On silence

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.

Rumi

 

Kindness on the kitchen table

Warmth in many forms
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a morning I woke up feeling icky, there was a tiny bit of kindness waiting for me on the kitchen table.

As you can see from the lovely note Debbie left for me before she headed out to teach the minds of tomorrow, I have a wife who I frankly don't deserve.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #coffee #mug #breakfast #note #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On surviving

Chances are you've never been involved in a helicopter crash.

Erin Tierney was. And she wrote about it.

The piece is a gripping read not just because she recounts the experience in excruciating detail, but because she walks us through what it took to resume normal life afterward.

This is a must-read for anyone who's experienced any kind of trauma, and is looking for guidance on how to navigate what comes next.

Powerful stuff.

After the Crash, They Said I Was Fine. I Wasn't.

By Erin Tierney

Outside

February 4, 2021

Gathering around the hydrant

Waiting for her friends
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

She has a thing for fire hydrants. Of course, all dogs do.

The typical hydrant is the neighborhood's primary asynchronous meeting spot for dogs, the one thing they all sniff out at various times to see who's been there and what they've been up to. My dog-whisperer friend calls it the Doggie Internet, and she's absolutely spot-on.

To humans, it's disgusting. Would YOU stick your nose in a spot that's been peed on G-d knows how many times?

But dogs are built differently. Their normal isn't our normal. And I remind myself of that as she happily explores this icky-to-us/nirvana-to-them fixture.

Perhaps Planet Earth might be a little more kind if we applied the same kind of thinking to each other.

#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

Peeking into the ice cream freezer

So. Much. Choice.
St. Thomas, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Life is filled with all sorts of choices.

Some of them involve tubs of ice cream waiting patiently in a glass-topped display case. Others may look and feel a little different.

Whatever choices lie in front of you this week - or anytime, really - I hope they're forever sweet.

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

I'm staring at old buildings again

The great escape
London, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Old buildings that once served as the backbones of our cities deserve to find new life.

Please discuss.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #downtown #dundas #street #industrial #factory #neighborhood #history #streetphotography #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Old fluorescent restaurant menu board

What's to eat at the Tilt Arcade
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You just don't see menu boards like this anymore, and I'll admit this saddens me.

Yes, the pandemic has largely kept us out of shared spaces like restaurants, but I share this more because the trend had been well underway long before the first lockdown.

Whereas restos once used low-tech boards like this, computer-driven flatscreens have largely taken over in most places.

I can understand the why: interactive screens are just so much better at delivering information. They're easier for store employees to maintain, and they offer a ton of flexibility that no manual menu board could ever dream of.

They often mean no more wrestling with posters (so green!) and in some cases they can generate advertising revenue for business-owners who could use every advantage available to them. Especially now.

But like every rush toward the technological horizon, something gets inevitably left behind, and the look and feel of an old-style fluorescent-backlit menu (even better if one of the tubes is either burned out or flickering) is something that imprinted on most folks of, ahem, a certain age.

It's a look that speaks to the era for which it once served as a signature, and the once-tactile experience of ordering food right off the menu, from a real human being.

I'm not advocating for us to go back to the way things were. But taking a moment to remember what's been lost along the way seems like the right thing to do every once in a while.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #restaurant #resto #photography #design #history #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On life as a grand experiment

"Life is trying things to see if they work."

Ray Bradbury

Lakefront landscape

A temporary addition to the shore
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Welcome to the place where ice meets water meets sky.

As is often the case, this scene didn't last long. The day after we were here, the ice was largely gone.

The day after that? More change.

No matter.

We'll simply come back another time to see different things and tell different stories.

Because change isn't something to lament, or an excuse to focus on what's been lost.

It's an opportunity to experience something new. Whatever that "new" ultimately means.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #wind #weather #wx #waves #ice #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Ticky tacky boxes by the sea

Golden hour on concrete
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Seemingly empty condos overlook a similarly empty path between the sand-strewn neighborhood and the ocean.

