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Sunday, March 31, 2024

The Warthog flies away for good

The Devil's Cross
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that the upcoming 2024 air show season would be the last for its A-10C Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team.

The announcement is hardly surprising, as the USAF has pushed for years to retire the venerable tankbuster in favour of the F-35A Lightning II. The prevailing theory is that a slow, non-stealthy aircraft designed for the Cold War won’t stand a chance in a modern-era contested battlefield where stealth is life.

So with the beloved Warthog being drawn down in advance of a final sunset sometime later this decade, it makes little sense to fly it at air shows.

Bummer that, because it’s always been a fan favourite, and an example of thoughtfully robust design and engineering that doesn’t seem to be much of a thing anymore.

I captured this image in 2020, during the plane’s most recent demo here in London. And as it isn’t scheduled to return during this farewell year, all we’ve got left here are pixels and memories.

I’ll miss the Warthog. I’ll miss the spirit of those who maintained and flew her even more. Thanks for always having the backs of those whose lives depended on the unique capabilities of a remarkable aircraft.

Oh, and thanks for the brrrt.

#ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #SkyDrive #AirShowLondon #aviation #fairchild #republic #a10 #thunderbolt #warthog #flight #aircraft #aviationphotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Warthog meets stuffie, September 2019
Low-level flight, February 2006

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Saturday, March 30, 2024

The analog information age ends

Boxed up
London, ON
August 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not so long ago, these were everywhere, rainbow-coloured anchors of the information economy.

But like pay phones and parking, they’ve slowly disappeared from the streets, victims of the Information Age and the do-it-all smartphones that now consume our every moment. It’s an especially silent transition, one most of us don’t realize is even happening until it’s all over.

We had these in college and university, and I remember the giddy sense of accomplishment when my byline was visible through the dirty glass. The fresh newsprint smelled particularly welcoming, even if I was the only one who noticed.

We live in an ephemeral age now, where technology has replaced the tactile with fleeting images on screens, gone with the swipe of a thumb. Printing news on paper and fetching it from a metal and glass box seems so quaint in retrospect.

Back then, we lingered around boxes and papers and newsstands. Nobody lingers anymore. As efficient as we’ve become, I can’t stop thinking about what it felt like to have so much physicality around us.

And what we’ve lost now that it’s just about gone from our midst.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #wonderland #southdale #walkabout #newspapers #journalism #streetphotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Broken media, February 2009

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Friday, March 29, 2024

The view under the stands

Geometric history lesson
London, ON
May 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The oldest continuously operating baseball stadium on the planet happens to be in our town.

Labatt Memorial Stadium isn’t just a place to watch a game. It’s history, comfort, and community, all rolled into one.

So of course I had to go underneath the stands to better understand what makes it as strong as it is.

Places matter. We’re lucky to have them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #labatt #memorial #stadium #baseball #sports #sportsing #wood #structure #monochrome #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Boxes in the sky, July 2022

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Publish Day - Schools target Big Social

My latest #ThoughtLeadership article is now live. Four of Ontario's largest school boards have sued Meta, ByteDance, and Snap over the mental health impacts of their products on students - a move that should give long-overdue pause to us all. Enjoy.


Related:

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Looking for order among the trees

Twins?
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every time I walk through the woods, I peer through the impossibly random chaos of trees and branches and leaves.

And I look for order.

It’s never easy to find. But I walk and look anyway, because I never know when I might stumble across a pleasant surprise, a slice of patterned goodness amid the mess.

Truth be told, I never find patterns or order or predictability. I never find what I seek.

Yet I walk here, again and again, all the same.

Because the goal isn’t so much the final image as it is the process followed in pursuit of that image. And if the image I carry in my imagination is never realized in actual pixels, I’m strangely fine with it.

Because order is overrated. Because the mess before me has virtues of its own. I just need to change my imagination a little to appreciate it.

Hmm…

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Like Wonka's great glass elevator

Go your own way
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some days, it can be difficult to know which direction to take.

This one’s giving me Wonka-esque, great glass elevator kinda vibes.

Perhaps a spontaneous adventure awaits.

So long as we press the correct button.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #elevator #abstract #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Beg buttons suck, March 2020
But not for me, June 2014
You've all got mail, October 2011

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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The most beautiful stairwell of all

Boring, but...
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Whenever I find myself in a multi-floor building, the first thing I do is look for the stairwells.

They aren’t exactly the prettiest places to visit. Developers don’t devote decorating resources to these rarely used concrete-and-steel necessities. Fire code says they need to be safe, not pretty.

Yet pretty isn’t necessarily a collection of lovely art on the walls and soft lighting overhead. Pretty can also be the ability to get to safety. Or a daily floor-challenge climb to maintain heart health. Or a quiet place to go when life feels overwhelming.

I’ve been looking for stairwells for as long as I can remember, often skipping the elevator entirely so I can make my own way up the dimly lit stairs, instead. These overlooked spaces have their own beauty, I suppose, their own structure and story.

Pretty, then, by another definition.

Perhaps we’re not just talking about stairs.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #geometry #stairs #geometry #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Watch your step, January 2022
Please tread carefully, February 2018
Tread carefully, August 2010

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Monday, March 25, 2024

Frozen berries by the road

That springtime glow
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Winter stole some time from spring the other night. By morning, she had painted this impossibly intricate scene in the shadows beside our neighbour’s driveway.

Calli the Wonderschnauzer gently sniffed the snowy grass while I played still-life photographer, a scene she’s been a part of countless times since we first brought her home. She seems to instinctively know when it’s time for a spontaneous photo shoot, and will patiently stand by until I tuck the camera away once more.

We don’t have many mornings like this left. Warming temperatures into spring mean no more fleetingly temporary ice in the margins. Maybe winter will gift us with more when she returns. Or not. Perhaps summer will steal some of that time back.

Nothing is ever guaranteed, after all. So we stop what we’re doing and enjoy it while we can. Before it’s gone for good.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #onstorm #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #actofdog #nature #naturephotography #abstract #stilllife #blue #monochrome #photography #apple #iPhone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Sunday, March 24, 2024

Cagey moment in a Costco

Industrial disease
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Scene from a Costco: we’ve come to this overwhelmingly crowded big box store to fill up on the minutiae of everyday life.

Chaotically twisted lines of people pushing overloaded carts and overtired children snake their way back from the exits, the overworked attendants checking everyone’s receipts at the door.

We pull over to the side to wait for our son to catch up with us, and as we wait, I alternate between watching the endless flow of people - like salmon spawning up the stream - and taking in the massive concrete warehouse architectural masterpiece that serves as the stage for this never-ending performance.

Maybe masterpiece is an overstatement. But it still fascinates me.

So I pull the smartphone out of my pocket and start to size up the chain link fencing that borders the floor-to-ceiling shelves that dominate this monotonously grey landscape. I’ve never played with light and angles in this part of this store before, and I now see what I’ve been missing.

My ever-understanding wife smiles gently. She’s watched this scene play out countless times over the years, and magically she’s always understood the why. I smile gently back at her as I finish shooting and show her the initial results. I’m an insanely lucky human.

Soon enough, our son finds us again and we’re on our way, the grey warehouse aesthetic tucked back into our memories, at least until our next visit here.

This may not have been a place or a moment normally worthy of its own narrative. But I’m starting to believe that in a world where things feel less than normal by the day, where we draw those lines is entirely up to us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #bigbox #store #costco #shopping #retail #architecture #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:

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Saturday, March 23, 2024

Structure in the trees

Held up
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Never let it be said that there’s no structure in nature.

The proof is all around us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sun #sunset #forest #tree #trees #branches #optimist #park #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #texture #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Friday, March 22, 2024

The things we see in the waves

Everything eventually ends
Port Stanley, ON
September 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We see many things in the few seconds when a wave rolls up on shore, then disappears.

Order.

Chaos.

Transparency.

Mystery.

Power.

Vulnerability.

Life.

Endings.

Maybe we see what we want to see.

#portstanley #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #throwback #great #lake #erie #water #waves #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Splat goes the ocean, January 2018
Do the wave, January 2010
Thanks, Bill, August 2009
Where sand meets sea, January 2008
Endless waves, January 2007

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Thursday, March 21, 2024

Window to the sky

Pull up for the show
Winnipeg, MB
August 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It does the soul good to look out the window and wonder about what’s out there.

