Monday, May 31, 2021

My not-so-little shadow

Neighborhood watch
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


She has quite the shadow.

So do I, as she’s never far from me wherever our wanderings take us.

And if it were up to me, she'd follow me forever.

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

On dreaming by day

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

 

The fly who loved me

Sun dappled
Tillsonburg, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Looks like the tulips had a bit of a following on this brilliantly sunny afternoon.

I suppose I could have waited for them to fly away, or I could have waved my hand around them to scare them off. But in the end I captured them as they were.

I guess that makes me a lousy photographer, but I'd rather tell the story as it presents itself than try to shape the moment into some kind of idealized non-reality.

Somewhere in there, I think I may have also stumbled on a bit of a life lesson. And to think it took a swarm of flies to open my eyes to it.

#tillsonburg #ontario #canada #road #trip #travel #red #tulips #flowers #garden #street #streetphotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Yet another Jeep thing - in purple

Sheetmetal selfie
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I keep seeing Jeeps on the street. And if I'm seeing them, I guess you're going to see them, too.

Compared to the green one we featured a few days ago, this one's obviously purple. Somewhat less obviously, this one is from the previous generation, known as JK.

Still worthy of a photo, though. And hopefully a smile. Because who wouldn't love a purple Jeep?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #jeep #wrangler #jeepwrangler #unlimited #purple #itsajeepthing #jeepsofinstagram #car #carporn #automotive #oldparkedcars #opc #street #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Octopus on ice

Catch of the day
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Seafood and I don't agree, so the closest I'll come to octopi like these will likely be through the glass of the grocery store fish section.

But even off-limits-to-me food can look limitlessly incredible, and all I can think of when I see something like this is that the universe is a remarkable place.

Even better is that I got caught taking this picture: the fishmonger staffing the section walked over as I finished taking the photo and asked me if I wanted some. I politely declined, but we still had a delightful chat about what a great store it is, and why we enjoy shopping there.

His passion for his craft was infectious, and it made me glad I decided to take the shot in the first place. Sometimes, connections happen when we least expect them, and they leave us better as a result.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sobeys #supermarket #grocery #store #octupus #octopi #seafood #fish #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Saturday, May 29, 2021

(Left) field of dreams

Peering through the outfield fence
Tillsonburg, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


When I was a kid, my parents signed me up for little league baseball, and thanks to my relative lack of skills in this sport - or any team sport, frankly - I was relegated to left field.

While baseball clearly wasn't my thing, left field turned into a happy place where I sat in the grass, picked buttercups, and learned how to spot planes as they drew lines in the blue skies high above.

Every once in a while, I'd hear yelling from far away, and I'd interrupt my flowerpicking and planespotting to fetch an errant ball that had somehow made it all the way to my solitary playground.

It was before the era of participation ribbons for everyone, so I'm left with memories instead of dusty tchatchkes on a shelf. But those memories are fuzzy and warm.

Out there in left field, I learned to appreciate the lore of the sport. As much as I was never destined to become an All Star - or even an Any Star - I came to love the game as well as the fields where it is played. These magical places are filled with echoes and shadows and untold stories, and to this day I'm drawn to them.

And so it was in Tillsonburg, where the outfield fence and its ads for local businesses caught my eye. My old baseball field, long since bulldozed in favor of a half-empty strip mall, was never sophisticated enough to merit billboards in the outfield.

But this scene somehow took me back to a place and time where even lousy ballplayers like me could find their place, and where buttercups still grew in the overgrown grass far from the rest of the crowd.

#tillsonburg #ontario #canada #road #trip #travel #baseball #sports #gosports #street #streetphotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #design #lines #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

It's another Jeep thing

Parking lot adventure
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Same Jeep, wider view. A reminder that design still matters, and history can indeed be preserved alongside modernity.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #jeep #wrangler #jeepwrangler #unlimited #green #jeepnation #itsajeepthing #jeepporn #jeepsofinstagram #truck #car #carporn #automotive #photography #masonville #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Friday, May 28, 2021

Parking lot power trip

Things are looking up
Tillsonburg, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Note to self: spend more time paying attention to the infrastructure that keeps us powered up, connected, hydrated, and alive.

We'll start with this hydro pole in the middle of a Tillsonburg parking lot, but I'm reasonably sure we can find examples anywhere.

And that's the joy of this kind of photography - it's everywhere, but for reasons that escape me we rarely, if ever, seem to notice it.

Why is that?

#tillsonburg #ontario #canada #road #trip #travel #street #streetphotography #photography #power #hydro #design #lines #blue #sky #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Vaccination road trip to Tillsonburg

I was born in a small town...
Tillsonburg, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


When your youngest munchkin gets a vaccination appointment, you take him, even if it’s a few towns over.

And so we found ourselves rolling through the countryside on a perfectly sunny-and-blue-sky Friday afternoon. Henrietta 2.0 the Honda was in fine form, with road trippy tunes floating out her open sunroof. I would have been just as happy driving further with him. That time thing, you know. We never get enough.

Pandemic protocols being what they are, I waited outside the community centre. Carmi being who he is, I wandered around with my camera, because some days deserve to be remembered in pixels.

Tillsonburg is a lovely town around an hour east of here, and their community centre is a showpiece, the kind of carefully considered multipurpose facility that makes life extraordinary for those lucky enough to live here.

I got a tiny taste of it trudging between fairgrounds, baseball fields, and hockey arenas. I didn’t have much time to play with, but it was just long enough to feel the warmth of this place.

And as our happily vaccinated Noah returned to the car and we turned for home, I found myself already looking forward to coming back here in a couple of months for his second dose. Some places don’t take long to imprint themselves on us.

Some days are just a little more special than others thanks largely to who we spend them with, and how.

#tillsonburg #ontario #canada #covid #covid19 #pandemic #vaccination #road #trip #travel #street #streetphotography #photography #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

It's a Jeep thing

It apparently is easy being green
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Jeep redesigned its iconic Wrangler a couple of years ago - a tall order when the basic design harks back to the Second World War, forcing designers to wrestle with keeping the platform current without losing what made it special to its die-hard fans in the first place.

This conundrum likely explains why so few old-design revivals - cough, PT Cruiser, cough - manage to survive into a second generation.

Which makes the Wrangler all the more remarkable. Because it hasn't just survived. It's thrived. You can even get a plug-in hybrid version. A green Jeep, so to speak. What's not to love?

I found this one - a sear-your-retinas-green Wrangler Unlimited in Sahara trim, with the 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 - in an otherwise empty shopping mall parking lot, and I was immediately drawn to the tiny-yet-significant design details that make the JL generation special.

Like the color. In recent years, car colors have trended toward the greyscale, with many manufacturers limiting their choices to variations of white, grey, or black. Not so over at Jeep, whose offerings continue to be available in a range of instantly memorable shades that can't help but make passers-by smile. I'm a fan of the purple.

The JL also has these remarkably detailed door hinges, and its cutlines have a geometry that makes them instantly memorable. Just the shape of the front door cutout is enough to prompt sidewalk reflection among the staggeringly small minority of people who dig this stuff.

Count me among the minority, then. Must be a Jeep thing.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #jeep #wrangler #jeepwrangler #unlimited #green #jeepnation #itsajeepthing #jeepporn #jeepsofinstagram #truck #car #carporn #automotive #photography #masonville #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

On card games and life

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."

 

That's a lot of wine

Bottled
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Inspiration can hit you anywhere, anytime.

Like in the wine section of the grocery store, which I’m rushing through because a) we all rush through the grocery store these days, and b) I’m not even looking for wine on this particular visit.

Which is odd, because my name literally means, “My vineyard”. Yet I barely drink the stuff. Or any alcohol, for that matter. It just doesn’t do it for me.

But the visuals of wine are another story altogether, with artfully designed labels and bottles all competing for our attention, all telling the stories of how they came to be.

And so I find myself staring at the colors and patterns of this particular display. And I shoot a couple of fast, imperfect frames before returning to my more typical pandemic-driven rush.

I call it photography in the everyday, and it follows a predictably accelerated process: get in, get your stuff, get out.

Except when you see something neat, in which case there’s always a sliver of extra time to take a second look.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sobeys #supermarket #grocery #store #shopping #retail #wine #bottles #drink #alcohol #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Monday, May 24, 2021

Canine portrait mode

A rare quiet moment
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Make sure you get my good side, please.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A TR7 decays in silence

Once upon a time
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I’m a bit of a car fan, but not conventionally so.

I don’t have motor oil coursing through my veins. The thrum of a V8 engine doesn’t make my heart flutter. I don’t religiously quote 0-to-60 times, and I believe testosterone-driven car culture is fundamentally toxic to us all.

I view car culture through a design lens, as the entire automotive sector seems to echo the historic periods that surround it. Want a snapshot of what life was like at any given time? Take a look at cars from that era.

It’s a wonderful way to reflect on where we’ve come from, and how we got from there to here, or from then to now.

So stumbling upon this Triumph TR7 convertible decaying at the back of a quiet industrial park parking lot was quite the memory trip. I remember when this car was new, a radical design that seemed to make every other Malaise Era vehicle look even more obsolete than it already was. It was the stuff of dreams for a kid just starting to discover wonder.

Never mind that this car was a mechanical nightmare, churned out by a dysfunctional manufacturer skidding toward extinction. It was still a kick to see a tired old example barely 10 minutes from home. We all had dreams, even if some of them may have faded in the cold light of reality.

As you can see, time hasn’t done this late-1970s relic many favors, but we all have four-wheeled memories of our own, and it never hurts to have them jarred awake every once in a while.

Which explains why you may see the occasional car photo and vignette in my feed. We’ll call the series #oldparkedcars, because even old machines deserve to have their stories told.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #triumph #tr7 #wedge #convertible #british #leyland #car #carporn #automotive #oldparkedcar #opc #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sunday, May 23, 2021

You don't gotta eat here

Threats to public health
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We’re continuing our look at the signs that define pandemic life. Feel free to share your own.

But don’t feel compelled to sit in this particular spot, as the ick factor is high with this one.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stilllife #starbucks #coffee #shop #store #retail #covid19 #coronavirus #pandemic #signs #pandemicsigns #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Little boxes of suburbia

They're made of ticky tacky
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Malvina Reynolds got it so right when she penned the classic lyrics for Little Boxes:
“Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same.”
I remember studying this in high school, and how this was one of the first works of literature that truly imprinted itself on my young and impressionable brain.

Suddenly, I found myself walking around our neighborhood, critically observing the architectural landscape, looking for the similarities, trying to understand the socioeconomic factors driving their creation and evolution.

As a lesson in the power of words, it became a crucial part of my development as a writer. It was the first time I remember not only asking the why-type questions, but also taking my first halting steps toward getting my own answers and making them part of my own narrative.

Funny how it all works.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #pete #seeger #song #music #random #urban #suburban #neighborhood #architecture #design #architecturephotography #houses #realestate #building #street #streetphotography #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:
Shadows of lives lived, December 2012
Little boxes, August 2008
Gothic, July 2007

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Scene from a busy sidewalk

Lives lived in real-time
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Random scene from a random sidewalk of random lives playing out, um, randomly.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #walkabout #urban #highbury #avenue #street #photography #streetphotography #road #traffic #zoom #covid19 #coronavirus #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

When we bought shirts in actual stores

Shades of blue and white
London, ON
May 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We don’t shop in brick-and-mortar stores these days, and it isn’t clear when that might change.

Which makes throwback images like this one - taken 7 years ago - all the more resonant. Because from where I sit, no app can replicate what it’s like to browse the merchandise on a store shelf, to discuss the options with a trained salesperson, to feel the atmosphere of a place that once defined a significant chunk of how we lived.

I took this picture with an old BlackBerry Z30 (look it up. I’ll wait) because I was having a good time and wanted to remember the experience in some small way.

These days if I need a dress shirt, I’ll order one on a much more capable smartphone than that ancient BlackBerry. But I doubt I’ll be taking pictures of the experience. It just doesn’t feel worthy of a placeholder, another example of how we’ve advanced, yet lost something along the way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #store #shopping #mall #retail #random #photography #apple #blackberry #z30 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:
Clinging to life, September 2014
After the interview, August 2014

Friday, May 21, 2021

The rainbow connection

Treasure underfoot
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


They say there's a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow.

This particular rainbow failed to confirm that old assumption when I came across it on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning wander through the neighborhood, but I smiled all the same.

Because unlike a real rainbow, this one wasn't generated by a specific convergence of atmospheric conditions. Rather, it materialized out of the imagination of unseen children, who were doubtless still asleep, dreaming up their next community beautification project.

I said a quiet thank you as we walked on past, content in the knowledge that tomorrow's generation hasn't forgotten how to play in the real world, and still knows how to restore hope among those who share this planet with them.

Maybe the pot of gold is a metaphorical thing, anyway, because whatever I found at the end of this particular rainbow was infinitely more real to my mood than mythical metallic leftovers could ever hope to be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #chalk #rainbow #color #colors #signs #messages #random #suburban #street #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Orange pepper still life

Some ripe. Some still waiting.
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


In case you missed it, there was a bit of drama in the Sobeys vegetable aisle over the weekend.

Some of the orange peppers were a little green with envy.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sobeys #supermarket #grocery #store #vegetable #orange #peppers #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:
Cabbagetown, May 2021
Bananas in the round, February 2021

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

On the many forms of art

"A painting is music you can see, and music is a painting you can hear."

Signs on Highbury

Jumbled messages
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The signs are everywhere.

And as much as they’ve blighted the modern landscape, rarely do we ever slow down enough to really look at them.

So on a Sunday morning on a dusty sidewalk beside one of the busiest arterial roads in the city, I find myself trying to record what most folks simply choose to ignore.

Even if I never manage to coax workable compositions out of places like this, I realize that's not the point, anyway. Making the effort, though, is, and I think doing so teaches me something new about this rather addictive craft.

Epiphany on an unremarkable sidewalk. I'll take it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #walkabout #urban #highbury #avenue #signs #street #photography #zoom #covid19 #coronavirus #vaccine #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Where we let the dog lead the way

Taking it all in
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


When you're lucky enough to be out with the dog, and lucky enough to have some extra time to explore a bit, be smart enough to let her lead the way.

So I did. And we went right instead of left, on a path that led to a park hidden behind a parking lot, a place we didn't even know existed until we stumbled upon it.

As parks go, it isn't much, just a stretch of green overlooking the valley.

But judging by the numbers of other folks walking through the well-worn path beside the treeline, it's one of our city's best kept secrets for anyone looking for a quick and easy escape.

From the looks of it, she likes what she sees. More to come, then, because good things - like spontaneous discoveries - happen when we follow her nose.

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

Monday, May 17, 2021

Barking up the right tree

Textured...
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I spend entirely too much time walking through forests and staring at trees.

And along the way, I’ve come to notice a few things. Like the way old tree trunks wear the evidence of hard lives lived.

It isn’t something you see as much as feel, a texture that’s been shaped by seen and unseen forces for longer than most of us have been alive.

And it’s glorious. And ever changing. And comforting. And a hushed reminder of life playing out below the radar. Which it wouldn’t be if more of us took the time to walk through forests and stare at trees.

So about that opening line, where I admitted spending too much time in these resonant, vanishing spaces. On second thought, I don’t think I’m spending enough of it.

So in case you’re wondering where I am, now you know.

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

Sunday, May 16, 2021

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Pfizer

I'm doing a lot of pandemic-centric reading these days. No surprise, really, as it's entirely normal that this generation-changing event would drive a similar wave of all-encompassing media coverage. (Note to self: this is why we need strong media pillars.)

I'm fascinated by the stories behind some of the major players in the fight against the virus. And few players are more major than Pfizer, the global pharma giant that turned the tide against the pandemic with the first approved vaccine against it.

But as is often the case, the route from here to there, or from there to here, or from despair to salvation, or wherever, is hardly linear. And Pfizer is no exception - which makes for great journalism.

Enjoy...

The company is a hero of the pandemic for its Covid-fighting wonder shot. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t made entire countries angry
By Stephanie Baker, Cynthia Koons, and Vernon Silver
Bloomberg Businessweek
March 4, 2021

The best maple tree ever

They're back!
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


There’s a red maple tree on our front lawn that has shaded and protected our home for as long as we’ve lived here. It stands watch over the big rock that our kids clambered over as soon as they could clamber, and it whispers in the breeze just outside our window.

Its leaves are just now bursting into view, casting both color and shade over our little corner of the neighborhood. It felt right to grab a quick snap of the new leaves from underneath, of their impossibly red-backlit tones, before they mature into the brownish red they’ll carry through the summer.

All trees are special, of course, but this one feels somewhat more so because it’s ours. And despite the fact that it’s always changing, always offering up a fresh new tone for those of us on the ground, it is nevertheless always there, always solidly planted right in the middle of our home, of our family.

I haven’t paid as much attention to this tree as it has always paid to us. Consider this photo my first step toward correcting this imbalance.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #red #maple #tree #trees #forest #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #street #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Signs of the times

Please read
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The signs we encounter as we move through our streets can tell vivid stories about the lives we lead. This is especially true during the pandemic.

From social distancing stickers on floors to hastily printed posters on doors and windows, today’s visual landscape is radically different than it was just before everything changed.

So I’ve been taking not-so-random photos along the way. Not because a bunch of laser-printed warnings on a coffee shop’s front door represent great photography. They don’t. But I can’t not try to remember what all this looks like.

And years from now, memories of visuals like this will explain, to us and to others, what it felt like to live through this.

Photography isn’t always about eye-opening artistry. Sometimes it’s about telling the story of how we lived.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #starbucks #highbury #cheapside #coffee #shop #restaurant #store #retail #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Eat the damn cake

We all deserve occasional sweetness
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I try to avoid worrying about rules, or should-haves, or any other rigid constructs that tend to get in the way of a life well lived.

But as I was staring at this piece of cake the other day, this one rule popped into my head that I think is so worthy of following that it deserves to be framed. And basically, it goes like this:

Eat the damn cake.

All too often I stand over the cake - or whatever else it is that I probably shouldn’t be consuming, but really really really want to - and try to convince myself to leave it be. I tell myself how unhealthy it is, how the very act of eating it will set me back, will harm me in some way, will ruin the fitness I’ve worked so hard to build and maintain.

But here's the thing: sometimes you just have to pick up a fork and dig in. Because we all need - and deserve - the occasional slice of happiness. Because the universe is sufficiently dark and scary sometimes that a bit of color and sweetness can go a long way toward balancing it off.

Because there's only so much cake to go around. And days. And you'd hate to get to the end of either and wonder what it tasted like.

So enjoy. You can always walk it off tomorrow.

(For what it's worth, this slice was divine, and totally worth however many extra kms I'll need to do on the bike.)

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cake #dessert #abstract #texture #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Lizard with no name

I'm not really frowning
Laval, QC
August 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Photography tip #1,592 in an ongoing series: set aside some time to wander through your photo archives. You never know what you'll come across, and how profoundly the experience might brighten your mood.

Today's example, a lizard from long ago, comes to us from a pet store just north of Montreal. We had come here in 2014 to visit family, and as was often the case, it involved hospital visits and hushed conversations about what may or may not happen next.

I had planned an afternoon of activities to keep the kids occupied. And as we often did, we stopped off on the way back for treats. Of course I parked near a pet store, and of course we had to go in.

For reasons that extend beyond the confines of an Instagram post, pet stores aren't much of a thing anymore. But on this afternoon, far from home, this one served its purpose as a place where our kids could hang out with brightly colored birds, exotic-looking fish, and infinitely curious lizards for just long enough to forget the reason we had come to this city in the first place.

The world needs more oases like this. So do our kids. All of us, really.

#chomedey #laval #montreal #quebec #canada #throwback #pet #store #retail #lizard #road #trip #travel #apple #ipad #shotonipad #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Friday, May 14, 2021

Cabbagetown

Perfectly textured
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Nature's quite the wizard, isn't she?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #farmboy #grocery #store #vegetable #lettuce #cabbage #green #texture #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thursday, May 13, 2021

On striving for more

"The harder you fall, the heavier your heart;
the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb;
the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal."

 

The feathered admirers of Blackfriars

They appreciate history, too
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Apparently I'm not the only one who loves this bridge.

Nice to know its appeal isn't limited to humans.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #blackfriars #bridge #green #history #tvp #thames #river #bird #birds #duck #ducks #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

The trees by the road

A study in contrasts
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


What used to be a quiet pathway through a bucolic village to the west of town has been transformed into four lanes of high-speed, never-ending traffic.

The city has now swallowed the village, and you have to look hard for any evidence of what used to be here.

Not that anyone’s looking, hard or otherwise, as they zip through at near-highway speeds on their way to wherever it is that urban dwellers like to go. We’re all so busy, apparently.

So I stand on one side of the road and peer across to the woodlot on the other wide. Miraculously it hasn’t yet been turned into a subdivision, but there’s no guarantee it won’t eventually meet that fate. They call it progress, but I can think of a few other words to describe it.

I tighten my fingers around my camera and slowly walk from one end of the woodlot to the other, the dense growth almost reaching out to me. I try to shoot through gaps in traffic, but even then the cars are almost impossible to completely avoid. Good thing the trees stand patiently as they always have, prepared to take all the time in the world to pose for their moment.

This shot is my favourite of the series, a simple contrast between light and dark, a metaphor, perhaps, for the ongoing struggle to create better places to live.

Or to simply hold onto what we already have.

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

Related:
Bulrushes, Part 3, November 2020
Bulrushes, part 2, November 2020

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On nasal swabs

The pandemic has exposed countless gaps in the supply chains that keep society from collapsing. Before March 2020, no one could have imagined just how critical something as seemingly mundane as a nasal swab would be, but hindsight has proven to be a pretty effective teacher.

This is a fascinating piece that delves into the family nastiness behind one of the most essential tools in the fight against COVID-19, and the risks we run by ignoring the seemingly boring underpinnings of civil society. It's a terrific read.

The pandemic brought the business opportunity of a lifetime to Puritan Medical Products of Guilford, Maine. But even a $250 million infusion from the U.S. government has done little to quell an epic family feud.
By Olivia Carville
Bloomberg Businessweek
March 18, 2021

Hyde Park barn find

Historic leftover
London, ON
October 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Even after all these years, the angles still line up, and the sight is still enough to stop me as I walk by on the sidewalk.

It gives me a few moments to reflect on a timeless reminder of our neighborhood that defined life here long before development changed everything.

Barns rule. And I wish the universe worked differently, because the world hardly needs another strip mall.

That is all. For now, anyway.

#ldnont #london #hyde #park #ontario #canada #throwback #architecture #design #architecturephotography #century #old #building #barn #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #health #everything

Monday, May 10, 2021

Grate expectations

The cheesiest of patterns
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Every once in a while, I get bored and start looking for visual inspiration in the ordinary objects that surround us at home.

Pandemic life means we’re generally stuck looking at the same things - rooms, people, stuff, whatever - day after day. But instead of seeing that as a negative, I’d rather find the opportunity in it.

Like the cheese grater you see here, which we decided to buy after I accidentally sliced my hand on a ratty old hand grater. This one’s a box grater, so in theory it’s much safer. It also looked neat, so out came the camera-camera.

The good news is I still have all my fingers, and our cheeses have never been tastier. Even better news is I’ve got countless drawers of kitchen utensils to explore through glass, and an empty memory card to fill.

Because the best stories are the ones we squeeze out of the everyday moments that lurk right in front of us.

The question for you, then, is what will your next story be?

It may be closer than you think.

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

Sunday, May 09, 2021

Schnu to the power of 4

So where's the treat you promised me?
London, ON
May 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


This little psycho celebrates her 4th birthday today.

That’s a slightly inaccurate statement, of course, because she has no clue how calendars work. So we’re the ones who celebrate while she wonders what all the fuss is about.

Which, on reflection, is a pretty good place for a dog to be, at the very centre of a family whose members adore her, where every day is worthy of some sort of celebration.

As much as it feels like we just brought her home, it’s equally true that we can’t imagine what life was ever like without her giant presence in it.

Time has a funny way of doing that, both moving fast and remaining frozen in place, depending on which lens we happen to be using to take it in. I’ll probably never figure out how that works, or why, but a little mystery isn’t necessarily a negative.

She randomly stars in my wife’s remote classes - Calli songs! - as well as the occasional live radio and TV interview. Squirrels, rabbits, birds and other wildlife happily torment her from the yard. I’m reasonably sure my hearing has been compromised along the way.

But I’d change nothing. I can’t quantify what she adds to the story of us, but I know it’s immense, and we are all different, better people because of her.

Every morning, she unrolls from her ball-like sleeping position, sits up, stares at me and whines until I relent. Soon enough, we’re walking the quiet streets of our neighborhood, her nose leading the way, the rest of her pulling every which way on the leash.

I’d rather be sleeping in, but I wouldn’t trade these walks for anything. Each one is an opportunity to see the morning before everyone else, to hang out with a being who doesn’t speak my language, but who understands me more intuitively than some people who do.

We’ve had four years of her. I’m selfish for never wanting it to end.

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

Related:
Calli at 3, May 2020
Calli turns 1, May 2018

In the ideal world...

A vision in blue
London, ON
June 13, 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram


In the ideal world, we’d celebrate moms every day.

In the ideal world, we wouldn’t need a singularly Hallmarkian day filled with store-bought analogs of appreciation.

In the ideal world, everyone would still have a mom.

In the ideal world, every family would know what it’s like to have a mom like ours does.

Because while there may not be such a thing as an ideal world, ours is as close as you can get thanks to Debbie.

And this will be just as true tomorrow as it is today.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #mothersday #mom #moms #live #laugh #love #levy #parenthood #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagoof #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Saturday, May 08, 2021

Another orbital completion, unlocked

The colors of happiness
London, ON
January 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram


It's my birthday today. Or more precisely, the calendar tells me that I’ve completed another orbit around our nearest star.

Not that I had much to do with it. I just showed up at 8:08 a.m. in a Montreal hospital, cried a little bit (okay, a lot), probably randomly peed on someone, and then settled in for the journey of a lifetime.

And what a journey it’s been. I was blessed with the ability to create somethings from nothings. Then I was blessed with a wife who makes every day, orbitally significant or not, worthy of celebration. And we’ve been blessed with smart, kind, driven kids who any parent would be proud of, but we are especially so.

Lots of blessings in this family, and we realize how lucky we are to have been granted them. Because Planet Earth doesn't always distribute them evenly. Or at all.

I’ll skip over the COVID birthday narrative, because I don’t regret celebrating a second birthday under lockdown. This past year-and-a-bit has reminded us how precious time can be, and how hard we must hold on to time with our closest family members and friends.

The pandemic may have thrown wrenches to time and togetherness into our path, but it’s also reinforced why these - and they - matter so much in the first place. If we took these gifts for granted before, I’m certain we no longer do.

So today I’m reminded of how much I have - and why every day, whatever the calendar says, deserves to be cherished.

It’s a happy day, period. The very fact that we all got one is in itself a gift.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Friday, May 07, 2021

Look way up

Crossed paths
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Always reach for the sky.

You may never actually get there, but you’ll end up higher up than you would have otherwise been.

At least that’s the lesson I choose to take away from this single bloom on a single branch.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #blue #sky #aviation #flight #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thursday, May 06, 2021

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On phreaking

This story is an old one - first published way back in 1971 in Esquire - and it glimpses into a world that seemingly has no relevance to our current, digital age. 

It's about phone phreakers, and as quaint as that may sound, the folks who proudly identified as "phreaks" as they used their magic blue boxes to hijack global phone networks to their hearts' content are, in fact, fundamental to the evolution of modern hacker culture.

The tech world has traditionally done a fairly poor job of explaining its history, and of helping modern audiences understand the puzzle pieces that have led us to today. Consider this article on phreaking a rather important piece of a rather important puzzle.

Enjoy the read.

Secrets of the Little Blue Box
By Ron Rosenbaum
Esquire
October 1971

Tilly guards the expressway

Good dog in a dodgy place
Montreal, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram


This isn't just any dog mural. It's Tilly, and it's located on Decarie Boulevard in Montreal, overlooking the sunken expressway that brutally bisects this neighborhood in a way only a relic of 1960s-era car-centric civic planning can.

We came here for an unhappy reason. June 2019 - my father-in-law had passed away, and I was running errands with the kids, ordering food for the shiva house, trying to keep everyone focused on anything beyond what they had lost, and maybe crack a smile every once in a while.

