Ticky tacky boxes in the sky

White on blue
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We all have our own weird little photographic habits, and one of mine involves shooting tall buildings from the ground.

I often imagine the lives of countless strangers playing out high above my head, even if most of the time they’re completely hidden from view.

Because some stories are more imagined than seen. Which, as the stark white balconies brush up against the deep azure sky, is as it should be.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #bluesky #architecturephotography #throwback

Where waves go to die

Washed up
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the dying seconds of an ocean wave’s life, it swells up just enough to catch the rising sun’s rays and throw jagged shadows across the flattened sand.

Milliseconds later, it’s all over, streams of foamy water returning to the sea as another wave rises up right behind it.

The beach is otherwise empty in these sacred few minutes after sunrise, the drama playing out with no one around to witness it.

Yet the waves don’t seem to mind, as the forces shaping these micromoments get their start in countless unseen corners of the planet.

And they don’t much care who’s around when they finally converge on a deserted beach before disappearing forever.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #sunrise #landscapephotography #throwback

Liftoff toward the unknown

Transition
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It takes courage to fling yourself into the unknown, to trust your wings to carry you through the turbulence toward what may or may not be a better place.

I wonder if this bird is trying to teach us something.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #wildlifephotography #throwback

Sailing before dawn

All alone out there
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
February 2026
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sun won’t rise for another 20 minutes, but already the sky is coming alive, pointing the way for the single sailboat making its way along the shore.

For now, the planet is providing all the forces necessary for the unseen sailor to make headway, basic physics keeping it afloat. And safe.

It feels elemental to stand on-shore in the warm, salty air and wordlessly watch the scene play out quietly so far away, the planet serving notice that we’re just guests here. Humbling, even.

Eventually this boat will disappear from view, another story of another stranger unfolding in plain view, but without any additional details beyond what we can see from afar. Temporarily.

We all leave ephemeral traces behind. Some in the waters, some in other ways.

#sunnyislesbeach #florida #sunrise #landscapephotography #throwback

Cocoa Beach wave

How the day begins here
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On the last day of the last decade, I sat in the sand at the edge of the continent not far from where astronauts leave the planet and watched the waves roll in under the rising sun.

I think the ocean was showing off a little.

#cocoabeach #florida #throwback #atlantic #ocean #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #sunrise #waves #water #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography @floridaspacecoast

Related:

Ticky tacky boxes by the sea, March 2021

Gear down and locked, March 2021

A new day dawns... January 2021

Where waves speak to birds, December 2020

Sunlit poetry by the ocean, September 2020

Ending the year with a beachy sunrise, July 2020

Watching the waves roll in, briefly, March 2020

Dancing among the clouds

Looking back...
Winnipeg, MB
August 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Most folks who fly these days pay no attention to what’s going on just outside the window.

You’ve been hanging around me long enough to know I’m not most folks.

I’m the nerd who stares out in wonder.

Whose heart skips a beat or two at the prospect of dancing through the clouds and the rain and the sun and the shadows as we climb out and head out on an adventure - or home.

Who still finds it incredible that just about anyone can zoom at near the speed of sound high in the stratosphere, then return to Earth as routinely as if they had taken the bus to work.

Who still cherishes the ability of these wondermachines to transcend time and space and connect us with our most important people.

Who never wants any of this to feel normal.

Because it isn’t.

#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 #family #everything

Winging it

Fat Albert's starboard side
Somewhere over Northern Ontario
August 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Fly to faraway places.

Spend time with folks who make your life whole.

Try to freeze moments along the way.

Because time moves far too quickly.

Even for jets.

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

Fish sandwich still-life

Before we dig in, a photo
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This seems like a weird still-life photo of a fish sandwich. And I guess in some ways it is. But in so many more ways - the ones that matter - it’s anything but weird.

Because whenever I want to hold onto times and moments that feel right, I find myself reaching for my camera.

Because when you’re far from home, you seek comfort in the familiar. And nothing is more familiar than comfort food.

Because a photo - even a weird one - freezes time and memories with remarkable fidelity.

Because when all is said and done, we’ll remember the meals we had with the people we loved.

Because weird - food, photos, people, whatever - is always worth holding onto.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #throwback #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #burgerdon #restaurant #food #foodporn #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Chasing birds at any age

A moment by the surf
Deerfield Beach, FL
February 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As kids, we ran around and chased the birds as they carved twisted paths through the sky.

As adults, many of us forgot to run around and chase the birds.

Which, to my mind, feels like a lost opportunity.

So on a warm February morning at the very edge of the ocean, I tossed my sandals off and randomly chased a few gulls as they carved twisted paths through the sky.

Because some things never change.

Some things never should.

#deerfield #beach #florida #throwback #travel #atlantic #ocean #bird #birds #gull #flight #flying #azure #blue #sky #wildlifephotography #animal #nature #naturephotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Every wave has at least two sides

Shaped by the unseen
Deerfield Beach, FL
February 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The ocean never stops throwing waves our way. Kind of like life.

It helps to learn how to ride them.

Or capture them before they crash into the shore.

Before the next set rolls in.

#deerfield #beach #florida #vacation #offgrid #throwback #travel #atlantic #ocean #green #blue #gameoftones #waves #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Little Man turns 23

Future's so bright
Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is 23.

Noah, our youngest. Driven, brilliant, creative, funny, kind. He is the kind of child every parent wants, and we’re incredibly lucky to have.

May this year be the brightest yet, filled with all the rewards he works so hard to earn, and so richly deserves.

#LiveLaughLevy #oldwomanbay #throwback #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #life #parenthood #family #everything #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

They park differently here

Under the golden Sun
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
May 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At the end of a long day on the road, we pull into a hotel far from home and step out into a crumbling parking lot.

In between unloading and heading inside, I notice the parking structure next door and soon enough find myself wandering over to get a closer look.

It’s an unassuming, also-crumbling concrete block structure, worn down after decades of exposure near the northern edge of a Great Lake. A car badly in need of a muffler barks to life on the other side of the facade just as a ship’s horn wails in the distance.

My first inclination is that this forgotten piece of architectural mediocrity really isn’t much to look at. Yet here I find myself doing just that, unable to move away from this spot. My fingers trace the giant blocks, almost feeling the quiet harshness of the life they’ve led.

I think it’s the golden hour Sun, and the way it bathes the otherwise unremarkable building in soothing light. I can feel the warmth through my fingertips.

I’m reminded of why the plain and ignored are never really plain, and don’t deserve to be ignored. Because their entire story is never really told until the influence of others is allowed to wash over them.

Perhaps this moment was about a parking structure. Perhaps it was about all of us, as well.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #throwback #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #architecture #architecturephotography #design #perspective #geometry #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Messages in the driftwood

Washed up
Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A piece of driftwood lies, forgotten, on a windy beach at the desolate edge of the world's largest lake.

No one is here to share its tale, where it’s from, how it got here, or anything about the lives whose paths it crossed along the way.

We might assume this is where it ends. But a tiny voice whispers in the winds that rush across the time-worn wood that its next chapter could be its most compelling.

Lesson for the rest of us, perhaps?

#oldwomanbay #algoma #lake #superior #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #driftwood #wood #texture #stilllife #bokeh #sunset #beach #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Always wear the weird-looking socks

Make strangers smile
Toronto, ON
February 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I don’t have many rules for living life, but this one seems worth sharing: Wear the funny socks.

Because they’ll make you smile when your exhausted self catches sight of them just before you get on a plane.

Because, more importantly, they’ll make complete strangers smile, too.

Because pickles can absolutely be transformed into humanized cartoons.

Because the biggest laughs often come from the most unexpected places.

Because you learn a lot about others by whether or not they have a sense of humour - and how they choose to wield it in day-to-day life.

#pearson #international #airport #toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #pickle #green #sock #selfie #yyz #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Bambi drops in for a visit

Lunchtime
Dryden, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Amid all the grumbling about Mondays and storms and coups and the like, I thought this photo of a deer wandering through the neighborhood in search of dinner might be in order.

Because deer make everything better.

Except gardens. They eat those.

#dryden #ontario #canada #throwback #walkabout #deer #bambi #wildlife #outdoors #wildlifephotography #animal #nature #naturephotography #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #photooftheday #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded

On fatherhood

Pieces of us
Dryden, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I promise when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be as thankful for these three as I am today. Actually, more so.

The calendar notwithstanding, being their dad has been the wildest, most rewarding adventure I could have ever imagined. Watching them come into their own as kind-hearted, creative, brilliant contributors to the world is easily the most rewarding thing I could have ever done.

Yet today isn’t about dads so much as it is about the communities that shepherd kids from nothingness to greatness. Children are the sum total of countless sources of influence, and the similarly countless examples of family - however we choose to define the term - who are all part of their journey.

We’ve been surrounded by a rich family tapestry since the moment we first arrived in this special place, and I was merely one piece of a much larger puzzle.

This is equally true every day. And as much as I love the sentiment of celebration, I don’t need a card to remind me. Time together is more than sufficient.

#LiveLaughLevy #dryden #throwback #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #fathersday #dad #dads #life #parenthood #family #everything #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Hotel room faucet fun

Stilllife in transit
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I have a rather long history of shooting hotel faucet still-life photos.

I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it springs from my general discomfort with being in a strange place. As much as I enjoy new experiences, travel and I don’t always get along.

Maybe it’s an introvert thing, but I often have to work a little harder at grounding myself whenever I’m far from home. So when I first get into a new hotel room, I’ll let my eyes and my mind wander a bit. Then I’ll fetch my camera and try to find something unique about a place that most folks would dismiss outright.

Bathroom faucets seem to work particularly well. The lighting is usually spot-on, and the stark, sharply defined surfaces offer up all sorts of composition potential.

In the end, the photos that I capture aren’t as important as the moments spent capturing them. For a tiny blink of time in a strange place far from home, I find familiar comfort behind the lens.

Because we should all have oases of creativity to fall back into whenever the world feels a little too big. Even if they don’t look like oases at all.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #throwback #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #hotel #faucet #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #instagood #photooftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Tower on the water

Paper mill reflection
39 minutes before sunset
Wabigoon River, Dryden, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#dryden #ontario #canada #throwback #river #water #waves #reflective #reflection #abstract #mirror #texture #tower #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Checking in on the old woman, again

Drift
Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, ON
June 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As the Sun slowly set behind a smoke-choked sky, we paused in the middle of our long journey to stop in at Old Woman Bay and pay quiet homage in a place that’s come to mean so much to our little family.

Indeed, something felt amiss as we stood on this windswept corner of Lake Superior and felt the sleeping giant’s winds on our faces.

Wildfires across Ontario and Quebec have painted the skies with a murky haze as they’ve touched off air pollution warnings across much of the eastern continent. New York City is a smogged in hellscape, and Toronto isn’t far behind.

We dodged road closures along the way as new fires added to the intensifying crisis and put communities across the country at risk.

It was heartbreaking to see the headlines - and even more so to see and taste it in a place so pristine.

This revered lake - and the lady who watches over her from her perfectly carved corner of nature - needs some richly deserved relief. So do the heroes fighting the fires. So does the rest of the planet.

#oldwomanbay #algoma #lake #superior #ontario #canada #roadtrip #travel #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #sunset #beach #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Surf's up!

The best wall art is real
Deerfield Beach, FL
February 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The golden age of wireless…surfboards.

#deerfield #beach #florida #vacation #throwback #travel #thomasdolby #random #lunchtime #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded