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AND THE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER BEGINS!
15 hours ago
Friday, December 31, 2021
Cinderella's house gets lit
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| It sure looked different back then Orlando, FL December 31, 2019 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
But as 2021 fades into 2022, I’d be remiss if I ignored it completely. Because we’re living through an extraordinary moment in history, and it can’t hurt to put a stamp on our second such celebration under the shadow of an invisible-to-the-naked-eye virus.
What you see here is the fireworks show at Disney’s Magic Kingdom just before we rang in 2020.
What you can’t see is the scene on the ground, with crowds packed so tightly that I literally had strangers standing in my face, and I could barely move my feet on the ground lest I step on theirs.
We had been hearing stories about something called coronavirus coming out of China, but like so many headlines of any given day, we had no clue it would ultimately become a generation-defining global event.
Still, I tossed the headlines around my head as I stood still enough to maintain my personal space amid the tightest crowd I had ever been a part of. And despite the insanity, our little family made indelible memories that night.
Two years later, this photo, along with the moment it represents, seems as if it came from another lifetime. And returning to the so-called way it was seems like such a hopelessly quaint notion.
And so we won’t.
As we prepare for 2022, we don’t know any more about what tomorrow might offer than when we were preparing for 2020, or 2021, or any other arbitrarily defined milestone.
Every day is a mystery. Whatever that calendar says, we’re blessed to have it at all.
Maybe that’s the so-called resolution we all need. Just be thankful.
I know I am.
#orlando #florida #fla #canada #throwback #newyearseve #road #trip #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #magickingdom #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #fireworks #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
Betty White dies
I don’t normally comment on celebrity passings, but Betty White was special.
May we all learn from her example.
May her memory be a blessing to everyone who was inspired by her.
Related:
Playing in an icy gutter
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| Tiny. Temporary. London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
As a child, I played in gutters and other unmentionable places of hidden wonder. I don’t seem to have changed much in adulthood.
This tiny frozen world formed at the end of our driveway, and the dog and I discovered it as we set off on our first walk of the day.
I’m learning to look for joy wherever it presents itself. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, you’re probably not following me.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Thursday, December 30, 2021
French (feathered) flag
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| Celebrate Sault Ste. Marie, ON October 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Seriously, I'm reasonably certain the unnamed and invisible retail employee who set up the feather boa display wasn't harboring subconscious thoughts about the French flag.
But there was something about the sequencing here that made me linger over the feathers.
I don’t know why. I’ve learned to stop asking.
#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #retail #store #michaels #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #instagood #photooftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
The third of three trees
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| Singular London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Cold, windy, grey, with a flat light that reminded me of Soviet-era street scenes where everyone’s huddled against the seen and the unseen and no one cracks a smile.
I probably should have headed home as soon as I started to lose feeling in my fingertips five minutes after first setting out. The ideas just weren’t percolating in my head, and Planet Earth wasn’t cooperating.
But something told me to keep at it, to wander further and keep looking. For what I had no idea. But this is the pandemic…what else is there to do?
This photo is the third of three trees I came across on this initially ill starred walk. The more time I spent here, the more I saw, the more reasons I had to stay out.
Perhaps I’ve been looking at it all wrong. Maybe the cold, windy, grey days are the ones that offer up the most. Maybe they encourage us to look at things a little differently. Maybe the results feel better when we have to struggle a bit more in the process.
Or maybe we should just shoot the damn trees whenever we can carve out the time to do so.
Because they may not look like this the next time we’re here.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #walkabout #forest #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
Shutter therapy among the craggy trees, December 2021
Struck by lightning? December 2021
One tree among many, February 2021
We found Scooby-Doo's tree, December 2020
An unforgettable day in a bitterly cold park, December 2013
One bright tree in the middle of the afternoon, December 2012
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
White wisps on blue
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| Ever changing London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Whoever it was, good job.
And thanks.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #weather #wx #blue #sky #clouds #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Struck by lightning?
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| All that's left London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #walkabout #forest #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Monday, December 27, 2021
Finding joy in a storm
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| Snowdog London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
The photographic evidence suggests they do.
Well, ours does, at least.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Shutter therapy among the craggy trees
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| It stands alone London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
This craggy old tree interested me, just one of countless craggy trees in an impossibly peaceful forest.
Yet something made it stand out enough for me to keep coming back to it until I took this shot. The final one of the day. The one that made me happy.
Funny how that works. Therapeutic indeed.
What should I shoot during my next round of shutter therapy? It won’t be long before I’ll need another round of it.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #walkabout #forest #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Water always wins
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| Infinite patience Las Vegas, NV November 2018 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Like this one, which reinforces my airplane-window observation that the greatest beauty can often be found in the most desolate of landscapes.
For what it’s worth, water always wins the geologic tug-of-war. All it needs is time.
#PandemicPics #las #vegas #lasvegas #throwback #roadtrip #air #flight #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #nevada #desert #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #aircanada @aircanada #flying #aviation #avgeek #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
The ice beneath the dog's paws
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| Nature's been busy again London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
The dog does this, too, but I'm sure she's just following her nose. When you've got four legs and the bulk of your 15 pounds is distributed right around where the average person's ankles would be, winter is a lot less frightening.
It's given me a new appreciation for what's going on literally right beneath us. Like this icy patch in the grass. It looked, I don't know, different. And the dog seemed to enjoy walking on it, her paws leaving tiny radial cracks in the brittle surface.
It was a scene, and a moment, that begged to be remembered. Who was I to say no?
We often think winter is a monolithic landscape, a blanket that starts out white before slowly devolving into a slushy, dirty mess.
We might want to take a second look. Or a third.
Because winter isn't monolithic. Nothing is. Nobody is, either.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Saturday, December 25, 2021
The Christmas Day walk
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| Me and my leading ladies London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Facebook |
Because no matter what your background or what you celebrate, spending time with the folks who matter most is what it's really supposed to be about.
A foggily imperfect morning in the woods
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| The seasons march on... London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
But perfect all the same.
Humans are funny like that. We wind ourselves into a lather about narrowly cast definitions of perfection, moments and places and experiences that have to look, feel, and play out according to a rigidly specific script.
And if they fail to meet the bar, then they’re somehow not worthy. Failures, even.
Forgive me for my contrarian nature, but I find that notion laughable.
Life is just too random, chaotic, and vast to be boiled down into unchanging pigeonholes of expectation. Experiences that matter to one person don’t necessarily matter to all. Limiting ourselves to one specific set of parameters, outside of which nothing is worthy, feels all sorts of wrong.
We’re all unique. Why aren’t we embracing the possibilities?
So when a warm, rainy night washed away the prototype for a picture-perfect Christmas morning, I looked for joy in other places, in other ways.
And I found some here in the woods, transformed as they were, temporarily, by a sudden late-December bloom of water, color, and perfectly diffused, muted light.
Maybe you’ll see what I saw, and maybe you won’t. It almost doesn’t matter. What does matter, however, is whether or not you, too, will ignore the limitations imposed by others as you seek your own joy.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
The James Webb Space Telescope takes flight
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| Witnessing history London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
#JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #JWSTlaunch #Ariane5 #astronomy #space #time #magic
Friday, December 24, 2021
Londoners for a quarter century
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| Where it all began London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
It was a bitterly cold day in the wake of a major winter storm that had followed us in from the moment we first left Montreal.
And I remember pulling into the snow-covered driveway, staring out at our new home and and hoping we’d somehow figure out a way to fill in the emptiness.
Time has been good to us. Zach grew and thrived. We welcomed Dahlia, then Noah, and somehow our definition of home eventually shifted 730 kilometres west of where it once had been.
I stood in the driveway earlier today, thinking about the journey that had brought us here, about all the other journeys we’ve since taken, from this unassuming driveway in an unassuming corner of the planet.
Our corner.
And while it might have taken some time for us to make it ours, I can’t imagine being anywhere else, and I’m thankful to have been on this journey, surrounded by these remarkable people I get to call my own.
They say you should never move on Christmas Eve, and the next time we pull into a new-to-us driveway, it’ll be any other day but this one.
But for now, I’m perfectly content to reflect on what it took to get us here, and what it took for us to turn what was once a strange, lonely place into the only place we want to be.
May all of our journeys be so charmed.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stella #red #car #carporn #automotive #tire #tread #driveway #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
The turnaround selfie
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| So when do I get a treat, Dad? London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
It could be a walk through the neighborhood or a drive or flight far from home. Whatever form the trip may take, we snap a random picture at the turnaround point.
It’s a tiny gesture, really, an easy means of saying we were here. Of drawing a virtual line in the virtual sand. Of marking it for next time, when maybe we’ll go a little further, stay out a little longer.
We’ll often send these random pictures home, another way of letting the folks who matter most know that we’re ok. That we’ll be home soon.
From the look on Calli the Wonderschnauzer’s face, it’a a tradition she can clearly live without.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Thursday, December 23, 2021
When geese fly south for the winter
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| Partnership London, ON October 2017 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Now, on with the show...
You usually hear them before you see them.
Mournful honking coming from somewhere, but it takes a few seconds to figure out precisely where they are in the sky.
They work together to cut the wind, maximize the draft, help each other out.
That honking? Nowhere near random. Rather, a perfect communication system that we puny landlocked humans don't deserve to understand.
Soon enough, the sight, sound, and spectacle fade.
Where are they headed? Only they know. Like their language, we don't deserve to know that, either.
Humbling, isn't it?
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #geese #throwback #bird #birds #flight #sun #sunlight #goldenhour #thames #river #springbank #park #shadow #nature #naturephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
Pretty pandemic picture #1: a Rhino lifts off, December 2022
The vaccination clusterf--k, December 2022
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
The vaccination clusterf--k
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| Hurry up and wait (for the jab) London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
This was the scene in a bitterly cold shopping mall parking lot early this morning as we joined the fray.
We're the lucky ones: we have the means to both own and use the technology - smartphones, apps, mobile data plans, etc. - that so many others do not. We have a car to get us to whatever location has whatever availability, even if it's a few counties away. We have the resources to be in the middle of a shopping mall parking lot long before anyone really ought to.
What about those who don't have access to these resources but still want to protect themselves and help end this global mess? Not a whole lot of talk about them. Sure, they can call the toll-free lines and sit on the endless hold, only to be told there are no more appointments. Or randomly skip from one pop-up clinic to another. Because I'm sure they so look forward to waiting futilely for help that will probably never come.
As I stood in the windswept darkness this morning, I mused about the elected leader of our province, Premier Doug Ford, who as Omicron cases multiplied, slipped out in secret to his cottage. This is a theme with him, that he disappears whenever things get hot.
And for some reason it's getting zero media play. Imagine that.
I'm sure Mr. Ford has minions who book his vaccine appointments. I'm sure he has little interest in a few hundred Ontarians huddled in the predawn cold. Or the countless others wondering why it's so difficult to protect themselves, and why we haven't learned the lessons of previous vaccine rollouts.
The dichotomy is shameful. The lack of outrage is similarly frustrating. We can do better. Why we aren't is inexcusable.
I do hope you're having a great vacation, Mr. Ford. I also hope one of your candidates shows up at my door before next year's election, because I'll have lots of questions.
#PandemicPics #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #masonville #shopping #mall #retail #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Pretty pandemic picture #1: a Rhino lifts off
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| Watch what I can do London, ON August 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Thanks to Omicron, the pandemic now rages hotter than it ever has. Governments at all levels are failing to roll out vaccine doses in sufficient numbers, leaving citizens to scramble for appointments weeks and even months from now. That is, assuming they even have the means to scramble in the first place.
Chaos is the order of the day. So I’m going to try something a little different in my feed: pretty photos.
Maybe they’ll be of our dog. Or of a particularly fetching tree. Or of a building. Or of clouds. Or, as is the case here, of an airplane. A really wicked airplane.
It doesn’t really matter what the subject might be. If it makes me smile, or feel better, or think a little, then I’m hoping it’ll have a similar effect on you.
Trivial? Immensely. Necessary? Absolutely. Am I kidding? I’ve never been more serious.
So today we’re looking at Blue Angel 6 lifting off, tucking in the gear, keeping the nose down, and letting its afterburners do their physics thing. It’s really quite the thing to watch.
Tomorrow? I don’t know yet, but I promise it’ll be fun. Maybe more airplanes. Whatever.
You in?
#nikonskydrive @airshowlondon @nikoncanada #ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #SkyDrive #AirShowLondon #aviation #usnavy #blueangels #boeing #mcdonnelldouglas #fa18 #superhornet #fighter #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins
Related:
A Hornet burns a hole in the sky, August 2021
Raptor. Burner. Vapor. June 2021
Wheels up! September 2020
Follow the mama plane, September 2020
1 Mig, dead ahead, September 2017
When a Rhino makes its own vapor, September 2017
Shooting an Eagle, September 2017
Red and white in a perfectly blue sky, September 2017
Hornet's nest, July 2009
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
On facts and truth
"There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth."
Darkest day. Brighter future.
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| Dawn Deerfield Beach, FL December 30, 2008 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
As with anything in life, it’s up to us to look at it through the right lens. We can choose to view it as the darkest of all days in the Northern Hemisphere, the arrival of winter, when the sun rises later and sets earlier than any other.
Or we can see it as merely the first of six months of ever greater amounts of light.
Totally up to us.
I took this photo almost 13 years ago to the day, from a beach in southern Florida. I remember the morning like it was yesterday. Because not only did I get to dig my feet into the sand and watch the sun rise alongside my wife, but this was also the morning we met Darwin the Dolphin.
Maybe “met” is a bit of a stretch. More like “watched him swim in the distance.” And maybe it was a her, as I’m admittedly not very good at dolphin spotting.
But the point is that the day, then as now, was a short one. Where the night lasted far longer than the day. Yet we still found enough light at the edge of the continent to be wowed. And to see a dolphin.
Because magic happens on any day. Even the so-called dark ones.
Happy solstice. May we all find our light. Today and every day.
#deerfield #beach #deerfieldbeach #throwback #florida #fla #atlantic #ocean #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #sunrise #waves #water #landscape #landscapephotography #naturephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
Related:
A new day dawns, January 2021
Someone's selling seashells by the seashore, August 2020
Not every day merits a postcard, April 2020
Small boat. Huge ocean. Orange Sky. February 2020
Watching the waves roll in, February 2020
You're shooting the wrong way, moron, January 2020
Staring down at the pounding surf, January 2020
Waiting for the light, January 2020
Pounding surf on a windy day, January 2018
The end of the big blue ocean, June 2012
Where waves go to die, June 2012
Welcoming the new day, January 2009
Wordless Wednesday - Meet Darwin, January 2009
Waves and transitions, January 2007
A stranger's sojourn by the sea, January 2007
Monday, December 20, 2021
Tim Hortons sucks (the donut)
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| Not so special after all London, ON July 2020 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Recently, national coffee shop chain Tim Hortons quietly reclassified its chocolate dip and Boston Creme donuts. They went from being regular donuts - which they had been since the beginning of time - to specialty donuts, which means they now cost more because they're somehow fancier.
Unlike the hugely hyped, limited-edition Justin Bieber Timbits (seriously, TimBiebs are a thing, and we should all be ashamed), this change didn't benefit from a national marketing campaign. I noticed the little signs in the display case and thought it odd.
To some, Tim's, is as as iconically Canadian as Mounties, beavers, and maple syrup. I don't see the appeal, but to each their own.
Still, the cynic in me sees this as a bit of a cash grab at a time when we all need less cynicism, not more.
And the Tim’s brand - owned by Restaurant Brands International, a controversial global food services giant - has been on the decline in recent years amid a never-ending litany of controversies.
From questionable treatment and payment of employees to iffy environmental practices, this organization consistently prioritizes the bottom line over sustainable, ethical business practices.
Which, from where I stand, means we're long past the point where Tim's deserves to be so integrally tied to our national identity.
And these donuts aren't so special, anyway. If I'm going to eat like a heathen, I'll buy local.
Canada has enough icons, anyway. This one won't be missed.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #donut #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
Life outside a smalltown Tim Hortons, October 2021
Drinking coffee on Tim's patio, July 2021
The case of the missing donut, April 2020
Sprinkled donut poetry, March 2020
Not just any donut, October 2019
Timbit philosophy on the kitchen table, June 2018
Chocolate-glazed donut shoot, May 2018
Donut or Doughnut? January 2010
Time to make the donuts, January 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Muffins, April 2009
Sunday, December 19, 2021
5 years...
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| Love me London, ON February 2016 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Blinked every day we had him.
Blinked the day we lost him.
Blinked every day since.
That’s now time works.
It moves faster than we think.
We never get as much as we wish we could have.
We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.
We can’t afford to waste whatever we’ve been given.
Frasier taught us to cherish time, those tiny moments that somehow become permanent memories indelibly burned into our souls. He was sweet, smart, cuddly, loud, expensive, wildly imperfect, yet also perfect in his own way.
He was, for every moment we had him and every moment since, a piece of us.
We miss you limitlessly, buddy. Thank you for making our family whole, for making us better people, for giving us countless reasons to have loved you in the first place.
I’d change nothing except that time thing. Wish we had more.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #dog #dogs #throwback #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
4 years without Fray Fray, December 2020
3 years..., December 2019
2 years..., December 2018
A year without Frasier, December 2017
Pondering Frasier's handiwork, December 26, 2016
Canine muscle memory, December 23, 2016
When a dog's life ends, December 19, 2016
What's 10 in dog years? July 2016
Going on a cottage cheese adventure
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| Hmm, I wonder if this is for me London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
They aren't remotely artistic. But they serve a specific purpose, and I take them because I'm headed out on a hunting/foraging expedition (read to the grocery store) and I've got to get a particular kind of something.
Since absent-mindedness is kind of my thing - I can remember the specific impulse of a Space Shuttle Main Engine, but not a particular kind of cottage cheese - I take pictures before I go.
Since we're being honest, this will often be followed by a similarly impromptu FaceTime session with my wife when I get to the grocery store. Because sometimes you just need to talk to your peeps.
And since we're being especially honest, I ended up rushing through the store after taking this pic, and I ended up forgetting to call via FaceTime.
Which is how I managed to bring home lactose-free sour cream instead of cottage cheese. Because I'm an idiot.
Thankfully the dog doesn't care, and as you can see here she's happy to help me out whether or not I remember to follow my own process. Such a sweet girl.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #dairy #cottagecheese #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #actofdog #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Saturday, December 18, 2021
One small tree...
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| As one season ends London, ON October 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
But what a tree it is.
Hmm...
#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
Blankets in the park
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| Strangers watching out for others London, ON November 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I’m ostensibly looking for any last remnants of leaves, anything, really, that grabs my eye in the few minutes I have before the real world beckons me back.
But it isn't leaves that jump out at me. It's a carefully rolled up scarf hanging off the end of a park bench. The tag attached to it says it all: "I am not lost. Take me if you need me."
I look around, and see similar packages - mittens, hats, blankets - on other nearby benches.
Part of me wants to cry, that in a city where the average home sells for seven figures and the ones on the hill overlooking this park easily sell for multiples of that, folks not too different from you or me continue to wrestle with homelessness.
And yet...
Some kind soul thought to look out for others in this subtle, non-judgmental way.
Indeed, heroes live among us.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #thames #river #walkabout #homelessness #community #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Friday, December 17, 2021
Stella in white
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| Scene from a Canadian driveway London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
So the least I can do is record it in some small way before it's gone.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #red #winter #frost #weather #wx #spontaneous #driveway #shoot #car #carporn #cargram #auto #vehicle #automotive #stella #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Scene from a driveway
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| Holding on for dear life London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I could have walked right on past, but where’s the fun in that?
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #red #autumn #weather #wx #spontaneous #driveway #shoot #car #carporn #cargram #auto #vehicle #automotive #stella #reflective #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Thursday, December 16, 2021
A bridge (not) too far
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| Wondering what's on the other side London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I’ve heard that line so often throughout my life that it’s been burned into my brain, a go-to line that I trot out when I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.
Which explains why I smiled as we came across this particularly fetching pedestrian bridge not far from our house.
I’m not sure why we wrap up so much meaning in the act of crossing from one side of a body of water to another, but I’m glad we do.
Because there’s always more to explore on the other side. More memories to make. More stories to tell.
So on this day, we paused to take in the sun’s gentle shadows on the deck of this lovely bridge, and then we crossed over to the other side. What we found there was well worth the journey.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #thames #river #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #bridge #shadows #light #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
A dog walks in the woods
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| The sun always points us home London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #medway #valley #forest #trees #shadows #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
The forest loses its cover
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| How the Forest City gets its name London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
But the sky is thankfully anything but grey.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #blue #sky #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
Watching ghosts in the forest, February 2021
White tree. Blue sky. April 2021
Standing under the cathedral, December 2020
Dead trees against a blue sky, October 2020
Cathedral in the forest, March 2019
Thematic continues...all faves, all the time, January 2015
Thematic Photographic 273 - Treetops, December 2013
Before the darkness falls, December 2010
Monday, December 13, 2021
Frozen, a new season
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| Grab it while you can London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
The apocalyptic rains have moved on and the howling winds that have been raking the region for much of the past 24 hours have died down.
The clear, frigid air left in the storm’s wake has coated the soaked, spongy earth along the path with perfectly thin wisps of crystalline ice. Calli is letting her nose explore the icy ground, looking up every once in a while to make sure I’m not missing anything.
I crouch down beside her to get a closer look at this impossibly intricate - and very temporary - scene. The rising sun is already lighting up the forest canopy far above our heads, and it won’t be long before the ground is bathed in sunlight, before this wondrous construction melts into history.
I snag a few fast frames on my smartphone. Because while there’s more than enough ice underfoot in the Great White North, I’m conscious of how unique this particular moment is, and I don’t want to forget what it feels like to be in this particular spot, on this particular morning, with this particularly curious pup.
Because how many of these moments do we really get, anyway? And how do we know if we’re making the most out of the ones we’ve been given?
I can’t answer either of those questions. But at the very least I can try to slow time down and do my best to appreciate what’s been laid out in front of us.
It’ll have to do. Until the next time Mother Nature decides to paint the land with her icy brush.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Related:
Frozen miracles at our feet, February 2021
Another frozen miracle, February 2021
The ice show continues, January 2021
Driveway ice show, January 2021
Calli the ice-hunting dog, January 2021
As the snow begins to fall, January 2021
Frozen solid to the ground, December 2019
On ice and life by the river's edge, January 2019
Frozen lights in the sky, January 2007
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Shh, don't disturb the sleeping manatees
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| The things we find at Loblaws London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Disclosure: I have a thing for manatees. So depending on my mood, pretty much anything can look like a manatee. Or can give me a springboard to talk about manatees.
Which explains this oddball moment in the Loblaws fresh produce section, and why I do what I can to manufacture them with little more than the smartphone in my pocket.
See, this pandemic would be manageable if I never had to leave the house. And delivery services notwithstanding (sorry, I just can't have strangers pick my avocados), sooner or later we all have to get out there. Which, necessity notwithstanding, stresses me out.
Indeed, if everyone behaved as they should - read stayed the sixth-letter-of-the-alphabet away from me - then we'd all be fine. But they don't. They close-walk. They close-talk. They ignore. They don't look out for others. They don't say thank you. Just writing the words is spiking my BP.
So my antidote is to find happiness wherever I can, even if it means fast-shooting still-life abstracts of the ginger display.
Maybe they're manatee-like and maybe they aren't. The picture isn't the thing, anyway. The moment is.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #loblaws #fruitography #manatee #ginger #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Blue Angels, echelon formation
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| Steady... London, ON August 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
#nikonskydrive @airshowlondon @nikoncanada #ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #SkyDrive #AirShowLondon #aviation #usnavy #blueangels #boeing #mcdonnelldouglas #superhornet #fighter #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Dirty floor under a bright sun
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| Lines have been drawn London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
But if you want to, you're always welcome to join me.
There's plenty of optical room to go around. And we could all do with a little random musing in the dirty places most everyone else would otherwise ignore.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cherryhill #mall #store #shopping #retail #sun #sunlight #shadow #random #everyday #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Tree? Lightning?
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| Branched London, ON November 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I don't know how many times I've spun my two-wheeler past this very tree. It sits beside a major bike path, not far from the river, and has probably played a quiet background role in millions of tiny moments for countless people since it was first planted long before any of us was alive.
Yet on this Saturday afternoon, I'm on foot. You see things when you walk that you'd otherwise miss. The ordinary suddenly becomes extraordinary. This branch, long hidden by leaves and the combined pressures of schedule and speed, paints a picture I simply can't afford to pass up.
So I explore it through glass. Slowly. Deliberately. Its chaos on stark display for the first time. To me, anyway.
This tree, so beloved yet so often overlooked, won't be a quiet, ignored background player today.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #gibbons #park #tvp #thames #river #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Friday, December 10, 2021
Where swimming meets sky
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| It's all in the details London, ON November 2020 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I'm still not sure who "they" are, but I'm inclined to listen to them when it comes to this.
Which explains why I keep coming back to the Canada Games Aquatic Centre here in London. Our kids learned to swim here, which echoed my own experiences learning to swim so far away and so long ago.
Any time I'm near a pool, I find myself drifting back to those resonant years when our kids were first learning to love the water.
Inevitably, a camera comes out. And you know what happens then...
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #street #monochrome #streetphotography #photography #building #architecture #cgac #aquatics #swimming #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
Related:
Same pool. Another perspective. February 2021
Aquatics, life, and that friendly glow, February 2021
Little man learns from failure, December 2006
Layered mystery, October 2006
Thursday, December 09, 2021
Talk to the orange hand
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| Safety first Sault Ste. Marie, ON October 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Are we slowing down to take them in, to appreciate the little details that reveal how extraordinary they are?
I get it: it’s a freaking light.
But there’s something comforting about standing on a sidewalk and teasing out new ways to see the familiar.
#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #throwback #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #traffic #light #red #orange #walk #random #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Wednesday, December 08, 2021
Saturdays at Cherryhill
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| Comings and goings London, ON December 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
This local mall, built in the shadows of one of the largest clusters of apartment buildings in the city, is unique. The area skews to an older demographic, so the mall often feels more like a community centre than a retail establishment.
It's already busy enough early on this brightly-lit Saturday morning, with holiday shoppers drifting in as the stores slowly open up shop, and families like this one bringing their kids to have their hockey team pics taken at the photo store.
Disclosure, our daughter is helping out behind the camera, and after dropping her off, I've decided to take a slow walk back to the car just in case I see anything worth some pixels.
It's a day-in-the-life kind of place, where folks go through the minutiae of the everyday without necessarily thinking all that much about it. Yet step off to the side and peer back in for a closer look and it ends up being a lot richer than anyone might have thought.
I think to myself that this is a special place, and I don't think I'm wrong. But any place can be special if we allow it to be. That is, if we allow ourselves the time and the space and the patience to see it through the right lens.
Are we?
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cherryhill #mall #store #shopping #retail #random #everyday #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
Monolithic architecture against the winter sky
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| All lit up for the holidays London, ON November 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Maybe it's an illusion and maybe it's real - it almost doesn't matter as I stand on the downtown sidewalk and try to take in the imposing facade of this iconic structure.
I worked here once - moved my family here in the dead of winter to follow an unknown path. At the time, I remember standing in this very spot wondering whether I had made the right decision.
It dawned on me that my entire professional life in this very alien-to-me town revolved around this one company, in this one building - which, frankly, was a bit of a frightening thought.
Thankfully, time often has a way of filling in the gaps. We grew roots here, and I eventually found other places to work, bigger stages to grow my career. The monolithic company that brought me here no longer seemed so monolithic. Or dominant.
The company's changed hands a few times since we got here, and the really big decisions are now made far, far away. No one knows what the future holds, for this or any other firm. Life is a lot less predictable than it was all those years ago.
But the architecture...well, some things are timeless, and we're glad they're still around to cast a warm glow over the city they helped build, over the place we’ve come to know as home.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #brick #urban #city #downtown #streetphotography #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins
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