A family acquaintance who I won't identify for obvious reasons had gotten into the habit of calling our dog, "Tilly". For the record, her name is, "Calli", but he couldn't seem to master it. What was funny was the way he said it. Absent-mindedly, as if he couldn't be bothered.

The kids, understandably, thought it was hilarious. And when we happened to come across this wonderful piece of public art on a building across the street from the Snowdon Deli, it was a given that a photo had to be taken.

This scene almost feels like Montreal to me, a timeworn streetscape that almost feels like a signature of this beaten-down city. Rough-hewn concrete notwithstanding, it nevertheless feels like a brightly lit micro-moment in the midst of so many dark ones, when our kids were given a chance to smile.

After all, we have to find those opportunities wherever they present themselves. Tilly would no doubt agree.

#montreal #quebec #canada #yul #throwback #urban #street #streetphotography #photography #decarie #boulevard #snowdon #deli #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Wednesday, May 05, 2021

Bursting with color

The things we find in store window displays
Boca Raton, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram


In the Before Times, we occasionally went to shopping malls for the heck of it and deliberately sought out new experiences, like spontaneous conversations with the guy selling artsy retro pastel-painted bicycles from a kiosk, or gawk sessions over the stunning artworks at a newly opened gallery.

The goal wasn't so much to consume, but to get out there, to disconnect from the day-to-day, and just immerse ourselves in the delightful variability of collective urban human life. Retail space as community centre was apparently a thing.

In the After Times, of course, this notion is terrifying. The operative goal now is to put as much distance between ourselves and strangers, to hunker down, alone or surrounded by immediate family and no one else. Isolate instead of connect.

Which makes me appreciate scenes like this, furtively captured during a particularly memorable outing with the fam, that much more.

It also makes me appreciate the fact that new experiences and pandemic life aren't mutually exclusive.

We may have to be a bit more creative in teasing them out. But they're out there. It's up to us to look harder for them.

#bocaraton #boca #florida #fla #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #towncenter #mall #retail #shopping #store #random #abstract #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tuesday, May 04, 2021

We're all interconnected

Intricately grown
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Spend enough time looking down at your feet - as I tend to do - and you’re bound to see a lot of things most other folks would miss.

Like tree roots. I already shared a roots shot recently, but I figure you can never get enough views of the forest floor.

There’s a lot going down there, so much, in fact, that you’ll never really manage to cover it all.

But, still, it’s fun to try.

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

Related:
Branching out, May 2021
Game of tones, May 2021

Monday, May 03, 2021

Hillside collaboration

Holding it together
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


A cluster of trees rises from the steep hillside, its members working closely together to survive, thrive, and hold the slope together.

If they can figure out that collaboration lies at the root of their life here, then so can we.

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

Sunday, May 02, 2021

It all started with greyscale

There's color in there if you look hard enough
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I’m on a bit of a monochrome kick this weekend, so thanks for humoring me.

I’m just old enough to remember shooting with film, where black and white photography involved loading up the right kind of film, then sticking it out till the roll was done.

These days, monochrome is just a couple of clicks away on one of my camera’s dials. Or I can even edit them back to monochrome after the fact. It’s easier, more convenient, less of an up-front commitment.

Which, if we’re being brutally honest, feels a little sad. I still remember the first time I checked out a 35mm pocket camera from the photo studio at summer camp, and was told I had two hours to finish the roll and return it.

As I walked alone on the dirt-and-gravel paths through the woods, my 12-year-old brain wrestled with the challenge of telling a story with a limited colour palette.

Fast forward to today, and I’m still figuring it out. Because trees need their story told more now than they ever have, and using various shades of grey is more often than not the ideal way to tell it.

At least that’s how it feels to me.

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

Related:
Branching out, May 2021
Game of tones, May 2021

Branching out

Textured
London, ON
April 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


This branch is old, ratty, and well past its prime. Come to think of it, so is the tree to which it's attached.

That's what makes it so much more interesting than anything else in the surrounding valley.

Because beauty is often aged and raw. And I'd rather look for it as it hides in the shadows than settle for the conventional stuff that usually sits in plain view.

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