Winter still sucks

Snowy meteors from space
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Another day, another scene from the snowy wasteland we call home.

Just like the last snowy photo I shot (here), what you see here was probably gone soon after I left it behind, reshaped by the relentlessly cold winds blowing in off the lake.

I don't know why some scenes merit being remembered, while others aren't worth even a first glance, let alone a second.

I know it's impossible to remember everything we see, or capture every moment. There's only so much time, energy, and bandwidth. So we take with us what matters most - and leave the rest in the shadows of history.

But this rectangular frame of snow, on the edge of a neighbor's lawn, somehow ended up committed to pixels. For some reason, that's where I stopped while walking the dog, and that's what I chose to look at while she buried her snout in an adjacent snowbank.

Because that's where the two of us were destined to linger on a cold, stormy Saturday night.

Sounds like as good a reason as any to explain why this particular memory got carried forward, while so many others were not. And as is so often the case when I get to reflect back, I'm glad this was the one that did.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #photography #snow #white #frozen #winter #monochrome #stilllife #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Winter sucks, but still...

Strictly temporary
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wherever we live, we're almost genetically programmed to complain endlessly about the weather. Canadians, especially, love to gripe about winter.

I get it. The snow gets into our boots and soaks our socks. The wind cuts through our coats and seeps through our front doors and windows. Icy roads and sidewalks make it difficult - or even impossible - to get around. Long nights connected by short days and grey skies don't do our souls any favors.

I was silently whining to myself as I walked the few blocks from my office to the train station the other morning. I had been outside less than 2 minutes, and already I couldn't feel my face. The sky was dark and ominous, and I wondered why I was the only one walking the desolate downtown streets while the rest of the world slept comfortably inside.

Then I saw it, a perfect windswept landscape at my feet, a temporary sliver of snowy perfection that reminded me miracles of weather and physics are all around us.

So despite the time and the cold, I stopped and took the picture.

Because I knew it would probably be gone in seconds.

Because we can find wonder in everything. At any moment. In the most unexpected places.

If only we take the time to look down and drink it in. Before it's too late.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #ridout #street #photography #snow #white #frozen #winter #monochrome #stilllife #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Hockey night in London

All I need
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram and Facebook

I clearly married well above my station. Love this girl.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #datenight #londonknights #hockey #live #laugh #love #levy #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Just before checkout

So many stories...
Las Vegas, NV
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have a number of strange rituals whenever I travel. Don't worry, they're all properly legal and moral, but they do tend to attract the occasional raised eyebrow.

For example, as I leave any hotel room for the last time, I take photos - of the room itself, the number outside, and down the hall. Because as unremarkable as these things may seem, they represent an anchor of sorts for an experience that was absolutely unique to me.

I figure a placeholder like this will always serve as a reminder if what it felt like to close the door on one chapter of an adventure and head into the next.

I shot this corridor at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas just before I left for the airport - and home. It had been a successful, non-stop trip, and I was looking forward to being back with my family. I paused over this photo after I took it, because every door you see here probably represents a similar story: Folks leading their lives, and eventually turning for home.

We all have our own stories to tell, and our own adventures to lead. But sometimes, our paths intersect in places like this. And sometimes it feels right to try to sketch out what that looks and feels like.

Wherever you're headed, I hope what awaits you at the other end is just as welcoming. Because we all deserve to eventually go home.

#lasvegas #nevada #cosmopolitan #hotel #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #stilllife #throwback #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where Atlantis feels the heat

Not that kind of tile
Merritt Island, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You're looking at the underside of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the right, and to the left her port-side outboard elevon. And as you can imagine, there's a story here.

The tiles you see are really special - each one is unique, computer-designed and custom-cut. They're bonded to the orbiter's skin such that they stay on through the massive range of conditions a spacecraft can endure, from turbulent supersonic airflows after launch to extreme heat and cold in the near-vacuum of space. Then they have to survive the plasma-blasted hell that is re-entry. Oh, and like the rest of this vehicle, they're reusable.

It's a wonder this heat shield works at all. Yet it does, and an updated version of the technology is already in testing for the upcoming Orion deep space capsule.

Standing beneath this triumph of human ingenuity and engineering, I'm struck by the number of unique elements that combine to make a cohesive whole. If you've ever wanted to know what collaboration looks like, this is it. Not one piece of this can fail.

We learned the hard way with Columbia, when another part of her thermal protection system, a reinforced carbon-carbon panel on the leading edge of the port wing, was damaged by foam debris from the external tank during the initial ascent. Hot gas penetrated the wing on re-entry and led to the orbiter's loss of control and subsequent disintegration. This is a business with almost zero margin for error.

Thankfully Atlantis came home safely 33 times, and we get to admire her here, plasma trail remnants and all. Her lessons of working together - and what happens when we don't - are as relevant now as they were when she was still the master of the skies.

#kennedy #space #center #ksc #kennedyspacecenter #florida #fla #spaceshuttle #shuttle #atlantis #ov104 #rocket #science #tps #monochrome #aviation #avgeek #spaceflight #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Pall Malls on York

Forgotten along the way
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Looks like someone's going smokeless.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #york #street #stilllife #walkabout #photography #building #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Read the damn signs

Such negativity
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm beginning to suspect they really, really mean it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #york #street #photography #building #alley #signs #architecture #brick #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tim is still dead

After the last double-double* is served
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A few days back, I shared a photo of an abandoned Tim Hortons coffee shop here in #LdnONT. It touched off a vibrant discussion about the good, the bad, and the ugly of places like this, and their impact on the community while they're operating, and when they get left behind.

I wanted to share a view of the interior because as I pressed my camera to the glass and composed, I could almost feel what it had been like when it was full of customers, all going through the paces of their day.

I was one of them on occasion, and this particular location always stood out for the way it felt less like a store and more like a community centre of sorts. It was homey and warm in a way few places in the modern city are.

Looking at the perfectly aligned, now-empty seats and tables, I wonder where everyone went, and whether they've managed to find the kinds of connections they once had here.

I hope so.

* Double-double: shorthand for a Tim Hortons coffee with two cream, two sugar. Usage: "May I please have a medium double-double?" It's how Canadians roll.

#london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #street #photography #restaurant #resto #building #architecture #ruinporn #retail #apocalypse #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Zoomed in snowdrift

A frozen world
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: A parking lot in mid-winter. The brilliant sun hanging in the perfectly blue late morning sky is reflecting so brightly off of the dirty snowbank at my feet that I can barely see even through my sunglasses.

But still, I want to remember this little mini-vignette, because soon enough it’ll be gone, either melted by the relentless sun, or covered yet again by the next storm gathering over the horizon.

In this parking lot as in life, you act now or risk missing out.

As I take my smartphone out and blindly compose the shot, I think about the snowbanks I played on as a child. It seemed a lot more fun then. I’d deliberately bundle up and head out at the first inkling of snow, and only came in after I was long past exhausted, my woolies reduced to soggy messes. It was glorious.

Something happened to me between then and now, because I no longer embrace the snow and the cold as I once did. Heavy winter weather has become something to be fought, not embraced, and I’m not entirely certain why that happened.

Adulthood so often seems to want to beat the magic out of us, and I wish we could somehow reconnect to the magical innocence that governed the children we used to be. Time travel may not indeed be possible using present-day technology, but there’s no reason the adult me can’t pause in a snowy parking lot and try to remember what it once felt like to play in the snow with reckless abandon.

Indeed, I think this life thing would be a little sweeter if more of us allowed just a sliver of ourselves to not grow up at all.

And as I finish taking the picture and slowly walk back to the responsibilities of my adult life, I smile at the fact that I’ve found a new way to play in, and with, the snow. Bring it, Mother Nature.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #street #photography #snow #white #frozen #winter #monochrome #parking #lot #stilllife #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Hot dogs aren't made of dog

Good things come in threes
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have a weird habit. Wait, I have MANY weird habits. This particular one involves taking a quick photo of whatever it is that I'm about to eat.

Food is so fundamental to who we are that we'd be missing much of the fun if we didn't try to remember meals and dishes in some way. Every day, we gather around the table - rushing through breakfast, or more deliberately for dinner - and find ways to connect over food. So it makes sense - well, to me, anyway - that the camera should come out for some fast foodporn photography.

I'm conscious of the Instagram-fuelled dad involving elaborate still-life dinner-table photography, and how well (or not) it would play in my house if I broke out the DSLR and tripod over a just-set table. So this is more of a guerilla-photography thing. Shoot quickly, with whatever camera you happen to have in your pocket. Then put said camera - probably a smartphone - firmly away, and eat.

Hot dogs may not be haute cuisine. Or terribly healthy. But as an occasional treat, they do a wonderful job of making our kids smile. Which makes for a cool vibe around the kitchen table while we dissect the day that was and look ahead to the next.

Whatever we eat, and whoever we're with, that feeling should always be one of warmth and togetherness, where the rest of the world can take a break while we catch up and break bread with the people who matter most.

Because when we eat well, I'm guessing we live well, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stilllife #food #foodie #foodporn #hotdog #hotdogs #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

When little pups cast huge shadows

When we were giants
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Spend enough one-on-one time with a dog and you eventually learn to read each other's minds.

I know precisely where she's going to start whimpering because she hates the house with the big, scary-looking dog who always barks madly at her from behind the flimsy screen door.

She, on the other hand, knows to stand in one spot when I pull out the phone for a spontaneous photo shoot. Patient girl, she is.

I don't know if she appreciates optical phenomena like golden hour or shadows, but I'm thankful we found ourselves in this particular spot just as the sun was about to slip below the horizon.

Because even a simple moment with a puppy deserves to be held onto.

#london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #pets #sunset #shadow #street #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tim is dead

No coffee here
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared in Instagram

There's irony in this scene: A #LdnONT #TimHortons coffee shop that literally defines the term, “throwaway”, is itself thrown away.

There are thousands of these restos strewn across the country - plus a few hundred more in Americastan - and depending on where you stand, they’re either iconic reflections of Canadiana or sullied examples of a society that’s blind to its impact on the environment around it.

This particular outlet stood at the end of a strip mall at Wharncliffe and Base Line, a beacon of the south London community around it. I don’t ever remember this place being less than full, yet here it is, abandoned.

Why might that be? I’m no expert, but I’m going to guess it’s because it didn’t have a drive-through lane. Because apparently walking into a restaurant isn’t convenient enough for most time-addled coffee addicts. And a franchise with a drive-through makes a lot more money than one without.

So they built a spanking new Timmies just a few hundred metres south of here. Big parking lot. Drive-through. Should make the franchise-holder and Brazilian-owned parent company happy.

In the meantime, I sit in another Tims, drinking my tea, writing this entry. This place has a drive-through, too. I guess that makes me part of the problem.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #street #photography #restaurant #resto #building #architecture #ruinporn #retail #apocalypse #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Instagram 2K

That day I stopped on the doorstep
London, ON
October 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Instagram tells me this is the 2,000th photo I’ve shared on the platform, so I feel the need to mark the occasion in some way.

This despite the fact that I’m generally not one for milestones.

Who, after all, decides that #1,000 should be any more special than #647? Why we work ourselves into a tizzy over numbers and dates is beyond me. The recent internet meme-a-thon over the significance of February 2, 2020 was a perfect example of this numbers thing taken to its ridiculous extreme.

Well, today is February 21, 2020: That’s got to be significant in some way, right?

Which is my convoluted way of saying every day matters, and it’s entirely up to us whether we choose to recognize it.

The photo I’ve chosen to mark this not-a-milestone milestone exemplifies that mindset. I took it October 27, 2017, an ordinary mid-autumn Friday. The sun was putting on quite the show behind the empty trees as I stepped out to go to work. And despite the need to get out and get on my way, I fetched my Nikon so I could remember the moment.

Not a 2,000th-photo-class day, mind you. But I don’t much care. It was special in its own right. Unique. Irreplaceable. And now I can remember what it felt like because I stopped on my doorstep and took a picture.

I hope you’re able to remember your days - all of them - in a similar way. Because they all matter.

My annoyance over misplaced milestones notwithstanding, it’s been a privilege to get to share my weird vision with you here, and I hope the future offers up countless more opportunities to do so. Long may we all shoot (photos), write, and share.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #sunrise #orange #sky #light #photography #throwback #tree #trees #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Two kinds of bricks

Pick a side, any side
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We've all been taught since early childhood that there are two sides to every story. But we've also probably figured out over time that life is a lot more complex than that.

So we'll need a number bigger than two, but a two-sided brick wall is all I've got today.

Which begs 2 (!) questions:

1 - Which side are you on?
2 - Why?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #ridout #street #photography #building #heritage #architecture #brick #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Same building. Better view.

Under a brilliant blue sky
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Here's another view of 88 York Street, the down-on-its-luck building I included in my feed this past weekend.

Funny how a slight change in perspective can make even the saddest subject look just a little happier.

I keep reminding myself to set aside the time to do just that, to look at the same scene again - at a later time or date - and look for the beauty or inspiration that may be eluding me at the moment.

Perhaps this isn't just a photographic thing. Perhaps I've stumbled on something of a metaphor for life, as well.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #york #street #photography #building #architecture #ruinporn #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

One bird. One wave.

Surveying her domain
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A single bird cruises over the dying waves as morning light gradually returns to the beach. We should all be so comfortable in our environment as she is in hers.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #fla #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #sunrise #waves #water #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Watching the waves roll in

Patterns in nature
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Note to self: Spend more time staring at - and listening to - waves as they roll into shore. Bonus points if it’s just after sunrise or before sunset. Even more bonus points if the occasional bird drops in.

Life really should be this simple. Except, when you look really closely at the forces that make moments like this possible, it’s rather complex.

But when you get to imprint moments like this into your mind forever, nothing else matters. Thanks, Mother Nature.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #fla #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #sunrise #waves #water #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Small boat. Huge ocean. Orange Sky.

Somewhere to go
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As I stand alone on the edge of the planet waiting for the sun to reappear, I spot a boat in the distance under the brightening sky.

The sight makes me wonder about who wakes up this early so they can race along the edge of the horizon in a giant ocean.

And it occurs to me...

Everyone's on a journey.

Sometimes they decide where they go and how they get there. And sometimes they don't.

Sometimes their path is smooth and predictable. Sometimes it's rough and challenging.

Sometimes what awaits at the other end is warm and welcoming. Sometimes it's decidedly less so.

Sometimes they're surrounded by those who give them strength. Sometimes they must deal with those who stand in their way. Sometimes they're all alone.

Sometimes we know their story, but more often than not we don't.

Something to keep in mind, I think.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #fla #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #sunrise #horizon #boat #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The thousand-mile stare

Are you going to walk me or what?
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

She's a difficult one to ignore. I mean, that face.

The frightening thing is I'm pretty sure she knows it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #pets #monochrome #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Old orbiter. New code.

Atlantis poses for another closeup
Merritt Island, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Never underestimate the power of software to influence our day-to-day lives. This is true for all of us, of course, but it seems to be especially so with creative folks.

Although the only time I'm ever going to be called an artist is in the middle of an insult-comedian's set, I treasure the apps I use to create stuff. Writing, photography, editing, shaping...mess with my software and you may as well mess with my life.

For years, I had been using Apple's Aperture to manage my photographic workflow. It was as comfortable as an old shoe, and it made it easy to rip through large volumes of raw photos and turn them into smaller sets of lovelier photos.

Then Apple decided to get out of the photo-editing business, and announced Aperture would be shutting down. Now, it's an app I paid for and downloaded, so in theory I should have been able to keep using it. But here's the thing: It was a 32-bit package, and Apple's newest operating system for Macs, Mojave, dropped all support for 32-bit code when it went live last September. The writing was on the wall: upgrade to Mojave and say goodbye to Aperture for good.

I pushed off updating my Mac for as long as I could, but eventually, I had no choice. In 2020, we don't run older OSs.

So I've switched over to Adobe Lightroom, and it's taken me a few weeks to get comfy with it. That old shoe and everything. Today was the first day where the tool finally felt right, and I've been busy ripping through my large backlog of pics.

Here's Atlantis's left OMS pod against the rear cargo bay as backdrop. More to come.

#kennedy #space #center #ksc #kennedyspacecenter #florida #fla #spaceshuttle #shuttle #atlantis #ov104 #rocket #science #rs25 #aviation #avgeek #spaceflight #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The promise of urban renewal

Rich past. Hopeful future.
London, ON
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

88 York Street has seen better days. This rambling yellow-brick building looms over a gritty block on the edge of #LdnONT's downtown, a nearly forgotten fixture in a nearly forgotten neighborhood.

The view across the street from this forlorn structure is a dismal one. Between the Greyhound bus station to the left and a liquor store to the right sits an abandoned lot, the rusting, empty sign hovering over the sidewalk echoing back to a time when some people lived and worked here, and others came here for a legitimate reason.

Today, everyone just passes through. Or sets up camp in the brush beside the tracks. Or buys booze before disappearing for good.

I can never tell if 88 York is alive or not. An optometrist has set up shop just out of frame to the right, but the rest of the building seems abandoned in place. Like so many other heritage properties in the core, the clock is ticking here, as well.

New residential towers already cast fresh shadows from the west, and cranes have popped up all over the place, signals of a new chapter, perhaps.

History paints a troubling story for the future. This isn't a city that values its heritage. Developers wield the balance of power over a city too afraid to challenge them. Heritage designations mean little, and enforcement cycles endlessly between non-existent and laughably inept.

We've learned to record buildings like this while we have them. Because on York Street, like everywhere else, nothing is ever guaranteed.

#london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #york #street #photography #building #architecture #ruinporn #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Ridout Street Bridge, Redux

Empty this time
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is the scene I was trying to capture the other night before a passing car so rudely crossed into the shot.

I'm not sure which one I prefer. Maybe both, because not everything needs to be a competition.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #ridout #street #road #bridge #photography #car #carporn #speed #traffic #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Unvalentine

Her
Toronto, ON
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I don't need a manufactured holiday to tell me how I should feel or what I should do. If being told by advertising is what it takes to get us to show affection, we may need to re-evaluate how we define affection in the first place.

Still, it's never a bad thing, today or any day, to stop what we're doing and wonder about who matters most to us, and why. Once we're finished with the wondering part, it's never a bad thing to let them know.

So in case you haven't yet been introduced, this is my wife, Debbie. She finishes my sentences, laughs at most of what I have to say, and puts up with my weirdness.

She's also the very centre of our world, the pillar of our family, and the reason our house is home not only to us, but to anyone we know. The universe smiled on me when our paths first crossed, and it's been smiling on me ever since.

So, yes, today matters to us. But not because Hallmark says it should.

And tomorrow will matter even more, because that's the way this life and love and family thing is supposed to work. Of course, I won't be able to buy a February 15th Day card for her, but it was never about the cards, anyway.

I'll just have to find some other way to let her know. In other words, just like any other day.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #valentine #valentinesday #holiday #live #laugh #love #levy #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Lightning strikes local swimming pool

Freeze it whenever you can
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The planet feels a little more grey than it usually does, so I find myself looking for vibrant colors. Call it my one-person campaign to find joy.

You're welcome to join me if you wish. Because we could all use a little more color in our lives.

#delray #beach #delraybeach #florida #fla #swim #swimming #pool #water #blue #light #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Rushing home under a darkening sky

Crossing over
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At the end of an intense day of writing that reminds me why I Iove writing for a living, the 15-minute walk back to the car is a perfect opportunity to decompress.

I can feel the cold air settling into my lungs as I walk along the icy sidewalk. As I cross over this rusting old bridge that's scheduled to be replaced, I stop and look around because it suddenly occurs to me that I've been crossing this structure for years, but I've never taken the time to really look at it.

I decide I don't do this enough. We move from here to there, yet can't be bothered to remember what it looks like along the way. We're so focused on the destination that we fail to appreciate the things we encounter in between here and there.

Which means we're missing so much of the story of us. Perhaps too much.

So as I line up a simple geometric composition, traffic picks up and I end up rather unexpectedly capturing a speeding car in the frame, its owner headed, I guess, home. Just like me.

Whoever it is, I hope they're also taking the time to soak in the journey. I hope they're enjoying being in the middle - of work and home, of two banks on a river, of day and night, of whatever - as much as I am.

#london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #ridout #street #road #bridge #photography #car #carporn #speed #traffic #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Same tower, shadowy perspective

Make your influence felt
Toronto, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Toronto’s CN Tower is as iconic a civic signature as you’ll ever see. Like New York’s Empire State Building or Paris’s Eiffel Tower, you instantly know where you are when you see it.

That iconic presence means it finds itself front-and-centre often. Some might say too often. Aren’t there enough other buildings in Toronto equally worthy of a little visual love? Is there such thing as overkill when it comes to sticking a giant phallic telecommunications tower into the middle of Every Single Picture?

I guess it all depends on perspective. If every one of those pictures is taken from the same vantage point, in the same light, with the same composition, then, yes, it can quickly get to be a little much. Or even a lot.

But what if you shake it up a bit. What if you find new ways to look at something that isn’t so new? What if you squint your eyes just so and force yourself to see - or feel - it in a way you never had before? What if you turned the storytelling on its ear and told a different story? An unexpected one?

Never assume that a particular story can ever be fully told. Or an iconic, or familiar thing can’t be looked at through another lens, in another light, from a different perspective. There's always another way.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #CN #tower #cntower #concrete #shadow #reflective #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Pick a direction

Whatever you do, don't turn right
Toronto, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I know a lot of people rage on Mondays, and they probably have good reason to do so. Who knowingly wishes for weekends to end, after all? I sure don't.

But time's going to move forward whether we like it or not, so I'm choosing to use photography for a little new-workweek inspiration. This long shot of Toronto's iconic CN Tower poses a number of interesting questions:

• Which road will we take?
• Will we take the direct route?
• Or will we turn off, and take the road less travelled?
• Will we stop at the greens at all?
• Will we follow the rules?
• Or will we push them, just a bit?
• (No, I'm not advocating you burn red lights.)
• How will we choose our destination? Or, more likely, destinations?
• Will we even have a destination in mind when we set out?
• Will we take the time to pause and take it all in?
• Or will we just set off and figure it out along the way?
• Either way, how will we know when we get there?
• Who will be along for the ride with us?
• How will we improve the journey for them?

So many questions. Never as many answers as we'd like. Still, sounds like the right recipe for a productive week. May everyone's journey be charmed.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #CN #tower #cntower #concrete #glass #reflective #mirror #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Old door. Lost stories.

On Colborne, near King
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a desolate corner in a neighborhood no one chooses to be a part of, a weather-beaten door slowly loses its paint under a blinding winter sun.

No one's passed through this doorway in years, the plywood covering the nearby windows betraying the story of a building that no longer has a life of its own.

I don't ever remember a time when this building wasn't abandoned, so I'll probably never know about the stories and the lives that played out here. That thought saddens me, and I wish personal history wasn't as tenuous as it seems to be.

As I compose the shot of a place whose backstory eludes me, I imagine what it would be like for someone who was here before the plywood went up and everyone else moved on. What would it be like to be on the outside looking in, with memories of what happened here dancing through your head?

We've all passed through places like this on our respective life journeys, structures that imprinted themselves on us before fading into the distant past.

Standing outside them doesn't accomplish much. But whoever said reflecting on where we've come from and where we've been needed to be about accomplishment in the first place?

Perhaps it's simply enough to stand quietly and reflect on where we've been - and who we were with - along the way.

If a cracked old doorway can take us back there, even for a moment, then I'll consider it time well spent.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #street #photography #building #architecture #ruinporn #texture #monochrome #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Finding light in a lifeless canopy overhead

The things we find when we look up
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The dog and I have been staring at snow-covered trees again. More precisely, I’ve been staring at the snow-covered trees while she’s been sticking her head into every drift within her reach.

This is her third winter, so you’d think the magic would have worn off by now. That, like human children who evolve into adults, a few more times through the seasonal gauntlet would erode the newness of it all somewhat.

But dogs, thankfully, don’t seem to work like humans, and for them every walk, every moment at the end of the leash, is something to be explored. And held onto. Well, as much as a dog can hold onto a moment.

So that’s what we do. She follows her nose close to the ground, sniffing everything within reach in search of, well, I don’t really know. But it’s baked into her DNA, so she happily pursues it. Meanwhile I’m looking up and around in a never-ending quest to maintain adequate separation from cars, other dogs, and skunks, and pretty much anything that moves.

We come across some lovely sights along the way, which she blissfully ignores while I pause to take them in. It’s a gift, you see. Because if we didn’t have her, I’d probably never see this, at this time, in this way. I wouldn’t have these opportunities, morning, night, day after day, to get out and take it in.

As she shakes the snow from her snout one last time before we head in, she has no idea how thankful I am to have her. I’m already looking forward to our next adventure, and I’m pretty sure she is, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #street #night #light #dark #contrast #photography #tree #snow #frozen #winter #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Finding joy in the white stuff

Snowy schnu nose
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Someone had a little too much fun in the snow this morning. As if there's even such a thing as "a little too much fun."

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #pets #winter #snow #weather #onstorm #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Seeking light in the darkness

Not so abstract after all
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When it rains, we have a choice.

We can either lament the fact that Mother Nature got rid of the sun and wiped out our picnic, or we can celebrate the fact that we had the opportunity to see tiny droplets of water on the hood of a white Toyota Prius.

Because, quite literally, everything we experience and feel ultimately depends on how we choose to see it.

Sounds like a reasonable way to start the final workday of an eventful week, doesn't it?

#delray #beach #delraybeach #florida #fla #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #stilllife #car #carporn #water #monochrome #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Arsonists need not apply

There's mystery in these flames
Orlando, FL
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You don’t have to be an arsonist to appreciate the fundamental beauty of fire. For the record, despite some questionable childhood moments, I am not an arsonist.

Definitions notwithstanding, I’ve been staring at flames in one way or another for much of my life, and my photo archives are dotted with pics - shot very carefully, often from far, far away - of fireplaces, fire pits, oven burners, candles, pilot lights, and anything else that burns or supports combustion.

Shooting open flame is always something of a crapshoot in that you squeeze the shutter and hope it’ll turn out. Even if you’ve dialed in the right settings for exposure and focus, the multicolored beast simply moves too fast for thoughtful composition. Press and pray is as close to a photographic strategy as you’re going to get here.

And so it was on the first day of the new decade, as I hung out with my fam jam beside a massive lake in Florida and waited for the fireworks to begin. Florida being Florida, the giant torch heaters had been lit, and they cast a warm, orange glow over the gathering crowd.

While we waited, I thought I’d warm up with some practice shots of the dancing flames. I didn’t count on being surprised, but sometimes the universe works in surprising ways.

Can you see it, too?

#orlando #florida #fla #road #trip #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #epcot #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #fire #fireworks #mystery #zoom #photography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Ready Player One

Would you like to play a game?
Toronto, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've never been much of a pinball wizard. Or even a lesser-wizard.

But pinball machines remain objects of fascination all the same. Beneath the glass lies a world governed by forces we largely understand - gravity and technology, mostly - influenced by other forces (like flippers, nudges, and uncontrolled profanity) that are similarly known.

But once that ball is in play, the way the game evolves is largely out of our control. It might careen off a bumper and hit the bonus button just so. Or it might make a beeline for the dead zone right between the flippers before you so much as have a chance to touch it.

We can wish for a high score all we want, but nothing we do, however heroic, can ensure the outcome we want.

Kinda sounds like life, doesn't it?

We may know the rules of the game, the layout of the playground, the tricks available to us. But even then, there's a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that virtually guarantees we'll never be able to fully script the story that unfolds as soon as we release the spring-loaded plunger and send the ball on its way.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't play, though. Because what's life without a bit of uncertainty? And would the high scores feel as good to us if they were pre-ordained? Shouldn't we all spend at least some of our time on this planet wondering against wonder what comes next?

Maybe this is my way of convincing myself that uncertainty isn't necessarily a universally dark force. Maybe there are some shades of grey in between that merit exploration.

In the meantime, while everyone mulls the possibilities, I'll be over here trying to keep the silver ball in play.

I'll never be a wizard, but the game draws me in all the same.

#toronto #ontario #canada #pinball #game #gaming #arcade #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where magazines refuse to die

So much to read
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's a scene that has played out countless times in countless stores over countless decades: Someone stands in front of a magazine stand, and ponders the possibilities.

Digital content distribution has, of course, ruined the party for traditional magazines. The very idea of killing trees, turning them into glossy mags, then trucking them cross-country so you can toss them into the cart alongside your OJ and greek yogurt is increasingly laughable. While regular old books are managing to hold off ebooks, it's a different, more troubling story in the magazine space. Indeed, "magazine" barely registers as a media type now.

So when I came across this scene on my way to the OJ and greek yogurt aisles, I had to steal a fast photo. Composition was haphazard - the geometry is all wrong - but I needed to shoot before a) the magazine-seeking stranger caught on to me; and b) store security caught on to me. Spontaneous shooting in public doesn't always afford us the luxury of time.

As I tucked my phone back in my pocket and headed toward a date with some OJ, I thought about why this particular photo needed to be taken on this particular day. The answer is, again, time. We're running out of it. Someday, perhaps soon, I'll walk back into this very same store and the magazine aisle will be a fraction of what it is now. Or it won't be there at all.

Maybe I'll remember what was once in this spot, or maybe I won't. Because stuff like this tends to slip into history with barely a whisper.

And that, honestly, frightens me. We're losing our sense of place, the experience of browsing along an endless wall like this, of picking up a dog-eared copy from a waiting room table.

Which, I think, largely explains why moments like this seem to matter to me as much as they do. If we don't remember experiences like these, who does? And what do we lose in the process?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #magazine #rack #spontaneous #retail #grocery #store #photo #shoot #media #dying #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Peanut butter M&Ms, of course

Sweet and colorful
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The world needs more color. So ask yourself what you're doing to make that happen.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #color #colors #peanut #butter #junk #food #junkfood #stilllife #foodporn #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Don't look in the back room

Connections
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There's a delightful burger joint near my aunt's and uncle's house that's been something of a staple for us all since our kids were old enough to have a favorite restaurant. Every time we visit, it's a given that we'll end up chowing down in this otherwise unassuming eatery, and over the years we've accumulated some richly nuanced family memories there.

Carmi being Carmi, however, I forgot that gravity is the law, and needed a washroom, stat, to make myself look more like a suburban dad and less like a murder victim.

Once I was done cleaning myself up (well, almost), I made the mistake of pausing in the long hall in the back. I'm no electrician, but even I can tell this is a little odd, and probably not even remotely optimal. Or safe.

Sometimes you should just eat the darn burger and not peer too deeply behind the curtains. Ignorance isn't always such a bad thing.

#delray #beach #delraybeach #florida #fla #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #stilllife #lindburgers #restaurant #electricity #store #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

That's enough sportsing for now

Pass completion in the dessert section
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

So the giant #SuperBowl sportsing orgy is over for another year, and all the folks who jumped on the bandwagon for a few hours have safely jumped back off it and tucked their pristine pairs of Nikes back into the front hall cupboard. They'll reappear in July when the Olympics kick off in Tokyo.

You may have guessed I'm not the world's biggest football fan. Come to think of it, all professional sports seem to rub me the wrong way. I'm a fan, to an extent, but the idealistic vision of child-Carmi who grew up in Montreal and idolized the Expos, the Habs, and the Alouettes disappeared in a puff of cynicism as heroes were traded away, labour disputes erased entire seasons, and teams were systematically gutted before being moved elsewhere.

I'd also rather get out and participate rather that stay in and just passively watch.

So watching the NFL's over-the-top display of faux patriotism was difficult, if only because the league has traditionally been unwilling to address its long-festering dark side. Make that dark sides, plural.

Including OJ Simpson in the tribute-to-history opening montage was, frankly, sickening. This wasn't remotely moving. It was a celebration of everything we don't want our children to become. Wrapping it up in love-of-country, legacy, military, family, and community-esque themes made the disconnect even more cringeworthy.

Yet I so enjoyed watching the game with my fam. We bought tons of snacks, ordered pizza and had a ball taking it in on the big screen. I even managed to sneak in this still-life from the local Loblaws. Within that bubble, or context, a good time was had by all, and I wouldn't trade those few hours for anything else.

But let's not fool ourselves. Football, like most professional sports, is a pretty dark place beneath the overhyped facade. Something to keep in mind as we look for ways to celebrate the best facets of modern life. Sorry, football fans, but the NFL's recipe is long past its best before date.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #superbowlliv #football #sports #cake #dessert #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Home, for some

Scene from a bus
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I took the city bus to work one day last week, and along the way I got it into my head that I should take a picture to remember the journey.

The bus passes through a neighborhood that’s seen its fair share of socioeconomic challenges, largely revolving around the public housing you see here. I shot quickly, smartphone pressed tightly against the filthy window, then tucked the device away before anyone noticed me.

London isn’t immune from the accelerating pressures pushing more and more of its citizens toward, and beyond, the margins. While the so-called haves have traditionally used geographic distance to lull themselves into believing the status quo is acceptable, it’s increasingly evident that hardship can no longer be hidden, that it isn’t something that happens exclusively to the so-called have-nots, in some other place.

Indeed, it touches us all. Everywhere.

You see more of it when someone else is driving, when you’re not at the wheel trying to keep the half-dozen distracted motorists around you from imprinting their vehcles’ logos into your sheetmetal. Or on your bike, trying to avoid becoming a hood ornament.

Maybe I should take the bus more often. I seem to learn more about our city when I do.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #city #street #photography #limberlost #ltc #transit #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Football's Inconvenient Concussion Thing

Today's #IfYouReadOneThingToday comes to us courtesy of #SuperBowlLIV.

OK, I lie. The @NFL isn't about to let those bothersome concussions or CTE ruin its testosteronegasm in #Miami. So I'll just leave this right here:

Youth Football Is a Moral Abdication
By Kathleen Bachynski
The Atlantic

Shooting trees in the dark, redux

Trees, snow, and sky
London, ON
February 2020
This photo was originally shared on Instagram

I had such a good time shooting trees in the dark last night that I thought I'd share another pic from my spontaneous dog-walk photo session.

Redundant? Yes. But it was a moment that brought me silent joy. And moments like these deserve a bit more time in the spotlight. Because maybe they'll bring others - you? - joy, as well.

At least that's the hope.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #street #night #light #dark #contrast #photography #tree #snow #frozen #winter #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Shooting trees in the dark - and light

Finding light in the darkness
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: 10:05 on a Saturday night. I'm out with the pup for her last walk of the day. It's been snowing for a while, and she's happily sticking her nose into every drift she can find.

I don't think I've ever met a dog who loves the snow as much as Calli does, and watching her explore the fresh stuff can't help but make me smile. Pure, unmitigated joy is something to behold, and I wish some of hers would wear off on me.

Walks with her aren't so much walks as they are occasional forward progress marked by frequent and prolonged sessions of her sniffing something. Schnauzers have been bred to hunt, so this one follows her nose religiously. Which leaves me lots of time to stand around and watch her. Or, just as likely, what's around us.

It was during one of these breaks that I noticed the tree whose trunk she was forensically examining. Leafless branches newly covered with pristine, bright snow, held up by a dark, foreboding trunk. The perfect contrast on a night seemingly scripted for thoughtful moments like this.

Because there's always some kind of light to counter the darkness. We just have to look a little harder for it.

And on this evening, I had a time- and attention-challenged dog to thank for putting me in the perfect spot - and giving me the time - to capture it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #street #photography #tree #snow #frozen #winter #monochrome #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Craniotomies

I'll admit today's #IfYouReadOneThingToday, Frequently asked questions about your craniotomy, is a weird one. The theme is, frankly, beyond bizarre. But the writing, by Mary South, is, simply put, sublime.

Hit up the link and enjoy the read. And if you're reading something neat, feel free to share it in a comment.