As the sun slowly rises and warms the once-cool morning air, vacationing families gradually awake to greet the new day, betraying the fact that none of this is empty at all.

This building doesn't look any different than any other piece of beachfront architecture, stacks of boxes standing ready to be boarded up by hurricane shutters at the first sign of trouble.

Yet on this morning, at this moment, they absorb the peace of a perfect sliver of Planet Earth, a reminder that I'm not the only one looking for inspiration, and that you can find bliss if you're willing to travel far enough from home.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #fla #throwback #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #building #architecture #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything @floridaspacecoast

Gear down and locked

Discovery lands, through a local's eyes
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: Long ago, before all the rules changed, our little family was on vacation beside a large ocean. We were checking out of the hotel, and as I often do, I was wandering around the lobby trying to remember the moment.

This hotel was in Cocoa Beach, Florida, just down the road from where rockets - and human beings - leave the planet. Space flight is embedded in the DNA of everyone who lives here. Heck, they even call this place the Space Coast.

So to no one's surprise, there was a delightfully diverse assortment of space artifacts and decorations scattered around the lobby, including this rather insane shot of Discovery on final approach to the Shuttle Landing Facility. If you look closely, you can see the air data probes deployed on either side of the nose. Neat.

Locals see the most incredible things. And they take wonderful photos of experiences now consigned to history.

And for what it's worth, those memories deserve to be preserved. The folks who preserve them deserve to be thanked.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #fla #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #space #shuttle #orbiter #discovery #ov103 #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything @floridaspacecoast

Related:

A new day dawns, January 2020

Waiting for the light, January 2020

You're shooting the wrong way, moron, January 2020

Watching the waves roll in, February 2020

Small boat. Huge ocean. Orange sky. February 2020

One last look before we go, August 2020

Not every day merits a postcard, April 2020

Watching the waves roll in, briefly, March 2020

One bird, one wave, February 2020

Someone's selling seashells by the seashore, January 2020

Potential on a near-frozen beach

Warmer days will return
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's always quite the experience to visit a place out-of-season, like the beach before the last shackles of winter have been thrown off.

If you squeeze your eyes shut just so, you might be able to feel what this place will be like in summer. But for now, the sand is still packed down and icky from months spent under ice and snow. Empty beach houses sit quietly across the way, and clumps of driftwood litter the landscape for as far as the eye can see.

There may be little sign of human activity here today, but Mother Nature has clearly been busy here these past few months.

I've never been a fan of sticky hot afternoons and crowd scenes, anyway, so I'm just as content to be here today, parka pulled tight to ward off the vicious Arctic winds blowing in off of Lake Erie.

In fact, it's kind of up to us to find the magic in a space no matter the weather. Because if we waited for the so-called perfect conditions, part of me thinks we'd be waiting a while. It makes much more sense to enjoy what we've been given, now.

Besides, perfection is neither singular nor exclusive. And my perfect looks a lot different than anyone else's.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On ice cream

Most of us love ice cream, even if it doesn't always love us back. Likewise, most of us have particularly powerful memories of ice cream shops - either from our childhood, adulthood, or more than likely both.

Ice cream as a child's dream is light years removed from ice cream as a business. And this particular article, from Marker - which is Medium's publication that focuses on the intersection of business, economics, and culture - tells a detailed, very human story of opportunity and loss.

This piece will certainly be top-of-mind the next time I venture into an ice cream store.

The Shocking Meltdown of Ample Hills — Brooklyn’s Hottest Ice Cream Company

They had $19 million, a deal with Disney, and dreams of becoming the next Ben & Jerry’s. Then everything fell apart.

By Courtney Rubin

Marker

February 3, 2021

No cones for you

Too cold for ice cream
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Even for a seasoned Canadian, the temperatures along the lakefront were frigid when we visited last week. The relentless wind didn't help matters.

Eventually, the ice cream shop owner gave up, pulled in his signage and closed up shop for the day.

