Blink before the pink disappears

Scattered
London, ON
May 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When the glorious pink blooms begin to fall off the tree that protects the sidewalk near our home, we have two choices:

1. be sad
2. capture them in some way before they’re gone for good

I vote for what’s behind door #2, because while beauty like this may indeed be fleeting, the feeling we get from having experienced it lasts a lot longer.

Maybe even forever if we play our cards right.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #pink #flowers #texture #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Our historic architectural jumble

Tightly connected
London, ON
May 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This jumble of buildings in London’s downtown core spans well over a century of design, architecture, engineering, and life.

In many ways, it’s the story of too many generations to count, of the people who built this city and made it come alive. Who lived and worked behind these windows and walls.

It’s also a story that continues to play out, with the jumble continuing to evolve as the city reshapes itself yet again. With new stories being told in the shadows of the old.

It reminds me to look up every once in a while. Because there’s history happening just above our heads.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #history #urban #walkabout #downtown #street #streetphotography #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Finding beauty in an ugly world

In the western sky
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Chase the sun, even if you’re stuck in a suburban mall parking lot.

Because in a world where innocent Ukrainians are slaughtered for being Ukrainian, and innocent Buffalo residents are gunned down because they dared shop for groceries, we need random acts of storytelling beauty more than we ever have.

Please go find them. And share them.

#london #ontario #canada @cfmasonville #cfmasonville #sun #sunset #sky #mall #silhouette #landscape #landscapephotography #random #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Steps to another world

Tread carefully
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This staircase is both special and not.

It’s one of many in the area, and it connects the suburban streets above with the valley below, an easy way to escape the thrum of the city in a few easy steps.

Okay, maybe more than a few. It’s a steep valley, and there are lots of stairs.

The dog and I are here all the time, as it’s a regular part of our wanders through the neighborhood. Yet I’m usually so focused on not tripping on the crumbling concrete that I miss out on how it looks and feels.

So I decide to take a rare solo walk, one without a bouncy dog pulling the other end of the leash and ruining the shot. I even bring the camera-camera this time.

The well-worn steps haven’t only been badly maintained: they haven’t been maintained at all, the concrete slowly deteriorating in the deep shadows that settle over this quiet place.

Which I’m guessing is an accident waiting to happen. So I walk slowly, deliberately. All the better to notice the little things I’d otherwise miss, the textures, the soft, gloomy light, the sound of the whispering trees overhead.

While these steps may not be special enough to merit proper attention from the folks who run this town, they’re special enough to me for the quiet way they underpin the simple rituals of day-to-day life in an otherwise forgettable corner of the city.

As I tuck the camera away and begin the long climb to the house, I quietly resolve to shoot more scenes like this. They may be invisible to most, forgotten even. But they still deserve to have their stories told.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #walkabout #forest #concrete #stairs #gameoftones #texture #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Chewing on the flowers

She doesn't think they're weeds, either
London, ON
May 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’ll take Dogs Who Lick Dandelions for $200, Alex.

Seriously, we discover something new and weird about this little lady pretty much every day.

Which, on reflection, is exactly as it should be.

Enjoy the fields of yellow, sweet Calli. We’ll always be there to clean off your beard when you’re done.

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

Peppers in all colors

Pick a side
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

They say there are two sides to every story.

Whoever “they” are, I’ll choose to believe them.

This time.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #green #yellow #red #grocery #store #fruit #vegetables #red #green #pepper #peppers #fruitography #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Chaos in the woods

Unfettered growth
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This scene reminds me of life itself.

Where we stare into a messy landscape and try to make sense out of the chaos, to find the one thing that stands out, that’s worth focusing on.

It isn’t always easy.

But still, we try. To make sense of that which seemingly makes no sense.

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

Related:

Stripped branches, November 2021

The vanishing view from above, March 2019

Cathedral in the forest, March 2019

A chaotic assembly of branches, May 2018

Clinging to life, December 2013

Before the darkness falls, December 2010

Frozen lights in the sky, January 2007

Uprooted

Anchored
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On the footpath that twists and turns beside the meandering brook that shaped this valley, an impossible knot of roots dominates a particularly steep slope.

If you step carefully, they’re like stairs. But they can just as easily trip you up if you aren’t paying attention.

Nature can be harsh, after all.

And strong.

These roots have been anchors for longer than we’ve been around, and will probably still be here long after we’re gone.

I can’t help but think there’s a story in them, somehow, a lesson in tenacity and teamwork we’d all do well to heed.

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

Related:

Remembering the first time I shot monochrome, October 2021

Barking up the right tree, May 2021

It all started with greyscale, May 2021

Branching out, May 2021

At the root(s) of it all, May 2021

Game of tones, May 2021

The root of the matter, December 2020

We found Scooby-Doo's tree, December 2020

Emptiness at the edge of suburbia

Patience is everything
London, ON
December 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Flashback to one of the last days of the year, to a tired old storefront waiting for a new chapter to begin.

It’s often said that everyone has a place, and maybe this place is simply waiting for its everyone - or anyone - to discover it and make it come alive once again.

As I take the picture of this dimly lit strip mall in the middle of a dark, wintry landscape on the border between suburbia and farmland, I wonder who that anyone might be, and what this place could look like the next time I find myself here.

From the outside looking in, it may look ordinary, even a little run-down. Okay, a lot run-down. But it’s still worthy of having its story told. Every place is. So is every person.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #hyde #park #gainsborough #empty #store #retail #retailapocalypse #walkabout #winter #weather #wx #random #streetphotography #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Empty downtown storefront, March 2022

A peek into the death of retail, October 2021

Kentucky Fried Abandonment, March 2021
Retail ruinporn, January 2021

Abandoned strip mall, June 2020

Abandoned coffee shop, May 2020

Tim is still dead, February 2020

Shattered illusion on a downtown street, January 2020

Scene from a dying mall, October 2019

A crumbling icon fades to black, May 2016

Lunchtime in the shadows of the city, December 2015

The lowest price is no longer the law, October 2010

Calli at 5

Tired birthday girl
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This little one turns 5 today.

It feels weird to even write the number, because in the same breath it feels both as if she’s been a part of us forever, and that it was yesterday when we first met her.

That’s the duality of having a dog in the family. They expand to fill every fibre of our being, yet they’re never around long enough. That time thing, again.

At 5, Calli is every bit the bonkers Schnauzer she was when we first brought her home, the one who guards us with limitless energy and noise.

She’s also the same cuddly girl who shadows us when we’re not feeling 100%, who curls up in a ball in our lap, and brushes us with her paw when she thinks we aren’t giving her enough attention.

She’s my loyal little buddy, always up for a long walk through the neighborhood, always pointing me in the right direction with her sad brown eyes and heart-melting whine.

My favorite thing about her is how she’s changed us. I love watching our kids with her. She’s taught them so much about kindness, empathy, and selflessness. They are better people because we’ve had her - and before her, Frasier - in our family.

People who have dogs and cats and other pets get it. They understand how pet ownership defies logic, yet becomes a blessing they can’t imagine living without. They know how much they give us, and how life just seems to have a little more color because they’re in it.

So while we can’t stop the relentless passage of time - for ourselves, for our pups, for anyone - we can certainly appreciate the tiny little moments that these four-legged beings bring to us.

And while this one doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak dog, that look and that paw telegraph as clear as day that we communicate with each other just fine.

That extra treat in her bowl tonight isn’t just because today is a special day. It’s because every day is a special day, thanks to her.

Woof!

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #birthday #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood

Related:

Schnu to the power of 4, May 2021

Calli at 3, May 2020

Calli turns 1, May 2018

The family grows by one, again, June 2017

Celebration squared

Pretty woman
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s Mother’s Day today. It’s also my birthday. So we’ve got lots to celebrate.

I’d rather focus on the former, as my completing another trip around the Sun is hardly relevant to the masses.

My wife, on the other hand, is highly relevant to all of us, and to so many others. Like the Sun, she is the very foundation of our orbits, the source of the gravity that grounds us.

