Half frozen river

Clarity
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As winter paints the landscape one last time, I can’t resist the urge to look back to this moment I captured just a couple of months ago.

I could stand forever at the railing of this lovely little pedestrian bridge in the river valley and never run out of things to see.

Places like this, so perfectly disconnected from the ebb and flow of urban life, have become more critical to my mental health than I once thought. I’m sure it’s not just me.

Soon enough the snow will melt for good, and Mother Nature will offer up a whole new set of reasons for me to return. Maybe I’ll see some of you out there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #thames #river #winter #snow #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Stopping by the river to take in the view, October 2019

Spontaneous roadside photography, April 2019

Ripples are limitless, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 388 - Abstract, November 2016

Colors and reflections, October 2007

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes

Snowy pathway to anywhere
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’re all on some kind of journey.

Something to keep in mind when we cross each other’s path.

So let’s lead with kindness, shall we?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hyde #park #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #winter #weather #wx #random #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Empty downtown storefront

Gone for good
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s hard to ignore the pangs of sadness when a business fails.

An entire little community - a family’s livelihood, a place where customers and suppliers spent time, where employees worked, a fixture in the neighborhood - simply disappears.

What’s left is another drag on an already-challenged streetscape, another gap-tooth in an area filled with them, all these pockmarked storefronts serving as ghostly reminders of a more prosperous past.

We can’t catalog every last one, but an occasional photo serves as a reminder of how much entrepreneurs add to the life of a city, and what we lose when they’re forced to close their doors for good.

Note to self: shop local.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #empty #store #retail #retailapocalypse #urban #downtown #walkabout #richmond #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Hope on Dundas Street, March 2021

Convenience store at night, April 2021

Watching architectural history rot, October 2019

Suitcase on church steps, September 2019

Dead store in a dead mall, August 2019

Retail community centre, March 2019

Scene from outside a diner, October 2017

Downtown London storefront after hours, October 2017

Caption This 17, May 2007

The nose always knows

Ever the helper
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: a worn-out interior door lies dirty and discarded on the boulevard grass.

I decide it’s a perfectly trivial spontaneous photo opportunity, and reach for my smartphone to figure out a composition that works.

I’m not alone, as Calli the Wonderschnauzer is conveniently hanging out on a leash whose other end is coincidentally wrapped around my wrist.

As you can see here, she has no intention of standing quietly off to the side while I figure out the shot. I’m lucky indeed to have such a dedicated helper.

Not necessarily the scene I originally had in mind. But as dog people have known since the beginning of time, it helps to just roll with whatever the pup decides.

They’re kind of in charge, after all. And I’m strangely fine with it.

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

Related:

Going on a cottage cheese adventure, December 2021

Watching newspaper bundles disappear, April 2021

The schnu nose knows, May 2020

A bearded lady in our midst, April 2020

A dog's nose knows, March 2020

When puppies wait by the door, March 2019

She's trying not to look, June 2018

Return to the river ice

Temporarily perfect
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Soon we’ll peer over the edge of the pedestrian bridge and there won’t be any river ice covering the water below.

So we capture the image now. While we can.

Once again, a seemingly simple photo becomes a metaphor for life. And time. And the things we value most.

#ldnont #exploreldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #thames #river #water #snow #ice #texture #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Mapping the ice fields, January 2022

Half-frozen river, February 2021

Watching water tumble endlessly, December 2020

Ice amid flowing water, December 2020

We're gonna need a bigger shovel

Near-permanent detour
January 2022
This screen grab originally shared on Instagram

Reason # 5,792 why we shouldn't always trust technology.

This is a screen grab off of Google Maps following an epic winter-storm-caused closure on I-95. I was trying to get a sense of how major mapping services like Google Maps and Apple Maps responded to the event, and what we might learn in the process.

To clarify, I'm a huge Google Maps fan, and use it all the time before and during any journey - ranging from the local grocery store to the longest family road trip. It is gamechanging, time-saving, life-saving technology that takes large chunks of worry out of any trip. Whether I’m walking, cycling, or driving, even if I technically know the route in my head, I'd never leave home without it.

But technology isn't always perfect, which should surprise no one because it is created by humans. And if WE are subject to imperfection, then so, too, is anything that we create in the process.

I'm fine with that - that's just life - but that doesn't mean I won't laugh at the prospect of a 7-year road closure following a winter storm.

Maybe we'll keep Apple Maps on standby. And for good measure, perhaps we should throw a few paper-based maps into the glove compartment, too. Remember those?

#screengrab #i95 #google #googlemaps #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Are you a rock star?

Drink up. Or not.
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Fun fact: the first photo I ever took with a digital camera was of a soda can.

If memory serves, I believe it was ginger ale, and I remember looking at the screen on the back of the digicam and thinking that everything was about to change.

So every once in a while, when a certain scene involving an aluminum can - or multiples thereof - presents itself, I find myself thinking back to that moment.

Strange how memories work, no?

Anyway, I found these cans while shopping. I believe they contain an energy drink, which isn’t really my thing. But I liked the somewhat messy view from overhead, and thought it would be a fun fast-shoot subject before we headed toward the checkout.

As subjects go, this one is, at best, meh. Misaligned. Imperfect, frankly.

Then again, aren’t we all?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #green #sobeys #grocery #store #pop #can #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 389 - Drink up, November 2016

Please don't shake, March 2013

Bottled disaster, February 2010

Green Coke, January 2007

Diner memories, August 2006

Crushed, December 2005

The adventurous shopper - Part 2, October 2004

Waiting for the fog to break

Emerging from the murk
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If one foggy photo is worth sharing, then why should we limit ourselves to just one?

Hence this one, captured one minute before the photo I shared this morning.

I’m odd like that. I’ll take lots of different photos of the same scene, changing the perspective, the composition, the lighting, the everything. It’s like pulling the layers off an onion, and stopping here and there along the way to freeze what it looks - and feels - like.

Most of them - pics, facets, layers, whatever - will go right into the round file. But maybe we’ll end up with a small number of keepers, reminders that we played in the fog and managed to share the experience in some small way.

Because we all deserve to play. With light. With others.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #walkabout #fog #foggy #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #weather #wx #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Foggy line of trees, March 2022

Wandering through the fog, March 2022

Emerging from the fog, February 2021

Thematic Photographic 359 - Parallel, December 2015

Thematic continues...all faves, all the time, January 2015

The day dawns grey in Cambridge, November 2013

Meteorological pea soup, October 2010

Thematic Photographic 95 - In memory of trees, March 2010

Green means go, March 2009

A foggy morning in London, August 2004

Foggy line of trees

Look harder
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Fog can either obscure the truth, or slowly reveal it to us.

Entirely our choice.

But first we have to get out there to experience it first-hand. And if I’m being brutally honest with myself, the photos don’t do it justice.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #walkabout #fog #foggy #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #weather #wx #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

A fish called Wanda

The scene under the glass
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have a long history of shooting photos of fish in grocery stores.

I even asked the fishmonger’s permission this time. I’m not sure if he thought I was crazy or inspired - probably the former - but he kindly smiled and told me to have fun.

I did.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #green #sobeys #grocery #store #fish #rainbow #trout #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Dead fish in a Costco, March 2019

One fish, two fish... July 2018

Dead fish society, February 2012

Dead fish on ice, October 2011

Fish go to school, too, May 2010

Thematic Photographic 44 - Edible, April 2009

Swirling

The color of potential
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When you’re surrounded by crafty people, there’s never a shortage of fun things to turn into still-life subjects.

Which brings us to my wife’s big roll of fabric, something an artistically gifted teacher would have ample opportunity to use.

For now, it’s all potential, neatly rolled up in a ball that I can stuff in my pocket if I try really hard.

Sometimes it’s fun being me. For me, anyway.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #color #colors #fabric #random #stilllife #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

A spectrum of peppers

Freshness on display
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s hard to top the forces of nature when you go looking for some vivid examples of color.

Where you find them is almost immaterial, as they’re everywhere.

What matters is that we go looking for them at all.

And that we find some way to remember the experience when we do.

I risk being accused of hyperbole by saying this, but I feel it matters now, in a world where color feels threatened, more than it perhaps has been in our lifetime.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #green #sobeys #grocery #store #fruit #vegetables #pepper #peppers #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Orange pepper still life, May 2021

Red peppers of hope, November 2020

Peppers under glass, November 2020

Fruitography in a strange place, March 2019

Thematic Photographic 163 - Eat your veggies, September 2011

Sterling Place at night

Heritage, up close and personal
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

History paints the sky. Still.

So we look up.

It's the least we can do.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #sterlingplace #urban #city #downtown #night #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Old brick wall. Many stories. January 2021

Under a brilliant blue sky, September 2019

The ignored giants in our midst, September 2019

Stark brick against a brilliant sky, August 2019

Really strange architecture way above my head, May 2019

Staring at concrete from a wintry sidewalk, March 2019

Empty platforms in the sky, March 2019

Staring into my aunt's and uncle's past, March 2019

When life takes an ugly turn, look up, March 2019

A silent street corner moment with grandma, March 2019

Staring closely at lovely old brick, January 2019

Return to King & Talbot, March 2010

Bricks on King Street, August 2007

Blackfriars through the trees

Good to see you again
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There will be days when the measure of success revolves around meeting up with old friends.

Sometimes they're not even human.

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

Related:

Back to Blackfriars, April 2021

Blackfriars - one last time, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 260 - Treasured, September 2013

Bridge over troubled water, April 2012

Bridge to the past, June 2011

Let's roll, shall we?

Ready position
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Today was a good day to dust off the bike, pump up the tires, and let the rubber hit the road.

The mission was a simple one: get it rolling, spin up my legs, see how it felt, and avoid disaster.

Thankfully I hit those marks. I cruised the bike paths, saw lots of happy people and puppies, and took a few weird pictures along the way.

I didn’t go fast - and no, I won’t be sharing my telemetry here because I’m pretty sure no one cares about my performance metrics. But speed wasn’t the goal. Getting out there was.

So was feeling the air in my lungs, the wind in my ears, the sun on my face, that indescribable feeling you get when you and the bike are just rolling along and everything is right with the world.

You’re out there, and nothing else matters.

So consider this my warning to you that I’ll probably be sharing a few scenes from the road over the next few months. Sorry.

I’m not sure where I’ll end up, or what I’ll see. But in that respect cycling is just like life: a journey none of us can predict. We just hope it’s safe, filled with joy, and charmed.

Ride on, y’all. I hope to see you out there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cycling #cyclist #cycle #bicycle #pink #bike #cyclinglife #bikelife #firstride #instabike #random #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

The view from my handlebars, September 2021

Numbers, farms, and perspectives, July 2021

Riding my bike to see the corn, July 2021

Today was a day... June 2021

When cows become cyclists. Next Geraldo. June 2021

Hanging out with the cows, June 2021

Golden hour by the side of the road, June 2021

Early morning rides through the countryside, June 2021

Cycling from pink to orange, June 2021

Pink bike. Red protector. April 2021

And we ride... April 2021

Back to 2 wheels, March 2020

The first ride, April 2019

Where old bikes go to die, April 2019

Scrubbing away the years, March 2010

Eight ball, corner pocket

Art on brick
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This building is doomed, a crumbling, boarded-up relic waiting for developers to move in with excavators as the never-ending dance of so-called progress continues.

Years ago, some kind soul decided the east-facing wall deserved a mural. Unlike most examples of this kind of vital urban art, this one is painted well above street level, a fading reminder of why Londoners once came here.

Scenes like this dot the downtown core, reflections of memories of places that no longer exist, or soon won’t. There is no preservation of urban art when the bricked canvases on which they’re created are demolished.

Maybe they’ll be remembered. Or more than likely not, another undocumented chapter in the history of a city seemingly uninterested in appreciating how it got here.

Either way, I’ll miss this work when it’s gone. I think we all will, even if we never once set foot in the place.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #downtown #urban #city #king #street #streetphotography #photography #graffiti #art #streetart #graffitiart #mural #urbanart #eightball #Nikon #NikonPhotography #Nikon_Photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Paying homage to Yogi Bear, March 2022

Tilly guards the expressway, May 2021

A chef sings in an alley, January 2020

Artistic genius on a shadowy brick wall, October 2019

Not-so-little green men, April 2019

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

Venturing into a dark alley, December 2018

8-bit art in a downtown alley, August 2018

Window on a crumbling landscape, November 2012

A vision on concrete block, January 2007

Sidewalk cyclist

A day in the life
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We all find our own way to get around town.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #urban #downtown #street #photography #king #sidewalk #cyclist #cycling #skateboard #walkabout #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Listening to the grasses in the wind

Framing the forest
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s wonder to be found in the tall grasses, especially when they frame the adjacent forest just so.

The photo doesn’t capture what it’s like to stand there and listen to the winds blowing through the dry growth, or what it feels like to wait for the tops of the grasses to slow down just enough to trip the shutter.

It’s like you’re having a hushed conversation with Mother Nature herself.

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

Related:

Remembering the first time I shot monochrome, October 2021

It all started with greyscale, May 2021

Staring at trees beside the Walmart parking lot, September 2019

The vanishing view from above, March 2019

Broken tree in a desolate place, January 2019

Lake Huron peeks through the grass, September 2017

Thematic Photographic 95 - In memory of trees, March 2010

Yellow yarn of happiness

There is indeed a best color
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Does yellow yarn make you smile?

I’m kinda hoping it does, because otherwise this photo will seem rather silly and pointless.

Who am I kidding? There’s no such thing as a silly or pointless photo. We can all be moved by a given pic.

Assuming we allow ourselves to be moved, that is.

Squish!

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #michaels #texture #yellow #shopping #michaels #retail #store #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Do not cross this line, November 2018

Thematic Photographic 274 - Let's go shopping, December 2013

Parked curves, August 2007

The cure of color, April 2006

Eat the rainbow

Bet you can't have just one
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I see a number of stark and irrevocable truths in this photo:

1. Color makes us happy
2. Macarons are awesome
3. There’s no reason to stop at just one

Thank you for participating. Bon appetit.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #metro #grocery #store #retail #cherryhill #macaron #dessert #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Colorful cookies in a Mexican bakery, December 2019

The donut that made me smile, March 2019

Timbit philosophy on the kitchen table, June 2018

Chocolate-glazed donut shoot, May 2018

Empty train station bench

Take a load off
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Waiting for…

Could be anyone, anywhere, anytime.

That’s the magic of a train station, or an airport, or any other crossroads where people begin and end their journey.

Countless stories play out here, and we’re left to imagine what they might be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #via #viarail #train #rail #urban #city #downtown #travel #travelphotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Bench by the water, October 2020

Empty bus shelter, June 2020

The endless wait, April 2020

Abandoned shoes by a park bench, October 2014

Thematic Photographic 143 - Please be seated, April 2011

A chair by any other name, April 2011

Thematic Photographic 123 - Black and White, November 2010

Thematic Photographic 11 - Poignant, August 2008

Caption This 83, August 2008

A stranger's sojourn by the sea, January 2007

A photographer's dilemma, April 2006

Dog in fog redux

Can we go home now?
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When the fog rolls in and repaints the landscape, some of us will run outside to take it all in before the sun banishes it for good.

Others may be less than impressed.

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

Related:

Finding joy in a storm, December 2021

A dog walks in the woods, December 2021

Small dog. Fresh snow. Pure joy. December 2021

Dog haiku in heavy traffic, October 2021

Dog in fog, September 2021

The day we brought her home, June 2021

My not-so-little shadow, May 2021

Where we let the dog lead the way, May 2021

How dogs view snow, April 2021

Gathering around the hydrant, March 2021

Nose down, February 2021

Schnauzer in fog, September 2020

Walking together in the shadows and light, April 2020

Life with a Schnauzer, May 2018

Leaf frozen in ice

Here for now
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Great White North is warming up.

As we pass through the midpoint of March and approach the end of winter, average daytime temperatures are now consistently above zero, making scenes like this increasingly hard to find.

Soon enough, they'll be gone for good, at least until the seasons change yet again and winter returns to a land that is all too familiar with it.

I may whine about the cold and the ice and the inconvenience of it all, but I'll miss scenes like this that unexpectedly present themselves like little miracles at our feet.

We can't change the weather any more than we can rein in the passage of time. Whether we feel its wonder, though, is entirely within our control.

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

Related:

Frozen, a new season, December 2021

Playing in an icy gutter, December 2021

The ice beneath the dog's paws, December 2021

Frozen miracles at our feet, February 2021

Another frozen miracle, February 2021

The ice show continues, January 2021

Driveway ice show, January 2021

Calli the ice-hunting dog, January 2021

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

On lying

"We know they are lying,

they know they are lying,

they know we know they are lying,

we know they know we know they are lying,

but they are still lying."