We resolved to come back another time, hopefully when the weather's a bit more cooperative. Because few experiences connect us to our respective childhoods as powerfully as a simple cone from a place like this.

They say nostalgia isn't a thing. They're wrong.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Every day is National Puppy Day

Pawsitive
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The calendar tells us today is National Puppy Day, which is somewhat amusing given the fact that every day is a holiday when you’re a pup.

And ours doesn’t need a special day to lie down paws-forward on her favorite end of the couch. Calli will celebrate whenever and however she pleases.

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

Art in the shadows

In the eyes of the beholder
London, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

So put on a happy face...

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

Appreciating what we will lose

Infinitely finite
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You know when you’re walking the dog after dinner and the setting sun is painting all sorts of magic in the sky above?

Moments like this offer up something of a choice. Either find some way to remember them. Or miss the opportunity.

So I’m sharing this hastily captured smartphone pic not because it’s kind of a profound moment (it isn’t) or even unique (nope). It’s a lousy photo of a sunset, taken with the so-called wrong camera, because that’s what I had in my pocket at the time.

No, I share it because it occurred to me as I shot it that it’s a finite experience. And because each of us only gets a limited number of sunsets - and sunrises, and hugs, and games of catch with puppies, and... - it’s up to us to not squander any more of them than we already have.

Lousy photos beget important, ephemeral moments. There’s a lesson in there somewhere, but I’ll be over here waiting for that next whatever-it-is experience.

Because they all eventually run out.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunset #dusk #blue #sky #clouds #light #tree #abstract #landscape #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On appreciating dark nights for what they are

"The darker the night, the brighter the stars."

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

(E)merging

Foggy morning on Wonderland
London, ON
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Always follow the light.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #weather #wx #fog #streetphotography #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On snow removal

I grew up in Montreal, a Canadian city that receives epic amounts of snow in winter, and whose public works crews hold an equally legendary reputation for their military approach to snow removal.

As a child, we watched in awe as the caravans of snowblowers, graders, dump trucks and sidewalk plows approached our neighborhoods and turned a snow-covered mess into a passable streetscape. Few other cities know how to do it this well.

Little did child-Carmi know the backstory behind our town's snowplowing miracle, the intrigue, tension, and crime that drove much of it both back in the day, and all the way to present-day. Even though I moved away half a lifetime ago, I still pick up the occasional headline around corruption in the industry, and efforts to eradicate it. As if that's even possible.

This piece, published in 2012 in the Maisonneuve quarterly, is as detailed an overview as I've ever seen. Even if you've never experienced a Canadian snow storm before, it's an eye-opening read.

Getting Plowed

In this exclusive investigative report from Montreal, Maisonneuve exposes the bid-rigging, violence and sabotage at the heart of an unlikely racket: snow removal.

By Selena Ross

April 18, 2012 

Endings...

Fleeting
Grand Bend, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Life is everywhere.

Life is vibrant.

Life is beautiful.

Life is resilient.

Life is hopeful.

Life is defiant.

Life is challenging.

Life is a precious gift.

But it is never guaranteed.

To any of us.

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

A look down the street

What's behind that door?
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've decided to call this one, "Yellow building along the village main street," and if it looks familiar, that’s because it is.

During our visit to this lovely lakeside town, we parked in a lot right beside this pastel-yellow-painted building, and I was immediately drawn to it. I’m a sucker for memorable colors and textures, and I slowly walked around the sun-lit sides because it just felt comforting to do so.

I’ve posted photos of the time-worn rope fence in the parking lot. Now we’re looking at the street side.

The building is home to a seemingly shuttered bar and grill, and as I stood in the brilliant cold I silently wished for life to return to this deserving structure.

Because some places are just too pretty to remain empty. And we all deserve to return to something approaching normal, everyday life, no matter how far off that might seem right now.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Staring into the shadows

On a sunny afternoon by the lake
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It doesn’t take much to change your perspective.

Just walk a few steps this way. Or turn your head just so. Or squint your eyes a bit. Or let your imagination wander.

It’s an easy way to see the familiar - like the rope fence I first shared yesterday - in an entirely new way.

This time, the shadows against the yellow wall pulled me in, but it could have been anything, really. Whatever it was that drew me in, it reminded me why giving ourselves the time to shift things around is always the right thing to do.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Weathered rope by the lake

Just cinch it
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I could describe texture to you, but I'd much rather show you.

Go ahead and touch. You know you want to.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A Mackie's moment

All are welcome here
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You're looking at a tiny part of Mackie's in Port Stanley, and I unabashedly love this place.

Not simply for the way this iconic restaurant is built right up against the beach so the sand drifts randomly to the property line and well into the parking lot. Not simply for the food - which always seems to match the vibe of a day by the water.

Or the blue-and-orange color scheme, which beyond highlighting its signature orangeade drink also seems strangely comforting in an uncomfortable world.

It's the folks who own and run it. A lovely family whose members and staff always seem to be kind no matter how crazy-busy things can get.

I'm glad they're still open, still anchoring the village as they have since 1911 (!).

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who cherishes the kind of experience only an historic resto like this can offer.

I'm glad our kids have gauzy-happy memories of this place tucked deep inside.

I'm glad we still have institutions like this to come back to.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On pandemic loss

As I write this, the John Hopkins COVID dashboard informs me that COVID-19 has killed over 2.6 million people.

The sheer magnitude of that number - and the uncertainty over where it will eventually top out - masks what it looks like on the ground.

When we look at each life as an individual story of loss that ripples out through every other life that intersected it, we begin to realize just how much has changed, and how profound the losses truly are for those left behind.

Jessie Danville is but one of millions who grapples with this historic sense of loss as she mourns her mom, Barbara Land. Any death, at any time, is gut-wrenching. Covid makes it immeasurably worse, and this piece paints a starkly painful picture of what that looks and feels like.

How will we remember Covid-19?

By Lois Parshley

Pioneer Works

February 11, 2021

Watching the waves roll by

Endless
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It only looks simple.

What initially presents itself as a straight-up shot of lake water against a flat horizon is, in fact, much more.

An entire ecosystem lives, vibrantly, out of sight beneath the waves. The waves themselves are infinitely more complex and ever-changing than we'll ever begin to understand, reflective of forces that can be understood in theory, but never fully quantified or predicted.

Above the waves is another ecosystem that defies explanation. Sure, meteorologists can use ever more powerful computers and models to measure the atmosphere and try to predict what comes next, but it's still nowhere near foolproof. Mother Nature wins every time.

But you'd never know any of this unless you stood on the shore for a while and allowed yourself to absorb the scene playing out in front of you.

Which is my way of starting the week, with something that looks simple and straightforward, but isn't. And whether you're standing beside a Great Lake, preparing for your next meeting, managing a project, or mentoring a colleague, the simple-but-not-simple ethos applies to them all.

And we may want to give ourselves the time, space, and thoughtfulness to truly understand what's going on in the spaces we cannot see.

Have a wonderful week.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #wind #weather #wx #waves #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A day at the (frozen) beach

Don't get too close
Port Stanley, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's a difficult equation to balance in your mind: Stay home, avoid unnecessary contact, go out only when you absolutely NEED to be out there. Food. Medical care. Essential work.

It seems so logical: do everything you can to stay away from others, maximize your safety, and keep your head down until this historic scourge is over. Survival. Safety.

And yet. After a year of hunkering down, the head says stay, but the heart says wander.

So today we wandered. Not far, mind you. To Port Stanley, a delightful village on Lake Erie's north shore, and a prominent destination for Londoners looking for a quick getaway to the beach.

Did we HAVE to? No. Did it take us outside our comfort zone? Of course. Did we studiously avoid strangers to the point of near-rudeness? Certainly. Are we glad we went? I'm only sorry we didn't go sooner.

