Monday, August 04, 2025

The case of the curious cow

Moo!
Middlesex Centre, ON
August 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It was a scorching hot morning in the agricultural hinterlands north of London when I rolled the bike to a stop beside a pasture. Silly Carmi had forgotten breakfast in the rush to leave the house, so it was time to fuel up.

It didn’t take long for this especially curious member of the herd to make her way over for a closer look, staring me down as I munched on some granola.

I stared back and spoke gently so as not to spook her. Her ears flapped in the breeze as the others continued grazing.

I’d like to think she knew I meant her no harm, that I hoped she and her friends weren’t too bothered by the heat and humidity. I’d like to think there’s a common language between us somewhere, that connections can happen even if there’s no dictionary in existence that can confirm them.

Soon enough my breakfast was done, and it was time for her to resume hers. I wished her well and pedalled off down the road. Perhaps it’s a silly thought to have, but I hope she remembers the moment as fondly as I do.

To some she’s just a cow. And to those same folks I’m a bit off-nominal for devoting a few hundred words to a single bovine I met by the side of the road.

But I’m slowly learning to stop using that word, just. Because nobody - cow, human, whatever - deserves to called a “just” anything.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tenmile #vanneck #cycling #bicycle #instabike #cow #moo #farming #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Sunday, August 03, 2025

Flowers on brick

Beauty in an unexpected place
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Creativity is everywhere, even in the shadowy alleys where many of us fear to tread.

But we go there, anyway, because art was never meant to be easy. Neither is life.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #mural #flower #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #urban #city #colborne #streetphotography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Saturday, August 02, 2025

The Devinci code

At risk
Toronto, ON
May 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Bicycles wait patiently outside a subway station for their owners to return. Hopefully they’ll still be locked there when they do.

#toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #cycling #bicycle #instabike #red #devinci #yonge #streetphotography #stilllife #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography

Related:
Further... April 2025
Velo at rest, September 2009

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Friday, August 01, 2025

Stopping to measure the corn

Taller
Middlesex Centre, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Lately I’ve been pushing myself to get out on the bike earlier, just as the sun is rising and the city is slowly waking itself up.

The first order of business is to get out of the city entirely, and before long, I’m rolling past horse pastures and wheat fields, the only sound in my head the curious mixture of meshing gears and duelling bands of cicadas.

The mission on these rides isn’t to chase KOM segments or bring back world-beating Strava data. In fact the mission isn’t data-related at all, because I get enough of that every other waking moment of my life.

Instead, the goal is to spin my legs smoothly, breathe in the clean air, feel the wind on my face, and read the road through my fingertips. It has nothing to do with data or speed and everything to do with simply being in the moment, on a machine that can take me anywhere my legs want to go.

Speaking of destinations, I’m tracing a large-ish rectangle on the map north of town, a fast loop to test out a new route on some new-to-me roads, and to find that elusive cadence that balances time and speed and joy. The Garmin bike computer won’t tell me when I’ve figured it out, but my soul most certainly will.

On this particularly humid morning, the air hangs thick over the farmers’ fields as the rising sun casts giant shadows across the asphalt to my left.

Somewhere over my right shoulder, a biplane rises from an unseen grass strip and slowly putters at low altitude alongside the road, almost begging me for a spirited race. I wave to it before it banks right and slowly disappears into the intensifying backlight.

Just before the turnaround point, I roll to a stop beside this particularly fetching corn field because the humidity is fogging my glasses. And while I hadn’t planned on shooting photos, I decide I can’t resist the opportunity to freeze in pixels one of the best rides I’ve had in a while.

Just as quickly I’m mashing the pedals again, feeling the frame get back up to speed as the winds begin to pick up. I click into the next gear as my legs find new strength, ready for whatever the roads throw at them beyond the next curve.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sixteenmile #hydepark #cycling #bicycle #instabike #corn #farming #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Thursday, July 31, 2025

Little Man turns 25

Hanging with her Funcle
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m not entirely sure how our youngest son, Noah, is now 25 years-old, but they say time flies when you’re having fun, and he’s particularly good at the fun part.

And the kindness part. And the empathy part. And the insightful part. And the creative part. And the really smart part.

And all the parts that make him the kind of friend that friends hold on to, and everyone else never forgets. For all the right reasons.

We’ve been blessed in the parenthood department, and our only regret is not being able to slow time down so we can enjoy him that much more.

Happy birthday, no-longer-Little-Man. May your every day of the year be as charmed as this one, and may we all be lucky enough to continue to spend them together.

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

Related:
The age of 17, July 2017
Sweet 16, July 2016

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Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Drop bars for the win

We'll cross that bridge...
London, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some life rules are easy to follow:

Grab on.

Point yourself in any direction.

Mash the pedals.

Hard.

Repeat. Often.

Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cycling #bridge #tvp #rosspark #bicycle #instabike #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Tuesday, July 29, 2025

When ads become art

Buy me, please
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If advertising is a simple art - convince complete strangers to buy what you’re selling - the advertising industry has become a monstrously complex beast where countless ads scream ever more loudly at us to ensure they’re heard above the noise.

Most of them end up in the marketing equivalent of oblivion. We skip through them on our PVRs, hit the X button on our smartphones, or ignore them as we refill our tortilla bowls (please don’t judge; I was hungry.)

But every once in a while, someone figures out a subtly creative way to cut through the noise and be heard. Not by screaming, mind you. But by delivering their message in a way that doesn’t feel like they’re trying to sell us anything.

This mural would like to sell us a condo. But it masquerades as art, as a gentle nod to the neighbourhood this development will soon call home. I’d like to think it’s succeeded well beyond its initial mission.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #building #orange #sign #mural #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #urban #city #dufferin #streetphotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Monday, July 28, 2025

Run, Gumby, run!

Grape stem sculpture
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: I’m eating a bunch of grapes when I sadly get to the end and all that’s left is an empty stem.

Most normal folks would either take their plate back for more, or would look for the nearest composting bin. But I’m not remotely normal. Never have been. Probably never will be.

I notice the leftover stem has a funny-looking shape to it. Almost human-like, I think. So thoughts of a potential photo-op begin to churn in my head as it occurs to me that this might be a trivially memorable moment in time.

I set about composing the weird little still-life scene while the dog stares curiously at me. And eventually a photo is taken. Not a great photo - and probably not even a good one. But still one worth keeping because it freezes a quiet moment that brought me a little joy.

In the end, I violated yet another rule - the don’t-play-with-your-food one - but I’d probably do it again if I could.

Who am I kidding? Of course I would. Life is too short to not have a little fun with the things we eat and see. Life is too short to not seek tiny moments of joy wherever and whenever they present themselves.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grapes #fruit #fruitography #abstract #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Step gingerly, August 2019
Let them eat grapes, November 2017

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Sunday, July 27, 2025

Standing under an alligator sky

Feeling reflective
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Three minutes after the sun has officially set on this sweltering and stormy June evening, it’s still making its presence felt in the skies overhead.

Still reminding all of us down here that stories don’t end at some arbitrary deadline, that those who hang around just a touch longer may get to see a bit of a show.

Lessons, perhaps, quietly shared from afar. Lessons just as quietly learned by those most in need of them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #optimistpark #sunset #orange #cloudspotting #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Saturday, July 26, 2025

Shadowy links

Forgotten chain
London, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I take a lot of weird photos, and I’m going to assume that this random shot of a rusty chain spilled out over sun-drenched asphalt is easily one of the weirder ones in my archives.

I was out for a walk with the puppy when we happened across this forlorn scene near a local playground. She was fascinated by it for reasons that make sense only to a dog, so I was content to let her have her fun while I sized up the shadows and textures.

It was an admittedly small moment, one that doesn’t necessarily generate headlines or even merit much further discussion. But it seemed like one of those tiny slivers of texture and light that we seem to quietly leave behind. And I thought, maybe this one shouldn’t be.

At the core, I think I tell stories. And in the end, stories are all we are. And I’d like to think even the seemingly trivial stories have a place within the narratives that shape us.

So if I tell the occasional typically forgettable story here, at least now we’ll all know why.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #optimistpark #chain #link #shadows #texture #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone


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Friday, July 25, 2025

Empty balconies in glass

Linear and bare
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Hundreds of lives are playing themselves out within this frame, yet not one of them is remotely visible to us.

As I stand on a quiet downtown Toronto street on an equally quiet Sunday morning to line up the shot, I think about the things we can and cannot see, and what that might teach us about kindness and empathy toward others.

#toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #yyz #condo #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #geometry #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography

Related:
Balconville redux, February 2018

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Thursday, July 24, 2025

Lake Erie waves

Energy on display
Port Stanley, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On one of the hottest days of the year, I walked to the end of a pier in search of, well, I wasn’t entirely sure.

The brilliant sun reflected off of the white concrete and fuelled heat so intense I could feel it in my bones. My eyes struggled to cut through the glare, eventually settling on the deep green waves as the only thing I could look at without being blinded.

I was the only person silly enough to be way out here. Muted sounds of the splashing crowd floated across the water from the crowded beach way to my right, a perfect soundtrack for this kind of day.

As I watched the waves shape the surface of the lake into an ever changing kaleidoscope of colour and texture, I felt the breeze pick up just barely enough to slow down the sweat that was now stinging my eyes. I picked up the camera to try to find the story in the rhythm of the water.

Every photo has a story, apparently. It freezes a moment in time and allows us to revisit it whenever we want. Near-heatstroke notwithstanding, this is one I didn’t want to forget.

#portstanley #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #throwback #great #lake #erie #green #water #waves #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Bird, air water, July 2024

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Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Talking about digital detox on the CBC

ICYMI: I joined CBC Saskatchewan's Peter Mills to discuss #DigitalDetox - what it is, why we might consider doing one, how to get started and stick with it - on Monday.

Our segment starts at the 3:38 mark. Enjoy!

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-103-the-306/clip/16159180-the-306-digital-detoxes-u.s.-senator-visit

#technology #radio #analystlife

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East end haircut

Echoing the city's history
London, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At 11:14 on a Sunday night, a darkened barber shop and a laundromat sit silently overlooking a perfectly still stretch of Dundas Street.

I imagine they’ve both been here forever, and could tell stories of a vibrant neighbourhood that once hummed with factories and stores and constant life.

Those days are sadly long gone, yet these two storefronts with the hand-painted signs out front remain, anchoring a community whose lights refuse to flicker out.

In the end, we all need clean clothes, and those of us with hair still need the occasional cut. Life plays out, often defiantly, within these time-worn brick walls, even if the world around them continues its attempts to leave all this behind.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #dundas #retail #night #street #streetscape #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Dead fish redux

When the circle of life ends
Port Stanley, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s been a while since I came across a dead fish washed up on the shore.

Strangely, this is a thing with me, and my archives have more than a small number of photos of unalived marine animals resting in the sand.

On this particular day, I was hardly the only one interested in remembering the moment. Grown men were taking time out from watching their kids so that they could poke the dead fish. Repeatedly. Enthusiastically.

I’m not entirely certain why they thought this was advisable, and nobody was washing their hands afterward. It was a weird scene.

So I shot quickly and went back to regular programming as quickly as I could. Somehow I justify all this by concluding a photo is sort of okay, while a bare-handed poke is decidedly not.

I guess I’m becoming judgy in my old age. Perhaps I should give that some additional thought.

#portstanley #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #greatlake #erie #stilllife #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Sunday, July 20, 2025

Finding colour when there is none

Where's my ruler?
Toronto, ON
May 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Even on the greyest of days, there’s colour to be found if we allow ourselves to look in just the right places.

Why do I suspect this truth doesn’t just apply to rectilinear buildings carving themselves into the downtown sky?

#toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #yyz #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #downtown #geometry #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography


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Saturday, July 19, 2025

Don't fear the storm

Red skies at night, sort of
London, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Don’t fear the storm.

Revel in the fact that we got to experience it in the first place.

To feel the rain on our faces and the wind in our hair.

To hear the thunder and see the lightning.

To feel the air chill down as the front approaches.

To watch the clouds paint the sky after the worst has passed.

Because we may not be able to control the dramatics overhead.

But we can choose to open our eyes and ears and hearts to them.

To truly live in the moment.

And not just survive.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #optimistpark #sunset #orange #cloudspotting #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography


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Friday, July 18, 2025

A shadow of its former self

Repurposed architecture
London, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

History tends to repeat itself.

The gleaming mall that decades ago was dropped into the middle of the downtown core and accelerated the hollowing out of a once vibrant neighbourhood now suffers an ironic fate.

Its corridors now stand virtually empty as what were once storefronts have been turned into office space. People indeed work behind these now-opaque glass walls, but they may as well be invisible, slipping into the office in the morning, then out again at the end of the day. The space is still functional, sort of, but is it truly alive?

Yet when we strip away the tragic back story of urban planning gone wrong, there’s an architectural wonder lurking under the acres of glass. Glorious sunlight pours in and warms the cool marble floor below. Complex geometries play out for as far as the eye can see, all to the soundtrack of the soft swish of the air conditioning system.

It isn’t Notre Dame Cathedral, but it’s resonant in its own, understated way, and a reminder that successful placemaking takes many forms.

It also reminds us that plans don’t always work out as originally intended, failures can set the stage for new chapters to be written, and success isn’t necessarily defined by a loud or crowded space. Sometimes it whispers.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #shopping #mall #perspective #galleria #citiplaza #retail #glass #design #public #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone


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Thursday, July 17, 2025

The non-conformist goose

Good things come in threes
Port Stanley, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In every crowd, there will always be one who’s different.

So be that one.

#portstanley #ontario #canada #beach #lake #erie #birds #angrybirds #goose #geese #canadageese #flight #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:
Geese aplenty, August 2023
Flight into the wind, September 2018
Your goose is cooked, October 2011
Wounded bird, December 2006

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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Defiant, cooperative blades of grass

Let's work together, shall we?
Port Stanley, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A single blade of grass doesn’t seem like much, a wispy, barely-visible strand that’ll disappear when the first winds blow in.

But surround it with other strands just like it and an entirely new story emerges. Suddenly those same winds don’t stand much of a chance as countless roots dig deep into the sand.

The grasses now dance defiantly together, swaying back and forth as the forces of nature do their best to dislodge them.

I stand alone below the dune and take it all in, the soft sounds of windblown grasses layering over the thrum of waves and children playing nearby. I could probably stand here all day.

It may seem like a simple, easily overlooked thing to some, but I can’t help but think there’s a broader lesson playing out here. If they can work together as anchors in the wind, why can’t we?

#portstanley #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #grasses #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

Related:

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