The Natural Wonder of Iceland

Hæ.

 

There's something about this country that has drawn me in.   I planned this trip for over 20 years in heart and head.

When it finally happened a few years back this amazing nation surpassed all my expectations of natural beauty and wonder.

The language may be difficult for an English tongue but the climate and the people treat visitors to a calm and cool embrace.

Það er gott að sjá þig.

Takk fyrir að heimsækja.

Wedding Photography

I always look forward to the opportunity to shoot a wedding.

I was very happy with the results and, much more important, so were the happy couple who have been good friends for some time.  I'm thrilled that I was able to preserve the memories of this special day for them.

In Keeping with the Season

Some people might find these images a bit unsettling, hinting at abandonment and decay.

On the contrary, these images speak to me of the presence of people, of working families, generation after generation, carrying on a tradition of working the land.   They speak to me of stability and longevity.

This may have been the original homestead of a multigenerational family farm.

Not far from these seemingly abandoned outbuildings is the home that later generations of this rural family lived in and, a little beyond is the foundation of the new home under construction that subsequent generations will occupy.

Thanksgiving in Canada

This is the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada.
A somewhat uniquely North American Tradition which, more than anything, commemorates survival in difficult times.  It is a time for family and friends to remember the importance of family and friends.  For me, it is a time to recognise how lucky I am to have the life I live when so very many around the globe, and even in our own exceptionally wealthy country, have so much less.  It's a time to remember that, if not for a few twists of fate, all of us could be leading very different lives.  I embrace Thanksgiving with joy tempered by humility.

More people

Some of these people knew their picture was being taken.  Some did not.  You'd probably be a bit surprised at which were which.

Playing with motion in still photography

These shots were all taken at relatively slow shutter speeds to impart a feeling of movement.  It works in two of them but, oddly enough, in the first, the effect is more akin to a double exposure which it is not.  My friend at the piano got caught in a chord in an exposure of several seconds.

 This shot of a streetcar in action at the corner of Queen West and Bay Street in Toronto was taken on what had to be the most miserably cold night of the year.  I went on a photo shoot with several other people and got so wrapped up in what I was doing that I didn't even notice when everyone else gave up looking for me, packed up and headed for the nearest coffee shop.

Municipal Elections and Politics in Canada

Municipal elections are about to take place across the Province of Ontario.
In my day job, I work for the largest municipality in the province
and I live in another large urban centre not far away
(although, when traffic is heavy, it can seem far away).

I am concerned about the lack of any real alternative to the status quo represented by Toronto's mayoral race.
I have yet to find out enough about the race at home; my new home,
to make an intelligent choice.
Will I vote?
Of course.
There are too many places in the world where it's a privilege, not a right,
to take our vote for granted
and I do believe that municipal politics have an impact on my life.

Those two views alone put me in a minority in North America.

Thoughts without Images are still the Images of the Imagination

... and on a good day, they can be the window into the soul.
I promised myself when I started this blog
that it would be about how I perceive the world.
Not just through the lens of the camera but through the lens of the mind.
It's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words
but a single word can change the future.

For a view of someone not afraid to see himself honestly
visit
Confessions of a Linguaphile

Macro Photography

I could have titled this Exobiology and said nothing else.
The world is a different place from a unique point of view.