Friday, June 27, 2025

One pink dahlia, fleetingly

Paying attention to nature
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


My wife and I are walking out of the grocery store into a spitting rain when she notices the dahlias on display.

So I take out my smartphone and shoot a single frame.

Because we all need to take the time to smell the flowers. Or freeze them in pixels before time takes its inevitable toll.

Like all life, they’re strictly temporary, and it’s on us to appreciate them while they’re here.

Today it’s a flower. Next time, maybe something else.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sobeys #grocery #store #pink #flower #shopping #retail #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone


Thursday, June 26, 2025

Talking about Canada's AI gap on the CBC

New research from KPMG shows Canada ranks 44th out of 47 countries in #AI literacy.

What’s driving Canadian AI illiteracy? What will it take to improve our global standing? Why does any of this matter as much as it does?

I'll be discussing Canada's next AI moves with CBC Radio stations across the country Friday morning. Hope you can tune in!

#technology #artificialintelligence #analystlife

Related:

A stranger under the springtime sun

One foot in front of the other
Dryden, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Over the course of any given day, we’ll cross paths with countless strangers.

In just about every instance, that’s as far as it’ll go, the moments destined to fade just as quickly as they presented themselves. We’re so busy with our own journeys, after all, that it seems like a stretch to pay attention to anyone else’s.

But what if we took the time and tried to freeze some of those path-crossing moments? What if we looked up instead of down, and wondered, however briefly, about the lives of others?

So that’s what I tried to accomplish on the dusty downtown streets under a harsh spring sun. I looked up and tried to remember, if only for a moment. I used long glass and protective distance to look outward in a world not always accustomed to it.

This woman and I are still strangers, of course, and I doubt she ever knew I was there. But that moment still mattered uniquely to each of us, and I hope her journey was as charmed as mine.

In one respect this photo is the small town version of street photography. In another respect, it’s the story of all of our lives no matter where we may live.

#dryden #ontario #canada #downtown #throwback #streetphotography #strangers #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Corridors high above

Geometric
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Let’s continue our casual examination of the Toronto skyline, shall we?

I often wrestle with whether or not I should share more than one image from a given series. I’d hate to be repetitive or boring, but at the same time I often come home with more than one favourite photo from a given shoot.

Photographers always worry about not getting the shot, so the strategy is to take lots and lots of pics whenever we’re out and about. I’m far from a polished photographer, so my unedited photo roll will have lots of out-of-focus, badly lit, weirdly composed images. So capturing lots of frames limits the risk of coming home with nothing. Fingers crossed at least one of them will be decent, right?

Hence this image, which looks a lot like one I shared just a couple of weeks ago.

I captured them both as I wandered the concrete canyons in downtown Toronto on a quiet Saturday morning, actively looking for inspiration high above. I was slumming it with my smartphone - the best camera, after all, is the one you’ve got - and was enjoying the peaceful solitude of trying to line up all the geometric elements way above my head.

I ended up with a few angles that made me smile. This is one of them. I hope you enjoy not only the image, but the story behind it.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #torontodominioncentre #royalbankplaza #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #geometry #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

She watches

Mine, not yours
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


“I’m watching you, Wazowski. Always watching. Always.”

Seriously, what’s the deal with that Schnauzer stare?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Nap like a dog, June 2025
Dog therapy, May 2025
No joke. Dog. April 2024
Go on, I dare you, March 2025
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023

Monday, June 23, 2025

Catching up with my equine friends

Two horsepower
Middlesex Centre, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


There’s nothing like a fast ride through the country. The earlier the better.

Add horses into the mix and we have the ingredients for a perfect morning.

So I took a time-out from pedalling and stood in the tall grasses by the fenceline for a few minutes. And I just listened - to the winds blowing through the grass, the horses munching on their first snack of the day, the occasional neigh.

There’s a soundtrack out here in the country that’s easily missed if we don’t stop what we’re doing, and on this blisteringly hot Sunday, I was thankful to have had the opportunity to do just that.

Soon enough, it was time to get back on the road. The horses barely looked up.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #cycling #orange #TangerineDream #bicycle #instabike #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Meanwhile, in Iran

The notion of Iran’s regime threatening nuclear annihilation has just taken a significant hit, courtesy of American B-2A Spirit stealth bombers (in fairness, after a week of the IAF dismantling Iran’s air defense network.)

Yet the notion of Iran’s regime continuing to fuel global terrorism is as valid now as it’s ever been, if not more so.

Venomous snakes don’t die so willingly. Neither will this regime.

This isn’t remotely over.

Related:
  • This post touched off quite the exchange on my Facebook page - here - including more than a trivial amount of unchecked hatred. Fun times we live in. We won't be silent.

Remembering when spring faded to black

So long, season
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


It was time to say one last goodbye to spring, so the dog and I wandered over to our special spot and stared at the sky.

Okay, I stared up while she munched on the grass. And if I’m being honest with myself, it didn’t look all that different from the countless other times we’ve trudged out here and waited for the sky to do something special.

But milestones don’t always announce themselves with fanfare. Often they slip silently into the past, leaving it up to those of us on the ground to decide if it was worth it at all to get ourselves out there.

For what it’s worth, it’s always worth it to show up. The reward isn’t so much the show that may or may not play out. It’s the quiet journeys back and forth that shape the memories of the moment.

Maybe we’re alone, maybe we’re not, and maybe our travel companions insist on eating the grass.

But at least we got out there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #summersolstice #jayceepark #sunset #orange #cloudspotting #weather #wx #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone


Friday, June 20, 2025

Sew me some colour

Crafty rainbow
Dryden, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Since we could all use a little more colour in our lives, I’ve made the executive decision to share this photo.

If anything, it’ll serve as a reminder to me - and hopefully to you - to seek out colour and light in unexpected places.

Over to you…

#dryden #ontario #canada #throwback #retail #store #walmart #sewing #rainbow #thread #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Rainbows far from home, February 2024
Swirling, March 2022
Simply draped, April 2007
Layered mystery, October 2006

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Talk to the hand

Lost in the woods
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We see a lot of weird stuff in the neighbourhood, like this winter glove hanging at the end of a branch deep in the woods.

It’s impossible to ever know how it ended up here. Or why. But I enjoyed a brief moment of silent mystery while all the possibilities played out in my head.

I did feel the need to say a silent prayer before continuing the journey, however, because it never hurts to wish a stranger peace while they navigate the world with unprotected hands.

Or perhaps without any of the tools we all take for granted.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #tree #stilllife #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Lost sandals, May 2025
Blankets in the park, December 2021

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Where the streetcars have no name

Where journeys intersect
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


It’s early on a Sunday morning in downtown Toronto, and the city is already buzzing with residents getting a jump on the day.

Where they’re going is entirely a mystery to those of us watching the dance get underway on the wire-covered streets. But if you stand on the sidewalk, eventually the cars, streetcars, bikes, and scooters coalesce into a rhythmic flow that’s a lot less chaotic than it initially seems.

Everyone’s got a story here. But first they have to get themselves to the ideal place. Wherever that may be. Via whatever means make sense in the moment.

#toronto #ontario #canada #urban #downtown #city #ttc #transit #wires #zoom #streetphotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography

Related:
King of Kensington, March 2021

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Weeds in name only

Rise above
Lucan, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The world is burning and all I’ve got is a picture of a tree surrounded by weeds.

Photography as escape. It’s a thing, apparently.

#lucan #ontario #canada #tree #sky #yellow #dandelion #bokeh #dof #tiltshift #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:

Monday, June 16, 2025

Reflecting roadside with my bike

Because we still can...
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Whatever you do, just ride.

I realize how lucky I am to still be able to do this, so every once in a while I’ll coast to a stop and engage in a little roadside photography.

It isn’t because the photos are particularly frame-worthy, but because I just want to remember the moment.

Because to me, cycling is freedom. It’s also my tiny little message to the universe that it didn’t win this time.

I did. So I ride.

I hope you can, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunningdale #cycling #orange #TangerineDream #bicycle #shadow #selfie #instabike #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Further... April 2025
Shadowy cyclist, October 2024
On-the-road selfie, October 2022

Sunday, June 15, 2025

One memorable tree

The Scooby Gang would be proud
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


There’s a tree at the edge of the woods, at the bottom of a hill, that I’ve come to call the Tic Tac Toe Tree.

I first came across it a few years back while hiking through the valley. It was mid-winter, so it was covered in snow, and of all the snow-covered trees I happened across on that cold, grey morning, this was the one that I hovered over for entirely too long.

On every subsequent forest walk, I’d make a point of stretching my route just far enough so that I could return to this tree. In April, I captured this image just before the leaves grew in, and I’m thinking now would be a good time to head back for an update.

I can’t explain why this tree has become so resonant to me, or why none of the countless other trees nearby has become nearly as embedded in my brain. We’re creatures of habit, I suppose, and over time each of us seems to accumulate our own unique collections of things and experiences that bring us comfort.

Planet Earth is hardly a place of comfort these days. So I seek out a single tree in the forest for an occasional moment of quiet familiarity before climbing back out of the valley and into the real world.

It isn’t much of a coping strategy, but it’s what seems to be working for now.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #tictactoe #tree #naturephotography #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

Saturday, June 14, 2025

It's Stroke Month. Would you know what to do?

Where it all began
Middlesex Centre, ON
August 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Dear friends,

Did you know that it’s Stroke Month in Canada?

Did you also know that I had one? On a sunny summer afternoon almost 12 years ago, I turned my head the wrong way while riding my bike and accidentally tore my left carotid artery. A few hours later, clots from the injury broke free and migrated into my brain, touching off a stroke that paralyzed me on my right side and zapped my ability to speak.

Thanks to my wife who recognized the signs, I got the help I needed and was able to make an almost full recovery. I’m lucky in ways so many other stroke victims are not.

So I’m once again working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to raise stroke awareness, primarily by sharing my story with my media partners.

While I usually talk tech with them, this month I’m sharing my experience in the hope that others will learn from it - and hopefully take the time to learn the signs and have important conversations with friends and family. 39% of Canadians, for example, don’t know what FAST is. That needs to change.

So I’ll be joining #CBCRadio programs across the country this weekend, and will continue to share links to interviews with my full range of media peeps in the days and weeks to come. In the meantime, please visit heartandstroke.ca to learn more.

Thank you,

Carmi

Related:
START HERE: So, about that stroke - August 2014
#3: More stroke stuff... - August 2014
Stroke survivor shares his story, London Free Press, Aug 14, 2014
Coming up on Canada AM - Lookahead to February 2015 interview
Winding down the day that was - February 2015 - incl link to Canada AM/Heart/Stroke Month segment
Two years on... - August 2015
Three bonus years - August 2016
Four years later - August 2017
Five years on - August 2018
Seven years on, August 2020
Eight years on, August 2021
Nine years on... August 2022
Ten years on... August 2023
11 years on... August 2024

Friday, June 13, 2025

Appreciating the small brick house

Not just a house. Home.
Barrie, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Have you ever stopped for some now-forgotten reason on some now-forgotten street in the middle of a town far from home and been fascinated by the neat little brick house across the street?

Curiosity is a funny thing. It compels us to look both for and at things we’ve never before seen, and to appreciate beauty in ways that didn’t occur to us when we first awoke that day.

I hope you’re able to see new things in new ways today, no matter how far from home you may find yourself.

#barrie #ontario #canada #brick #home #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #roadtrip #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
This old house, September 2013
Caption This 109, February 2009

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Graduation, unlocked

So proud of him...
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Noah’s middle names might be Mayer and Gideon, but I’ll humbly suggest we add tenacity to the list.

That’s how he navigated his undergrad, and we are beyond proud not only of what he accomplished in making it to the convocation stage today, but in how he conducted himself along the way.

Parenthood isn’t always easy or linear. But with a kid like him, it’s easy to appreciate how rewarding the journey can ultimately be.

Way to go, kiddo. We can’t wait to see what your next chapter brings.

#uwo #western #university #graduate #family #everything

Related:
Why I'm thankful... October 2021

Coffee under a morning sun

Ready to start the day
Dryden, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


I’m pretty sure coffee and I have largely broken up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t steal the occasional weird view of someone else’s mug.

There’s wonder all around, after all. Even at a breakfast table far from home.

#dryden #ontario #canada #tikkunolam #coffee #mug #shadow #texture #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
My beloved green mug, January 2016
Tea time in London, November 2011
Morning rituals, December 2010
Turbulent tea, March 2009
Mugged redux, December 2008
Mugged, January 2008

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

When skyscrapers meet

Perspective matters
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Skyscrapers don’t just reach for the sky.

I’d like to think they also congregate with each other, the whispering winds picking up and sharing the stories of the countless souls who work in, pass by, and stare up at them.

Maybe they’re just buildings. Maybe they’re something more.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #royalbankplaza #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #geometry #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

Monday, June 09, 2025

When trees lean

Together
Upsala, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


In the middle of a long drive across the heart of the greatest country on Earth, we stop for a break under sunny skies.

While the rest of our crew does what they need to do, I wander across the dusty parking lot toward the two-lane highway. I want to remember this place that everyone else tends to forget, but I’m not quite sure how.

The Trans-Canada Highway runs parallel to the railway that first built this nation, the thick forests looming over trains and cars alike as they have for well over a century.

I notice the trees lean ever so slightly, a compensation, of sorts, for the prevailing winds that blow across the land. I smile at the notion of unseen forces shaping the landscape so subtly over the course of decades and centuries, and realize the photo I had wanted to take was staring at me through the lens all along.

Soon enough, we resume our journey and put this isolated crossroads behind us, leaving the whispering winds to quietly continue their important work.

#upsala #ontario #canada #transcanada #highway #rail #trees #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Road trip hoar frost, January 2024
Rest stop trees, October 2009

Sunday, June 08, 2025

Colourful crackers on dirty ground

Recycled, not lost
Kenora, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Don’t cry because you dropped some crackers on the dirty ground.

Smile because they left random remnants of colour in their wake.

Or because the birds and the squirrels got an unexpected snack.

Or because you had some crackers to begin with.

Or maybe all three.

Or maybe this has nothing to do with crackers at all.

#kenora #ontario #canada #goldfish #crackers #colour #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Grounded, October 2017

Saturday, June 07, 2025

We'll cross that bridge...

Cable-stayed goodness
Nipigon, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The Nipigon River Bridge crosses the Nipigon River, which connects to Lake Nipigon, itself not far from the township of, you guessed it, Nipigon. Such imagination, no?

Naming aside, it’s a striking piece of engineering along the Trans-Canada Highway that alternates between mind numbing sameness - So. Many. Trees. - and flashes of stunning geological formations that would be at home in National Geographic.

So when my GPS app said we were approaching the bridge, I thought it would be fun to try to snag a photo from my third-row seat at the back of the minivan. As luck would have it, the only camera close by was my iPhone. And the window I’d be shooting through was covered with forest fire particulate.

And yet, it sorta worked. I think.

I share this not because the geometric photo is especially lovely. This will not become a poster. But anyone who’s hung around my feed long enough knows that’s not how I define photographic success.

A great picture freezes a moment in time. It reflects the lives we lead. It can often be a blurry, scratch-covered mess of random lines and unplanned composition - again, just like the lives it reflects.

That’s what this photo is to me. Not remotely technically perfect, but perfect in its reflection of the journey we were on, the tiny circle of family who shared the experience, and the memories we were making as we criss-crossed the country.

It wasn’t planned or methodically composed. It’s an image that was grabbed quickly, in the moment, before it slipped just as quickly into the past.

In that sense, photography is little more than a mirror of the life it tries to reflect. As the bridge fades into the rearview, I hold my breath and hope I’ve managed to pull it off.

#nipigon #ontario #canada #bridge #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #transcanada #highway #speed #geometry #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Spanning the years, April 2013

Friday, June 06, 2025

They make pizzas in Sudbury

Do it for the dough
Lively, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We’re just back from an epic road trip with the fam, and to no one’s surprise, photos were taken. Many photos, in fact.

Part of me wants to tell the story of the places, people, experiences, even moments. But another part of me derives a weird sense of comfort from the photographic process when I’m far from home.

As much as I enjoy travel, I’ll admit being on the road sometimes intimidates me. I crave routine, which can be difficult to have when you’re on the move and/or living out of a highly overstuffed suitcase.

So when we encounter a particularly colourful group of ladies who make pizza in an old school pizza joint in a place called Lively, I take a timeout from the journey and pull out the camera.

After they step outside for a break, their empty workplace sits behind glass, waiting for the next wave of pies to be made. It feels like a reasonable marker of this part of the journey, a visual signature of sorts of a small town far from home.

In the end we are little more than the sum total of the choices we make and the experiences we craft along the way.

So we tell tiny stories in between here and there, reminders that life is best experienced when we wander just this far outside our comfort zone and see things we wouldn’t otherwise see.

The pizza is a welcome bonus.

#sudbury #lively #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #toppers #pizza #restaurant #stilllife #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Plated, November 2006

Thursday, June 05, 2025

Nap like a dog

How may I help you?
London, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


She looks like I feel right about now.

Maybe we could all use a little more nap time.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Dog therapy, May 2025
No joke. Dog. April 2024
Go on, I dare you, March 2025
Random dog photo time, October 2024
Helper dog, August 2024
That Schnauzer stare, December 2023

Wednesday, June 04, 2025

Watching the train from above

Choo!
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The rules of life should be simpler than they are. Perhaps one of them should be to wave at trains as they pass by.

What other rules of life should we add to the list?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hydepark #cprail #rail #stainless #steel #train #track #perspective #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Trains to nowhere, April 2025
Step aboard, March 2025
Off the rails, August 2024
G'day, GO Train, April 2022
Pandemic + 1, March 2021

Tuesday, June 03, 2025

The silhouetted tree

Canopy, for now
London, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


It’s 8:29 p.m. on an early spring night. I’m following the dog around the neighbourhood on her final walk of the day, and we’re both enjoying the slowly fading light.

Well, I’m assuming both of us are enjoying it. Calli the Wonderschnauzer can’t exactly say so in words, but her jaunty bounce at the other end of her leash suggests she’s a happy camper.

While waiting for her to sniff some grass, I catch a glimpse of this tree against the clear sky. I flippantly call them visions, moments where I see something and think it’s worth a photo. This happens to me more often than I dare admit.

On this night, this particular tree under this particular light feels somewhat Disney-esque. I can’t quite describe it, but it feels like a signature moment in one of their formulaic movies where the camera lingers on an iconic scene as epic music swells, um, epically throughout the theatre.

The dog is really going to town on the tree trunk, so I have lots of time to pull the smartphone out and capture a single frame. It won’t show up in any Disney movie anytime soon. Or any movie, for that matter. But I’ll remember the moment all the same.

And to think it all started with a silly tree. Maybe nothing is truly silly after all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tree #sky #silhouette #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

Monday, June 02, 2025

3 years of Lilly

Focused
Dryden, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


This is Lilly at 3.

A force of nature whose impact defies the brief time she’s been around.

An endless source of energy who could seemingly power the planet if given the chance.

A kind soul who looks out for others.

An old soul who speaks and acts in ways well beyond her years.

A funny banana who laughs from her belly.

A fierce protector of her little sister.

A spark of life who brightens any room she’s in.

A tiny ball of limitless potential whose story is just getting started.

#family #everything

Related:

Related:
2 years of Lilly, June 2024
4 years of family, September 2023
A year of Lilly, June 2023
Lilly at 6 months, December 2023
Their third... September 2022

Sunday, June 01, 2025

Dead or alive?

Please...
London, ON
June 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram


We play this game every spring: Will the leaves return?

While most trees and bushes tend to come back from their winter’s rest, not all do.

This photo was taken in June of last year, long after this small-ish tree in a hushed riverside clearing should have sprouted new buds and leaves. And for reasons that I still don’t fully understand, I felt the need to quietly remember the moment.

Because today it’s a tree. Tomorrow, it’s something, or someone, else. And everyone deserves to be remembered in some way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #dead #tree #landscapephotography #naturephotography #stilllife #texture #bokeh #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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