The things we see in wintry parking lots

Blowing in the wind
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Photography happens in the strangest of places, in the strangest of ways. But only if we're open to the possibility.

Exhibit A: Christmas Day, 12:29 p.m. I'm in a snowy parking lot on the western edge of town, where I've come to pick up lunch for the fam. We are, of course, following the time-honored Jewish tradition of picking up Chinese food on Christmas Day. Because nothing says Jewish like Chinese food. (And cue the judgy emails in 3, 2, 1...)

Setting aside the whole kosher thing for a bit, I focus on the task at hand. Which involves taking a photo amid a seriously intense lake effect storm. I magically had my camera with me, because part of me hoped the forest across from the resto would offer up something worth shooting.

I also wanted to try out the similarly time-worn photographer's trick of shooting through an open car window to minimize the potential of getting rain or snow on the lens. I'm strange that way.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated, and I liked what I saw enough to strategically park the car and grab a few million pixels.

I shot 11 frames over a 2-minute span - all the same variation of the photo you see here - then buttoned everything up and headed back to grab lunch and head home. I rather like the composition, the tone, and the flecks of snow, frozen in space above the top of the snow-covered rushes.

But beyond the visuals, I rather like how it makes me feel, how it reminds me of a smallish moment in the history of our family. A moment where all was right within our little world despite the storm brewing just outside.

Trivial? Of course. But I'm slowly learning that not everything needs to be monumental or eventful. And when you add up all the little moments like this one, you end up with a pretty substantial pile of triviality.

Which, on reflection, isn't so trivial at all.

#ldnont #hyde #park #london #ontario #canada #forest #tree #trees #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #winter #weather #wx #onstorm #mandarin #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Escaping to an overgrown landscape, November 2020

The subtle art of finding colour, November 2020

The power of puppy socks

Happy feet, far from home
Orlando, FL
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Conventional wisdom has taught us that a pair of socks with paw prints all over them won't make much of a difference in the trajectory of the planet.

Conventional wisdom can stuff it.

Because this particular pair of socks, shot in a distant hotel room during a business trip, made me smile at a time when I needed a reason to smile.

I was in Orlando this past March, just days before the first COVID-19 lockdowns began. Murmurings were sweeping through the hotel, and people were worried. About gathering amid uncertainty. About getting home safely. About not getting sick along the way.

While wearing a certain pair of socks had no hope of stopping the wave that was to come, it became a topic of blessedly trivial conversation over breakfast. And again at lunch. These stupid socks somehow became the blessedly light-hearted break so many of us needed.

Despite our now-sequestered lives, I still look for the fun-themed socks when I need a dose of happiness. And I'm not so naive that I believe the impact ends with me: a well-timed sock-filled screen during a Microsoft Teams meeting has the same effect on colleagues, too.

Indeed, we never know how that one simple moment will ripple out into the universe. It may start small, but it doesn't have to stop there. History proves it won't.

So, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is a simple one:

1. Find your favorite pair of fun-themed socks - or anything fun-themed, really.
2. Take a photo of them. Or of yourself - or anyone else - wearing them.
3. Share the photo here.

Small things. Big impact. Go.

#orlando #florida #fla #throwback #conference #hilton #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #sock #selfie #hotel #room #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

My big, old, magical plane, March 2020

When clouds look like fish, March 2020

Don't play with fire, except..., March 2020

Mountain of glass(es), March 2020

Before hitting the stage..., March 2020

Lost pink sock, August 2015

Thankfully staring out the window

Snow angles (not a typo)
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Santa Claus didn’t come to our house last night. I’m thinking it may have something to do with the fact that we’re Jewish.

Or the fact that I used to mock him as he welcomed children into his village at the mall.

Or my lifelong doubts over his ability to fit down our chimney. Or any chimney, for that matter.

Whatever the reason, today is resonant regardless of who we are, who we worship, or what we choose to call ourselves. It’s a reminder to us all that family is always paramount, home is where we feel whole, and time is our most precious resource.

It’s also a reminder that many of us have been privileged with gifts of many forms - while others have not.

As I sit in my warm, comfortable home taking barely-artful pictures of fresh-fallen snow out the window, I say a quiet thank you to the forces of the universe that have allowed me to have what I have.

You may or may not have had anything under the tree this morning, but I’m reasonably sure if you’re reading this that you’ve got ample reason to celebrate. I hope you cherish your gifts not only today, but every other day of the year.

Because we shouldn’t ever have to wait to be thankful for all we have and all we are.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #christmas #holiday #weareone #winter #snow #weather #wx #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

The Physics of Santa Claus, December 2004

Saying hi to Santa, May 2012

Staring down at the Arctic Ocean, December 2012

A different kind of beach

Reflecting on the forces of nature
Port Burwell, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Part of me would like to conjure up my best pirate accent and narrate this scene with a perfect "The seas were angry..." monologue.

But this is a lake, not a sea. And the size of the waves suggests not so much anger as, I suspect, mild irritation.

But I share this particular image on this particular day because of a rather particular reason.

See, with few exceptions most of us are waiting for this year to end. We've rightfully consigned 2020 to the lousy pile, and eagerly await the promise of 2021, namely a vaccine that works, a population generally smart enough to take advantage of it, and at least the beginnings of a return to whatever we call normal.

But that won't happen overnight, and much of 2021 will likely feel a lot like 2020. Which means holding on until the light gets brighter. And holding on to snippets like the one you see here.

Or finding ways to steal out to places that inspire us. That make us think a little. That allow us to get away, even if only for a brief period of time. That remind us how small we truly are in the overall context of the planet. That reinforce the power that defines life here - power that predated COVID, that will be reshaping beaches and landscapes long after all this is over.

I'll be back on this beach before long. It won't be remotely warm, or lined with palms. I'll be wearing a parka instead of shorts. The sand will likely be frozen hard. I'll probably complain the entire time. But if it offers up a sliver of reflection and escape in a year that needed more of both, I'll take it.

#port #burwell #ontario #canada #beach #great #lake #erie #waves #water #sand #weather #wx #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

No longer just a kid, September 2020

Welcoming the New Year, Differently, September 2020

Bench by the water, October 2020

Ice amid flowing water

Life in many forms
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Frozen. Not the movie.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #water #ice #frozen #thames #river #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Reflecting in a frozen parking lot

Welcome back, old friend
London, ON
January 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Once upon a time, I dropped the kids off at school on my way to work, an ordinary start to an ordinary day.

On this particularly frigid January morning almost four years ago, the skies were just starting to put on a show as I slowly left campus on my way downtown. It’s one of the upsides of long Canadian winters: the timing works out perfectly for a spectacular show.

But only if we look up.

And on that morning, I looked up.

Fast-forward to 2020. Yesterday was winter solstice, the dawn of a new season and the shortest day of the darkest year. Every day from here on out gets longer. The angles of the light will also change. Brighter, tighter, more intense, warmer.

Look up, of course, but also look more closely. Appreciate the tones, the shades, the warmth.

Because even the darkest, coldest nights don’t stand a chance once the sun decides to show up. Just imagine what else we’d discover in empty early-morning parking lots if only we took the time to stop and look around.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #sky #sunrise #dawn #reflective #reflection #orange #clouds #light #weather #wx #abstract #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #car #carporn #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Light, up close

An evening at the beachside BurgerFi
Delray Beach, FL
July 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Light is a fascinatingly multitalented thing. It shows the way, inspires action, banishes the darkness, and fights evil.

I've got about 300 words at my disposal to explain how it works, but I'd rather you simply close your eyes and figure out how to harness it.

Because all of us have that power within us. How we exercise it is entirely our call.

#delray #beach #delraybeach #florida #throwback #random #light #bulb #led #power #lines #geometry #design #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

City held hostage

A business model that makes no sense
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

London’s downtown core is filled with empty buildings, many of them plastered with signs begging someone, anyone, to rent them.

You’d think they’re devoid of economically viable human activity because of the pandemic. You’d think wrong, as I shot this in January, and scenes like this have defined the landscape for years.

At some point, we’ll emerge from this historic cacophony, and I imagine we’ll spend years thereafter blaming COVID for all that ails us.

But let’s be honest with ourselves: the planet was broken long before a certain virus decided to go on its first world tour.

And fixing it won’t be as straightforward as giving everyone a shot in the arm.

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

Watching water tumble endlessly

Two sides to every story
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There’s an epic battle playing out beside the treacherously frozen riverbank, but no one knows unless they get close enough to hear the soft burble of the tumbling water.

