Dog sculpture on a downtown sidewalk

Woof!
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It isn't often that you come across a copper-clad, full-relief sculpture of an obviously well-behaved, permanently inanimate dog, sitting pretty in front of a downtown restaurant.

So when you do, the only real choice you have is to shoot a picture of the absurd-yet-delightful snippet of urban life.

I use that word, life, deliberately. It isn't just a biological thing. It's all the little elements of the world around us that make us stop and go, "Huh?" Or just stop and say nothing. Silence is a thing, too.

Life as we know it is far more than the big obvious stuff we cross paths with every day. It isn't just partners, colleagues, jobs, teachers, commutes, bills, schedules, and all the other ingredients of modern existence - though all those things are, of course, pivotal to us all.

But like soft winds that tickle your ear on an otherwise still early morning walk, there's a whole other or alternate universe of more subtle experiences around us that can shape and color our existence more than we'll likely ever know.

Like this dog.

But you have to be looking for them. Or at least be open to appreciating them when you find them. So many of us just keep going, unmoved, and I find that a little sad, like a lost opportunity.

I often use the #lifeinthemargins hashtag when I post to social media. I do so because that's how - or more precisely, where - I tend to lead mine, and in doing so I've discovered this life thing can be more fun than the daily slog might suggest. That even when you're in the midst of a seemingly endless grind, there's room for the wonder of good dogs that sit in the sun, and the places around us that value them - and life - enough to share them with us.

It's the difference between life and life well lived, and I hope you, too, can find your own version of the copper dog soon.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #downtown #urban #city #carling #street #walkabout #weird #dog #art #abstract #photography #streetphotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The glory of the perfectly imperfect, plain leaf

Still glorious in its own way
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The same thing happens every year: We chase autumn colors, then lament the moment they fade away and are replaced by the cold greys of winter.

I’m no different than the herd, as I like a good explosive-color scene as much as anyone else.

But I noticed something this year on my half dozen or so color-seeking photowalks. Namely, it wasn’t always easy to find the color. Some trees stayed stubbornly green. Others turned less spectacular shades of yellow or brown, or went straight from green to empty. Some days, I wandered around looking for color only to realize Mother Nature was telling a different story.

Which got me thinking about why we idealize certain things in the first place. We’re so focused on the spectacular, the headline-grabbers, the biggest, best, and brightest. Yet lurking in the shadows there may be stories worth telling - only they won’t get told because everyone’s breathlessly going after the superlatives, the keepers, the perfect examples.

It’s like tourism, where the same iconic places get overrun by hordes of the same people, all looking for the same thing. The Eiffel Tower, the gondolas of Venice, the Taj Mahal. No one turns the other way and looks for the unseen alleyways of Paris, or the neighborhoods behind the tourist town, or the villages that made the marble-clad monument possible.

Pity that.

Which brings me to this imperfectly green, stained, plain-looking leaf. No one celebrates it like they do the blazing ones. It exists in the unsought shadows, the forest-equivalent of a back alley, a place where no right-thinking soul ever deliberately goes looking for inspiration.

Doesn’t make it any less worthy. Or beautiful. Or poignant in its solitude.

Popularity is overrated, anyway. And I like being able to shoot without the masses jostling me for position.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #park #thames #river #forest #trees #leaf #autumn #fall #color #colors #green #shadow #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

These ivories will be tickled no more

End of the musical road
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This old piano has been sitting beside the road for a few days, a sad curiosity for our dog to sniff around as we walk past.

There's something particularly poignant about an instrument that's been discarded, especially something as central to the average home as a piano. Someone decided it wasn't worth fixing, keeping, fretting over. It'll never play another note again.

And in the gloomy murk of a cool evening in suburbia, its story silently ends, ignored by everyone except the curious puppy who has something new to play with - however temporary it may be.

Soon enough it'll be picked up one last time. Wherever it ends up, I quietly wish whoever was lucky enough to have - and to know how to play - this once pristine instrument holds onto the memories of the music that came from it, the connections that were made around it, and what it felt like to be surrounded by the things that matter most in life.

Music has that never-ending effect on us, even if the instruments that make it eventually wear out and end up forgotten beside a dark and lonely street.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #piano #music #street #random #urban #suburban #stilllife #night #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The Bell Building, up close

Lines and reflections
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Everyone in this town knows it as The Bell Building, and everyone seems to have a story connected to it. Either they worked there, or know someone who did. #LdnONT is like that: We're all connected somehow.

In a now-vanished era when Ma Bell typified the kind of benevolent employer you'd work for for life, this represented the ideal for generations of Londoners. Those days are gone, of course, but the physical relics of their existence remain.

Bell no longer owns the place, and its massive floors are increasingly being filled by smaller, techier businesses. But its place in the psyche of this strangely old-world-thinking town is as rooted today as it's ever been. It anchors the downtown core, a gateway-like beacon for everyone coming into this troubled part of town.

Perhaps the future here will be as storied as its past. Perhaps buildings like this will collectively serve as the backdrop of a much-needed turnaround for a neighborhood that continues to struggle.

Whatever happens next, there's nothing wrong with a reflective moment on the street outside to ponder what once was and what might be.

