Saturday, November 30, 2024

Where pink banishes grey

Seek vibrancy
London, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It isn’t even winter yet in the Great White North, but already the landscape is shifting into its annual near-monochrome mode, where muted tones replace vibrant colours as everything around us seems to sleep amid the relentless cold.

So we look for whatever colours remain, wherever they may be. And when we come across them in the forlorn corners of a parking lot, bathed in harsh security lights that splatter themselves over the bare, cracked pavement, we take a few moments for a closer look - and maybe a spontaneous photo shoot - before real life summons us back.

This particular example is a vibrant pink-painted shipping container that’s been repurposed as a beloved neighbourhood ice cream shop. They make a mean cherry milkshake, by the way.

Sadly, Canadians don’t make milkshakes in winter, cherry or otherwise, so the brilliant pink container stands empty and locked, ignored amid the biting winds and drifting flurries.

And as we count the days until life returns here, we stand and take in the welcome shot of colour and shape and texture, itself a reminder that hope can be found in the most surprising corners of the everyday.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada @celsiusicecreamshop #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #pink #geometry #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
A ship on the horizon, December 2020
Rust in peace, September 2012
Full of ship, April 2011
Ocean ranger, November 2009

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Friday, November 29, 2024

Talking about the Australian social media ban with the CBC

I joined chief anchor Ian Hanomansingh on CBC's flagship newscast, The National, to walk through the new Australian under-16 social media law.!

The video of the segment is available here:


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One colourful tree. One not.

Opposites attract
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Those who have and those who don’t can often be found side-by-side.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #autumn #colour #trees #leaves gameoftones #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
A tale of two trees, October 2022

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Thursday, November 28, 2024

It feels like a Bluesky moment

I'll add myself to the growing legions of folks jumping on the #Bluesky bandwagon.

FWIW, I wouldn't know what a bandwagon is if I bumped into one in real life.

Come on over and say hi. Then stick around a while. We'll make it fun. Promise.


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Reflecting over a bunch of glasses

Drink up
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The pandemic took so much away from us - but in some ways it also changed us for the better.

Exhibit A: these glasses.

They were sitting in the kitchen of our friends’ home. As we all gathered around the central island and caught up since our last gathering, I stepped back a bit and found myself listening to the warm buzz of the room.

I do that often, and my friends get the why. If I pull a camera out to remember the moment, they smile that understanding smile that only true friends can. I’m a lucky human, indeed.

Since we all began reconnecting after COVID started to slip into the past, I found myself appreciating these moments even more than I might have previously.

Maybe being stuck connecting to each other exclusively via videoconference made us appreciate these in-person get-togethers a little more after the lockdowns ended.

I know it’s changed me, and I no longer take simple moments like these for granted. They matter to us far more than we once thought.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #glass #kitchen #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Cool glass of water, August 2021
Raise your glass(es). November 2017
Goblets and light, March 2007

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Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Leafy chaos

So much going on
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Admittedly, this photo of a leaf-covered forest floor is a chaotically random mess. But that’s entirely the point.

Every year, my photo roll seems to overflow with images like this one. While the canopy overhead gets everyone else’s attention, I’m the weirdo pointing the lens straight down and trying to keep my feet out of the frame.

I’m perpetually intrigued by the riot of colours and textures, the sheer complexity of scenes I’d otherwise miss if I chose to be a little more like everyone else.

But I’m not. I look in the shadowy nooks and crannies that surround us. Or the wonky stuff everyone else would just trample on their way to something else.

Because the forest floor isn’t the only thing that’s chaotically and randomly messy. So is life.

Which, to me, is beautiful and worth a closer look.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #floor #fallen #leaf #leaves #autumn #colour #stilllife #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Canine sphinx

I'll just be over here, looking pretty
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Days with dogs > days without dogs.

Calli the Wonderschnauzer agrees, and hopes she’s prompted some smiles on an otherwise grey day.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Our dog the photo model, September 2024
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023
Boop the snoot, October 2023
Sleepy puppy stare, November 2022
The king at rest, December 2014

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Monday, November 25, 2024

Praying at the altar of red

Leftovers
London, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every other tree around here has been bare for weeks, empty branches swaying in the cold late-November wind.

Yet this young maple sapling stands defiantly against the season, its few remaining leaves of red calling out from clear across the street, almost begging to be seen one last time.

The winds toss them around, yet they still hold fast, tenaciously refusing to slip easily into memory.

But remember them we will, for defiance plays well in those forgotten spaces beside the woods - and everywhere else, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #trees #gameoftones #autumn #colour #red #leaves #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone
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Sunday, November 24, 2024

The floating leaf

One last look before...
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the middle of a shallow creek deep in the wooded valley, a single tattered leaf fights the gentle yet relentless current.

The water has been flowing here since long before recorded history was a thing, slowly carving out the spectacular landscape.

Year after year, countless trees have sprouted even more countless leaves, only to have them fall, forgotten, before the snow returns.

This single leaf is no exception, yet still it holds on against forces it knows it can’t outlast.

In a way it feels like a broader lesson, perhaps one the person staring into the quiet waters might want to ponder on the long walk back to the so-called real world.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #trees #leaves #rocks #water #shadows #sun #autumn #gameoftones #texture #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Saturday, November 23, 2024

Peering out of the forest

The things we see from underneath the darkness
Komoka, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: I’m wandering solo through the woods west of London. The steel-grey skies have been threatening rain for most of the afternoon, but thankfully the wet stuff has held off.

Not that I can see the steel-grey, because the canopy here is still thick with leaves on this miserable October afternoon, and the forest floor is coated in deep shades of gloom.

I’ve got my camera in my hand in case I come across anything of interest, but so far I haven’t shot anything. The day might very well be a bust.

Eventually, I come across a small clearing at the top of a cliff, a small stab of light piercing deep into the woods. If I (carefully) stand between the trees just so, I can see for miles. I shoot a few quick frames between the random branches before continuing on my way.

We never know when the light will shine through the darkness. We can’t afford to not be prepared when it does.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #komoka #provincialpark #throwback #autumn #colour #trees #leaves #gameoftones #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography


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Friday, November 22, 2024

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it

Start with one step
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sooner or later we all run into bridges that need to be crossed.

So we cross them.

What we find on the other side is anyone’s guess.

But we’ll never know unless we take that first step.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #heritage #forest #bridge #trees #autumn #color #colour #gameoftones #perspective #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Thursday, November 21, 2024

When is a yam not a yam?

Go on, touch it
London, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram
 
Saturday afternoon grocery runs in a college town mean aisles clogged with students and parents debating the merits of regular Kraft Dinner vs. the upmarket white cheese version.

It also means an ultra-fast smartphone photo shoot in the vegetable section, where some of those very same students and parents watch with bemused smiles as I zero in in on a particularly texture-rich pile of yams.

At least I think they’re yams. [CORRECTION: I’ve been informed these are beets. I have zero veggie cred.] Doesn’t matter either way, because precision takes a back seat to the fact that my little photo sesh makes complete strangers smile a little.

And in case we haven’t been paying attention, Planet Earth is a bit of a Dumpster fire these days, so we could all use an excuse - any excuse, really - to smile.

I’m using my smartphone to make that happen. What’s your tool of choice?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #loblaws #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #fruitography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
This spud's for you, January 2021
Step gingerly, August 2019
Stalker! July 2018

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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Talking about Bluesky to Canadians

What’s #Bluesky and why are we hearing so much about it these days?

Could it be the heir apparent to X-nee-Twitter?

I’ll walk through the ins and outs of the planet’s most buzzworthy social media platform with #CBCRadio stations across Canada on Thursday morning.

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Walk the leaf-choked path

Carpeted
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Maybe the path ahead is littered with the remnants of seasons past.

Walk it, anyway.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #heritage #forest #trees #autumn #forest #floor #fallen #leaf #leaves #stilllife #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Getting reflectively autumnal

Bouncing colour and light
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The world looked so different a month ago, didn’t it?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #springbank #forest #trees #autumn #color #colour #gameoftones #thames #river #reflection #water #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Monday, November 18, 2024

Building a better web

It only looks lightweight
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Depeche Mode’s Construction Time Again always seems to play in my head when I come across scenes like this.

Maybe it’s the relentless tenacity of building and rebuilding despite everything nature throws this spider’s way.

Maybe it’s the sheer engineering genius of something that at first blush looks simple, but in reality is freakishly complex.

Maybe it’s the sense of wonder taking place in the shadowy corners where most of us never look - but probably should.

Maybe it doesn’t need to have meaning at all. Maybe it’s just an excuse to be wowed in a world where few of us seem to be looking for those elusive wow moments.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #naturephotography #monochrome #stilllife #photography #spider #web #spiderweb #spidersofinstagram #macrophotography #spiderphotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Sunday, November 17, 2024

Glass cube in the sky

Where's my ruler?
Toronto, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Officially, this is the Sheldon & Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre, and it’s part of the Toronto Metropolitan University (nee Ryerson) campus.

Unofficially, it’s an icon on Yonge Street, a sleek glass box on the busiest stretch of Canada’s biggest city that serves as an anchor to generations of students during their journey toward a brighter future.

Compelling architecture can do that, namely rise above its obvious purpose as a safe space protected from the elements. It can make us feel something from a chapter that mattered, trigger a memory, or simply stop what we’re doing and reflect on the what, the how, the who, and the why.

I didn’t study here, but I’ve got similarly resonant buildings from faraway places cluttering the shadowy corners of my mind. And walking up to this sleek glass box on a grey day somehow unlocks memories I thought I’d buried long ago.

We all come from somewhere. We all possess memories of places that have wrapped themselves around our souls. It’s not a bad thing to reconnect with them every once in a while.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #downtown #tmu #city #yonge #geometry #reflective #mirror #glass #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone


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Saturday, November 16, 2024

Always a new sky

Come on out for another show
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

While it is true that the sky is always putting on some kind of show, it’s just as true that the show it’s putting on right now will never be repeated.

Which explains why I keep finding myself standing quietly, camera in hand, waiting for something to happen far above my head.

Perhaps it seems repetitive. And it is. Or maybe even a waste of time. Which I promise you it most certainly is not.

Every time I stand here, I see something new. Or maybe it seems familiar, but I’m seeing it through a different lens. Maybe I’m in a different mood. Maybe I have thoughts that need to be worked out. Maybe I just don’t want to be thinking at all.

There’s a sense of comfort derived from returning to the same place and waiting for something that may or may not happen. There’s a sense of comfort derived from turning it all off and just enjoying the show.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunset #cloudspotting #weather #wx #optimistpark #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Friday, November 15, 2024

Red leaves on a string

Slash of colour
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We can see red and get upset, or we can see red and be inspired.

Choices. Entirely ours.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #trees #red #leaves #gameoftones #texture #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Thursday, November 14, 2024

The squirrel who followed me

Let's play
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: I’m walking through London’s Springbank Park on a late autumn afternoon. I hear skittering behind me, and look back to see a black squirrel following along.

I stop to appreciate the strange spectacle of a human meeting a rodent. We stare at each other for a bit before I turn around and continue along the path.

A few hundred metres further on, it occurs to me that I’m still hearing some skittering. I look back once again and see my new squirrelly friend still following me at a respectful distance. I smile at her before I get back to my walk.

You know what happens next. More skittering. More stopping. More staring. This goes on for 15 minutes, and by now I’ve walked well over a kilometre with this little furball in tow.

Of course the moment calls for some photography, and of course she poses like a pro.

I know she would probably rip my face off if given the opportunity. But for an abnormal stretch of time on a sunny afternoon in the park, I want to imagine that we’re somehow connected.

If only any of this applied to more than a single squirrel.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #springbank #squirrel #squirrelsofinstagram #squirrelphotography #squirrelwhisperer #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Feelin' squirrelly, September 2008
Another squirrel, July 2007
Gecko adventure, February 2007
A critter visits, October 2006

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Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Where we follow a man who shops

Mission accomplished
Toronto, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s been a while since I did the street photography thing.

Never mind the fact that this is in a mall and not a street.

This particular mall, Toronto’s Eaton Centre, has always been a bit of a Mecca for a little visual fun. And even after renovations that cut into the grandeur of the atrium, there are still places here where the old magic of a carefully crafted public space manages to be seen and felt.

In all likelihood the stranger ahead of me on the escalator will never be known. It’s another facet of street photography that adds to its poignancy.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #downtown #city #yonge #eatoncentre #mall #retail #glass #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Crystal cathedral,  September 2023
Oasis of learning, April 2018
Eaton Centre, way up, February 2018

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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The necessity of colour

Painted, for now
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If anything, we need colour now more than ever.

At least that’s what I tell myself as I wander the valley in search of something - anything, really - that makes me smile.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #trees #gameoftones #autumn #colour #trees #leaves #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Canopy in chaos, October 2023
Let's start colorfully, November 2020

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Monday, November 11, 2024

The canopy turns red

Opposites attract
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

[NOTE: I’m working my way through processing the autumn photos off of my camera-camera - not the smartphone - so please accept my oh-so-Canadian apologies for posting these weeks after they were taken. Better late than never, right?]

Just before the leaves fell for good, they flared into a supernaturally bright shade of red. The arboreal colourfest lasted for all of a day before the winds moved in and finished the job.

We always seem to save the best for last, don’t we? I think the trees feel the same way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #trees #gameoftones #autumn #colour #red #leaves #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Red Roof Inn, October 2024
Temporary red blanket, October 2019

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Sunday, November 10, 2024

All the leaves are brown...

Down
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

All the leaves have fallen, their once brilliant colours now reduced to a near-monochrome brown.

No one heads out anymore to shoot autumn-brown photos. Which leaves me all alone to shuffle through the deep layers left behind, my feet crunching through the endless mess.

It sounds and feels like nothing else, a blink-and-you-miss-it moment between autumn and winter when what at first blush seems like an ending instead turns out to be a glorious opening to a vibrant next chapter.

So we crouch down as far as we dare and get a close look at this ephemeral scene before the snows rewrite the script yet again.

Because there’s always a new story being written, always a new chapter to be added to what’s already been told.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #floor #fallen #leaf #leaves #stilllife #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Saturday, November 09, 2024

Yet more reflection...

Blink and you miss it
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m still in a reflective mood. Something tells me I’m not alone.

What are you reflecting on, over, or about?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #heritage #forest #trees #autumn #color #colour #gameoftones #thames #river #reflection #water #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Friday, November 08, 2024

ICYMI: TikTok gets (sort of) shut down in Canada

ICYMI: I joined the Vassy Kapelos Show yesterday to break down the federal government's decision to order the shutdown of #TikTok's Canadian offices.


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Ephemeral reflections

They're really just photons
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Peer into the reflective waters long enough and one thing soon becomes clear: everything is an illusion.

From the light of the trees that bounces off the silvery surface to the flowing waters themselves, none of it is real or permanent.

And yet, still we stand on the riverbank, and still we stare.

Because even something that struggles to exist in our imagination retains the power to inspire us to act.

It’s something I toss around in my mind as I exit the forest, the scene behind me already forever changed, yet again.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #heritage #forest #trees #autumn #color #colour #gameoftones #thames #river #reflection #water #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Thursday, November 07, 2024

Monochrome is a colour, too

Reach for the sky
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

So often when I go looking for colour, I end up with monochrome.

The irony isn’t lost on me. The world, apparently, is an unpredictable place. And while we expend limitless resources, time, and energy making the most elaborate plans, the universe so often seems to beg to differ.

In the end, I rather like life on the greyscale. The stripped branches against a starkly lit sky seem to speak to me, and this is the image that most sticks with me even if it wasn’t part of my initial plan.

Because scripts can only take us so far, and something tells me this is yet another example of photography imitating real life.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #heritage #forest #trees #gameoftones #autumn #naturephotography #landscapephotography #monochrome #photogtaphy #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Instagram 2K, February 2020

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Wednesday, November 06, 2024

Dogs get out the vote, too

Wake me when it's over
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You can practically feel the tension as the U.S. election plays out to its inevitable conclusion.

So please allow me to share this random photo of our dog, Calli the Wonderschnauzer.

Headlines don’t matter to her. As long as she’s fed and walked and played with and loved, she’s a happy girl.

I’ve been holding onto that notion for a while. Because dogs always seem to find perspective that evades the rest of us.

And a world with dogs remains better than a world without. Maybe find one and indulge in some canine therapy. It feels good. I promise you.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #shadow #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Our dog the photo model, September 2024
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023
Boop the snoot, October 2023
Sleepy puppy stare, November 2022
The king at rest, December 2014

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Tuesday, November 05, 2024

America goes to the polls, so...

Refuge in photography
Kitchener, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

PLEASE NOTE: It’s #ElectionDay in America, and today’s photo comes with a bit of a mission. Please give the full caption a read - and consider joining in. Thank you.

Here we go…

As millions of voters head to the polls in the U.S., you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just another election. It isn’t. It's an inflection point in history.

Now, I’m not American. I technically have no skin in this game. Yet given the outsized global role this singular nation plays - and the fact that we’re next-door neighbours and besties - it would be naive to assume that the outcome of the election won’t have a profound effect in the Great White North. It will.

Social media and the broader internet are always cesspools, of course, but they’ve become even more so in the runup to today. The digital space is ugly, and we can expect it to worsen in the weeks and months ahead.

So I hope you'll view my offering today as something of a minor effort to bring light to an otherwise dark place.

I don't want to talk politics. I want us to focus on what we need to do to make the world a better, kinder place. Lofty and naive? Of course. But that's how I'm built, and that's how I roll.

SO HERE'S YOUR MISSION: Find a photo or video that makes you smile - and post it as a response here.

That's it. If we throw goodness out there, we're part of the solution to whatever disease it is that got us to where we are today.

I’ve decided to start us off with a simple mug of coffee on the table of a beloved diner. Because who doesn’t like still-life images that make us smile? And of all the choices we'll make today, this will most certainly be the most comforting. And we could all use more comfort.

Are you in? Let's do this, shall we?

#kitchener #ontario #canada #tikkunolam #stacks #pancakes #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Dog under the radar, November 2020

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Monday, November 04, 2024

Sky, scraped

Every window a story
Toronto, ON
November 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When I was a child, I’d stand on sidewalks and stare up at tall buildings that scraped the sky and wonder who was inside them.

I’d imagine all sorts of only-in-a-kid’s-mind stories of wonder and whimsy and everything both in between and beyond.

Eventually it would be time to go. And the images and the stories and the whimsy would be tucked away in my memories.

Yesterday I stood on a sidewalk and stared up at this tall building scraping the sky and wondered pretty much the same thing.

Some things never change. Nor should they.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #downtown #city #yonge #geometry #reflective #mirror #glass #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

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Sunday, November 03, 2024

A certain kind of mushroom

Fun fungus
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Deep in the shadows of the river valley, a fallen tree lies undisturbed, its trunk serving as a welcome host for vibrant, unexpected life.

If you close your eyes and listen within the overwhelming silence, you can almost hear this next chapter playing itself out in a place few choose to visit.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #trees #mushrooms #gameoftones #texture #naturephotography #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Mushroom mania, March 2024
Rooted to the ground, December 2019

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Saturday, November 02, 2024

If...

A life
Duvernay, QC
July 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

My father would have been 90 today. We lost him just before his 75th birthday, so I’ve had a few November 2nds since then to ponder a life that quite literally shaped my own.

I share this not to be morose or dark. Life eventually ends for all of us. It’s also a given that we’ll all lose people who matter, and we’ll have to figure out what life looks like afterward. To my eyes, it just doesn’t make sense to choose to live in perpetual shadow.

So I don’t. He led a full, eventful life. He was lucky to have found and married the love of his life, and to have spent 48 years with her raising a family and building a community that continues to beat. He made a difference.

Of course we’d have liked to have had more time. Or for him to have had better health those last few years.

But that’s the thing in life: we get what we get, and we do our best with what we’ve been given.

He did. So that’s what we celebrate.

Happy birthday, Dad. Know you’re remembered well. Know you were, and are, loved.

#family #everything

Related:
15 years... September 2024
A milestone no one wants, September 2022
13 years... September 2022
12 years without dad, September 2021
When life ends, September 2020
10 years on... September 2019
7 years on... September 2016
5 years on... September 2014
2 years on... September 2011
A year, September 2010
2:23 a.m., September 23, 2009

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