Some of it may be visible. Much of it won’t be. All of it will be remarkable.

#ldnont #london #ontario #yxu #winnipeg #manitoba #canada #ywg #throwback #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #flair #flight #flying #aviation #boeing #boeing737 #avgeek #plane #planes #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Winging it, August 2023

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

A futile search for frozen chicken

The view from the inside
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Either there was a serious run on frozen chicken strips last week, or the truck that delivers them was delayed when the driver had a hankering for an A&W Mama Burger combo.

Whatever the reason, it meant the display case had a rare stretch of open space not seen since the Great Early-Pandemic Shortages of 2020.

Which meant it was time to get to work.

Now, this particular photo was taken one row over from my now-infamous run-in with store security years ago. In that earlier case, they weren’t too pleased when I pulled out a DSLR with a long-ish lens near the milk fridge.

Thankfully this shoot was uneventful. I composed the scene from inside the very chilly display case before anyone knew what I was up to. Stealthy smartphone photography is a thing. Who knew?

I’ll add this one to my growing pile of strange-meets-everyday pics. I never know when the little wheels will start turning in my head, but the fact that they turn at all is the only thing that matters.

Now, go let your own wheels turn. Maybe I’ll see you near the frozen chicken section. #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #walmart #frozen #chicken #shopping #retail #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The things we find in gutters

Frozen in the abstract
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I call it gutter ice, and we came close to having none of it over the course of this bizarrely warm, El Niño-fed, climate-change-tinged winter.

It takes a very specific set of conditions for gutter ice to develop: some kind of wet precipitation, just enough - but not too much - water accumulation, followed by a fast overnight freeze.

Then, there’s a tiny sliver of time in the morning to shoot the impossibly thin ice before it either melts or gets crushed by traffic.

It never got cold enough for long enough this year. Until yesterday, when winter decided on a late-season brush of wind and white. I found this one around the corner from the house just before it disappeared in a puddle.

It seems weird to seek random sheets of ice in the dusty corners of crumbling streets. Conventional wisdom, after all, dictates that great photography and great stories don’t take root on dirty asphalt.

I suppose that might be true, but I’ve never really subscribed to conventional wisdom, anyway. And I’d rather choose my own subjects and stories, too.

Even if I have to chase them across dusty, near-frozen streets.

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


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Monday, March 18, 2024

Looking for hope beyond the storm

There's always light
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Beyond every storm, there’s a slash of light that holds hope for a better future.

Maybe it’s hard to see or appreciate, but it’s there. It’s little more than a matter of perspective, really, simply because of where we happen to be standing at any given moment.

Like the skies here, where angry clouds do their best to hide the brilliance behind and above. Soon enough, though, the winds will come along and sweep the fear away.

We simply have to trust forces so often feel beyond our control. That time always seems to find a way to brighten the skies above us.

Feels like a reasonable thought to hold onto on a Monday, doesn’t it?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sun #sunset #sky #tree #trees #cloud #clouds #cloudspotting #weather #wx #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Gloomy, desolate beauty

Monochrome landscape
London, ON
January 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’re days away from winter giving way to spring, and we’d be forgiven for thinking we didn’t have much of a winter at all this year.

So I’m sharing this image, taken on a gloomy January morning, as a reminder that in between the record-shattering warmth and lack of snow, we had a few fleeting moments where things looked and felt somewhat normal.

All of this begs the question: what’s normal, anyway?

I don’t think that question can ever be answered.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwcack #tree #trees #fog #weather #wx #onstorm #monochrome #highbury #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Saturday, March 16, 2024

The things we find in the gutter

Halfsies
London, ON
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The world can be a pretty ugly place, and proof of that is often as close as the ground beneath our feet.

I found this on a Saturday morning while out with the dog for her first walk of the day. She was happily sniffing the dirt in the gutter - a dog thing, apparently - so I stood beside her, transfixed by the discarded half-smoked cigarette.

It wasn’t so much the singular image that caught my attention. Rather, it was the story behind it, and the things I could not see.

I wondered who tossed it aside as it slowly burned down its length, and concluded this was but one more countless others. Because someone who would mindlessly toss one butt away like this certainly wouldn’t stop at one.

Whoever this stranger may have been, I’m reasonably certain they never gave their actions a second thought.

But I did. Over something I should have been able to quickly set aside, but couldn’t.

The world is indeed ugly. So are some of the folks who call it home.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #street #streetphotography #cigarette #smoking #belmont #stilllife #roadside #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Ronald McDonald would approve

Friendly arches
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s 10 minutes before midnight as I step back into my car and head home with our very late, unplanned fast food dinner.

It was a day when life’s script was set aside, when we learned yet again why health is the only thing that truly matters. And as is often the case when ERs are visited and entire days are spent waiting in one plasticky chair after another, we eat where and when we can.

And so I found myself looking for an open McDonald’s in the middle of the night. Because I’m silly, I didn’t bother looking anything up when I left the house: just jumped in the car in my flustered rush and assumed everything would be open.

Um, no. Which is how I pulled up to our local McD’s, only to realize it had been closed for hours. So I parked beside the darkened windows and frantically searched on my phone for the nearest open outlet, only to realize the only one still serving was nowhere near home. Which meant it was time for an unplanned cruise through the darkened streets.

This isn’t just any McDonald’s. When it opened its doors in 1968, it was the first restaurant for the iconic brand in Eastern Canada. It has since undergone a careful rebuild that somehow managed to respect the spirit of the original.

I stood in the parking lot and thought about the countless stories that must have played out here over the ensuing decades. The pit stops after the game. The tiny moments marked with ice cream. The family meetings after a hospital visit. All I could do was imagine the history, the echoes pinging through my head amid the pale yellow glow.

I appreciate the prevailing opinion of a place like this, that it’s little more than a stupid fast food joint, hardly worthy of a second look let alone a soft-focus tour of our shared history. But that’s the thing: pieces of almost everyone’s life play out here, or in places just like it. Not every backdrop to every story is storybook.

And I felt that trigger as I carefully walked under the shadowy lights, appreciating the silent fact that I was adding another unplanned chapter to my family’s story in a place we had all come to strangely appreciate.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #architecture #shadows #lines #light #pools #oasis #geometry #streetphotography #night #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Geodesic, May 2006

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Thursday, March 14, 2024

When trees fall...

The friends who carry us
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When this tree fell in the forest, there was no way of knowing if anyone heard it.

Probably not. But that was never the point anyway.

Because a tree’s worth is hardly determined by the single moment when it falls to earth. It remains vital long after its roots are pulled unceremoniously from the ground by the cruel forces of time and gravity. Suspended in mid-air by its onetime neighbours, it decays slowly above the flowing creek, gently nourishing the water and the land that once fed its growth.

The circle of life tends to whisper its presence rather than shout it. So when it does, we might want to stop what we’re doing to appreciate it. The lessons we learn in the woods may indeed be silent, but we still owe it to ourselves to listen.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Furry couch potato

Thousand mile stare
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

More often than I dare admit, I’ll stop what I’m doing and just watch our dog, Calli, as she sleeps.

She can nap pretty much anywhere - just curls herself into a ball and nods off.

Or, as she’s done here, she’ll stretch out and drowsily stare back at me.

Whatever her state, I’ll stare back at her and wonder what’s going through her dog mind. Is she dreaming? If so, about what? Other dogs? The squirrel she failed to capture during this morning’s walk? That time I wrestled half a discarded chicken from between her supernaturally locked jaws?

I’ll never know for sure. I just hope that happiness is bouncing around in there. Everyone - including the dog - deserves happiness.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #callitheschnauzer #callithewonderschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #ınstagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023
Boop the snoot, October 2023
Sleepy puppy stare, November 2022
The king at rest, December 2014

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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Feel the bark

Textured
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Isn’t it fascinating how a strictly two-dimensional medium like photography can make us feel textures just by looking at them?

I don’t fully understand how that works, either, but it sure is a fun concept to play with, both in the mind and with the chunk of glass and electronics I hold in my hand.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #tree #trees #trunk #bark #optimist #park #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #texture #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Monday, March 11, 2024

All signs point to cheese

Wallace and Gromit would be proud
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This one needs an explanation. Whenever we hunt and forage for food, I feel compelled to take at least one photo.

Part of me wants to simply remember the ordinary moments, to take time-outs during the most mundane everyday activities. To remind myself that nothing is ever ordinary, and the extraordinary can show itself if we bother to look for it.

One of my unshakable habits involves the signs identifying different sections in the store. I originally focused on taking random pics of funnily-worded signs, but have since branched out to memorable designs and compositions.

There was something about the far corner of the dairy section that spoke to me. It had colour, shading, leading lines, indifferently applied yellow paint, and a non-coincidental cheese connection. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Wait, scratch that. Not everything needs to make sense. It’s perfectly fine if it’s just a photo or a moment that makes me - and hopefully you - smile.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #signs #shopping #retail #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
This way, please, January 2022
Bakerv or Bakery? October 2020

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Sunday, March 10, 2024

Listening to the soundtrack of the forest

It speaks to us
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We go through phases in life, and that often gets reflected in the things we create along the way. Which is my way of explaining why my feed seems filled with lots of nature and sunset scenes these days.

First, we live close to all this natural beauty, and after years of trying to convince myself to get “out there” more, I’m finally doing just that. And since I usually have a camera in tow, it’s easy to see how that might influence the photography.

Second, nature is a bit of a refuge from a world gone mad. And, yes, you’d be forgiven for thinking Planet Earth has done precisely that in recent years. Life may be beautiful and precious, but it also isn’t always easy.

And when it gets particularly wild, some of us may look for places of quiet reflection - actual, virtual, whatever. So this is one of my places of quiet reflection.

Maybe it makes for repetition, and maybe it doesn’t. Once upon a time I probably would have cared more, or at least done more to break the cycle of sameness and find something different to share. But the sameness IS the story, my story (and possibly the story of so many others, too), so I’m just going to go with it.

Today’s image is one of those moments-of-reflection scenes, where I just stood there and watched the not-so-silent woods slowly shake off the morning fog. It was a comforting thing to do in a comforting place at a time when comfort is so very much needed.

I hope you have similarly comforting places to seek refuge, and similarly comforting scenes to share.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Saturday, March 09, 2024

Under the glowing sky

Silhouetted
London, ON
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As a kid, I’d stare at lines of trees on the horizon and imagine what lay beyond.

Today, we’re blessed with all sorts of tools and technologies that tell us all we need to know about the parts of the planet that aren’t visible to the naked eye. In adulthood, answers to mysteries are never further than our fingertips.

Yet I find myself staring at the silhouetted trees and wishing some mysteries remained just that. Not everything needs an answer, and sometimes it’s good for the soul to not know what lies beyond the horizon.

Indeed, sometimes it’s better to let the answers find their way to us on their own schedule, one sunset at a time.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sun #sunset #twilight #sky #tree #trees #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Friday, March 08, 2024

Teletubby in a tree

Just hanging around
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Po hadn’t been out of the house in a while. And as I allowed that reality to sink in, I realized I hadn’t gotten much fresh air, either, so a spontaneous wander through the neighbourhood for both of us was called for.

As luck would have it, the sun was about to set. So while I waited for the golden hour light to fade to a delightful twilight glow, I unlatched my favourite Teletubby from her spot on my camera bag and attached her to the nearest tree.

It was bit breezy, so she danced rather unpredictably after I hooked the carabiner to the branch. My feet traced circles around her as I tried to line up the right light with the right background. It wasn’t my proudest photographic moment - a tiny stuffed animal? Seriously? - but it was easily the most fun I’ve had with a camera in a while.

As often happens when I shoot weird images in the park, I attract the attention of strangers - and today was no different. A woman in a lovely wool hat and a nicely tailored coat veered off the sidewalk and asked me what I was shooting. I watched her initial smile turn to something a little more quizzical as she gradually realized I wasn’t focusing on the sun, but was instead doing a bizarre shoot with a hanging Teletubby.

But confusion soon turned to laughter as she belatedly realized what was hanging from the tree, and she shared that her own kids had watched the show, and she strangely misses them. She seemed amused that I had held onto this Happy Meal toy for so long, and wished me well as she continued on her way.

Soon enough the sun was gone, so I returned Po to her usual spot on the bag and concentrated on the horizon. But for some reason it was the spontaneous exchange with a stranger that stuck with me.

I’m generally not one to connect with folks I don’t know - it’s the introvert in me - but I do appreciate the power of photography to create connections that wouldn’t otherwise happen. If it unlocked a memory for someone and gave them a reason to smile, then I’m glad I decided to take Po out for some air.

I guess we’ll have to get out there more often, then.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #po #red #teletubby #optimist #park #goldenhour #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
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Thursday, March 07, 2024

Standing still in the mud

Just listen
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a foggy Sunday morning, I decided to head into the woods for some much-needed unplugged time.

Soon after descending into the valley and leaving the rest of civilization behind, I realized two things:
  1. The place was completely empty. Usually I’ll see the occasional stranger or two, but not today.
  2. The place was a mud-filled mess after recent rains, which I soon realized was the reason for the emptiness.
Even worse, the fog show was a bust.

Since my initial reason for being here was now moot, and I couldn’t really walk too far for fear of becoming permanently stuck in the mud, I instead stood in one spot and just listened.

I heard the soundtrack of the woods at a fidelity I’ve never before experienced. I could hear droplets falling off of branches, and trunks creaking in the soft breeze. Even squirrels looking for food had their own audio signature, and soon enough I felt immersed in a rich, unexpected soundscape.

The camera stayed tucked away, because none of this was about taking pictures, anyway. For once, I just wanted to feel in the moment without the weight of having to record it. I’ll admit it was incredibly freeing.

I don’t know how long I stood in that one spot, but it would never be long enough, anyway.

Before turning for home and carefully picking my way out of this boggy mess, I took a single image with my phone. I wasn’t looking for The Photo as much as I simply wanted a marker to remind myself of a memorable walk in the woods.

But as is often the case, a simple picture becomes much more when it plugs into the story that made it possible.

And so here it is. I suspect there will be more walks like this to come.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #cathedral #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Remember: You are beautiful

Pause for an important message
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m the last person to applaud the appearance of graffiti*.

It’s a form of insidious vandalism that drags down neighbourhoods and opens the door to the kinds of breakdowns in the urban and community fabric that make us want to live anywhere else.

But I’m going to make an ever-so-slight exception this time.

I found this particular example under a bridge beside a creek through the woods not far from our home. The smooth concrete walls are frequent targets of the taggers, and the cat-and-mouse game between paint and primer has been playing out for as long as we’ve lived here.

I generally ignore it when new tags show up, figuring it won’t take long for the forces of good to do their thing. But this one stopped me in my tracks.

Because we are each, indeed, beautiful in our own way. And sometimes we need to be reminded of it.

Don’t get me wrong: there are better ways and places to share an inspirational message. But in a world where inspiration is in short supply to begin with, we should amplify the sentiment whenever we happen to see it.

Now wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing?

* I appreciate the blurred-line relationship between graffiti and art. I also appreciate that lots of street artists are immensely talented, and their work deserves to be celebrated alongside that of any other artists working in any other medium. I draw a huge distinction between these artists and those whose work amounts to little more than random squiggly tagging with whatever they managed to shoplift from the closest Canadian Tire. Thanks to the investments of the former kind, our city is blessed with a richly diverse mix of murals and related works. The world needs more of that kind of art.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #wonderland #graffiti #mural #art #street #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded


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Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Mushroom mania

Random growth
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wild mushrooms grow randomly beside a decaying tree stump on a suburban boulevard.

It isn’t the kind of thing that normally attracts much attention, but maybe it should. Who writes the rules about what is and is not worthy, anyway?

Which explains how I end up shooting an early-morning spontaneous still-life shoot while the dog sniffs the overgrown grasses just out of frame.

It’s another ordinary moment in an ordinary place, but by now it should be apparent to anyone who knows me that there are no ordinary moments or places.

Despite whatever we may have heard over the years, there are no rules to any of this.

And whatever merits attention is entirely up to us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #street #streetphotography #mushroom #stilllife #roadside #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

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