Let's chase waterfalls, shall we?

Go with the flow
Terrace Bay, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Nothing erases the arrogance of humanity more than a few minutes spent beside a roaring waterfall.

Mastering nature? Not quite. More like nature mastering us, which is as it should be.

#aguasabon #terracebay #canada #throwback #landscapephotography

Cherry Blossom memories

Sticky sweet reflection
Thornhill, ON
March 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

They say we are what we eat.

And while I don’t think I actually AM a cherry blossom, I’m just old enough to remember how these treats made me feel when I was a child.

The Cherry Blossom was very much an acquired taste kind of thing, a sickeningly sweet and limitlessly messy confection that based on this more recent example, had made some enemies over at Health Canada.

They stopped making them last year, and in doing so touched off a wave of nostalgia among folks of, um, a certain age. So when our dear friends allowed me to have some reflectively photographic fun on their kitchen counter with their lovingly stockpiled collection, I couldn’t say no.

I remember not so much the taste - which was, frankly, too much of everything that makes us feel icky afterward - but the simple joy of sharing something sweet with friends. I remember the idyllic suburban street we lived on, the neighbours we played with, and what we snacked on when we needed to refuel before the next round of hide and seek or street hockey.

When we were kids, it was a given that these things would always be around. Adulthood taught us that nothing lasts forever. It’s a lesson I’m still not ready to fully accept.

#toronto #canada #throwback #stilllife #foodporn

Punch buggies are everywhere

Fahrvergnügen
Spanish River, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Small towns alongside the Trans-Canada Highway share their secrets in fits and starts, with picture-perfect main drags giving way to spectacular cliffs rising out of Great Lakes, and endless stretches of supertall evergreens filling in the rest.

Every once in a while we’ll roll past a crumbling, graffiti-covered motel, or, in this case, a lonely garage with a motley collection of old cars parked haphazardly outside. Where an icon of automotive history bakes under the midday sun, a silent witness to a world few of those driving through bother to ask about.

I smile at the prospect of a yellow punch buggy being lovingly wrenched on beside the road that connects its dusty home to the outside world. I imagine this being the humble start of an epic journey in an epic machine.

Drive safe, friend.

#spanishriver #canada #roadtrip #vw #throwback

13 years on...

Still here...
Middlesex Centre, ON
August 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

13 years ago today, I went for a bike ride that almost killed me.

On my way home from a fast, hot loop through the countryside, I came across road construction. As I threw my head over my shoulder to make a u-turn on the usually busy regional highway, I accidentally tore my left carotid artery.

A few hours later, after I had somehow made it home, the injury site sent clots into my brain and caused an ischemic stroke. My right side was paralyzed, and I could not speak.

I recovered because my wife and kids knew the signs and immediately called 911. I recovered because I live 10 minutes away from a world-leading research hospital filled with miracle workers who knew exactly what to do the moment I rolled through the doors. I recovered because I got the help I needed within the magic window that every stroke victim knows is key to their very survival. I recovered because I live in a country that has decided that health care is still something of a priority. I am insanely lucky.

I should have taken the hint from the universe that cycling was trying to kill me. Over the years, I had been doored, assaulted by a road-raging motorist, t-boned on a bike path, and hauled over by the cops.

I carry scars from them all, signs of a journey that hasn’t always been charmed, imperfections that remind me things don’t always follow a set plan.

Despite it all, a key milestone for my recovery was getting back on the bike again. I knew it would make me feel whole again.

Lying in a deliberately dark and quiet house for weeks afterward, I imagined that first pedal push, that feeling of the bike gathering momentum with each turn of the pedals. I played the movie countless times in my scrambled brain, hoping it would eventually be more than my imagination.

Soon enough I took that ride. And today, 13 years on, I stand at the very same crossroads where my life took an unplanned turn.

Not everyone gets to continue the journey. That weight will stay with me as I leave this intersection behind and push once more toward the horizon.

#strokeawareness #family #health #everything

Related:

START HERE: So, about that stroke - August 2014

#2: When even "thank you" seems lame - 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

Life at the crossroads - April 2015

Two years on... - August 2015

Three bonus years - August 2016

Four years later - August 2017

Five years on - August 2018

Luke Perry could have been me - or any of us - March 2019

The day everything changed - August 2019

Seven years on, August 2020

Eight years on, August 2021

#StrokeAwarenessMonth, the video, June 2022

PODCAST: Lessons to my Younger Self, with Sam East, July 2022

Nine years on... August 2022

Ten years on... August 2023

Stroke Month, FAST, me, and maybe even you, June 2024

11 years on... August 2024

12 years on... August 2025

Remembering Lloyd Robertson

Canada lost its most trusted voice today.

So many members of Canada’s media community lost a mentor.

The day Lloyd Robertson sent me the kindest note about my work helping viewers make technology easier to understand was one of those days I wish I could hold onto.

I was privileged to experience kindness from a giant whose life seemed to revolve around countless small acts of grace to anyone who crossed his orbit. He truly was a mensch, and the world is a little dimmer in his absence.

Showing some LRT architecture love

Mass transit coolness
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

And they say public transit infrastructure can’t inspire.

Pfft.

Who are they, anyway?

#toronto #eglinton #lrt #architecture #shadows

Bug off the BBQ, please

What's for dinner?
London, ON
August 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When BBQs aren’t heated up to temperatures approaching the surface of the sun, they sit quietly awaiting their opportunity to help craft their next meal.

Invariably they get visited by all sorts of wildlife. Because, you know, outside.

Ours is no exception.

Which explains the pleasant surprise that awaited me as I got set up for burning the bejeebers out of our dinner the other night.

I’m guessing she was a grasshopper - sorry, entomology was never really my thing - and we had a bit of a staring contest before she decided to spring off to parts unknown.

Maybe she found another BBQ. At least that’s the hope. Stay safe, little green one.

#ldnont #canada #insect #bugslife #stilllife

Cycling through the weather

Just grab on
Middlesex Centre, ON
August 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The plan was to wake up with the sun, then ride.

But there was no sun. Just thick clouds and the looming threat of thunderstorms.

I rode, anyway.

It didn’t take long to leave the city behind, and soon enough I was waving at cows and horses and one very sad farm dog as I zoomed past.

The rains held off. I crossed paths with countless other cyclists who also decided to bet against the weather. We all waved at each other, happy to just be out there.

I pointed the bike toward new roads, unsure what I’d find along the way.

Eventually I needed to double-check the map, so I stopped beside a field filled with hay bales for some up close and personal time with Google Maps. I also snapped a few photos and grabbed a snack. Because every ride needs to be remembered. And fuelled.

Somewhere in the distance a tractor was digging a trench around the edge of a corn field, the stalks hiding most of it from view.

Overhead, a hawk dove out of the sky and disappeared behind a gravel pile, re-emerging seconds later with a very large piece of something unidentifiable dangling wildly out of its beak.

Eventually it was time to turn for home, and I pulled into the driveway filled with gratitude.

From the outside looking in, it might have looked like an ordinary ride on an ordinary early morning. But there’s no such thing as ordinary when we’re on a bicycle.

I’ll have to keep finding new roads, then.

#ldnont #middlesex #canada #cycling #justride

Mirrors and clouds

Painted
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There is always more than one way to look at the sky.

Come to think of it, there’s always more than one way to look at just about anything.

Anyone, too.

#ldnont #architecture #reflective #bluesky #cloudspotting

Little Man turns 26

All grown up
Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON
June 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Noah has been our Little Man since the day he was born, but as he celebrates his 26th birthday, I wonder if the title even applies anymore.

Because there’s nothing little about him. He’s limitlessly kind, whip smart, incredibly funny, and the best uncle two little girls could ever ask for. He is loved beyond measure by everyone who knows him, and reminds us daily why we’re so proud of the remarkable human he’s grown into.

I don’t know where the time has gone, and I wish we could slow it down a bit. But as our youngest starts his second quarter-century, he continues to make every moment together count, and we all appreciate just how blessed we are to have him.

#LiveLaughLevy #birthday #life #parenthood #family #everything

Mother Nature takes out her colours

Multi-hued sky
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Mother Nature decided she couldn’t end the day without a bit of a show in the skies.

Luckily I happened to be walking the dog when she did.

Luckily the dog decided to pull the leash in an entirely new direction, so we were under an especially open patch of sky just as the sun was setting.

Circumstance is a fascinating thing, an unknown and unseen convergence of countless factors that puts us in certain places at certain times, that dictates which stories get told, and which ones don’t.

And last night, this is the story that played out far above our heads.

We were lucky to witness it.

#ldnont #sunset #cloudspotting #optimistpark #shotoniphone

Snowbirds to be grounded

Dreams take flight
London, ON
September 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Royal Canadian Air Force’s 431 Air Demonstration Squadron - better known as the Snowbirds - is flying its final airshow season in its geriatric CT-114 Tutors.

Soon enough, the jets will land for the final time as the team goes on hiatus for a few years before its new CT-157 Siskin II turboprops are ready.

We saw them last September, and they’re not scheduled to return here before standing down.

I’m going to miss the jets.

Apparently so will he.

#airshowlondon #ldnont #canada #aviationphotography #planespotting

That northern Ontario hotel lampshade aesthetic

Light the way there
Wawa, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Every time we stay in a hotel, I like to find ways to remember the experience.

To a certain extent, all hotel rooms are remarkably similar. And given that the logistics of the typical road trip revolve around fitful nights of sleep before hitting the road early the next morning, we rarely have the time for much reflection.

But on occasion we end up with a spare minute or two amid the rush to get from here to there, and I find myself recording the tiny details - lamps, room numbers, fixtures, window views, whatever - that make these otherwise forgettable places a little less forgettable.

It’s an admittedly weird habit. But if it helps us hold on to moments and experiences that would otherwise be lost to time, I’d argue it’s more than worth hitting the pause button for a bit.

#wawa #ontario #canada #travelphotography #stilllife #throwback

Defiant leaf

Survivor
London, ON
October 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Time hasn’t been kind to this leaf. And if I had to guess, bugs and parasites have had their way with it, too.

Yet it still manages to catch the late-afternoon sun just enough to stop me dead in my tracks. And as I hover over this worn-out example of nature’s respiratory system, I ponder the fragility of life, and the fact that most of us would simply look away.

Humans seem to have some odd - or, more precisely, narrow - notions of what is and is not beautiful. Which likely means they miss out on anything outside the limited range of what they deem worthy of their time and attention.

Soon enough this leaf will be gone. Its quiet lessons will stick with me much longer.

#ldnont #medway #green #backlit #stilllife

They're shooting at Jews again

Abstract distraction from reality
Dryden, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Two locations of a beloved Toronto bagel bakery chain were attacked yesterday, with at least one of them showing evidence of gunfire.

We’ve been to Kivas many times over the years, and the never-ending wave of violence against Jewish-owned businesses continues to rattle us to our core.

Statistics Canada data puts numbers to the fear: 70% of all hate crimes that target religions in Canada are aimed at Jews - this despite the fact that we make up 0.9% of the general population. Let that sink in for a moment.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow was too busy celebrating the federal government’s Billy Bishop Airport decision, and did not feel it necessary to connect directly with members of the Jewish community. We’re used to this by now, the ignorance and indifference from the leader of Canada’s largest city, the barely concealed contempt that happily fuels Jew hatred among her base.

If you’re Jewish in Canada, a nation often considered a bastion of tolerance, the deal is stark: our fate rests in the hands of those in power who often view us with the same uninformed world view that results in shattered glass and random street assaults in the first place. They’ve run the math and have decided there aren’t enough Jewish votes to justify changing the status quo.

But here’s the thing: after they’ve come for the Jews, they’ll come for everyone else. Ms. Chow and her acolytes might want to learn from history, assuming they even care.

So don’t mind if I post trivial still-life photos of candied chocolate on an Airbnb dining room table. Because I’ll take any refuge from the relentless and increasingly normalized hatred. I have no choice but to live my life, even if I do so looking over my shoulder.

#antisemitism #enough

Rear view cyclist

Gravel bike, in its element
Middlesex Centre, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The view from the office this morning was particularly inspiring.

#ldnont #middlesexcounty #canada #cycling #justride

Everywhere I see green

Game of (midsummer) tones
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s a walking path that winds its way through a nearby river valley, at one point crossing underneath four lanes of high-speed traffic.

The drivers high above, speeding from here to there and back, likely have no idea what lies below them. The only evidence from way down here of their passage is a constant thrum of rubber on asphalt, underpinned by the drumbeat of expansion joints being pummelled from above.

Which makes this scene all the more extraordinary, for it exists within an urban context seemingly focused on destroying it.

It’s around lunchtime on a Sunday when I find myself pedalling through here on the final few kilometres of the day’s ride. I capture a slash of multi-hued green out of the corner of my eye as I emerge from underneath the concrete overpass and decide it needs to be remembered.

As landscape images go, it isn’t much of one, just a quick capture of a scene that I could have just as easily cycled past. I don’t want to overthink the moment, and snag just a single frame under the midday sun before I continue on my way.

But that colour, the tones, the shades, the reflections, all of them existing in the very shadows of a city that could very well have swallowed it all, but miraculously didn’t.

As I get back on the bike and push off, I say a quiet thank you for the continued existence of this place, and others just like it. Sometimes we need timely reminders of just how much we need them.

#ldnont #canada #fanshawe #gameoftones #landscapephotography

Stop and smell the radishes

Salad, anyone?
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Let’s make something clear: grocery shopping sucks these days.

Scandalous pricing. Stupid retail tricks like shrinkflation and skimpflation. Competition-killing monopolies controlled by Canada’s wealthiest families.

I’m not one to be driven to drink, but pounding down a few radishes, straight up, isn’t beyond the realm of possibility if we’re looking for ways to cope.

My weird dietary habits aside, it was the colour that got me this time, a vibrant mix of reds and greens that seemed to exist in a palette all their own.

And it got me thinking: grocery stores may very well have become places of frustration, but they still seem to have tiny pockets of wonder sticking out from the deepest corners of the vegetable aisle.

All we have to do is look for them.

#ldnont #canada #sobeys #fruitography #stilllife

Train crazy

Crossings
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When you live in a city of railroad crossings, you inevitably spend lots of time just waiting for the train to pass.

In an accelerated world, getting stuck behind the train can be a source of frustration, but I’d rather not view it that way. I’d like to think it’s more a case of the universe tapping us gently on the shoulder to remind us to slow down and take in the view.

So on this quiet morning by the tracks, I do just that.

Whatever awaits me on the other side can wait a few more minutes. No need to rush.

#ldnont #canada #train #perspective #shotoniphone

Where I talk about OpenAI agents going rogue

An AI agent from OpenAI escapes containment during a security test, gains access to the internet and successfully attacks systems owned by #HuggingFace, an AI startup. This isn't science-fiction: it happened last week, and I'm talking to CBC Radio stations across Canada this afternoon to explain why this marks a dangerous new chapter in AI development.

Morning by the waves

Watch your feet
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wherever you are, cast a giant shadow.

That is all.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #sunrise #landscapephotography #throwback

Into the clearing skies

Canvas in the sky
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

While fires thousands of kilometres away continue to rage and consume communities, the winds have shifted, and have carried the widespread smoke elsewhere for a little while.

So last night we stretched our walk out a bit, as if to make up for lost time.

And we looked up, to skies that after days of being choked off by suffocating particulates, seemingly decided to put on a bit of a show before the rains moved in.

It didn’t last long, but even the most brief moments of joy can stamp themselves most profoundly on the soul.

May the winds continue to shift. May the rains continue to fall. May those touched by fire soon be touched by the light of the healing sky.

#ldnont #sunset #cloudspotting #optimistpark #shotoniphone

Costco me Elmo

Smiles in an unexpected place
London, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Anyone who’s ever been to Costco knows how insanely busy it can be, with endless waves of distracted and rude customers making things miserable for the folks who work there.

So imagine my pleasant surprise when we came across a random Elmo perched on top of the point-of-sale display, a tiny effort by an overworked employee to bring joy to a joyless corner of the world.

There’s goodness out there. We just have to look for it in the spots we least expect.

#ldnont #canada #elmo #muppet #stilllife

The signs are all there

Where to begin...
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s been a while since we last had haiku time. So let’s resolve that, shall we? Here we go:

I have seen the sign.
It clearly has some issues.
Who am I to judge?

Thank you for attending my poetry-themed TED Talk (™).

#ldnont #canada #retail #apocalypse

Step carefully

Stairs in the abstract
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some scenes play out at our feet.

Crafted with rulers, sharp enough to leave a mark.

Bathed in deep shadows and brilliant light.

Not the kind of images most photographers generally capture.

But we’re not most photographers, are we?

#niagara #notl #canada #throwback #monochrome

Lovebirds in a concrete canyon

Keeping warm
Toronto, ON
January 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s a cold, damp, grey afternoon, and something peculiar seems to be playing out on the shadowy edge of a dusty downtown sidewalk.

Either these two birds are engaged in the avian equivalent of a standoff, or they’re so deeply in love that all they can see is each other.

I want to imagine it’s the latter, because we all frankly need an excuse to be inspired. And as countless commuters shuffle past, their eyes so buried in screens they barely acknowledge what’s going on at ground level, they stand their ground, as if nothing else seems to matter.

Eventually I, too, have to rejoin the shuffling masses, and as I turn to go they remain motionless, locked in that endless stare I won’t soon forget.

I wish them safety and comfort. I wish the rest of us the ability to learn from their quiet example.

#toronto #canada #wildlifephotography #streetphotography #canonphotography

Sad dog. Dirty air.

Please don't breathe
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m not one to join photographic bandwagons, but I’ll make an exception this time.

I shot this image of Calli the Wonderschnauzer yesterday afternoon. The smoke from historic wildfires in northwestern Ontario had arrived earlier in the day, turning pristine blue skies into a frightening sepia-toned mess that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror movie.

The air was so thick we could taste it, and our walks will be severely truncated until this is over. As you can see here, she’s not pleased.

As expected, the smoke show, which for much of the day gave Toronto to our east the distinction of having the lowest air quality in the world, sparked quite the upheaval on social media. And understandably so given how frightening it can be when the air we breathe could land us in hospital.

Yet in the faraway communities where the fires are actually burning, things are already so much worse. Homes and businesses are being reduced to ash. Entire towns and reserves are being evacuated. Everyone else hangs on tenterhooks, hoping against hope that the spreading necklace of fire doesn’t come for them next.

It’s a perspective thing, I guess. Someone always has it worse. The pup and I had a safe space to return to. Not everyone can say the same.

#ldnont #canada #climatechange #wildfires #actofdog

Beautiful ballyard

Field of dreams
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

FIFA might take exception to any other sport calling itself the beautiful game, but I’ll happily argue the point that every field of play is breathtaking in its own right.

Toronto’s Rogers Centre is no exception. When configured for Blue Jays baseball, it’s almost impossible to walk into the stadium and not be wowed by the view. I’ll often time out from watching the game and just appreciate the space for what it is: a giant playground that evokes the deep history of a culturally significant pastime.

The last time we were there, I was entranced by deep centre field. It’s an often overlooked part of the field, because most of the action takes place way over by home plate. Or in the infield. Out here, it feels like an afterthought.

But every once in a while, a long fly ball or sharply hit grounder sparks a flurry of activity in this usually empty space. The crowd holds its breath as outfielders scramble to catch the ball and save the game. For a few tense seconds, the play can go one way or another before it all ends just as quickly as it began and the crowd returns to its already scheduled programming on the other end of the ballyard.

Which explains why I stare into the emptiness and wait for something to happen.

#toronto #canada #bluejays #rogerscentre #skydome #throwback

Eagle at the dump

This is my best side
Dryden, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Whenever I come across animals in the wild, I feel the need to give them a name.

I can’t explain why, because I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember and I don’t recall whatever prompted me to start. But like all habits, it’s become a part of who I am.

This rather majestic-looking eagle was hanging out, in of all places, the city dump. Strange as it may sound, there’s a lot of wildlife here. Beyond the eagles and gulls, the occasional bear has been known to show up. I’m guessing this place is like Nirvana to them.

This particular bird, who I think looks like an Eloise, was just hanging out on a dirt pile, waiting for the front end loader nearby to finish packing down a fresh load. She didn’t seem fazed at all by all the activity as she patiently waited for her next meal to be served up.

I’m pretty sure she was giving me the stink eye, perhaps because she was concerned I’d horn in on her mid-afternoon snack. I gently reassured her I had no designs on her meal. Whatever it was, I hope she enjoyed it.

Fly safe, Eloise. I’m glad our paths crossed, however briefly.

#dryden #canada #eagle #throwback

Roadside reflection before we ride

Tangerine Dream at rest
London, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s 6:02 a.m. on the edge of the city. It’s 14 minutes past sunrise, but since the horizon is filled with the relentless artifacts of a suburban subdivision, our closest star still hasn’t made its first appearance of the day.

The streets are dead quiet, birds singing morning songs in the young trees providing the only soundtrack we’ll ever need as the horizon comes alive with shades of orange and yellow and other colours I can’t even pronounce.

This morning’s ride will take me and this miraculous machine far to the north of town, where cows are already grazing in their pastures and thoroughbred horses are practicing for upcoming races on ovals carved around fields of corn.

But before I can turn intentions into motion, I stop to listen to the birds and wait for the sun to break free. Because every journey needs a deliberate starting point, a moment in time where the road lies ahead, as yet unexplored.

And the wheels that will take us there deserve their moment of quiet appreciation before we leave the city behind for good.

#ldnont #canada #sunrise #cycling #justride

Reflecting the cloudy skies

Magic mirror
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When buildings decide to tell stories about the skies overhead, the least we can do is look up and take notice.

Precisely what those stories may or may not be is less relevant than the fact that there are stories at all.

So we open our eyes a little wider. Maybe stop what we’re doing and watch the clouds dance through fields of blue.

Because this particular story, of this particular moment, in this particular corner of the sky, will never be told again.

#ldnont #architecture #reflective #bluesky #cloudspotting

Trees frozen in time

Remembering the cold
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

By the numbers, today is set to be a scorcher, with above-seasonal temperatures made even more uncomfortable by excessive humidity.

So please don’t mind if I dig into the archives for a bit and hang out, photographically at least, with some frozen scenes captured during the dead of winter.

Because sometimes we all need little reminders of moments where nothing else matters beyond the need to stare in awe at nature’s artistry.

#ldnont #onstorm #winter #bokeh #monochrome

When business disappears

All that's left
Côte Saint-Luc, QC
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Just across the street from a busy frozen yogurt shop, an unassuming one-storey building sits empty, the lights of parked cars occasionally slashing through dirty glass windows, washing across the dusty concrete floor.

It used to be a paint store, a local source of colour, yet now seems barely able to hold on to what little colour is left.

It’s a silent reminder that nothing lasts forever, that some memories remain fused in the minds of those who used to live here, while others disappear among the fleeting lights of neighbours too busy to care about what once was.

#montreal #cotestluc #urbex #ruinporn #throwback

Finding art in the shadows

Alleyway discovery
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m running an errand downtown when I catch sight of some raging graffiti at the back of an alleyway and decide to take a closer look.

As I walk toward the back of the alley and round the first corner to snag a photo, I hear a scratching sound to my left. I turn my head and realize I’ve interrupted a middle-aged woman in a tattered hoodie injecting herself in the shadows between a crumbling brick wall and a thick stand of weeds.

I’m standing close enough to her that I feel the need to apologize before heading back to the street. I need not have worried, because she didn’t look up.

As I’m walking out, a salt-and-pepper-bearded man approaches and offers me a swig of beer from an open bottle. I politely decline.

The streets of downtown London are increasingly filled with individual tragedies, none of which offer easy answers or even much hope. I want to cry as I get back into my car and leave it all in my rear-view.

#ldnont #canada #downtown #homeless #crisis

15 years after the final shuttle launch...

Terra firma
Merritt Island, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Atlantis launched for the final time 15 years ago today, the STS-135 mission bringing the space shuttle program to a poignant close.

One wonders what could have been had politics not dictated the engineering decisions that doomed the program.

#ov104 #spaceflight #nasa #throwback

Framed sunset

Light, interrupted
London, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The view isn’t always unobstructed.

Sometimes stuff just gets in the way. And no matter what we do, we can’t find a way to get a clear shot.

But we try, anyway. Because partial is better than none. And an imperfect something this time around is just enough of an inspiration to return here someday and see if we can find a better way.

#ldnont #canada #sunset #cloudspotting

Tempting fate in the hotel breakfast nook

Naturally packaged protein
Dorval, QC
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m a big fan of hotel breakfasts. Cruise downstairs, navigate the crowds seeking similar morning nutrition, grab what you need, then take a seat and listen to the buzz of countless overlapping travellers getting ready for another eventful day.

It’s a fascinating crossroads of sorts, a shared moment that will be acted out by fresh visitors every day thereafter. The energy is always inspiring.

So of course I have to inject a little photography into the proceedings, partly because breakfasts are especially lens-friendly, and partly because it’s always a trip to watch strangers react to my spontaneous photo shoots in a place where photography generally doesn’t - or maybe shouldn’t - happen.

And today’s breakfast starts out with a single hard boiled egg. I can’t find a bowl, so I carefully balance it on a plate as I slowly walk to my table. By the time I get there, I’m so proud of myself for not dropping it that I feel obligated by the universe to shoot a weird photo of it.

I get stares. But since most of them are accompanied by smiles, I stick to the plan and snag a few different angles. In the end, the simple one wins, and as I put the camera away and tuck into my breakfast, I hope I’ve given strangers something to ponder before they, too, hit the road.

For what it’s worth, it was a pretty good egg.

#montreal #dorval #canada #throwback #monochrome #stilllife #shotoniphone

Wet window sunset

After the storm has passed
Dorval, QC
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Don’t cry because it rained.

Smile because it left behind a magical story on the window.

Smile because you happened to be there just as the sun slipped out of view.

Smile because physics, orbital mechanics, and meteorology seem to work rather well together.

Smile. Just because.

#montreal #dorval #canada #sunset #throwback #abstract #shotoniphone

34 years...

She said yes
Laval, QC
July 1992
This photo originally shared on Instagram

34 years ago today, I married my dream girl.

I was just a kid then, and in so many ways I still am, but she made me better from the moment we first met, and in countless ways big and small, she still does.

She completes my sentences, ensures I don’t miss breakfast, and picks me up, literally and figuratively, when I fall.

She’s incredibly easy on the eyes, so I often just stare at her and wonder how l got so lucky.

And she’ll stare back at me with a face that defines kindness.

I knew she was my bashert, my fated soulmate, the first time we sat on her porch and just talked until all hours of the night. Never had it been so easy to just…be. We’ve been talking until all hours of the night ever since.

I’ve had a front-row seat to the most loving and giving mother and bubby. Our kids have flourished into accomplished and empathetic human beings because of her nurturing nature, and our granddaughters come alive around her. It is the joy of a lifetime to see all she’s created, this little world of ours filled with our amazing people, all because we talked and talked and became the best of friends.

She will always be my best friend, my muse, my inspiration, my home, my comfort, my biggest fan, my conscience, my sounding board, my editor, my gentle guide, my everything.

But being my wife has been the foundation on which everything else is built, the framework of a life that the kid in the picture didn’t think he deserved. She reminds me every day that I deserve it all. I’ll happily spend forever and a day believing every word she says.

Happy anniversary, my love. More importantly, thank you for being my bashert. For not only giving me your time, but ensuring everything we do has meaning and grace.

#LiveLaughLevy #family #everything

Lake Ontario's trees

By the water
Nigara-on-the-Lake, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Good things happen where water meets land.

Or is it where land meets water?

Maybe it’s both. Whatever it is, I’m going to have to get back to places like this more often, because they seem to be good for my soul.

And I’m guessing yours, as well.

#niagara #notl #canada #lakeontario #throwback #landscapephotography

The Maelstrom

No swimming, ever
Niagara Falls, ON/NY
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Life can be chaotic, dangerous, and frightening.

It can also be stunningly beautiful.

So keep looking for the beauty.

I will if you will.

#niagara #ontario #canada #whirlpool #throwback #abstract

Driver karma, finally

Good morning, officer
London, ON
July 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sometimes karma drops in when you least expect it.

Like when you’re walking the dog and a stealthy EV police unit pulls someone over for driving like a doofus.

The driver of this lovely Mercedes coupe is no stranger to the neighbourhood. Despite the fact that he has a vanity plate - SEIZEDAY - that makes him ridiculously easy to remember, he has driven like an idiot on multiple occasions in recent months.

I notice these things while walking the dog because a) you can hear this one coming from a mile away, and b) I need to keep my head on a swivel to avoid being hit by the dorks like him who think streets are race tracks.

So it was a lovely surprise when he got nailed not far from home. This being the first time in decades that I’ve seen any on-street enforcement in this part of town - seriously, none - I felt compelled to record the moment.

If anything, it’ll give me a reason to smile when this entry pops up in some future memory. Sometimes justice is served. Not often enough, mind you, but I’m okay starting with this single example.

Fingers crossed this guy starts seizing something else.

In the meantime, profound thanks to the London Police Service - Canada for making the streets safer in our corner of town, and for using such an awesome vehicle in the process.

#ldnont #canada #traffic #roadsafety

My birthday wish for the country

Maple leaf forever
London, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I feel torn as Canada celebrates its 159th birthday today.

On the one hand, it’s a pretty wonderful country. In just about every global ranking, we’re somewhere near the top of the heap. Everyone seems to really like us. Even Americans stitch the maple leaf onto their backpacks when they travel.

On the other hand, all countries have warts, and Canada is no exception. We have blind spots around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Not everyone feels equally welcome or supported. Hatred runs rampant here while various levels of government choose to look the other way. Our leaders are great at virtue signalling, but little else.

It hit me this week as I finished up the recycling on the front lawn. We had finished a box of Manischewitz matza and I was arranging everything inside the blue bin. When the flattened box ended up on top of the cardboard pile, I looked at it for a second before deliberately burying it out of sight.

See, I’m a Jew, and in Canada in 2026, I still feel compelled to suppress obvious signs of my background - even in my blue box - for fear of being targeted before the recycling truck shows up the next morning.

Because we are led by a prime minister and others who speak out of both sides of their mouths on issues of hatred for fear of losing the support of the majority who think nothing of hating folks who aren’t exactly like them.

Because my community has to hire security to protect us from haters who routinely shoot real bullets into our synagogues, schools, and community centres.

Because Jews, Jewish businesses, and Jewish institutions are being not-so-randomly attacked while leaders like Toronto’s mayor, Olivia Chow, wantonly ignore the rising tide and not so tacitly add fuel to it.

Because not all of us feel safe enough to even identify as being different in the first place. So we quietly hide who we are and hunker down under the radar.

That’s Canada at 159, and it all feels so very un-Canadian.

We can do so much better, yet we seemingly choose not to.

Why is that?

#ldnont #canada #canadaday

Cloudy dogs in the sky

Dance among the clouds
London, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Our trusty puppy and I went for a walk last night, ostensibly in search of some inspiring sky.

The skies, unfortunately, refused to cooperate, with clouds that simply wouldn’t reflect the light. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you stand there in an act of pure futility. The camera stayed in its bag on my back as Calli munched on the overgrown grass and strangers smiled at her as they strolled past. An elderly man who could have been Wilford Brimley’s doppelganger sat on a nearby bench, lighting one cigarette after another while the ice in his highball glass slowly melted in the stifling humidity.

Just before Calli and I gave up for the night, I saw a shape in one of the clouds and decided it might be worth a test shot, a quick smartphone capture. Maybe it looked like a dog jumping through the sky. Or maybe it was just my overactive and, frankly, far-from-standard imagination. Whatever it was, I couldn’t leave without some evidence that we had been there. That we waited. Together.

I thought about this photo as we continued our walk. We do this often, the two of us, wandering to a wide-open park looking for something spectacular way above. Our hit rate is fairly low, yet still we go out, hoping against hope. Still we look. Still we try.

I’m not even sure that the photo is the goal. Rather, time is. Quiet. Reflective. Disconnected. Where the only thing that matters to her is sniffing the neighbourhood out and keeping up on the comings and goings of all the dogs she loves to bark at.

The photo just helps us remember what that felt like. And encourages us to keep heading out even if what we see when we get there is uncertain or incomplete.

Life is never certain, anyway. For us or for our dogs.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #jayceepark #sunset #cloudspotting #actofdog #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

Po knows baseball

Return to the Thunderdome
Toronto, ON
May 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There are two divergent stories playing out in the world of sportsing these days: Canada’s men’s soccer team is making history as it qualifies for the first time in history for the round of 16. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays, who last year came heartbreakingly close to a World Series title, have lost 6 games in a row amid an increasingly disappointing season.

We’re seeing a lot of comparisons of the two, particularly as bandwagon-followers jump from the Jays to the World Cup. Everyone loves a winner, apparently, so it’s not hard to understand.

But here’s the thing - and this may explain why I’m a terrible sports fan: It’s a game. And when they lose, as the Jays did on that Sunday in May when we hung out at the ballyard, I still refuse to see the experience as anything less because of it.

Sure, I would have been happier if they had beaten the bad guys, but I still got to spend an afternoon watching ball, surrounded by my favourite people. We ate ballpark food, took silly pictures, tried repeatedly to start a wave, and took our first-ever trip on the LRT. I appreciate that the day wasn’t Raptors-win-the-NBA-title-level sports fandom, but that wasn’t the mission in the first place.

So we watch the show, however it plays out, whoever’s on the field. And we enjoy the experience with people who matter, taking the time to appreciate not just the score, but what it feels like to be in the stands, and how that day ends up burying itself in our core memories.

Not every day brings a championship. Yet there’s magic in every day regardless, assuming we choose to look for it.

Po said so, so it must be true.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #bluejays #rogerscentre #stadium #skydome #baseball #sports #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone

A stranger's phone call

Art meets reality
St. Catharines, ON
June 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a brutally hot June afternoon, a woman who we’ll never know takes a call in the shade of a crumbling brick building just off the town’s main commercial strip.

She paces back and forth, her body language suggesting this may not be her friendliest call of the day.

I quietly wish her peace as I gently brush the shutter, the camera capturing a moment I hope soon turns as colourful as the mural beside her.

#stcatharines #ontario #canada #streetphotography #art #nikon