Don't be a dick, please

Hey, denizens of Planet Earth, can we try something a little different today?

Don't be a dick.

If you see someone BEING a dick, call them on it.

If you see someone being a HYPOCRITICAL dick, you have license to use profanity.

Everyone struggles, now and every day.

Don't make it worse.

Be a kind human being.

Now more than ever.

Pass it on.

#COVID19 #coronavirus #LdnONT #BeKind

Note: I originally posted this to Facebook here. It touched off quite the exchange.

A dog's nose knows

Why, hello there!
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You know, Dad, this work-from-home thing will get pretty tiresome pretty quickly if you keep sticking that thing this close to my nose. I love you, but Schnauzers need their space.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Don't fear this tree

Stand right here
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This big scary tree stands not far from our house.

It's easy to feel a chill down your spine when you first see it, likely due to the fact that every movie director in history has used the craggy-tree-at-night trick to frame scenes where someone either meets an early end, or makes a stupid decision that ultimately leads to their early end.

Seriously, don't look behind that door. Or go into that house. Or hang around near that tree.

Yet the longer I stand under this particular tree, the more it occurs to me that its dark reputation may be somewhat unearned, even unfair.

It's just a tree, after all, and it's very much alive. Those empty branches won't be empty for long. I'm pretty sure the scene of lush leaves speaking hushed tones in the light breeze under a bright summer sky tells a different story than the one we see, hear, and feel here.

Same tree. Different time. Radically different experience.

We're all going through some darkness now. We're all looking up at the big scary tree. And we're all probably more than a little frightened.

But that tree won't be like this forever. Soon enough the cycle will turn, the sky will brighten, howling winds will turn to gentle breezes, the air will turn warm, the canopy will return and cast a friendly shade.

Which does nothing to ease our fears on this foreboding night, but still serves as a reminder that nothing is permanent, and there is always light ahead.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #street #night #light #dark #contrast #monochrome #photography #tree #snow #frozen #winter #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where the kitchen sprouts a laptop

Chocolate pie makes everything better
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When all this is over and we're looking at this period in history in the rear-view, I want pictures of what it all looked like. Because pictures remind me what it felt like at the time. And I don't want to forget what any of this felt like.

With the exception of the young lady in the background, there isn't anything extraordinary in this scene. Technology strewn about our kitchen table as I write for work through the weekend is hardly the stuff of photographic dreams.

But that's exactly the point. Whatever we're calling it today - social distancing, self-isolating, quarantining, battening down the hatches, extreme cocooning, full-contact pie-eating - there's no denying how unique a moment in time this is.

So when a flash of an idea to capture my ad hoc kitchen workspace until I can move all of my monitors and equipment home from the office turned into a fun moment with our daughter, I knew I wanted - nay, needed - to remember this.

Dahlia is like that; always making moments you want to hold onto. And whoever now surrounds you as you ride out this period in history, please never forget why we must consciously hold on as much as we can.

Connecting may look different now, but it is, ultimately, a hidden blessing that we have this together-time at home, and one we should embrace.

Pandemic notwithstanding, this is what makes life as rich as it is. It is as important now as it's ever been.

More to come...

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #parenthood #dahlia #peanut #girl #home #office #covid19 #coronavirus #work #weekend #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Staring out from a detoured train

Pastoral
Near Punkeydoodles Corners, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Early one morning last year, just before July slipped into August, I found myself on a train to the big city to the east. A derailment along the way had forced us to take the long way around, through countryside I had never before seen.

Grumbles were heard as we boarded the train. Late arrivals. Missed meetings. Rushed, incomplete days. Tense faces.

I tried to ignore the frustration around me as I settled into our now much longer journey. I stared out the window and idly watched some new scenery slide past us.

Somewhere between Shakespeare and New Hamburg, east of Stratford, not far from Punkeydoodles Corners (seriously), we came across this pastoral scene. It wasn't terribly different from everything else we had seen thus far, but it somehow triggered me to reach for my phone and rack off a few pictures.

Eventually, we all got where we needed to go, and the grumbling around me continued as we walked down the crowded platform in Toronto and eventually dispersed into the crowds that define Canada's biggest, busiest city. For months, this photo sat, gathering virtual dust in my digital archive while other, more notable scenes pushed their way to the front of my feed.

Yet here we are, after all this time, pondering the worth of an ordinary scene from an ordinary morning. And the only conclusion I can draw is that nothing is truly ordinary. Even challenged days like the one I experienced last summer are each extraordinary in their own way, each worthy of being captured, remembered, held onto.

I keep thinking there's a lesson in this scene, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I need to churn it a little more. Maybe I'll revisit it in a few months.

Or maybe I just have to keep listening to the little voice inside me that says "grab it now" when everyone else around me is too upset to bother looking up in the first place.

#ldnont #london #toronto #stratford #newhamburg #ontario #canada #viarail #train #trains #trainspotting #trainstagram #rail #commute #commuter #transit #landscape #travel #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Beg buttons suck

Please, may I cross?
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is a beg button, so-called because pedestrians push it to beg for permission to cross intersections without being run over by otherwise smartphone-distracted SUV drivers.

I've always hated them. No one else has to beg for permission to cross, so why should it fall to us to touch a filthy button?

Before #COVID19 / #coronavirus rewrote the rules of urban engagement, I had already been modifying my behavior by only wearing gloves, or by not pressing the buttons at all. Now, I'm done with the button silliness for good.

I'm an original Montrealer, which means full-combat jaywalking is baked into my DNA. I'll take the thrill of risking a spontaneous game of real-world Frogger over the guarantee of picking up something from a button that likely hasn't been cleaned in....well, ever.

It's time to demand better on-street designs, safer rules - like an end to right on red* - and no more idiotic buttons.

They're probably not connected to anything, anyway.

--
* Go ahead, fight me on this one.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #spontaneous #random #street #sign #urban #downtown #city #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Watching the waves roll in, briefly

Another fleeting moment among many
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The irony of sharing this photo today, calming as it may be, is it'll probably be a while before I can return to this place for a followup shot.

It's in Cocoa Beach, just south of the place where rockets - soon once again with humans aboard - leave the planet. As beaches go, it's as good as it gets, and I wish I had spent more than a furtive hour there before we jetted off to our next adventure. Some places deserve more time, more mental room to just absorb, and this is most certainly one of them.

Yet with the COVID-19 virus going viral around the world, governments everywhere - including Canada's - are rightfully advising citizens to avoid unnecessary travel. So this beach will probably be a distant dream to many of us for quite some time. No more lingering in the early-morning surf for me or any other Canadian.

Snowbirds - Canadians who spend the winter in Florida - could theoretically still cram in a few more sunrises before they, too, must head back home. Yet they face their own form of uncertainty as they try to a) arrange travel home at a time when such arrangements can be difficult-to-impossible, and b) figure out what they'll do when they get home. This on top of already being in one or more high-risk groups and possibly already grappling with any number of other health issues.

Like my late father used to say, everyone's got tsuris* (Yiddish word for troubles), and everyone else's tsuris is probably worse than our own.

So for now I'll comfort myself that my biggest challenge revolves around spurious shortages of everyday goods (which, let's be honest, isn't much of a challenge to begin with) and the fact that I can't spend more time standing by the ocean with sand between my toes.

I think I'll survive.

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

She blazes a new trail

Digger the dog
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The morning dawned bright and cold, and global #covid19 / #coronavirus pandemic notwithstanding, the dog needed her walk.

So we stretched the route a little - ok, a lot - and explored the Walnut Woods Trail.

We had never been there before, and as you can see, Calli enjoyed the experience. So did I.

We'll have to go back. If you're nearby, I hope you can join us. She'll be the one with her nose permanently stuck to the ground. It's a Schnauzer thing, apparently.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where a virus rewrites my reality

Sobering dashboard
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not a lot of time to shoot or write. #COVID19 / #coronavirus has rather quickly wiped away everything I had on the go and redefined my priorities for, oh, the next kabillion centons.

I'm not complaining. I'm healthy, working in a job I love surrounded by brilliant people who feel the same way. As the global crisis around the pandemic has deepened, I've been privileged to be among a group rising to the challenge. It's pretty awe-inspiring to watch so much professional capability literally pivot in a new direction, all in real-time. And to be part of the team striving to keep our clients, our members, ahead of the threat. It's a responsibility we all wear with pride.

Today may have been a long day - it's 8:44 p.m. and I'm just now leaving the office, laptop in my backpack because I'll be cranking copy on it all weekend - but it was a good one, a day I'll probably remember for a while.

And we have many more memorable days ahead. Hard? Frightening? Sure. But there's always someone else worse off.

To wit: Take a closer look at the display in the middle of my monitor-laden desk, It's got Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Centre on it, a dashboard of sorts that aggregates infection and death rates, in near-real-time from around the world.

Every few minutes, I'd refresh it to ensure I was including the latest numbers in my work. And with every refresh, the number of deaths would march up, by 3 one time, 10 the next, always seemingly random, always upward - about 400 over the few hours I've been accessing the site.

It serves as a sobering reminder that real people's lives are being touched - and ended - by a virus we can't see. And a reminder to be thankful that we aren't included in those statistics. That we can still drop a laptop into our bags and head home to our families.

May we all find light amid the darkness. May we all navigate the next chapter with grace. I'll be over here, sharing snippets of the journey.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #office #computer #laptop #technology #addiction #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The joys of canine empathy

Watching out for her
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dogs just know when their people need them a little - or a lot - more than they usually do.

They know when a cuddle is called for, or when to simply stay close.

I often think Calli knows her people, us, better than we know ourselves. And just as often I marvel at her ability to handle the weight of the world on those seemingly tiny shoulders. Don't be fooled by her size: This Miniature Schnauzer is a giant in more ways than we'll likely ever know.

She's been hovering more than usual of late, following our every step, nudging us with her nose when she thinks we especially need a time-out from the chaos around us.

As you can see here, leaving Dahlia's side just isn't in the cards for her. And even now, as I write this, she has crawled into my lap and lies curled up into a tight ball of fur, her head resting on my knee. She's always looking out for us.

She doesn't speak in an identifiable language, but she makes sure we always know what she's thinking. And that always seems to revolve around keeping us grounded, making us smile, easing our fears.

I hope she knows how much we treasure her spirit. We always have, of course, but all of what makes her so integral to our family's story feels even more intense and nuanced these days. I can't imagine navigating this chapter without her.

#london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #parenthood #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

On forests, trees, and reconnecting

They stand tall
London, ON
November 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Somewhat impossibly, the news cycle seems to be accelerating. We've barely had a chance to absorb one piece of major #COVID19 / #coronavirus related news before another hits. Then another...

I get that it's unsettling, and I can totally appreciate why so many folks are feeling more tension than usual. I feel it, as well, and I admit I've been staring at ceilings late at night more often than usual.

There's no question we live in unsettling times, and it feels like there isn't much of a plan in place to settle things back down to their normal levels of abnormality.

So I hope you don't mind if I cocoon myself in creative things for the next little while. It calms me, and I hope it calms you, too.

I shot this eerily lovely scene a few years back on a photo walk with our daughter, and I'm thinking we may be due for another stroll through the ancient bog before long.

Because nothing settles the soul better than returning to the places that once brought us peace. We can always go home again, wherever home happens to be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sifton #bog #forest #trees #tree #autumn #throwback #monochrome #photography #daughter #parenthood #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Radio days, revisited

Back in the studio
London, ON
March 2020

Like many journalists in this internet-disrupted age, I no longer work full-time in traditional media. Which means I'm not on-air as often as I used to be.

Of course, I love what I now do, and wouldn't change it for the world. But every once in a while, I like to get in front of a mic or a camera again. The love of the craft of radio and television is something that'll never fully leave me, and on occasion it's a good thing for me to exercise the media part of my brain.

I'm lucky to know folks like Loreena Dickson and Ken Eastwood, hosts of Newstalk 1290 CJBK's morning show. They're lovely people, and when they call and ask me to sit in for a bit, it's always quite the treat to say yes.

Here's what it looked like when I dropped in for their Round Table segment this week. A good time was had by all.

Already looking forward to the next time. Hope you can tune in.

Desert scene from way above

Ancient formations
Las Vegas, NV
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We live on a pretty incredible planet.

That is all.

For now.

#las #vegas #lasvegas #nevada #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #geography #geology #desert #aircanada @aircanada #flight #flying #aviation #avgeek #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Benched in the shadows

Have a seat, please
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

With apologies to Forrest Gump, life isn't so much like a box of chocolates as it is a giant virtual kitchen within which we get to experiment with a near-limitless number of recipes.

Like this one: Take one bench beside a big box store, one security light, some brick and cracked concrete, and mix in with a few spare minutes on a cold, wet night in between appointments. This is what you get.

It isn’t much, just some shadows in a forgotten corner of an already-forgettable retail cluster. No one ever takes the time to take this scene in, which strikes me as somewhat sad, but hardly surprising given the way the planet runs today. We’re so focused on getting stuff done, and squeezing the most utility out of ever decreasing amounts of open time, that we just don’t seem to have it in us anymore to stop and absorb.

So I've decided to make the time. It doesn't get me any closer to that mythical box of chocolates, and it doesn’t guarantee I’ll know which one I’m gonna get. But it sure does help me find joy in places, and at times, that would otherwise be dark and featureless.

The light is out there. We just have to look for it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #monochrome #street #photography #stilllife #shadow #light #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Let's blow this day to smithereens

Just a pretend-castle, but a pretty one all the same
Orlando, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I appreciate that today's been a fecal matter show on so many levels. Oil market shock. Stock market crash. Global pandemic. Morons in charge of the response. And it's a Monday.

So please allow me to offer up a scene from the very epicentre of smiles, the happiest place on Earth, captured on the very happiest day of the year, New Year's Eve.

Because who doesn't like fireworks? (Environmental arguments deferred to another day, please.) And who doesn't like Mickey?

There, I fixed an otherwise crappy day.

You're welcome.

#orlando #florida #fla #canada #road #trip #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #magic #kingdom #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #fireworks #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Back to 2 wheels

Where the rubber hits the road. Again.
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've been off the bike long enough. Let's see if all of this still works.

Wish me luck.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #bike #bicycle #bikesofinstagram #cycle #cyclist #cycling #forever #perspective #cyclingislife #wheel #wheels #round #random #abstract #street #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where I defy death for the shot

Standing on the wrong side of the road
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Do NOT attempt this at home.

In other words, don’t stand in the middle of a quiet North London road five minutes before midnight so you can take artsy-esque photos of the pavement. This is not what responsible adults do.

And yet, this is precisely what I did last night as I waited beside a university building to pick our daughter up. She was participating in a Relay for Life cancer fundraiser, so there I was in the dark, attempting to fill a few quiet moments with some offbeat photographic exploration.

I was out there for barely 5 minutes before she came out, so I only had enough time to grab a couple of quick frames. We talked about it on the way home, because when your kid is a better photographer than you, there’s always something new to talk about.

Which largely explains why I found myself taking pictures in the middle of a darkened, silent road. Because I never want to forget what it was like to pick my kid up. Because the pictures I take are mere placeholders for the moments I wish we had more of.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #waterloo #street #night #photography #old #north #parenthood #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Gone wild in the grocery store

It's all about the color. Or maybe the texture. Or both.
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The purple sweet potatoes were especially fetching during today's grocery store expedition.

Why do I shoot close-in photos of the produce when I should probably be, I don't know, filling the cart so I can feed my family?

I can't answer that question, and indeed not every question even needs an answer.

Because creativity can and should happen anywhere. And making strangers smile with spontaneous photo shoots in the vegetable section is way more fun than adhering to a conventional script of expected in-public behavior.

I wonder what vegetable - or fruit, or whatever - will catch my eye during our next expedition. Got any suggestions?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stilllife #food #foodie #foodporn #fruitography #grocery #store #retail #color #purple #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Sprinkled donut poetry

Eat me, please
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Junk food haiku:

Colorful donut
It isn't very healthy
But it soothes the soul

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stilllife #food #foodie #foodporn #donut #donuts #sprinkles #color #photography #haiku #poetry #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

My big, old, magical plane

Casting a shadow
Orlando, FL
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the blink of an eye, nearly 400,000 pounds of airplane leaps into the sky, carrying the hopes and dreams of nearly 300 passengers and crew, painting its shadow, however briefly, along the scrub land beside the runway.

It's an old plane, this 767-300ER, but that doesn't make this moment any less resonant. It'll take us home safely, as it has countless other passengers since I first saw it fly through the dirt-flecked window of my high school class, awestruck at this then-new generation of efficient wide-bodied, glass-cockpit aircraft. Their flight decks were fully computerized, and they made then-dominant aircraft like the DC-8, 727, and DC-10 look like relics from the 60s. Which they were.

Time moves quickly, in aviation and beyond, and the 767 is now a tired old relic, too, a workhorse that gets the job done, but without the panache of even more sophisticated, newer aircraft. These next-generation craft sport carbon fibre wings and fuselages, automated flight decks, fly-by-wire controls, and exotic engine technologies, and were designed by computer to be even more efficient than the once-bleeding-edge 767.

Yet no matter what we're flying, that moment when they haul themselves off the ground and return to the skies remains something that never gets old, never feels anything less than wondrous.

Because not only does it mean these insanely complex machines are once again back where they belong. It also means we're one step closer to home.

#air #canada #aircanada #flight #orlando #florida #toronto #itrg #infotechlive #mco #yyz #takeoff #shadow #selfie #photography #travel #travelphotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything