On being your best self

"Only do what only you can do."

Edsger W. Dijkstra

Bright tree on a dark night

Ready for winter
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Even on the darkest night, you will find the light if you keep your eyes open long enough.

Or so that’s what I try to believe.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #winter #weather #wx #snow #random #street #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On the 737

Patrick Smith is a commercial airline pilot who also happens to be a tremendously gifted writer. I've followed him on his site, Ask the Pilot, for years, and recommend him to anyone with even a passing interest in aviation. If you're the kind of person who thinks airports are the neatest places on Planet Earth, you'll enjoy his work.

This piece is from 2019 - the Before Times, apparently - so it's been around a while. But I re-read it this week and thought it would be worth sharing here as part of our ongoing #IfYouReadOneThingToday series.

Long story short, he looks at the Boeing 737 MAX saga through a specifically historical lens, and explains the market-driven forces that ended up with Boeing deciding to stretch its venerable 737 just a little further rather than come up with a new clean-sheet design.

If you've been following the MAX story, this is a must-read. Then again, we should all read it, because it casts light on the factors behind what planes get developed, and how.

The Airplane That Isn't: Boeing bet the future on a 50 year-old design. Did it lose?

By Patrick Smith

Ask the Pilot

December 16, 2019

Chasing snow at night

Fresh tracks
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I wasn't much in the mood to shoot last night. If we're being honest, I haven't felt like shooting much lately, which is rather unlike me, and frankly a little terrifying.

Life, you know?

But something clicked in my head as the dog and I were wandering through the newly-snow-covered neighborhood. I thought about all my friends and family who, like me, record the planet around them in pixels. They've been out there shooting their neighborhoods, too: snowy ones, wet ones, grassy ones, whatever.

And I'm sure they, like me, have days where they just aren't feeling it. Where they feel a little darker than they'd like. Where it would be easier to just do nothing. To remain silent.

Yet somehow, they persist.They find the magic inside that helps them tell their stories to others.

Indeed, sometimes our inner voices go silent, which is all part of how we deal. Yet we still rely on those around us to fight that silence and get out there.

Consider me inspired, by them, to get out there. Last night, it looked like this.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #mental #health #ishealth #random #street #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

My Chanukah non-wish wish

The one where we look for light

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, the Jewish festival of light.

Forgive me for not posting the requisite happy holiday message on my socials. I get why this has become a thing in the social media era, but it’s not me. Random wishes on a feed feel, I don’t know, insubstantial. There’s got to be more.

So here’s where I stand on this holiday. It’s all about light. About miracles of survival when logic dictates you probably shouldn’t. About prevailing despite it all. About believing in the underdog. About not bowing down to oppression.

Whatever your background and whatever you do or do not celebrate, I’d like to believe that we all share these common values, and then some. I’d like to believe that we’d all feel something by shining light into places where darkness once prevailed. By being better people to each other.

So even if you don’t celebrate this particular holiday - or maybe you do, yet you spell it a different way - please accept my invitation to go beyond the realm of the conventional holiday wish by sharing what you will be doing to shine the light and banish the darkness.

Your mission, then, is to leave an answer to this simple question: what’s the one thing you’ll be doing to be better to others?

Please leave a comment here, if you’re so inclined. I’ll start: I’ll call out unkindness when I see it rather than standing idly by.

Your turn. Go!

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

You say tomato...

Tasty wonders of nature
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m noticing something about pandemic-era photography: you can be a lot stealthier when you’re wearing a mask.

Which makes it somewhat easier to shoot spontaneous pictures in places where spontaneous photography would normally not be the norm.

Like the veggie section of the local Farm Boy supermarket. Where, I’m guessing, fruitography isn’t something that’s generally welcomed by management.

Couple it with the natural below-the-radar nature of a smartphone - I could just as easily be checking my shopping list - and it’s an ideal scenario for capturing optical weirdness during an otherwise ordinary moment.

Maybe the pandemic has changed us all. Perhaps we look harder for moments of whimsy, where we can escape for a fleeting moment from the crushing feeling that the darkness won’t be letting up anytime soon. Maybe we just grab at the light wherever we can find it.

On this cold, grey November afternoon, I happened to find some in the tomato bin. As a bonus, they were on sale.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #farmboy #grocery #store #fruit #vegetables #tomatoes #red #texture #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Peachy, August 2021

It's a spaghetti squash extravaganza, August 2021

Strawberry fields forever, June 2021

Cabbagetown, May 2021

Orange pepper still life, May 2021

Bananas in the round, February 2021

This spud's for you, January 2021

A plethora of bananas, August 2020

Green onions: A different perspective, May 2020

Loblaws from above, May 2020

Where Andy Warhol comes grocery shopping with me, May 2020

Grocery Shopping 101 for the Pandemic, April 2020

Gone wild in the grocery store, March 2020

Step gingerly, August 2019

It's Spuds MacKenzie, August 2019

Fruitography in a strange place, March 2019

Please don't cry, May 2018

Orange you glad I didn't say banana? July 2017

Obscene fruitography? July 2007

Busted by the grocery police, December 2006

Cash money

Stuck in a box
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Waiting...

For what is anyone's guess.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #cashmoney #retail #random #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Empty store late at night

An icon rests
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Big box retail takes on a particularly mournful look at 11:28 p.m.

The giant concrete-and-brick anchor store looms over the parking lot, fluorescent light spilling across the empty pavement. The only sounds come from the four-lane roads that surround the mall, the white noise of late-night traffic filtering in from the distance.

With pandemic restrictions now largely lifted (for now, says Omicron), this lot will be full once again when this store reopens tomorrow. Online shopping may have taken hold when we were stuck at home, but people are social creatures, and they still want to get out and connect when given the opportunity.

I'll admit it still freaks me out, and it'll be a while before I'm comfortable being here when the lot is full, the doors are open, and the stores are at capacity.

So for now, I linger in an empty, darkened parking lot and try to imagine what it was like when coming here was so much simpler than it seems to be now.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #masonville #retail #store #hudsonsbay #thebay #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #brick #urban #monochrome #streetphotography #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Small dog. Fresh snow. Pure joy.

We don't have to go in just yet, do we?
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It snowed this morning.

We'd had a couple of sprinklings over the last few weeks, but this was the first winter-storm-warning, lake-effect-squall event of the year, and as you can imagine it resulted in some wakeup grumbling for some.

But not for this little one.

She bounced out of the house nose-first, and within seconds was snort-sniffing the funny white stuff, her rear end wiggling with barely contained glee.

It was hard not to smile as I watched her. Nothing else mattered in the moment as she eagerly jumped from one pristine part of the lawn to another, leaving delightfully messy paw prints in her wake.

I think I could learn a thing or two from this little ball of unspoiled energy. I think we all could.

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

Tiny flashes of red

Seasonal defiance
London, ON
November 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s something inspiring about the way color seems to hold on for as long as it can.

Even in late November, these tiny flashes of red seem to defiantly broadcast themselves long after everything around them has gone irrevocably grey and bare.

Forgive me for sounding more than a little weird, but here’s what I think this teaches us:

• Surprises lurk everywhere, anytime.
• We have to be willing to look harder to find them.
• We lead better lives by following our own path rather than blindly following the paths of others.
• Those who stand alone often stand out.
• It’s better to burn out than to fade away.

Musical misappropriation aside, I’ll keep looking for the tiny surprises in hard-to-find places. Whatever the color or whatever the message, we’re all a little richer of soul for having seen them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #tree #trees #red #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #texture #bokeh #gameoftones #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

On stupidity and patriotism

"When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent."

Isaac Asimov

Kindness rocks, always

Only one reader matters
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I came across this very special rock, carefully laid out among a similarly special row of rocks that stretched along this trail beside the river, each of which carried a special message, intended for someone who mattered.

I don't know who Uncle Taylor is, but I wish I did.

I don't know how long this rock has been here. Or how Uncle Taylor is doing.

I pray he's heeded the message, that he knows, to the depths of his soul, that he is worthy, wanted, and wonderful.

I pray that he's still hanging on, that he knows how much he's loved.

I pray we all do the same.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #stmarys #river #rock #kindnessrocks #purple #sign #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #instagood #photooftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Bumping into a gull by the highway

Minding his own business
Sault Sainte Marie, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Trans-Canada Highway passes right through town.

And sometimes if you stand in just the right place at just the right time, you'll come across a random pedestrian listening to music just before he has an equally random encounter with a gull.

Life is random that way, hence the need to stand on more street corners more often so we can take it all in.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #traffic #pedestrian #random #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

On majority rule and being right

"A lie doesn’t become truth,

wrong doesn’t become right,

and evil doesn’t become good,

just because it’s accepted by a majority."

Booker T. Washington

 

Apple juice + light

148 million kilometres later...
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Rule #618 for a life well lived: Always play with the light at the breakfast table.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #breakfast #table #spontaneous #juice #glass #sun #light #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Fire

I'm an ardent fan of long form journalism, as I believe the form can educate, inform, and move readers in ways that more timely pieces simply can't.

I grew up reading magazine articles, long, detailed features that took ages to work through and stuck with you long after you had moved onto something else.

Some of the best writers of our time are feature writers, and this particular piece from over two decades ago stands out as a particularly memorable example of the genre, a searing reminder of the simple power of a human story.

I occasionally share these pieces under the #IfYouReadOneThingToday banner. And while I can't say I want you to enjoy this particularly tragic read, I do hope it moves you as it moved me.

The Perfect Fire

It started with a candle in an abandoned warehouse. It ended with temperatures above 3,000 degrees and the men of the Worcester Fire Department in a fight for their lives.

By Sean Flynn

July 1, 2000

Esquire

An almost-monochrome throwback

Life, muted
London, ON
November 20, 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every once in a while, I’ll dig into the photo archives and get lost in there for a while.

It’s a lovely way to reconnect with the past, and maybe pick up a bit of strength to handle the present and future, too.

This one’s from exactly ten years ago. Clearly my love of naturally occurring monochrome-ish scenes goes way back. I wonder why that is…

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #tree #trees #bulrush #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #texture #gameoftones #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Red on grey

Contrasting
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sometimes we have color, and sometimes we don’t.

It is as true in the woods as it is in life.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #red #maple #color #colors #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Stella reflects under the trees

Life, inverted
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sometimes you walk past the car in the driveway and something catches your eye.

Life’s like that, I guess, random little moments of reflection that present themselves to us - but only if our eyes are wide open to begin with, ready to be inspired.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stella #red #car #reflection #trees #sky #weather #wx #carporn #automotive #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

A dog's nose always knows

Her favorite spot
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

That nose...

Like a Hershey's Kiss.

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

The things that get in the way

We all need power
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
October 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Is it just me, or is the universe constantly throwing obstacles in our path?

Like here: the power lines that presented themselves right between where I was and what I wanted to shoot.

I was standing just inside a third-floor window at the time, so moving around to shift them out-of-frame wasn't an option. Neither was heroic PhotoShopping to remove them from the final shot.

It's something I wrestle with, especially as tools like PhotoShop and Lightroom become so powerful that replacing the sky with something more dramatic is little more than a couple of clicks away.

But here's the thing: that's not photography. Or maybe it is, but it isn't MY kind of photography.

I'm fine with lightly processing something to enhance or highlight it in a certain way, to help tell the story better than had it been left in its original form. But at some point we risk crossing lines where the end result is no longer a faithful reflection of the story of that moment.

If I'm replacing the sky entirely with a digital version, it may make for a lovelier image, but a less-than-faithful story of what I felt as I was taking it.

Of course, this is just me. If you're into removing power lines because you hate them, or whatever, then more power to you. We all follow our own paths, and no one's route is more or less correct than anyone else's.

Which is my long-winded way of explaining why you're staring at wires in addition to the sun-painted landscape. Because I want you to see what I was seeing. And feeling.

The story wouldn't be truly mine if I told it any other way.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #landscape #landscapephotography #sunset #clouds #weather #wx #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Fuck cancer, from afar

Today was a good day
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I spotted this gentleman wrapping up a day of shooting at last year's London airshow.

He was a couple of rows away from where I stood, but thanks to a long lens, I was able to grab the moment before I, too, tucked my Nikon back in its case and headed for home.

Whoever this stranger is, I admire him immensely for wearing his story so clearly on the rear window of his car. I wish him and his family only good health, and wish my wishes could actually do him, and others, some good.

Fuck cancer, indeed.

#nikonskydrive @airshowlondon @nikoncanada #ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #SkyDrive #AirShowLondon #aviation #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins

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A Raptor creates its own weather, September 2020

Shooting a Diamond in the sky, September 2020

Stealth jet in a blue sky, September 2020

And now the bottom half, September 2020

Wheels up! September 2020

Follow the mama plane, September 2020

Thunderbirds are go, September 2020

Master the globe. Master the skies. October 2020

Memories of B-52s and parking lots, October 2020

A Lightning makes some vapor, November 2020

Thanks, Chuck Yeager, December 2020

The tip of the spear, December 2020

On the season of laughter

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

Victor Hugo

 

Fish. Stacked.

More than enough protein
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram
 

Shades of Andy Warhol…

And quite possibly the basis of a healthy mid-afternoon snack.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #farmboy #supermarket #grocery #store #tuna #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Where we stare at buildings in the distance

Windows 23
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Balconville in the sky.

#ldnont #london #sunningdale #ontario #canada #architecture #design #architecturephotography #geometry #building #street #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Do not go gentle...

Hard against a smudged sky
London, ON
April 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dylan Thomas got it right:

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

I shot this image as the wind-smudged April sky faded into darkness, the naked tree in the foreground standing patiently, waiting for the first signs of its springtime rebirth.

It struck me as a reasonable analog of the circle of life.

Because everything has its own cycle, even if those cycles never quite line up the way we’d like.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #sunset #dusk #sky #clouds #light #tree #poetry #poem #abstract #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

"Do not go gentle into that good night" on poets.org

Dylan Thomas, Wikipedia entry

On messing up

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

George Bernard Shaw

A hometown hockey hero

Vision in brick
Parry Sound, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On the southeast corner of Isabella and Church streets, in Parry Sound, Ontario, someone painted a mural on a brick wall outside a Circle K convenience store. A propane cage blocks part of it just to the right of this frame.

In many ways, this piece of public art tells a story that is central to the history of this cottage country town of 6,500 or so. Bobby Orr was one of the greatest hockey players of his generation, and he remains one of Parry Sound's proudest sons, the kind of superstar who forever casts a golden glow on the place he came from.

So small is this town that its entire population would fill precisely one-third of the seats in TD Garden, the current home of the Boston Bruins. I'm not sure why this occurs to me now, but there it is.

Numbers aside, I smile as we come across this ode to a local hero who did good, staring at us as we park our car at the Dairy Queen across the street, a welcome break in the middle of a long day on the road.

Parry Sound High School sits to the northeast, and I imagine this mural has imprinted itself on countless students who are either hockey players themselves, or who find some way to connect themselves to the hockey culture that winds its way through so many towns across this country.

Whoever walks past here, they're all fans. And they're all connected in some way to this humble, generous man who made his community proud.

#parrysound #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #circlek #retail #store #bobbyorr #hockey #mural #public #art #random #small #town #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #instagood #photooftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

The mural around the corner, October 2021

The mural beside the tracks, September 2021

Tilly guards the expressway, May 2021

Graffiti? Art? Both? None? February 2021

A chef sings in an alley, January 2020

Artistic genius on a shadowy brick wall, October 2019

The colors we find in the most unexpected places, August 2019

Not-so-little green men, April 2019

Venturing into a dark alley, December 2018

8-bit art in a downtown alley, August 2018

Lost in the concrete, September 2013

Window on a crumbling landscape, November 2012

A vision on concrete block, January 2007

Red zoom zoom under the harsh lights

Light me up
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Mazda CX-3 in a big box store parking lot, just after the wet snow begins to fly.

The harsh LED floodlights and indifferently stupid - or is it stupidly indifferent? I never really know - smartphone-reading drivers make this a challenging place for an impromptu photo shoot.

But something about the scene catches my eye as we finish loading up our own vehicle in the adjacent parking spot. So I grab my smartphone and compose quickly before anyone notices what I'm up to.

Sometimes I'll wonder why I do this, but tonight I stop myself. Not everything needs a fully understood reason, after all. An artful sliver of design in a place not normally known for it is more than enough justification.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #mazda #cx3 #red #car #carporn #automotive #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Staring a blue Mini in the face, November 2021

#OldParkedCars, diesel edition, June 2021

It's a Jeep thing, May 2021

It's another Jeep thing, May 2021

Yet another Jeep thing - in purple, May 2021

A TR7 decays in silence, May 2021

Every boy's dream, July 2011

A dog frolics in the wet leaves

One last flash of color
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The snow has just started to fall, and for now is barely sticking to the blades of grass.

None of this matters to the dog, who tears into the soaked lawn like a kid who’s just gotten out of school for the summer. Calli knows nothing about weather warnings or climate change, or the fact that winter is moving in before autumn has had a chance to fully move out.

All that matters to her is this moment, a happy one amid so many others in the charmed life of a wiggling schnu*.

So while she frolics in a soaked pile of leaves just out of frame, I find a single patch of remaining red and try to remember what it’s like to be out here, now.

Because before long, all this will look entirely different. And we’ll be well on our way to making new memories based on whatever happens to be going on in the mind of a schnu.

* Calli is a Miniature Schnauzer, and I’ve taken to calling her either “a schnu” or simply, “schnu” as a bit of a nickname. She seems to like it, so it sticks.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tree #trees #red #leaf #leaves #autumn #color #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

CN Tower EdgeWalk from (way) above

Whatever you do, don't look down
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Perspective can be a fascinating thing to play with.

Look up at what is likely Canada's most iconic structure, the CN Tower, and it's obvious what is.

But look down?

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #cntower #edgewalk #perspective #photography #urban #street #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins

A streetcar named...Harbourfront?

Modes of transportation...
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When Planet Earth becomes more like a confusing snowglobe, I often scroll through my photo archives in search of comfort.

In this series, I stared down down at Canada’s largest city from Canada’s tallest tree-standing structure. And what I saw way down there made me smile.

I hope it makes you smile, too.

[More to come…]

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #cntower #photography #urban #street #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins

Sharpshooting from on high - a series

Everyone obeying the rules. Hopefully.
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Life at the crossroads…from way up in the sky.

[More to come...]

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

Big box against a brilliant blue sky

Squared up
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sky was a particularly vibrant shade of blue as I wandered in between the big box stores dotting the power centre parking lot and waited for my brain to go ding.

It's not as if the architecture - let's call it early-21st-century-cheap-commercial - was particularly photo-worthy.

Which is largely why I enjoy being here so much. Because shooting something resonant when the architecture is magazine-worthy is easy. The upper northeast corner of the back of the Baskin-Robbins, however, is a little harder to tease out.

Which is entirely why I'd rather be right here, looking up, finding the wonder that no one else can - or wants to - see.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hydepark #retail #store #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #blue #sky #weather #wx #streetphotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Fading retail against a blue sky, November 2020

Under a brilliant blue sky, September 2019

Stark brick against a brilliant sky, August 2019

Thematic Photographic 262, Large structures, September 2013

Up, up and away, July 2010

Overhang, January 2007

Look up, way up, April 2006

Remembrance Day? Remembrance Every Day.

We remember
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Seems like an appropriate sentiment for more than a single day per year.

Because literally every day we have is owed to them.

#RemembranceDay #CanadaRemembers #LdnONT

At least we found some color

Look a little harder
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The autumn color season wasn’t a complete washout.

While the landscape wasn’t (figuratively) on fire as it has been in years past, there was color to be had.

We just had to look for it a little harder. Maybe walk a little further than we might have otherwise. Or change our perceptions around what constituted color. Or joy through glass.

Which, on reflection, makes it one of the more successful autumns in recent memory.

Because the journey matters far more than the destination, especially when we get to cover new, unexpected ground.

