Eaton Centre, way up

Patterned ceiling
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Glass ceilings were meant to be shattered. Maybe not this particular one, though.

#Toronto #yyz #Eaton #centre #mall #yonge #street #walkabout #night #urban #street #public #photography #photo #walk #light #lighting #glass #engineering #geometry #canon #canonphotography #monochrome #retail #travel #ontario #canada

Please tread carefully

Concrete steps at night
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've always found it somewhat fascinating how a simple change in light - day to night, fully-lit, backlit or not lit at all, whatever - can completely change the tone and feel of a scene.

During the day, I probably wouldn't have given this flight of stairs at Ryerson University a second glance. But at night, the combination of light and the fact that there were enough lulls in traffic to shoot it in the first place made it a compelling subject.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.

#Toronto #yyz #Yonge #street #st #urban #street #night #photography #building #architecture #empty #steps #stairs #shadows #light #angles #Ryerson #university #student #campus #canon #canonphotography #travel #travelphotography #ontario #canada

Payphones still exist!

Living in stereo
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sight of a payphone always seems to stop me in my tracks. So imagine my reaction when I discovered two of them in the shadows of a busy Toronto hotel lobby.

Mind you, I haven't actually seen someone use a payphone in pretty much forever. There isn't enough Purel in the world to make me want to set up a shoot. Some things are best observed from afar.

#Toronto #yyz #Marriott #hotel #payphone #analog #old #tech #technology #two #twins #travel #work #business #canon #canonphotography #photography #ontario #canada

Empty branches. For now.

Twisting in the wind
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We often make cool discoveries as the snow recedes.

#ldnont #kipps #lane #stilllife #nature #walk #walkabout #texture #grey #branches #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #dslr #nofilter #nofilterneeded #photooftheday #instagood #winter #season #weather #wx #london #ontario #canada

Remember me

Someone was here. Many someones.
Duvernay, QC
August 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When you visit a Jewish grave, it's customary to leave a stone on top of the headstone as a sign that you were there, that you honoured the memory of the departed. It's considered a good deed, a mitzvah, and I never enter a cemetery without first choosing a few proper stones and slipping them into my pocket.

My father and mother-in-law are buried here. The Duvernay Cemetery, as it's commonly known, is located in a largely rural, agricultural area in eastern Laval that still hasn't been touched by the relentless creep of urbanization. We visit this place every time we make the trek back to Montreal, and every time I bring a camera.

I shoot in cemeteries because in my world, photography has always been about preserving moments, about remembering. And if a graveyard is meant to stoke memory and reflection, then somehow it feels right to remember the moments here in pixels. I'm not entirely certain it's considered acceptable to pull out a DSLR amid a collection of graves, but I find a camera in my hand helps me make sense of a place that hasn't always made sense in the history of my family.

About eight years before I took this photo, just over a month before he died, I took my dad to a couple of cemeteries in midtown Montreal so he could show me where other members of our family were buried. I carefully recorded the day through my lens, even as the light drizzle intensified, even as he chit-chatted with the caretaker. Because he never missed an opportunity to connect with a stranger, even if it meant we got a little soaked in the process.

There was no rain the day I captured this scene. But as I composed the shot just a few metres from where he was buried, I couldn't help but think that he'd probably find my inveterate photography somewhat amusing. And he'd probably have hung around for the caretaker, too.

#laval #Duvernay #Quebec #qc #Canada #Jewish #Judaism #cemetery #family #monochrome #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #dslr

Soft puppy, warm puppy

A rare moment of quiet
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wavy puppy fur. It almost seems to change by the day.

#CalliTheSchnauzer #LittleMissCalli #ldnont #519ldn #puppy #pup #puppylove #puppiesofinstagram #instapuppy #dog #actofdog #dogsofinstagram #chocolateparti #miniatureschnauzer #schnauzer #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzer_planet #schnauzerlove #followforfollow #pet #doglover #petstagram #instadog #ilovemydog #doglovegram #london #Ontario #canada

Destination unknown

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

My semi-dangerous habit of shooting photos of strangers from afar continues. The world is a fascinating place, as are the people who inhabit it.

#ldnont #kipps #lane #walkabout #urban #street #photography #shooting #strangers #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #dslr #london #ontario #canada

Waiting for life to return

Life in all its forms
Elginfield, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A farmer's field just north of London lies quiet in winter. I could stand here all day.

#Elginfield #ldnont #Ontario #on #farm #farmer #weather #wx #wood #texture #almost #monochrome #tree #trees #horizon #perspective #Canada

The road beckons

Fender, not the guitar
Delray Beach, FL
December 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a post beside the pathway that leads to the beach, a pile of routously-colored bikes lies haphazardly beneath the Florida sun.

The cyclist in me smiles at the scene. The photographer in me smiles even more widely. There's something special about collections of old bikes, each one with a story. Part of me wishes I could tag along for a bit.

#soclose #delray #beach #delraybeach #Atlantic #ocean #yellow #bike #bicycle #bikesofinstagram #cycle #cyclist #cycling #forever #florida #fl #Fla #vacation #travel #travelphotography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #dslr #nofilter #nofilterneeded #photooftheday #instagood

Homeless on Yonge

Asleep in winter
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some scenes make my heart ache. This one more than others.

#Toronto #yyz #Yonge #street #st #urban #street #night #photography #strangers #zoom #building #architecture #hmv #store #retail #apocalypse #homeless #winter #canon #canonphotography #travel #travelphotography #ontario #canada

Date night

Pizza from afar
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You can have a lot of fun with a long lens when you're street-shooting, picking off scenes without anyone ever knowing you were there.

Is it questionable? I don't think so: When you're in public, it's a reasonable assumption in 2018 that cameras will capture you in some form. We have no expectation of privacy from the moment we leave home, to the moment we return. Besides, the subjects of this photo are deliberately under-exposed, and as a result are completely unrecognizable.

Besides, I'd be tickled if I knew some other intrepid long-lensed photographer had stalked me in some way, and was having some artful fun with the result. I'm not committing murder or otherwise engaging in any activities that deserve to be hidden, so it's isn't as if I would care in the first place. We've become so fixated on the concept of privacy that we've allowed balanced understanding of same to be tossed out the window.

While the debate rages, I'll continue to seek out moments like this.

#Toronto #yyz #Yonge #street #st #urban #street #night #photography #strangers #zoom #building #architecture #pizza #restaurant #winter #canon #canonphotography #travel #travelphotography #ontario #canada

Tragedy comes to the parking lot

Someone's gonna be hungry
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not all #Timbits lead a charmed life. I present Exhibit A.

#ldnont @timhortons #timhortons #rainy #office #parking #lot #no #recycling #here #stilllife #random #urban #street #photography #london #ontario #canada

Driving through the rain

Yes, kids, that's a vinyl roof
Somewhere on Highway 401
October 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Apocalyptic rain outside our window calls for this soaking-wet throwback from the 401 eastbound. Call me weird, but I love the feel and tone of a rainy day. It's good for the soul.

#highway #road #trip #travel #rain #weather #wx #throwback #Chrysler #Ontario #canada

Let this sleeping dog lie

I know you're up there, Dad
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I don't have the heart to move her, so I won't.

#ldnont #calli #callitheschnauzer #mini #schnauzer #schnauzersofinstagram #instagramdogs #petstagram #dogs_of_instagram #dogoftheday #dogsofig #dog #actofdog #dogsofinstagram #instagramdogs #puppylove #let #sleeping #dogs #lie london #ontario #canada

No pizza for you

A forgotten slice of Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In a city dominated by an increasingly dense forest of construction cranes, it's only a matter of time before neighborhood shops like this one get swallowed up by mega-developments. I think the one planned for this corner will be 50 storeys. Or maybe 70.

I don't even think the number matters much anymore. The only thing of relevance to me as I stand across the street and shoot this scene before my fingers freeze is what gets lost along the way.

#Toronto #yyz #Yonge #street #st #urban #street #night #photography #building #architecture #empty #canon #canonphotography #travel #travelphotography #ontario #canada

A light snack before tipoff

The salt is kosher
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Can't watch the @LondonLightning play @budweisergardens without a pretzel. It's how I roll.

#ldnont #Getßtruck #basketball #date #night #oops #afternoon #pretzel #food #foodporn #sports #impromptu #smartphone #photo #shoot #yes #they #stared #london #ontario #canada

Zed, to me

Backlit retail
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Last in the alphabet. First in style.

#Toronto #yyz #Eaton #centre #mall #yonge #street #walkabout #night #urban #street #public #photography #photo #walk #light #lighting #sign #retail #zed #zee #travel #ontario #canada

Filthy Henrietta

Scene from a driveway
London, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Conventional wisdom: Shoot when the car is clean.

But I'm not conventional.

#ldnont #driveway #photo #shoot #stilllife #everyday #photography #car #auto #automotive #red #black #texture #winter #weather #wx #takethetime #ontario #canada

Shades of Q*bert

Bygone
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Brick-and-mortar retail may be losing ground to the e-commerce powerhouse I carry around in my pocket, but no app offers up the visual appeal of a well-detailed in-store display. Once upon a time, stores in Toronto's downtown employed specialist window dressers, and their sense of fashion and marketing set the tone for generations.

These days, not so much. But there are still flashes of inspired design lurking in the odd display. Whether this store is even here a year from now is irrelevant. On this cold night, it was enough for a quick picture before I headed back to my hotel.

#Toronto #yyz #Eaton #centre #mall #yonge #street #walkabout #night #monochrome #texture #geometry #perspective #angles #nofilter #nofilterneeded #photooftheday #instagood #travel #travelphotography #ontario #canada

A kiss in the washroom

Singular sweetness
Toronto, ON
February 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

What happens when I'm alone in a hotel room far from home? Random still-life photography on a well-lit washroom vanity.

#Toronto #yyz #Hershey #kiss #chocolate #valentinesday #hallmark #invented #holiday #stilllife #photography #Marriott #hotel #hotels #travel #ontario #canada