#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Trump & Russia

Every once in a while, I come across an article that moves me. Or scares me.

This searingly honest perspective in the New York Times from former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice managed to do a little bit of both, and I recommend you read it, as well.

Then again, if you want to sleep tonight, maybe you won’t want to.

Why Does Trump Put Russia First?

By Susan E. Rice

Published June 30, 2020

The New York Times

Scanning a Boston neighborhood

The things we do and don't see
Boston, MA
April 2006
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Do you ever stare at an urban scene like this and wonder about all the lives and stories playing out within it?

I do that often, and almost always end my musings with a stark realization: There's no way to really know what's going on in any of them.

Something to keep in mind, I think, the next time any of us decides to fire up a social media app and weigh in on something or other.

We simply never know what life is like for others.

Words to live by.

#boston #throwback #random #urban #street #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sharing a shake and a moment

Sweet scene
St. Thomas, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Another scene from our ice cream adventure. Another moment in our little family’s life that I hope feels just as real in our minds years from now as it does now.

None of this is earth-shaking. It doesn't generate headlines. Or merit the attention of strangers. Whether we do or do not consume an ice cream on a hot summer afternoon won't change the course of anyone else's lives.

Or, to be honest, ours.

But here's the thing: Small things add up. And when you're looking at a life and wondering why it matters as much as it does, it's the combined total of tiny moments just like this one that give it just that much more color and flavor.

As I was shooting this seemingly weird pic, my wife took a photo of me cross-legged in the grass, doing what I do. And she posted it to Facebook. Again, nothing earth-shattering to anyone who doesn't know us. But very much a reflection of who we are and what makes us tick.

I can't imagine living any other way, with anyone else aside from my remarkable little family that understands why ice cream runs and impromptu photo shoots in the grass and games of catch with the dog matter as much as they do.

That's what sweetness feels like.

#stthomas #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #shaws #icecream #milkshake #food #foodie #foodporn #random #sun #grass #texture #green #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Ice Cream Sunday

Shadows on a blue wall
St. Thomas, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We drove 45 minutes out of town today so we could get ice cream.

Why the heck would we do that?

Pandemic life means finding tiny opportunities for normalcy wherever and whenever possible, and ice cream with some of my fave peeps seemed eminently reasonable.

Clearly I'm less than reasonable, because not only did I not get an ice cream - the existential cherry milkshake beckoned - but I trained my lens on the pastel-blue-painted concrete-block wall just to the right of the hastily built ordering window.

Because nothing says ice cream like blue-painted concrete.

For the record, the shake was epic; the folks I shared it with even more so.

May whatever you choose to do - or eat, or spend time doing - be just as sweet.

#stthomas #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #shaws #icecream #random #sun #shadow #lines #geometry #texture #blue #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Light from far away

No ruler needed
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The light from the sun travelled 93 million miles so it could end up magically squeezed through our fence and painted on our grass.

But no one would have known had we not tip-toed through the patio door in our bare feet and played with the lines and angles until we were pleased with the result.

Which reinforces a couple of truths that seem especially worth remembering today:

- Things that happen far, far away can absolutely touch us in a profound manner mere steps from home.

- We'll never discover the magic playing out mere steps away from where we sit unless we throw caution to the wind and get out there.

So if anyone needs me, I'll be out there, in my bare feet, waiting for the sun to reach out and paint my world some new shade of wonder.

As ever, there's plenty of room on the lawn, literal and figurative, for anyone who wants to join in.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #green #grass #sun #shadow #lines #geometry #nature #texture #plants #urban #suburban #landscape #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#Pride matters, now more than ever

I wish I could meet the folks who originally gave the #Pride movement its name and share a long-overdue thanks.

Because anyone who’s ever been singled out by those who see uniqueness as a weakness knows full well what it feels like to have to keep yourself below the radar.

You find yourself wanting to hide who you are. You avoid sharing details about yourself for fear it’ll invite more scrutiny. You keep your head down and cringe when you hear people begin to single you out because of who you are. Or more precisely, who they think you are, misguided as they may be.

You fear what makes you you. Rather, you fear people finding out. It’s the opposite of pride, because the last thing you’d ever want to do is call yourself out, or draw attention to yourself. Because you never know.

But that’s the beauty of the Pride movement. It reinforces the need to never live in fear because of who we are. It reminds us that we’re all part of the solution no matter what labels we may or may not carry. It reaffirms why we can never be silent when our fellow humans are being singled out. It ensures we all have the right to love and be loved, and no one else has the right to stand in our way.

It’s especially important now, at this moment in history. But let’s not kid ourselves: This has always mattered, and it always will. And we make this planet a better place by opening our eyes, by using our voices, by acting.

I count myself lucky to work side-by-side with colleagues at @infotechRG who have always made this a priority.

Because we’re all better people by not only having pride in ourselves, but in also embracing it in those whose lives touch ours.

Because we’re either human. Or we aren’t. And silence has no place here.

#pridemonth2020 #prideatwork #lgbtq #diversitymatters #PrideToronto #PrideLdn2020 #itrg

Scene from a glass storefront

Le chic
London, ON
December 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

So my wife and I are walking through the mall a few years back. As I often do, my eyes are wandering around the environment, scouring for anything that's changed, that grabs my attention, that's worthy of a moment. Debbie's used to my creative weirdness. Part of me thinks it's one of the reasons why she married me.

We come across a store with a delightfully stark display, and I can't stop staring. Not because I'm a potential customer, mind you - my fashion sensibilities run more toward hoodies and cargo shorts - but because the aesthetic is impossible to ignore.

I think it would be a fun scene to shoot, but I'm in the middle of a crowded mall. After a few seconds churning it in my mind, I decide it's too much fun to pass up.

So I give my wife the look I've given her so many times since we first met, and detour toward the front window. Glass being glass, I have to press my smartphone right up against the surface to avoid icky reflections. I can feel the stares as I compose the shot amid the knots of shoppers walking, school-of-fish-like along the tiled corridor. I'm used to it, though, and I get why. It's abnormal behavior, and it attracts attention.

I'm done in seconds, and skip off to rejoin my wife, who has strategically walked a little ways on (smart woman!) It's just another weird little moment in the midst of my weird, little - and happy - life.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #shopping #mall #masonville #public #photography #retail #retailtherapy #retaildesign #retaillife #stilllife #glass #display #design #mannequin #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Many layers of pants

Stacked
London, ON
December 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I find myself missing scenes that were once commonplace.

Like this stack of neatly folded jeans. Relatively neatly folded. Relative to my admittedly limited folding skills, that is.

I took this a few years back in a hopefully-still-in-business store in a mall that's spent most of the pandemic gathering dust. It recently reopened as part of the province's gradual/staged/phased approach to restarting the broader economy. And at some point in the near future, when I need something I can't get any other way, I'll don my face mask and venture in.

But I won't wander to the back of the store for a spontaneous shoot under the display lights. I won't linger. I won't see it as an entertaining way to spend a bit of time away from the usual pressures of life. Because even the most basic act of local commercialism has been reduced to the cold calculus of managing risk:

- Get in
- Get your stuff
- Pay for it
- Get out
- Avoid others in the process
- Don't get sick

I cringe at the thought of mall and store employees, lucky to still have jobs, but still going into work terrified that the very thing that puts food on the table can also infect them and those closest to them.

And I miss the kind of carefree experiences that resulted in photos like this one, and hope the neatly folded jeans - and the healthy employees who folded them - are still there when I can actually take the time to take it all in through a lens.

If I knew then what I know now, perhaps I'd have lingered a little longer and appreciated the seemingly mundane moment just a little bit more.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #retail #store #shopping #stilllife #throwback #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Talking Contact Tracing This Monday

Canada’s COVID-19 contact tracing app goes live in Ontario next week - and you’ve probably got lots of unanswered questions.

I’m thrilled to be joining Naomi Parness Monday night (June 29, 8pm ET) to walk through every aspect of this critical new resource - and answer every question you’ve got.

Hope you can join us: Info & Registration

#VirtualJCC | VirtualJCC.com | Prosserman JCC | UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

After the rain falls...

Soon it'll be gone
London, ON
July 2015
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Don't cry because it rained.

Rejoice in the fact that something breathtaking was left behind.

Then head outside and dance in the puddles if you're so inclined.

Hint: You should be so inclined.

I'll see you there. Shoes off.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #weather #wx #rain #water #stilllife #monochrome #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Driving around the Monopoly board

Open-top motoring at its finest
Delray Beach, FL
December 2007
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I played a lot of Monopoly as a kid, and for reasons that remain murky to this day, I always wanted to be the car.

Thimbles and wheelbarrows didn't turn my crank, and if I was going to meander around a multicolored board doing my best impression of a heartless king of capitalism, it made sense to do it in style.

At least that's what eight-year-old me once thought.

Who am I kidding? I was still calling dibs on the car well into adulthood.

Old habits die hard, after all.

#delray #beach #florida #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #monopoly #game #board #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sleeping like a puppy

She dreams of play
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

She plays so hard that sometimes she falls asleep on her favorite ball.

I'm pretty sure there's a lesson in there for the rest of us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

An old Ford shines brilliantly in the sun

Endings...
London, ON
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sometimes you remember photos because of when they were taken.

I came across this mint condition classic car in a parking lot last June a few blocks away from my downtown #ldnont office. I had taken a lunchtime walk, and remember the sun was so brilliantly bright that I couldn’t compose on my smartphone’s screen.

But you don’t come across Ford Fairlanes all that often, so I squinted my way through a very fast shoot before I headed back to work.

A few minutes after I got back, my wife called. Her father had died.

Sometimes pictures become markers. Sometimes you take them without knowing that they’re destined to forever mark beginnings. Or endings.

Father’s Day without him isn’t really Father’s Day anymore. I have no words to share with my wife that would soften his absence. I can only remember moments, many of which I was lucky enough to both shoot and share with him in the years we had him.

Which largely explains why I waited until today to post it.

I can't help but think he would have liked this car. I can’t help but think we would have liked one last look back.

#dad #zaida #family #everything

Dogs, roadsides, and flowers

Her latest find
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m learning to pay closer attention when I walk the dog.

Like yesterday morning, when she happened upon a small patch of pink wildflowers growing just beside the curb and decided to thoroughly investigate them with her super-schnauzer-nose.

Once upon a time, I would have idly let her do her thing. I might have checked the weather on my phone. Or my inbox. And then I would have gently tugged her leash so we could get back on our way.

Back then, I watched the clock more than I watched her. Walks competed for time on the same sliver of a clock face as everything else. And all those slivers added up. The upshot for a small pup who couldn’t tell time: We had to finish up and get home.

Then one day I gently tugged her leash during one of our many, many stops along the way. And she whimpered.

I'm not sure why she did, but I knew enough by her tone that she was not pleased. So I crouched down as she stared right back at me, and we lingered like that for a couple of minutes. We don't speak the same language, but I'm pretty sure she was telling me to stop rushing her.

I'm slowly getting better at letting go of the clock when we're out, which is challenging given her propensity to eat everything she finds. But along the way, I've learned to soak up the small moments we'd otherwise lose in the rush to finish up and get back home.

And as I watch her follow her nose through places I'd otherwise miss, I come across tiny little wonders. Like these pink flowers.

Turns out those slivers on the clock face are a little more forgiving than we once thought. Turns out it doesn't take all that much more out of the day to appreciate the journey a little more.

Sometimes it takes a puppy to show you the way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #flower #rose #pink #nature #texture #plants #life #stilllife #urban #suburban #street #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

More than a Hallmark Day

Frasier and his buddies
London, ON
July 2008
This photo originally shared on Instagram

These three remarkable human beings made me a dad.

I wasn't always as adept within the role as I could have been, and more often than not stumbled my way through the process. I'm still not all that adept, and I still stumble. Often.

But my heart has always been in the right place, and at every turn I've had the best possible partner to learn from. I am the dad that I am because I was lucky enough to convince a remarkable woman to spend her life with me.

Never let it be said that doofuses like me can't somehow figure it all out.

Not a day goes by that I don't pinch myself at how lucky I've been to have been gifted these kids. And what a journey it's been because of my wife.

Not always linear. Or predictable. Or easy. But I wouldn't change a thing.

Why am I writing this today? The calendar says it's Father's Day. Anyone who knows me knows I'm no fan of Hallmark Holidays, or the strictly commercial sentiment behind them.

But today is a day in its own right. And anyone who knows me also knows I'm a fan of celebrating the everyday. Today is worthy, then, because it's another day. And we're all lucky enough to be here to soak it in.

What better way to do that than by staying close to those who matter most? We shouldn't need a calendar to remind us of this.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #live #laugh #love #levy #fathersday #parenthood #monochrome #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Cycling in Shanghai

Time out
Shanghai, China
May 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Practicing street photography in a place where autocracy reigns may not be the wisest thing I've ever done. But sometimes you just have to get the shot, anyway.

I snagged this moment just over eight years ago, during a brief break from a tech conference half a world away from home.

And what I found there wasn't terribly different than what I'd witnessed anywhere else: Regular folks going through the paces of everyday life, just trying to make it through today, and hopefully tomorrow, as well.

I think we all need to wander a little more. And when we do, open eyes and minds probably wouldn't hurt, either.

What we learn along the way might come as a pleasant surprise.

#shanghai #china #throwback #may2012 #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #random #urban #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Losing a mom

Today's #IfYouReadOneThingToday article is a heartbreaking vignette of loss and life. Admittedly, it's a hard read, but no one ever said important stories had to be easy ones.

Beneath the black rocks
By Danuta Hinc (@DanutaHinc)
Published June 8, 2020
Popula

We're gonna need a bigger boat

I just spent 3 months on a leaky boat
Shanghai, China
May 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Two crew members stand at the bow of a rusty Russian freighter as it carefully picks its way through the crowded Huangpu River that snakes its way through Shanghai.

As I stand on the shore and train my long lens on the surreal sight, I wonder what they're thinking, if they're as amazed by this place as I am.

Or perhaps they've been through here before, and are simply taking a break from the monotony of on-board life.

Soon enough, the ship disappears around a bend. I'll never get an answer to the question, and that is as it should be. Because some things deserve to remain mysteries.

Sometimes it's enough to briefly cross paths with strangers, then wonder ever after where they ended up.

To this day, I hope their travels were safe and peaceful. They'll never know I was there, of course, but it still feels right to cast that wish out there. Because you never know.

This life thing is quite the trip, no?

#shanghai #china #river #throwback #may8 #2012 #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Freezing breakfast in time

Fluffy and very, very temporary
London, ON
March 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm an adult, so I no longer play with my food. Much. But I have been known to shoot it with a camera.

To wit, these pancakes. Artfully created out of nothing more than batter and love by my ever-awesome wife. Who waited patiently while I positioned the plate just so in front of the kitchen window and composed this moment. Who puts up with my often-spontaneous outbursts of bizarro creativity, even though she didn't sign up for any of this all those years ago.

So to the uninitiated, these are simple pancakes. But in reality they reflect the story of us, the story we tell every time we gather around the kitchen table and share some time together.

Which hopefully explains why I want to have something to remember - even a silly picture of pancakes - after everything's been put away.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #pancakes #food #foodie #family #life #remember #stilllife #photography #throwback #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Beechcraft's finest creation

Timeless in flight
St. Thomas, ON
June 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I remember the first time I saw it, a stainless steel vision from long ago, swooping over the hangars before circling back for a perfect landing on its tail-dragger landing gear, its nose pointed diagonally back to the sky where it had just been.

Any machine that can haul itself off the surface of the planet is special, but some aircraft are more special than others. The Beechcraft Model 18 first took flight in 1937, and Beech kept making them until 1970. The timeless ones are almost guaranteed that "special" label, and it's hard to argue this design doesn't deserve it.

The apron was littered with all sorts of crazily historic planes that windy late afternoon, all in town for the kind of airshow that I hope we get to enjoy again someday. But all I wanted to do was walk a wide circle around this flying piece of art and take it in.

Maybe soon I'll get to do this again.

#ldnont #stthomas #municipal #airport #ontario #canada #beech #beechcraft #throwback #aviation #flight #aircraft #airplanes #history #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tired old wheels

The places we will (hopefully) go
Deerfield Beach, FL
December 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At first glance, these are just a couple of old bikes locked up under a subtropical sun, barely worth a first look, let alone a second.

But I’m drawn to the scene as powerfully today as I was the day I shot it so many years ago.

Because any bike, even an old one that probably wasn’t all that valuable or drool-worthy when it was new, retains that near-magical ability to transport nearly anyone nearly anywhere, regardless of their station in life. It’s a transformative, life-changing technology that doesn’t get anywhere near the respect it deserves.

Which is a bit of a shame, because everyone deserves to have their life brightened by possessing the ability to crank a pedal and go somewhere else, or new, or special, or necessary, or all of the above.

And it all starts with humble machines like these, standing ignored in the beating sun, waiting for their next chance to change someone’s life.

#deerfield #beach #florida #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #bikes #cyclist #cycling #is #life #geometry #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sleeping with her eyes open

This spot is just right
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some days I have a hard time figuring out where I'm at or what I should do next, and lately that seems to be happening more frequently than it usually does.

I find spending time with this little being to be helpful in navigating the rougher patches of pandemic life.

Because she seems to have figured it all out. And while I can't curl up in a ball quite as effectively as she can, I somehow feel better when I see her do the same.

Be more like dogs, then. I think I can handle that.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Empty bus shelter

A light in the darkness
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s four minutes to midnight on Trafalgar Street on the east side of London.

It’s dark, deserted, and so silent the only thing I can hear is my heart beating in my head as I pull the car over and step outside into the cool, still air.

The bus shelters, one virtually every block, had caught my attention, oasis-like pools of light in the inky black shadows where no one dares to go.

The occasional bus passes by, but no one gets on or off. And if they ever did, I can’t imagine they’d ever want to stand inside one of these. Another pandemic reality.

Yet they still stand, ignored sentinels on a dark stretch devoid of life.

And so it felt right to capture the moment.

Because even after everyone’s moved on, there’s still a story waiting to be told. And sometimes you just have to stop the car late at night so you can be the one to bring it to life.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Louis Caldera Defines Leadership

Louis Caldera served as Secretary of the Army during the Clinton Administration, and his open letter to West Point Academy graduates defines, in no uncertain terms, what leadership must be, both in this age of uncertainty, and beyond.

In the wake of Donald Trump's address to the graduating class - which, to no one's surprise, was a cynical joke from the get-go - this is necessary reading.

Here's the link: An Open Letter on Leadership to Graduating West Point Cadets

A year...

Like father, like daughter
Laval, QC
August 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A year ago today, my wife lost her dad, our kids lost their Zaida Irving.

It hardly seems like a year, but time has a funny way of moving faster than we’d like, of slipping away from our grasp no matter how tightly we try to hold on.

We thankfully carry a lifetime of indelible memories both of and with him, and I’m comforted by the fact that our kids knew from an early age just how special he was, and how much he adored them. They continue to share stories, experiences, moments, and they always smile, from the inside, as they tell them.

I’m also comforted by the memories my wife carries, that she had the kind of father-daughter relationship with him that any child could ever hope for.

This life thing is hard. It isn’t forever for any of us. We will all lose those closest to us, and we will all eventually be lost, as well. Which is why our sole priority should ideally be making the most of the fleeting time we’ve been given.

Looking back at the overlap between our lives and his, I smile at the fact that we all did indeed make the most out of the time we had with him, and we’re better people now because of it. He lived life well, and we were lucky to have had him. Anyone would have been.

Still, I wish the universe played by different rules.

#dad #zaida #family #everything

Related:

• Endings, June 14, 2019
• Wishing for canine simplicity, June 16, 2019
• Pillar of strength, June 19, 2019
• Difficult sunset, June 20, 2019
• A candle nobody wants, June 21, 2019
• Tracks melting in the sun, June 22, 2019
• The last before photo, June 23, 2019
• Another sunset, albeit someone's missing, June 24, 2019
• Where I speak at a funeral, June 24, 2019
• Safely home, June 25, 2019
• One last photo on the train, June 25, 2019
• Breaking bread, June 26, 2019
• Linen, lace, and one family's story, June 27, 2019
• A perfectly imperfect sunset, June 29, 2019
• Looking for solace amid a long journey, June 30, 2019

The way it used to be...

Measure twice, cut once
London, ON
December 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The relentless march of technology has pushed so many once-familiar staples into the dusty corners of history.

I remember cutting boards well from my first experiences laying newspapers out with light tables, rulers, and exacto knives.

Eventually software replaced these tools, then the newspapers themselves began their own gradual devolution. And staples like these disappeared.

I found this one a few years ago lingering in a shadowy storage room at the back of a local art studio, and it made me think about what we lose along the journey from real to virtual.

Because technology may make the process more efficient, but I doubt it'll be worth a gauzy photo vignette years from now.

Which begs the question: Are we doing enough to remember the journey?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #geometry #linear #lines #stilllife #photography #throwback #monochrome #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Poetry in a clear blue sky

Got an extra hot dog?
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's rhyming bird haiku time, for no other reason than I'm in a bird-ish mood, and we need more reasons to smile, even if they seem bizarro on the surface. Let's go...

Big bird, sky so blue
Beady eyes, looking at you
Then away she flew

#delray #beach #florida #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #bird #birds #gull #seagull #flight #blue #sky #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Here's looking at you, kid

Lasers for eyes
West Palm Beach, FL
December 2007
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I swear I could feel this stunning bird peering through my very soul.

I know it's not practical to have one as a pet - check the handler's glove - but oh my god did this moment make me feel something special.

I'm weird that way.

#west #palm #beach #florida #throwback #zoo #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #bird #birds #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Monumental memories

Gone, but not forgotten
Montreal, QC
July 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I shot this on a rainy day in Montreal almost 11 years ago, as my father and I walked through the De la Savane cemetery in search of our extended family members' graves.

He died barely six weeks after this photo was taken, and the photos from that day have become something of a touchstone for me, a dividing line between the chapter where we had him and the chapter where we no longer did.

I don't hold much stock in cemeteries as places where you visit your family members. They're dead. Their bodies may be buried here, but their souls remain alive in all of us - in our memories, and behaviors and traits that we learned from them.

So it doesn't take a trip to a rectangle of prettified earth to connect with them: You can do that anytime. And we honor them by being the best people we can be - which, again, is an anytime, anywhere kind of deal.

And yet cemeteries are resonant places. They make you think. Reflect. Disconnect from the real world so you can hang out in the not-so-real one for a few precious moments. I derive a strange sense of comfort whenever I walk through one.

I'm not sure why I've chosen to share this photo, after over a decade, now. Perhaps it's because today is also rainy. Or maybe amid the turbulence of a world seemingly gone mad I'm subconsciously looking for images, stories, experiences, or memories that anchor me.

Whatever the reason, I think I need to spend more time in places like this, thinking about those who once lived, and who continue to color the lives of those they touched. Because it's always a good time to cling a little more tightly to a memory.

#montreal #quebec #canada #delasavane #cemetery #life #remember #parents #parenthood #throwback #weather #wx #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

• Thematic Photographic 59 - Elemental, July 2009
• Bird on a stone, July 2009
• Caption This 135, September 2009
• At rest, January 2010
• Notes from a cemetery, March 2011
• Scene from a cemetery, November 2019

Abandoned strip mall

Waiting
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Three of the four businesses in this tiny strip mall in the middle of a subdivision are shuttered by the pandemic, with no promise that they'll ever reopen.

Yet the place is still lit up like a Christmas tree, casting an oasis-like pool of light over the pockmarked parking lot.

It's a beacon to late-night dog-walkers like me, and a sign of hope that, perhaps one day activity will return here, and life will somehow go on.

Even in its empty state, there's a gravity to this place, because almost everyone who lives within walking distance is somehow connected to it, and has a story, or many stories, to tell.

The still-open convenience store was where our kids bought ice cream on hot summer days, or where younger, beleaguered versions of ourselves picked up overpriced supplies in the middle of raging winter storms because no one else was open. When the pizza place opened up, we carefully walked still-steaming boxes home, resisting the urge to stop and steal a slice.

Despite it all, we rarely think consciously or overtly about stores like these - or think much of them to begin with. Yet it's hard to imagine neighborhoods, or more specifically our neighborhood, without them.

So until this is all over, I'll continue to walk the dog past the pockmarked, floodlit parking lot late at night. And I'll continue to hope against hope that this place doesn't fade to black.

Because we need these places more than we once thought.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #convenience #store #goodys #shopping #retail #mall #apocalypse #urban #suburban #street #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

When roses fade...

Singular
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dried-up flowers - especially roses - are beautiful in their own way.

But something tells me this isn't just a story about flowers.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #flower #rose #pink #nature #texture #plants #life #stilllife #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Right on the front of a napkin

Truth in print
Knoxville, TN
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some days I struggle to find the funny. Or the light. Or the little spark of something that reassures me everything is going to be ok.

It's especially difficult these days, because we live in such disconnected times, where we no longer have the luxury of actual face-time with a colleague, or a walk through the park to talk things through.

Virtual get-togethers, online games with colleagues and friends, trivia nights, and streamed concerts from our driveways can certainly help add some color to the grey. But Zoom, Skype, FaceTime and others just can't replicate being there, and we lose something when all interactions are screen-based.

Every once in a while I come across a sliver of something in my archives that reminds me there's still lots of kindness out there. Somewhere deep in some hotel chain's hierarchy, someone decided to order napkins with inspirational sayings.

While the cynic in me says it's just branding, the human in me dismisses the cynicism. I'd rather focus on the meeting where this was first pitched, and the fun these folks must have had making a simple idea come to life for thousands of people they'd likely never meet.

I took this photo a few months ago, and it resonates particularly strongly today. Because you're pretty neat, as are we all. And we need to allow ourselves to revel in that simple fact more often than we do.

I know a napkin won't fix the world. But maybe it's in nooks and crannies like this one that the process must first take root.

#knoxville #tennessee #tn #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #i75 #tru #hilton #hotel #stilllife #throwback #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Late night geometry

The things we see after dark
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Let’s play a game, shall we? We’ll call it #StreetGeometry, and it involves trying to find fun shapes and compositions in, on, and around the landscapes around us.

Here’s my first attempt, a simple perspective stolen on a nearby road just after midnight. The lines spoke to me, and I hope you discover something that speaks to you, too.

Aaaaaaand...go!

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Kareen Abdul-Jabbar explains #BlackLivesMatter

Every once in a while, I come across an article or related reading that profoundly moves me. I've been sharing my finds on my social feeds, using the #IfYouReadOneThingToday hashtag, and I think now is the right time to start sharing them on my blog, as well.

So if you read one thing today, please make it this insightful, powerful op-ed piece by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the Los Angeles Times, Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge.

Because the internet is filled too much misinformation, much of it generated by folks sitting comfortably in their suburban homes, who have never understood the realities of navigating the supposedly enlightened modern-day world with colored skin.

I can't claim to understand precisely what that feels like, but I can commit to reading, listening, understanding, and ultimately being a part of the conversation that hopefully leads to a brighter tomorrow for us all. We are all touched by all forms of discrimination, and we are all weakened because of it.

To share or write or post anything that runs counter to that mission is, to me, a failure of our accountabilities as human beings to our fellow human beings.

So, with that in mind, enjoy this important read, and feel free to suggest your own faves for future #IfYouReadOneThingToday shares.

The buffet is officially dead

Just, gross, in retrospect.
Boynton Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is how quickly things can change in 161 days.

I doubt we'll be eating from a buffet like this anytime soon, if at all.

We definitely won't ever be returning to this restaurant, as the entire chain has since folded. I'll let you guess why.

Even when we return to any eatery, it'll be under conditions so radically different that the experience will be almost unrecognizable.

I don't say any of this as a form of complaint. Simply as a reminder to slow experiences down and drink them in.

Because we never know when they might be our last.

#boynton #beach #boyntonbeach #florida #fla #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #restaurant #food #foodporn #throwback #random #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Patterns in nature

Growing up at the garden centre
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

To some it’s just a plant.

But I’m not some.

And neither are you.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #parkway #garden #centre #random #store #shopping #retail #nature #plants #life #stilllife #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Rust in peace

Waiting
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

They sit outside the grocery store, rusting slowly under a cold, grey sky, almost perfectly lined up in front of a concrete wall well on its way to losing its paint. No one even looks at them as they rush through the main doors nearby.

We’re weird like that, ignoring things until the moment we need them, then thankful to have found them during our moment of need, then back to ignoring them once the immediate need is met.

Our attention-deficit attitudes notwithstanding, they’ll always be out here, rusting and waiting, ignored, until such time as we can no longer do without.

Loyalty in steel.

Grocery carts. People. Friends. Communities. Their stories are being told everywhere, in the most unassuming of ways.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #monochrome #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

First light with my brightest light of all

Everything
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Astronomers have long defined “first light” as the first thing seen through a brand new instrument. The moment a telescope first comes to life is indeed a big deal, and over the centuries the term has been appropriated by photographers, as well.

Which brings us to this photo, the first light of my smartphone. I tend to wear out my technology, and my old one was getting a little tired. So our friendly delivery person brought me another one whose battery should last beyond lunch.

Since phone cameras continue to improve, and since they have become the primary tool of day-to-day photography for many of us, it makes sense to remember the first light photo.

I’ve been pointing my various lenses at my lovely wife, Debbie, for as long as I’ve known her, and she’s been first light for all the notable cameras I’ve had along the way. The sole exception? The mini hot dog pic I shot with my iPad.

My weirdness notwithstanding, she’s that rare person who’s as beautiful inside as out, and I love to see her through the viewfinder.

I’m looking forward to seeing what my new optical weapon can do. So many stories waiting to be told, but I’ll always look back to first light as the one that started it all. Which, given her role as the centre of my universe, makes perfect sense.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #firstlight #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #live #laugh #love #levy #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Pelicans, not-so-brief

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

I can't go to the beach today, but I CAN imagine what it's like to stand in the sand and watch a line of pelicans silently surf the stormy skies above my head, working together to maximize efficiency and ensure they get to fly another day.

I did this very thing just a few months ago, and at the time it didn't occur to me how prescient this transient, largely-ignored-by-everyone-else scene would turn out to be.

Because working together for food and survival is baked into their DNA. No one has to tell them what to do. Presumably, the pelicans with slight or not-so-slight variations in feather color are as much a part of the flock as any others.

We could learn from them.

#delray #beach #florida #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #bird #birds #pelican #pelicans #flight #wingman #weather #wx #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Now in clipped form

You promised me treats
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is her "after" picture, but we think she already knows we adore her no matter how long, or short, her fur may be.

Hmm, I think I've stumbled on another life lesson for the rest of us.

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

Seeing the forest for the trees

Sea of green
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Just outside our front door, there's an evergreen bush that's been there for as long as we've called this place home.

It's pruned down to a near perfect cube, a straight-sided wall of textured green that seems to defy its very roots in nature.

As I come and go, I often linger over this apparently unremarkable piece of greenery. Because it's anything but unremarkable, with shoots that take on new tones depending on how much rain, sun, heat or cold they are exposed to. I'd like to imagine they're simply reflecting the world that nurtures them.

And as I continue to stare, I notice how our little bush seemingly plays with perspective. I could be staring at a bush from a few centimetres away, or I could be looking at a forest's canopy from high above.

It's a scene that makes me smile as I think about what this could mean. I settle on two distinct possibilities:

- All is not always as it seems.
- And wonder plays out in the most unexpected places, often literally right beside the front door.

I'll take this as a reminder to keep looking for that wonder wherever I can find it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #photography #green #bush #perspective #life #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The day I met newlyweds by the beach

Goodness lies ahead
Deerfield Beach, FL
December 2008
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'll apologize in advance for not following the internet herd in posting a black panel in support of #BlackOutTuesday.

It's not that I don't support the movement, or the right of anyone to live free from discrimination and oppression. I do - and these are core to who I am.

But I don't believe in slacktivism. I don't post things just because everyone else posts them. I don't put frames around my avatar after every terrorist attack or school shooting.

It's not that these actions aren't admirable. They are, and they represent an important piece of a larger puzzle.

Let's hover on that one for a moment: piece of a larger puzzle. Because if you follow the herd today and do nothing to modify your behavior going forward, you've missed the entire point of the exercise. If posting hashtags and frames is all you do, you're not effecting change.

So, again, please accept my apologies for staying off the virtue signalling train. I didn't need to add a blank slot to my feed to reinforce the fact that I am listening to the necessary voices striving for change, and doing my best to model the kind of behaviors to drive our community toward that change.

Humanity has managed to turn crisis into opportunity countless times throughout history, long before social media was a thing. We'll make it happen, too, both this time, and long after social media fades into tech history's shadows.

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of a just-married couple I photographed by a Florida beach over 11 years ago. I think of them often, and hope their lives have followed a path of opportunity, health, and happiness.

In other words, what we all want. And deserve. Today, and every day.

#deerfield #deerfieldbeach #beach #florida #fl #fla #vacation #travel #throwback #newlyweds #blacklivesmatter #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #random #street #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Dog therapy in a cruel world

Do I always look this unimpressed?
London, ON
June 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Someone wasn't all that happy about her trip to the groomer.

Between everyone wearing masks and the reconfigured-by-necessity floorplan, it was just different enough to throw her completely off her game. It's difficult to explain pandemic protocols to a dog.

Still, once we got on the road, she settled down down a bit and enjoyed the ride. "Car" is one of her favorite words, and the mere mention of it will send her into a literal spin. She'll calm down only if we take her outside and let her into the car.

It's another facet of her inexplicable weirdness, another quirky aspect of behavior that makes her insanely unique, another reason we've become rather addicted to her outsized spirit.

In the end, she behaved like a champ - this despite her general aversion to getting her nails clipped - and returned home to be fawned over by her humans before curling up in a ball for a well-earned nap.

It's a trivial thing, this, but these days we find ourselves focusing more than ever on the trivial. Whatever you call it - escape, coping mechanism, wellness strategy, etc. - it beats the alternative.

Because the alternative is screaming at us every moment of every day, threatening to overwhelm us as we try to navigate an unprecedented chapter in history. It can be incalculably, cruelly hard, this life thing. So please don't mind if I hang out with, and write about, our dog a little more often than might otherwise be the case.

It's how we get by.

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