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

Related:

Stripped branches, November 2021

First look at a tiny bridge in the woods, November 2021

Second look - the meta shot, November 2021

Third and final look - in monochrome, November 2021

Ancient tree on a foggy riverbank, November 2021

Holding on for dear life, November 2021

Stripped tree, blue sky, November 2021

Rays of light deep in the river valley, November 2021

Where I get lost in the forest, October 2021

When leaves end, October 2021

Deep in the wide angle woods, October 2021

A river runs around me, October 2021

Trees from Venus, October 2021

Not as scary as it seems, October 2021

Staring a blue Mini in the face

Engineering comes to life
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Is it just me, or do some cars feel more anthropomorphic than others?

The Mini Cooper has always had a bit of a Lightning McQueen, more-than-just-a-car vibe to it, and coming across this lovely blue Cooper S convertible in a sun-washed parking lot only seemed to reinforce it in my mind.

Or maybe I’m just trying to explain away why I take random pictures of cars when I’m out and about. Whatever it takes to entertain ourselves, right?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #mini #cooper #convertible #blue #car #carporn #automotive #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

#OldParkedCars, diesel edition, June 2021

It's a Jeep thing, May 2021

It's another Jeep thing, May 2021

Yet another Jeep thing - in purple, May 2021

A TR7 decays in silence, May 2021

Every boy's dream, July 2011

Stripped branches

Ready for winter
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Nature puts itself on hold.

For a little while, anyway.

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

Sunset from a mall parking lot

The descent into Calamity Corners
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: Sunday at 5:11 p.m. in a shopping mall parking lot, where I'm waiting for our youngest son to finish work. It's right around sunset, so I scan the sky for anything of interest.

I'm challenged on a number of fronts:

1. It's an active, busy parking lot filled with #ldnont drivers who, on a good day, treat pedestrians, cyclists, and anything else not encased in two tons of mechanized armor as nearly invisible inconveniences.
2. I have no clear shot to the horizon, as the mall itself blocks most of my westward sightlines, while the road itself rises to the west.
3. Whatever little sky I have to work with is filled with what you see here: enough power infrastructure to run a city.

But in photography as in life, you can't choose your playground, and you have no choice but to make do with what you've been given.

So I make do. I'm rather certain the folks waiting for the bus think I'm cataloging a crime scene. One driver gives me a thumbs-up and a smile for reasons that aren't clear to me - but I guess are better than the alternative.

The photo I ultimately capture - long-lens perspective through the wires, almost straight down the twisting, rising spine of Fanshawe Park Road West - is hardly a conventional sunset scene. But conventional isn't necessarily my jam, anyway, so this will have to suffice for now.

Soon enough, no-longer-little-man texts me that he's done, so I pack up my little psychotic photographic road show and head back to the car, another in-between moment now complete amid a life seemingly full of them.

#london #ontario #canada @cfmasonville #cfmasonville #sun #sunset #sky #silhouette #mall #roadside #traffic #silhouette #landscape #landscapephotography #random #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Cinnamon-raisin toast in the sun

Energy in many forms
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Breakfast was especially sunny today, so I thought I should remember it in some tangible - yet ultimately trivial - way.

Alas, no still-life photo will ever come close to capturing what the kitchen smells like when you toast cinnamon-raisin bread.

So you’ll just have to imagine it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #breakfast #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #random #kitchen #table #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Should Blackfriars Bridge be open to cars?

Ground Zero for a long-overdue debate
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is Blackfriars Bridge. I’ve crossed it, photographed it, and written about it countless times over the years. It is a #LdnONT icon, and an indelible and historic foundation of our community.

Today is its final day as a car-free structure, as the city has decided in its infinite whatever-passes-for-wisdom to reopen it to cars as of tomorrow.

There is a petition to stop this idiocy. I have signed it, and I hope you will, too. Just follow the link in my profile back to my blog.

I hope our elected officials come to appreciate the need for civic infrastructure that allows pedestrians and cyclists to move around the city without worrying about being mowed down. But I am not hopeful.

Two cyclists have died in separate accidents in our region over the past three weeks, one hit by teens in a stolen car, the other in a hit-and-run. I’ve often ridden those very same roads, and years ago I was hit by a car while cycling, as well. I was lucky to have walked away.

Again and again, these stories play out, yet nothing changes. And politicians continue to ignore the need to stop the carnage. Because, you know, they all drive cars, not bikes, and to them, the equation always comes back to how many minutes can be saved on the commute.

What this does to the very fabric of the city - namely turn it into a car-dominated kill-zone - is entirely lost on them.

Tomorrow, cars will once again take over this historic structure that was built decades before cars were even a thing. They don’t belong here. The tone-deafness of this move astounds me. Sickens me, even.

A year from now, London holds its next municipal election. Moments like this make me realize something needs to change, and it’s time to elect new leaders with different priorities.

#london #ontario #canada #blackfriars #bridge #green #history #tvp #thames #river #walkabout #cycling #life #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Blackfriars at the end of the day, September 2021

The feathered admirers of Blackfriars, May 2021

Back to Blackfriars, April 2021

Blackfriars - one last time, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 260 - Treasured, September 2013

Third and final look - in monochrome

When you shift your perspective...
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’ll close out this series with some monochrome love. Was it as much fun for you as it was for me?

3/3

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #wood #bridge #tree #trees #leaf #leaves #autumn #thames #river #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

First look at a tiny bridge in the woods, November 2021

Second look - the meta shot, November 2021

Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Meta cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Second look - the meta shot

Picture within a picture
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have this funny habit, so please don’t laugh at me for sharing it. Here it is:

Whenever I take the camera-camera out for some optical playtime, I make a point of taking placeholder photos here and there with my iPhone, as well.

I’m under no illusion: the Nikon will outshoot the iPhone with ease. But it isn’t about quality or one camera beating another. I don’t like to talk much about equipment, anyway. Cameras don’t take pictures: people do.

Even so, the phone has some things my camera doesn’t. Like internet connectivity. And geolocation. And social media apps that let me share an early glimpse from pretty much anywhere. And a wickedly chunky Otterbox case that lets it survive my ineptitude.

I’ll take test shots on the phone, then set them up in the DSLR. Or I’ll do something fun with the camera-camera, then shoot a meta-type photo like this one. Because I want to remember the place and the process as much as I want to remember the photo. Maybe even more.

Like I said, it’s a funny habit, one among many I’ve picked up on this strange march I’ve been on, one that follows a very unconventional drummer.

If it means more tiny, memorable moments like this one, then I’m perfectly fine with that.

2/3 - more to come…

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #wood #bridge #tree #trees #leaf #leaves #autumn #thames #river #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #meta #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

First look at a tiny bridge in the woods

Tread carefully
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On every journey, we’ll come across tiny helpers like this, left behind by kind strangers who simply wanted those who would come here in their wake to do so safely.

So I say a quiet thanks as I step cross the well-worn planks laid carefully over the boggy ground.

1/3 - more to come…

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #wood #bridge #path #tree #trees #leaf #leaves #autumn #thames #river #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Looking back at an autumn scene

Shul grounds at night
London, ON
November 5, 2015
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Exactly 6 years ago tonight, I shot this scene with a BlackBerry.

That is all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #tree #trees #green #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #blackberry #passport #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

More fast water...

Soft and strong
London, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If one photo of dreamily rushing monochrome waters is worth sharing, then let's go for two.

More than the photo, though, is the memory of what it took to get this series of shots in the first place:

I leaned against a steeply banked tree right at the edge of the fast-moving river.

Then I checked my stance at least seven times to ensure I wasn't about to fall into said river.

I found my inner way-loosened-up-Zen to ensure I was holding the camera still enough for the electronic image stabilization to do its thing. It felt delightful.

I composed different parts of the water and imagined what they'd look like after between 0.25 and 0.5 second long exposures. It's harder than it sounds.

I gently squeezed off more images than I dare admit. Just in case, you know.

In the end, long-ish exposures without a tripod aren't exactly the stuff of photographic dreams.

But this experience wasn't so much about the pictures as it was about the process, and how it felt to be at one with the rushing waters, hoping to tell their story in a way I'd never managed to pull off before.

#ldnont #ExploreLdnOnt #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #thames #river #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #water #abstract #longexposure #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Fast water, slow shutter, October 2021

Playing with light, water, and time, May 2020

Thematic Photographic 20 - Blur, October 2008