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

 

I always pick the loser cart

Wheels down and locked
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Can you find artsiness in the middle of a grocery store?

I don’t have the definitive answer to this question. Indeed, no one does.

But I certainly am willing to try.

Because I think we could all use a few more tiny moments of random joy, even if we have to manufacture them on our own.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #loblaws #grocery #store #shopping #retail #orange #floor #reflective #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Sour cream down! June 2021

Green buggies in a row, December 2020

Goodbye, Aunt Jemima & Mrs. Butterworth, July 2020

Thematic Photographic 370 - Shopping, May 2016

Hunting and foraging in the frozen foods section, January 2015

Caption This 82, August 2008

Caption This 85, August 2008

Thematic Photographic 10 - Patterns, August 2008

Supermarket carts? Or jail? April 2008

Wheelies, June 2007

Interlocked, February 2006

Crossing a troubled street

Waiting for the light to change
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’ve been practicing my shoot-fast-while-crossing-the-street technique.

The results here - looking west down Dundas Street - aren’t remotely pretty. But I rather like the composition, especially considering I had zero time to think any of it through, and I figure if I share it in my feed it’ll serve as a reminder to keep working on this particular skillset.

More to come. Because I always hope to find new ways to look through the same lens.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #urban #downtown #street #photography #clarence #dundas #traffic #walkabout #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Paying homage to Yogi Bear

The characters we meet
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Yogi Bear pops up in the most fascinating places, and seems to have the most interesting and diverse set of friends.

Makes me glad I ducked into the downtown alleyway in search of a little inspiration. You can often find it if you venture a tiny bit off the beaten path.

Isn’t curiosity a wonderful thing? Almost as much as the urban art that inspires it in the first place.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #downtown #urban #city #clarence #street #streetphotography #photography #graffiti #art #streetart #graffitiart #mural #urbanart #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Tilly guards the expressway, May 2021

A chef sings in an alley, January 2020

Artistic genius on a shadowy brick wall, October 2019

Not-so-little green men, April 2019

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

Venturing into a dark alley, December 2018

8-bit art in a downtown alley, August 2018

Window on a crumbling landscape, November 2012

A vision on concrete block, January 2007

Colored glass kitchen table still-life

Drinking problem
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Never miss a chance to shoot pictures of your favorite drinking glasses on the kitchen table when the sun is shining just so.

Sometimes you’ll be satisfied with the results.

And even if you’re not, just the very process of taking out the camera and setting up an impromptu still-life scene for no apparent reason is enough to make you - and hopefully others - smile.

Which is why I do this in the first place.

Besides, we could all use more color in our lives.

Got any glasses of your own that you’d like to share? I hear the sun is always willing to lend a hand.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #glass #color #colors #stilllife #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Same cherries, different angle, December 2020

Subtle etchings in glass, December 2020

Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Jammed again, February 2017

Whatever you do, don't spill it, November 2013

A marmalade moment, July 2012

Jammed Up, May 2010

Thematic Photographic 15 - Closeup, September 2008

Jammed, encore, April 2007

Jammed, October 2006

Jammed redux, November 2006

Taking a closer look at the train

Cool stainless
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally share on Instagram

We get cool trains in this part of the world.

Not enough of them. Nowhere near as affordable as they need to be. Or as frequent. Or remotely on-schedule.

But all that can wait. For now, it's enough to ask the attendant politely if I can take out my camera and shoot a few before departure.

He's totally into it, and my little impromptu photo adventure leads to a delightful chat about rail travel after the train pulls out and we wander back into the station.

The photo evokes some serious stainless-steel-meets-steampunk vibes, but what I take away from this isn't so much the pixels, but the experience that inevitably wrapped itself around them.

You meet some cool peeps when you view the world through glass. I've got to get out more.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #via #viarail #train #rail #urban #city #downtown #travel #travelphotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Reflections from a speeding train, August 2019

Making the most of an unscheduled journey, July 2019

Where's Waldo? In Toronto, of course! May 2019

My steampunk glass commute, April 2019

Reflecting on a concrete journey, March 2019

Staring out the train's window, July 2018

Shooting through a chain link fence, May 2018

Thematic Photographic 226 - Industrial Disease, December 2012

Before the green wall disappears

Touch it while you can
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I grew up in a suburb just north of Montreal (Chomedey!) that was still being carved out of the wilderness.

One of my earliest memories revolved around my street, and how if you walked down to the end of it and turned the corner, everything just...ended. The road trailed off and the forest began.

To get to the community pool at the local Y, we had to walk past the end of the road and take a gravelly path that we called "The Rocky Way". I never saw any dead bodies along the way, but 3-year-old me distinctly remembers the rusted hulk of a VW Beetle abandoned under a giant tree.

Over the years, the forests gave way to streets and construction and houses and civilization. Eventually, the edge of town was pushed so far out that forests and fields were no longer part of day-to-day life.

And as those houses got built, I noticed how they'd evolve from foundations to framed structures to insulated enclosures to fully formed, bricked-in places where real people eventually lived. And I imagined the folks who eventually moved in never got to see them in their partially-built state.

No one stood on a sidewalk, looked at a half-finished wall and thought, "Gee, it'll never look like this again."

Except for me. I stood on sidewalks then, and I stand on them now. Or, in this case, in a local mall's parking lot as a new infill building went up.

Before the green-ish insulation was entombed forever in brick and concrete, I thought a fast photo shoot would freeze the memory.

There doesn't need to be a why.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #city #downtown #night #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Return to the Dirty Bakery, October 2011

A crumbling icon fades to black, May 2016

Reflections from a speeding train, August 2019

This used to be my playground, August 2013

Flying over the old 'hood, June 2013

Tenacious twine

Holding on for dear life
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There's something special about ivy.

It grows in places that are normally hostile to natural life, roots stuck deep in the shadowy cracks, branches and shoots clinging tenaciously along precarious, often crumbling surfaces.

It shouldn't survive. Not in this forgotten, graffiti-covered, frozen alleyway. Not anywhere, frankly.

Yet it does. Thrive, even.

If this seemingly frail-looking plant can prevail despite it all, I'm thinking the rest of us can, as well.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #ivy #concrete #brick #explore #walkabout #downtown #urban #street #streetphotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Clinging to life, February 2019

Ivy on Kipps Lane, January 2018

Ivy bridge to nowhere, April 2013

Ivy - dead and alive, November 2005

Scene from a downtown intersection

Crossings...
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Someone to watch over me.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #urban #downtown #street #photography #clarence #dundas #traffic #wheelchair #walkabout #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

On prevailing despite it all

“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies.

You may trod me in the very dirt.

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”

Maya Angelou

The great escape

Step carefully
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

They don't make buildings quite like this anymore.

Pity that.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #escape #history #urban #walkabout #downtown #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

I'm staring at old buildings again, March 2021

Old brick wall. Many stories. January 2021

Stark brick against a brilliant sky, August 2019

Venturing into a dark alley, December 2018

Lost #Toronto alleyways: 1st in a series, June 2016

A forlorn look at a sign from the past, December 2015

Epic battle between dark and light, December 2013

The saddest patio ever, September 2013

Another brick in the wall, November 2012

Window on a crumbling landscape, November 2012

Stone cold

Textured facade
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If these bricks could speak, I wonder what they would say.

I know that can't actually happen, but I still think it does the soul good to stand on the sidewalk, stare up into the dark sky, and hope that it could.

Because hope can be found in the strangest of places. Like a deeply frozen downtown street corner at 9:06 on a Saturday night.

But enough about me: where are YOU looking for hope?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #city #downtown #night #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Pall Malls on York, February 2020

Concrete boxes in the sky, December 2019

Staring into the downtown abyss, November 2019

Under a brilliant blue sky, September 2019

Why we take the time to stare up at reflective buildings, May 2019

Staring at concrete from a wintry sidewalk, March 2019

Empty platforms in the sky, March 2019

Staring into my aunt's and uncle's past, March 2019

When life takes an ugly turn, look up, March 2019

A silent street corner moment with grandma, March 2019

Staring closely at lovely old brick, January 2019

8-bit art in a downtown alley, August 2018

Same thing. Different view. September 2012

Rust in peace, September 2012

Walking along on a dark New York street, June 2010'

Windows on San Francisco, August 2008

Wordless Wednesday - Vanishing, August 2008

Every window has a story, November 2005