THE SIDEKICK, TORONTO

I returned to my iPad to experiment more with some of images. I took this picture very early on Sunday morning in a coffeeshop on Queen Street in Toronto. By the way, the coffee and breakfast was excellent and a bonus was that in addition they also sell comics. But back to the picture. I liked the sunlight which created some beautiful shadows. The picture worked well in colour and black and white but then I decided to play with this picture using a variety of image apps. Some people might be interested in my workflow. So first I transferred my original picture to the iPad then into the app Snapseed. Then I used a wonderful app called iColorama. The next step is turning a copy of the image into a drawing using Photosketch Then on to Laminar Pro to combine the copies and add some effects. Learning to use these apps takes time of course but the result can be very interesting.

DRAGON

I send cards to our grandsons, which they enjoy. I guess we all like getting actual snailmail, cards and letters, rather than bills and printed advertising. I made this card after we visited the Royal Ontario museum and of course they liked the dinosaurs but I transformed the picture into a mythical dragon. Maybe the the skeleton of Smaug, the famous dragon from the "The Hobbit" or the dragon slain by Sir Lancelot.

POMPEII EXHIBITION, ROM, TORONTO

Another exhibition we visited was the Royal Ontario Museum Pompeii exhibition  Its an excellent show which we really enjoyed. The story about the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum is of course well known but seeing all the different art works you simply have to marvel not only about the superb workmanship but also the magnificent creative aspect of the displayed art  objects.

THE BEACHES, TORONTO

On our trip to Toronto we had rented a house close to the Beaches. Its a very nice area, which has a very nice board walk and of course we went for a walk along the lake. The adjacent park was lovely and to my surprise still had lots of Fall colour. For this picture I liked the Autochrome effect which gives the image an almost historic feeling.

J. M. W. TURNER EXHIBITION

We just returned from a very pleasant stay in Toronto, where we visited the J.M.W. Turner exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was a wonderful experience. Most of the pictures were from the Tate gallery collection in London. So if you are planning to go to Toronto you definitely should go and see the show by arguably  the greatest British painter of the nineteenth century.

OLD MAPLE TREE

We have had some very nice Fall weather these last few days. walking past an office building downtown I made some pictures of this old very textured maple tree. The windows behind reflected a pattern of bare branches. I did not like the colur of the original image, which was quite blue so I turned it into a toned black and white image but brought back some of the colour of the tree to create a stronger visual contrast.

ABSTRACT STREET ART, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

I always am looking for textures and colour. the concrete surface of the overpass had a very rich colour palette ranging from a very light ivory to deep brown and charcoal black with beautiful textures. I reminds me of an early sixteeth century Chinese landscape painting.

RAILWAY OVERPASS, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

Yesterday we had a very unusually warm and pleasant Fall day. We walked around the town of Powassan. When walking you see so much more of your surroundings. A good example is the CN railway overpass in the downtown area. Normally you simply drive by and you will not see all the intricate textures, shapes and details. So I made quite a few pictures and this morning worked a few images using the new On1 Photo 10  photo editing program. I have to say I just love the program and will be exploring it over the next few weeks.

UMBRELLA, NORTH BAY

Just a simple subject but quite interesting visually. I liked the overall colour quality but what got my interest in the first place was the umbrella in the window.

HALLOWEEN FRIENDS

Tonight we will be celebrating Halloween. So her is a picture of some of my Halloween friends, who are looking forward to this great scary party. Happy trick or treating.

RIGHT OF WAY MINE, COBALT

Last weekend we visited Cobalt. It has been a few years since I visited the old mine sight and it was actually a pity it rained quite a bit that day.I did however get a few images and I liked this black and white of the old Right of Way mine, which is a prominent landmark on the the Heritage Silver trail.

FALL, LAKE NIPISSING

I like the Fall season not only for the brightly coloured landscape but also for the great dramatic skies. Especially the light which creates beautiful textures and patterns on the lake surface.

FALL TRAIL, NORTH BAY

What a romantic view. Taken along the popular trail along lake Nipissing. It was a very grey day, which is the best time for taking these type of colourful landscapes. I was not so much interested in the bright colours associated with the paintings of the Group of Seven but rather in the rich golden colours so reminiscent of the late eighteenth and nineteen century British landscape painters.

DOLL, THE POWASSAN TREASURE MILL

Yesterday I visited The Powassan Tresure Mill. It is a wonderful place full of hidden treasures. I like this store very much because you never know what unusual and interesting subjects you discover.This little doll for instance, you simply have to wonder first of all who would design something like this and secondly, who would buy this scary doll for a child.

REFLECTIONS,DUSK

Sitting in my favourite chair enjoying a nice glass of wine, I had to make a picture of the reflections in the window. Reflections are interesting because you see what is behind you and what is in front. The image is quite startling like this picture with the various shadows and textures, resulting in a mysterious final image.

OUR GARDEN

The weather on the weekend was just fabulous. The colours really at their peak. This morning however it rained. Of course as a photographer I like that because the colours were very rich. So first thing after breakfast I took some pictures in our back garden before going to the trails along the lake. Surprisingly the colours in the city were definitely not at their peek. The reason being I think is that we live on a ridge where its always a little colder and the leaves change colours earlier.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND, 2015

It's that time of year again, the glorious Thanksgiving weekend. Besides the turkey, it is also the time we take photographs of the Fall colours. Actually the colurs have not peaked yet but this is what colours look like in our back garden. 

"THE SEAGULL" CALLANDER MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

Thanks for your comment David. I thought you might like to see one more model. This time it is a model of the well known boat The Seagull working for various lumber mills around Lake Nipissing. What intrigues me is, who made these models. Noone has been able to answer that question. There is one more model of the Seagull  and I think that all were made by the same person. So maybe someone can provide me with a name. I am certain the museum would love to know.

NORTHERN BELL, CALLANDER MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

Today another image from my ongoing regional museums project. This is picture is one of the fine boat models at the Callander Municipal museum. I simply like these miniature boats, which are excellent examples of true folk art.

BOAT YARD, KILLARNEY, ONTARIO

Looking around  the waterfront in Killarney I made a few pictures of sailboats in a boat yard, which are being repaired. I like taking pictures in closeup preferably with a wide angle. This allows me to get images with a unusual perspectives and angles.