Babies turn 18 faster than we think

1st drive, Dad's car
London, ON
July 2018

In my mind’s eye, he was just born. But time has a funny way of moving faster than it seems, which largely explains why here we are, 18 years later, wondering how this beautifully perfect little man has morphed into a funny, accomplished, whip-smart and endlessly kind young man.

Noah has always been the kind of kid any parent would wish to have, the kind of person other people like to hang around with, the kind of person who fills the room, changes its temperature and makes you glad you showed up. He’s a great wingman on road trips, a fantastic arbiter of movies and music, and an endlessly loved little brother.

His future is beyond bright, and we couldn’t be more proud not only of who he is, but how he’s become who he is. To say we love this kid barely scratches the surface re. what it feels like to be his parents.

Floored, at an angle

The tiles that define us
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When you're bored at the mall, you stare at the floor. And sometimes you notice stuff.

Well played, @cfmasonville!

#ldnont #tile #floor #geometry #lines #linear #angles #art #inspiration #everywhere ##masonville #place #shopping #petshopboys #google #pixel2 #teampixel #london #ontario #canada

Water frozen in time

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

Lake Huron was a little angry yesterday.

#grand #bend #grandbend #beach #great #lake #huron #waves #water #wind #weather #wx #summer #ontario #canada

Henrietta 2.0 gets wet

Finding comfort in the rain
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You can't make it not rain, but you can elect to remember the moments after the clouds move on.

#ldnont #honda #civic #civicnation #red #wet #weather #wx #spontaneous #night #driveway #shoot #dark #water #rain #glass #reflect #reflected #car #carporn #auto #automotive #google #pixel2 #teampixel #london #ontario #canada

The silver bullet pulls out

Transient
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every journey has to begin somewhere. May as well freeze time, however briefly, before we set off to remember what it feels like.

#ldnont #via #viarail #train #rail #cn #cp #station #travel #journey #leading #lines #stainless #steel #mirror #reflections #red #light #lights #perspective #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #london #ontario #canada

Tornado warning

Entertaining weather alert
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Ooh, tornado warning for #ldnont. Eyes to the sky, y'all.

#onstorm #weather #wx #tornado #warning #entertaining #sky #emergency #alert #environment #canada #london #ontario #canada

Carporn, Chapter 672

Volvo at rest
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Roxanne may not have to put on the red light. But in case she does, I hope it's as pretty as this rear view of Volvo's latest.

#volvo #xc40 #white #paint #auto #automotive #automobile #car #cars #carsofinstagram #carporn #speed #lines #curves #design #shape #texture #red #light #lights #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #photography #ldnont #london #ontario #canada

Blue. Shiny. Handled.

Enter and exit
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

"Give me something to grab for."
R. Ocasek

#jaguar #jag #fpace #blue #shiny #paint #reflected #reflective #reflection #reflect #auto #automotive #automobile #car #cars #carsofinstagram #carporn #speed #lines #curves #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #photography #bokeh #ldnont #london #ontario #canada

Playing with water (again) at the airport

Fountain funsies
Detroit, MI
January 2007
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I can't explain why a simple water fountain in the middle of an airport far from home never fails to pull me toward it. This one is in Detroit, and its ability to make water dance mid-air guarantees moments of childlike wonder for anyone who takes the time to enjoy the show. It's a welcome injection of comfort and humanity into the normally disconnected process of modern-day air travel.

I shot this a few years back, but I still remember saying a silent thank-you at the time to whoever decided to build it here in the first place. It seems simple, yet it really isn't.

#detroit #dtw #metro #international #airport #travel #water #fountain #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #high #speed #photography #frozen #bokeh #romulus #mi #michigan

Drinking in the men's room

Toilet humor, albeit not so funny
Toronto, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

What's the story behind this? Aaaand....GO!

#toronto #yyz #union #station #unionstation #random #bathroom #washroom #toilet #find #booze #bottles #beer #ew #someone #had #a #really #bad #day #via #viarail #google #pixel2 #teampixel #ontario #canada

Staring out the train's window

Blurry green
Thames Centre, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sitting on a train as the sun rises over the countryside rushing by my window, I can't help but think a blurry view of the world is better than no view at all. Wherever you are today, and wherever you're headed, I hope you get a chance to take it all in, blurriness and all. Thanks for making the moment possible, @viarailcanada!

#via #viarail #train #82 #rail #london #yxu #toronto #yyz #the6ix #travel #travelphotography #green #forest #trees #google #pixel2 #teampixel #dorchester #ontario #canada

Signs far from home

Pick a direction
Vermilion Bay, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

More signs from the road. More validation of just how far from home we were, and how good it felt to be there surrounded by our family.

Somehow, the right people can make any place feel like home.

#roadtrip #dryden #transcanada #highway #summer #summer2018 #vacation #family #is #everything #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #machin #kenora #north #west #rural #ontario #canada

Standing at a curve in the road

This way
Vermilion Bay, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Road signs tell the stories of the places they connect. Which explains why I often find myself standing on windswept parking lots and in overgrown ditches shooting them.

#roadtrip #dryden #transcanada #highway #summer #summer2018 #vacation #family #is #everything #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #machin #north #west #rural #ontario #canada

Northern Ontario bug massacre

Chloe needs a car wash
Innisfil, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

What bugs you?

#roadtrip #dryden #transcanada #highway #kia #kiacanada #rondo @kiacanada #insects #bugs #insectsofinstagram #biology #meets #physics #summer #summer2018 #vacation #family #is #everything #google #pixel2 #teampixel #onroute #innisfil #ontario #canada

When we dare to walk behind the supermarket

Load me up
London, ON
July 2018
Photo originally shared on Instagram

I found myself with a bit of extra time to kill on an intermittently raining Saturday morning, so I grabbed my camera and wandered through the neighborhood. I didn't have any set idea of what I was looking for. Instead, I figured the inspiration would hit me as I walked toward it.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before I stepped in a puddle. Some cursing may have been heard as brackish water that may or may have been contaminated with ickiness soaked through my left sock, but I soon refocused on the photographic task at hand. Wet feet may suck, but puddles offer up some pretty cool reflective surfaces.

This one, if we're being brutally honest, it's terribly fascinating. A loading dock at the back of a supermarket doesn't exactly scream, "Shoot me!" But that's why I decided to take the shot anyway. Because it isn't conventionally photo-worthy. Because no one ever wanders back here and takes the shot. Because places like this never get any attention because we've deemed them not worthy of it.

And yet - I say these two words a lot - I found myself drawn to the wrong side of the store. I never even bothered to walk around to the front. I'm sure plenty of other photographers have already picked that side clean.

Your turn: Do you focus on things others might ignore? Please share...

Stalker!

It's what's for dinner
Dryden, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've been busy in grocery stores again, because life's too short to not take the shot when the moment presents itself.

The good news: I haven't been kicked out. The bad news: It's only a matter of time.

#grocery #store #retail #spontaneous #vegetable #aisle #smartphone #photography #fruitography #celery #healthy #food #foodporn #foodie #stilllife #google #pixel2 #teampixel #dryden #ontario #canada

Take me to church

Architectural perspective
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I just started working downtown, so I've been exploring the neighborhood at lunch, looking for things that interest me. Walking at lunch is also a nice way to break up the day and prepare my brain for the afternoon, but that's a story for another day.

There's a church just a couple of blocks down the road, and it is, in a word, magnificent. I'll probably come back to this place soon with a real camera, because architecture like this deserves to be fawned over by fine glass. But for now, my smartphone will have to do.

#ldnont #downtown #woodfield #historic #neighborhood #district #lunch #lunchtime #walkabout #church #building #architecture #architecturephotography #architectureporn #perspective #blue #sky #519london #519ldn #google #pixel2 #teampixel #london #ontario #canada

Green leaves in the sun

The view overhead
Dryden, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Life lesson #743: Always look up when you're in the woods. You'll see neat stuff if you do.

#nature #forest #woods #tree #trees #green #leaves #abstract #beauty #chris #pronger #park #walkabout #road #trip #roadtrip #summer #vacation #dryden #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #family #is #everything #ontario #canada

Ships in the distance

The view from Terry Fox's monument

Two ships pass. Except it isn't in the night. And Barry Manilow is nowhere to be found.

#great #lake #superior #road #trip #thunder #bay #ship #ships #terry #fox #memorial #monument #roadtrip #summer #vacation #transcanada #highway #dryden #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #family #is #everything #ontario #canada

Doh! A deer!

Bambi redux
Dryden, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We went for a walk with the kids in a park. It didn't take long for us to cross paths with this lovely deer.

In a word, humbling.

#nature #deer #fauna #forest #woods #trees #green #chris #pronger #park #road #trip #roadtrip #dryden #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #family #is #everything #ontario #canada

A special note from my wife

Precious words
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

My wife writes me notes. Sometimes it's because it's a holiday or some other special day. Or for no reason at all beyond the fact that we got another day.

Every day with her is special, of course, but today is especially so. I start a new chapter this morning, another step in the adventure that is me. And us.

So I got a note. And another unforgettable moment from someone who has a knack for creating them.

#ldnont #newjob #career #family #is #everything #london #ontario #canada

A moment in Old Woman Bay

The Levys were here
Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wherever you go, they say to leave your mark. We went, so we did. So many stories from the road with my incredible famjam are yet to be told. In due time: I hear the Interwebs have lots of space.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak from a magical moment in a magical place at a magical time.

#old #woman #bay #great #lake #superior #provincial #park #beach #road #trip #roadtrip #dryden #family #is #everything #ontario #canada

Shooting a stranger from behind

Street photography
London, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Where I follow a man in a fez and sandals.

#ldnont #belfield #walkabout #urban #street #photography #519ldn #519london #shooting #strangers #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #dslr #london #ontario #canada

One fish, two fish...

New pets!
Dryden, ON
July 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

These fish need names. Please don't let me down, citizens of Interwebistan.

#ldnont #fish #heads #silly #friday #name #naming #contest #grocery #store #photography #stilllife #london #ontario #canada

Sing it like the Flintstones (v26.0)

My best friend
London, ON
April 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

26 years ago today, the world's most patient woman married a bit of a doofus. The numbers - two cities, three amazing kids, one thumbed cat, and a couple of insane dogs - suggest it's been a charmed life so far. And it has been, and then some.

But numbers only tell a tiny part of the story. It's in the everyday, the ordinary, the stuff that doesn't typically get counted, celebrated or cataloged in a Hallmark card that this very patient, kind and, let's face it, beautiful inside-and-out woman made 26 years feel like a blink.

Even small things, like the selfies she shares during the day, or the fierce way she puts the needs of others before her own, make the day-to-day memorable and special. She's been his best friend every day since they met, and he loves her even more today than he did then.

Happy anniversary, my love, and limitless thank-yous for being my bashert no matter how imperfect and weird I've been along the way. Dreams do indeed come true.

#ldnont #anniversary #july5 #family #everything

Taking the long view

S-Curve
London, ON
April 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Adelaide North and Huron. Because every once in a while we all need to stop what we're doing and take the long view.

#ldnont #519ldn #519london #Saturday #morning #walkabout #urban #city #street #photography #adelaide #north #huron #traffic #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #telephoto #compression #nofilter #nofilterneeded #photooftheday #instagood #london #ontario #canada

The sun shines on Calli

Doubled up
London, ON
June 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Puppies make great walking buddies, especially when they happily indulge your spontaneous shadow-selfie habit.

#LoveThisGirl #ldnont #Calli #CalliTheSchnauzer #LittleMissCalli #519ldn #519london #puppy #pup #puppylove #puppiesofinstagram #instapuppy #dog #actofdog #miniatureschnauzer #schnauzer #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzer_planet #schnauzerlove #followforfollow #pet #doglover #petstagram #instadog #ilovemydog #doglovegram #london #Ontario #canada

Fire in the sky

Celebrate country. Celebrate life.
July 2018
Dryden, ON
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It only looks like Hubble's latest capture.

#fireworks #canada #canadaday #explosions #in #the #sky #celebrate #every #day #nikon #nikon_photography #dslr #long #exposure