Disney on fire

Castle amid a storm of light
Orlando, FL
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This morning’s photo of a patch of ice beside a nearby driveway was one of the final photos I took this year. The fireworks photo in this entry, shot just after midnight last January 1st, represents one of the first.

And they couldn’t be further apart.

Today’s photo was taken on a nearly deserted, frozen suburban street. The other was shot in a hot, humid Disney park, packed into crowds so dense I literally could not move my feet without bumping into a stranger.

No one’s vacationing this year. And if they are, they’re probably not sharing the experience on social media. Which makes the bookended pics that much more stark when I place them side-by-side.

I’ll never complain about losing a trip to a warmer place. We can fly again when this is all over, and I know legions of people who wish all they lost this year was a vacation. 3,800 people in the U.S. alone died from COVID yesterday. One life every 22.7 seconds. Last week, one of them was my cousin.

Whatever kind of year we’ve had, memories matter. In the end, memories represent the only tangible things that those left behind have to hold onto.

If we commit to anything as 2021 dawns, I’d like to humbly suggest that we try to make better memories for ourselves, and for those who matter most to us.

Nothing else matters, and nothing else represents a better use of the time we've been given. However much time that turns out to be.

Now, what memories will YOU be making in the year ahead? Let’s start the year with light, shall we?

#orlando #florida #fla #canada #throwback #road #trip #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #magickingdom #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #fireworks #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Let's blow this place to smithereens, March 2020

Disney castle, reflected, March 2020

Burn the sky down, January 2020

Driveway ice show

Flattened chaos
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Calli the Wonderschnauzer discovered this frozen scene on this morning's walk, wedged in the usually-overlooked sliver of dirty asphalt where the driveway meets the sidewalk.

She's got quite the eye - and nose, as I had to pry her away from the ice before I could take this picture.

Our dog's photographic vision aside, this scene strikes me as an appropriate metaphor for a year many of us would rather forget.

Indeed, 2020 will be remembered as the year when COVID took away some pretty memorable folks, including Mary Ann, Darth Vader, and the guy who inspired Bull Durham.

The real numbers are even more sobering: as of today, over 1.8 million souls have been lost, with countless others' lives permanently altered by a scourge that will doubtless paint the next year as darkly as it did this one. From job losses to shuttered main streets, overwhelmed hospitals, mental health crises, and spillover impacts to health and life that we can't even begin to imagine, we'll be paying for 2020 for years to come.

Yet the mere fact that I write this - and that you're reading it - is testament to the fact that we survived when so many did not. Whatever the calendar may say, life will always throw challenge our way, and our choice will be to either face it or cave to it. Let's not fool ourselves that an arbitrarily defined 366-day period in history is any more or less special in this regard. It wasn't, and it isn't.

This morning, a dog who wants nothing more than to be loved by everyone she meets found something in the usually-ignored margins of the neighborhood that made her happy. She graciously stood by as I recorded the scene and pondered what it meant before we continued our journey. We'll be out again later today, and tomorrow, and every day for as long as the universe gifts us with the opportunity.

Maybe we'll find more scenes of random, fleeting, imperfect light in the margins. In fact, I'm counting on it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #water #ice #frozen #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #photography #happynewyear #newyear #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Puppy tuck-in

Bedtime at the zoo...

 

Video link here: https://youtu.be/mo2kwNirpi8

Originally shared on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJchBuIH4Ql/

#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

Fizzled sunrise amid the clouds

The view from the doorstep
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sky briefly teased us before reverting to its customary grey.

But still, we went out, looked up, and hoped.

Because you never know when the rewards will come.

And even if they don't, at least we made the attempt.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sky #sunrise #dawn #silhouette #orange #pink #clouds #light #weather #wx #abstract #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Waiting for the next train

Alone
Toronto, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's been a while since I took a train to the big city, and it'll probably be another long while before I do so again.

Which is my way of saying I kinda miss scenes like this one, furtively stolen moments of normality amid journeys far from home.

I shot this fleeting scene barely two weeks before the first lockdown began. It didn't occur to me at the time how profoundly things - and by extension, our views of them - were about to change.

At the time, I took days like this for granted, assuming I'd be back in a couple of weeks, assuming things would continue to roll along as they always had.

Funny how that works, though, because nothing is promised, and even if the pandemic hadn't painted over the landscape so thoroughly, the view could have just as easily been changed by some other singular factor, or combination of many.

It can be headache-inducing to ponder all the possibilities, all the coulda-woulda-shoulda moments that govern day-to-day life. But the answer is to simply stop pondering at all. There's no controlling what happens next, so we may as well refocus our efforts on enjoying what we have, in the now.

And on this Thursday late-February morning on a bitterly cold TTC subway platform, I took a moment to enjoy what I had before the rest of the day beckoned.

It may look like an ordinary shot of a stranger waiting for his train, another soul going through the paces of his own life. But for me, it was a rather timely reminder to continue recording seemimgly ordinary moments every day, wherever we may happen to be.

Because anything and everything can be extraordinary, but only if we allow ourselves to appreciate it.

#toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #downtown #subway #ttc #rosedale #station #commute #commuter #transit #landscape #building #travel #urban #photography #travelphotography #streetphotography #yellow #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Recharging her batteries

The nap pose
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every once in a while, she sleeps. But don't worry: she'll be back at full strength before we know it.

#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

Water in many forms

One wave after another
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There's no way to minimize it: there's a lot of water in this scene. So let's take a quick look at all the forms it takes, shall we?

1. The clear stuff closest to the camera, at the bottom of the frame, painted beige by the sand underneath.
2. The frothy white wave tops as they splash into the air in one last spectacular act.
3. The shades of blue and green, reflecting the deeper waters just above and beyond the surf zone.
4. The ominous clouds painting the horizon, contributing to the turbulence we see below.

I could probably slice the descriptive pie ever more thinly, describing every form of water in this photo in excruciating detail. But I won't.

What I will do is briefly explain why I'm sharing this in the first place.

Because we often stare at things and make snap judgments about them. We assume we know their whole story. We assume they all fit a similar mold.

News flash: we don't. And they can't.

Water isn't monolithic. It is shaped by the forces around it. By the vessels in which it finds itself. By the light that reflects off of it.

We can say the same about people. For we are all, after all, shaped by our environment, unique results of a combination of factors more complex than we'll ever hope to fully understand.

Perhaps if we spoke less and appreciated contextual nuances more, the universe might be a kinder place than it currently is. Perhaps if we stood in the pounding surf more and simply allowed our imaginations to wander, we'd realize how much something as random as wind-whipped water can teach us.

#delray #beach #florida #atlantic #ocean #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #waves #water #weather #wx #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A ship on the horizon

Churning to somewhere
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Somewhere along the horizon, a massive cargo ship claws its way through rough seas, another in a seemingly endless stream of vessels headed for ports unknown.

As I watch it almost imperceptibly make its way north, so loaded down with cargo that I can barely make out the superstructure, I briefly consider downloading a marine tracker app that will happily serve up every last data point. Owner, cargo, destination, track, you name it.

I've got an app for planes, I think to myself, so why not fetch one for ships, too?

I get as far as the app store before I stop myself. I decide it's perfectly acceptable for some things to remain a mystery. And to leave the data points aside for a bit in exchange for simply watching an unknown vessel make its way toward an unknown port.

Technology has allowed us to answer virtually any question we may have. But here, now, I decide not every question needs an answer. Sometimes it's absolutely sufficient to simply stand in the driving wind and feel the moment.

So that's what I did.

As I write this, a year to the day since I tripped the shutter, I smile at the notion of this mystery ship. She could be anywhere today, and I hope she and her sailors, whoever they are, are safe and well cared for.

#delray #beach #florida #atlantic #ocean #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #waves #water #weather #wx #photography #Canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Standing too far from the sea

Feel the surf
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A year ago today, I stood on the edge of a seemingly endless ocean and waited for the waves to come to me.

I didn't have to wait long. And I'm not ashamed to admit I stood in the same spot for an inordinately long time as wave after wave washed over my ankles, as my feet sank ever more deeply into the gloriously mushy sand.

Eventually the storm that had painted the horizon in ominous shades of grey moved inland and ended our day, but not before we created a pile of warm memories and packed them away alongside our sandy towels that now smelled like saltwater.

We obviously aren't in Delray Beach this year, and most folks with a shred of empathy and community-mindedness are staying home and sucking it up for the greater good.

Because the beach will still be there when this is all over.

Because sometimes we have to sacrifice our todays so that we - and others - can have some tomorrows.

Because whatever we're doing now doesn't even rank compared to what others have endured.

Because as much as we all love the beach, it's hardly the only spot on the planet that stands out.

Because memories can be made anywhere we wish. Anytime, too. And today is as good a time as any to make some new ones.

#delray #beach #florida #atlantic #ocean #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #waves #water #weather #wx #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Tomcats

I'm a fan of many things, but technology and aviation consistently rank near the top of my list.

They're intricately connected, of course, and they've both played an integral role in how my life has unfolded thus far.

I'm also a fan of long-form journalism, the kind of feature writing that digs deep into a story and imprints itself on your psyche. And if it moves me, then I hope it moves you, too.

That's the thinking behind the #IfYouReadOneThingToday series, and it explains why I've selected this particularly brilliant, personal story.

I hope you enjoy this read as much as I did:

The Secret History of the First Microprocessor, the F-14, and Me

By Sarah Fallon

Wired

December 2020

(Alternate link in case you hit the paywall: https://pocket.co/xhksJU)

The things we see in wintry parking lots

Blowing in the wind
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Photography happens in the strangest of places, in the strangest of ways. But only if we're open to the possibility.

Exhibit A: Christmas Day, 12:29 p.m. I'm in a snowy parking lot on the western edge of town, where I've come to pick up lunch for the fam. We are, of course, following the time-honored Jewish tradition of picking up Chinese food on Christmas Day. Because nothing says Jewish like Chinese food. (And cue the judgy emails in 3, 2, 1...)

Setting aside the whole kosher thing for a bit, I focus on the task at hand. Which involves taking a photo amid a seriously intense lake effect storm. I magically had my camera with me, because part of me hoped the forest across from the resto would offer up something worth shooting.

I also wanted to try out the similarly time-worn photographer's trick of shooting through an open car window to minimize the potential of getting rain or snow on the lens. I'm strange that way.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated, and I liked what I saw enough to strategically park the car and grab a few million pixels.

I shot 11 frames over a 2-minute span - all the same variation of the photo you see here - then buttoned everything up and headed back to grab lunch and head home. I rather like the composition, the tone, and the flecks of snow, frozen in space above the top of the snow-covered rushes.

But beyond the visuals, I rather like how it makes me feel, how it reminds me of a smallish moment in the history of our family. A moment where all was right within our little world despite the storm brewing just outside.

Trivial? Of course. But I'm slowly learning that not everything needs to be monumental or eventful. And when you add up all the little moments like this one, you end up with a pretty substantial pile of triviality.

Which, on reflection, isn't so trivial at all.

#ldnont #hyde #park #london #ontario #canada #forest #tree #trees #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #winter #weather #wx #onstorm #mandarin #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Escaping to an overgrown landscape, November 2020

The subtle art of finding colour, November 2020

The power of puppy socks

Happy feet, far from home
Orlando, FL
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Conventional wisdom has taught us that a pair of socks with paw prints all over them won't make much of a difference in the trajectory of the planet.

Conventional wisdom can stuff it.

Because this particular pair of socks, shot in a distant hotel room during a business trip, made me smile at a time when I needed a reason to smile.

I was in Orlando this past March, just days before the first COVID-19 lockdowns began. Murmurings were sweeping through the hotel, and people were worried. About gathering amid uncertainty. About getting home safely. About not getting sick along the way.

While wearing a certain pair of socks had no hope of stopping the wave that was to come, it became a topic of blessedly trivial conversation over breakfast. And again at lunch. These stupid socks somehow became the blessedly light-hearted break so many of us needed.

Despite our now-sequestered lives, I still look for the fun-themed socks when I need a dose of happiness. And I'm not so naive that I believe the impact ends with me: a well-timed sock-filled screen during a Microsoft Teams meeting has the same effect on colleagues, too.

Indeed, we never know how that one simple moment will ripple out into the universe. It may start small, but it doesn't have to stop there. History proves it won't.

So, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is a simple one:

1. Find your favorite pair of fun-themed socks - or anything fun-themed, really.
2. Take a photo of them. Or of yourself - or anyone else - wearing them.
3. Share the photo here.

Small things. Big impact. Go.

#orlando #florida #fla #throwback #conference #hilton #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #sock #selfie #hotel #room #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

My big, old, magical plane, March 2020

When clouds look like fish, March 2020

Don't play with fire, except..., March 2020

Mountain of glass(es), March 2020

Before hitting the stage..., March 2020

Lost pink sock, August 2015

Thankfully staring out the window

Snow angles (not a typo)
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Santa Claus didn’t come to our house last night. I’m thinking it may have something to do with the fact that we’re Jewish.

Or the fact that I used to mock him as he welcomed children into his village at the mall.

Or my lifelong doubts over his ability to fit down our chimney. Or any chimney, for that matter.

Whatever the reason, today is resonant regardless of who we are, who we worship, or what we choose to call ourselves. It’s a reminder to us all that family is always paramount, home is where we feel whole, and time is our most precious resource.

It’s also a reminder that many of us have been privileged with gifts of many forms - while others have not.

As I sit in my warm, comfortable home taking barely-artful pictures of fresh-fallen snow out the window, I say a quiet thank you to the forces of the universe that have allowed me to have what I have.

You may or may not have had anything under the tree this morning, but I’m reasonably sure if you’re reading this that you’ve got ample reason to celebrate. I hope you cherish your gifts not only today, but every other day of the year.

Because we shouldn’t ever have to wait to be thankful for all we have and all we are.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #christmas #holiday #weareone #winter #snow #weather #wx #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

The Physics of Santa Claus, December 2004

Saying hi to Santa, May 2012

Staring down at the Arctic Ocean, December 2012

A different kind of beach

Reflecting on the forces of nature
Port Burwell, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Part of me would like to conjure up my best pirate accent and narrate this scene with a perfect "The seas were angry..." monologue.

But this is a lake, not a sea. And the size of the waves suggests not so much anger as, I suspect, mild irritation.

But I share this particular image on this particular day because of a rather particular reason.

See, with few exceptions most of us are waiting for this year to end. We've rightfully consigned 2020 to the lousy pile, and eagerly await the promise of 2021, namely a vaccine that works, a population generally smart enough to take advantage of it, and at least the beginnings of a return to whatever we call normal.

But that won't happen overnight, and much of 2021 will likely feel a lot like 2020. Which means holding on until the light gets brighter. And holding on to snippets like the one you see here.

Or finding ways to steal out to places that inspire us. That make us think a little. That allow us to get away, even if only for a brief period of time. That remind us how small we truly are in the overall context of the planet. That reinforce the power that defines life here - power that predated COVID, that will be reshaping beaches and landscapes long after all this is over.

I'll be back on this beach before long. It won't be remotely warm, or lined with palms. I'll be wearing a parka instead of shorts. The sand will likely be frozen hard. I'll probably complain the entire time. But if it offers up a sliver of reflection and escape in a year that needed more of both, I'll take it.

#port #burwell #ontario #canada #beach #great #lake #erie #waves #water #sand #weather #wx #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

No longer just a kid, September 2020

Welcoming the New Year, Differently, September 2020

Bench by the water, October 2020

Ice amid flowing water

Life in many forms
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Frozen. Not the movie.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #water #ice #frozen #thames #river #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Reflecting in a frozen parking lot

Welcome back, old friend
London, ON
January 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Once upon a time, I dropped the kids off at school on my way to work, an ordinary start to an ordinary day.

On this particularly frigid January morning almost four years ago, the skies were just starting to put on a show as I slowly left campus on my way downtown. It’s one of the upsides of long Canadian winters: the timing works out perfectly for a spectacular show.

But only if we look up.

And on that morning, I looked up.

Fast-forward to 2020. Yesterday was winter solstice, the dawn of a new season and the shortest day of the darkest year. Every day from here on out gets longer. The angles of the light will also change. Brighter, tighter, more intense, warmer.

Look up, of course, but also look more closely. Appreciate the tones, the shades, the warmth.

Because even the darkest, coldest nights don’t stand a chance once the sun decides to show up. Just imagine what else we’d discover in empty early-morning parking lots if only we took the time to stop and look around.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #sky #sunrise #dawn #reflective #reflection #orange #clouds #light #weather #wx #abstract #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #car #carporn #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Light, up close

An evening at the beachside BurgerFi
Delray Beach, FL
July 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Light is a fascinatingly multitalented thing. It shows the way, inspires action, banishes the darkness, and fights evil.

I've got about 300 words at my disposal to explain how it works, but I'd rather you simply close your eyes and figure out how to harness it.

Because all of us have that power within us. How we exercise it is entirely our call.

#delray #beach #delraybeach #florida #throwback #random #light #bulb #led #power #lines #geometry #design #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

City held hostage

A business model that makes no sense
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

London’s downtown core is filled with empty buildings, many of them plastered with signs begging someone, anyone, to rent them.

You’d think they’re devoid of economically viable human activity because of the pandemic. You’d think wrong, as I shot this in January, and scenes like this have defined the landscape for years.

At some point, we’ll emerge from this historic cacophony, and I imagine we’ll spend years thereafter blaming COVID for all that ails us.

But let’s be honest with ourselves: the planet was broken long before a certain virus decided to go on its first world tour.

And fixing it won’t be as straightforward as giving everyone a shot in the arm.

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

Watching water tumble endlessly

Two sides to every story
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s an epic battle playing out beside the treacherously frozen riverbank, but no one knows unless they get close enough to hear the soft burble of the tumbling water.

At first glance, the rocks over which the water flows seem to have the upper hand. If not for them, the glass-smooth surface would remain undisturbed for as far as the eye can see. Instead, the water turns into a chaotic, imperfect mess, totally at the mercy of all that shapes it.

But no victory is ever permanent. Today the rocks win. Tomorrow, too. And if I had to count time, probably many tomorrows.

But someday, the water will wear the rocks down. And eventually it’ll destroy everything in its path. By our puny human-life timeline, we’ll never even see this process fully play out. But the planet works on its own clock. And nature is a patient soldier.

I’m sure there’s a broader lesson here, but as I crouch beside the water and try to avoid taking an unplanned swim, I allow the thought to dissipate.

Because not everything needs an explanation. And sometimes it’s simply enough to appreciate the scene for what it is before we eventually have to head back to the real world.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #water #reflective #thames #river #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

4 years without Fray Fray

Someone was loved
London, ON
August 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Four years ago today, we said goodbye to our pup, Frasier.

He was a 10-year-old rescued Miniature Schnauzer, and had spent most of his life as an insulin-dependent diabetic. He shamelessly ate garbage, jumped on the kitchen table (but couldn’t make his way back down without help), and misbehaved on virtually every walk he ever took.

I realize he was but one dog, and we’re privileged indeed if losing a pet is as bad as it gets. But he was one of us. Family. And he deftly wove his way into our very fabric.

Anyone who’s ever had a Schnauzer knows they’re special dogs. Sharply intelligent. Relentlessly stubborn. Hearts as big as the Moon.

When I was recovering from my stroke, he shadowed me like his life depended on it. He seemed to always know when and how we needed him, even as he lived from needle to needle, never once complaining about the less-than-charmed deck of cards he had been dealt.

That four years have passed and it still feels like yesterday reinforces how lucky we were to call him ours. With him, every day was a happy one, even if it might have felt a little maddening at the time. Schnauzers tend to have that effect on their humans. Calli is a very different dog, of course, but something tells me she would have adored him as much as we did. The Schnu is strong in her, as it was in him.

Funny enough, as difficult as milestones like today have become, I’d be infinitely more sad if we never had him in the first place. He was worth every crazy moment.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #dog #dogs #throwback #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

We found Scooby-Doo's tree

Dusted
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Patterns are everywhere. All we have to do is open our eyes.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Naked forest

Chaotically red
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The last time our daughter and I walked through this forest, it was ablaze with autumn color.

Today, with wispy traces of snow covering the branches and the path beneath our feet, it looked and felt like a different place. Not worse. Not better. Just different.

As we slowly walked further into the hushed valley, what had at first looked like an unending blur of grey, white, and dirty-white started to slowly show us its color. It had been there all along, of course, but this late in the year it wasn't as obvious.

I almost felt my brain shifting into a lower gear as it picked up on the subtler shades, the patterns, the textures that had been hidden by leaves just a couple of months earlier. With the branches now virtually empty, it felt like there was so much more to see.

Indeed there was. This impossibly messy knot of branches would have been completely covered by leaves the last time we were here. Yet this time, it was a perfectly uncovered, perfectly red study in texture and light.

I'm guessing today's lesson from today's walk, then, is a comforting one: there's always something new to see, or some new way to see, whenever we return to the familiar.

We just have to allow ourselves to return in the first place. Our eyes will take it from there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #red #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Be the one that stands out

Unique among many
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Walk through any forest and amid the riot of chaotically growing life, one thing will always stand out from the rest.

Of course, what that so-called "one thing" might be is entirely up to you. This tree, seemingly pirouetting alone, away from the others, called out to me. Someone else might see, or even feel, something else.

The beauty of individuality, no?

I'm reminded of high school, where individuality was less celebrated than mocked, where those who stood out from the crowd were rather simply shunned. The cliques determined who got in and who didn't, and getting in meant shaping yourself into a mirror image of the others.

I'm glad the forest doesn't work this way. Life, too.

Because being on the outside has always been infinitely more fun. And that "one thing"? No one is sufficiently qualified to define or enforce it in the first place.

So go be you. And surround yourself with others who get it, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog!

Love me
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Why hello. It's been a while since I made an appearance here. And since my dad says the world needs more reasons to smile, here I am.

My ear is healing slowly. It makes me whiny. Correction: more whiny than usual. But it gets me extra treats and cuddles, so it all nets out in the end.

I keep hearing something about a pandemic, but I'll admit my English comprehension skills are somewhat limited, so I can't quite figure out what it all means. But my humans seem to like when I plop down next to them, so I'll keep at it. My mom says I have big shoulders.

My fur has gotten quite long, and my humans have started calling me Bear. I don't know what "Bear" means, but they seem to be happy when they say it. As long as they're happy, right?

My dad is home a lot, which I like. He spends most of the day pressing buttons and talking to people's heads inside one of the big glowing rectangles in his office downstairs. Sometimes he brings the folding rectangle upstairs and sits with me while the people inside his machine say strange things. I get extra treats then, but he won't let me press the buttons. Not after what I did to his other folding rectangle.

He also doesn't let me help him clean the dishes when he loads the dishwasher. I've tried to tell him it's more energy efficient if I pre-wash them with my tongue, but he doesn't speak dog.

Silly dad.

#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

The tip of the spear

Protect the probe
London, ON
September 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Remove before flight.

Or else.

#ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #throwback #AirShowLondon #lockheedmartin #USAF #f16 #fighting #falcon #viper #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Happy Hollow Road

Barely controlled roadside chaos
Williamsburg, KY
January 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Road trips may be on hold for a while, but that doesn't mean we can't dive through the archives on occasion and pull up a memory or six.

Like this one, taken almost 12 years ago near an I-75 onramp in Williamsburg, Kentucky. As landscape photos go, it's not particularly well-planned, little more than a fast-grab from the side of the road before we had to load up and be on our way.

But it feels different than the landscape back home, and revisiting the image does a remarkably good job of transporting us back there, as well. Even today, I can almost feel the chill in my fingers as I held my camera and squeezed the shot off before tucking it back away and heading back to the car.

It was a moment worth freezing in time, and travelling back to it all these years later makes me smile - even if it seemed like an unnecessary distraction at the time.

Lately, I find myself lingering more deliberately over images like this. The journey back in time may be digital-only for now, but it's more than good enough considering the circumstances.

#williamsburg #kentucky #ky #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #i75 #interstate #highway #stilllife #throwback #landscape #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Looking back on a crowded beach

Seeking refuge from the heat
Grand Bend, ON
July 2013
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Seven years ago, we went to the beach on a hot July afternoon. As I often do, I slung my camera over my shoulder and took a walk in the sand.

Eventually I ended up at the end of the pier, as I wanted - indeed, needed - to get out and away from the crowds. I do this often: wander to the edge, then peer back in. You see big pictures when you do. And occasionally small ones, as well.

Thanks to the benefit of hindsight, scenes like this are now beyond cringeworthy. But even then, in the Before time when global lockdown was the stuff of science fiction, crowds weren't my thing. I'm an introvert, and we tend to prefer to keep to our own quiet, unencumbered spaces.

Hence this photo, taken with a long zoom lens, the perfect optical tool to reach into a scene from afar without actually having to interact with anyone in it. Photography as anti-social enabler? I'll take it.

My crowd-hating nature notwithstanding, there are thousands of stories playing out within the frame, most of which we'll never know, which is as it should be.

Frankly, not every story needs to be told. Often, it's just enough to grab a slice along the way.

Because you never know when looking back may bring comfort. And you never know how long it'll be before you can return.

#grand #bend #grandbend #ontario #canada #throwback #beach #great #lake #huron #summer #weather #wx #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Gelt to the rescue

Making do with what we've got
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Our fourth and final - for now - photo from the kitchen table cherry jam still-life series does not, in fact, involve cherries or jams at all.

Because after I had finished shooting the empty jelly jar, I figured once I had the camera out and set up I should find something else to play with. Enter the cheese grater.

Some context: A few weeks ago, I suffered a grievous cheese slicing injury while using the old hand grater. I'll spare you the details, but when someone asks you if investing in a quality box grater is worth it to prevent unplanned bodily mutilation when all you wanted was a nice pile of mozza for Taco Tuesday, the answer is always an emphatic yes.

So we bent to consumer-first pressure and bought a new box grater. Now, I have this thing with new objects: I like to take pictures of them before their first use. Not sure why. Maybe I don't want to waste time PhotoShopping the scuffs and scrapes out in post. Perhaps I just like the aesthetic of newness. Whatever. Add it to my ever-growing list of personal quirks.

As I set up the shot, I couldn't quite get the right alignment, hence the meta-view of Chanukah gelt ("gelt" - Yiddish term for money. For Chanukah, kids often get chocolate coin-shaped gelt because, well, Jews like to eat) under my lens hood. Shockingly, it worked like a charm.

In the end, photography is improvisation. Or spontaneous insanity on the kitchen table. Or catharsis. Or perhaps it's all of these things. In any language.

Whatever you're celebrating, I hope it's sweet.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #cheese #grater #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle Etchings in glass, December 2020

Subtle etchings in glass

Edge on
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

[Part 3 in an ongoing series on kitchen table photographic jam sessions. We join our narrative already in progress...]

I've been buying the same brand of cherry jam - Smuckers - for as long as I can remember, yet only yesterday did I discover the raised-relief script branding just below the lid.

I suspect there are two possibly linked lessons here:

1. I need to start paying more attention to the small stuff.
2. I'm leading an overly trivial life where tiny consumer product design details take on an outsized degree of importance.

And while I could probably write another few hundred words on the topic, I think it's more than enough to just leave it here.

Life is, after all, complicated enough as it is. And sometimes it’s enough to simply appreciate the subtle glass markings without necessarily overthinking them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Same cherries. Different angle.

Before we recycle it
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This photo of an empty jar of cherry jam may feel similar to the one I shared yesterday. Same kitchen table scene. Different camera. Different perspective. All of it deliberate.

The lesson here is a simple one: try to look at things through different lenses, from different positions. Come back to them later. Because maybe the light will have shifted. Or your mindset.

When I first developed an interest in photography, I remember my dad asking me why I took so many pictures of the same scene. He said he "already got that picture," so there was no need to take it again.

My answer was succinct: Because what we’re looking at doesn’t determine how the photo comes out. Rather, it’s how we choose to tell its story.

At the time, I thought I was only talking about photography, but I’ve had a few years to realize it applied to a lot more than mere pictures.

Which probably explains why we’ve got a bit more cherry jam to work through over the next little while. Hope you’re hungry.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle etchings in class, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Meta cherries on the kitchen table

Remembering what it tasted like
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The bad news: We ran out of cherry jam at breakfast.

The good news: We turned a lack of cherries into, uh, not lemonade.

For the record, I love cherry jam. Probably more than I should. But we all have our vices, and I’ve got to learn to accept mine.

So we’ll be doing battle at the Loblaws before long. But in the meantime, we had an empty jar begging for a spontaneous kitchen table photo shoot. And since it was a rainy day and I’ve missed being spontaneously creative, I hauled out the camera and had some fun with light.

Whenever I shoot with the real camera, I try to take a few meta-type pics with the smartphone, as well. They’re like test shots, or little, quick snippets. Sometimes I take them to validate the lighting or composition. Or document the scene.

Because creativity takes many forms, and remembering what it looked and felt like to get the shot can sometimes be more memorable than the shot itself. Especially when it involves using Chanukah gelt chocolates to fine-tune the lens positioning. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I’ll process the pics off the Nikon over the next day or two, and maybe I’ll even share them here.

But first, there’s an empty jar of cherry jam begging to be replaced. Food, after all, always has to come first.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle etchings in class, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Shifting toward landscapes

Where the water meets the woods
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

My feed has been heavily skewed toward landscapes of late. I can explain:

1 - We all go through phases, and I'm going through a walk-through-the-woods phase. Must be my damaged brain trying to compensate for all this pandemic weirdness.

2 - Looking back through my archives, I realize I had never really focused on landscapes in a sustained manner. Every once in a while, I'd shoot some, but I never really studied it, practiced it, or tried to learn the language of sizing up the great outdoors through itty bitty slivers of glass.