At first glance, the rocks over which the water flows seem to have the upper hand. If not for them, the glass-smooth surface would remain undisturbed for as far as the eye can see. Instead, the water turns into a chaotic, imperfect mess, totally at the mercy of all that shapes it.

But no victory is ever permanent. Today the rocks win. Tomorrow, too. And if I had to count time, probably many tomorrows.

But someday, the water will wear the rocks down. And eventually it’ll destroy everything in its path. By our puny human-life timeline, we’ll never even see this process fully play out. But the planet works on its own clock. And nature is a patient soldier.

I’m sure there’s a broader lesson here, but as I crouch beside the water and try to avoid taking an unplanned swim, I allow the thought to dissipate.

Because not everything needs an explanation. And sometimes it’s simply enough to appreciate the scene for what it is before we eventually have to head back to the real world.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #water #reflective #thames #river #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

4 years without Fray Fray

Someone was loved
London, ON
August 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Four years ago today, we said goodbye to our pup, Frasier.

He was a 10-year-old rescued Miniature Schnauzer, and had spent most of his life as an insulin-dependent diabetic. He shamelessly ate garbage, jumped on the kitchen table (but couldn’t make his way back down without help), and misbehaved on virtually every walk he ever took.

I realize he was but one dog, and we’re privileged indeed if losing a pet is as bad as it gets. But he was one of us. Family. And he deftly wove his way into our very fabric.

Anyone who’s ever had a Schnauzer knows they’re special dogs. Sharply intelligent. Relentlessly stubborn. Hearts as big as the Moon.

When I was recovering from my stroke, he shadowed me like his life depended on it. He seemed to always know when and how we needed him, even as he lived from needle to needle, never once complaining about the less-than-charmed deck of cards he had been dealt.

That four years have passed and it still feels like yesterday reinforces how lucky we were to call him ours. With him, every day was a happy one, even if it might have felt a little maddening at the time. Schnauzers tend to have that effect on their humans. Calli is a very different dog, of course, but something tells me she would have adored him as much as we did. The Schnu is strong in her, as it was in him.

Funny enough, as difficult as milestones like today have become, I’d be infinitely more sad if we never had him in the first place. He was worth every crazy moment.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #dog #dogs #throwback #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

We found Scooby-Doo's tree

Dusted
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Patterns are everywhere. All we have to do is open our eyes.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Naked forest

Chaotically red
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The last time our daughter and I walked through this forest, it was ablaze with autumn color.

Today, with wispy traces of snow covering the branches and the path beneath our feet, it looked and felt like a different place. Not worse. Not better. Just different.

As we slowly walked further into the hushed valley, what had at first looked like an unending blur of grey, white, and dirty-white started to slowly show us its color. It had been there all along, of course, but this late in the year it wasn't as obvious.

I almost felt my brain shifting into a lower gear as it picked up on the subtler shades, the patterns, the textures that had been hidden by leaves just a couple of months earlier. With the branches now virtually empty, it felt like there was so much more to see.

Indeed there was. This impossibly messy knot of branches would have been completely covered by leaves the last time we were here. Yet this time, it was a perfectly uncovered, perfectly red study in texture and light.

I'm guessing today's lesson from today's walk, then, is a comforting one: there's always something new to see, or some new way to see, whenever we return to the familiar.

We just have to allow ourselves to return in the first place. Our eyes will take it from there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #red #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Be the one that stands out

Unique among many
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Walk through any forest and amid the riot of chaotically growing life, one thing will always stand out from the rest.

Of course, what that so-called "one thing" might be is entirely up to you. This tree, seemingly pirouetting alone, away from the others, called out to me. Someone else might see, or even feel, something else.

The beauty of individuality, no?

I'm reminded of high school, where individuality was less celebrated than mocked, where those who stood out from the crowd were rather simply shunned. The cliques determined who got in and who didn't, and getting in meant shaping yourself into a mirror image of the others.

I'm glad the forest doesn't work this way. Life, too.

Because being on the outside has always been infinitely more fun. And that "one thing"? No one is sufficiently qualified to define or enforce it in the first place.

So go be you. And surround yourself with others who get it, too.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog!

Love me
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Why hello. It's been a while since I made an appearance here. And since my dad says the world needs more reasons to smile, here I am.

My ear is healing slowly. It makes me whiny. Correction: more whiny than usual. But it gets me extra treats and cuddles, so it all nets out in the end.

I keep hearing something about a pandemic, but I'll admit my English comprehension skills are somewhat limited, so I can't quite figure out what it all means. But my humans seem to like when I plop down next to them, so I'll keep at it. My mom says I have big shoulders.

My fur has gotten quite long, and my humans have started calling me Bear. I don't know what "Bear" means, but they seem to be happy when they say it. As long as they're happy, right?

My dad is home a lot, which I like. He spends most of the day pressing buttons and talking to people's heads inside one of the big glowing rectangles in his office downstairs. Sometimes he brings the folding rectangle upstairs and sits with me while the people inside his machine say strange things. I get extra treats then, but he won't let me press the buttons. Not after what I did to his other folding rectangle.

He also doesn't let me help him clean the dishes when he loads the dishwasher. I've tried to tell him it's more energy efficient if I pre-wash them with my tongue, but he doesn't speak dog.

Silly dad.

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

The tip of the spear

Protect the probe
London, ON
September 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Remove before flight.

Or else.

#ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #throwback #AirShowLondon #lockheedmartin #USAF #f16 #fighting #falcon #viper #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Happy Hollow Road

Barely controlled roadside chaos
Williamsburg, KY
January 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Road trips may be on hold for a while, but that doesn't mean we can't dive through the archives on occasion and pull up a memory or six.

Like this one, taken almost 12 years ago near an I-75 onramp in Williamsburg, Kentucky. As landscape photos go, it's not particularly well-planned, little more than a fast-grab from the side of the road before we had to load up and be on our way.

But it feels different than the landscape back home, and revisiting the image does a remarkably good job of transporting us back there, as well. Even today, I can almost feel the chill in my fingers as I held my camera and squeezed the shot off before tucking it back away and heading back to the car.

It was a moment worth freezing in time, and travelling back to it all these years later makes me smile - even if it seemed like an unnecessary distraction at the time.

Lately, I find myself lingering more deliberately over images like this. The journey back in time may be digital-only for now, but it's more than good enough considering the circumstances.

#williamsburg #kentucky #ky #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #i75 #interstate #highway #stilllife #throwback #landscape #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Looking back on a crowded beach

Seeking refuge from the heat
Grand Bend, ON
July 2013
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Seven years ago, we went to the beach on a hot July afternoon. As I often do, I slung my camera over my shoulder and took a walk in the sand.

Eventually I ended up at the end of the pier, as I wanted - indeed, needed - to get out and away from the crowds. I do this often: wander to the edge, then peer back in. You see big pictures when you do. And occasionally small ones, as well.

Thanks to the benefit of hindsight, scenes like this are now beyond cringeworthy. But even then, in the Before time when global lockdown was the stuff of science fiction, crowds weren't my thing. I'm an introvert, and we tend to prefer to keep to our own quiet, unencumbered spaces.

Hence this photo, taken with a long zoom lens, the perfect optical tool to reach into a scene from afar without actually having to interact with anyone in it. Photography as anti-social enabler? I'll take it.

My crowd-hating nature notwithstanding, there are thousands of stories playing out within the frame, most of which we'll never know, which is as it should be.

Frankly, not every story needs to be told. Often, it's just enough to grab a slice along the way.

Because you never know when looking back may bring comfort. And you never know how long it'll be before you can return.

#grand #bend #grandbend #ontario #canada #throwback #beach #great #lake #huron #summer #weather #wx #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Gelt to the rescue

Making do with what we've got
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Our fourth and final - for now - photo from the kitchen table cherry jam still-life series does not, in fact, involve cherries or jams at all.

Because after I had finished shooting the empty jelly jar, I figured once I had the camera out and set up I should find something else to play with. Enter the cheese grater.

Some context: A few weeks ago, I suffered a grievous cheese slicing injury while using the old hand grater. I'll spare you the details, but when someone asks you if investing in a quality box grater is worth it to prevent unplanned bodily mutilation when all you wanted was a nice pile of mozza for Taco Tuesday, the answer is always an emphatic yes.

So we bent to consumer-first pressure and bought a new box grater. Now, I have this thing with new objects: I like to take pictures of them before their first use. Not sure why. Maybe I don't want to waste time PhotoShopping the scuffs and scrapes out in post. Perhaps I just like the aesthetic of newness. Whatever. Add it to my ever-growing list of personal quirks.

As I set up the shot, I couldn't quite get the right alignment, hence the meta-view of Chanukah gelt ("gelt" - Yiddish term for money. For Chanukah, kids often get chocolate coin-shaped gelt because, well, Jews like to eat) under my lens hood. Shockingly, it worked like a charm.

In the end, photography is improvisation. Or spontaneous insanity on the kitchen table. Or catharsis. Or perhaps it's all of these things. In any language.

Whatever you're celebrating, I hope it's sweet.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #cheese #grater #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle Etchings in glass, December 2020

Subtle etchings in glass

Edge on
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

[Part 3 in an ongoing series on kitchen table photographic jam sessions. We join our narrative already in progress...]

I've been buying the same brand of cherry jam - Smuckers - for as long as I can remember, yet only yesterday did I discover the raised-relief script branding just below the lid.

I suspect there are two possibly linked lessons here:

1. I need to start paying more attention to the small stuff.
2. I'm leading an overly trivial life where tiny consumer product design details take on an outsized degree of importance.

And while I could probably write another few hundred words on the topic, I think it's more than enough to just leave it here.

Life is, after all, complicated enough as it is. And sometimes it’s enough to simply appreciate the subtle glass markings without necessarily overthinking them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Same cherries. Different angle.

Before we recycle it
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This photo of an empty jar of cherry jam may feel similar to the one I shared yesterday. Same kitchen table scene. Different camera. Different perspective. All of it deliberate.

The lesson here is a simple one: try to look at things through different lenses, from different positions. Come back to them later. Because maybe the light will have shifted. Or your mindset.

When I first developed an interest in photography, I remember my dad asking me why I took so many pictures of the same scene. He said he "already got that picture," so there was no need to take it again.

My answer was succinct: Because what we’re looking at doesn’t determine how the photo comes out. Rather, it’s how we choose to tell its story.

At the time, I thought I was only talking about photography, but I’ve had a few years to realize it applied to a lot more than mere pictures.

Which probably explains why we’ve got a bit more cherry jam to work through over the next little while. Hope you’re hungry.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 1: Meta-cherries on the kitchen table, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle etchings in class, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Meta cherries on the kitchen table

Remembering what it tasted like
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The bad news: We ran out of cherry jam at breakfast.

The good news: We turned a lack of cherries into, uh, not lemonade.

For the record, I love cherry jam. Probably more than I should. But we all have our vices, and I’ve got to learn to accept mine.

So we’ll be doing battle at the Loblaws before long. But in the meantime, we had an empty jar begging for a spontaneous kitchen table photo shoot. And since it was a rainy day and I’ve missed being spontaneously creative, I hauled out the camera and had some fun with light.

Whenever I shoot with the real camera, I try to take a few meta-type pics with the smartphone, as well. They’re like test shots, or little, quick snippets. Sometimes I take them to validate the lighting or composition. Or document the scene.

Because creativity takes many forms, and remembering what it looked and felt like to get the shot can sometimes be more memorable than the shot itself. Especially when it involves using Chanukah gelt chocolates to fine-tune the lens positioning. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I’ll process the pics off the Nikon over the next day or two, and maybe I’ll even share them here.

But first, there’s an empty jar of cherry jam begging to be replaced. Food, after all, always has to come first.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #kitchen #table #spontaneous #food #foodporn #foodphotography #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Part 2: Same cherries. Different angle, December 2020

Part 3: Subtle etchings in class, December 2020

Part 4: Gelt to the rescue, December 2020

Shifting toward landscapes

Where the water meets the woods
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

My feed has been heavily skewed toward landscapes of late. I can explain:

1 - We all go through phases, and I'm going through a walk-through-the-woods phase. Must be my damaged brain trying to compensate for all this pandemic weirdness.

2 - Looking back through my archives, I realize I had never really focused on landscapes in a sustained manner. Every once in a while, I'd shoot some, but I never really studied it, practiced it, or tried to learn the language of sizing up the great outdoors through itty bitty slivers of glass.

3 - Soon it'll be winter, so some of the woodsier areas nearby will no longer be as accessible as they are now. I'm getting in my walkabouts while I still can.

I've already learned a few things, namely how cathartic it can be to leave the world behind for a bit and let the mind wander. It's also ridiculously fun to return to the same spot over a period of days, weeks, or even months, and try to document how it's changing with the seasons, the weather, or even the light. There's always something new to see, some new way to interpret the landscape around us.

I'm not entirely certain I'm doing any of this right, but I am enjoying the hell out of simply getting out there and trying.

So that's what I'll keep doing. Thank you all for joining me for the journey.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Let the light return

Traditions...
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We lit the first Chanukah candle last night. And in a year that's served up virtually nothing but darkness, it was a joy to welcome the light into our lives once more.

Whatever the background and whatever the holiday, every family has its own traditions. And ours is no different: We each have our own chanukiah, or candle holder. And from when they were babies, our kids have lit their own - albeit with a little help from us when they were munchkins.

My wife brought her father's chanukiah home after he passed away, and she paused over it as she first lit it last night.

I imagined he would have enjoyed his grandchildren's banter, the warm glow in the room, the all-pervasive smell of latkes throughout the house. And while we so wish he could have been here to take it all in, I was nevertheless thankful that he taught the lesson of family to my wife, and that she learned those lessons so well.

So in a way he was with us as we lit the first light. Because the love of tradition had to come from somewhere.

Whatever you're celebrating today, this week, this month, whenever, I hope you, too, find the light. And I hope you continue to have people in your lives who can help point you toward it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #chanukah #hannukah #howeveritisspelled #jewish #holiday #all #holidays #weareone #photography #apple #iPhone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The root of the matter

Anchored
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A deeply intertwined set of roots anchors a massive tree deep in a hushed valley.

To the casual observer, it's an impossible mess, devoid of any order or logic. Like so many other scenes within this same valley, it seems to have evolved randomly over time.

But that's the thing: We're only casual observers, with no real understanding of the complex processes that have driven the growth of these roots and the ecosystem that surrounds it.

Even when we crack open the science books to explain how all this comes to be, there's still a sliver of wonder. Why THIS way? Why can we still not predict exactly what happens next?

As it so often seems when we come down here, there's a parallel to the lives we lead in the real world, now so far away that we can barely hear it. And I think it goes something like this:

We can stand on the outside looking in, and in doing so we can think we know all there is to know. But we'll never really know the full story, the subtleties, intricacies, and even the relationships that shaped this place long before we were here, and will continue to do so long after we leave.

In other words, we simply have no idea. And perhaps accepting that might be one of the elusive keys to becoming better human beings.

Or so I like to believe.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #roots #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where trees return to the water

Feeling reflective
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The trees seem to know a good thing when they see it, which likely explains why they seem to grow toward the water.

Or so I like to believe as I stand in this quiet spot and drink in this place of seemingly limitless refuge.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #water #reflective #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Thanks, Chuck Yeager

Flying on the shoulders of a giant
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Chuck Yeager died yesterday. He was 97. And while I rarely echo the day's headlines in my feed, I'm making a considered exception this time.

Most folks remember him as the swaggering test pilot featured in the iconic book and film, The Right Stuff. If his story stopped and ended at being the first human to exceed the speed of sound, that would probably be enough.

But he was a war hero, too, who had battled German pilots over Europe - and had shot down 13 of them before he, too, was shot down over occupied France. He survived thanks to the help of French Resistance fighters on the ground, and went on to a storied military career.

Along the way, he built a test pilot school that proved instrumental in preparing pilots for spaceflight, and established the baselines for turning radical new designs, like the F-35A you see here, into capable, mature systems.

His legacy is baked into everything that flies today, as well as every pilot who flies them. His ability to instinctively fly into the unknown has made aviation safer for us all.

Because of him, what was once a leap into that unknown ultimately became routine. He risked his own life to turn the mysteries of high-speed, high-altitude, high-performance flight into known quantities that shape our lives to this day. We owe him our gratitude.

#ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #chuck #yeager #chuckyeager #aviation #lockheedmartin #f35a #lightning #stealth #fighter #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where life grows unchecked

Controlled chaos
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The more I stare at this scene, the more my head hurts from contemplating the sheer amount of life stuffed into this tiny frame.

Nature, you've wowed me yet again. Nicely done.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Standing under the cathedral

Collaborative life overhead
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not much to see here. Just a bunch of trees growing silently, largely ignored, in a valley far removed from the city that threatens to pave it over.

Every few years, developers make noise about pushing another road through here. Better traffic flow, they say. Shorter commute. Good for business, apparently. More tax dollars for the city. More revenue for them.

Thankfully saner heads have prevailed to-date, but we know how cities grow. Like water and a cracked dike, eventually the protections get worn down. Eventually the relentless forces of so-called progress will have their way.

But for now, the trees stand as one, seemingly working together to keep each other healthy and alive, to keep this place special. Eventually some will fall, but others will grow in their place, taking their spot among the crowd.

It's collaboration, nature-style, and it feels like the right way to start the week.

Because if they can work together to build community, stay vibrant, and ensure some kind of future - for themselves and for us - then so can we.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #valley #forest #tree #trees #weather #wx #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Polytechnique at 31

Where life had a chance
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

December 6, 1989. 31 years ago today, 14 women were murdered at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique because a single man couldn't, wouldn't accept women succeeding as engineers.

I remember the night like it was yesterday, remember the stories of journalism school and newsroom colleagues who covered the massacre. How so many lives were ended, and so many others altered forever.

I'd like to think that misogyny has been resolved in the ensuing decades, but I'd be wrong. The stifling patriarchy that normalized the anti-women behaviors at the root of this tragedy took root long before one failure of a human being picked up a high-powered rifle and singled out his victims because of their gender.

We haven't learned a thing. And saying nothing ensures it will continue to happen. In headline-grabbing mass murders like this, or in individual cases that don't necessarily merit annual reflection. But should.

Why the tree? Because 14 brilliant lives were snuffed out before they had a chance to unfold on their own. Because so many stories failed to play out as they should have. Because the branches of life were cut before the canopy could even be formed.

To think what should have been. To think how our continued inaction dishonors their lives.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #stilllife #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Newtown, Connecticut Shooting - No Words, Many Words, December 2012

Dawson College - shots fired, September 2006

Grapefruit League Moment

The ideal in-store display
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Good design is everywhere.

Exhibit A: the humble grapefruit. Comes with its own eco-friendly packaging. Stacks up nicely - almost as if it was waiting for its Instagram moment - and looks rather fetching when the light is just so.

Oh, and it’s rather healthy. At least for those of us who aren’t allergic.

We just have to know enough to appreciate it when we see it.

It’s out there. Look harder.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunripe #grocery #store #fruit #grapefruit #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Gone wild in the grocery store, March 2020

Spontaneous in-store potato shoot, June 2018

Please don't cry, May 2018

Fruitography revisited, May 2014

Obscene fruitography? July 2007

Fruitography (where all this insanity began), November 2004

Finding vegetables among the morons

Quality produce
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Let’s not mince words: shopping sucks these days.

While online shopping can reduce our exposure, the occasional visit to the grocery store is still a necessary evil when nothing else will do.

That means crossing paths with idiots who rudely challenge retail workers about lineups and safety protocols, wear masks below their noses, and walk right up to others because heaven forbid they have to wait a second longer for that jar of dill pickles.

So here’s my remedy: kindness. Kind words to underpaid retail workers who literally risk their lives for the unruly, pickle-seeking morons who put their needs ahead of others. Kind moments for folks who deserve them. And even for the doofuses who don’t.

Because unkindness comes from somewhere. And if I were inclined to be a gambler, I’d bet big that the guy bullying the door attendant at the front of the store over the need to line up for all of 45 seconds was likely bullied himself somewhere along the way. I suggest we add some empathy to the pandemic survival toolkit, then, as well.

And along the way, in between channeling whatever kindness and empathy I can muster, I’ll take random photos of whatever beauty happens to slap me in the face. Vegetables, after all, don’t talk back, they don’t move around, and they look rather lovely in the right light. If it makes others smile, so much the better.

Pandemic notwithstanding, this kindness thing is entirely up to us. Please feel free to share your own stories of kindness here.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunripe #grocery #store #vegetables #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Do you scream for ice cream?

Waiting for sweetness
St. Thomas, ON
October 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is where ice cream is sold.

Well, when it's warm outside. Which it decidedly is not as I write this.

Memories can be powerful things, then, transporting us back to times and places that mattered to us then. And still do now.

Whatever memory you've got, I hope you're holding onto it tightly. And I hope it tastes as good as the ice cream that was once shared through these windows, and will hopefully be shared again when the warmth and light eventually return.

#stthomas #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #shaws #icecream #concrete #building #architecture #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #lines #geometry #texture #perspective #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Concrete apartment monolith

Touch the sky
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This must be my week to be looking up at buildings.

Unlike the last one I shared, this 70s-ish example of uninspired architecture isn't raining bricks down on the sidewalk below. But from the looks of it the concrete has clearly seen better days.

Either way, it's good for the soul to peer more closely at the things that would otherwise be ignored.

There's no shame, after all, in spending time with the ordinary. Sometimes we may find ourselves pleasantly surprised by what we see.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #architecture #design #architecturephotography #concrete #building #buildingporn #perspective #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Standing under crumbling brick

Building turned on its ear
London, ON
September 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Today’s mission: walk up to an abandoned building in #LdnONT’s downtown core.

Stand by the corner and stare straight up.

Take a picture of what you see.

Pretend to ignore the stares of passers-by.

But secretly smile to yourself because connecting with others via photography is such a kick.

Look down.

Observe a small pile of smashed bricks on the ground by your feet.

Realize this probably isn’t the safest place to be.

Resolve to never do this, here, again.

Think about other weird everyday - and hopefully safer - scenes for next time.

#london #ontario #canada #throwback #random #urban #downtown #king #street #photography #building #buildingporn #ruinporn #architecture #design #architecturepgotography #brick #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where waves speak to birds

Water, air, life
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's 7:08 a.m. on this final morning of 2019. A lonely bird swoops low over the surf, tracking a single wave as the swell in the water below rolls silently toward its inevitable end in the sand.

How many times has this scene played out here before? How many birds have swooped low here? How many waves have crashed ashore? How many souls have stood here in the sand and wondered about it all?

As is often the case in places like this, the questions outnumber the answers. Which, as my bare feet sink deeper into the still-cool sand, I realize is entirely the point. Because we don't come here to get answers. Or to fill columns and rows with definitive facts and figures.

Rather, we're here to break the spreadsheet entirely. To close our eyes, breathe in the windy, salty air, and listen for sounds that are more felt than heard. To simply absorb.

It was true last December, and it'll be true whenever we get back to this place, where rockets leave the planet, where birds master the skies no matter who may or may not be watching from shore.

Until then, we have other beaches closer to home. The water may be fresh, and the sand may be too cold to walk barefoot. But they're calling me still.

I think an adventure awaits. I wonder what we'll see when we get there.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #florida #atlantic #ocean #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #sunrise #waves #water #birds #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Shadowy selfie

Playing with late-afternoon light
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm generally not one for selfies.

I specifically took up photography because I don't particularly enjoy being on the receiving end of a lens, and hiding behind the camera gives me the perfect excuse to stay out of the picture.

But as digital photography has become an increasingly pervasive part of everyday life, taking random photos of ourselves here and there has become a nice, if somewhat narcissistic, way of keeping in touch and of placeholding our journey through this thing called life.

I'm not sure if a shadowy projection on a crumbling wall counts, but I promised my wife I'd take one of myself, so this will have to do.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sherwood #forest #mall #selfie #shadow #architecture #design #architecturephotography #concrete #building #buildingporn #brown #brick #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

New perspective on an old wall

Leading lines
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Same wall, different perspective.

Funny how that works. You can look at the same thing from a different spot, and see it in a completely new light.

We're talking about bricks here, nondescript building blocks of our modern urban environment. But the truth is we could be talking about anything and everything. And anyone.

Just what could that anything and everything - or anyone - be? And how many different perspectives are there?

Well, that's entirely up to you?

Go...

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sherwood #forest #mall #architecture #design #architecturephotography #concrete #building #buildingporn #brown #brick #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #d750 #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Still stuck in a parking lot, November 2020

Fading retail against a blue sky, November 2020

Green buggies in a row

Stuck together
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

No one pays much attention to shopping carts - or buggies, if you will - unless they've been stolen and left to rust on a nearby street corner.

But they do indeed make a fascinating scene when you come across a bunch of them in a sun-splashed parking lot. Especially if they've been painted a natty shade of green and are lined up just so.

Weird, I know. But who defines what "weird" is in the first place?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sherwood #forest #mall #green #grocery #shopping #carts #design #architecturephotography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Supermarket carts? Or jail? April 2008

Wheelies, June 2007

Interlocked, February 2006

When winter returns

Dog's eye view
London, ON
December 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Everyone leaves traces behind, and we’re mistaken if we believe they’re only temporary.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #weather #wx #winter #snow #storm #onstorm #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything