Out way past my bedtime

Order from the darkness
London, ON
March 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Grosvenor Street, 3:21 a.m.

The parking structure across the street from the hospital casts an eerie glow over the darkened neighborhood, wordlessly explaining its 24/7/365 purpose to anyone still awake.

This place never sleeps, and despite the deathly quiet that envelopes the streetscape at this ungodly hour, there’s enough evidence of just how much still goes on in the lifesaving facility across the street. Cars under the fluorescent lights. The occasional health care worker crossing the street before or after a shift. A single security guard having a smoke beside the fire hydrant, watching me with suspicion.

The traffic lights to right-of-frame click from green to yellow to red, the relentlessly futile cycle of safety playing out to no one in particular. Their colours reflect off of the damp roadway and the dirty snow slowly melting at the edge of the sidewalk.

I could stand here and watch this sadly muted place indefinitely and never run out of things to see and feel. But this isn’t a social call, and real life awaits just beyond this scene. So I tuck the camera into my pocket and continue on my way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stjosephs #hospital #lhsc #apple #night #photography #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #life #health #everything

Finding magic in an alley

We're off to see the wizard
London, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Back in the Before Times, it wasn't so frightening to walk down alleys and take pictures of the graffiti.

Or maybe it was, but it didn't occur to us that we should be afraid.

Maybe we were simply less afraid then. Or more willing to explore without worry.

Whatever the case, on this particular day, I found a wizard.

But wizard or no wizard, I really need to start taking more walks, as you never know what you'll find when you venture just a little past your comfort zone.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #downtown #urban #city #richmond #street #photography #streetphotography #graffiti #art #color #alley #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Read the damn signs, February 2020

A chef sings in an alley, January 2020

Staring into the downtown abyss, November 2019

The colors we find in the most unexpected places, August 2019

Venturing into a dark alley, December 2018

8-bit art in a downtown alley, August 2018

Weeds in an alley, August 2018

A look down a Montreal alley, January 2013

On God's sense of humor

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."

Voltaire

The epic ice battle at our feet

Fragile
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Squint your eyes one way and it looks like a map of the Great White North. Squint them the other way and it's two monsters engaged in epic battle.

At least that's what it looked like in the 12 seconds between when the dog discovered this impossibly fragile sheet of ice suspended a few millimetres above the pavement, then accidentally stepped on it as she girded for mock battle with the collie who suddenly appeared around the corner.

Of course we know that nothing lasts forever, especially when it exists at the whim of weather, dogs, and the occasional wayward raccoon. No one ever said this world was an easy place, for ice or anything or anyone else. Stuff happens, often when we least expect it.

So we grab what we can, while we can. Before it's gone for good.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On restaurant (un)kindness

You can learn a lot about a person's character by watching how they interact with others. Perhaps nowhere is this more obvious than at restaurants.

I think we can all relate to this in one form or another. Years ago, I simply stopped being friends with someone after watching her treat resto staff like the so-called help. It was embarrassing to watch, and even more embarrassing to be connected to someone who would behave so reprehensibly.

Based on this recently published Slate article, I'm hardly alone. Enjoy the read.

The Lousy Tippers of the Trump Administration

By Moe Tkacik

Slate

February 3, 2021

The friendly yellow diner

What a fixture looks like
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is Prince Albert's Diner, a family-owned fixture on #LdnONT's Richmond Row.

Like so many other restos, they've pivoted their business model to the digital space as they try to ride out the pandemic storm. We no longer drop in for a nostalgia-laden shake as we move between here and there. We don’t take in the lovingly retro decor, or linger inside for longer than we should.

We miss the spirit of the place, and content ourselves with burgers ordered from our phones and dropped off, safely, on our doorstep.

We may not like it, but It’s how we live now, a temporary concession that eventually ends. And when it does, the hope is that this beloved local business, among so many others just trying to get by, will still be here, doors open.

Because it’s hard to imagine a community without its anchors.

#london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #downtown #richmond #street #photography #building #architecture #yellow #restaurant #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Another frozen miracle

Jack Frost breaks out his ruler
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Please accept my apologies for revisiting the same theme, but the dog continues to point out crazily geometric abstract ice formations during our morning walks, and who am I to disagree with a curious and observant pup?

Seriously, though, it raises the question of "enough" - as in, when can you say you've taken "enough" photos of a given topic, theme, or place? At what point have you exhausted its potential?

The answer, frankly, is never.

Why would we ever stop trying to look for new ways to tell the story of the things that interest us? Why would we ever stop being curious? Why would we ever want to stop at all?

And why would we ever listen to those who would tell us to move on? They're welcome to tell their own stories, if they wish. Or not.

In the meantime, you know where I'll be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Frozen miracles at our feet, February 2021

The ice show continues, January 2021

Driveway ice show, January 2021

Calli the ice-hunting dog, January 2021

Nose down

Perfectly in her element
London, ON
January 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In this moment, nothing else matters to her beyond following her nose.

We'd do well to follow her example. Maybe not literally, though, as that would be weird.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #snow #weather #wx #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Frozen miracles at our feet

Blink or you'll miss it
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Calli the Wonderschnauzer discovered another icy miracle under her nose during yesterday’s first walk around the neighborhood.

She’s become rather adept at finding lovely things to shoot, though I suspect she’s less interested in the photography than she is in the possibility that one of her puppy-frenemies had marked that very spot on an earlier walk. Dogs are weird in so many ways.

Still, I would have missed the moment if not for her. Because by evening, a warming sun had melted this frozen masterpiece into a mere memory, the only remaining clue a shrivelling damp spot on the gritty concrete.

The days are indeed getting warmer, and I wonder if we’ve seen the last of these ice portraits for now. I admit I’ll miss them, not so much because they’re lovely to look at - they are - but because they offered up moments of wonder when I needed them most.

Looks like Calli will simply have to use her nose to find new ground-level miracles in the months to come. Such a good girl.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #water #ice #frozen #winter #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On becoming..

"Whatever you feel, you become.

It is your responsibility."

Osho

 

The clarity of fog

Emerging or disappearing? Your call.
London, ON
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

They say great clarity often occurs during moments of profound darkness.

I'm not sure who these folks called "they" really are, or who anointed them the keepers of modern wisdom, but I nevertheless find myself hoping they're right.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #weather #wx #fog #streetphotography #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - Cozy Coupe

I'm a bit of an automotive junkie. I think it has some correlation to my barely controlled addiction to technology and design. Cars have always artfully combined the two, so that likely explains my interest. Planes, too, apparently. Who knew?

So I follow a number of the mainstream car magazines and outlets, including Jalopnik. And sometimes they go to a place that makes you realize inspiration can come from some pretty interesting places.

Or maybe I'm simply getting back in touch with my childhood. I didn't have my own Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, but there always seemed to be one somewhere.

Well, it's apparently gotten another periodic update. And in a world where nasty headlines dominate our day-to-day lives, it's rather comforting to put all that aside for a bit so we can ponder the possibilities of a plastic classic. Enjoy...

The New Redesign Of The Cozy Coupe Is A Dramatic Improvement Over The Old Garbage One 

By Jason Torchinsky

Jalopnik

February 11, 2021

Ain't that America?

Scene from a parking lot
Caryville, TN
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This somewhat dreary throwback view out a hotel room window in the middle of a long road trip home doesn't elicit the kind of "wow" moment I envisioned when I first got into photography.

But it tells a story all the same. And the more time I spend behind the lens, the more I come to appreciate the power of photography to tell the story of the everyday, or otherwise echo life that we wouldn't normally bother to record.

This scene feels like middle-of-the-road America to me, where regular folks driving regular vehicles - including old Dodge pickups and Oldsmobiles, as well as the occasional semi - drive past pawn shops and fireworks stores on their way to wherever it is that they're headed. It won't grab headlines and it won't look particularly pretty, but that's not why we choose to remember the ordinary.

Because when all the hype is stripped away, what's left often looks a lot like this. And it's just as worthy of having its moment in the spotlight as any other scene, from any other place.

I hope you'll linger over this scene as I did. Eventually, I'm reasonably sure you'll come to appreciate it, too.

#caryville #tennessee #tn #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #ain't #that #america #vacation #explore #i75 #hotel #parking #lot #stilllife #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Emerging from the fog

He walks alone
London, ON
January 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A man with a cane slowly emerges from the early morning fog.

I've only ever observed him from afar, never exchanging more than a friendly nod or smile as he passes. But he's been a regular enough fixture of the neighborhood that I can tell it's him even from blocks away.

He'd be walking no matter the weather, every day at roughly the same time, always the same route, always with that deliberately steady gait. But on this morning, the weather makes me reach for my camera before he disappears back into the murk from which he came.

I quietly wish for continued safe journeys for him as I trip the shutter and put the camera away.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #weather #wx #fog #streetphotography #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Getting lost in farm country

Lots of parking
Deseronto, ON
January 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When you're driving solo in the middle of Ontario farm country and a badly signed detour off the highway sends you on an unplanned adventure, the universe compels you to stop at some point and remember the experience with a photo or seven.

So that's what I did. Though, if we're keeping count, I took far more than seven pictures over the six minutes I spent parked between an empty church and an abandoned farmhouse.

Six minutes was about all I could manage before my fingers froze, before it was time to once again find my way.

I was never really lost that day, more temporarily pointed in a direction I hadn't intended to go.

And as I eased off the gravel shoulder and found my way, I thought about how and why I ended up here in the first place. Indeed, we'd never discover anything at all if we always knew exactly where we were.

Perhaps a little uncertainty is actually something we should strive for.

#deseronto #ontario #onroute #throwback #random #country #farm #street #photography #shoot #shooting #trees #highway #weather #wx #road #trip #travel #car #auto #automotive #carporn #stella #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #canada #family #everything

Related:

Take me to church, January 2019

Where birds gather against the cold, January 2019

Lost in an underground parking lot, January 2019

Abandoned farmhouse on an empty road, January 2019

Broken tree in a desolate place, January 2019

Lost among the ruins of agriculture, January 2019

Eight years on...

When it's difficult to see ahead
Laval, QC
February 2013
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Eight years ago today, my wife lost her mom, our kids lost their bubby, and I lost my mother-in-law.

I remember looking out the window of her condo the morning of her funeral, and I remember what it felt like to take this photo. A relentlessly grey sky had descended over us, the sadness almost palpable. How many times had I stood here, taking pictures of the sky, sharing them with her so she could critique them before we continued on with dinner. There was no critique this morning, and it felt beyond off.

While eight years may seem like a stretch, the reality of loss is that it never really leaves you. Sure, you go back to some semblance of life, but you're never again whole.

Today I look around our house and I'm thankful, because everything we are and have traces in some way back to her. And while Debbie's dad is also no longer with us, we're still here to remember their fierce love of us and our kids, the fierce love that we all returned to them, and how lucky we were to have had them at all.

Eventually the sun did shine through the window you see here. The scene was forever changed, of course, but we still got to make a few more indelible memories in this place before yet again we were forced to say goodbye.

I'm absolutely certain she'd be comforted knowing we continued carrying forward all the tiny facets of family life that she held so dear. I just wish the universe played by different rules.

#laval #montreal #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

On losing the light, March 2013

This time, I stopped for the train, March 2013

Looking for some color, March 2013

The illusion of control, March 2013

Even the skies know, February 2013

The blue mug of happiness

What warmth looks like
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The simplest things in life are often the most cherished.

Like a mug of whatever it is that warms your soul. There's something cathartic about wrapping your fingers around it, feeling the heat radiate into your hands as you slowly transition into the day that will be.

In a universe filled with uncertainty and angst, it's nice to know we can still hit pause at the table for a bit. The rest of the world can wait a few minutes while we finish what we started.

Where do you find your comfort?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #coffee #mug #breakfast #champions #throwback #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Aging

We tend to spill a lot of ink on aging, the aged, and the implications of a population whose demographics continue to skew older. This is, of course, relevant and necessary, because if we're lucky enough we'll get to live long enough, and the more insight we have to help us navigate the journey, the better.

But narratives on aging so often seem to be from the outside looking in, written from an observer's perspective, if you will.

Rarely do we see the aged person's point of view. Rarely are they the ones wielding the pen - at least not as often as they should. And as I started to read the piece I'm sharing here, I felt ashamed that this was the case. Why indeed aren't these voices more prominent?

Mr. Angell, a longtime sportswriter and contributor to The New Yorker, was 93 years-old when he first published this piece in 2014, and his writing stopped me in my tracks. Powerful prose, of course, isn't limited to anyone of any age, but it feels especially poignant to read the first-person perspectives of a man who's lived well, lived long, and endured losses few of us could ever appreciate.

He is, thankfully, still with us, having just celebrated his 100th birthday.

I use the "must-read" adjective for articles all the time. But rarely is it as searingly applicable as it is here.

 

This Old Man

Life in the nineties.

By Roger Angell

The New Yorker

February 10, 2014

Watching ghosts in the forest

Life, somewhere
London, ON
February 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

My boots are sinking into the deep snow at the top of the riverbank that curves through the valley.

I can hear water burbling softly under the ice and snow that mostly hide the river below me, but that's about the only thing to be heard in this otherwise silent, resonant place.

But that silence - or rather my perception of it - is strictly temporary. The longer I stand here, the more I can hear, as if I'm gradually tuning into the rhythms of the woods. Branches cracking in the cold. Squirrels scampering through snowdrifts. A gaggle of invisible singing birds who clearly missed their flight South.

A line of trees defines the facing bank, an ethereally bare sight that looks nothing like the lush forest I last visited here a few months back. Different time, different story.

At first I think their ghostlike branches are a metaphor for a cold lifeless winter, an ideal reflection of the emptiness that blankets the lives of so many during these challenging times.

But the longer I stand here and allow my eyes and ears to pick up the subtle cues, the more I realize how wrong I first was. These trees, the entire valley, the river that carved this space out and gave it life, all of them are limitlessly vibrant, even in the midst of a deep freeze that seems to have no end.

I crack a tiny smile as I think about seasons - on an annual calendar, or more broadly in an historical context - and how they shape us whether or not we take the time to listen in on all that goes on just beneath the surface.

Indeed, all seasons eventually evolve into whatever comes next. So, too, shall this one, even if we don't stand on the snowy riverbank to take it all in.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #winter #weather #wx #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

They play hockey here, February 2021

Half-frozen river, February 2021

Hanging on for dear life, February 2021

Amid the windblown woods, February 2021

One tree among many, February 2021

Standing under the cathedral, February 2021

The things we find deep in the woods, September 2020

The giving tree, September 2020

Where the forest covers the sky, August 2020

Staring at trees beside the Walmart parking lot, September 2019

When the forest disappears from view, December 2018

Cast a bright light

Feeling a bit reflective
London, ON
July 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Be the light.

Or please make ample room for those who are trying to be.

Simple, really.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #road #trip #travel #vacation #car #auto #light #lights #reflective #abstract #kindness #automotive #carporn #chloe #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything