Canada's Snowbirds get clipped

Diamond formation
London, ON
September 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Canada got some bad news yesterday: the Snowbirds flight demonstration team will be grounded after this year’s airshow season, its geriatric CT-114 Tutor jets deemed too dangerous to keep in the air.

If there’s any good news in this, it is that the team, officially known as the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, will eventually fly again.

The problem? The new planes won’t be jets. They’ll be turboprops, and there’s no firm date for the Snowbirds to return to the skies, though speculation seems to centre around sometime in the early 1930s.

Interestingly, the chosen design, the CT-157 Siskin II, based on the Swiss-made Pilatus PC-21, can in some ways outperform the jet-powered Tutor, with better turning performance, acceleration, climb and roll rates, and G capabilities. But as an instrument designed to inspire a love of aviation and service to country, it’s hard to imagine a prop-driven plane having the same impact. Canada now becomes the only G7 nation demo squad not flying jets.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood transfixed on the ground while this remarkable group of aviators worked their magic overhead. While other nations’ teams flew with frontline fighters, ours made do with training jets that relied less on automation than the sheer skill of their pilots.

Behind the scenes, mechanics performed silent miracles to keep them airworthy. Meanwhile, successive governments dropped one ball after another, refusing to commit to a national icon that every Canadian could literally look up to.

Maintaining a world class reputation amid all the politically imposed adversity always felt like the most Canadian thing of all. And while critics might dismiss an aerobatic team as a frivolous luxury for avgeeks, they miss the integral role they played in national unity, continuity, and service.

We’ll miss that story that was uniquely ours, and mourn what could have been had our national priorities been more reflective of those who made the Snowbirds a pillar of an often unappreciative nation.

#airshowlondon #ldnont #canada #aviationphotography #planespotting

More tornadoes in our midst

Eyes to the sky, #LdnONT - Tornado warning issued for London/Middlesex. Unfortunately, not a drill.

Splashland!

Energy, visualized
Grand Bend, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I do this thing when we go to the beach. It isn’t much: I’ll just stand and stare at the waves as they crash into the shore.

As a result, my photo archives have more than their fair share of splashing water and crashing waves pictures.

To some, it may seem repetitive, derivative, or without much purpose. What’s the point, after all, of shooting a dying wave? Don’t we all have enough pictures of chaotic water?

But since I’m the one with my feet in the sand, I figure I get to decide what is or is not worth my time. And staring at scenes like this through glass has always felt like the right thing to do. For me, anyway.

Because there’s a comforting cadence to the process: track, focus, shoot. When one set of waves dies down, check the results and adjust the settings before the next set rolls in. Repeat. Often.

There’s a delightful sense of purpose to it all, because nothing in that moment matters more than what is seen in the viewfinder. The rest of the world gets put on pause for a bit while the water does its thing and my eyes and fingers and brain try to keep up.

I sometimes call it shutter therapy, and while this time we’re focusing on flying water droplets, the subject can be anything, really.

The picture, ultimately, is beside the point. Because we all get to tell our own stories. And we all want to remember what it felt like in the moment.

#grandbend #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #throwback #monochrome #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Today I rode

Always take the photo
London, ON
October 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a good day, I’ll take the orange machine and pedal it somewhere I haven’t been in a while.

Somewhere along the way, I’ll probably stop for a snack, because snacks make everything better. And before I get back to the pedalling thing, I might even take a photo.

It’s never an earth-shattering image. Rather, it’s a simple reminder that I got out and rode. And a quiet thank you to the universe that I get to pedal at all.

Because if we’re being honest with ourselves, we need small joys more than ever. Like weirdly abstract pics taken while munching granola beside an abandoned thrift store far from home.

Because small joys can happen anywhere. And they’re entirely within our control.

Because if yesterday was a good day because it included some epic cycling, today will be even better because the bike is already prepped and ready for our next adventure.

#ldnont #canada #cycling #justride #reflective #orange

Reflecting the setting sun

The things we miss...
London, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Words to live by (#491 in a series):

Never stop chasing the sun.

You’ll never actually catch it, as the physics don’t exactly work in our favour.

But you still might get your breath taken away in the process.

#ldnont #hydepark #canada #sunset #reflective

The tunnel to the show

Big league dreams
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have hazy childhood memories of attending my first Montreal Expos baseball game at Jarry Park, and the part that most sticks with me is the moment we walked through the access tunnel into the stadium.

It felt like a movie, a long, dark concrete corridor, with brilliant light pouring into the other end. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could barely make out the massive space beyond, the stands filled with fans, the sounds of the crowd gradually building as we slowly moved toward the opening.

It was a moment filled with promise and potential as the gigantic space gradually revealed itself. Four-year-old Carmi didn’t really understand the mechanics of the game, but already I could feel the magic of the moment, and why thousands of strangers had decided to end up in the same place at the same time.

To this day, that moment is a trigger for my soul every time I walk into a ballpark. And so it was as we headed in to watch the Blue Jays at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, a brief moment of anticipation in a dusty concrete tunnel not far removed from the spot where I first discovered why these fields of dreams are so dreamlike in the first place.

#toronto #ontario #canada #bluejays #mlb #rogerscentre #stadium #skydome #baseball #sportsing #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

My favourite tree

Stretched...
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Is it weird to have a favourite tree?

Even if it is, this is mine. Or one of them. Why limit ourselves?

Whenever I visit, I wonder how it came to be like this, springing almost horizontally off of the riverbank, its canopy barely clearing the rushing waters below.

It must have its reasons, I imagine.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #thames #flood #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

These are the bowling shoes I wore

Feet go here
London, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Setting aside my squeamishness from wearing old, shared shoes for a bit, I have a bit of a thing for the retro bowling aesthetic.

Maybe it’s the appeal of throwing a heavy ball down a waxed wooden lane in the vain hope of knocking down some oddly shaped pins standing at the other end.

Or maybe it’s the sound of small groups of complete strangers engaging in similar acts of heavy ball throwing nearby.

Or perhaps it’s the curious appeal of a sport crafted not from screens and algorithms but from basic physics, junk food, and the shared joy of playing a game with laughably galactic ineptitude.

I’ll likely never figure it out. But the delightfully decrepit not-quite-matching pair of shoes with the half-missing stitching seemed to capture a feeling I’ve been holding onto since childhood. Of being in a place, surrounded by those who mattered most, wishing the game would never end.

#ldnont #canada #fleetway #bowling #stilllife

CN Tower meets Ripley's

Conversation in the sky
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Have you ever wondered what a tower and an aquarium might say to each other?

Or is it just me?

Whatever the case, there’s something to be said for staring up into the sky in wonder.

#toronto #canada #cntower #ripleysaquarium #architecture

Our messy pink sidewalk carpet

Blink and it's gone
London, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The cranky old crabapple tree on the corner near our house was just about done with its seasonal spring glow-up. First it bloomed a glorious canopy of Barbie-intense pink, then after a few days it dumped the tiny petals all over the filthy sidewalk.

I called it the carpet of wonder, and it lasted precisely four hours before a rainstorm blew in and washed the scene away. So I raced the thunder to grab a memory before it disappeared, nature’s perfume lingering in my nose as I ran back to the house through the first drops from the sky.

Unlike the cherry blossom parade in big cities around the world, this particular floral phenomenon didn’t get much media. But it was local, and it was ours.

And since this very same tree will end its year by leaving a treacherous mess of berries on the cracked concrete, it felt like it was apologizing in advance. Yes, trees have personality. At least they do in our neighbourhood.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #pink #spring #bloom #naturephotography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

Antiseptic transit

Take a load off
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Scene from an LRT station.

Courtesy of the TTC, and an unknown designer with a thing for orange, straight lines, and sloped hallways bathed in white and not much else.

I had forgotten how much fun it can be to navigate a big city via transit.

#toronto #ttc #transit #eglinton #cedarvale #line5

The bestest mom

The definition of motherhood
London, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m a lucky guy. Not only did I marry well beyond my station in life, but I’ve had a front-row seat to an incredible mom.

From the moment we first knew we would become parents, Debbie has been there for our kids in ways I can barely put into words. She loves them without limit, is there for them anytime and anywhere, and will happily tell anyone within earshot how proud she is of them.

She is the definition of empathy, love, kindness, and fierce protection, and is the gravity that keeps our family focused and together. She’s taught us all what a real home can feel like, and it hardly seems sufficient to have one day a year to recognize all she does and is.

She’s the kind of mom all kids wish they could have.

#LiveLaughLevy #ldnont #mothersday #family #everything

Tornadoes in our midst

Eyes to the sky, friends.

Another meteorologically entertaining afternoon in southwestern Ontario.

#ldnont #canada #onstorm #weather #wx

The years fly by...

Cake for breakfast. It's a thing!
London, ON
November 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The calendar tells me that today is my birthday.

And while I’ve long ago given up on the notion that any single day is more special than any other - because every day is a gift - I’m perfectly okay to make an exception every May 8th.

I’m keenly aware that we’re given a finite number of days, and even fewer birthdays. I’m also aware that I’m one of the lucky ones, as I’m surrounded by the kind of family most people can only dream of.

What I especially love about them is the way they celebrate the little things no matter where we’re at on the calendar, the simple joys of being together and making core memories out of the everyday. I’m sure we’ll have cake at some point today, but I know tomorrow will also bring its own sense of shared joy.

May we all have reasons to enjoy the time we’ve been given. May we all be blessed to be surrounded by those who want to share in those fleeting moments.

#LiveLaughLevy #birthday #family #everything #lifeinthemargins

Calli at 9

Show me the way
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s my birthday today, and my hoomans did not get me a cake.

Instead, my dad says he’ll take me on extra-long walks.

And give me a few extra hugs.

And an extra treat or seven.

And then some more hugs for good measure.

He says time moves too fast. And while I don’t really understand what time is, I do wish we had more of it.

Woof.

#ldnont #canada #schnauzer #callithewonderschnauzer #actofdog