#london #ontario #canada #bell #building #519ldn #519london #downtown #office #architecture #reflective #mirror #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #photography #monochrome #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Temporary red blanket

They're everywhere, for now
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Autumn is hardly a linear season. Colors don't change on a set, consistent schedule, and leaves don't fall on a steady pace.

Sometimes, you wake up and realize that lovely red sugar maple beside the boulevard near your house summarily decided to drop its entire canopy while you slept. Just like that.

So did all the other maple trees, because apparently they speak to each other. And the ground is now a blazing mess of wet leaves tracing an impossibly diverse mess as far as the eye can see.

The winds are howling, driven by the low, steel-grey clouds racing overhead. The ground is slick underfoot, random leaves sticking to my increasingly soggy shoes as the dog tugs on her leash and I consciously try to remain vertical.

Speaking of the dog, her ears are pinned back by the wind, and she clearly isn't enjoying herself. She keeps trying to turn for home.

It won't take long for this reddish wet landscape to morph yet again into a dull grey. Then frozen white. Then slushy brown. Then fresh-grown green.

Because the cycles never really end, and they unfold on their own schedule despite our thinking we control any of it.

We don't. But what a ride it is.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #forest #trees #autumn #fall #autumnleaves #autumncolor #color #colors #red #weather #wx #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Another year of hatred

By the book
London, ON
April 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's been a year* since 11 people were murdered in their suburban Pittsburgh synagogue, simply because they were Jews.

You'd think humanity would have long since figured it out, but you'd be wrong.

The massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue is merely another event in a long line of events that illustrate just how inhuman humans can be. We've normalized hatred, learned to make excuses for it, become adept at turning our heads away, in silence, lest we, too, inflame it still further and become victims ourselves.

But here's the thing: Silence accomplishes nothing. They'll come for you anyway if they've been listening to a particular dog whistle for long enough. All you have to be is different. That's enough.

We use words like "tolerance", as if grudgingly accepting someone else's right to exist is some kind of ideal for all of us to strive for. It isn't. We shouldn't merely tolerate differences. We should learn from them, celebrate them, enrich our own lives and the lives of our respective communities by immersing ourselves in them.

Instead we ignore the lessons of history. We allow xenophobes to occupy our highest offices, then do nothing when they spread the same extremist-baiting propaganda that fuelled previous genocides across the globe.

The synagogue in Pittsburgh remains closed. In any other synagogue, we wonder when some stranger with a gun will come for us, too, and where we'll run.

I'm under no illusions, as hatred touches us all. But for some reason, Jews stubbornly retain their spot near the top of the list of convenient targets, and after a lifetime spent looking over my shoulder, I still can't understand why.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #judaica #jew #judaism #jewish #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

* Related:

• They hate Jews here, too, October 2019
• They kill Jews. And Muslims. And Christians..., April 2019
• New Zealand mosque shooting targets us all, March 2019
• Hatred through an 8-year-old's eyes, June 2009
• A library rises from the ashes, December 2004

A quarter century of parenthood

Virtually connected
London & Dryden, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

25 years ago, a little guy battled his way into the world and immediately turned us into parents.

His name was, and still is, Zachary Akiva Levy, but anyone who knows him calls him Zach. And if you know him, you love him.

He was a dream baby, a sweet munchkin who slept well and smiled at everyone he met. So easy a child was he that we rolled the dice and had his sister and brother, too. It all started with him, and our family's path turned for the richer the moment we first held him.

A lot can happen in 25 years, but he's still that chill, sweet, kind soul he's always been. And along the way he's built an adult life every parent would wish for their child. Married to his best friend, on a career path that challenges him, surrounded by a circle of friends and family. Throw in a couple of adorable cats who may or may not have escaped from a circus train and you have all the ingredients for a life well lived.

Where did all those years go? We're not entirely sure, but if we had to guess, it would revolve around enjoying the ride with him so much that we all just lost track of time.

Good kids tend to have that effect on us.

Happiest of birthdays, Zach. We all love you more than words can say, but I promise you we'll never stop sharing those words with you, anyway.

#parenthood #life #birthday #celebrate #moments #family #everything

Staring across the Hudson

They drown townhouses here, don't they?
New York, NY
November 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Almost 10 years ago to the day, I stood alone on the western shore of Manhattan and pointed my lens across the Hudson River toward New Jersey.

I was fascinated by the row of townhouses facing the water, and wondered what it must be like to live with the world’s most recognizable skyline literally right in front of your window.

Sure, global warming will probably turn these units into unplanned swimming pools in a few years. But for now, it looks like a fun street to live on, and I’m sure any of us would love to drop in for a visit.

But that would be a bit creepy. So shooting with a long lens was my only alternative. Which, on reflection, is creepy in a different way. Maybe I need a new hobby.

Either way, I liked the lines. Sometimes it’s enough to stand way across the water and wonder about the distant lives of strangers.

#new #york #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #travel #travelphotography #photography #water #geometry #perspective #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Still peering into the sky...

The things you see when you take the time to look up
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Still looking up.

Still reflective.

Still walking the neighborhood.

Still looking for inspiration.

Still peeking at windows.

Still watching the ever-changing sky.

Still taking the time to take it in.

Still looking for ways to live a better life.

Suggestions welcome.

#ldnont #ontario #canada #onelondonplace #519ldn #519london #downtown #office #building #architecture #reflective #mirror #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #photography #blue #sky #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Radiated history

Feel the heat
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Old buildings often take their sweet time to give up their secrets.

We’re coming up on a year since we moved into our lovingly rebuilt office, and not a day goes by that I don’t stop somewhere along the way and take in a detail that I somehow missed up until that very moment. Like this radiator that’s probably been here since before I was born - which should come as no surprise given this block of buildings dates back to the late 19th century.

I’m thankful that someone along the way decided to keep it around. Even though it isn’t connected to anything anymore, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a purpose in the middle of a fast-paced office environment. Indeed, it now serves to inspire us to slow down and reflect on what once was. To appreciate where we’ve come from, where we are, and what we do - as well as who laid the foundations before us, and the colleagues who now share our journey.

Yes, this radiator is a relic of a bygone era, and it no longer does what it was originally designed to do. But even relics have their place, and the concept of purpose is hardly rigid.

If this old radiator can serve a different role in a world that didn’t exist when it was first created, then perhaps we can, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #345ridout #infotechrg #itrg #historic #architecture #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #texture #downtown #office #building #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The mirror to the city

Mirror, mirror on a (very large) wall
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If the eyes are the mirror to the soul, then some particularly reflective buildings may be seen as the windows to the communities that surround them.

So as I walked past One London Place (again) and stopped to stare (again), it should surprise no one that I took a picture (again) to remember a particularly unique moment in the life of a highly familiar structure in my little burg.

I had decided to take a lunchtime walk. I do that often - get up from my keyboard and head outside so I can stare at distant objects and unplug from the attention-killing grid that. I'd like to think it makes my writing better, but I think it feeds my soul a little bit, too. And even though I often walk through a downtown neighborhood that feels like it's spiralling out of control, I realize there's beauty and inspiration even in the most challenging of landscapes.

There indeed was some beauty to be had on this windy day. I just had to look up a bit, away from the street-level plane where the lives of countless people play out shoulder-to-shoulder, across a spectrum of experience ranging from ostentatiously successful suit-wearers in illegally-parked luxury cars to to tragically vulnerable people in the shadows of an abandoned store's entryway. The sky was putting on a show, reflected in the mirrored glass that's been witness to countless stories both above and below. It wouldn't solve the day-to-day tragedies playing out on the street below, of course. But it might offer a small, temporary diversion.

As I composed the shot, I attracted more than a few stares from the strangers around me, some of them turning skyward they tried to figure out what I was up to. Maybe I'm not the only one trying to find inspiration. Maybe I'm not the only one trying to see this city through a different lens.

#ldnont #ontario #canada #onelondonplace #519ldn #519london #downtown #office #building #architecture #reflective #mirror #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #photography #blue #sky #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The tragedy of dogs who can't vote

Vote for me, please
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's the morning after the night before here in the Great White North, and all across this great land we awake with a king-sized, post-election-night hangover.

What does it all mean? The minority Liberal government. The rise of the let's-not-mince-words separatist Bloc Quebecois. The outright rejection of the barely-concealed-racist People's Party of Canada. A burgeoning #wexit movement. The inevitable parade of toppled cabinet ministers. The unmitigated nastiness and lies that persisted right through the victory and concession speeches and beyond.

So it's hard to tell what it all means, and we're only just beginning to unravel this massive - and massively knotted - ball of political twine. But Canadians tend to lean toward the glass-half-full side of the equation, and I'm no different. We've seen what ultra-polarization has done to the political and social landscape elsewhere, so I'm thankful that Canada held onto its humanity last night.

Which brings us to a dark, grey morning when the dog still needed to be walked, so off we went through the darkened, wet-leaf-covered neighborhood. Calli the Wonderschnauzer had no inkling of what played out last night, of course. She just wanted to follow her nose, safe in the knowledge that her doofus human-dad was firmly holding onto the other end of the leash.

So that's what she did. Because life goes on the morning after the night before. And so do we all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #elxn43 #election #democracy #rules #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #pets #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

She wears her years well

Progressions
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Have you ever stopped and imagined what it might be like if we could visualize time?

What would it look like? How would it evolve?

I think I may now have an answer. Only it’s probably not a complete one, though.

Behold this cross-section of a once-vibrant tree, now doing duty as a fencepost beside a busy road in east London. I was able to count out about 20 rings. 20 years of growth. 20 years of cleaning the air around us before someone decided this dusty stretch of road needed an ugly stretch of fencing.

If humans wear their years in wrinkles and smile lines, I’m going to guess that trees do the same with their rings. Each one tells a story, but just like a grandmother’s face, the specific details of a tree’s life aren’t so easy to tease out at first glance, if at all.

Which is as it should be, because nature loves a good mystery. And as I stand stand beside the thrum of traffic and think about what that mystery would look like if I could divine it from the rings below me, I imagine the kind of things this tree would have encountered, the people who would have sat under its shade, the lives that would have played out around it.

Soon enough I continue my journey. I’ve got errands to run, a life to return to. And all around me, countless other trees stand silent, imperceptibly adding rings of their own, ever so slowly changing the landscape while the rest of us rush past in ignorance.

Perhaps we’d have a better appreciation of the preciousness of time if we took notice of the signs all around us of its inevitable passage.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #forest #trees #wood #monochrome #texture #adelaide #street #random #urban #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where I eat Smarties before an election

Yes, I eat the red ones last
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Tomorrow is election day in Canada - #elxn43 - and Socialmediastan is filled with sometimes-copied-and-painted missives about why we need to vote.

Not gonna disagree. If you don't vote, in the ideal world you would be banned from commenting on it until the next election. Democracy works as well as it does because people show up. Don't show up? Try some spending some time in a place where basic human rights aren't as entrenched as they are here.

But jumping on the every-four-years bandwagon just because all your pals are doing it? Not my thing.

There. Rant over. Thanks for indulging me.

Sadly, this campaign has been ugly. Well, uglier than usual, with candidates more often than not spending more time and energy ripping into their opponents than explaining what they stand for. As the clock ticks down, the lies become more brazen, the memorized, repeated-ad-nauseum talking points less grounded in reality. It's hard to watch.

It's also antithetical to Canadian values. This isn't who we are, and I fear for our future if this is is our new baseline for national dialog. I fear this darkness is all-pervasive. It's too easy to submit to it and assume the world is becoming a meaner, more dangerous, less inspirational place.

So my answer is a simple one: Spontaneous photo shoots with assorted Smarties. Because everyone loves color and treats, especially if they're made of chocolate.

How do YOU stave off the darkness?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #election #color #colors #smarties #stilllife #foodporn #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Racing the sun to the horizon

The rainbow just above my head
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

6 minutes before sunset, I rolled my bike to a stop on the grass of London's Harris Park, transfixed by the insane color of this one tree just off to the side of the silent concert stage.

I was late leaving the office, and knew I'd be fighting the light on the way home. Darkness is a frightening time for cyclists, and what I should have been doing was cranking the pedals to stay ahead of the fading sun.

But that color.

5 minutes before sunset, I tripped the shutter, then continued my ride beside the lazily burbling river to my left. I may or may not have stopped again a few hundred metres away, where a particularly lovely bridge looked particularly fetching against the twilight sky.

It was dark by the time I rolled into my driveway and safely tucked the pink wondermachine back into the garage. Another victorious battle between the forces of responsible logic and spontaneous exploration, another moment where I zigged when I probably should have zagged.

But, you know, that color. Who would ever want to miss out on that?

You already know my answer.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #forest #trees #autumn #fall #autumnleaves #autumncolor #color #colors #downtown #harris #park #cycling #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Reflecting by the water...

Shades, reflected
London, ON
October 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some of our most profound memories are also our most fleeting.

Like the leaves you see here, destined to be swept from the trees within days, doomed to be heaps of soggy brown on the forest floor.

Or the water that's reflecting this scene, already flowing out of frame. Or the wind-whipped ripples that change by the second, only to disappear entirely as the winds die down.

Or the entire scene that fades to black as the sun slips beneath the horizon.

It'll look different when light returns in the morning. And it'll never again look as it does in this moment.

All the more reason to stand by the water and drink it in.

All the more reason to appreciate the small joys of life.

Because they are, in the end, not small at all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #forest #trees #autumn #fall #autumnleaves #autumncolor #color #colors #springbank #park #thames #river #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Homeless close to home

Home for someone
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The red blanket haphazardly strewn across a field of rocks under an overpass for the four-lane road that borders our sleepy suburban subdivision betrays a dark secret that #LdnONT probably doesn't want to face: Homelessness is growing faster than we thought, and it's spreading to places whose residents think it's someone else's problem.

Homelessness in London always happens far away - at least that's what many Londoners will themselves to believe. It doesn't happen in our neighborhood. It's a downtown thing, and when we return to our quiet little houses in our quiet little 'hoods, we can comfortably tuck in at night, safe in the knowledge that it happens somewhere else.

It doesn't. Somewhere else is now here. Everywhere. And this picture, captured as I wandered an otherwise idyllic path through the woods just a few blocks from home, paints a different reality than the one we've tried to construct for ourselves.

The irony of this photo is stark: Look at yesterday's pic of a brilliantly colored stretch of trees. Seconds after I took THAT photo, I turned around and shot this one of some unseen stranger's temporary home. Night, meet day. At least whoever slept here had something nice to look at. If only that were enough.

What we see in a frame almost never tells the complete story. Then again, many of us aren't ready to hear the complete story, anyway. That needs to change.

#london #ontario #canada #homeless #homelessness #random #street #photography #medway #valley #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The ravine gets painted again

Strictly temporary
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Mother Nature has been busy with her paintbrush again. And given how quickly all of this disappears into the monochromatic monotony of winter, I thought a few random injections of color into my feed might be helpful.

More?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #canadian #forest #trees #autumn #fall #autumnleaves #autumncolor #color #colors #medway #valley #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Forgotten red berry

Texture at our feet
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I stare down at the ground a lot.

My balance was never all that good to begin with. It’s far worse ever since my little dance with the universe. I don’t stumble around like I’ve had 6 beers, but I do have to watch myself when I’m standing or walking, and I’m always aware of my less-than-perfect ability to remain vertical.

I say that not as a complaint, mind you - I’m lucky to be here at all, so I won’t quibble about some trivial and easily managed balancing thing - but as an explanation for why I tend to walk a touch more slowly than most, somewhat more deliberately.

The upside is I notice things that would normally get missed. Like this single berry on the pavement that I came across while walking the pup early on a Saturday morning. The color was near-hypnotic, and Calli patiently sat on the sidewalk while I sized it up.

I probably could have spent a little more time cleaning the area around the berry to reduce the clutter a bit. But the journalist in me didn’t want to over-orchestrate things. In its original form, it was one of those scenes that called for a photo, because it would otherwise be gone in a blink.

I find it interesting how something most of us might categorize as a limitation has, in my world, become something of an advantage. Lucky me, then. Maybe we’d all notice the berries more often if we slowed down a bit.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #red #berry #autumn #fall #color #colors #stilllife #random #street #photography #streetphotography #stroke #survivor #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Forbidden pizza

Looking through glass
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As you may have guessed from my feed, I've got a whole lot of weird habits. At some point they might merit diagnosis by a professional, but for now let's just call them delightful personality quirks. Yes, that sounds about right.

One of these habits, er, quirks, often happens seconds after I walk into restaurants or stores with glass display cases in front. I'll usually wait till the folks who work there look elsewhere, then quickly compose and shoot whatever's there. More often than not, I'll press the camera right up to the glass to avoid spurious reflections. It isn't elegant or thoughtful. It's quick, somewhat panicked, and way outside the bounds of normal customer behavior.

Which brings us to the Pizza Pizza outlet in our neighborhood. My wife and I were hunting and foraging for pizza, as suburbanites do, on Thanksgiving Monday evening. Our kids were waiting at home, and we were reflecting on the memorably awesome weekend that was drawing to a close. As my wife dealt with the employee at the cash, I waited for my moment and grabbed a fast shot of a pepperoni slice.

I didn't have enough time to think about the why, or the how. I don't even eat pepperoni pizza. But it looked like a fun theme with cool texture, so I cobbled it together in a blink before someone got wise to my idiocy and booted me from the store.

I got away with it. This time. Rest assured there will indeed be a next time. Because life challenges us to find enjoyment in the strangest places. Bonus points if glass, food, and family are involved.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #street #suburban #sherwood #forest #mall #retail #pizza #restaurant #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where the dog chooses a different direction

Old growth
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The dog and I took the road less travelled this morning.

We turned right instead of left as soon as we exited our subdivision, and ended up on a path through the woods.

Normally, Calli the wonderpuppy isn't a fan of detouring off the familiar path. She's a creature of habit, and will whine incessantly at the slightest nudge away from her usual route. She'll stand her ground, pulling back on the leash until we return from whence we came.

This morning was oddly different. Maybe it was the quiet - it's Canadian Thanksgiving today, so the streets were absolutely still. Maybe it was the time, as for the first morning in months, she slept in. Bless her little heart.

Whatever the reason, she happily bounded down the steps down into the ravine, and eagerly explored the path as we meandered alongside the winding creekbed. She even behaved herself as we encountered other dogs along the way. Well, "behaved" is relative: She didn't freak out as she usually does. That's good enough for me.

And she sat quietly as I took the occasional photo to remember an all-too-fleeting morning.

Because soon enough, we'll all be back to our usual rushed routines. The traffic will return. She'll once again be up before the sun. The colors will fade.

And we'll wonder if we've been doing enough to hold onto moments like this one. That slip into history more quickly, and quietly, than we'd like.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #actofdog #dog #puppy #schnauzerlife #dogsofinstagram #forest #trees #canadian #autumn #fall #color #colors #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Humping dolphins out in public

Strange things atop the mailbox
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm thankful for a lot of things.

My wife, who puts up with my oafish ridiculousness and makes me a better human being.

Our kids, who make us incredibly proud with their brilliance, kindness, drive, humour, and spirit.

Friends who have become family.

My still-functioning brain that still allows me to create stuff - words, images, whatever - from nothing. And hopefully make people around me think a little. And smile a lot.

Work that challenges me, inspires me, and surrounds me with insanely smart people who teach me new things virtually every day.

A planet that offers up a never-ending stream of silliness like you see here. Because it isn't every day that a bizarro-looking sculpture of seemingly humping dolphins appears randomly on top of a Canada Post super mailbox.

I know the calendar says today's some kind of holiday. But in my world, we celebrate every day. Because every day is special, with or without humping dolphins in random places.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #thanksgiving #holiday #dolphin #random #sculpture #post #photography #parenthood #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A spontaneous slash of red

Where it fell
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

"Never stop looking for color.
In everything.
In every place.
In everyone."

C. Levy
2019

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #quote #quotation #qotd #forest #trees #red #canadian #maple #leaf #autumn #fall #color #colors #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Finding color under your feet

Singular beauty
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I had been wandering around for days looking for fall colors, but due to some inexplicable mystery of nature, I hadn't found them yet.

Sure, here and there I'd see a flourish of red or orange or yellow. But nothing that would take my breath away.

Looking at everyone else's Instagram and Facebook feeds filled with ever brighter explosions of riotous color, I thought perhaps I'd been looking in all the wrong places. Wouldn't be the first time.

So as I set out on a quick walk through North London this morning, my hopes weren't high. And sure enough, as I looked around and decided which way to go, all I saw was green with a few reedy patches of yellow mixed in for good measure.

Then, as I picked a direction and followed a path into the nearby forest, I looked down and saw one leaf on the boundary between sunlight and shade. It wasn't day-glow orange, but it was bright enough to stop me. I stood over it for a moment, wondering how to capture it.

In the end, I went with simple because, well, I prefer simple. And as I packed up the camera and continued my journey, I thought about the singular leaf at my feet that proved there was indeed color, after all.

I just had to know where to look. Literally right at my feet. Funny that.

A gnawing voice deep inside me says the universe is trying to teach me about more than mere colors. I'm inclined to think the universe is correct.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #huron #street #park #thames #river #forest #trees #leaf #autumn #fall #color #colors #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Scene from a dying mall

Retail vanishing point
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Stare down a long, non-descript service corridor in a worn-at-the-edges, small-ish local mall and what do you see?

I'm being serious. What DO you see?

Because I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing, and I hope you've got something a little brighter.

Aaaaand go...

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #sherwood #forest #mall #retail #apocalypse #monochrome #leading #lines #concrete #architecture #photography #building #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A small piece of a larger puzzle

Forgotten in the sun
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm pretty sure no one else has ever taken a photo of this particular piece of siding tucked inside a downtown #LdnONT alleyway. Not deliberately, or consciously, anyway.

Why would they? What's the point of shooting a bashed-in piece of metal that, to be frank, wasn't much to look at before it was bashed in. It's not terribly unique. Or pretty. Never was. Never will be, in any context.

And yet, here I find myself on a sunny lunchtime walk, standing in the alleyway between a barber and a burger joint, staring at it as if it has an intrinsic value that no one else recognized. After sizing it up for a couple of minutes, I conclude it doesn't. It's as meh as it looks.

But it's still part of the fabric of this place. Still a small, all-too-easily-ignored piece of a larger, not-always-desirable - yet still intriguing and integral - puzzle that is my downtown neighborhood. So many of us live and/or work in this admittedly imperfect place, but I doubt many of us slow ourselves down long enough to soak in details like this one.

And if we're not seeing the little puzzle pieces, can we truly appreciate the overall puzzle? What are we missing if we don't peek into the forgotten corners of the places where we live?

Maybe we don't want to know. But I'm guessing we need to.

#london #ontario #canada #downtown #urban #city #dundas #street #monochrome #photography #streetphotography #alley #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On the outside, looking in

What once was. What could still be.
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Remember when we were kids, and we'd stand on the outside looking in through a window? We'd cup our hands around our eyes to block the light and hopefully get a glimpse of what was going on inside.

It was a pretty innocent, pure thing to do, a simple manifestation of a child's boundless curiosity.

I've got news for you: It isn't so cute when you're still doing it as an adult. But most of you know I never grew up. And I'm still insanely curious. Especially when so many empty storefronts now line our city's streets.

Every one of them has a story, but it isn't always so easy to tease out. So we can either walk on past and ignore the obvious. Or we can look closer at the here and now and try to imagine what was, and what might be.

I found this one on York Street, near my office. It was in pretty good shape compared to others in the area, and if I squeezed my eyes just so, I could imagine it coming back to life, to something an owner might be proud of, or a member of the local community might look forward to visiting and supporting.

The world has changed, though, and tired old buildings are no longer the engines of local commerce that they once were. The pool of wannabe-retailers is shrinking by the day, as are the customers who might have come here in another era. We shop on our phones now. Our local landscape is drying up, and that's painfully obvious through this window. And others nearby.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope there's another act in store for this place. But a look around this bleak streetscape reinforces the sad reality that renewal may not come here anytime soon. What we all lose in the process is harder to appreciate.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #york #street #monochrome #still #life #stilllife #photography #building #community #crisis #hope #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Stopping by the river to take in the view

Feeling reflective
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm lucky enough to live in a town - #LdnONT - that has a river running through it. I'm also lucky that some wise souls years ago decided to build a bike path alongside said river. Gee, sounds like the premise for a good movie, doesn't it?

Cinematic pipe dreams notwithstanding, I get really good views on my bike commute every morning and afternoon - and fall's arrival means they're getting better by the day.

I was kind of rushing the other night. The light was fading, and I had to get home at a reasonable hour. I had already left the office later than I wanted - a common thing with me, apparently - and I was mashing the pedals a little harder than usual to make up the time.

But to my right, the river kept peeking through the line of trees between the path and the water, and I couldn't stop staring. I know: Recipe for disaster.

Eventually, a super-fast photo shoot at a convenient pull-off point was called for. Not because I had the right camera - I didn't - or the light was particularly good - it wasn't. But because we already don't get enough opportunities to stop and smell the proverbial roses. Or, in this case, stop and take in the fast-changing leaves by the quietly flowing river.

Because before long, they, too, will be gone. And I'd at least like to be left with some kind of memory, even if it means getting home a couple of minutes later than planned.

#london #ontario #canada #springbank #park #thames #river #forest #trees #autumn #fall #color #colors #reflection #reflective #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sometimes...

Against an azure sky
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sometimes you just have to stop and take in the view above your head.

Sometimes you need to get outside and get some air.

Sometimes you have to take a time-out from staring at screens and stare at something real for a change.

Sometimes you need to take off your blinders and appreciate the things in your neighborhood - even if they're a little distressed. Or maybe a lot.

Sometimes, you just wish for a little more time to wonder about it all.

#ldnont #ontario #canada #519ldn #519london #downtown #office #building #architecture #reflective #mirror #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #photography #blue #sky #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Standing in a cathedral of green

Pondering what's possible
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You see things differently when you wander through the woods with your kid. And by differently, I mean better. More precisely. More vibrantly.

We went looking for fall colors, as we do every year. But as you can see here, Mother Nature still hadn’t broken out her brightest shades. Maybe next week. Never mind, though, because green is still a color, and it was never about the colors in the first place.

It was always about that all-too-rare commodity: Time. About leaving the homework (hers) and writing (mine) behind for an hour or so while we looked at an impossibly beautiful world through glass. About picking our way across muddy paths without losing our shoes or boots in the process. About letting our minds race as we read the landscape and looked for something, anything, that jumped out at us. About creating something from nothing. About telling the story of a place, a path through a valley carved by a deceptively tiny creek, that most folks who live nearby don’t even know exists.

We weren’t out there as long as we would have liked. The setting sun and unusually aggressive mosquitoes (in October!) decided our timeline for us. But quality matters more than quantity, and by that definition it was a successful expedition.

Her photos were, and are, stunning, and she’ll be sharing them in her own feeds before long. My memories of watching her come into her own didn’t make it into pixel form, but they’re just as powerful to me.

Maybe Mother Nature will cooperate on our next walk. But even if she doesn't, time with this creative, brilliant human being is the real prize.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #autumn #fall #color #colors #green #photography #daughter #parenthood #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Did someone say, "Fire"?

Heat, visualized
Dryden, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm not an arsonist. I don't play one on TV, nor do I ever aspire to the lifestyle.

Fire scares the bejeebers out of me. That is, assuming I have any bejeebers in me to begin with.

But if you can tuck the fear far enough away for a bit, it's fascinating to watch stuff burn through the disconnected safety of photographic glass. And to try to capture in some way. Kinda like rushing water or fountains, except this is a lot hotter.

So I keep a safe distance between myself and the dancing flames. But, still, I can't look away.

Human nature is a funny thing, isn't it? So is our innate curiosity.

#LiveLaughLevy #dryden #ontario #canada #fire #flame #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Becoming a building-hugger

Temple of the Canadian Winter
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Architecture doesn't get any more forgettable than this: An early-80s-era city-run arena, covered in rough, raked concrete that could have been sourced from the Soviet construction mafia.

Yet here I am on a dull-ish afternoon practically hugging the outside wall as I stare almost straight up at the textured surface, wondering if perhaps the life choices that have led me to this moment may have been somewhat less than optimal.

Hockey parents in logo-covered jackets clutch their disposable coffee cups as they walk past and try to hide their curiosity. But their sidelong glances and furrowed brows give them away. I'm guessing guerilla photography isn't much of a thing here.

Pity that. Because even the overtly forgettable deserves to be remembered. Even the routine can be extraordinary.

If, that is, we choose to look at it in a different way, through a unique lens, without worrying what others might think.

I don't. And because of that, today I come home with something that ensures this particular moment will stick with me for a while. Added bonus? No one was injured in the process.

My question, then - because you didn't think I'd miss an opportunity to spread the joy - is this:

What's your next shot going to be?

And while we're at it, one more question:

How will you make the ordinary extraordinary?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #spontaneous #parking #lot #photography #concrete #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #earlnichols #arena #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Not just any donut

A quintessentially Canadian breakfast
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Behold the humble donut.

It isn't just any donut (doughnut?), mind you. It's a Tim Hortons specialty donut. Take a Boston cream, replace the custard with caramel, top it with Kit Kat bits, put it on sale for a limited time, and voila: Instant stink-eye from every right-thinking cardiologist and diet-shamer on the planet.

But here's the thing: An occasional treat makes for a sweeter life. And it never hurts to remember little sweetnesses like this with some well-placed pixels.

This donut actually had a twin, which our daughter had already finished it off by the time I shot this still-life on Henrietta 2.0's dusty dashboard. I was dropping her off at an early-morning photo shoot across town, and some on-the-run breakfast seemed in order.

While I drove the quiet streets, she ate and we chatted as we willed the defroster to get rid of the last evidence of the morning chill. We used the seat heaters this morning, and bantered cheerfully about how lucky we are to have lots of ways to stay warm.

I'm lucky indeed, largely because I get to have time like this. With her. With everyone in our little family.

And if it takes a hastily captured arena parking lot donut photo to remember why otherwise routine mornings like this one deserve to be captured in some way, then consider me always willing to chow one - or maybe two - down for the team.

Because if I have to ride a few extra kilometres later on to burn this monstrosity off, I can't think of a better reason why.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #donut #doughnut #dessert #chocolate #coffee #shop #timhortons #spontaneous #parking #lot #photography #junkfood #daughter #parenthood #stilllife #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Watching architectural history rot

Demolition by neglect
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s a lovely, historic building in the middle of downtown #LdnONT. Well, it’s historic. But maybe not so lovely, as it’s been sitting, empty, for years, and recently had its dusty, broken windows replaced by plywood. Sadly, this building, the former home of the Wright Lithographing Co. Limited, isn’t alone.

Our downtown core is, to be charitable, a disgrace. Nevermind the boneheaded decision to summarily rip up three adjacent arteries at the same time - that’s a discussion for another day.

No, the rot goes back years, and it’s left us with parking lots where buildings used to be, and empty hulks of once-vibrant structures, abandoned in place by owners more focused on, well, I’m not entirely sure what their end-game is, actually.

Because I always thought property owners made their money by maintaining their buildings and then renting out the space. You know, like landlords have been doing forever. But a quick walk through the dusty streets of downlown London makes it clear how many of these places have been boarded up, with no sign of any effort to return them to life.

There is no investment. No interest in helping the community fill in its gap-toothed streetscape. No interest in generating revenue off of assets they own. That last one staggers me.

This particular building is owned by a company that proudly sticks its logo on every asset it owns. As if abandoned-in-place architecture is good for the brand. Or something to be proud of.

News flash: It isn't. It simply reinforces the long-simmering belief by those of us who care that our city's leadership is afraid to show some backbone. That no one wants to anger the big bear or upset the status quo.

I’ll give them points for the red paint on the plywood, but the fact that no one else asks why the same downward trajectory plays out for countless other properties in the core is, to me, disturbing.

This building deserves better. So does this city. So do we.

#london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #wellington #road #street #photography #wright #building #community #crisis #hope #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Chased by the shadow of my Dreamliner

Magical light at altitude
Climbing out of Vancouver, BC
November 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wherever you go, your shadow is always there. Just look for it.

#yvr #vancouver #international #airport #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #aircanada #flight #flying #aviation #avgeek #boeing #aircraft #airplanes #planes #planeporn #dreamliner #widebody #google #pixel2 #teampixel #life #lifeinthargins #family #everything

Stare into the dancing waters

Time, space, and a little water
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Stare into the dancing waters of a fountain long enough and you might be convinced that everything you see is completely random.

That may very well be true, as every image is radically different from the next, and they all seem to be dancing to their own unique tune.

But the laws of physics are pretty well-understood, so I’m guessing there’s a reasonable explanation for why each molecule of water moves as it does, and is precisely where it is within the 3-dimensional space you see here - just as there will be a similarly reasonable, physics-based explanation for the next image. And the next…

As I stand on the grass and take all of this in through my lens, I realize that for the first time in days, I’m not seeing, or feeling, grey. It’s a strictly temporary respite, of course, but I’ll take it all the same.

As the dancing waters continue to dance, I take my last shot, put away my camera, and quietly resolve to escape through the glass - here, there, anywhere - more often. Because no matter how overwhelming life can become, it can always be put on hold while we spend a little quality time thinking about the things we cannot see or understand.

Even if it’s only a temporary thing, a little wonder can nevertheless heal the most battered soul. And there’s absolutely nothing random about that.

#laval #chomedey #montreal #yul #quebec #canada #water #fountain #high #speed #photography #monochrome #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The perils of photographic plenty

No one's home
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have a funny habit.

I grab my camera by its well-worn strap, sling it over my shoulder, and head out for a walk. There's no plan. The mission: Wander. When something presents itself, I'll know if it's worth shooting.

Of course, the process is different now than it once was. The shift to digital means each photo is no longer as dear as it once was. Without worrying about film and development costs, I can keep shooting until I run out of battery or memory card space.

But sometimes I wonder if that freedom has affected my photography. Has abundance dulled my senses of composition and storytelling? Am I a worse photographer if I come home with hundreds of images on the card, and then figure it all out in post-production? Whatever happened to carefully working out the story in my head before carefully tripping the shutter only once?

I have no answers. But tossing these questions around, silently, as I walk along the empty streets that wind along the gently flowing river is good for my otherwise turbulent soul. Life has been a non-stop roller coaster ride of unpredictability, so allowing myself the luxury of worrying about something as trivial as shot counts and photographic process is a rare treat that I don't want to squander.

As I approach this highrise, I decide to go minimal. It gets two frames before I decide to move on. This leaves me more time to stare through the viewfinder and wonder about what I'm seeing - or not - on the balconies. No people at all. Not a lot of evidence that anyone ever uses them.

I imagine what I would have missed had I been so busy taking dozens of differently composed views of the same thing. Would I have seen it, really seen it, in the same way?

Probably not.

It's a photography lesson for me. And perhaps one about life, as well.

#laval #chomedey #montreal #quebec #canada #concrete #glass #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #monochrome #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Artistic genius on a shadowy brick wall

Outdoor gallery
London, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Is this art or graffiti?

Like so many facets of life in #LdnONT, the answer is far from obvious.

The alleyways that form the backbone of our down-at-the-heels downtown area are covered with it, a constantly evolving kaleidoscope of image and color from invisible strangers trying to tell their respective stories.

It isn't easy to divine precisely what those stories are, or what happened to whoever left them behind. But it's hard not to be pulled in in some way, to want to linger a little longer and think about how all this came to be.

I see more walks through - and photos from - these confusing, often-hidden spaces. Because the backstory is often more compelling than the one that stares us in the face.

And even if it isn't, journeys are most satisfying when they're diverse, new, and filled with questions just begging to be answered. Or at least pondered.

(FWIW, I'm voting art.)

#london #ontario #canada #downtown #urban #city #richmond #dundas #street #photography #streetphotography #art #color #alley #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything