Reading a tree stump

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

This is all that’s left of a tree that took around 40 years to grow, and could very well take another 40 years to be absorbed back into the earth.

The circle of life, literally and figuratively, painted in rich textures, quietly telling a timeless story in the shadows of others that now protect it.

#ldnont #medway #canada #naturephotography #texture

Leave nothing behind but a shadow

At the turnaround point
Lucan, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I point the bike north, toward a picture perfect town called Lucan, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows as I battle the winds sweeping across the freshly plowed farmers’ fields.

It feels good to be out there, hands cold soaking on the brake hoods, legs powering up hills carved eons ago by retreating glaciers.

Nothing in this moment matters beyond keeping the wheels tracking along the white line - or carefully drifting offline when the crumbling asphalt threatens to swallow a tire. I listen for traffic and scan my rear-view mirror, pushing everything else aside as the pedals settle into a gentle rhythm, the frame rocking ever so slightly side to side.

It’s taken me a few kilometres to find the right cadence, the right gear, the right mindset. Fast enough to be efficient. Consistent enough to not burn out before the turnaround point.

But there’s no burnout today, and soon enough I roll into the achingly quaint main drag and look for a spot to park and snack on some stale granola.

I stop just long enough to send my wife this proof-of-life photo, then plot the way home. I have just enough time before sundown to take the longer route, to race the sun with the wind, finally, at my back. Logic dictates the shorter path, but I decide logic doesn’t get to make this call.

Soon enough I’m back up to speed, passing pastures filled with cows, horses, and even a seemingly lost donkey. The shadows grow longer, the air colder, the wind stronger. As if an unseen hand now pushes me toward home, without which none of this would be possible.

#lucan #ontario #canada #cycling #orange #TangerineDream #bicycle #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Liftoff toward the unknown

Transition
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It takes courage to fling yourself into the unknown, to trust your wings to carry you through the turbulence toward what may or may not be a better place.

I wonder if this bird is trying to teach us something.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #wildlifephotography #throwback

Integrity returns

Splashdown
Source: NASA
April 2026
Image also shared on Instagram

Welcome home, Integrity. What a time to be alive.

#artemisii #nasa #splashdown

One tree against an endless sky

Touch the sky, sort of
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every photographer keeps a mental list of themes they’d like to shoot, scenes that they’ll return to again and again for reasons that aren’t always explainable.

I’m no exception. And one of my go-to themes is somewhat simple: single trees in the middle of nowhere.

It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m up to, but I’ll happily stop what I’m doing if I come across a particularly fetching example.

Which explains how the dog and I found ourselves in the middle of a park last night staring at this one.

Strangers gave us weird looks as I crouched down at the bottom of a gentle hill and composed against the twilight sky.

The end result was far from perfect, as a pesky stand of trees on the distant horizon insinuated itself into the frame. But I decided to share this one as a reminder to myself to keep looking for scenes just like this.

I’d like to imagine that we return to the things that bring us quiet comfort, that offer familiarity amid lives that often seem devoid of it. I’d like to imagine there’s a certain kind of grace to be had by immersing ourselves, even temporarily, in scenes and places that ask nothing more from us than a little attention.

So we meander through the wet grass in search of them, not because we especially needed another picture of another tree, but because we couldn’t miss an opportunity to feel something.

It’s why the stories of the everyday, simple as they may seem at first glance, matter as much as they do.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #optimistpark #tree #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

Sailing before dawn

All alone out there
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sun won’t rise for another 20 minutes, but already the sky is coming alive, pointing the way for the single sailboat making its way along the shore.

For now, the planet is providing all the forces necessary for the unseen sailor to make headway, basic physics keeping it afloat. And safe.

It feels elemental to stand on-shore in the warm, salty air and wordlessly watch the scene play out quietly so far away, the planet serving notice that we’re just guests here. Humbling, even.

Eventually this boat will disappear from view, another story of another stranger unfolding in plain view, but without any additional details beyond what we can see from afar. Temporarily.

We all leave ephemeral traces behind. Some in the waters, some in other ways.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #sunrise #landscapephotography #throwback

Fog giveth. Fog taketh away.

Murky intersection
London, ON
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Just as some of us disappear into the fog, others emerge from it.

A sign, perhaps, that the fog doesn’t always just take away.

It can give back, as well.

Come to think of it, maybe none of this is limited to meteorology.

#ldnont #canada #weather #nikon #monochrome

The space-addicted Schnauzer

Watching history
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Just before the Orion capsule, Integrity, slips behind the Moon and out of radio contact with Earth, a strangely calm Schnauzer sits on a couch some 400,000 km away and watches the surreal scene.

There’s no way to know what she’s thinking, but I’m guessing it has something to do with squirrels and treats. But still, she manages to indelibly imprint herself on a moment over a half century in the making.

History can look different depending on which lens we choose to look through. There are no right or wrong ways to witness it. All that matters is that we choose to witness it in the first place.

The dog is always a bonus.

#ldnont #canada #callithewonderschnauzer #actofdog #artemisii

Patience under an exploding sky

Reach further
London, ON
March 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Patience isn’t just a virtue.

At the very moment the sun sets, the skies are a decidedly muted shade of grey. Thick clouds rolling in from the northwest are blocking the horizon, threatening to turn the evening’s sunset-watching mission into a bust.

It happens. Between heading out to the park and getting there, the sky can - and often does - change its mind. Nothing is guaranteed here. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

I think about turning for home, but something stops me in my tracks. What if the winds shift? What if the clouds move off just enough. What if the sun finds a way to sneak through?

So I wait.

And around 8 minutes later, flecks of orange begin to burn their way through the seemingly impenetrable cloud deck.

Two minutes after that, the clouds have thinned out still more, revealing a riot of glowing colour just above the treeline.

One minute more and the sky hits peak brilliance, the clouds now glowing in tones I’ve frankly never seen before.

It took 11 minutes to go from optical bust to boom, to a spontaneous light show that disappeared even more quickly than it appeared. By 15 minutes post-sunset, it was back to grey.

I know there’s a lesson here. To wait. To not be so quick to cast final judgment. To will the light to show itself. To believe that things can get brighter.

As I tuck the camera away and head for home, I promise myself I’ll try to heed those lessons not just when I’m staring at the horizon.

Maybe we all should.

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

Everything eventually comes to an end

Game over
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We went to a hockey game the other night.

The good guys were down 3-1 in their best-of-seven playoff series, so a loss would have eliminated them and ended their season.

Which is exactly what happened. They were simply outplayed, the 4-0 score telling only part of the story of a team that just didn’t have it that night.

Fans headed for the exits early, the stands almost half empty by the time the clock ticked down to zero. Side note: I’ll never understand why people leave early. Win or lose, it’s always an experience to be there. Maybe I’m weird.

Anyway, we hung in for the handshake, the sad skate across the ice, the thank you to the fans for another season of support.

And that’s what I’ll remember from this night, that poignant moment when it all ended, watching some of these teenaged players play their last-ever game in uniform. It wasn’t the victory we all wanted, but it was a moment that mattered all the same, on the ice as well as off.

We were among the last to leave the building, the melancholy spirit of the night sticking with us as we exited into the cold night air.

Life doesn’t always fit neatly into the win-lose column. Yet it still tells us stories worthy of being remembered. If, that is, we choose to stick around to hear them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hockey #londonknights #goknightsgo #panorama #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

Time to ride. Again.

Leaving a mark
London, ON
April 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every cyclist has a different reason for pushing the pedals.

Some of us are seeking something new toward the horizon.

Others are trying to leave something behind.

Or maybe turn down the volume of life so they can hear themselves think.

Sometimes I wonder what my own reasons are, but none of it matters once I push off that first time and feel the power transfer from my legs into the road.

On this sunny afternoon, I leave shadows wherever I go, fleetingly temporary marks on a landscape just barely coming to life after a long winter.

The wind whistles in my ears as it simultaneously nudges me toward the ditch deep in the countryside. Meanwhile, unseen crickets sing the song of spring amid the swaying wild grasses growing beside flooded farmers’ fields.

If this is what home looks and sounds like to a cyclist, then I guess I’m home. It’s good to be back.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cycling #orange #TangerineDream #bicycle #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Monochrome masonry

Another few bricks in the wall
London, ON
March 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The bricks weren’t going anywhere.

Just sitting there, as they had been for decades, baking in the sun or freezing through the winter.

Perfectly aligned, as they had been since the moment an unnamed mason crafted them into permanence.

I could have shot them anytime, but I ended up choosing this given night to wander on over and have a closer look.

I probably have too many brick pics in my archives. But I don’t think anyone’s keeping count.

I’ll probably return here again, in future, to add to my haul.

Same scene, different time. We think nothing ever really changes. That would be wrong.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #brick #lines #geometry #optimistpark #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Artemis II flies

Always leave a trail
Source: NASA
April 1, 2026
Image also shared on Instagram

Like millions of other people around the world, I watched Artemis II leave the planet last night.

The launch came 19,473 days after the last mission to the Moon, NASA’s Apollo 17, lifted off from a nearby launchpad. We all know what happened next: we spent the next 53-ish years stuck in low Earth orbit, with significant gaps thrown in when we retired old vehicles without new ones to replace them.

Years ago, I was privileged to interview one of the astronauts who flew on Apollo 17. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt was the first scientist to fly in space, and had been originally assigned to Apollo 18. When flights 18, 19, and 20 were cancelled, he was reassigned to 17 as Lunar Module Pilot.

He was gracious enough to talk about his experiences with a barely-adult radio reporter. And of all the interviews I’ve done since, that conversation stuck with me because the passion he had for exploration, science, and inspiration felt as intense as it would have when the Saturn V’s engines were first lit.

I thought of him last night as I sat in our parked car and watched a new chapter in history being written on a tiny smartphone screen. He’s 90 years-old now, and I imagined he was watching the launch, satisfied that the lunar legacy he had bookmarked alongside his crew, Commander Gene Cernan and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, had finally been dusted off and revisited.

He did bold things, and in doing so inspired countless others to follow in his footsteps. I hope he enjoyed the show.

#ArtemisII #NASA #MoonMission #Artemis #NASASocial

Dogs hate April Fool's, too

I wish I could ride this thing
London, ON
March 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Calli the Wonderschnauzer isn’t much of a fan of April Fool’s Day. Neither am I.

I’m not a comedian, so I’m no expert on the subject. But I do like to laugh, and I’ve never found it amusing when the humour is programmed, scheduled, obvious, or forced.

We laugh harder when there’s a little bit of surprise in the mix, and there’s no surprise today. Read, check the date, furrow our brows, repeat until it’s mercifully over.

But I am a journalist. And waking up to supposed jokes being published and broadcast by actual journalists is, in a word, gross. At least to me. If your very profession revolves around being the arbiter of truth, why would you deliberately abandon the mission in search of a cheap laugh?

It’s all so forced that there’s no way it can possibly be funny. More likely, the humour on this day takes on a darker tone. Bullies love this once-a-year opportunity to do their thing with impunity, on a day when bringing joy isn’t the priority as much as shaming others is.

So don’t mind if Calli and I bow out of it entirely. We have walks to take, balls to play with, moon rockets to watch (go Artemis II!) and squirrels to chase.

Maybe none of that is remotely funny. But all of it is real. And that’s all she cares about.

#ldnont #canada #callithewonderschnauzer #actofdog #aprilfool

Into the salmon sky

Where yet again we stare at clouds
London, ON
March 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the fleeting minutes between sunset and total darkness, the sky puts on the day’s final show.

Transcendent colours splay from one side of the horizon to the other, streaked by abstract clouds tracing random characters.

High-level winds shape and reshape the scene as the light first flares brightly, then gradually fades into night.

So we stand on the ground and divine the stories being told far above our heads, our imaginations racing to keep up.

And we thank the heavens for allowing us the privilege just this one more time.

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