My hackneyed space metaphors notwithstanding, she is the quintessential mom, the kind of mother anyone would love to have. And we’re blessed that she’s ours.

This will be just as true tomorrow as it is today, so don’t mind if I fail to buy into the Hallmarkian commercialism of this day. She matters on any day, as do all mothers who spend days and years being there for others before being there for themselves.

Still, we’ll make any excuse for cake and singing and happiness. We should all celebrate each other more than we do. Today. Every day. Because life, and the moms who create and nurture it, should be treasured.

#LiveLaughLevy #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #mothersday #mom #moms #life #parenthood #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Another orbital completion, unlocked, May 2021

A snowy birthday message from the driveway, May 2020

The best party (hat) ever, May 2020

Mom: A Definition, May 2020

I will never top this birthday, May 2018

Another trip around the sun, May 2016

Another year... May 2014

A quick thanks... May 2014

Ring around the sun, May 2013

On why Fathers Day sucks for some, June 2011

A day like any other. And like no other. May 2011

Semi happy birthday, May 2010

Happy Birthday Carmi! May 2009

On a journey, May 2009

Gifts, May 2008

From a distance, May 2007

Three kids and a dog, May 2007

Good news, bad news, May 2006

Flowers for Mother's Day, May 2005

Bus stop moment

Where travel begins
London, ON
May 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Waiting. Together.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #suburban #street #photography #walkabout #bus #transit #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Empty police car on a darkened street, May 2020

The endless wait, April 2020

Where we come across a bus stop, April 2019

Parking lot playtime

Whenever creativity hits
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I call this playtime.

It’s the kind of random, spontaneous photographic exploration that happens when you don’t have time for a dedicated shoot.

It’s what you do when you have a few free minutes and a surplus of synapses firing in your brain.

It’s what happens when the little voices of inspiration start reaching out, begging for you to pay attention to the neat little things that always seem to happen during these so-called in-between or in-the-margins moments.

It’s what happens when life gets too busy for words, but that itch still needs to be scratched.

And so it was in a downtown parking lot long after the sun had gone down, and long after I should have been home. The sight of time-worn concrete under harsh streetlights felt mournful, but I couldn’t look away. Soon enough, the smartphone came out and I started to play with angles, textures, and light.

The entire thing lasted a few minutes, if that much. But it was just enough to scratch that itch and get me back into that place, that zone where it was just me and a flash of an idea.

Because sometimes you need some adult playtime. And even if this doesn’t look like much, it turns out to be just the escape I’ve been needing.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #via #viarail #train #rail #urban #city #downtown #travel #travelphotography #stella #red #color #texture #carporn #parking #lot #night #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Newspaper nostalgia

Stacked
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I strangely miss this.

The smell of the newsprint, the ink-stained fingers, the heft of a Saturday or Sunday paper as it hits the doorstep, the sounds of sections being shared across the kitchen table, the folding and refolding as the family settles into its morning routine.

Electronic devices may be more efficient and timely. Forests don’t have to be sacrificed at the altar of the morning news, and dinosaurs don’t get burned on the truck ride to the neighborhood. No more spending time on hold waiting to lodge yet another complaint over missed delivery.

But no smartphone or tablet is ever this visceral, this tangible. Scrolling through articles on a touchscreen just doesn’t touch the soul in quite the same way. The shared experience of conventional news is lost in a world that cherishes multimedia and multiplatform. Multianything, really.

I get it: we’ve advanced as a species. Today’s solutions are better than yesterday’s. We don’t so much read articles as we consume content, as we interact with it and turn it into something those who built it never envisioned.

But as is so often the case, we’ve left something behind in the process.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #newspaper #newsprint #media #monochrome #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Watching newspaper bundles disappear, April 2021

Last of a dying (yellow) breed, December 2012

Talk radio silenced: Remembering Ted Tevan, August 2011

The newspaper of tomorrow, December 2005

Catching up - Ink Blog entries, November 2005

Blue doors. Vanished history.

Beer me.
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m riding along the bike path when I notice a flash of color out of the far corner of my eye.

The path curves through the shadows of a massive brewery, in a neighborhood where historic single family homes stare out into London’s commercial and industrial history.

Curiosity wins the moment, and within seconds I’m peeling off the path and circling back for a closer look at the impossibly blue doors.

A man waits for his dog to finish sniffing the weeds poking through the weathered asphalt in front of his house, while next door a woman sits on the covered porch with a laptop. I park the bike a little down the street and quietly take in the delightfully aged building across the way.

They make beer here. Or they ship it from here. Or something. I can’t really tell what this building is used for, as the only identifiable sign is a large “15” over the main entrance.

But those blue doors just beg for a linger. They’ve probably been around for far longer than any of us, and they almost seem to drip history onto the dusty streetscape.

By the time I finish my quick shoot, the lady with the laptop is staring at me and smiling. I apologize for ruining her peace, and she laughs. We briefly chat about my Instagram addiction, and how much I admire the visuals of her cool little hood before I pack everything away and continue on my way.

The lesson from this moment is a simple one: always give into your curiosity. You see some pretty neat things, and meet some pretty neat people.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #city #downtown #blue #doors #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

We've got the meats

A plethora of protein
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Date night looks a little different in the middle of a pandemic.

Not that we were ever big party people, but the concept of “going out” is still a little too scary for us. I’m guessing we’re not the only ones who feel generally skittish about being in close proximity to crowds of strangers.

So date night now happens in unconventional places, like grocery stores. As an added bonus, the aisles are almost empty, which gives me a little more latitude to bring home a photo or ten.

Like this meat counter still-life. There isn’t anything in-frame that I’d remotely consider eating, but the visuals were too good to pass up.

Artistry takes many forms. If this chapter in history has any upside - and I believe that it does - it could be that we’ve been forced into situations that allow us to see what we might have once missed.

I wonder where our next date night will take us. Maybe something cheese-themed.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #loblaws #grocery #store #shopping #retail #meat #deli #random #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Dead fish in a Costco, March 2019

Big box parking lot discovery

Beige is always beautiful

The scene: July 2020, in a big box retail parking lot on the south end of town.

It's a warm, sunny Saturday evening, and I've come here to pick dinner up for the brood. They eat, apparently, and this parenthood thing means you've got to keep feeding them.

Imagine that.

As I return to the car and carefully place our din inside (chicken wings; please don't judge), I notice a cargo container sitting ignored in the corner of the lot. A nearby store is under renovation, and they're using the bin for recycling.

I fixate on the latching mechanism for a few seconds before I decide it needs a photo.

No, the world doesn't especially need another picture of mundane, beige-painted hardware. But in these early days of the pandemic, I've been taking more and more seemingly stupid pictures because of the way they freeze time.

And this is another moment that seems to merit freezing.

Fast-forward to today, and I don't remember the photo so much as how it felt to be out in these strange times, engaged in an admittedly routine act on behalf of my all-time favorite people back home.

It certainly doesn't reflect the lofty ideals of photography as 15-year-old-me first envisioned when I bought my first serious camera. But life is like that: the world changes around us, so we kind of have to change along with it.

May as well shoot the experience so we remember it more clearly, right?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #retail #parking #parkinglot #beige #buffalo #wings #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Returning to the temple of hockey

The game
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We did some sportsing the other night.

It had been a while since we had been in this place. 27 months, to be precise.

I’m not sure how I felt being surrounded by 6-plus-thousand people. It was lovely to be out and about with my family, doing something - following our beloved Ontario Hockey League team, the London Knights - that for so long has brought them so much joy.

But it was still nerve-wracking. Even if everyone had worn masks, it would have felt…off. But with most folks not wearing a mask at all, it felt even less normal. It’s not a judge-others kinda thing. It’s just one more elevated threat in a world that already has many.

Still, the good guys won. Convincingly.

And the simple act of going downtown to watch a game reminded us that good things wait for us at the end of this chapter. Even if getting back to them will be more of a gradual transition than we might have once hoped.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hockey #budweisergardens #knights #londonknights #goknightsgo #playoffs #kitchener #rangers #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

They play hockey here, February 2021

Hockey Night in Canada, Again, January 2021

A frightening crowd of people, March 2020

Hockey Night in London, November 2019

Watching Olympic hockey before dawn. February 2014

When gouges in the ice = perfection, December 2012

Friday Night Lights revisited & explained, January 2008

In the shadow of champions, February 2007

Meadowlily Bridge from below

Strange angle indeed
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Yesterday was a good day to roll the bike out and push just a little further and faster.

It wasn’t easy - thanks, stupid lungs - but it still felt good to get out and power myself across the city once again. I wasn’t alone on the trails, and everyone around me seemed to be smiling, which made it a little easier to spin the pedals a little harder.

The turnaround point was a bridge that’s been around for over a century, and after a painstaking restoration a few years back, should be up to carrying foot and bike traffic for at least another hundred years.

I pondered the best way to share the view this time out - the last time I was here I settled on a geometric exploration of the rivets on its main span - and eventually decided it might be fun to go underneath the deck.

I’m odd like that, but I’m sure you likely already knew that.

So here we are, looking straight up at the underside of the wood deck. Thanks to the engineers who first built it, and the ones who brought it back to life in 2013, we’re left with a structure that begs to be appreciated from any angle.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #meadowlily #thames #river #green #bridge #cycling #cyclist #cycle #bicycle #bike #cyclinglife #bikelife #instabike #photography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Return to Meadowlily Woods, April 2022

Back in the saddle, April 2022

Let's roll, shall we? March 2022

Today was a day... June 2021

Taking in the new spans, November 2020

This is why I ride, May 2019

The sun begins to set on AWACS

G-d's eye view
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m in an avgeek mood.

It’s funny how that works: when life gets kinda swirly, I like to think about things that bring me comfort. And if it flies, it brings me comfort.

This is an E-3 Sentry. It performs the airborne early warning and control system mission, hence its more commonly-understood nickname: AWACS.

Basically, it’s a super-sophisticated air traffic control asset. It uses that giant rotating radar dish to scan huge volumes of airspace and provide real-time visibility to fighters and other airborne assets.

Why does this matter? You can put a much bigger radar on a jetliner airframe than you can on a fighter. And having one giant radar for everyone means the fighters don’t have to light their own units up - which means they’re harder for the enemy to find.

Functionally, AWACS planes stay well outside the threat area and point their radars over the battle zone, then feed data to strike packages. The good guys have eyes on everything, and the bad guys never know what’s coming. I’ll take networked warfare for $200, Alex.

Needless to say, the Sentry is a priceless piece of kit, and is one of the most highly prized targets in any armed conflict.

Like Ukraine, where NATO-tasked examples of the type are flying round the clock just over the border to soak up data from Ukraine and monitor Russian air activity. It’s a poignant statement that this product of the Cold War now protects NATO’s eastern border and stands firm against Russian aggression.

Alas, these aircraft are based on an ancient airframe. All those antennae and protrusions may make the Sentry look like a bit of a monster, but underneath it all it’s a Boeing 707. So its flight crew are in some cases the grandchildren of the engineers who designed it. It’s an incredible, lifesaving, gamechanging plane, but it’s wearing out.

Well, USAF officials this week announced they’ve chosen Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail as the E-3’s eventual replacement. In addition to being based on the much more recent 737 (Next Gen, not the MAX, thank goodness) airframe, it replaces the rotating dome with a wedge-shaped antenna, hence the name.

Of course I appreciate that looks matter less than capability. And as long as these continue to offer G-d’s-eye perspectives to the good guys in the air, nothing else matters. Another example of technology for the win.

I will definitely miss the rotating dome, though.

#nikonskydrive @airshowlondon @nikoncanada #ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #throwback #SkyDrive #AirShowLondon #aviation #boeing #e3 #sentry #awacs #usaf #flight #aircraft #avgeek #aviastionphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography #lifeinthemargins