3 - Soon it'll be winter, so some of the woodsier areas nearby will no longer be as accessible as they are now. I'm getting in my walkabouts while I still can.

I've already learned a few things, namely how cathartic it can be to leave the world behind for a bit and let the mind wander. It's also ridiculously fun to return to the same spot over a period of days, weeks, or even months, and try to document how it's changing with the seasons, the weather, or even the light. There's always something new to see, some new way to interpret the landscape around us.

I'm not entirely certain I'm doing any of this right, but I am enjoying the hell out of simply getting out there and trying.

So that's what I'll keep doing. Thank you all for joining me for the journey.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Let the light return

Traditions...
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We lit the first Chanukah candle last night. And in a year that's served up virtually nothing but darkness, it was a joy to welcome the light into our lives once more.

Whatever the background and whatever the holiday, every family has its own traditions. And ours is no different: We each have our own chanukiah, or candle holder. And from when they were babies, our kids have lit their own - albeit with a little help from us when they were munchkins.

My wife brought her father's chanukiah home after he passed away, and she paused over it as she first lit it last night.

I imagined he would have enjoyed his grandchildren's banter, the warm glow in the room, the all-pervasive smell of latkes throughout the house. And while we so wish he could have been here to take it all in, I was nevertheless thankful that he taught the lesson of family to my wife, and that she learned those lessons so well.

So in a way he was with us as we lit the first light. Because the love of tradition had to come from somewhere.

Whatever you're celebrating today, this week, this month, whenever, I hope you, too, find the light. And I hope you continue to have people in your lives who can help point you toward it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #chanukah #hannukah #howeveritisspelled #jewish #holiday #all #holidays #weareone #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The root of the matter

Anchored
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A deeply intertwined set of roots anchors a massive tree deep in a hushed valley.

To the casual observer, it's an impossible mess, devoid of any order or logic. Like so many other scenes within this same valley, it seems to have evolved randomly over time.

But that's the thing: We're only casual observers, with no real understanding of the complex processes that have driven the growth of these roots and the ecosystem that surrounds it.

Even when we crack open the science books to explain how all this comes to be, there's still a sliver of wonder. Why THIS way? Why can we still not predict exactly what happens next?

As it so often seems when we come down here, there's a parallel to the lives we lead in the real world, now so far away that we can barely hear it. And I think it goes something like this:

We can stand on the outside looking in, and in doing so we can think we know all there is to know. But we'll never really know the full story, the subtleties, intricacies, and even the relationships that shaped this place long before we were here, and will continue to do so long after we leave.

In other words, we simply have no idea. And perhaps accepting that might be one of the elusive keys to becoming better human beings.

Or so I like to believe.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #roots #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where trees return to the water

Feeling reflective
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The trees seem to know a good thing when they see it, which likely explains why they seem to grow toward the water.

Or so I like to believe as I stand in this quiet spot and drink in this place of seemingly limitless refuge.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thanks, Chuck Yeager

Flying on the shoulders of a giant
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Chuck Yeager died yesterday. He was 97. And while I rarely echo the day's headlines in my feed, I'm making a considered exception this time.

Most folks remember him as the swaggering test pilot featured in the iconic book and film, The Right Stuff. If his story stopped and ended at being the first human to exceed the speed of sound, that would probably be enough.

But he was a war hero, too, who had battled German pilots over Europe - and had shot down 13 of them before he, too, was shot down over occupied France. He survived thanks to the help of French Resistance fighters on the ground, and went on to a storied military career.

Along the way, he built a test pilot school that proved instrumental in preparing pilots for spaceflight, and established the baselines for turning radical new designs, like the F-35A you see here, into capable, mature systems.

His legacy is baked into everything that flies today, as well as every pilot who flies them. His ability to instinctively fly into the unknown has made aviation safer for us all.

Because of him, what was once a leap into that unknown ultimately became routine. He risked his own life to turn the mysteries of high-speed, high-altitude, high-performance flight into known quantities that shape our lives to this day. We owe him our gratitude.

#ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #chuck #yeager #chuckyeager #aviation #lockheedmartin #f35a #lightning #stealth #fighter #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where life grows unchecked

Controlled chaos
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The more I stare at this scene, the more my head hurts from contemplating the sheer amount of life stuffed into this tiny frame.

Nature, you've wowed me yet again. Nicely done.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything