparently - so I stood beside her, transfixed by the discarded half-smoked cigarette.

It wasn’t so much the singular image that caught my attention. Rather, it was the story behind it, and the things I could not see.

I wondered who tossed it aside as it slowly burned down its length, and concluded this was but one more countless others. Because someone who would mindlessly toss one butt away like this certainly wouldn’t stop at one.

Whoever this stranger may have been, I’m reasonably certain they never gave their actions a second thought.

But I did. Over something I should have been able to quickly set aside, but couldn’t.

The world is indeed ugly. So are some of the folks who call it home.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #street #streetphotography #cigarette #smoking #belmont #stilllife #roadside #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Friday, March 15, 2024

Ronald McDonald would approve

Friendly arches
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


It’s 10 minutes before midnight as I step back into my car and head home with our very late, unplanned fast food dinner.

It was a day when life’s script was set aside, when we learned yet again why health is the only thing that truly matters. And as is often the case when ERs are visited and entire days are spent waiting in one plasticky chair after another, we eat where and when we can.

And so I found myself looking for an open McDonald’s in the middle of the night. Because I’m silly, I didn’t bother looking anything up when I left the house: just jumped in the car in my flustered rush and assumed everything would be open.

Um, no. Which is how I pulled up to our local McD’s, only to realize it had been closed for hours. So I parked beside the darkened windows and frantically searched on my phone for the nearest open outlet, only to realize the only one still serving was nowhere near home. Which meant it was time for an unplanned cruise through the darkened streets.

This isn’t just any McDonald’s. When it opened its doors in 1968, it was the first restaurant for the iconic brand in Eastern Canada. It has since undergone a careful rebuild that somehow managed to respect the spirit of the original.

I stood in the parking lot and thought about the countless stories that must have played out here over the ensuing decades. The pit stops after the game. The tiny moments marked with ice cream. The family meetings after a hospital visit. All I could do was imagine the history, the echoes pinging through my head amid the pale yellow glow.

I appreciate the prevailing opinion of a place like this, that it’s little more than a stupid fast food joint, hardly worthy of a second look let alone a soft-focus tour of our shared history. But that’s the thing: pieces of almost everyone’s life play out here, or in places just like it. Not every backdrop to every story is storybook.

And I felt that trigger as I carefully walked under the shadowy lights, appreciating the silent fact that I was adding another unplanned chapter to my family’s story in a place we had all come to strangely appreciate.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #architecture #shadows #lines #light #pools #oasis #geometry #streetphotography #night #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Geodesic, May 2006

Thursday, March 14, 2024

When trees fall...

The friends who carry us
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


When this tree fell in the forest, there was no way of knowing if anyone heard it.

Probably not. But that was never the point anyway.

Because a tree’s worth is hardly determined by the single moment when it falls to earth. It remains vital long after its roots are pulled unceremoniously from the ground by the cruel forces of time and gravity. Suspended in mid-air by its onetime neighbours, it decays slowly above the flowing creek, gently nourishing the water and the land that once fed its growth.

The circle of life tends to whisper its presence rather than shout it. So when it does, we might want to stop what we’re doing to appreciate it. The lessons we learn in the woods may indeed be silent, but we still owe it to ourselves to listen.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Furry couch potato

Thousand mile stare
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


More often than I dare admit, I’ll stop what I’m doing and just watch our dog, Calli, as she sleeps.

She can nap pretty much anywhere - just curls herself into a ball and nods off.

Or, as she’s done here, she’ll stretch out and drowsily stare back at me.

Whatever her state, I’ll stare back at her and wonder what’s going through her dog mind. Is she dreaming? If so, about what? Other dogs? The squirrel she failed to capture during this morning’s walk? That time I wrestled half a discarded chicken from between her supernaturally locked jaws?

I’ll never know for sure. I just hope that happiness is bouncing around in there. Everyone - including the dog - deserves happiness.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #callitheschnauzer #callithewonderschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #ınstagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023
Boop the snoot, October 2023
Sleepy puppy stare, November 2022
The king at rest, December 2014

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Feel the bark

Textured
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Isn’t it fascinating how a strictly two-dimensional medium like photography can make us feel textures just by looking at them?

I don’t fully understand how that works, either, but it sure is a fun concept to play with, both in the mind and with the chunk of glass and electronics I hold in my hand.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #tree #trees #trunk #bark #optimist #park #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #texture #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Monday, March 11, 2024

All signs point to cheese

Wallace and Gromit would be proud
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


This one needs an explanation. Whenever we hunt and forage for food, I feel compelled to take at least one photo.

Part of me wants to simply remember the ordinary moments, to take time-outs during the most mundane everyday activities. To remind myself that nothing is ever ordinary, and the extraordinary can show itself if we bother to look for it.

One of my unshakable habits involves the signs identifying different sections in the store. I originally focused on taking random pics of funnily-worded signs, but have since branched out to memorable designs and compositions.

There was something about the far corner of the dairy section that spoke to me. It had colour, shading, leading lines, indifferently applied yellow paint, and a non-coincidental cheese connection. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Wait, scratch that. Not everything needs to make sense. It’s perfectly fine if it’s just a photo or a moment that makes me - and hopefully you - smile.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #signs #shopping #retail #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
This way, please, January 2022
Bakerv or Bakery? October 2020

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Listening to the soundtrack of the forest

It speaks to us
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We go through phases in life, and that often gets reflected in the things we create along the way. Which is my way of explaining why my feed seems filled with lots of nature and sunset scenes these days.

First, we live close to all this natural beauty, and after years of trying to convince myself to get “out there” more, I’m finally doing just that. And since I usually have a camera in tow, it’s easy to see how that might influence the photography.

Second, nature is a bit of a refuge from a world gone mad. And, yes, you’d be forgiven for thinking Planet Earth has done precisely that in recent years. Life may be beautiful and precious, but it also isn’t always easy.

And when it gets particularly wild, some of us may look for places of quiet reflection - actual, virtual, whatever. So this is one of my places of quiet reflection.

Maybe it makes for repetition, and maybe it doesn’t. Once upon a time I probably would have cared more, or at least done more to break the cycle of sameness and find something different to share. But the sameness IS the story, my story (and possibly the story of so many others, too), so I’m just going to go with it.

Today’s image is one of those moments-of-reflection scenes, where I just stood there and watched the not-so-silent woods slowly shake off the morning fog. It was a comforting thing to do in a comforting place at a time when comfort is so very much needed.

I hope you have similarly comforting places to seek refuge, and similarly comforting scenes to share.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Saturday, March 09, 2024

Under the glowing sky

Silhouetted
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


As a kid, I’d stare at lines of trees on the horizon and imagine what lay beyond.

Today, we’re blessed with all sorts of tools and technologies that tell us all we need to know about the parts of the planet that aren’t visible to the naked eye. In adulthood, answers to mysteries are never further than our fingertips.

Yet I find myself staring at the silhouetted trees and wishing some mysteries remained just that. Not everything needs an answer, and sometimes it’s good for the soul to not know what lies beyond the horizon.

Indeed, sometimes it’s better to let the answers find their way to us on their own schedule, one sunset at a time.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sun #sunset #twilight #sky #tree #trees #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Friday, March 08, 2024

Teletubby in a tree

Just hanging around
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Po hadn’t been out of the house in a while. And as I allowed that reality to sink in, I realized I hadn’t gotten much fresh air, either, so a spontaneous wander through the neighbourhood for both of us was called for.

As luck would have it, the sun was about to set. So while I waited for the golden hour light to fade to a delightful twilight glow, I unlatched my favourite Teletubby from her spot on my camera bag and attached her to the nearest tree.

It was bit breezy, so she danced rather unpredictably after I hooked the carabiner to the branch. My feet traced circles around her as I tried to line up the right light with the right background. It wasn’t my proudest photographic moment - a tiny stuffed animal? Seriously? - but it was easily the most fun I’ve had with a camera in a while.

As often happens when I shoot weird images in the park, I attract the attention of strangers - and today was no different. A woman in a lovely wool hat and a nicely tailored coat veered off the sidewalk and asked me what I was shooting. I watched her initial smile turn to something a little more quizzical as she gradually realized I wasn’t focusing on the sun, but was instead doing a bizarre shoot with a hanging Teletubby.

But confusion soon turned to laughter as she belatedly realized what was hanging from the tree, and she shared that her own kids had watched the show, and she strangely misses them. She seemed amused that I had held onto this Happy Meal toy for so long, and wished me well as she continued on her way.

Soon enough the sun was gone, so I returned Po to her usual spot on the bag and concentrated on the horizon. But for some reason it was the spontaneous exchange with a stranger that stuck with me.

I’m generally not one to connect with folks I don’t know - it’s the introvert in me - but I do appreciate the power of photography to create connections that wouldn’t otherwise happen. If it unlocked a memory for someone and gave them a reason to smile, then I’m glad I decided to take Po out for some air.

I guess we’ll have to get out there more often, then.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #po #red #teletubby #optimist #park #goldenhour #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Standing still in the mud

Just listen
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


On a foggy Sunday morning, I decided to head into the woods for some much-needed unplugged time.

Soon after descending into the valley and leaving the rest of civilization behind, I realized two things:
  1. The place was completely empty. Usually I’ll see the occasional stranger or two, but not today.
  2. The place was a mud-filled mess after recent rains, which I soon realized was the reason for the emptiness.
Even worse, the fog show was a bust.

Since my initial reason for being here was now moot, and I couldn’t really walk too far for fear of becoming permanently stuck in the mud, I instead stood in one spot and just listened.

I heard the soundtrack of the woods at a fidelity I’ve never before experienced. I could hear droplets falling off of branches, and trunks creaking in the soft breeze. Even squirrels looking for food had their own audio signature, and soon enough I felt immersed in a rich, unexpected soundscape.

The camera stayed tucked away, because none of this was about taking pictures, anyway. For once, I just wanted to feel in the moment without the weight of having to record it. I’ll admit it was incredibly freeing.

I don’t know how long I stood in that one spot, but it would never be long enough, anyway.

Before turning for home and carefully picking my way out of this boggy mess, I took a single image with my phone. I wasn’t looking for The Photo as much as I simply wanted a marker to remind myself of a memorable walk in the woods.

But as is often the case, a simple picture becomes much more when it plugs into the story that made it possible.

And so here it is. I suspect there will be more walks like this to come.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Remember: You are beautiful

Pause for an important message
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I’m the last person to applaud the appearance of graffiti*.

It’s a form of insidious vandalism that drags down neighbourhoods and opens the door to the kinds of breakdowns in the urban and community fabric that make us want to live anywhere else.

But I’m going to make an ever-so-slight exception this time.

I found this particular example under a bridge beside a creek through the woods not far from our home. The smooth concrete walls are frequent targets of the taggers, and the cat-and-mouse game between paint and primer has been playing out for as long as we’ve lived here.

I generally ignore it when new tags show up, figuring it won’t take long for the forces of good to do their thing. But this one stopped me in my tracks.

Because we are each, indeed, beautiful in our own way. And sometimes we need to be reminded of it.

Don’t get me wrong: there are better ways and places to share an inspirational message. But in a world where inspiration is in short supply to begin with, we should amplify the sentiment whenever we happen to see it.

Now wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing?

* I appreciate the blurred-line relationship between graffiti and art. I also appreciate that lots of street artists are immensely talented, and their work deserves to be celebrated alongside that of any other artists working in any other medium. I draw a huge distinction between these artists and those whose work amounts to little more than random squiggly tagging with whatever they managed to shoplift from the closest Canadian Tire. Thanks to the investments of the former kind, our city is blessed with a richly diverse mix of murals and related works. The world needs more of that kind of art.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #wonderland #graffiti #mural #art #street #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Mushroom mania

Random growth
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Wild mushrooms grow randomly beside a decaying tree stump on a suburban boulevard.

It isn’t the kind of thing that normally attracts much attention, but maybe it should. Who writes the rules about what is and is not worthy, anyway?

Which explains how I end up shooting an early-morning spontaneous still-life shoot while the dog sniffs the overgrown grasses just out of frame.

It’s another ordinary moment in an ordinary place, but by now it should be apparent to anyone who knows me that there are no ordinary moments or places.

Despite whatever we may have heard over the years, there are no rules to any of this.

And whatever merits attention is entirely up to us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #street #streetphotography #mushroom #stilllife #roadside #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

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