The winds whipped across the still-frozen beachfront and chilled us to the bone. But we still managed to steal some photos amid the blinding sun and pick up some takeout from Mackie's, a beloved restaurant that's been around for 110 years and literally defines this place where land meets water. Add in some Shaws ice cream on the way home and you've got the makings of a day that almost seemed normal.

My wife took this picture of me being me. Our daughter called it "a good day", and she's absolutely spot-on. We all need good days, days where we make tiny memories involving sand, sun, ice, wind, waves, food that's not necessarily nutritious but is nonetheless essential, small businesses that need some folks to wander if they're going to survive, and random moments in the car with some of the most important people in the world.

In fact, no matter how hard all of this has become, we can't stop making memories, whatever form they may take.

Because when all this is over, memories will be the only thing we have left. Pandemic or no pandemic, that's kinda how life works, anyway.

#port #stanley #portstanley #beach #great #lake #erie #ldnont #wind #weather #wx #nature #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Limitless forest

Life in winter
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The forest calms me, so I should probably spend more time there.

Preferably with a camera.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #winter #weather #wx #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Heed the fortune cookie

Paper wisdom
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Who am I to disagree with such sage advice from a fortune cookie?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #mandarin #restaurant #supportlocal #food #fortune #cookie #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Finding the subtle colors within

Look for the blue
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Winter's gotten a bit of a reputation as a colorless season, and I think it's rather undeserved.

Of course, this very spot, captured on a bitterly cold and snowy February afternoon, was very likely ablaze with color just a few months earlier. So, yes, in comparison to the touristy autumn pics that dominate our feeds every autumn, this is pretty bland.

Or is it?

I was wearing the typically Canadian uniform of a huge parka, and boots and woolies fit for a North Pole expedition. I had nowhere else to be, and I was rather enjoying the silence of the forest. So I stood there for a ridiculously long time and allowed my eyes, ears, and mind to absorb the place.

The longer I stood there, the more I was able to take in. The subtle shifts in color and texture, the impossibly complex curves of the countless branches, the sound the wind made as it moved through them. I saw, heard, and felt things well beyond my original assumptions.

Like colors. They're pretty riotous in their own right after you let yourself really take them in. Admittedly, they're not remotely like an autumn blaze. More muted and subtle. They don't scream. They whisper.

But who says everything needs to be an explosion of reds, oranges, and yellows, anyway? Comparing then and now isn't a zero-sum-game, where one has to win and the other has to lose. Both scenes and times are inspiring for very different reasons - and bonus, I get to enjoy these in absolute solitude.

So if you do one thing this weekend, please find a similarly subtle scene, then allow yourself the time to truly appreciate it. And if you want to share it and tag me so that we can continue the conversation, so much the better.

Enjoy.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #winter #weather #wx #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On skipping a beat

"Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough."

Gustave Flaubert

Found frozen on a sidewalk

Etched by nature
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Wonderachnauzer and I found this frozen miracle on Wednesday morning, just before soaring temperatures melted the last vestiges of winter away.

I’m struck by how temporary these ice formations are. The weather has to be Just So - an overnight fast freeze following a warm enough day. And if you don’t catch them first thing in the morning, they melt. Or get stepped on. Or driven over.

It’s been a recurring theme for me and the dog this winter, almost as if she’s leading me, encouraging me to slow down, to look down, to see what she sees. Because for her, it’s never about the destination. Rather, it’s about finding the little joys along the way, in the moment, before they disappear.

We’ll get home soon enough. In the meantime, there’s exploring to do. And after the ice is gone for good, she’ll follow her nose toward something new. And I’ll follow her.

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

Pandemic + 1

In passing
London, ON
March 11, 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Anniversaries and other milestones tend to bring out my reflective side, and today, exactly a year to the day since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, absolutely qualifies.

I took this photo March 11, 2020 as I waited for a particularly long freight train to move past a downtown crossing. I remember standing on the sidewalk feeling rather pensive as the cars slowly click-clacked their way past. No one really knew the implications of the WHO declaration, but I think we all sensed it was a profound moment in history.

So I latched onto the sight of a passing train as a marker for the day. It almost doesn’t matter what that “what” happens to be. We all view life through different lenses, and as a result we’ll be triggered differently, and we’ll remember differently.

There’s that word: remember. I hope you’ll take the time to remember. To reflect. To think about what’s changed, what we’ve lost, and where we’ve managed to find the light.

It seems appropriate to do so today. Indeed, it seems appropriate to do so any day. Whatever helps, after all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #downtown #ridout #street #streetphotography #photography #train #rail #railway #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

King of Kensington

Where the streetscape comes alive
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Kensington Market isn't actually a market. But it is quite possibly one of Toronto's most vibrant neighborhoods, a place where you can stand on the sidewalk and feel the energy of countless people going about their day.

It's difficult to describe, and even harder to capture in a photo.

But still, we try.

And we hope that when we can safely return, that energy will still be there.

Because ultimately people crave connection, even in the form of chaotic wanderings down a crowded, worn-at-the-edges corner of Canada's largest city.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #urban #street #streetphotography #photography #kensington #market #alwaxman #kingofkensington #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Evening on Baldwin Street

Home
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Just a random August evening on Baldwin Street. Just a random shot of a random block of period-correct houses in Toronto.

The exterior of each one tells a story of who lives there now, and if you peer a little deeper into the scene you might also see echoes of those who are no longer here.

Maybe that’s just my overactive imagination. But there’s still a certain appeal to wandering down a street and trying to read the spirit of the place.

Because home is far more than four walls and a roof, and how a place feels is far more relevant than how it looks.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #urban #street #streetphotography #photography #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Bowling

We don't pay a whole lot of attention to the game of bowling, but most of us nevertheless have a story or three tucked away somewhere, wrapped in gauzy nostalgia for a simpler time filled with simpler pastimes.

My mom bowled, as did my mother-in-law. And I have vivid memories of sitting on the hard plastic chairs facing the lanes while my mom's friends clucked over me as they waited their turn to play.

This beautifully written story takes me back to those vanished experiences, and illustrates how something as seemingly trivial as throwing a ball down a waxed wooden laneway toward a bunch of pins at the other end can somehow become a subtly touching homage to lives lived not quite according to plan.

Enjoy the read.

The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever

In a bowling alley one night, Bill Fong came so close to perfection that it nearly killed him.

By Michael J. Mooney

D Magazine

July 2012

Twin trees

Together against the elements
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the middle of an intensifying snow storm, I come across two trees that seem more alike than not. Almost like twins.

I really should get back before the weather worsens, but the near-mirror image is too perfect to ignore. I don't know enough about tree biology to know if they communicate with each other, but part of me wants to believe that is exactly the case.

What better way, after all, to batten down the hatches against a challenging world than to face the storm alongside the one who's known you for your entire life?

Hmm, I’m sensing a more broadly applicable metaphor here. Occupational hazard, apparently.

I know these are just a couple of trees sitting in the middle of a forest. Hardly worth standing in the driving snow and wondering about.

But what do we wonder about if not something we came across randomly? What do we wonder about when we stop randomly wandering through the woods in the middle of a storm?

I'd rather not know the answer to either of these questions.

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

Related:

A river runs through it, February 2021

Still standing on the bridge, February 2021

Is it real, or is it...? January 2021

Taking control among the trees, January 2021

When the forest disappears from view, December 2018

Medway Valley, muted, January 2018

On seeing what no one else sees

"Look for the thing you notice but no one else notices."

Rick Rubin

 

Dogs > Mondays

I think this is my best side
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Any dog can easily make any day better. Even if that day happens to be a Monday.

I present Calli as our primary example, but truth be told this applies to all dogs. And cats. And any other domesticated animal.

Even a brief moment in their company will soothe any soul. Give it a try.

#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

Clouds off the Japanese coast

Patterns up high
Somewhere over the North Pacific Ocean
May 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Once upon a time, we ventured far from home, and tried to remember what it felt and looked like from the moment we set off to the moment we returned.

I captured this scene from a United Airlines 777-300ER over the North Pacific Ocean, somewhere near the Japanese coast, on my way back from a conference in Shanghai. We couldn’t see the coast, of course, but the undulating clouds told their own story, so out came the camera.

I share this not because I lament our relative inability to stray too far from home these days - please, let’s avoid whining about trivialities - but to remind myself that the very concept of travel need not always involve flying halfway around the world.

Sometimes a walk to the corner is just as likely to open our eyes wide to things we hadn’t yet imagined. And whether we’re headed near, far, or somewhere in between, all we have to do is take that first step outside the door to begin our journey.

What we see next is entirely up to us.

#united #airlines #throwback #weather #wx #pacific #ocean #landscape #photography #shanghai #china #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #flight #flying #aviation #avgeek #explore #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Losing the sun at Loblaws

Say goodnight, Masonville
London, ON
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Scene from a parking lot, take 794.

By now it should be plainly obvious how I feel about photography. As much as I'd like to capture every moment with a brilliance that merits its own spot on a museum wall, the sad truth is photography, like life, doesn't unfold so crisply.

There's a lot of ordinary in between the brilliance, countless moments, like this one in a supermarket parking lot, where you're stuffing groceries into the back of the car, you're tired and cranky after another long day keeping the weight of the universe from tipping over, and all you have is a smartphone in your pocket.

So you take the picture, anyway, because remembering it with mediocrity seems to beat not remembering it at all.

And when you string all these lousy photos together, you end up tracing the path of a life, too. Lots of ordinary. Even more mediocrity. Perhaps some flashes of occasional brilliance. None of it predictable. Or even remotely perfect. Or museum-worthy.

But you try to remember it, anyway. Because if we waited for the perfect moment, with the perfect camera, and the perfect conditions, to capture the resonance of the sun setting on a mid-November evening, we'd never be able to tell the story, at all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #sunset #dusk #orange #sky #clouds #light #tree #abstract #landscape #loblaws #retail #store #parking #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Kentucky Fried Abandonment

Through a dirty window
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Colonel once sold chicken here.

Except Colonel Sanders wasn't actually a colonel, and this abandoned storefront had long ceased to be a place where anyone would want to eat the chicken. Or anything else, for that matter.

For years, the signs of creeping deterioration telegraphed the sad story of a sad restaurant, a place customers frequented because they had to, not because they wanted to. We never ate there, but the gap-toothed sign on the roof always caught my attention as we passed by.

Eventually and inevitably, it closed, and in doing so marked another chapter in our own timeline of life in this city we now call home.

It won't show up in any history books, of course, and don't hold your breath for nostalgically-shot and paced indie films chronicling the rise, fall, and eventual redemption of dusty neighborhood storefronts and indifferently run restaurants.

But it was still part of someone's story. Or a bunch of someones.

And in them, memories of life in this now-abandoned place persist long after the doors were locked for the last time.

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

Related:

Retail ruinporn, January 2021

Abandoned strip mall, June 2020

Abandoned coffee shop, May 2020

Tim is still dead, February 2020

Shattered illusion on a downtown street, January 2020

Scene from a dying mall, October 2019

A crumbling icon fades to black, May 2016

Lunchtime in the shadows of the city, December 2015

The iceman continues to cometh

Formations
London, OIN
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The dog and I are still stumbling into crazy sidewalk ice formations during our walks. And they still remind us that wonder is everywhere, even just below our feet.

The good news is you don't have to live in a still-largely-frozen Canadian suburb to appreciate it. Wonder happens everywhere. And you often find it in the most unexpected of circumstances.

All you have to do is look for it. Or wait for it to find you.

So, to no one's surprise, our word of the day is "wonder". And it comes with two key questions:

1. Where do you find it?
2. What do you do with it when you do?

Over to you...

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

Related:

The epic ice battle at our feet, March 2021

Frozen miracles at our feet, February 2021

Another frozen miracle, February 2021

The ice show continues, January 2021

Driveway ice show, January 2021

Calli the ice-hunting dog, January 2021

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On drive-through tech

Normally, any given #IfYouReadOneThingToday story is a particularly memorable, resonant example of long-form journalism. I share them because I want y'all to enjoy a good read, to be provoked a little by it. And hopefully be inspired.

Today's suggestion isn't remotely a feel-good story - unless you happen to like the idea of dystopian technologies redefining how fast food drive-through lanes operate.

I share this not so much to make you feel better (in fact, the implications may very well terrify you) but to mark a moment in time where technology reaches yet another historic inflection point. This is a news story that happens to explain one facet of our rapidly changing landscape.

And if you're still hungry by the time you finish reading it, I'll humbly suggest the healthier options in the grocery store just across the parking lot.

McDonald's and other chains are giving their drive-thrus the Jetsons treatment

By Rachel Metz

CNN Business

February 26, 2021

A year since racing home

Uncertain skies
Somewhere over the U.S. eastern seaboard
March 5, 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A year ago today, I boarded a plane in Orlando. Florida and headed home from a wildly successful work-related event.

I remember sitting around the pool with my colleagues before we left for the airport, under palm trees swaying gently in the sun, chatting happily about what we had accomplished over the past few days, and less happily about what lay ahead.

The duality was troubling, and I quietly wished we could sit here indefinitely, and wait out the storm that was building around us.

If we're being brutally frank, the trip back was terrifying. COVID infection rates were trending upward, and every headline was more ominous than the last.

The prospect of spending a few hours in a tube breathing largely recirculated air while sitting in close proximity to hundreds of strangers wasn't terribly appealing to me at the time.

I just wanted to get home, and stay home, but feared what I might pick up along the way.

As we winged our way north, the sun slowly settled into the horizon, putting on an ever more colorful show for anyone who took the time to watch.

So I picked up my smartphone and tried to compose something workable through the dirty plastic window. I thought about the stunning scene playing out before me, and wondered how long it would be before I'd be able to witness it again.

I still don't have an answer to that last question, but I am thankful I made it home safely. And that I was able to witness such indescribable beauty amid such uncertainty.

A year later, we've learned in so many ways how global events change us as individuals.

We've also learned what we must do to keep the lights on back home no matter what obstacles may lie in our way on the journey back.

#air #canada #aircanada #throwback #flight #orlando #florida #toronto #mco #yyz #sunset #weather #landscape #photography #travel #travelphotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

My big, old, magical plane, March 2020

When clouds look like fish, March 2020

Mountain of glass(es), March 2020

Before hitting the stage..., March 2020

Hope on Dundas Street

What may yet be
London, ON
May 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I look at this photo often, because it represents a better tomorrow on a stretch of downtown #LdnONT - Dundas Street - that even before the pandemic hit had already been reeling for decades.

They rebuilt a few blocks of it over the past couple of years, with fancy uni-stone and movable bollards that turn it into what they call a "flex street", a public space that can easily switch between regular traffic and community programming. It's an inspired investment in city-building, but COVID-19 went on its rampage just as the newfangled infrastructure was finally unveiled.

What's that they say about timing?

I don't know whether the "streetlife" branding on the plant boxes is deliberately or accidentally ironic, but it speaks to me all the same. This place was great once, and it could be again, assuming we believe that the light in the distance is a harbinger of brighter days ahead.

For what it's worth, I choose to believe. Because we all need hope.

#london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #city #downtown #dundas #dundasplace #street #photography #streetphotography #building #architecture #ruinporn #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Dundas Street comes to life (hopefully), December 2019

Walking home downtown at night, December 2018

Abandoned buildings and unwritten futures, October 2018

Man shot on Dundas, January 2017